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Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a
literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to includ ...
standard by writers of the late
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
and early
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into
Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
. In some later periods, it was regarded as good or proper Latin, with following versions viewed as debased, degenerate, or corrupted. The word ''Latin'' is now understood by default to mean "Classical Latin"; for example, modern Latin textbooks almost exclusively teach Classical Latin.
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
and his contemporaries of the late republic referred to the Latin language, in contrast to other languages such as Greek, as or . They distinguished the common vernacular, however, as
Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal registers of Latin spoken from the Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve into numerous Romance languages. Its literary counterpa ...
(''sermo vulgaris'' and ''sermo vulgi''), in contrast to the higher
register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...
that they called , sometimes translated as "Latinity". ''Latinitas'' was also called ("speech of the good families"), ''sermo urbanus'' ("speech of the city"), and in rare cases ''sermo nobilis'' ("noble speech"). Besides the noun ''Latinitas'', it was referred to with the adverb ''latine'' ("in (good) Latin", literally "Latinly") or its comparative ''latinius'' ("in better Latin", literally "more Latinly"). ''Latinitas'' was spoken and written. It was the language taught in schools. Prescriptive rules therefore applied to it, and when special subjects like
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...
or rhetoric were taken into consideration, additional rules applied. Since spoken ''Latinitas'' has become extinct (in favor of subsequent registers), the rules of ''politus'' (polished) texts may give the appearance of an artificial language. However, ''Latinitas'' was a form of ''sermo'' (spoken language), and as such, retains spontaneity. No texts by Classical Latin authors are noted for the type of rigidity evidenced by stylized art, with the exception of repetitious abbreviations and stock phrases found on inscriptions.


Philological constructs


Classical

"Good Latin" in
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
is known as "classical"
Latin literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...
. The term refers to the canonical relevance of literary works written in Latin in the late
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
, and early to middle
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
. " at is to say, that of belonging to an exclusive group of authors (or works) that were considered to be emblematic of a certain genre." The term ''classicus'' (masculine plural ''classici'') was devised by the Romans to translate Greek ἐγκριθέντες (encrithentes), and "select" which refers to authors who wrote in a form of Greek that was considered model. Before then, the term ''classis'', in addition to being a naval fleet, was a social class in one of the diachronic divisions of Roman society in accordance with property ownership under the Roman constitution. The word is a transliteration of Greek κλῆσις (clēsis, or "calling") used to rank army draftees by property from first to fifth class. ''Classicus'' refers to those in the ''primae classis'' ("first class"), such as the authors of polished works of ''Latinitas'', or ''sermo urbanus''. It contains nuances of the certified and the authentic, or ''testis classicus'' ("reliable witness"). It was under this construct that
Marcus Cornelius Fronto Marcus Cornelius Fronto (c. 100late 160s AD), best known as Fronto, was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician, and advocate. Of Berber origin, he was born at Cirta (modern-day Constantine, Algeria) in Numidia. He was suffect consul for the '' nundini ...
(an
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n-
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
lawyer and language teacher) used ''scriptores classici'' ("first-class" or "reliable authors") in the second century AD. Their works were viewed as models of good Latin. This is the first known reference (possibly innovated during this time) to Classical Latin applied by authors, evidenced in the authentic language of their works.


