CICERO.
Some of Cicero’s orations were studied harangues, which he had prepared and written over previous to their delivery. This, however, was not the case with the greater proportion of his speeches, most of which were pronounced without much premeditation, but were afterwards copied out, with such corrections and embellishments as bestowed on them a greater polish and lustre than when they had originally fallen from his lips. Before the invention of printing had increased the means of satisfying public curiosity, as no oration was given to the world but by the author himself, he had always the power of altering and improving by his experience of the effect it produced at delivery. Pliny informs us, that many things on which Cicero had enlarged at the time when he actually spoke in the Senate and the Forum, were retrenched when he ultimately gave his orations to the public in writing[649]. Cicero himself had somewhere declared, that the defence of Cornelius had occupied four days, whence Pliny concludes, that those orations which, when delivered at full length, took up so much time at the bar, were greatly altered and abridged, when he afterwards comprised them in a single volume. The orations, in particular, for Muræna and Varenus, he says, seem now to contain merely the general heads of a discourse. Sometimes, however, they were extended and not curtailed, by the orator in the closet, as was confessedly the case in the defence of Milo. A few of the orations which Cicero had delivered, he did not consider as at all worthy of preservation. Thus, of the oration for Dejotarus, he says, in one of his letters to Dolabella, “I did not imagine that I had preserved among my papers the trifling speech which I made in behalf of Dejotarus; however, I have found it, and sent it to you, agreeably to your request[650].” This accounts for many speeches of Cicero, the delivery of which is recorded in history, being now lost. It appears, however, that those which he considered deserving of his care, though they may be widely different from the state in which they were originally pronounced, came pure from the hand of the author, either in the shape in which he would have wished to have delivered them, or in that which he considered best adapted for publication and perusal. They were probably transcribed by himself, and copies of them multiplied by his freedmen, such as Tyro and Tyrannio, whom he had accustomed to accurate transcription. His orations had also the good fortune to meet, at a very early period, with a judicious and learned commentator in the person of Asconius Pedianus, a grammarian in the reign of Nero, part of whose Commentary was discovered by Poggio, along with other classical works, in the monastery of St Gall, near Constance.
All the orations of Cicero were not lost during the middle ages. Pope Gerbert, in one of his letters, asks from the Abbot Gesilbert a copy of the concluding part of the speech for Dejotarus; and he writes to another of his correspondents, to bring him Cicero’s treatise De Republicâ, and the Orations against Verres, “Comitentur iter tuum Tulliana opuscula, et de Republicâ et in Verrem[651]:” Brunetto Latini, who died in 1294, translated into Italian the orations for Dejotarus, Marcellus, and Ligarius, which were afterwards printed at Lyons in 1568[652]. These three harangues [pg A-52]being in a great measure complimentary addresses to Cæsar, and containing no sentiment but what might be safely expressed in presence of an unlimited sovereign, more transcripts had been made of them in Rome’s tyrannical ages, than of those orations which breathed forth the expiring spirit of liberty.
Cicero was the idol of Petrarch, the great restorer of classical literature. He never could speak of him but in terms of deep and enthusiastic admiration. The sweetness and sonorousness of Tully’s periods charmed his ear; and though unable to penetrate the depths of his philosophy, yet his vigorous fancy often soared with the Roman orator into the highest regions of imagination. Hence, while eager for the discovery of all the classics, his chief diligence was exercised in endeavouring to preserve such works of Cicero as were then known, and to recover such as were lost[653]. Petrarch received in loan from Lapo of Castiglionchio a copy of several of Cicero’s orations, among which were the Philippics, and the oration for Milo. These he kept by him for four years, that he might transcribe them with his own hand, on account of the blunders of the copyists in that age. This we learn from the letters of Lapo, published by the Abbé Mehus. Coming to Liege when about twenty-five years of age, that is, in 1329, Petrarch remained there till two orations of Cicero, which he had discovered in that city, were transcribed, one by his own hand, and another by a friend, both of which were immediately transmitted by him to Italy. He was detained at Liege for some time by the difficulty of procuring even the worst sort of ink. Several other orations of Cicero were discovered by Petrarch in different parts of Italy.
