His style is wholly his own--concise, obscure, strong, forever arousing the attention. He could never have attained the easy elegance of Livy, and he never tells a story with the grace of that unequaled narrator, but he has more vigor in his descriptions, more reality in his characters.
The life of his father-in-law Agricola is one of the most delightful of biographies. His account of the Germans was a silent satire upon the corrupt condition of the Roman state. The _Historiarum Libri_ is a history of his own age, from the fall of Galba to the death of Domitian, and was probably designed to embrace the reigns of Nerva and Trajan. A small portion only of this work is preserved. The _Annales_ relate the history of Rome from the death of Augustus to that of Nero, but are also imperfect. A treatise upon the orators is also attributed to the historian. Tacitus and Juvenal are the last great names in Roman literature.
Quintus Curtius Rufus, an interesting writer, who lived perhaps under Claudius or Tiberius, his true period being uncertain, wrote, in ten books, an account of the exploits of Alexander the Great. He was succeeded by C. Suetonius Tranquillus, who came to Rome during the reign of Domitian, and there studied rhetoric and grammar. Under Hadrian he fell into disgrace and went into exile: the period of his death is unknown. Suetonius wrote the lives of the twelve Caesars, ending with Domitian. His language is good, and he paints with uncommon minuteness the vices as well as the virtues of his subjects; he abounds, too, in particulars which throw light upon the manners of the Romans. Suetonius also wrote several short treatises, while various biographies have been attributed to him which probably belong to inferior writers.
L. Annaeus Florus, who perhaps lived under Trajan, wrote an epitome of Roman history. Justin, whose period is unknown, wrote or abridged from an earlier author, _Trogus_, a history of the world. The _Scriptores Historiae Augustae_ is a collection of writers of little merit, who flourished in different periods of the empire. Aurelius Victor, who was probably Praefect of Rome under Theodosius, wrote _Origo Gentis Romanae_, only a small portion of which has been preserved, and several other historical works. Eutropius, who served under Julian against the Persians, composed a brief history of Rome, written in a pure and natural style.
Ammia.n.u.s Marcellinus, who lived under Valens, Valentinian, and Theodosius until A.D. 410, and was a Greek by birth, wrote a history of the empire from Nerva to the death of Valens, A.D. 378. A large part of this work is lost. Ammia.n.u.s abounds in digressions and descriptions, and is, on that account, the more entertaining. His manner can not be praised.
The Spaniard Orosius concludes the list of the Latin historians. Orosius was a Christian presbyter, and, while defending Christianity, paints a lamentable picture of the condition of the pagan world. He borrowed from Justin and other writers, and lived in the fifth century.
Rhetoric continued to be cultivated, but eloquence no longer possessed the power which it held under the Republic. The speeches now delivered were chiefly declamations upon unimportant themes. M. Annaeus Seneca, the father of the philosopher, came to Rome from his native city Corduba, in Spain, during the reign of Augustus, and became a famous rhetorician. M.
Fabius Quintilia.n.u.s, a greater name in literature, was born A.D. 42, at Calgurris, in Spain, but, as was customary with men of merit at that period, went up to Rome, and became celebrated as a teacher of rhetoric.
He was a person of excellent character, and, besides practicing at the bar, rose to the consulship. Having pa.s.sed many years in politics or the law, Quintilian at last returned to his old profession, and in the close of his life gave himself wholly to letters. He now wrote his work upon oratory, _Libri duodecim Inst.i.tutionis Oratoriae_. In this valuable work he seeks to restore the purity of the language, inculcates simplicity, and shows an excellent taste. The younger Pliny was also a famous orator or declaimer.
The Romance, or modern novel, is also thought to have begun in the first century with the satirical tale ascribed to Petronius Arbiter, or perhaps with the translation of the Milesian tales of Aristides from the Greek by Sisenna. The _Petronii Arbitri Satiricon_ is a romance in prose and verse, and was probably written in the first century by an author of whom nothing is known. It relates the adventures of a certain _Encolopius_, and satirizes the vices and follies of the age. The language of this work is pure, the wit lively, but indecent: only a portion, however, of the _Satiricon_ has been preserved. During the age of the Antonines arose _Appuleius_, the best known of the ancient writers of tales. He was born at Madaura, in Africa, but went to Carthage, and from thence to Athens, where he was initiated into the Grecian mysteries, and studied the Platonic philosophy. Appuleius was an agreeable speaker, and had filled his mind with the learning of his age; but his fame with posterity rests upon his novel _Metamorphoseon_, in which he strives to correct the vices of his contemporaries. In this work a vicious young man is transformed into an a.s.s, under which form he goes through many amusing adventures, but is at last changed to a new man through the influence of the mysteries. The story is full of episodes, the moral good, but the language shows the decline of literary taste.
