Greek freedman in certain towns of Italy. Only fragments remain; the most entertaining of these is the portion known as "A Supper of Trimalchio." The second century yielded almost no authors of note. The historian Suetonius has left us gossipy biographies of the first twelve Cæsars. These have been well translated. We have also a few sprightly translations of "The Golden Ass," of Apuleius, which is of interest because it is one of the earliest works in the field of the novel and also because it contains the story of Cupid and Psyche. This story has been used by William Morris in his "Earthly Paradise," and also by Walter Pater in his "Marius the Epicurean," which presents a splendid picture of the times, especially of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The slender volume of "Meditations" written in Greek by Marcus Aurelius has always been highly esteemed. It was hastily and somewhat carelessly written, but it displays the inner thoughts of a wise man, whose serenity, gentleness, and lofty spirit must have given inspiration to countless readers from his day to our own. Minucius Felix, who was probably a contemporary of Marcus Aurelius, has left a brilliant treatise known as the "Octavius," written in classical style and diction. It is a dialogue and an apology for the Christian religion. Christian Latin poetry is presented at its best in the collected poems of Prudentius Clemens (early fifth century), the finest addition to Latin lyrical poetry since the times of Horace. They are not only technically correct but full of life, color, and brilliance. Though the great day of Latin literature had now passed, writing in the Latin language, as Professor Wendell reminds us, continued. "As the official language of the Roman Empire, this was used and more or less understood for centuries throughout the civilized world. Except for the prevalence of French since the reign of Louis XIV, it has never been even remotely approached as a vehicle of communication among Europeans whose native languages were different. Until something like modern times, it stayed everywhere the standard language of law, of learning, and of serious literature. The 'Divine Comedy' of Dante, written after 1300, is the first great and enduring European poem ever composed in any modern tongue. Even in the nineteenth century any educated European could be assumed able to decipher a Latin letter. And to this day, as everybody knows, Latin remains the worldwide language of the ancestral Catholic Church. In one sense, therefore, it has never died." The Latin writings of Tertullian, Athanasius, Ambrose, and other Church fathers are impressive in number and character. Jerome's Latin translation of the Bible has already been mentioned. St. Augustine (A.D. 354-430) possessed undoubtedly one of the greatest minds in the history of human thought; he produced real literature both as regards manner and matter, and he gave us in the "Confessions" one of the supreme examples of intimate biography. A study of his writings reveals clearly the ideas of his day and, for that matter, the thought of the entire ancient world. The chief Italian writers who followed him were under great debt to St. Augustine, and the same is true of French critics and philosophers; his influence, indeed, is strongly felt to this day. "The Consolations of Philosophy" has sometimes been termed the last work of Roman literature. This treatise had great fame in its day and throughout the Middle Ages. It was written in five books, alternately in prose and verse, and was produced in prison early in the sixth century by the Roman philosopher Boethius. Many Latin chants and hymns have been widely circulated. Goethe makes powerful use in "Faust" of the two best-known of these-the "Mater Dolorosa" and the "Dies Ira." Both date from the thirteenth century. Their lyric beauty and grandeur are most impressive even to those unfamiliar with Latin. Over two hundred attempts have been made to translate into English the "Dies Ira." The poem proclaims the Day of Judgment. We give a few stanzas in the original and in the translation by John A. Dix: "Quid sum, miser! tunc dicturus, "What shall I then say, unfriended, Scholars who have made a close study of Latin literature have reached an interesting conclusion: that through the entire literature, notwithstanding the differences in various periods, there is a striking continuity, whether the prose of Cicero or Erasmus or the poetry of Virgil or of his late successors be brought under view. Reference List BREASTED. Ancient Times. Ginn and Company. GAYLEY. Classic Myths. Ginn and Company. WENDELL. Traditions of European Literature from Homer to Dante. DUFF. A Literary History of Rome. Charles Scribner's Sons. D'ALTON. Horace and his Age. Longmans, Green & Co. HOLLAND. Seneca. Longmans, Green & Co. Oxford Book of Latin Verse gives the Latin text only. Oxford University Press. TYRRELL. Latin Poetry. Houghton Mifflin Company. Translations: Æneid (Williams). Houghton Mifflin Company. Georgics and Eclogues of Virgil (Williams). Harvard University Press. Horace (Field: "Echoes from the Sabine Farm"). Charles Scribner's Horace (Courtauld). Gives Latin and English. Bickers and Son, London. Loeb Classical Library gives Latin and English and covers many of the Bohn Library covers several Latin authors. Harcourt, Brace & Company. Suggested Topics Relation of Latin to Greek literature. Story of the Æneid. Virgil's "Eclogues" compared with the "Idyls” of Theocritus. |