Dominico Arretino, who was nearly contemporary with Petrarch, declares, in one of his works, entitled Fons, that he had seen eleven of Cicero’s orations, and that a person had told him that he actually possessed and had read twenty of them[654]. It appears, however, that in the time of Cosmo de Medici those works of Cicero which were extant were very much corrupted. “Illorum librorum,” says Niccolo Niccoli, speaking of some of the works of Cicero, “magna pars interierit, hi vero qui supersunt adeo mendosi sunt, ut paulo ab interitu distent;” hence, in the middle of the fifteenth century, the discovery of a new MS. of Cicero was hailed as a new acquisition. At Langres, in a library of the monks of Clugni, in Burgundy, Poggio found the oration for Cæcina, which he immediately transcribed, and sent various copies of it to his friends in Italy. In the monasteries around Constance he discovered the two orations against Rullus, De Lege Agrariâ, and that to the people on the same subject; also the orations Pro Rabirio, and Pro Roscio. A note on the MS. copy of the oration in Pisonem, preserved in the abbey of Santa Maria, in Florence, records the fact of this harangue having been likewise discovered by Poggio[655].
A compendium of Cicero’s treatise De Inventione was well known in the dark ages, having been translated into Italian, in an abridged form, in the thirteenth century, by a professor of Bologna. This was almost the first prose work which had appeared in the language, and was printed at Lyons with the Ethica d’Aristotile, by Brunetto Latini, who also translated the first book De Inventione[656]. Lupus of Ferrieres possessed a copy of Cicero’s Rhetorica, as he himself informs us[657], but it was incomplete; and he accordingly asks Einhart, who had been his preceptor, for the loan of his MS. of this work, in order that his own might be perfected. Ingulphus, who flourished in England towards the close of the eleventh century, declares, that he was sent from Westminster to the school at Oxford, where he learned Aristotle, and the first two books of Tully’s Rhetorica[658]. Now, if the first two books of the Rhetorica, which are all that have hitherto been discovered, were used as an elementary work in the public school at Oxford, they can hardly be supposed to have been very scarce in Italy. From the jurisconsult, Raymond Superantius, or Sorranza, to whom he had been indebted for the books De Gloriâ, Petrarch received an imperfect copy of the tract De Oratore, of which the MSS., though generally incomplete, were by no means uncommon at that period. “Ab hoc [pg A-53]habui,” says he, “et Varronis et Ciceronis aliqua: Cujus unum volumen de communibus fuit; sed inter ipsa communia libri de Oratore ac de Legibus imperfecti, ut fere semper inveniuntur.” Nearly half a century from the death of Petrarch had elapsed, before the discovery of a complete copy of Cicero’s rhetorical works. It was about the year 1418, during the Popedom of Martin V., and while Poggio was in England, that Gerard Landriani, Bishop of Lodi, found in that city, among the ruins of an ancient monastery, a MS., containing Cicero’s treatise De Oratore, his Brutus and Orator. He carried the MS. with him to Milan, and there gave it to Gaspar Bazizza. The character, however, in which it was written, was such, that few scholars or antiquaries in that city could read it. At length Cosmus, a young Veronese scholar, deciphered and transcribed the dialogue De Oratore. Blondus Flavius, the author of the Italia Illustrata, who had come in early youth from his native place, Forli, to Milan, transcribed the Brutus, and sent copies of it to Guarinus of Verona, and Leonard Justiniani, at Venice. By these means the rhetorical works of Cicero were soon diffused all over Italy. The discovery was hailed as a triumph, and subject of public congratulation. Poggio was informed of it while in England, and there awaited the arrival of a copy with the most lively impatience[659].
The philosophic writings of Cicero have descended to us in a more imperfect state than his oratorical dialogues or orations. In consequence of the noble spirit of freedom and patriotism which they breathe, their proscription would no doubt speedily follow that of their author. There is a common story of a grandson of Augustus concealing one of Cicero’s philosophic works, on being detected while perusing it by his grandfather, and though he received his gracious permission to finish it, the anecdote shews that it was among the libri prohibiti. The chief reading, indeed, of Alexander Severus, was the Republic and Offices[660]: But Alexander was an imperial phœnix, which never revived in the Roman empire; and we hear little of Cicero during the reigns of the barbarian sovereigns of Italy in the middle ages.
Petrarch procured an imperfect copy of Cicero’s treatise De Legibus, from the Lawyer Raymond Sorranza[661], who had a most extensive library, and to whom, as we have just seen, he had been indebted for a MS. of the dialogue De Oratore.
