The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998/Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso/L/Latin_literature/INFOTEXT

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Only a few hymns and inscriptions survive
from the earliest period of Latin literature
before the 3rd century BC. Greek influence
began with the work of Livius Andronicus (c.
284-204 BC), who translated the Odyssey and
Greek plays into Latin. Naevius and Ennius
both attempted epics on patriotic themes; the
former used the native `Saturnian' metre, but
the latter introduced the Greek hexameter.
Plautus and Terence successfully adapted
Greek comedy to the Latin stage. Lucilius
(190-103 BC) founded Latin verse satire,
while the writings of Cato were the first
important works in Latin prose. In the De
Rerum Natura of Lucretius, and the passionate
lyrics of Catullus, Latin verse reached
maturity. Cicero set a standard for Latin
prose, in his orations, philosophical essays,
and letters. To the same period belong the
histories of Caesar. The Augustan age (43
BC-AD 17) is usually regarded as the golden
age of Latin literature. There is strong
patriotic feeling in the work of the poets
Virgil and Horace and the historian Livy, who
belonged to Augustus's court circle. Virgil
produced the one great Latin epic, the
Aeneid, while Horace brought charm and polish
to both the lyric and satire. Younger poets
of the period were Ovid and the elegiac poets
Tibullus and Propertius. The silver age of
the empire begins with the writers of Nero's
reign: the Stoic philosopher Seneca; Lucan,
author of the epic Pharsalia; the satirist
Persius; and, by far the greatest, the
realistic novelist Petronius. Around the end
of the 1st century and and at the beginning
of the 2nd came the historian Tacitus and the
satirist Juvenal; other writers of the period
were the epigrammatist Martial, the scientist
Pliny the Elder, the letter-writer Pliny the
Younger, the critic Quintilian, the historian
Suetonius, and the epic poet Statius. The 2nd
and 3rd centuries produced only one pagan
writer of importance, the romancer Apuleius,
but there were several able Christian
writers, such as Tertullian, Cyprian,
Arnobius (died 327), and Lactantius (died
325). In the 4th century there was something
of a poetic revival, with Ausonius, Claudian,
and the Christian poets Prudentius and St
Ambrose. The Classical period ends, and the
Middle Ages begin, with St Augustine's City
of God and St Jerome's translation of the
Bible. Throughout the Middle Ages, Latin
remained the language of the church, and was
normally employed for theology, philosophy,
histories, and other learned works. Latin
verse, adapted to rhyme and non-Classical
metres, was used both for hymns and the
secular songs of the wandering scholars. Even
after the Reformation, Latin retained its
prestige as the international language of
scholars and was used as such by the English
writers Thomas More, Francis Bacon, John
Milton, and many others.