In speaking of Augustus, we must take into account the writers whose
names have given to his its brightest lustre, and have made the AUGUSTAN
AGE a synonym for excellence in culture, art, and government. Virgil,
Ovid, Horace, Livy, and a host of others, have given his reign a
brilliancy unmatched in time, which is rather enhanced than diminished
by the fame of Cicero, Caesar, and Sallust, who preceded, and that of
Tacitus, Seneca, and others, who followed; for they belong to an epoch
in which Augustus stands the central figure in all which pertains to the
arts of peace.
In literature the name of VIRGIL stands first in the Augustan age. Born
at Andes, near Mantua, 15 October, 70, he was educated at Cremona and
Mediolanum. After completing his education he retired to his paternal
estate. In the division of land among the soldiers after the battle of
Philippi (42), he was deprived of his property, which was subsequently
restored to him by Augustus. He lived partly at Rome, partly in
Campania. His health was never good, and he died in his fifty-second
year (22 September, 19 B. C.).
Virgil had neither original nor creative genius. Though he mainly
imitated Greek poetry, his style is graceful and eloquent, his tone
inspiring and elevating.
In disposition he was childlike, innocent, and amiable,--a good son,
a faithful friend, honest, and full of devotion to persons and ideal
interests. He was not, however, fitted to grapple with the tasks and
difficulties of practical life.
In his fortunes and friends he was a happy man. Munificent patronage
gave him ample means of enjoyment and leisure; and he had the friendship
of all the most accomplished men of his day, among whom was Horace, who
entertained a strong affection for him. His fame, which was established
in his lifetime, was cherished after his death as an inheritance in
which every Roman had a share; and his works became school-books even
before the death of Augustus, and have continued such ever since.
HORACE (65-8 B. C.) was born at Venusia, but received his education at
Rome and Athens. He was present at the battle of Philippi (42), where he
fought as Tribune under Brutus. His first writings were his _Satires_.
These he read to his friends, and their merit was at once recognized.
His great patron was MAECENAS, who introduced him to the Emperor, and
gave him a fine country seat near Tivoli, among the Sabine Mountains.
He died the same year as his patron, and was buried beside him at the
Esquiline Gate.
The poems of Horace give us a picture of refined and educated life in
the Rome of his time. They are unsurpassed in gracefulness and felicity
of thought. Filled with truisms, they were for centuries read and quoted
more than those of any other ancient writer.
OVID (43 B. C.-18 A. D.), a native of Sulmo, is far inferior to Virgil
and Horace as a poet, but ranks high on account of his great gift for
narration.
"Of the Latin poets he stands perhaps nearest to modern civilization,
partly on account of his fresh and vivid sense of the beauties of
nature, and partly because his subject is love. His representations of
this passion are graceful, and strikingly true. He also excelled other
poets in the perfect elegance of his form, especially in the character
and rhythm of his verses." He spent his last days in exile, banished by
Augustus for some reason now unknown. Some of his most pleasing verses
were written during this period.
One of the most noted men of the Augustan age was MAECENAS, the
warm friend and adviser of Augustus. He was a constant patron of the
literature and art of his generation. He was very wealthy, and his
magnificent house was the centre of literary society in Rome, He helped
both Virgil and Horace in a substantial manner, and the latter is
constantly referring to him in his poetry. He died (8 B. C.) childless,
and left his fortune to Augustus.
The prose writers who lived at this period were Livy, Sallust, and
Nepos.
LIVY is the best of these. He was a native of Patavium (Padua), a man of
rhetorical training, who spent most of his time in Rome. The historical
value of his work cannot be overestimated, on account of the scarcity,
and in many cases the utter lack, of other historical documents on the
times of which he wrote. His style is spirited, and always interesting.
His accuracy, however, is not to be compared with that of Caesar. Only
thirty-five out of the one hundred and forty-two books that he wrote are
preserved.
NEPOS was a prolific writer, but only a portion of one of his works,
_De Viris Illustribus_, has come down to us; it is neither accurate nor
interesting, and of little value.
SALLUST left two historical productions, one on the conspiracy of
Catiline, the other on the war with Jugurtha. His style is rhetorical.
He excels in delineating character, but he is often so concise as to be
obscure.
GAIUS ASINIUS POLLIO was a statesman and orator of marked attainments of
this time. He was strongly attached to the old republican institutions,
a man of great independence of character, and a poet of no mean merit,
as his contemporaries testify. Unfortunately, none of his writings are
preserved.
The age of Augustus is also noted for the architectural improvements
in Rome. Augustus is said to have found a city of stone, and left one
of marble. He himself built twelve temples, and repaired eighty-two that
had fallen into decay. The FORUM was beautified by five halls of justice
(_Basilicae_), which were erected around its borders. The most famous
of these was the BASILICA JULIA, begun by Julius Caesar and finished
by Augustus. Public squares were planned and begun north of the great
Forum, the finest of which was the FORUM OF TRAJAN, finished by the
Emperor of that name.
The finest building outside of the city, in the Campus Martius, was the
PANTHEON, built by Agrippa, and now used as a Christian church. Here are
buried many distinguished men. Near by, Augustus erected a mausoleum
for himself. Here too was a theatre, built by Pompey,--the first stone
theatre of Rome.