Classical Latin
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Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. 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 est ...
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 Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve ...
(''sermo vulgaris'' and ''sermo vulgi''), in contrast to the higher register 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 or
rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
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 is known as "classical" Latin literature. The term refers to the canonical relevance of literary works written in Latin in the late Roman Republic, and early to middle Roman Empire. " 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 (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 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 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 Quintilia ...
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 Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, or ...
includes authors like Plautus, 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 was the Latin Homer,
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
was the equivalent of Iliad, etc. The lists of classical authors were as far as the Roman grammarians went in developing a philology. 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, inferior to classical standards. The Renaissance 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 fo ...
'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 C ...
, 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 ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
s of a
separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...
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, or list of authentic books of the Bible. In doing so, Ruhnken had secular
catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
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 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 ''Livius'' is a genus of South American tangled nest spiders containing the single species, ''Livius macrospinus''. It was first described by V. D. Roth in 1967, and has only been found in Chile. References External links * Amaurobi ...
to
Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...
." 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, Pacuvius, 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 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. 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 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 est ...
to Ovid), 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. 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 (112/109 – 35/32), publisher and correspondent of Cicero * Marcus Tullius Cicero (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 (105–43 BC), writer of mimes *
Marcus Furius Bibaculus Marcus Furius Bibaculus (103 BC? BC), was a Roman poet, who flourished during the last century of the Republic. Life According to Jerome, he was born at Cremona, and probably lived to a great age. He wrote satirical poems after the manner of ...
(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 (''Cae ...
(1st century BC), secretary to Julius Caesar, probable author under Caesar's name * Gaius Matius (1st century BC), public figure, correspondent with Cicero * Cornelius Nepos (100–24 BC), biographer * Publilius Syrus (1st century BC), writer of mimes and maxims *
Quintus Cornificius Quintus Cornificius (died 42 BC) was an ancient Roman of senatorial rank from the ''gens'' Cornificia. He was a general, orator and poet, a friend of Catullus and a correspondent of Cicero. He was also an augur. He wrote a now lost epyllion ti ...
(1st century BC), public figure and writer on rhetoric * Titus Lucretius Carus (Lucretius; 94–50 BC), poet, philosopher *
Publius Nigidius Figulus Publius Nigidius Figulus (c. 98 – 45 BC) was a scholar of the Late Roman Republic and one of the praetors for 58 BC. He was a friend of Cicero, to whom he gave his support at the time of the Catilinarian conspiracy. Nigidius sided with the Optim ...
(98–45 BC), public officer, grammarian * Aulus Hirtius (90–43 BC), public officer, military historian *
Gaius Helvius Cinna Gaius Helvius Cinna (died 20 March 44 BC) was an influential neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic, a little older than the generation of Catullus and Licinius Macer Calvus, Calvus. He was lynched at the funeral of Julius Caesar after being mista ...
(1st century BC), poet * Marcus Caelius Rufus (87–48 BC), orator, correspondent with Cicero *
Gaius Sallustius Crispus Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicisation, anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman Republic , Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became ...
(86–34 BC), historian * Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (Cato the Younger; 95–46 BC), orator *
Publius Valerius Cato Publius Valerius Cato (flourished 1st century BC) was a grammarian and poet of the Roman Republic. He was a leader of the Neoteric movement, whose followers rejected national epic and drama in favor of the artificial mythological epics and elegies ...
(1st century BC), poet, grammarian * Gaius Valerius Catullus (Catullus; 84–54 BC), poet *
Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus (28 May 82 BC – c. 47 BC) was an orator and poet of ancient Rome. Son of Licinius Macer and thus a member of the '' gens Licinia'', he was a friend of the poet Catullus, whose style and subject matter he shared. Calv ...
(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, and ...
. 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, the most remarkable writers of the period were the poets Virgil,
Horace 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 ' ...
, and Ovid. Although Augustus evidenced some toleration to republican sympathizers, he exiled Ovid, and imperial tolerance ended with the continuance of the
Julio-Claudian dynasty , native_name_lang=Latin, coat of arms=Great_Cameo_of_France-removebg.png, image_size=260px, caption= The Great Cameo of France depicting emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, type= Ancient Roman dynasty, country= Roman Empire, estates=* ...
. 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 (43 BC – AD 18), poet * Titus Livius (64 BC – AD 12), historian *
Grattius Faliscus Grattius (or Gratius) Faliscus was a Roman poet who flourished during the life of Augustus (63 BC – 14 AD). He is known as the author of a '' Cynegeticon'', a poem on hunting. Life The only reference to Grattius in any extant ancient writer i ...
(a contemporary of Ovid), poet * Marcus Manilius (1st century BC and AD), astrologer, poet *
Gaius Julius Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammatic ...
(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 (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 (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 (14–117 AD), he also mentions parts of a work by
Seneca the Elder Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Elder (; c. 54 BC – c. 39 AD), also known as Seneca the Rhetorician, was a Roman writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Corduba, Hispania. He wrote a collection of reminiscences about the Roman schools of rheto ...
