EUCLASSIC. 287 



wars of Pompey and Cassar : the Jlrgonautica, of Valerius Flaccus, 

 describes the Argonautic expedition : the Punica, of Silius Italicus, 

 treats of the second Punic war : and the Thebaid and Achilleid of 

 Statins, relate respectively to the contest of the Theban brothers, 

 Eteocles and Polynices ; and the adventures of Achilles, before the 

 Trojan war. The Gigantomachy, of Claudian, and the rfntoniad, 

 of Gordian, belong to a later age ; and the Christiad, is a modern 

 Latin poem, written by Mark Jerome Vida, who died in 1566. 



Roman lyric poetry, seems to have commenced with Catullus, 

 who wrote a few odes ; but the odes of Horace, amatory, convivial, 

 moral, and political, rank, in grace and spirit, second only to those 

 of the Grecian Pindar. The Silvx, of Statins, contains two odes of 

 merit ; subsequent to which the only lyrics of note were the hymns 

 of the Christians, commencing with those of Hilarius and Pruden- 

 tius. The chief elegies, of the Romans, are those of Catullus, 

 Gallus, Tibullus, and Propertius ; most of which have been pre- 

 served. The Tristia, of Ovid, belong to this class. Of Roman 

 pastoral poetry, the Bucolics of Virgil, chiefly eclogues, are very 

 beautiful, though mostly imitations ; as are also the later eclogues of 

 Calpurnius. The idyls of Ausonius and Claudian, are not of a 

 pastoral character. 



The earliest Roman didactic poems, were probably those of En- 

 nius, entitled Phagetica, on diet and eatables ; and Epicarmus, a 

 translation, concerning the nature of things. The poem of Lucre- 

 tius, On, the Nature of Things, is a digest of the Epicurean phi- 

 losophy ; and the Georgics, of Virgil, is a beautiful didactic poem 

 relating chiefly to agriculture. Ovid's Metamorphoses, and Fasti, 

 are chiefly mythological, derived from Greek books now lost ; and 

 hence they are more valuable. Horace's Art of Poetry, may be 

 mentioned in this class, as a superior production. The poem enti- 

 tled JEtna, is attributed by some to Cornelius Severus ; but by 

 others to Lucilius Junior. There are also poems by Atacinus, on 



Geography, and navigation; by Columella, on gardening; by Palla- 

 ius, on grafting ; by Maurus, on grammar ; and by Vida, in later 

 times, on the art of poetry. Of Roman satires, the earliest were 

 those of Ennius and Pacuvius, chiefly of a comic character. Lu- 

 cilius introduced a more grave and severe style ; but the satires of 

 Horace are considered superior. The Menippean satires of Varro, 

 and Petronius, and the more caustic ones of Persius and Juvenal, 

 exhibit in a strong light the vices of declining Rome. The epigrams 

 of Martial surpass those of Catullus, and have much point and spirit; 

 but they are too often tainted with licentiousness. 



The earliest dramatic performances in Rome, were those of the 

 Tuscan Hlstriones ; who sang and danced to the music of the flute. 

 The ,/lttelane Fables, were a rude kind of comedy or farce, so 

 named from Atella, a city of the Osci ; hence also named Oscan 

 plays. Regular dramatic pieces were first exhibited in Rome, about 

 240 B. C., by Livius Andronicus ; who is regarded as the founder 

 of Roman tragedy. Tragedies were also written by Ennius, Pacu- 

 vius, Attius and Naevius ; but they are chiefly borrowed from the 

 Greek. The best Roman tragedies, including Medea, and The Tro- 



