Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/202

 196 LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE rich imageries ; Virgil's classic phraseology remained the standard for five centuries ; Ovid excelled in happy narratives ; and Horace was a model of purity in language. The lesser poets, as Rabirius, Cornelius Severus, Domi- tius Marsus, and ^Emilius Hacer, though not so great as those whom the Romans at once per- ceived to he unrivalled masters, yet produced many poems creditable to the high company of literary artists in whose time they lived. While poetry was at high tide the noblest and most valuable prose was at ebb. Historians either modelled their accounts after the wishes of princes, or sought refuge among the events of the past. They felt that the times were against them, and their labors show that they were aware they had lost their freedom. A few, removed from political life, made good use of the libraries which were then accumu- lating, and formed a sort of encyclopedic sur- veys of the historical materials. Livy was the first to compose a general picture of the entire history of Rome, which, though written with- out political insight, was universally recognized as a classical production. Trogus Eompeius wrote the first Latin book on ethnography, and he also wrote excellent prose. But Labienus and Asinius Pollio, who undertook to treat the occurrences of their own day in an indepen- dent, critical spirit, were reduced to silence; and other writers of contemporary history were insignificant enough to be speedily assigned to oblivion without any special governmental decree. Nevertheless, Rome began the next period with such abundant culture that it was justifiable to expect a realization of the highest literary ideals. This, however, did not come to pass. Third Period. The third period, from A. D. 14 to 180, which has long borne the title of the silver Latinity, and to which many of the high talents of imperial Rome belong, is a great disappointment. Brutal despotism, be- ginning with Tiberius, almost uninterruptedly and ever increasingly burdened the Roman mind until the death of Domitian. Culture was not driven out of existence, yet it was not allowed to stimulate the masses. But though the literature of the 1st century no longer spoke to a free people, it had inherited from the preceding period sufficient strength to main- tain for a while at least an attitude of ease. Poetry suffered the most. Ovid, Horace, and Virgil were read and studied with avidity, but no one produced anything worthy of compari- son with the poems of any of these three. During the 23 years of the reign of Tiberius, besides Manilius, Phsedrus, the writer of fa- bles, is the sole poet. Rhetoric also slowly sank from the height it had attained in the Augustan period. Voltienus Montanus, Scau- rus, and Romanius Hispo were the only rheto- ricians who still evinced some degree of excel- lence. Tiberius himself had received a good rhetorical training, which he exhibited both orally and in writing. The unfortunate Ger- manicus contposed several works in verse, among them a version of Aratus's astronomy. The orator Asinius Gallus wrote a comparison of his father Pollio and Cicero. Velleius Pa- terculus (about A. D. 25) wrote an abridgment of Roman history in good style. Valerius Maximus made a collection of anecdotes for rhetorical purposes, most of which are dull, and all of which are put together in a very uncriti- cal manner. A prolific writer was Cornelius Oelsus, the author of a sort of encyclopaedia on eloquence, jurisprudence, farming, medicine, military art, and philosophy. The principal grammarians were Julius Modestus, Pomponius Marcellus, and Remmius Palsemon ; and prob- ably also Nisus belongs to this reign. Botany was represented by Caepio, Antonius Castor, and Apicius. The latter wrote also on cookery, and Julius Atticus and Julius Grsecinus on the culture of the vine. Pomponius Secundus seems to have written several tragedies, but his works were published after the time of Tiberius. During the reigns of Caligula, Clau- dius, and Nero, impartial historical composi- tions were in disfavor. The chief author of this age was Annteus Seneca. He wrote a faithful picture of his period, but in some por- tions he was more brilliant than accurate. His popular philosophical writings charmed by their fulness and fineness of observation, abun- dance of knowledge, elevation of thought, and dazzling style. The reader feels, however, that Seneca is not always sincere, and that his main endeavor is to please. Among his prose works is one on morals, in letters addressed to Lucilius. He left ten tragedies, all of which, though of a severe metrical treatment, are scarcely endu- rable for the exaggerated abundance of words and rhetorical figures. The poets Gsetulicus and Servilius Nonianus wrote on subjects of contemporary history, but their works, like those of Domitius Corbulo, who described his personal adventures in Asia, and of Cornelius Bocchus, who wrote a work on chronography, are merely known from quotations. Curtius Rufus wrote an extensive history of Alexan- der the Great, in part extant, in a style resem- bling that of Seneca. Columella of Gades is known to us by his 12 books De Re Rmtica, written in an enthusiastic style, but without artistic arrangement of materials. Asconius was a devoted student of Cicero, Sallust, and Virgil, and some of his historical commentaries, especially those on Cicero, are esteemed as of high value. The three books on chronography by Pomponius Mela give the earliest account of the ancient world which we possess. Works on philosophy were for the most part written in Greek ; among them those by Sextius, Cor- nutus, Musonius, Rufus, and Epictetus. Of the philosophers who wrote in Latin may be men- tioned Celsus, Papirius Fabianus, Plautus, and especially Seneca. The Stoic doctrine was the one generally embraced, but some of its adhe- rents diluted it into a mere system of practical wisdom, while others exaggerated it by addi- tions from Pythagoreanism and Cynicism. Va-