Canonical

Imitating Greek grammarians, Romans such as Quintilian drew up lists termed ''indices'' or ''ordines'' modeled after the ones created by the Greeks, which were called ''pinakes''. The Greek lists were considered classical, or ''recepti scriptores'' ("select writers"). Aulus Gellius includes authors like
Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the g ...
, who are considered writers of Old Latin and not strictly in the period of classical Latin. The classical Romans distinguished Old Latin as ''prisca Latinitas'' and not ''sermo vulgaris''. Each author's work in the Roman lists was considered equivalent to one in the Greek. In example,
Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabri ...
was the Latin
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
,
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...
was the equivalent of
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...
, etc. The lists of classical authors were as far as the Roman grammarians went in developing a
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
. The topic remained at that point while interest in the ''classici scriptores'' declined in the medieval period as the best form of the language yielded to
medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
, inferior to classical standards. The
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
saw a revival in Roman culture, and with it, the return of Classic ("the best") Latin.
Thomas Sébillet Thomas Sébillet (1512–1589) was a French jurist, an essayist and a neo-Platonist grammarian.''Encyclopédie de la littérature'' (''Literary Encyclopedia''), Le Livre de Poche, "La Pochothèque" collection, 2004, p. 1828 He is now remembered f ...
's ''Art Poétique'' (1548), "les bons et classiques poètes françois", refers to Jean de Meun and
Alain Chartier Alain Chartier (1430) was a French poet and political writer. Life Alain Chartier was born in Bayeux to a family marked by considerable ability. His eldest brother Guillaume became bishop of Paris; and Thomas became notary to the king. Jean ...
, who the first modern application of the words. According to Merriam Webster's ''Collegiate Dictionary'', the term classical (from ''classicus)'' entered modern English in 1599, some 50 years after its re-introduction to the continent. In Governor William Bradford's ''Dialogue'' (1648), he referred to
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...
s of a separatist church as "classical meetings", defined by meetings between "young men" from New England and "ancient men" from Holland and England. In 1715, Laurence Echard's ''Classical Geographical Dictionary'' was published. In 1736, Robert Ainsworth's ''Thesaurus Linguae Latinae Compendarius'' turned English words and expressions into "proper and classical Latin." In 1768, David Ruhnken's ''Critical History of the Greek Orators'' recast the molded view of the classical by applying the word "canon" to the ''pinakes'' of orators after the
Biblical canon A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word ''canon'' comes from the Greek , meaning " rule" or " measuring stick". The ...
, or list of authentic books of the Bible. In doing so, Ruhnken had secular catechism in mind.


Ages of Latin

In 1870, Wilhelm Sigismund Teuffel's ''Geschichte der Römischen Literatur'' (''A History of Roman Literature'') defined the philological notion of classical Latin through a typology similar to the Ages of Man, setting out the Golden and Silver Ages of classical Latin. Wilhem Wagner, who published Teuffel's work in German, also produced an English translation which he published in 1873. Teuffel's classification, still in use today (with modifications), groups classical Latin authors into periods defined by political events rather than by style. Teuffel went on to publish other editions, but the English translation of ''A History of Roman Literature'' gained immediate success. In 1877,
Charles Thomas Cruttwell Charles Thomas Cruttwell (1847–1911) was an English cleric, headmaster and classical scholar, known as a historian of Roman literature. Life He was born in London on 30 July 1847, eldest son of Charles James Cruttwell, barrister-at-law, of the I ...
produced a similar work in English. In his preface, Cruttwell notes "Teuffel's admirable history, without which many chapters in the present work could not have attained completeness." He also credits Wagner. Cruttwell adopts the time periods found in Teuffel's work, but he presents a detailed analysis of style, whereas Teuffel was more concerned with history. Like Teuffel, Cruttwell encountered issues while attempting to condense the voluminous details of time periods in an effort to capture the meaning of phases found in their various writing styles. Like Teuffel, he has trouble finding a name for the first of the three periods (the current Old Latin phase), calling it "from Livius to Sulla." He says the language "is marked by immaturity of art and language, by a vigorous but ill-disciplined imitation of Greek poetical models, and in prose by a dry sententiousness of style, gradually giving way to a clear and fluent strength..." These abstracts have little meaning to those not well-versed in Latin literature. In fact, Cruttwell admits "The ancients, indeed, saw a difference between
Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabri ...
,
Pacuvius Marcus Pacuvius (; 220 – c. 130 BC) was an ancient Roman tragic poet. He is regarded as the greatest of their tragedians prior to Lucius Accius. Biography He was the nephew and pupil of Ennius, by whom Roman tragedy was first raised to a positi ...
, and Accius, but it may be questioned whether the advance would be perceptible by us." In time, some of Cruttwell's ideas become established in Latin philology. While praising the application of rules to classical Latin (most intensely in the Golden Age, he says "In gaining accuracy, however, classical Latin suffered a grievous loss. It became cultivated as distinct from a natural language... Spontaneity, therefore, became impossible and soon invention also ceased... In a certain sense, therefore, Latin was studied as a dead language, while it was still a living." Also problematic in Teuffel's scheme is its appropriateness to the concept of classical Latin. Cruttwell addresses the issue by altering the concept of the classical. The "best" Latin is defined as "golden" Latin, the second of the three periods. The other two periods (considered "classical") are left hanging. By assigning the term "pre-classical" to Old Latin and implicating it to post-classical (or post-Augustan) and silver Latin, Cruttwell realized that his construct was not accordance with ancient usage and assertions: " e epithet classical is by many restricted to the authors who wrote in it
olden Latin Olden may refer to: Places *Olden, Norway, a village in Stryn, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway *Olden, Missouri, an unincorporated community *Olden, Texas, a community in Eastland county, Texas, USA People *Charles Smith Olden, an American polit ...
It is best, however, not to narrow unnecessarily the sphere of classicity; to exclude
Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...
on the one hand or Tacitus and Pliny on the other, would savour of artificial restriction rather than that of a natural classification." The contradiction remains—Terence is, and is not a classical author, depending on the context.


