Literature
Roman. While Greece gives us the most important literature of antiquity, that of Rome is closely associated with it and stands second in the influence it has exerted. The Romans were a nation of physical rather than intellectual energy. They were less imaginative, less refined, than their Greek neighbors; we find, therefore, that literature is of later development among them and of a somewhat different character. Roman literature may be divided into three periods; first, that of its beginning and early development; second, that of its greatest power; and third, that of its decline.
1. The first period includes the time from the First Punic War to the Age of Cicero (241-74 B. C.). The Romans, like other nations, possessed songs and poetical compositions preserved by oral tradition. The first written literature, however, was in the form of history-a simple record of events without literary qualities of any sort. The poets of this period who attained any degree of excellence are few. Livius, Andronicus, and Naevius made translations from the Greek. Ennius wrote an epic, the Annals. Plautus and Terence were writers of comedy in imitation of Greek comedy. Prose seems to have been much more in accord with the Roman temperament than poetry. Fabius Pictor (219 B. C.) is the first historian of note. His subjects were the First and Second Punic Wars. The Origines of Cato was a complete history of Rome and Italy up to and including his own times. Only fragments of this work remain. Ninety of Cato's Orations are preserved. 2. The second period covers the time from the Age of Cicero to the death of Augustus, and to it belong the most illustrious names of Roman literature. The Age of Cicero is named for Rome's greatest orator, whose orations are still regarded as models of Latin prose. As the historians of this period, appear the names of Caesar and of Sallust, of Livy, of Dionysius, and of Diodorus. The three great Roman poets are Horace, Virgil, and Ovid. Others are Lucretius, the Epicurean, and Catullus, the writer of lyric poetry. 3. With the death of Augustus the decline of literature began. A few names only are of importance. Plutarch, the author of the famous Lives of celebrated Greeks and Romans, which has been called a textbook of heroism; Tacitus, the historian; and Pliny, the scientist, belong to this period. Among philosophers are Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. The reader is referred to articles on all important names mentioned in connection with Roman literature.