No further discovery was subsequently made of the remaining parts of the work De Legibus. The other philosophical writings of Cicero were found by Petrarch among the books in his father’s library, or were recovered for him by the persons whom he employed for this purpose in almost every quarter of Italy: “Abeuntibus amicis,” says he, “et, ut fit, petentibus numquid e patriâ suâ vellem, respondebam,—nihil præter libros Ciceronis.” Petrarch frequently quotes the treatise De Finibus, as a work with which he was familiar. Leonard Aretine, however, has been generally considered as the discoverer of that dialogue, as also of the treatise De Naturâ Deorum[662].
“There is no collection of my letters,” says Cicero, in one of his epistles to Atticus; “but Tiro has about seventy of them, and you can furnish some more. I must look over and correct them, and then they may be published.” This, however, never was accomplished by himself. After the revolution of the Roman state, the publication of his letters must have been dangerous, on account of the freedom with which he expresses himself concerning Octavius, and the ministers of his power. Cornelius Nepos mentions, that some of Cicero’s letters were published, but that sixteen books of Epistles to Atticus, from his consulship to his death, though extant, were by no means in common circulation[663]. The reigns of the princes who succeeded Augustus, were not more favourable to freedom than his own; and hence the Familiar Letters, as well as those to Atticus, probably remained long in the cabinets [pg A-54]of the curious, before they received any critical inspection. The Letters of Cicero, however, were well known in the middle ages, and even in those times pains were taken to have accurate copies of them. Lupus Ferrariensis procured duplicates of Cicero’s Epistles, in order to collate them with his own MSS., and thus to make up a correct and complete collection[664]. John of Salisbury cites two of Cicero’s letters to Caius Cassius; one of which is now contained in the twelfth, and the other in the fifteenth book of the Familiar Epistles. In the Life of Julius Cæsar, which passes under the name of Julius Celsus, and which was written during the middle ages, extracts are occasionally made from the Familiar Epistles. They had become scarce, however, at the time when Petrarch found a copy of them at Verona, a place where he little expected to make such a discovery[665]. This old MS., which Victorius thinks of the age of the Florentine Pandects, ultimately came into the Medicean library; and a copy which Petrarch had transcribed from it, was brought from Padua to Florence by Niccolo Niccoli, at whose death it was placed in the library of St Marc in that city[666]. Several scholars who inspected both have observed, that the transcript by Petrarch differed in some respects from the original[667]. It was also marked with various corrections and glosses, in the hand-writing of Niccolo Niccoli himself[668]. All the other MSS. of the Familiar Epistles flowed from this discovered by Petrarch, as we learn from a passage of Lagomarsinus, who speaks thus of the different codices of the Epistolæ Familiares: “Quibus tamen ego codicibus non tantum tribuo, quantum uni illi omnium quotquot ubique terrarum, idem epistolarum corpus continentes, extant, vetustissimo, (et ex quo cæteros omnes qui usquam sunt tanquam e fonte ac capite manâsse, et Angelus Politianus, et Petrus Victorius memoriæ prodiderunt,) qui Florentiæ in Mediceo-Laurentianæ Bibliothecæ XLIX. adservatur numero IX. extra notatus[669].” There has been a good deal of doubt and discussion how these Letters first came to obtain the title of Familiares. They are not so called in any original MS. of Cicero, nor are they cited by this name in any ancient author, as Aulus Gellius, or Priscian. These writers generally quote each book of the Epistles by the name of the person to whom the first letter in that book is addressed. Thus Gellius cites the first book by the name of the Letters to Lentulus, because it commences with a letter to him. Nor are the MSS. in which the appellation of the Epistolæ Familiares is employed uniform in the title. In some MSS. they are called Epistolæ Familiares, in others, Epistolæ ad Familiares, and in a Palatine MS. Libri Epistolarum Familiarum.