Authors of the Golden Age

Teuffel's definition of the "First Period" of Latin was based on inscriptions, fragments, and the literary works of the earliest known authors. Though he does use the term "Old Roman" at one point, most of these findings remain unnamed. Teuffel presents the Second Period in his major work, ''das goldene Zeitalter der römischen Literatur'' (''Golden Age of Roman Literature''), dated 671–767 AUC (83 BC – 14 AD), according to his own recollection. The timeframe is marked by the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix and the death of the emperor
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
. Wagner's translation of Teuffel's writing is as follows: The Ciceronian Age was dated 671–711 AUC (83–43 BC), ending just after the death of Marcus Tullius Cicero. The Augustan 711–67 AUC (43 BC – 14 AD) ends with the death of Augustus. The Ciceronian Age is further divided by the consulship of Cicero in 691 AUC (63 BC) into a first and second half. Authors are assigned to these periods by years of principal achievements. The Golden Age had already made an appearance in German philology, but in a less systematic way. In a translation of Bielfeld's ''Elements of universal erudition'' (1770):
The Second Age of Latin began about the time of Caesar
is ages are different from Teuffel's In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word ''is'' in the sentence "The sky is blue" or the phrase ''was not being'' in ...
and ended with Tiberius. This is what is called the Augustan Age, which was perhaps of all others the most brilliant, a period at which it should seem as if the greatest men, and the immortal authors, had met together upon the earth, in order to write the Latin language in its utmost purity and perfection... and of Tacitus, his conceits and sententious style is not that of the golden age...
Evidently, Teuffel received ideas about golden and silver Latin from an existing tradition and embedded them in a new system, transforming them as he thought best. In Cruttwell's introduction, the Golden Age is dated 80 BC – 14 AD (from
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
to
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
), which corresponds to Teuffel's findings. Of the "Second Period," Cruttwell paraphrases Teuffel by saying it "represents the highest excellence in prose and poetry." The Ciceronian Age (known today as the "Republican Period") is dated 80–42 BC, marked by the
Battle of Philippi The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian (of the Second Triumvirate) and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, at ...
. Cruttwell omits the first half of Teuffel's Ciceronian, and starts the Golden Age at Cicero's consulship in 63 BC—an error perpetuated in Cruttwell's second edition. He likely meant 80 BC, as he includes Varro in Golden Latin. Teuffel's Augustan Age is Cruttwell's Augustan Epoch (42 BC – 14 AD).