Philosophy, since the time of Cicero, had become a favorite study with the Romans, although they produced no remarkable philosopher. Seneca, the most eminent of them, was the son of M. Annaeus Seneca, the rhetorician. He was probably born at Corduba, in Spain, soon after the Christian era, and was educated by the best masters at Rome. He possessed an active intellect, was early renowned, and held various high offices in the state. Having been the preceptor of Nero, he was finally condemned to death by that monster, and put an end to his life A.D. 65.
Seneca was a Stoic, and taught self-control, tranquillity of mind, and contempt for the changes of fortune. His various essays and other writings have always been admired, although he wanted a correct taste, and is often affected and rhetorical. He possessed great wealth, which he either inherited or acc.u.mulated. His town house was adorned with marbles and citron-wood, and his country villas, of which he had several, were filled with costly luxuries; yet his morals were probably pure, and he was much beloved for his generosity and fidelity to his many friends.
The elder Pliny, _Plinius Secundus Major_, another famous philosopher, was born in the year A.D. 23, either at Como or Verona. He served with the army in Germany, and rose high in office under Vespasian. Being in command of the fleet at Misenum during the first eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, in order to gratify his curiosity he remained too long near the burning mountain, and was suffocated by its exhalations. Pliny pa.s.sed his whole life in study, and was never satisfied unless engaged in acquiring knowledge. His _Historia Naturalis_ resembles the Cosmos of Humboldt, and pa.s.ses in review over the whole circle of human knowledge.
It treats of the heavens, of the earth and its inhabitants, of the various races of man, of animals, trees, flowers, minerals, the contents of the sea and land, of the arts and sciences; and shows that the author possessed an intellect of almost unequaled activity. His nephew, the younger Pliny, who lived under Trajan, and was the favorite correspondent of that emperor, is remembered for his agreeable letters, and the purity and dignity of his character.
Grammatical studies and critical writings also afforded employment for many intelligent Romans; and every part of the empire seems to have been filled with cultivated men, who, possessing wealth and leisure, gave themselves to literary studies. Aulus Gellius, one of the best known of the grammarians, lived during the period of the Antonines. His _Noctes Atticae_ is a critical work in twenty books, in which he discusses many questions in language, philosophy, and science. He seems to have pa.s.sed his life in traveling over Italy and Greece, collecting materials for this work, and, wherever he goes he never fails to meet with agreeable, intelligent friends, who delight, like himself, in improving conversation.
Aurelius Macrobius, another well-known grammarian, lived during the fifth century. His Commentary on the Dream of Scipio is full of the scientific speculations of his age. His _Saturnalia_ contains many extracts from the best Roman writers, with criticisms upon them, in which he detects the plagiarisms of Virgil, and observes the faults as well as the beauties of the orators and poets of Rome. The works of other grammarians have been preserved or are partly known to us, among which are those of Servius, Festus, Priscia.n.u.s, and Isidorus.
The study of the law, too, flourished in uncommon excellence under the emperors, and nearly two thousand legal works were condensed in the Digests of Justinian, few of which belonged to the Republican period.
Under Augustus and Tiberius, Q. Antistius Labeo founded the famous school of the Proculians. He left four hundred volumes upon legal subjects. His rival, C. Ateius Capito, founded the school of the Sabinians, and was also a profuse writer. Under Hadrian, Salvius Julia.n.u.s prepared the _Edictum Perpetuum_, about the year A.D. 132, which condensed all the edicts of former magistrates into a convenient code. Papinia.n.u.s, Ulpia.n.u.s, and Paulus were also celebrated for their legal writings. The only complete legal work, however, which we possess from this period, is a Commentary by Gaius, who lived probably under Hadrian. This valuable treatise was discovered in the year 1816 by the historian Niebuhr, in the library of Verona. It contains a clear account of the principles of the Roman law, and the Inst.i.tutes of Justinian are little more than a transcript of those of Gaius.
Various medical writers also belong to the Imperial period, the most important of whom is A. Cornelius Celsus. Works on agriculture were also written by Columella, Palladius, and others, which serve to show the decline of that pursuit among the Romans. Geography, mathematics, and architecture were also cultivated; but of most of these scientific authors only the name is preserved.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Juvenal.]
THE END.