Indebtedness of Rome to Greek Authors, 307.—The Roman Drama, 308.—Livius Andronicus, 309.—Cneius Nævius, 310.—Ennius, 311.—Plautus, 312.—“The Captives,” 313.—Terence, 315.—“The Self-Tormentor,” 317.—Decline of the Drama, 319.—Epic Poetry, 320.—Nævius and Ennius as Epic Poets, 320.—Satiric Poetry, 322.—Lucilius, 323.—Early Latin Prose, 324.—Cato the Censor, 324.—Lælius, Scipio, and the Gracchi, 326.—Antonius, Crassus, and Hortensius, 327.—Minor Historians and Orators, 328. CHAPTER III.—GOLDEN AGE OF ROMAN LITERATURE. (Pages 329-388.) Periods of the Golden Age, 329.—Cicero, 330.—Varro, 337.—Julius Cæsar, 339.—Sallust, 343.—Cornelius Nepos, 347.—Poets of the Ciceronian Period, 348.—Lucretius, 348.—Catullus, 352.—Poetry of the Augustan Age, 354.—Virgil, 355.—Virgil’s Eclogues, 359.—Georgics, 360.—Æneid, 362.—Horace, 369.—Varius, 375.—Tibullus, 375.—Propertius, 377.—Ovid, 379.—Prose Writers of the Augustan Age, 382.—Livy, 382. CHAPTER IV.—AGE OF DECLINE. (Pages 388-428.) Silver Age of Roman Letters, 388.—Velleius Paterculus, 389.—Valerius Maximus, 389.—Celsus, 390.—Phædrus, 390.—Persius, 392.—Seneca, 394.—Lucan, 397.—Pliny the Elder, 401.—Martial, 404.—Statius, 405.—Sulpitia, 406.—Quintilian, 407.—Juvenal, 408.—Tacitus, 412.—Suetonius, 415.—Pliny the Younger. 418.—Apuleius, 420.—Latin Fathers, 421.—Specimens of Later Latin Poetry, 423.—Gems of Latin Thought, 425. HISTORY OF ANCIENT LITERATURE. INTRODUCTION. Literature, in its broadest sense, comprises the written productions of all nations in all ages. It is the permanent expression of the intellectual power of man, and reflects the popular manners, the political condition, the moral and religious status. In its literary productions, a nation bequeaths to posterity an ever-speaking record of its inner life. The history of literature traces the progress of the human mind from age to age, by landmarks erected by the mind itself. It represents the development of different phases of thought in written language, and shows their influence in moulding the public taste and morals. It investigates the connection between the literatures of different countries, considers the causes of their growth and their decay, and critically examines the works of individual authors. Literature may be divided into two parts, Ancient and Modern. The former, to which this volume is devoted, includes the literatures of the ancient Oriental nations, the Greeks, and the Romans. To the second division belong the literatures of modern Europe, of the modern Oriental nations, and of America.