Republican

The literary histories list includes all authors from Canonical to the Ciceronian Age—even those whose works are fragmented or missing altogether. With the exception of a few major writers, such as Cicero, Caesar, Virgil and Catullus, ancient accounts of Republican literature praise jurists and orators whose writings, and analyses of various styles of language cannot be verified because there are no surviving records. The reputations of Aquilius Gallus, Quintus Hortensius Hortalus, Lucius Licinius Lucullus, and many others who gained notoriety without readable works, are presumed by their association within the Golden Age. A list of canonical authors of the period whose works survived in whole or in part is shown here: * Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BC), highly influential grammarian *
Titus Pomponius Atticus Titus Pomponius Atticus (November 110 BC – 31 March 32 BC; later named Quintus Caecilius Pomponianus Atticus) was a Roman editor, banker, and patron of letters, best known for his correspondence and close friendship with prominent Roman ...
(112/109 – 35/32), publisher and correspondent of Cicero *
Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
(106–43 BC), orator, philosopher, essayist, whose works define golden Latin prose and are used in Latin curricula beyond the elementary level * Servius Sulpicius Rufus (106–43 BC), jurist, poet *
Decimus Laberius Decimus Laberius (c. 105 BC43 BC) was a Roman eques and writer of mimes (farces). Biography Laberius seems to have been a man of caustic wit, who wrote for his own pleasure. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar ordered him to appear in one of his own plays ...
(105–43 BC), writer of mimes * Marcus Furius Bibaculus (1st century BC), writer of ''ludicra'' * Gaius Julius Caesar (100–44 BC), general, statesman, historian *
Gaius Oppius Gaius Oppius was an intimate friend of Julius Caesar. He managed the dictator's private affairs during his absence from Rome, and, together with Lucius Cornelius Balbus, exercised considerable influence in the city. According to Suetonius (''C ...
(1st century BC), secretary to Julius Caesar, probable author under Caesar's name *
Gaius Matius Gaius Matius (fl. 1st century BC) ('' PW'' 1) was a citizen of ancient Rome notable as a friend of Julius Caesar and of Cicero, who described him in a letter to Trebatius (53BC) as "homo suavissimus doctissimusque". (Cic. Fam. 7,15,2) A member of ...
(1st century BC), public figure, correspondent with Cicero *
Cornelius Nepos Cornelius Nepos (; c. 110 BC – c. 25 BC) was a Roman biographer. He was born at Hostilia, a village in Cisalpine Gaul not far from Verona. Biography Nepos's Cisalpine birth is attested by Ausonius, and Pliny the Elder calls him ''Pad ...
(100–24 BC), biographer * Publilius Syrus (1st century BC), writer of mimes and maxims * Quintus Cornificius (1st century BC), public figure and writer on rhetoric * Titus Lucretius Carus (Lucretius; 94–50 BC), poet, philosopher * Publius Nigidius Figulus (98–45 BC), public officer, grammarian *
Aulus Hirtius Aulus Hirtius (; – 43 BC) was consul of the Roman Republic in 43 BC and a writer on military subjects. He was killed during his consulship in battle against Mark Antony at the Battle of Mutina. Biography He was a legate of Julius Caesar's ...
(90–43 BC), public officer, military historian * Gaius Helvius Cinna (1st century BC), poet *
Marcus Caelius Rufus Marcus Caelius Rufus (28 May 82 BC – after 48 BC) was an orator and politician in the late Roman Republic. He was born into a wealthy equestrian family from Interamnia Praetuttiorum (Teramo), on the central east coast of Italy. He is best kn ...
(87–48 BC), orator, correspondent with Cicero * Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86–34 BC), historian * Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (Cato the Younger; 95–46 BC), orator * Publius Valerius Cato (1st century BC), poet, grammarian * Gaius Valerius Catullus (Catullus; 84–54 BC), poet * Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus (82–47 BC), orator, poet