Previous to the year 1340, Petrarch also discovered the Epistles to Atticus[670] which had been missing for many centuries; and on perusing them, declared that he now recognized Cicero as an inconsiderate and unfortunate old man. He copied them over with his own hand, and arranged them in their proper order. The MS. in his hand-writing passed, after his death, into the possession of Coluccio Salutati, and subsequently became the property of Coluccio’s disciple Leonard Aretine. Donatus, the son of Leonard, succeeded to it, and by him it was transferred to Donatus Acciaiolus. After his decease, it fell into the hands of an obscure grammarian, who gave it to Bartollomeo Cavalcanti, in whose library it was consulted by P. Victorius, and was afterwards bestowed on him by the owner. Victorius, highly valuing this MS., which he first recognised to be in the hand-writing of Petrarch, conceived that it would be preserved with greatest security in some public collection; and he accordingly presented it to Cosmo, the first Duke of Tuscany, to be deposited in the Medicean library[671]. With regard to the most ancient MS. from which Petrarch made the copy, it unfortunately was lost, as Petrus Victorius laments in one of his Epistles[672]. “Utinam inveniretur exemplum, unde has ad Atticum descripsit Petrarca, ut exstat illud, quo usus est in describendis alteris illis, quæ Familiares appellantur, de cujus libri antiquitate, omni veneratione digna, magnifice multa vereque alio loco prædicavi.” It thus appears, that the Epistles to Atticus were well known to Petrarch. Still, however, as they were scarce in the fifteenth century, Poggio, who found a copy, while attending the Council of Constance, [pg A-55]was considered in his own age as the discoverer of the entire collection of the Epistles to Atticus, and has been regarded in the same light by modern writers.
The three books of the Letters of Cicero to his brother Quintus, were found by an Italian grammarian, Casparinus of Bergamo, who died in the year 1431; and who some time before his death had taken great pains to amend their corrupted text[673]. That they were much corrupted, may be conjectured from what we know of the manner in which they were originally written, for it appears, from one of the Letters of Cicero[674], that Quintus had complained that he could scarcely read some of his former letters. Now, when Quintus could scarcely read his brother’s hand-writing, what must have been the difficulties and mistakes of the Librarius by whom they were first collected and copied?
Cicero’s translation of Aratus appears to have been extant in the ninth century. Lupus of Ferrieres had an imperfect copy of it, and begs a complete copy from his correspondent Ansbald. “Tu autem,” says he, “huic nostro cursori Tullium in Arato trade; ut ex eo, quem me impetraturum credo, quæ deesse illi Egil noster aperuit, suppleantur.[675]”
Various editions of separate portions of the writings of Cicero were printed before the publication of a complete collection of his works. The Orations—the treatise De Oratore—the Opera Philosophica—the Epistolæ Familiares—and Ad Atticum, were all edited in Italy between the years 1466 and 1471—most of them being printed at Rome by Sweynheim and Pannartz. The most ancient printing-press in Italy was that established at the Monastery of Subiaco, in the Campagna di Roma, by these printers. Sweynheim and Pannartz were two German scholars, who had been induced to settle at that convent by the circumstance that it was chiefly inhabited by German monks. In 1467, they went from Subiaco, to Rome[676]; after this removal, they received in correcting their editions, the assistance of a poor but eminent scholar, Giandrea de Bussi; and were aided by the patronage of Andrea, Bishop of Aleria, who furnished prefaces to many of their classical editions. Notwithstanding the rage for classical MSS. which had so recently existed, and the novelty, usefulness, and importance of the art which they first introduced into Italy, as also the support which they received from men of rank and learning, they laboured under the greatest difficulties, and prosecuted their undertaking with very inadequate compensation, as we learn from a petition presented, 1472, in their names, to Pope Sextus, by the chief patron, the Bishop of Aleria. Their necessities were probably produced by the number of copies of each impression which they threw off, and which exceeding the demand, they were so encumbered by those left on their hands, as to be reduced to the greatest poverty and distress[677]. The first book which they printed at Rome, was the Epistolæ Familiares of Cicero.
