THE FLAVIAN EMPERORS—THE SILVER AGE
Vespasian, 69-79 A. D.—Titus, 79-81 A. D.—Domitian, 81-96 A.
D.—Valerius Flaccus, died about 90 A. D.—Silius Italicus,
25-101 A. D.—Statius, about 40 to about 95 A. D.—The father
of Statius, about 15-80 A. D.—Saleius Bassus, about 70 A.
D.—Curiatius Maternus, about 70 A. D.—Martial, about 40 to about
104 A. D.—Pliny the elder, 23-79 A. D.—Frontinus, prætor 70 A.
D.—Quintilian, about 35 to about 100 A. D.
[Sidenote: The Flavian emperors.] THE death of Nero was followed by a
year of disorder, in which Galba, Otho, and Vitellius were successively
raised to the highest power, overthrown, and killed. But the terror
which had brooded over Rome in the latter years of Nero’s rule passed
away with the coming of the Flavian emperors. Vespasian (69-79 A. D.)
and Titus (79-81 A. D.) were firm but gentle rulers. Both were chiefly
known as brave soldiers and able generals, but neither was uncultured
or without literary interests. Vespasian wrote memoirs and Titus
composed in 76 A. D. a poem on a comet. Their interest in literature
and intellectual pursuits was, however, exhibited less by their own
productions than in other ways. Vespasian was liberal to poets and
artists; he paid attention to dramatic performances; he caused the
three thousand bronze tablets destroyed in the burning of the capitol
to be replaced by copies; and provided for the payment of rhetors, or
instructors in oratory, by the state, being thus the first to establish
a system of public education. The banishment of philosophers and
astrologers during his reign was due to the reactionary politics of the
philosophers, not to any opposition to philosophy on his part. Domitian
(81-96 A. D.) was a very different character. Before his accession
to the imperial power he exhibited a taste for poetry which led the
writers of the day to flatter him as if he were one of the greatest
of poets; but when he became emperor he relinquished all literary
pursuits. No works by him are mentioned except a poem on the battle
that took place at the capitol in 69 A. D. and a treatise on the care
of the hair, a subject in which he was interested on account of his
baldness. Nevertheless he restored the libraries which had been burned,
and instituted public games in which dramatists, poets, and orators
took part. But his jealousy and cruelty were greater than his literary
interests. Twice, in 89 and 93 A. D., the philosophers and astrologers
were banished from Rome, and though these acts may be excused on the
ground of political expediency, no such excuse can be found for the
cruelty which led him to persecute authors and put them to death on the
flimsiest pretexts. The last years of his reign were a period of terror
for men of letters even more than for his other subjects.
Under Vespasian, the mad terror of the reign of Nero was succeeded
by a period of calm. In literature also greater dignity and better
taste succeeds to the exaggerated rhetoric of the preceding years.
The writers of the Flavian period—the so-called Silver Age of Roman
literature—revert to the manner of the great Augustan writers. Tacitus
alone develops a style of marked originality, and Tacitus is the only
really great writer of this period. The others, foremost among whom are
Quintilian, Statius, and the elder Pliny, show learning and judgment,
but not genius.
[Sidenote: Valerius Flaccus] The earliest poet of the Flavian epoch is
Gaius Valerius Flaccus, whose only known work is an epic poem entitled
_Argonautica_, on the adventures of Jason and his comrades in quest of
the golden fleece. A reference to the capture of Jerusalem by Titus
shows that the earlier part of the poem was written not long after 70
A. D., and the mention of the eruption of Vesuvius proves that it
was not completed until after 79 A. D. The poet died shortly before
90 A. D. Further than this nothing is known of his life. The story of
the Argonautic expedition was told in the _Argonautica_ of the Greek
poet Apollonius Rhodius in the third century B. C., and Valerius
Flaccus imitates Apollonius in his general treatment of the subject,
sometimes even translating his words; but he amplifies some scenes
which Apollonius had treated briefly and adds some new elements to the
tale, while on the other hand he omits much of the superfluous learning
displayed by Apollonius and narrates briefly parts of the story which
the Greek poet had told at greater length. In general, when Valerius
changes the treatment of Apollonius the change is for the better. For
instance, in the Latin poem, when Jason reaches Colchis, he finds Æetes
hard pressed by a hostile army, and receives from him the promise of
the golden fleece in return for his assistance in the war. When the
enemy is defeated Æetes breaks his promise, and Jason is thus justified
in accepting the aid of Medea and her magic arts. Nothing of all this
is to be found in Apollonius, and the Roman poet has made a decided
addition to the plot of the story. Valerius pays more attention to
character painting than Apollonius, and is especially successful in
making the characters of Æetes and Jason stand out in strong relief.