Augustan

The Golden Age is divided by the assassination of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
. In the wars that followed, a generation of Republican literary figures was lost. Cicero and his contemporaries were replaced by a new generation who spent their formidable years under the old constructs, and forced to make their mark under the watchful eye of a new emperor. The demand for great orators had ceased, shifting to an emphasis on poetry. Other than the historian
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
, the most remarkable writers of the period were the poets
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
, Horace, and
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
. Although Augustus evidenced some toleration to republican sympathizers, he exiled Ovid, and imperial tolerance ended with the continuance of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Augustan writers include: * Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil, spelled also as Vergil; 70 – 19 BC), *
Quintus Horatius Flaccus Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his '' ...
(65 – 8 BC), known for lyric poetry and satires * Sextus Aurelius Propertius (50 – 15 BC), poet * Albius Tibullus (54–19 BC), elegiac poet *
Publius Ovidius Naso Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
(43 BC – AD 18), poet * Titus Livius (64 BC – AD 12), historian * Grattius Faliscus (a contemporary of Ovid), poet *
Marcus Manilius Marcus Manilius (fl. 1st century AD) was a Roman poet, astrologer, and author of a poem in five books called '' Astronomica''. The ''Astronomica'' The author of ''Astronomica'' is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient writer. Even his n ...
(1st century BC and AD), astrologer, poet * Gaius Julius Hyginus (64 BC – AD 17), librarian, poet, mythographer * Marcus Verrius Flaccus (55 BC – AD 20), grammarian, philologist, calendarist * Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (80-70 BC — after 15 BC), engineer, architect * Marcus Antistius Labeo (d. AD 10 or 11), jurist, philologist *
Lucius Cestius Pius Lucius Cestius, surnamed Pius, Latin rhetorician, flourished during the reign of Augustus. He was a native of Smyrna, a Greek by birth. According to Jerome, he was teaching Latin at Rome in the year 13 BC. He must have been living after AD 9 ...
(1st century BC & AD), Latin educator * Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus (1st century BC), historian, naturalist * Marcus Porcius Latro (late 1st century BC), rhetorician *
Gaius Valgius Rufus Gaius Valgius Rufus, was a Roman senator, and a contemporary of Horace and Maecenas. He succeeded Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus as suffect consul upon the latter's death in 12 BC. Rufus is best known as a writer of elegies and epigrams, and his ...
(consul 12 BC), poet