Alexander Minutianus, who published an edition of the whole works at Milan, 1498, in four volumes folio, was the first person who comprised the scattered publications of Cicero in one uniform book. Harles informs us, in one passage, that Minutianus did not consult any MSS. in the preparation of this edition, but merely collated the editions of the separate parts of Cicero’s writings previously published, so that his work is only a continued reimpression of preceding editions[678]; but he elsewhere mentions, that he had inspected the MSS. of the Orations which Poggio had brought from Germany to Italy[679]. In the Orations, Minutianus chiefly followed the Brescian edition, 1483, which was itself founded on that of Rome. The work was printed off, not according to the best arrangement, but as the copies of the preceding editions successively reached him, which he himself acknowledges in the preface. “Sed quam necessitas præscripsit dum vetustiora exemplaria ex diversis et longinquis locis exspectamus.” “If we peruse Saxius,” says Mr Dibdin, “we shall see with what toil, and at what a heavy expense, this celebrated work of Minutianus was compiled.” De Bure and Ernesti are lavish in their praises of its typographical beauty. The latter says it is printed “grandi modulo, chartis et lite[pg A-56]ris pulchris et splendidis.” The Aldine edition, which was published in parts from 1512 to 1523, is not accounted a very critical or correct one, though the latter portion of it was printed under the care of Naugerius. It would be endless to enumerate the subsequent editions of Cicero. That of Petrus Victorius, however, whom Harles calls Ciceronis Æsculapius, printed at Venice in 1534–37, in four volumes folio, should not be forgotten, as there is no commentator to whom Cicero has been more indebted than to Victorius, particularly in the correction and emendation of the Epistles. The edition of Lambinus, Paris, 1566, also deserves notice. Lambinus was an acute and daring commentator, who made many corrections on the text, but adopted some alterations too rashly. From his time downwards, Harles thinks that the editors of Cicero may be divided into two classes; some following the bold changes introduced by Lambinus, and others preferring the more scrupulous text of Victorius. Of the latter class was Gruterus, who, in his edition published at Hamburgh, 1618, appears to have obstinately rejected even the most obvious emendations which had been recently made on the text of his author. The three editions of Ernesti’s Cicero, (Lips. 1737, Hal. Sax. 1758–74,) and the three of Olivet’s, (Paris, 1740, Geneva, 1758, Oxon. 1783,) are too well known to be particularized or described. Olivet did not collate MSS.; but he compared with each other what he considered as the four most important editions of Cicero; those of P. Victorius, Paullus Manutius, Lambinus, and Gruterus. In 1795, the first volume of a new edition of Cicero, by Beck, was printed at Leipsic, and since that period, three more volumes, at long intervals, have fallen from the press. The last volume which appeared, was in 1807; and along with the three by which it was preceded, comprehends the Orations of Cicero. The preface contains a very full account of preceding editions, and the most authoritative MSS. of Cicero. Ernesti’s editions were adopted as the basis of the text; but the editor departs from them where he sees occasion. He does not propose many new emendations of his own; but he seems a very acute judge of the merit of various readings, and a judicious selector from the corrections of others. While this edition of Beck was proceeding in Germany, Schütz brought forth another, which is now completed, except part of the Index Latinitatis. There are few notes subjoined to the text; but long summaries are prefixed to each oration and work of Cicero; and the Rhetorica ad Herennium is introduced by an ample dissertation concerning the real author of that treatise. A new arrangement of the Epistolæ Familiares has also been adopted. They are no longer printed, as in most other editions, in a chronological series, but are classed according to the individuals to whom they are addressed. The whole publication is dedicated to Great Britain and the Allied Sovereigns, in a long columnar panegyric.
There have also been lately published in Germany, several learned and critical editions of separate portions of the works of Cicero, particularly his Philosophical Writings. The edition of all his Philosophic Treatises, by Goerenz, which is now proceeding and already comprehends the Academica, the dialogues De Legibus and De Finibus, is distinguished by intelligent Prefaces and Excursuses on the periods of the composition of the respective Dialogues; as also on the design of the author in their composition.
The translations of Cicero are so numerous, that for the Italian translations I must refer the reader to Paitoni, Biblioteca degli autori antichi Greci e Latini Volgarizzati, Tom. I. p. 219; and Argelati, Biblioteca degli Volgarizzatori, Tom. I. p. 214. For French versions, to Goujet, Bibliotheque Françoise, Tom. II. p. 221; and, for English, to Brüggemann, View of the Editions and Translations of the Ancient Greek and Latin authors, p. 481.
For the benefit of those who wish to prosecute their inquiries into the subject of Roman Literature, I have subjoined a note of some of the most important Books which treat of the subject. An asterisk is prefixed to the titles of those works which have been consulted by me in the compilation of the preceding pages.
Aimerichius.—Specimen veteris Romanæ Literaturæ deperditæ vel adhuc latentis, seu Syllabus Historicus et Criticus veterum olim notæ eruditionis Romanorum, ab urbe conditâ ad Honorii Augusti excessum, eorum imprimis quorum Latina opera vel omnino vel ex parte desiderantur. Ferrara, 1784. 8vo.