His description of the mental struggles of Medea, torn between her
love for Jason and her duty to her father and her country, is far more
effective than that of Apollonius or even than Virgil’s description of
Dido’s love for Æneas, which is founded upon Apollonius. In diction
Valerius imitates Virgin, though his style is far less simple and clear
than Virgil’s, and in the treatment of many episodes of the poem he
copies Virgil’s treatment of similar themes; the work shows also the
influence of Ovid and of Seneca’s tragedies. In its present condition
the _Argonautica_ breaks off in the eighth book, leaving the tale
incomplete; but whether the remainder of the poem is lost or was never
written can not be determined.
[Sidenote: Silius Italicus.] Silius Italicus, whose whole name was
Tiberius Cattius Silius Italicus, chose for the subject of his epic a
Roman theme, the second Punic War. He was born in 25 A. D. and starved
himself to death on account of an incurable disease in 101 A. D. He is
said to have been an informer (_delator_) under Nero, but rose to the
consulship in 68 A. D., and was afterwards governor of Asia under
Vespasian. The latter part of his life was spent in honorable
retirement in Campania. Here he devoted himself to literature and
wrote the seventeen books of the _Punica_, in which he tells the story
of the second Punic War to the decisive battle of Zama, in 202 B. C.
His historical information is derived from Livy, and is therefore
correct in all essential matters. The events of the war are described
in chronological order. The style is an imitation of Homer and Virgil,
and the imitation extends to more than mere style, for the traditional
epic machinery of gods, prophecies, heroes, and the like, is employed
as freely as if the second Punic War were as mythical as the
adventures of Æneas. So Juno strives to give Hannibal the victory,
while Venus aids the Romans. The sea-god Proteus foretells the course
of the war to a Carthaginian fleet, and Hannibal, with his crested
helmet, his sword, and his spear “fatal to thousands,” rages about the
walls of Saguntum like Achilles at the siege of Troy. In short,
Silius, having no poetic inspiration or imagination of his own, uses
in his account of the Punic War the methods which had been
appropriately applied to the myths of earlier days by Homer and
Virgil. As a result, the _Punica_, though written in good hexameters,
is hopelessly dull and uninteresting. The so-called _Homerus Latinus_,
or _Ilias Latina_, an epitome of the _Iliad_ in one thousand and
seventy hexameters, is attributed to the earlier years of Silius
Italicus. It attained considerable popularity, but is a work of little
merit.
[Sidenote: Statius.] The most eminent poet of this period was Publius
Papinius Statius. He was born at Naples, probably about 40 A. D., but
spent most of his life at Rome, though he returned to Naples, probably
in 94 A. D. The last date to which reference is made in his poems is
95 A. D. His father was of a distinguished but not wealthy family, and
attained some distinction as a poet and teacher, first at Naples, and
later at Rome, where Domitian was among his pupils. He had intended to
write a poem on the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A. D., but was prevented
by death, which must therefore have come upon him about 80 A. D. From
him Statius received his early education and his first impulse toward
poetry. Statius won prizes for poetry at the _Augustalia_ at Naples,
and at Alba, but failed to win a prize at the _Capitolia_ in Rome. This
was probably in 94 A. D., and his retirement to Naples may have been
due to his disappointment. He was married to a widow named Claudia, who
had a daughter by her former husband; but Statius had no children of
his own. Domitian regarded him with favor, gave him a supply of running
water for his country house at Alba, and invited him to his table.
These few details of his life are derived from his poems, chiefly from
a poem in honor of his father’s memory, which is published as the third
in the fifth book of the _Silvæ_.
[Sidenote: Works of Statius.] The chief work of Statius is the
_Thebais_, an epic poem in twelve books, the subject of which is the
strife between the two sons of Œdipus, Eteocles and Polynices, and the
legendary history of Thebes to the death of Creon. This work occupied
the poet for twelve years, probably about 80-92 A. D. His other
extant works are the _Silvæ_, a collection of shorter poems on various
subjects, divided into five books, and the _Achilleis_. None of the
poems contained in the _Silvæ_ appears to have been written before
91 or 92 A. D., and the fifth book, which has no preface and which
contains some incomplete poems, was probably published after the poet’s
death. The _Achilleis_ was to be an account of the life of Achilles,
embracing the story of the Trojan War, but it breaks off in the second
book, before Achilles reaches Troy. The only lost works of Statius to
which any reference exists are a pantomime entitled _Agave_, and an
epic on Domitian’s German war; but the latter work was probably never
completed.