Authors of the Silver Age

In his second volume, ''Imperial Period'', Teuffel initiated a slight alteration in approach, making it clear that his terms applied to Latin and not just to the period. He also changed his dating scheme from AUC to modern BC/AD. Though he introduces ''das silberne Zeitalter der römischen Literatur'', (The Silver Age of Roman Literature) from the death of Augustus to the death of
Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
(14–117 AD), he also mentions parts of a work by Seneca the Elder, a ''wenig Einfluss der silbernen Latinität'' (a slight influence of silver Latin). It's clear that his mindset had shifted from Golden and Silver Ages to Golden and Silver Latin, also to include ''Latinitas'', which at this point must be interpreted as Classical Latin. He may have been influenced in that regard by one of his sources E. Opitz, who in 1852 had published ''specimen lexilogiae argenteae latinitatis'', which includes Silver Latinity. Though Teuffel's First Period was equivalent to Old Latin and his Second Period was equal to the Golden Age, his Third Period ''die römische Kaiserheit'' encompasses both the Silver Age and the centuries now termed
Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
, in which the forms seemed to break loose from their foundation and float freely. That is, men of literature were confounded about the meaning of "good Latin." The last iteration of Classical Latin is known as Silver Latin. The Silver Age is the first of the Imperial Period, and is divided into ''die Zeit der julischen Dynastie (''14–68); ''die Zeit der flavischen Dynastie'' (69–96), and ''die Zeit des Nerva und Trajan'' (96–117). Subsequently, Teuffel goes over to a century scheme: 2nd, 3rd, etc., through 6th. His later editions (which came about towards the end of the 19th century) divide the Imperial Age into parts: 1st century (Silver Age), 2nd century ( the Hadrian and the Antonines), and the 3rd through 6th centuries. Of the Silver Age proper, Teuffel points out that anything like freedom of speech had vanished with Tiberius: The content of new literary works was continually proscribed by the emperor, who exiled or executed existing authors and played the role of literary man, himself (typically badly). Artists therefore went into a repertory of new and dazzling mannerisms, which Teuffel calls "utter unreality." Cruttwell picks up this theme: In Cruttwell's view (which had not been expressed by Teuffel), Silver Latin was a "rank, weed-grown garden," a "decline." Cruttwell had already decried what he saw as a loss of spontaneity in Golden Latin. Teuffel regarded the Silver Age as a loss of natural language, and therefore of spontaneity, implying that it was last seen in the Golden Age. Instead, Tiberius brought about a "sudden collapse of letters." The idea of a decline had been dominant in English society since
Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, i ...
's '' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire''. Once again, Cruttwell evidences some unease with his stock pronouncements: "The ''Natural History'' of Pliny shows how much remained to be done in fields of great interest." The idea of Pliny as a model is not consistent with any sort of decline. Moreover, Pliny did his best work under emperors who were as tolerant as Augustus had been. To include some of the best writings of the Silver Age, Cruttwell extended the period through the death of
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good E ...
(180 AD). The philosophic prose of a good emperor was in no way compatible with either Teuffel's view of unnatural language, or Cruttwell's depiction of a decline. Having created these constructs, the two philologists found they could not entirely justify them. Apparently, in the worst implication of their views, there was no such thing as Classical Latin by the ancient definition, and some of the very best writing of any period in world history was deemed stilted, degenerate, unnatural language. The Silver Age furnishes the only two extant Latin novels: Apuleius's '' The Golden Ass'' and Petronius's '' Satyricon''. Writers of the Silver Age include:


From the Ides of March to Trajan

*
Aulus Cremutius Cordus Aulus Cremutius Cordus (died 25 AD) was a Roman historian. There are very few remaining fragments of his work, principally covering the civil war and the reign of Augustus. In AD 25 he was forced by Sejanus, who was praetorian prefect under Tiberiu ...
(died AD 25), historian * Marcus Velleius Paterculus (19 BC – 31 AD), military officer, historian * Valerius Maximus (20 BC – 50 AD), rhetorician * Masurius Sabinus (1st century AD), jurist * Phaedrus (15 BC – AD 50), fabulist *
Germanicus Julius Caesar Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the pat ...
(15 BC – AD 19), royal family, imperial officer, translator * Aulus Cornelius Celsus (25 BC – AD 50), physician, encyclopedist * Quintus Curtius Rufus (1st century AD), historian * Cornelius Bocchus (1st century AD), natural historian * Pomponius Mela (d. AD 45), geographer * Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC – AD 65), educator, imperial advisor, philosopher, man of letters * Titus Calpurnius Siculus (1st century AD or possibly later), poet *
Marcus Valerius Probus Marcus Valerius Probus, also known as M. Valerius Probus Berytius or Probus the Berytian (c. 20/30 – 105 AD), was a Roman grammarian and critic, who flourished during Nero's reign. He was a student rather than a teacher, and devoted himself t ...
(1st century AD), literary critic * Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (10 BC – AD 54), emperor, man of letters, public officer * Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (1st century AD), general, natural historian *
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...
(AD 4 – 70), military officer, agriculturalist *
Quintus Asconius Pedianus Quintus Asconius Pedianus (BC 9 - AD 76) was a Roman historian. There is no evidence that Asconius engaged in a public career, but he was familiar both with Roman government of his time and with the geography of the city. He may, therefore, have w ...
(9 BC – 76 AD), historian, Latinist * Gaius Musonius Rufus (AD 20 – 101), stoic philosopher * Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus (1st century AD), imperial officer and public man * Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23 – 79), imperial officer and encyclopedist * Gaius Valerius Flaccus (1st century AD), epic poet * Tiberius Catius Silius Italicus (AD 28 – 103), epic poet * Gaius Licinius Mucianus (d. AD 76), general, man of letters * Lucilius Junior (1st century AD), poet * Aulus Persius Flaccus (34–62 AD), poet and satirist *
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilian ...
(35–100 AD), rhetorician * Sextus Julius Frontinus (AD 40 – 103), engineer, writer * Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (AD 39 – 65), poet, historian * Publius Juventius Celsus Titus Aufidius Hoenius Severianus (1st and early 2nd centuries AD), imperial officer, jurist * Aemilius Asper (1st and 2nd centuries AD), grammarian, literary critic *
Marcus Valerius Martialis Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 8 ...
(AD 40 – 104), poet, epigrammatist * Publius Papinius Statius (AD 45 – 96), poet *
Decimus Junius Juvenalis Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the ''Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...
(1st and 2nd centuries AD), poet, satirist * Publius Annaeus Florus (1st and 2nd centuries AD), poet, rhetorician and probable author of the epitome of Livy * Velius Longus (1st and 2nd centuries AD), grammarian, literary critic * Flavius Caper (1st and 2nd centuries AD), grammarian * Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56 − 120), imperial officer, historian and in Teuffel's view "the last classic of Roman literature." * Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (AD 62 – 114), historian, imperial officer and correspondent