“This work is intended to give an idea of Roman literature, from the foundation of the city to the death of the Emperor Honorius. The preface, written by a friend of the author, gives an account of the manner in which the Romans lived, both in the capital and in the provinces, during this long period. The historical and literary Syllabus contains, under nine articles, a variety of literary matters. In the first, the Abbé Aimerichius gives us brief notices, and a critical review of the ancient Roman writers, both Pagan and Christian, whose works were extant in public or private libraries, before the death of the Emperor Honorius. In the second, we have the titles and subjects of several works which have been lost, but which have been cited or indicated by contemporary writers, or writers nearly such, whose testimonies are related by our author. The third contains an account of the most celebrated public or private libraries, that were known at Rome before the death of Honorius: and, in the fourth, we have the author’s inquiries concerning the pronunciation of the Romans, their manner of writing, and the changes which took place in their orthography. In the fifth, the Abbé treats of the magistracies that could not be obtained, either at Rome or in the provinces, but by men of letters, as also of rites and sacrifices, of luxury, riches, public shows, &c. In the sixth, he gives his particular opinion concerning the ancient literature of the Romans, and the mixture of the Latin and Greek languages which they employed, both in their conversation and in their writings. The seventh contains an indication of the principal heresies that disturbed the church, from the time of the Apostles to that of Honorius; and the eighth several memorable facts and maxims, not generally known, which belong to the literary, civil, military, and ecclesiastical history of this period. In the concluding article, the Abbé takes notice of the Latin works which had been lost for a considerable time, and shows how, and by whom, they were first discovered.”—From this account, which I have extracted from Horne’s Introduction to the Study of Bibliography, I regret extremely that I have had no opportunity of consulting the work of Aimerichius.
Blessig.—De Origine Philosophiæ apud Romanos. Strasburgh, 1770. 4to.
Becmannus.—Manductio ad linguam Latinam cum Tractatu de Originibus Linguæ Latinæ. 1608. 8vo.
*Casaubon.—De Satyrica Græcorum Poësi et Romanorum Satira libri duo, in quibus etiam Poëtæ recensentur, qui in utrâque poësi floruerunt. Halæ, 1774. 8vo.
This treatise, which is one of the most learned and agreeable productions of Casaubon, is the source of almost everything that has been written by modern [pg A-58]authors, on the subject of the satiric poetry of the Romans. Casaubon traces its early history in the Fescennine verses, the Atellane fables, and the satires of Ennius and Lucilius, and vindicates to the Romans the invention of this species of composition, for which, he contends, they had no model in the poetry of the Greeks.
Cellarius.—Dissertatio de Studiis Romanorum Literariis. Halle, 1698. 4to.
Corradus.—Quæstura—Partes duæ, quarum altera de Ciceronis Vitâ et Libris—Altera Ciceronis Libros permultis locis emendat. Lips. 1754. 8vo.
*Crusius.—Lives of the Roman Poets. London, 1733. 2 Vols.
*Eberhardt.—Uber den Zustand der Schönen Wissenschaften bei den Römern. Altona, 1801. 8vo.
This work was written by a Swede, and in the Swedish language. It contains, in its original form, a very superficial and inaccurate sketch of the subject; but some valuable notes and corrections accompany the German translation.
*Fabricius.—Bibliotheca Latina, digesta et aucta diligentiâ Jo. Aug. Ernesti. Lips. 1773. 3 Tom. 8vo.
The well-known and justly-esteemed Bibliotheca of Fabricius gives an account of all the Latin writers from Plautus to Marcian Capella. In most of the articles we have a biographical sketch of the author—a list of his writings—an account of the most authoritative MSS. of his works—of the best editions, and of the most celebrated translations in the modern languages of Europe.
Fuhrmann.—Handbuch der Classischen Literatur, oder Anleitung zur Kentniss der Griechischen und Römischen Classischen Schriftsteller, ihren Schriften, und der besten Ausgaben, und Uebersetzungen derselben. Rudolstadt, 1809–10.
Two of the volumes of this work relate to Roman literature. It is chiefly bibliographical, containing very full accounts of the editions and translations of the Classics which have appeared, particularly in Germany; but there are also some critical accounts of the works of the Roman authors: these are chiefly extracted from Journals and Reviews, and, in consequence, the author frequently repeats the same thing in different words, and still more frequently contradicts himself.
