View source for Latin literature

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{{History of literature by era}}

'''Latin literature''' includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the [[Latin]] language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature flourished for the next six centuries. The classical era of Latin literature can be roughly divided into several periods: [[#Early Latin literature|early Latin literature]], the [[#The golden age|golden age]], the [[#The imperial period|imperial period]] and [[Latin literature#Latin in the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Early Modernity|Late Antiquity]].

Latin was the language of the ancient Romans as well as being the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of Western and Central Europe throughout the [[Middle Ages]]. Latin literature features the work of Roman authors, such as [[Cicero]], [[Virgil]], [[Ovid]] and [[Horace]], but also includes the work of European writers after the fall of the Empire, from religious writers like [[Thomas Aquinas|Aquinas]] (1225–1274) to secular writers like [[Francis Bacon]] (1561–1626), [[Baruch Spinoza]] (1632–1677), and [[Isaac Newton]] (1642–1727).

== History ==

=== Early Latin literature ===
{{Main|Old Latin}}

Although literature in Latin followed a continual development over several centuries, the beginnings of formal Latin literature started with the regular performance of comedies and tragedies in Rome in 240 BC, one year after the conclusion of the [[First Punic War]].<ref>{{cite book|author=George Eckel Duckworth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BuLEo5U9sb0C&pg=PA3|title=The nature of Roman comedy: a study in popular entertainment|publisher= University of Oklahoma Press|year=1994|page=3| isbn=9780806126203 }}</ref> These initial comedies and tragedies were adapted from [[Ancient Greek drama|Greek drama]] by [[Livius Andronicus]], a Greek prisoner of war who had been brought to Rome as a slave in 272 BC. Andronicus translated [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'' into Latin using a traditional Latin verse form called [[Saturnian (poetry)|Saturnian meter]]. In 235 BC, [[Gnaeus Naevius]], a Roman citizen, continued this tradition of producing dramas that were reworkings of Greek originals, or ''fabula palliata'', and he expanded on this by producing a new type of drama, ''fabula praetexta'', or tragedies based on Roman myths and history, starting in 222 BC. Later in life, Naevius composed an epic poem in Saturnian meter on the first Punic War, in which he had fought.<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Warmington
 |first=E.H.
 |author-link=E H Warmington
 |date=1936
 |title=Remains of Old Latin: Livius Andronicus, Naevius, Pacuvius and Accius
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=seEEzgEACAAJ
 |publisher=Harvard University Press
 |pages=ix-xvii
}}</ref>

Other epic poets followed Naevius. [[Quintus Ennius]] wrote an historical epic, the ''Annals'' (soon after 200 BC), describing Roman history from the founding of Rome to his own time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Annales-by-Ennius|title=Annales {{!}} work by Ennius|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-01-22}}</ref> He adopted the Greek dactylic hexameter, which became the standard verse form for Roman epics. He became well known for his tragic dramas. Successors in this field include [[Marcus Pacuvius]] and [[Lucius Accius]]. These three writers rarely used episodes from [[Roman history]], but they wrote Latin versions of tragic themes that the Greeks had already written about. Even when they copied the Greeks, their translations were not straightforward replicas of the original Greek works. Only fragments of their plays have survived.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Allen |first=William |title=(page 108)p. 108Satire |date=2014-03-27 |work=Classical Literature: A Very Short Introduction |pages=0 |editor-last=Allan |editor-first=William |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780199665457.003.0008 |access-date=2025-06-29 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/actrade/9780199665457.003.0008 |isbn=978-0-19-966545-7|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[File:Ritratto maschile detto il vecchio di otricoli, 50 ac ca. (busto moderno), da otricoli (visconti), MT533, 03.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Cato the Elder]]]]

Considerably more is known about early Latin comedy, as 26 Early Latin comedies are extant – 20 of which were written by [[Plautus]]; the remaining six were written by [[Terence]].<ref>Shipley, Joseph Twadell. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AlUVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA109 ''Dictionary of world literature: criticism, forms, technique.''] Taylor & Francis, 1964. p. 109. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref> These men modeled their comedies on Greek plays known as [[Ancient Greek comedy#New Comedy (nea)|New Comedy]], but treated the plots and wording of the originals freely. Plautus scattered songs throughout his plays and added to the humor with puns and wisecracks, as well as comic actions by the actors. Terence's plays were more austere in tone, dealing with domestic situations. His works provided the chief inspiration for French and English comedies of the 17th century AD.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fantham |first=Elaine |date= |title=Terence and the Familiarisation of Comedy |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ramus/article/abs/terence-and-the-familiarisation-of-comedy/0154B961EE735F3EBEEBCF828BEBCFD1 |journal=Ramus |language=en |volume=33 |issue=1-2 |pages=20–34 |doi=10.1017/S0048671X00001107 |issn=0048-671X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The prose of the period is best known through ''On Agriculture'' (160 BC) by [[Cato the Elder]]. Cato wrote the first Latin history of Rome and of other Italian cities.<ref>Mehl, Andreas. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0W1rpowMywYC&pg=PA52 ''Roman Historiography.''] Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. p 52. Web. 18 October 2011.</ref> He was the first Roman statesman to put his political speeches in writing as a means of influencing public opinion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATO THE ELDER 234-149 B.C. - Roman historian and orator - Ancient Greece and Rome: An Encyclopedia for Students (4 Volume Set) |url=https://erenow.org/ancient/ancient-greece-and-rome-an-encyclopedia-for-students-4-volume-set/75.php?utm_source=perplexity |access-date=2025-06-29 |website=erenow.org |language=en}}</ref>