[Sidenote: The Thebais.] Statius was an ardent admirer of Virgil,
and the _Thebais_ is an elaborate imitation of the _Æneid_. Not only
Virgil’s language is imitated, but the division of the poem into twelve
books, the general chronological sequence of events, the arrangement
by which the scenes of combat begin with the seventh book, and the
treatment of many individual scenes are adopted from the _Æneid_. The
subject of the _Thebais_ had been treated by many previous poets, and
Statius could find the story in various mythological handbooks. It is
therefore not certain, though not improbable, that he followed the
version given by Antimachus in his _Thebais_, written in the fifth
century B. C. Statius is not a great epic poet. He lacks the sense of
proportion and has little dramatic power, in spite of the fact that
he evidently aims at dramatic effect. He excels in descriptions and
similes, but devotes far too much space to each; his similes especially
become wearisome. The entire poem lacks the charm of true poetic
inspiration. It is learned and correct, but artificial, imitative,
and tedious. One of the briefest of the powerful descriptions in the
_Thebais_, and one which shows Statius’s liking for what is horrible
and painful, is that of Œdipus, when he hears of the death of his sons
and comes forth to lament over their bodies:
But when their father heard the tale of crime,
He rushed from the deep shadows where he dwelt,
And on the cruel threshold brought to view
His half-dead form; his hoary locks unkempt
Were vile with ancient filth, and stiff with gore
The hair that veiled his Fury-driven head;
His mouth and cheeks were sunken deep, and clots
Of blood were remnants of his torn-out eyes.[96]
[Sidenote: The Achilleis and the Silvæ.] The _Achilleis_ has much the
same good and bad qualities as the _Thebais_, and is less wearisome
only because it is less long. In the _Silvæ_ Statius shows to better
advantage. These occasional poems were evidently written for the most
part in haste. In fact Statius says in his preface to the first book
that none of the poems contained in it occupied him more than two days,
and one of these poems contains 277 lines. The poems were written
chiefly to please some noble or wealthy patron, and the subjects
are in many cases trivial, such as a parrot, a fine bath-house, or
a beautiful tree belonging to the person addressed. Such works call
for little poetic fervor, but merely for skill in writing verses, and
that Statius possessed in remarkable measure. Nearly all the poems
are in hexameters, only six, among them one in celebration of Lucan’s
birthday, being in other metres. There is more or less padding in the
poems; invocations of the Muses or of gods take up considerable space,
and mythological allusions are needlessly multiplied; but these things
are excusable in a poet who writes to order to please a patron. Of
all the poems of Statius the most pleasing is one of only nineteen
lines addressed to Sleep, the “youth, most gentle of the gods.” The
wakeful poet begs Sleep to come, but does not ask him to spread all his
wings over his eyes, but merely to touch him with his wand, or pass
lightly over him. The _Thebais_ and the _Achilleis_ attained immediate
popularity, and continued to be much read and admired in the Middle
Ages; but modern times have reversed the former judgment, and such
admiration as is still accorded to Statius is given him on account of
the _Silvæ_.
[Sidenote: Other poets.] The epics of Saleius Bassus and of Statius’s
father, both of whom wrote under Vespasian, have disappeared, as have
the tragedies and orations of Curiatius Maternus, who lived at the same
time. The lyric poet, Arruntius Stella, and the poetess, Sulpicia,
wrote under Domitian, but their works also are lost, for the extant
short poem attributed to Sulpicia is a product of a later time. The
only Flavian poet, besides Valerius Flaccus, Silius Italicus, and
Statius, whose works remain, is Martial.
[Sidenote: Martial.] Marcus Valerius Martialis was born at Bilbilis,
in the northeastern part of Spain, on the first of March, about 40 A.
D. His parents, Fronto and Flacilla, gave him the usual grammatical
and rhetorical education at Bilbilis, or some neighboring town, and
in 64 A. D. he went to Rome, where he became a client or hanger-on of
the family of Seneca, and some other important families. He may have
practised law for a time, but lived chiefly from the bounty of his
patrons. The _ius trium liberorum_ granted him by Titus, was ratified
by Domitian. He received the title of tribune, which carried with it
equestrian rank. He owned a small country estate near Nomemtum, perhaps
a gift from Argentaria Polla, Lucan’s widow; and at one time he had
a house of his own at Rome and kept some slaves. Still he can never
have been rich, for he complains constantly of poverty. In 98 A. D. he
returned to Spain, and died in his native place not later than 104 A.