Through the death of Marcus Aurelius, 180 AD

Of the additional century granted by Cruttwell to Silver Latin, Teuffel says: "The second century was a happy period for the Roman State, the happiest indeed during the whole Empire... But in the world of letters the lassitude and enervation, which told of Rome's decline, became unmistakeable... its forte is in imitation." Teuffel, however, excepts the jurists; others find other "exceptions", recasting Teuffels's view. *
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
(70/75 – after 130 AD), biographer * Marcus Junianus Justinus (2nd century AD), historian * Lucius Octavius Cornelius Publius Salvius Julianus Aemilianus (AD 110–170), imperial officer, jurist * Sextus Pomponius (2nd century AD), jurist *
Quintus Terentius Scaurus Quintus Terentius Scaurus was a Latin grammarian who flourished during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian.Holford-Strevens, LeofrancReview of Q. (Quintus) Terentius Scaurus, Federico Biddau, ''Q. Terentii Scavri de orthographia.''Bryn Mawr Classic ...
(2nd century AD), grammarian, literary critic * Aulus Gellius (AD 125 – after 180), grammarian, polymath * Lucius Apuleius Platonicus (123/125–180 AD), novelist *
Marcus Cornelius Fronto Marcus Cornelius Fronto (c. 100late 160s AD), best known as Fronto, was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician, and advocate. Of Berber origin, he was born at Cirta (modern-day Constantine, Algeria) in Numidia. He was suffect consul for the '' nundini ...
(AD 100–170), advocate, grammarian * Gaius
Sulpicius Apollinaris Sulpicius Apollinaris was a learned grammarian of Carthage who flourished in the 2nd century AD. He taught Pertinax, himself a teacher of grammar before he was emperor, and Aulus Gellius, who speaks of him in the highest terms. He is the reputed aut ...
(2nd century AD), educator, literary commentator * Granius Licinianus (2nd century AD), writer * Lucius Ampelius (2nd century AD), educator *
Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus * Gaius Asiniu ...
(AD 130–180), jurist * Lucius Volusius Maecianus (2nd century AD), educator, jurist *
Marcus Minucius Felix __NOTOC__ Marcus Minucius Felix (died c. 250 AD in Rome) was one of the earliest of the Latin apologists for Christianity. Nothing is known of his personal history, and even the date at which he wrote can be only approximately ascertained as bet ...
(d. AD 250), apologist of Christianity, "the first Christian work in Latin" (Teuffel) * Sextus Julius Africanus (2nd century AD), Christian historian *
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good E ...
Antoninus Augustus (121–180 AD), stoic philosopher, Emperor in Latin, essayist in
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
, role model of the last generation of classicists (Cruttwell)


