A History of Roman Literature

by Harold North Fowler

THE PATRONS OF LITERATURE—VIRGIL

Effect of the Empire upon literature—Augustus, 63 B. C.-14 A. D.—Agrippa, 63-12 B. C.—Pollio, 67 B. C.-5 A. D.—Messalla, 64 B. C.-8 A. D.—Mæcenas, 70 (?)-8 B. C.—Virgil, 70-19 B. C.—His life—The Eclogues—The Georgics—The Æneid.

Effect of the Empire upon literature.With the battle of Actium the Roman Republic came to an end. Julius Cæsar had, to be sure, gathered all the power of the state into his own hand, but he had held it only a short time; Octavius—after 27 B. C., Augustus—held the full power until his death, and left it unimpaired to his successors. The change from a free government, whatever its corruption and decay, to what was really an unlimited monarchy could not fail to have some influence upon literature. Henceforth the great orator might hope to win cases in the courts, but he could no longer change the policy of the nation; the historian might search the records of the past and describe the deeds of those who were no longer living, but if he wrote of the history of his own times, he must have the fear of the master always before his eyes; the poet could sing of love and wine and nature without let or hindrance, but poems of national and political importance could hardly be written except by those in sympathy with the empire. The emperor might exert his influence to put down all literary expression not agreeable to him without encouraging literature of any kind, or he might encourage certain kinds of literature and certain writers without treating with severity even those whose works displeased him, or he might at the same time encourage some and suppress others. Under an imperial master literary expression could not be so free as in the days of the republic, but the degree of restraint at any time depended upon the character of the emperor. It is due to the enlightened liberality of Augustus that the period of his rule was the most brilliant epoch of Roman literature.

Augustus (63 B. C.-14 A. D.) had received a careful education in his youth, and had a genuine and intelligent admiration for literature. Augustus. His own literary productions comprised an epic poem entitled Sicily, some short epigrams, an unfinished tragedy entitled Ajax, orations, memoirs, and letters. Before his death he directed that an account of his deeds (Index Rerum Gestarum) should be engraved on bronze tablets and affixed to his tomb. He probably composed this account himself, and the copy of it found inscribed upon the wall of the temple of Augustus and Rome at Ancyra (the Monumentum Ancyranum), containing in simple and dignified language the record of his life, his political measures, and his military activity, shows the good taste of the first Roman emperor, for he who had become the ruler of the civilized world was not led to praise himself or speak in extravagant terms of any of his deeds, but composed the record of his wonderful life in terms of simplicity so grave and dignified as to inspire veneration. It was not, however, through his own compositions but through his influence that Augustus made his name great in the history of literature. He encouraged Virgil, Horace, and other poets, he attended the recitations of authors who wished to bring their new works before an enlightened public, and he surrounded himself with friends who delighted in aiding and honoring those whose genius could give glory to their patrons and add lustre to the empire.

Agrippa. Among these friends of literature was Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (63-12 B. C.), who caused the first map of the world to be set up in the porticus Polæ and was himself the author of geographical works. More important was Gaius Asinius Pollio (67 B. C.-5 A. D.), who established the first public library in Rome. Pollio. His example was followed by Augustus, who established two libraries, one in the porch of Octavia, the other in the temple of the Palatine Apollo, under the care of the learned Varro. Pollio was a soldier, statesman, and orator, but also wrote tragedies and a history of the years 60-42 B. C., in which he criticized boldly the statements of Julius Cæsar, the adoptive father of Augustus. Pollio was the first to hold and encourage public and private recitations of new literary works. Mesalla. Less closely connected with the emperor was Marcus Valerius Messalla (64 B. C.-8 A. D.), who had originally been a partizan of Brutus, but had made his peace with Augustus. He was, like Pollio, an orator, but occupied himself also with antiquarian and grammatical researches, and in his earlier years made translations from the Greek and wrote Greek prose and verse. His house was a gathering place for the younger poets of the period.

But of all the patrons of literature under Augustus, the most distinguished was Gaius Mæcenas, the friend of Augustus, of Virgil, and of Horace. Mæcenas. He was born about 70 B. C., and died in 8 B. C. A member of an ancient and noble Etruscan family, he had been carefully educated, and developed the most refined literary taste. His attractive and winning personality made him of great service to Octavius in his negotiations with Antony and Sextus Pompey, and after the power of Augustus was established Mæcenas was the close friend and constant adviser of the emperor. In spite of his fine literary taste, he was without talent as a writer, and his works, both prose and verse, were severely criticized by his contemporaries and by later readers. It is little to be regretted that his writings, like those of the other patrons of literature who have been mentioned, are lost. And yet the name of Mæcenas will always occupy an honored place in the history of literature, for it was he who made possible the poems of Virgil and Horace.

The greatest of Roman poets is Virgil. Publius Vergilius Maro was born of humble parents, at Andes, a village in the territory of Mantua, October 15, 70 B. C. Mæcenas. His parents can not have been poor, for they gave him a good education, first at Cremona, then at Milan, and later at Rome. He was trained chiefly in rhetoric and philosophy, but the only teacher whose influence seems to have been lasting was the Epicurean philosopher Siro. For oratory Virgil developed no taste. After the battle of Philippi (42 B. C.) the triumvirs recompensed their veterans by a distribution of farm lands, and Virgil’s farm was given to a new owner. At that time Asinius Pollio, who had admired Virgil’s poetry and had encouraged him to write the Bucolics or Eclogues, was governor of the region beyond the Po, and through his influence the poet was reinstated in his property. But in the following summer a new distribution of lands was made, and Pollio was no longer governor of the province. Virgil was dispossessed, and had to take refuge at the villa of his teacher Siro. Through the influence of Cornelius Gallus and Mæcenas, Augustus was led to recompense the poet for his loss, and from this time Virgil was in close relations to the imperial circle. Hereafter he lived at Rome and on an estate near Naples, which he received from Augustus.

In 37 or 36 B. C. and the following years he wrote the Georgics in honor of Mæcenas, and the Æneid, written at the request of Augustus, was begun in 29 B. C. When the poem was finished and the poet had reached his fifty-first year, he went to Athens, intending to devote three years to the final revision of his work, and then to give himself up to the study of philosophy. But at Athens he met with Augustus, who was on the point of returning to Rome from the East and invited him to join the imperial party. Virgil was already ill from exposure to the heat during a visit to Megara, but accepted the invitation. On the voyage his illness increased, and a few days after his arrival at Brundusium he died, September 21, 19 B. C. He was buried at Naples, where he had passed most of his later years.