[Sidenote: Germanicus.] A poem belonging to the first years after the death of Augustus is the _Aratea_, by Germanicus, the son of Drusus (15 B. C.-19 A. D.). This is a translation and adaptation of the _Phænomena_ of Aratus, and shows that the author was not only a talented writer of hexameters, but also a well-educated astronomer. This poem contains 725 lines. Of a poem on the stars and constellations in their relation to the weather and the like, entitled _Prognostica_, only a few fragments remain. Besides these astronomical poems of Germanicus, the last book of Manilius (see p. 138) belongs to this period. So also do some of the poems wrongly ascribed to Virgil and Ovid, and for that matter, the later poems of Ovid himself. [Sidenote: Velleius Paterculus.] The only prose writers of the years before Claudius whose works are extant are Velleius Paterculus, Valerius Maximus, and Celsus. Gaius Velleius Paterculus was an officer who had served under Tiberius; he was _tribunus militum_ in 1 A. D. and prætor-elect in 14 A. D. The latest date mentioned in his _Roman History_ is the consulship of Vinicius, 30 A. D. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. The _Roman History_ consists of two books, the first of which is imperfectly preserved. Velleius does not confine himself strictly to Roman affairs, but begins his work with a brief sketch of the foundation of the Greek cities in Italy. The early part of the work is a mere summary, but more details are introduced as the narrative approaches the author’s own times; yet it is, even in the latter part, by no means an exhaustive history. Throughout the work Velleius introduces his own opinions and is governed by his own prejudices; his history is therefore not especially trustworthy. His praise of Tiberius is so excessive that it can not be excused even as the enthusiasm of a veteran for his old general, and the almost equally exaggerated praise of Sejanus is without the shadow of excuse. A noteworthy peculiarity is that Velleius pays attention to the history of Greek and Roman literature, which would hardly be expected in so short a work. The style is clumsy, but shows a desire for rhetorical effect. The vocabulary is that of the Augustan age, but the pretentious rhetoric and the evident striving for variety are characteristic of the later time. The chief interest of Velleius is in the character of the persons of whom he writes, and his whole work has something personal about it which distinguishes it from a mere record of events. In the early part of the work he follows good authorities, though he often disagrees with Livy, perhaps on account of Livy’s republican sympathies. In the latter part of the history he is untrustworthy, owing to his servile partiality for Tiberius and those connected with him.