Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/203

LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE 197 lerius Probus is the most eminent grammarian of this time. The epic panegyric on the consul Piso was probably written in the reign of Clau- dius by an unknown author of great talents, who had an elegant flow of language, and a vast acquaintance with the literature of the Au- gustan age. With the bombast characteristic of this period, Persius Flaccus wrote (besides other compositions not extant) six satires, mostly versified lectures on Stoicism. A fer- tile writer in prose and verse was Annseus Lu- canus (Lucan). His Pharsalia, an unfinished epic on the civil war between Pompey and Caesar, though rather artificially pathetic, shows him to have been a man of talent, and pos- sessed of a generous heart. Other writers of verse at this time were Caesius Bassus, Vagel- lius, Curtius Montanus, and Serranus. It is believed that during Nero's reign appeared the character novel ascribed to Petronius Arbiter ; it is a work of art in its way, full of humor and knowledge of human nature, and is impor- tant, though now only a heap of fragments, as representing the manners and language espe- cially of the plebeians in that age. Here be- long also a didactic poem entitled ^Etna, prob- ably by Lucilius Junior ; a metrical version of the Iliad for school purposes ; and the poems contained in the Codex Vossianus 86. Under Vespasian and Titus literature was benefited by the blessings of peace, but under Domitian it suffered greatly by his vanity and cruel- ty. Under the former flourished Pliny the Elder, who, in spite of his extensive official occupations, found time for great literary ac- tivity in the departments of history, grammar, rhetoric, tactics, and natural science. Of his works, only a kind of cyclopedia of natural science, compiled frequently in haste and with- out adequate knowledge for the exercise of criticism, has come down to us ; it is a monu- ment of the serious, studious, and patriotic mind of the author. Cluvius Rufus produced a historical work embracing the time of Nero, and Vipstanus Messala also wrote on events which he had witnessed. Their histories, and that of Fabius Rusticus, which also seems to belong to the time of Vespasian, have at least the merit of aiming to present facts. Orators of this age were Curiatius Maternus, Julius Gabinianus, Aper, and Julius Secundus; and the most influential jurists were Cselius Sabi- nus, Pegasus, Urseius Ferox, and Juventius Celsus the elder. Among the poets of this time is Valerius Flaccus, whose 10 books of Argonautica show a diction rhetorical and full, but not lucid and symmetrical. The tragedies of Curiatius Maternus and the epics of Saleius Bassus are lost. The reign of Domitian was productive of a vast number of dilettanti whose verses only proved their insignificance and harmlessness. Domitian's hand lay heavily on all intellectual life, and in order not to endan- ger their liberty and honor men like Juvenal, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger kept silent. Silius Italicus (25-101) wrote 17 books of Pu- nica, taking the subject from Livy, and imita- ting Homer and Virgil. He constantly assigns mythological motives, and is monotonously strict in the technical treatment of his verse. The largest work of Papinius Statius was the Thebais in 12 books, which, as well as his un- completed Achilleis, is exceedingly dull, though his SilvcB, five books of poems, show that he possessed good talents. Valerius Marti alis left 15 books of epigrams. Martial's preference is obscenity, but he equals Ovid in ease and ele- gance of poetical form. Among the numer- ous other poets may be mentioned Arruntius Stella, Turnus, Verginius Rufus, Vestricius Spurinna, and Calenus's wife Sulpicia, who all wrote erotic verses. The most prominent prose writer of this age is Fabius Quintilianus. Quintilian composed first a work on the causes of the decay of eloquence, and then a large work (extant) on the complete training of an orator (Institutio Oratorio), of which the 10th book, containing a list of the literature useful for rhetorical studies, is of great value. He is never tired of praising Cicero, whose style he attempts to imitate. Besides Tutilius as a wri- ter on rhetoric, and Princeps as a rhetorician, appear the names of Aquilius Regulus, Bsebius Massa, Mettius Cams, and Palfurius Sura, who were mostly time-servers and informers. Ju- lius Frontinus, an excellent engineer, was the author of a popular work on tactics, and of a work in two books De Aquis UrMs JRomce, written in a concise and refined style. Among grammarians were JEmilius Asper (an erudite commentator on Terence, Sallust, and Virgil), Claranus, and Apollinaris. A harmless histori- cal work, which appears to have been a uni- versal history, was composed by Junius Maxi- mus ; while Arulenus Rusticus and Herennius Senecio wrote in opposition to the govern- ment, and lost their lives. Between 96 and 117, under Nerva and Trajan, literature, though greatly on the decline, gained a large number of writers in all departments. Nerva himself took some interest in poetry, but Trajan pro- moted the development of literature only indi- rectly. The most prominent poet of the age of Trajan was Junius Juvenalis, of whom we have 16 satires eloquently and vividly descri- bing the vices of Roman society, but not with- out monotony, produced by his unvarying con- ciseness. Among the many who composed verse at this time were Octavius Rufus, Titini- us Capito, Passennus Paulus, and Caninus. The most prominent prose writer is Cornelius Tacitus, who as a historian followed the best sources, sifting them with strict criticism, and only indicating his own views, but always wri- ting in a melancholy and bitter tone. His Dia- logus de Oratoribus shows that he endeavored to imitate Cicero's style at least in his rhetori- cal works, and the biography of his father-in- law Agricola reminds us of the manner of Sal- lust. His Germania, an ethnographic mono- graph, is to some degree a mere comparison of the simple ways of the Germans with the cor-