Stylistic shifts

Style of language refers to repeatable features of speech that are somewhat less general than the fundamental characteristics of a language. The latter provides unity, allowing it to be referred to by a single name. Thus Old Latin, Classical Latin,
Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal registers of Latin spoken from the Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve into numerous Romance languages. Its literary counterpa ...
, etc., are not considered different languages, but are all referred to by the term,
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
. This is an ancient practice continued by moderns rather than a philological innovation of recent times. That Latin had case endings is a fundamental feature of the language. Whether a given form of speech prefers to use prepositions such as ''ad'', ''ex'', ''de,'' for "to," "from" and "of" rather than simple case endings is a matter of style. Latin has a large number of styles. Each and every author has a style, which typically allows his prose or poetry to be identified by experienced Latinists. Problems in comparative literature have risen out of group styles finding similarity by period, in which case one may speak of Old Latin, Silver Latin, Late Latin as styles or a phase of styles. The ancient authors themselves first defined style by recognizing different kinds of ''sermo'', or "speech". By valuing Classical Latin as "first class", it was better to write with ''Latinitas'' selected by authors who were attuned to literary and upper-class languages of the city as a standardized style. All ''sermo'' that differed from it was a different style. Thus, in rhetoric, Cicero was able to define sublime, intermediate, and low styles within Classical Latin. St. Augustine recommended low style for sermons. Style was to be defined by deviation in speech from a standard. Teuffel termed this standard "Golden Latin". John Edwin Sandys, who was an authority in Latin style for several decades, summarizes the differences between Golden and Silver Latin as follows: Silver Latin is to be distinguished by: * "an exaggerated conciseness and point" * "occasional archaic words and phrases derived from poetry" * "increase in the number of Greek words in ordinary use" (the Emperor Claudius in Suetonius refers to "both our languages," Latin and GreekSuetonius, Claudius, 24.1.) * "literary reminiscences" * "The literary use of words from the common dialect" (''dictare'' and ''dictitare'' as well as classical ''dicere'', "to say")


See also

* Classic *
Classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
* Classics *
Ecclesiastical Latin Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late Antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration down to the present day, especially in the Cath ...
*
Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
*
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
*
Latin literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...
*
Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
* New Latin * Social class in ancient Rome


Notes


References


Citations


General sources

* * * * * * *


Further reading

* Allen, William Sidney. 1978. ''Vox Latina: A Guide to the Pronunciation of Classical Latin''. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * * Dickey, Eleanor. 2012. "How to Say 'Please' in Classical Latin". ''The Classical Quarterly'' 62, no. 2: 731–48. . * Getty, Robert J. 1963. "Classical Latin meter and prosody, 1935–1962". '' Lustrum'' 8: 104–60. * Levene, David. 1997. "God and man in the Classical Latin panegyric". ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society'' 43: 66–103. * Lovric, Michelle, and Nikiforos Doxiadis Mardas. 1998. ''How to Insult, Abuse & Insinuate In Classical Latin''. London: Ebury Press. * Rosén, Hannah. 1999. ''Latine Loqui: Trends and Directions In the Crystallization of Classical Latin''. München: W. Fink. * Spevak, Olga. 2010. ''Constituent Order In Classical Latin Prose''. Amsterdam: J. Benjamins. *


External links


The Latin Library
�� Public domain Latin texts
Latin Texts
at the Perseus Collection
Greek and Roman Authors on LacusCurtiusClassical Latin Texts
at the Packard Humanities Institute
Latin Texts
at Attalus
A collection of Latin and Greek texts
at the Schola Latina {{Ancient Rome topics , collapsed 1st-century BC establishments in the Roman Republic 3rd-century disestablishments
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
2 Classical Languages attested from the 1st century BC Languages extinct in the 3rd century Latin language in ancient Rome es:Latín clásico