Early Latin literature ended with [[Gaius Lucilius]], who created a new kind of poetry in his 30 books of ''Satires'' (2nd century BC). He wrote in an easy, conversational tone about books, food, friends, and current events.<ref name=":0" />

=== The golden age ===
{{Main|Classical Latin}}

Traditionally, the height of Latin literature has been assigned to the period from 81 BC to AD 17, although recent scholarship has questioned the assumptions that privileged the works of this period over both earlier and later works.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hinds|first1=Stephen|title=Allusion and Intertext|date=1998|publisher=Cambridge|location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=0521571863|pages=52–98}}</ref> This period is usually said to have begun with the first known speech of [[Cicero]] and ended with the death of [[Ovid]].

==== The age of Cicero ====
[[File:M-T-Cicero.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Cicero]]]]

[[Cicero]] has traditionally been considered the master of Latin prose.<ref>{{cite book|author= Charles W. Eliot|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLGVxD1fX8UC&pg=PA3|title=Letters of Marcus Tullius Cicero and Letters of Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus: Part 9 Harvard Classics|publisher= Kessinger Publishing|year= 2004|page= 3| isbn=9780766182042 |access-date= 15 October 2011}}</ref><ref>Nettleship, Henry; Haverfield, F. [https://books.google.com/books?id=pPcgIEC3CPIC&pg=PA105 ''Lectures and Essays: Second Series.''] Cambridge University Press, 2010. p. 105. Web. 18 October 2011.</ref> The writing he produced from about 80 BC until his death in 43 BC exceeds that of any Latin author whose work survives in terms of quantity and variety of genre and subject matter, as well as possessing unsurpassed stylistic excellence. Cicero's many works can be divided into four groups: (1) letters, (2) rhetorical treatises, (3) philosophical works, and (4) orations. His letters provide detailed information about an important period in Roman history and offer a vivid picture of the public and private life among the Roman governing class. Cicero's works on oratory are our most valuable Latin sources for ancient theories on education and rhetoric. His philosophical works were the basis of moral philosophy during the Middle Ages. His speeches inspired many European political leaders and the founders of the United States.

[[File:Young Folks' History of Rome illus148.png|thumb|Roman orator]]
[[Julius Caesar]] and [[Sallust]] were significant historical writers of Cicero's time. Caesar wrote commentaries on the Gallic and civil wars in a straightforward style to justify his actions as a general. He wrote descriptions of people and their motives.

The birth of lyric poetry in Latin occurred during the same period. The lyrics of [[Catullus]], whom the writer [[Aulus Gellius]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0071%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D20 | title=Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights, A. Gellii Noctium Atticarum Liber Sextus, XX }}</ref> called "the most elegant of poets", are noted for their emotional intensity. Contemporary with Catullus, [[Lucretius]] expounded the Epicurean philosophy in a long poem, ''De rerum natura''.

One of the most prolific writers of the period was [[Marcus Terentius Varro]]. Referred to as "the most learned of the Romans" by [[Quintillian]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=LacusCurtius • Quintilian — Institutio Oratoria — BookX, Chapter1|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Quintilian/Institutio_Oratoria/10A*.html#1.95|access-date=2022-02-02|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> he wrote about a remarkable variety of subjects, from religion to poetry, but only his writings on agriculture and the Latin language are extant in their complete form.

