[Sidenote: Prose inferior to poetry of this period.] The Augustan period is the golden age of Latin poetry. Prose reached its greatest height in the age of Cicero and began to deteriorate soon after his death. One reason for this is the great development of poetry, which led to the introduction of poetic words and phrases into prose; another is the fashionable rhetoric of the day, which aimed not at simplicity and clearness, nor dignity and grandeur, but at novel or striking expressions, artificial arrangement, and subtlety of thought. The influence of the rhetorical schools is seen in some of the poetry of Ovid and Manilius, but is much more evident in the prose of this period and the succeeding times. [Sidenote: Livy.] The only great prose writer of the Augustan period is Livy. Titus Livius was born at Patavium (Padua) in 59 B. C., and died in his native place in 17 A. D. Little is known of his life, but the tone of his writing indicates that he was not poor and belonged to a family of some position. He is said to have written philosophical works, probably popular treatises in the form of dialogues, and a treatise on rhetoric in the form of a letter to his son. These works are lost, and can never have possessed much importance in comparison with the great history to which Livy devoted more than forty years of his life. About 30 B. C. Livy moved to Rome, where he lived the greater part of the time until his death. Probably he visited his native Padua more than once, and he travelled also to other places in Italy. He was a republican in principle, but accepted the rule of Augustus without reserve. In fact, he was a personal friend of Augustus, who called him in jest a Pompeian, on account of his criticisms of Julius Cæsar and his admiration for the old republic. Livy appears in his work as a man of conservative tendencies, content to live under whatever government happened to exist, provided it was not too oppressive, willing to accept the state religion, with all its beliefs in signs and omens, while recognizing that some, at least, of the omens reported were inventions. His one great enthusiasm was for the greatness of Rome. This sentiment it was which led him to devote his life to the composition of a great history of Rome from the earliest times to his own day.