D., for the younger Pliny, in a letter written about that date, speaks
of his recent death.
Martial’s poems comprise fourteen books of epigrams, the last two
books of which, consisting of lines intended to accompany _xenia_ and
_apophoreta_, gifts which it was customary to present to friends at the
_Saturnalia_, were not published as books by their author. One book of
_Spectacula_ celebrates the theatrical performances and other shows
in which the Romans delighted; the remaining books are _Epigrammata_,
each book revised and published with an introduction by the author.
The longest poem contains fifty-one lines, the shortest consists of
one hexameter. Most of the poems are in elegiac verse, but many are in
hendecasyllables, and a few other metres occur. Martial is the master
of epigram. His verses are sententious and to the point, often bitter,
not infrequently indecent, but never stilted, dull, or unnatural. In
an age of many imitative poets, Martial was original. This does not
mean that no traces of imitation are to be found in his poems, for his
obligations to Catullus are evident and frankly acknowledged, while
the influence of Virgil, Ovid, and Juvenal is plainly to be seen; but
his pointed wit, his candor, and his sententious brevity are his own.
He has no lofty poetic inspiration, and exhibits no greater height
of character than what is needed to let him see and acknowledge his
own limitations. In spite of the bitterness of many of his verses, he
seems to have been a man of genial nature. He was a friend of Silius
Italicus, Quintilian, the younger Pliny, and Juvenal, but does not
mention Statius by name, though his sneers at epic poets are probably
directed against him. The younger Pliny says of him: “He was a
talented, acute, and spirited man, whose writings are full of wit and
gall, and not less candor.”[97]
Martial is not to be ranked among great poets, but his ability to
express well-defined thoughts in brief, sententious, pointed words, has
made his epigrams the models for all later times. The following lines
commemorate the death of Arria, who, when her husband Pætus was ordered
to kill himself, showed him the way:
The poniard, with her life-blood dyed,
When Arria to her Pætus gave,
“’Twere painless, my beloved,” she cried,
“If but my death thy life could save.”[98]
Another brief epigram is on some fishes, supposed to be the work of the
great sculptor Phidias:
These fishes Phidias wrought; with life by him
They are endowed; add water and they swim.[99]
These lines also refer to a work of art:
That lizard on the goblet makes thee start.
Fear not; it lives only by Mentor’s art.[100]
The daily life of Rome is described in the following lines:
Visits consume the first, the second hour;
When comes the third, hoarse pleaders show their power;
At four to business Rome herself betakes;
At six she goes to sleep, by seven she wakes;
By nine well breathed from exercise we rest,
And in the banquet hall the couch is pressed.
Now, when thy skill, greatest of cooks, has spread
The ambrosial feast, let Martial’s rhymes be read,
With mighty hand while Cæsar holds the bowl,
When drafts of nectar have relaxed his soul.
Now trifles pass. My giddy Muse would fear
Jove to approach in morning mood severe.[101]
[Sidenote: Pliny the elder.] Among the many learned writers of this
period the most important is the elder Pliny. Gaius Plinius Secundus
was born at Novum Comum, in northern Italy, in 23 A. D. At an early
age he went to Rome, where he came under the influence of Pomponius
Secundus, whose example may have led him to combine public service with
diligent study and authorship. Pliny’s life was passed in the service
of the state. He was an officer in the cavalry, serving in Germany
and perhaps also in Syria; he was a trusted counsellor and agent of
Vespasian, and held at different times the important post of procurator
or governor in several provinces. His nephew mentions especially his
procuratorship in Spain. These various and important official duties
did not, however, withdraw Pliny’s mind from his studies. When he
was carried in the litter through the streets in the evening, after
his official duties were performed, while he was bathing, and at his
meals, he read or was read to constantly. He believed that no book was
so poor as not to contain something worth recording, and therefore he
took notes of all he read. At his death he left one hundred and sixty
rolls of manuscript notes, closely written on both sides. With all this
reading Pliny was not a mere bookworm, but a practical man of affairs
and an interested observer of men and things about him. His zeal for
knowledge cost him his life; for when the great eruption of Vesuvius
took place, in 79 A. D., Pliny, who was in command of the fleet at
Misenum, went in a war galley to the neighborhood of the volcano to
investigate the strange phenomenon and to aid those in peril, landed,
and finally succumbed to the ashes and noxious gases. The description
of this event is the most interesting of the letters of his nephew, the
younger Pliny.
