[Sidenote: Oratory.] Throughout the period from the third Punic war to the dictatorship of Sulla—and, in fact, until the death of Cicero—nearly every public man at Rome was an orator, and many of them published their speeches. In the times of the Gracchi, Rome contained, perhaps, more excellent speakers than at any other period, among whom none equalled in force, brilliancy and oratorical power the great, though unsuccessful, statesman and patriot Gaius Gracchus, (154-121 B. C.), who far surpassed his elder brother Tiberius (163-133 B. C.) in eloquence, though he, too, was an orator of distinction. After the Gracchi the most distinguished orators were Marcus Antonius (143-87 B. C.) and Lucius Licinius (140-91 B. C.), the first of whom excelled in vigor and liveliness of delivery, the second in wit, elegance and variety of composition. These orators were not merely men with natural ability to speak, but were carefully trained in accordance with the precepts of Greek rhetoric. Of all the works mentioned so far in this chapter, only one—Cato’s treatise _On Agriculture_—has come down to us entire, and only the satires of Lucilius are known to us by numerous fragments. [Sidenote: These works lost.] The other works and their authors have left little more than their names. There is, however, one work, now usually ascribed to Cornificius, an author of whom nothing is known, which is preserved entire. [Sidenote: Rhetorica ad Herennium.] This is the _Rhetoric Addressed to Herennius_, which was preserved because it was falsely included among Cicero’s works. The treatise goes over much the same ground as Cicero’s youthful essay _On Invention_, which is evidently intended to be little more than a new and improved edition of the earlier work. The importance of the period immediately preceding the time of Cicero can not be judged by the extant literature, but must be estimated by the number of works and authors mentioned by later writers and the qualities assigned to them. [Sidenote: Great progress of prose.] It is at once evident that poetry made little progress, while prose writing of all kinds advanced with rapid strides. It is only natural, therefore, that the age of Cicero should be the most brilliant period of Latin prose, and that the highest general development of poetry should be reserved for the Augustan age. Yet, even the Augustan age can only equal, not surpass, the immortal poems of two of Cicero’s contemporaries, Lucretius and Catullus. CHAPTER IV LUCRETIUS The Ciceronian period—Lucretius, 99(?)-55(?) B. C.—Philosophy at Rome—The poem of Lucretius—Its purpose, contents, and style.