*Fuhrmann.—Anleitung zur Geschichte der Classischen Literatur der Griechen und Römer. Rudolstadt, 1816.
An abridgment of the preceding work.
*Funccius.—De Origine et Pueritiâ, De Adolescentiâ, Virili Ætate, et Senectute Linguæ Latinæ. Frankfort, 1720.
This is one of the most learned and valuable works extant on the subject of Latin literature. In the first tract, De Pueritiâ, the author chiefly treats of the origin and progress of the Roman language.
*Gaudentius Paganinus.—De Philosophiæ ap. Romanos Ortu et Progressu. Pisa, 1643, 4.
A very dull and imperfect account of the state of philosophy among the Romans, from the earliest periods to the time of Boethius.
*Hankius. (Mart.)—De Romanarum Rerum Scriptoribus. Lips. 1687. 4to.
The first part of this work contains a succinct account of the ancient Roman Annalists and Historians. The latter part relates to modern writers who treated of Roman affairs.
*Harles. (Th. Christ.)—Introductio in Notitiam Literaturæ Romanæ, imprimis Scriptorum Latinorum. Noriberg. 1781. 2 Tom. 8vo.
This work of Harles, as far as it extends, is written on the same plan, and is much of the same description, as the Bibliotheca of Fabricius. It is not continued farther, however, than the Augustan age inclusive.
*Harles. (Th. Christ.)—Brevior Notitia Literaturæ Romanæ, imprimis Scriptorum Latinorum. Lips. 1788. 1 Tom. 8vo.
*Harles. (Th. Christ.)—Supplementa ad Breviorem Notitiam Literaturæ Romanæ. Lips. 1788. 2 Tom. 8vo.
This work, and the preceding, are on the same plan as the Introductio; but bring down the history of Roman writers, and the editions of their works, to the latest periods. It is much to be regretted, that these works of Harles had not been incorporated into one; since, taken separately, each is incomplete, and collectively, they abound in repetitions.
*Klügling. (C. F.)—Supplementa ad Breviorem Notitiam Literaturæ Romanæ. Lips. 1817.
This Supplement to Harles, contains an account of the editions of the Classics which had appeared chiefly in Germany, subsequent to the publication of the Brevior Notitia.
König.—De Satirâ Romanorum. Oldenburgh, 1796.
Kriegk.—Diatribe de Veterum Romanorum Peregrinationibus Academicis. Jenæ, 1704. 4to.
Leo (Annibal di).—Memorie di Pacuvio. Neapol. 1763.
Meierotto.—De Præcipuis rerum Romanarum Scriptoribus. Berlin, 1792. folio.
*Müller.—Einleitung zu nöthiger Kentniss und Gebrauche der alten Lateinischen Schriftsteller. Dresden, 1747. 5 Tom. 8vo.
*Moine d’Orgeval.—Considerations sur le Progrés des Belles Lettres chez les Romains. Paris, 1749.
*Osannus.—Analecta Critica, Poësis Romanorum scænicæ reliquias illustrantia. Berlin, 1717.
This is a work of considerable ingenuity and research. It contains some discussion concerning the date at which regular comedies and tragedies were first exhibited at Rome; but it is chiefly occupied with comparisons between the Fragments of the ancient Latin Dramatists, and the corresponding passages in the Greek originals.
*Sagittarius (Casp.)—Commentatio de Vitâ et Scriptis Liv. Andronici, Nævii, Ennii, Cæcilii, Pacuvii, Attii, Attilii, Lucilii, Afranii, Catonis. Altenburg, 1672.
This is a small volume of 110 pages, which has now become extremely scarce.
Sagittarius (Casp.)—De Vitâ, scriptis, editionibus, interpretibus, lectione, atque imitatione Plauti, Terentii, Ciceronis. Altenburg, 1671.
*Schoell.—Histoire Abregée de la Litterature Romaine. Paris, 1815. 4 Tom. 8vo.
See above. Preface, p. xiii.
*Tiraboschi.—Storia della Litteratura Italiana. Modena, 1787. Tom. I. and II.
See above. Preface, p. xiii.
*Vossius (Gerard).—De Historicis Latinis Libri tres. Lugd. Bat. 1651.
*Walchius.—Historia Critica Latinæ Linguæ. Lips. 1761.
*Ziegler.—De Mimis Romanorum. Gotting. 1789.