[Sidenote: The Natural History.] The result of Pliny’s diligence
is seen in his great encyclopædic work, the _Natural History_, in
thirty-seven books. In this he undertakes to describe the whole realm
of nature in a systematic way. The first book consists of a table of
contents with a list of the authors consulted. Then follow in order
the general mathematical and physical description of the universe,
geography and ethnology, anthropology, zoology, botany, and mineralogy.
Under mineralogy the uses of metals and stones are described, and this
leads to a valuable history of painting and sculpture. The _Natural
History_ is written for the most part in a simple, straightforward
style, though with occasional lapses from good taste, but it is not
a great work of literature. Its importance lies in the information
it contains. In the first book, Pliny mentions nearly five hundred
authors from whom his information is derived, but as he also speaks of
one hundred chosen ones whose works he consulted, it is evident that
his authorities fall into two classes. Apparently he really consulted
about one hundred, but recorded in the first book the names of other
writers to whom his real authorities referred. Pliny is almost the only
ancient writer who tries to give much information about the sources
of his knowledge, but it is often difficult, if not impossible, even
in his case to be sure from what source a particular statement is
derived. In general, it is clear that Pliny was a careful worker, and
his statements can, as a rule, be accepted as true. The great work
was ready for publication in 77 A. D. and was sent to Titus with an
interesting preface. But even after this, Pliny continued to add the
results of further reading or observation. His death came upon him
in the midst of his work. [Sidenote: Pliny’s other works.] Pliny was
also the author of several other works, the most important of which
were the _History of the German Wars_, in twenty books, and a history
_From the End of the History of Aufidius Bassus_, in thirty-one books.
Just what period this work embraced is not certain, but the suggestion
that each book treated of one year and that the whole was a history of
the years 41-71 A. D. is not improbable. These works, as well as
Pliny’s lesser writings, are lost, but they served at least to supply
material to Tacitus, who cites the _German Wars_, and to other
historians.
[Sidenote: Frontinus. Various writers.] Of the technical writings of
this period only two now exist: the _Stratagems_ (_Strategemata_) and
the treatise on the Roman aqueducts (_De Aquis Urbis Romæ Libri II_),
by Sextius Julius Frontinus, a man of some distinction, who was prætor
in 70 A. D., consul several times, and was appointed _Curator Aquarum_,
or overseer of the water supply of Rome, in 97 A. D. His writings
belong rather to the history of technical studies than to that of
literature. The names of several authors of memoirs of travels, legal
treatises, speeches, histories, and technical writings of various kinds
are known to us, but their works are lost or only partially preserved
as unsatisfactory fragments. The schools of grammar and rhetoric
continued to exist, and many teachers of these subjects enjoyed
considerable reputation. The greatest among them, and the only one
whose work has survived to modern times, is Quintilian, the last, and
in some respects the greatest, of the Spanish writers of Rome.
[Sidenote: Quintilian.] Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was born at
Calagurris, in Spain, about 35 A. D. He was educated at Rome under the
most distinguished teachers of the time, and when his education was
completed returned to his native place. But in 68 A. D., Galba, who had
been governor in Spain before he became emperor, called Quintilian to
Rome. Here he became a teacher of rhetoric, and received a salary from
the imperial treasury. At the same time he was a prominent barrister,
but published only one speech, though others were published without
his authority from shorthand reports. He was a man of great influence,
and was even raised to the consulship by Domitian, who had appointed
him tutor of his grandnephews. After teaching for twenty years he
gave up his school and devoted himself to the composition of his great
work, the _Institutio Oratoria_. This was published about 93 A. D. An
earlier work, _On the Reasons for the Decay of Oratory_ (_De Causis
Corruptæ Eloquentiæ_), is lost. Quintilian’s private life was not free
from trouble. He married at an advanced age, but his wife died when
only eighteen years old, his younger son soon after at the age of five,
and his elder son after a brief interval at the age of nine. When
Quintilian died is not known, but he can hardly have lived long after
100 A. D.
[Sidenote: Institutio Oratoria.] The title _Institutio Oratoria_, given
by Quintilian to his work, designates it as a text-book of oratory. But
it is no mere technical treatise on the art of speaking. Quintilian
was an enthusiastic lover of his profession, and believed that oratory
was the highest expression of human thought and human life. Like Cato,
he demanded that the orator be not merely a good speaker, but also,
and first of all, a good man. He must also have a general literary
education before proceeding to the technical study of oratory.