, 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, 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 Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
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'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 (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 Phaedrus may refer to: People * Phaedrus (Athenian) (c. 444 BC – 393 BC), an Athenian aristocrat depicted in Plato's dialogues * Phaedrus (fabulist) (c. 15 BC – c. AD 50), a Roman fabulist * Phaedrus the Epicurean (138 BC – c. 70 BC), an Epic ...
(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 patri ...
(15 BC – AD 19), royal family, imperial officer, translator * Aulus Cornelius Celsus (25 BC – AD 50), physician, encyclopedist *
Quintus Curtius Rufus Quintus Curtius Rufus () was a Roman historian, probably of the 1st century, author of his only known and only surviving work, ''Historiae Alexandri Magni'', "Histories of Alexander the Great", or more fully ''Historiarum Alexandri Magni Macedon ...
(1st century AD), historian *
Cornelius Bocchus Lucius Cornelius Bocchus was a Lusitanian from Roman Hispania who wrote about natural history. Ancient authors mention his writings, which are otherwise lost. Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), ...
(1st century AD), natural historian * Pomponius Mela (d. AD 45), geographer *
Lucius Annaeus Seneca Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...
(4 BC – AD 65), educator, imperial advisor, philosopher, man of letters * Titus Calpurnius Siculus (1st century AD or possibly later), poet * Marcus Valerius Probus (1st century AD), literary critic * Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (10 BC – AD 54), emperor, man of letters, public officer *
Gaius Suetonius Paulinus Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (fl. AD 41–69) was a Roman general best known as the commander who defeated the rebellion of Boudica. Early life Little is known of Suetonius' family, but it likely came from Pisaurum (modern Pesaro), a town on the Adri ...
(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 ...
(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 Gaius Musonius Rufus (; grc-gre, Μουσώνιος Ῥοῦφος) was a Roman Stoic philosopher of the 1st century AD. He taught philosophy in Rome during the reign of Nero and so was sent into exile in 65 AD, returning to Rome only under Galba ...
(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 Gaius Valerius Flaccus (; died ) was a 1st-century Roman poet who flourished during the " Silver Age" under the Flavian dynasty, and wrote a Latin ''Argonautica'' that owes a great deal to Apollonius of Rhodes' more famous epic.Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and Epic poetry, epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book ''Punica (poem), Punica'', an epic poem about th ...
(AD 28 – 103), epic poet * Gaius Licinius Mucianus (d. AD 76), general, man of letters * Lucilius Junior (1st century AD), poet *
Aulus Persius Flaccus Aulus Persius Flaccus (; 4 December 3424 November 62 AD) was a Ancient Rome, Roman poet and satirist of Etruscan civilization, Etruscan origin. In his works, poems and satires, he shows a Stoicism, Stoic wisdom and a strong criticism for what he ...
(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 Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube ...
(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 Aemilius Asper, Latin grammarian, possibly lived in the 1st century AD or late 2nd century AD. Works Aemilius Asper wrote commentaries on Terence, Sallust and Virgil dealing with content and form, and including parallels with other authors. Numero ...
(1st and 2nd centuries AD), grammarian, literary critic * Marcus Valerius Martialis (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 Justin ( la, Marcus Junianus Justinus Frontinus; century) was a Latin writer who lived under the Roman Empire. Life Almost nothing is known of Justin's personal history, his name appearing only in the title of his work. He must have lived af ...
(2nd century AD), historian *
Lucius Octavius Cornelius Publius Salvius Julianus Aemilianus Lucius Octavius Cornelius Publius Salvius Iulianus Aemilianus (c. 110 – c. 170), generally referred to as Salvius Julianus, or Julian the Jurist, or simply Julianus, was a well known and respected jurist, public official, and politician who serve ...
(AD 110–170), imperial officer, jurist * Sextus Pomponius (2nd century AD), jurist * Quintus Terentius Scaurus (2nd century AD), grammarian, literary critic *
Aulus Gellius Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, or ...
(AD 125 – after 180), grammarian, polymath * Lucius Apuleius Platonicus (123/125–180 AD), novelist * Marcus Cornelius Fronto (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 (AD 130–180), jurist * Lucius Volusius Maecianus (2nd century AD), educator, jurist * Marcus Minucius Felix (d. AD 250), apologist of Christianity, "the first Christian work in Latin" (Teuffel) * Sextus Julius Africanus (2nd century AD), Christian historian * Marcus Aurelius 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 p ...
, 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 Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve ...
, etc., are not considered different languages, but are all referred to by the term, Latin. 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 Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
in
Suetonius 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 ...
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 ...
*
Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. 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 Ca ...
* Late Latin * Latin * Latin literature * Medieval Latin * New Latin *
Social class in ancient Rome Social class in ancient Rome was hierarchical, with multiple and overlapping social hierarchies. An individual's relative position in one might be higher or lower than in another, which complicated the social composition of Rome. The status of f ...


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 The Packard Humanities Institute (PHI) is a non-profit foundation, established in 1987, and located in Los Altos, California, which funds projects in a wide range of conservation concerns in the fields of archaeology, music, film preservation, an ...

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 2 Classical Languages attested from the 1st century BC Languages extinct in the 3rd century Latin language in ancient Rome es:Latín clásico