The study of the Greek language, in our modern scheme of education, has been largely set aside, but the study of Latin still prevails. The structure of Latin is generally understood, and its practical value (at least 50 per cent of our English speech is Latin in origin) is widely recognized. Italian, French, and Spanish are even more definitely allied to Latin. Any sort of liberal training must inevitably include the study of the Latin language. When we use the term "the classics" we mean the literature of Greece and Rome. This literature in many respects is one, and the greater part is Greek. Intellectually speaking, the classics are at the very basis of our civilization. A familiarity with them in the original languages brings great enrichment to one's culture, thought, and expression. In translation they shine only by reflection, but they still illuminate. Matters of history and language as related to literature. A glance at the map of Italy will establish the position of the Alps as the northern barrier, the location of the rivers Po, Arno, and Tiber, the site of Rome and Naples, and the position of Italy with reference to Greece. In the early historical period (1200 B.C.) this peninsula was sparsely inhabited by a primitive non-Aryan people. Then came a highly cultivated non-Aryan people, the Etruscans, who settled in the north and occupied the land from the Alps to the Tiber. South of them a vigorous Aryan group of Italian tribes established themselves. They were akin to the Celts in blood and language. Farther south, at the foot of the peninsula and in the island of Sicily, were the Greek colonies. This was the general situation as late as 600 B. C. The Italians mingled freely with the other peoples, took over their civilization, and became the dominant race of the peninsula. Rome, built on the Tiber, not far from the sea, was the center of their political life. The Etruscans, pressed by Gauls at the north and Romans at the south, lost their separate identity by the end of the fourth century B.C., though they made an indelible impression upon the Italic tribes in the arts and in such matters as road-building and military fortifications. Within another hundred years Rome was in control as far south as Naples and beyond. Of the final conquest of all Italy, the conflict of Rome with Carthage (264-146 B. C.), the expansion of Rome to include northern Africa and the Greek world, the astonishing conquests of Julius Cæsar in Gaul, and the position of the Roman Republic as mistress of the civilized world, it is unnecessary to speak at length. The close of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire-more particularly the Age of Augustus, the first emperor (31 B. C.A.D. 14) was the great period of the literature of Rome. It will be evident from this brief sketch that the Romans were of mixed blood. Oscan, Umbrian, Sabine, Latin, Etruscan, and Greek dialects were spoken during the early period. The first Latin writ ers had a cosmopolitan character: Andronicus was a Greek by race, Plautus an Umbrian, Ennius came from Calabria, and Terence from Africa. It was Rome that bound all Italy together. The rise of this Latin town from its humble beginnings to its proud position as the greatest city in the world constitutes one of the phenomena of history. Preliterary Latin was comparatively unified and was spoken by all classes. With the birth of literature the speech of the people began to differ widely, but Greek models affected considerably the speech of the literary classes, and a formal, polished language resulted. The differences tended to grow more pronounced, though the common people were influenced to some extent by the literary language and the latter took over certain plebeian forms and constructions. During the classical period a compromise was effected; the so-called sermo cotidianus was a speech known to all classes and was the vernacular used, for example, in Cicero's letters. At the close of the literary period literary Latin disappeared, and a fixed Latin, the lingua Romana, was used thereafter by all classes until the rise of the Romance languages.1 The later type of Latin found its representatives in the Christian writers; but the several provinces were developing different languages of their own, which we now recognize as Italian, French, Spanish, etc. In movement Latin is more dignified and heavy and less elastic than Greek. Some of the chief Latin writers, as Horace, Lucretius, Seneca, and Cicero, admitted the supremacy of Greek. Quintilian conceded that Greek had more euphony and variety, and he admitted that Latin words were harsher in sound and often less adapted to express varying shades of meaning. On the other hand, it may be alleged that Latin is distinguished by power and the practical character of its ideas, and that it has enduring qualities, as is proved by its long history and by its incorporation into other languages. The stately and sonorous Latin prose of the best period of Rome yet lives; it is a noble vehicle of expression. In Latin poetry three elements are represented, as H. W. Garrod points out-the Greek or 1For further particulars see D'Ooge's "Concise Latin Grammar." æsthetic element, the primitive Italian with its fire and sensibility, and the somber element of a Rome that conquers by sheer weight both in language and ideas. Roman character and religion. Professor Duff presents in the introduction to his admirable work on Roman literature an interesting analysis of the Roman character and religion. We follow this in very brief outline. The masculine vigor of the Roman nation was remarkable. There was a persistence of type, notwithstanding the fact that no other nation owed so much to outsiders and foreigners. Roman literature was written largely by men in touch with the highest circles of society, being the most aristocratic in flavor and authorship of all literatures. Yet it displayed a deep interest in the problems of the individual and the State. Virgil's life, for instance, was remote from that of the average man, but his work is bound up with the concerns of the Rome of his day. The Roman character in general was practical, deliberate, industrious, and unromantic. Order and system were paramount. There were rules and restrictions, commands and prohibitions; organization was at the basis of Roman life. The moral qualities-virtus, representing manliness; pietas, standing for duty to kinsfolk, country, and gods; and gravitas, involving the idea of soberness in bearing and mien-were emphasized. The family was the chief factor in the State, and the domestic virtues were highly esteemed. In disposition the Roman was businesslike. He was little influenced by sentiment, since sentiment was not useful. He was conservative, but if the new thing was good he accepted it. He distrusted the Greek for his versatility and the Celt for his changeability. He was not inquisitive nor desirous of novelty. Even in his literature he was apt to appear unoriginal because of his intensely practical nature. There was more prose than poetry in his literature. The Roman's desire for knowledge was limited to the kind that would prove useful; the speculative philosophy of Greece appealed only slightly to him. In language and literature, also, the influence of Greece was largely superficial. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Roman developed a strong central government and that his legal principles and their applica tion have powerfully influenced the world. Art and literature were subsidiary to other things. Virgil wrote (Æneid 6): "Let others melt and mould the breathing bronze The humbled foe, and crush to earth the proud."1 The Roman's destiny was to be the governor of the world. His artistic genius was not that of the Greek: he built amphitheaters, aqueducts, and roads. To achieve power and greatness was a national impulse, and this involved war, the shedding of blood, and conquest. Julius Cæsar was the preeminent Roman because of his masterful spirit, his military prowess, and his organizing ability. We find that the practical element dominated also the religious thought of the Roman. There was observance of the proper ritual, a development of the idea of atonement, a desire to determine the attitude of the gods. The Greek pantheon was taken over, but the gods now became a family conception, with twelve great gods forming the central council and a group of lesser divinities—the Lares and Penates, Vesta, and many others-holding minor responsibilities. Guardian spirits of river and spring were not artistic conceptions, as in the case of the Greeks, but were designed to guarantee abundance of water. The Roman sought to gain the favor of the god, through the proper ritual, through prayer as a bit of magic, through religious guilds and augurs. The following were the religious and national virtues glorified by the Romans: obedience; reverence for father, elders, and laws; bravery; good faith; decency; and diligence. The Roman character was deeply affected by religion, and the Capitoline Hill, the center of Rome, was the center of the Roman religion. Rome was, indeed, the religion of the Roman. It 1 Translation by Williams. |