Owing to this large conception of the qualities of the orator,
Quintilian’s great work became a general and very important treatise
on education. Its arrangement is as follows: the first book treats of
the elements of education and contains many interesting observations
upon family life; the fundamental principles of rhetoric are treated in
the second book, which carries on the discussion of the purposes and
methods of education; the next five books (III-VII) deal exhaustively
with the matter of oratory under the main heads of _invention_ and
_disposition_ or arrangement, and are for the most part strictly
technical; four books (VIII-XI) treat of expression and all that is
included in the word _style_ with a discussion of memorizing and
delivery; and the last book (XII), now that the theory of oratory
is expounded, reverts to the orator himself, and discusses the moral
qualities and the continuous self-discipline which alone can make the
orator great.
The technical part of the _Institutio Oratoria_, is now, since the
study of formal rhetoric is no longer an important part of a liberal
education, of little interest except to those who make a special study
of Roman style and educational theories. Yet even in these books are
many wise utterances of permanent value, such as “the price of a laugh
is too high when it is purchased at the expense of virtue”;[102] or,
“a joke at the expense of the wretched is inhuman”;[103] or, “it is
the spirit and the force of mind that make men eloquent.”[104] Such
remarks, admirably expressed and inserted in fitting places, make the
more technical books of Quintilian’s work even now well worth reading.
But the chief interest for the modern reader lies in those parts of the
work which have less to do with the special training of the orator, and
are more general in their scope—the discussion of elementary education
in the first book, the treatise on the larger and broader education of
mature life in the last book, and the brief critical survey of Greek
and Latin literature in the first chapter of the tenth book.
[Sidenote: The theory of education.] The theory of education as
presented by Quintilian is the result of serious thought. It shows a
breadth of view, a reasonableness, and at the same time a loftiness of
conception that give its author at once an important position among
educational writers. The ethical or moral element in education is
especially emphasized. Quintilian, like many others in his day, felt
that the standard of morals, of literature, and of oratory was lower
than in the days of the republic. But instead of mourning over the
decay of Roman virtue and taste, Quintilian, seeing that the only cure
lay in right education, undertook to show the way to a restoration
of the ancient excellence. Tacitus, in his essay on oratory, mentions
carelessness of parents and bad education as the chief reason for
the decay of eloquence; the same ground had apparently been taken by
Quintilian himself in his lost essay on the _Decay of Oratory_, and in
the _Institutio Oratoria_ the attempt is made to show how deterioration
may be stopped and the old virtue restored. That others besides
Quintilian were seriously interested in reform there is no doubt,
and if their efforts met with little success, it is probably in part
because they tried to restore the excellence of a time that was past
and were unable to regulate the active forces of the present.
[Sidenote: Literary criticism.] As a literary critic Quintilian
exhibits the same sanity that characterizes his educational theory.
Since a knowledge of the best literature is necessary for the orator,
Quintilian passes in review the chief Greek and Latin writers, and it
is interesting to observe that he regards the latter as the equals
of the Greeks. He has decided preferences, and gives to Cicero, whom
he regards as the equal of Demosthenes, the foremost place among the
Romans. Yet he recognizes the merits even of those authors, such as
Seneca, whose style he least admires. In brief and admirably expressive
words he characterizes the style of the chief writers of Greece and
Rome, and his judgment has, in almost every case, remained the judgment
of later ages. It is interesting also to note that the works of nearly
all those writers whom he mentions as the best have been preserved to
our own time, which is an additional proof that the extant works have
been preserved for the most part not by mere chance but on account of
their intrinsic merit. Quintilian’s admiration for Cicero is evident
in his own style. Statius had reverted to the style of Virgil, and
Quintilian goes back to Cicero, discarding the rhetorical excrescences
of Seneca and his school. [Sidenote: Style.] His Latin is classical
and beautiful, sometimes equal to that of Cicero himself. He is the
foremost representative of the classical reaction of his time. But the
reversion to an earlier style, whether in literature or art, has never
been permanent, and Quintilian’s influence, great as it undoubtedly
was, could not stop the course of that change and decay which was in
the end destined to transform the Latin language and bring into being
the Romance tongues of modern times.