==== The Augustan age ====
{{Main|Augustan literature (ancient Rome)}}
[[File:Virgilio.png|thumb|left|upright|[[Virgil]]]]

The emperor [[Augustus]] took a personal interest in the literary works produced during his years of power from 27 BC to AD 14. This period is sometimes called the Augustan Age of Latin Literature. [[Virgil]] published his pastoral ''Eclogues'', the ''Georgics'', and the ''Aeneid'', an epic poem describing the events that led to the creation of Rome. Virgil told how the Trojan hero Aeneas became the ancestor of the Roman people. Virgil provided divine justification for Roman rule over the world. Although Virgil died before he could put the finishing touches on his poem, it was soon regarded as the greatest work of Latin literature.<ref>[[Susanna Braund|Morton Braund, Susanna]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IOwR7uVMGUYC&pg=PA1 ''Latin literature'']. Routledge, 2002. p. 1. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref><ref>[[Marcia Colish|Colish, Marcía L.]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=WY-2MeZqoK0C&pg=PA226 ''The Stoic Tradition from Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages: Stoicism in classical Latin literature.''] BRILL, 1990. p. 226. Web. 18 October 2011.</ref>

Virgil's friend [[Horace]] wrote ''Epodes'', ''Odes'', ''Satires'', and ''Epistles''. The perfection of the ''Odes'' in content, form, and style has charmed readers for hundreds of years. The ''Satires'' and ''Epistles'' discuss ethical and literary problems in an urbane, witty manner. Horace's ''Art of Poetry'', probably published as a separate work, greatly influenced later poetic theories. It stated the basic rules of classical writing as the Romans understood and used them. After Virgil died, Horace was Rome's leading poet.<ref>Britannica Educational Publishing. [https://books.google.com/books?id=LHA_SydyKOYC&pg=PA39 ''Poetry and Drama: Literary Terms and Concepts'']. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2011. p. 39. Web. 18 October 2011.</ref>

The Latin elegy reached its highest development in the works of [[Tibullus]], [[Propertius]], and [[Ovid]]. Most of this poetry is concerned with love. Ovid wrote the ''Fasti'', which describes Roman festivals and their legendary origins. Ovid's greatest work, the ''Metamorphoses'', weaves various myths into a fast-paced, fascinating story. Ovid was a witty writer who excelled in creating lively and passionate characters. The ''Metamorphoses'' was the best-known source of Greek and Roman mythology throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It inspired many poets, painters, and composers.

One of the few female poets of ancient Rome whose work has survived is [[Sulpicia]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Hallett | first=Judith P.| author-link=Judith P. Hallett | year=2002 | chapter=The Eleven Elegies of the Augustan Poet Sulpicia | editor1-first=Laurie J. | editor1-last=Churchill | editor2-first=Phyllis R. | editor2-last=Brown | editor3-first=Jane E. | editor3-last=Jeffrey | title=Women Writing Latin: from Roman Antiquity to Early Modern Europe | location=New York | volume=I | pages=45–84 }}</ref>

In prose, [[Livy]] produced a history of the Roman people in 142 books. Only 35 survived, but they are a major source of information on Rome.<ref>Cary, Max; Haarhoff, Theodore Johannes. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bx8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA268 ''Life and thought in the Greek and Roman world.''] Taylor & Francis, 1985. p. 268. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref>

=== The imperial period ===
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2023}}

From the death of Augustus in AD 14 until about 200, Roman authors emphasized style and tried new and startling ways of expression. During the reign of [[Nero]] from 54 to 68, the Stoic philosopher [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] wrote a number of dialogues and letters on such moral themes as mercy and generosity. In his ''Natural Questions'', Seneca analyzed earthquakes, floods, and storms. Seneca's tragedies greatly influenced the growth of tragic drama in Europe. His nephew [[Lucan]] wrote the ''Pharsalia'' (about 60), an epic poem describing the civil war between Caesar and [[Pompey]]. The ''[[Satyricon]]'' (about 60) by [[Petronius]] was the first [[picaresque]] Latin novel.<ref>Grube, George Maximilian Antony. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jerucRW8UmMC&q=The+Greek+and+Roman+Critics ''The Greek and Roman critics'']. Hackett Publishing, 1965. p. 261. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref> Only fragments of the complete work survive. It describes the adventures of various low-class characters in absurd, extravagant, and dangerous situations, often in the world of petty crime.

Epic poems included the ''Argonautica'' of [[Gaius Valerius Flaccus]], following the story of Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece, the ''Thebaid'' of [[Statius]], following the conflict of Oedipus's sons and the Seven Against Thebes, and the ''Punica'' of [[Silius Italicus]], following the Second Punic War and the invasions of Hannibal into Italy. At the hands of [[Martial]], the epigram achieved the stinging quality still associated with it. [[Juvenal]] satirized vice.

The historian [[Tacitus]] painted an unforgettably dark picture of the early empire in his ''Histories'' and ''Annals'', both written in the early 2nd century. His contemporary [[Suetonius]] wrote biographies of the 12 Roman rulers from [[Julius Caesar]] through [[Domitian]]. The letters of [[Pliny the Younger]] described Roman life of the period. [[Quintilian]] composed the most complete work on ancient education that we possess. Important works from the 2nd century include the ''Attic Nights'' of [[Aulus Gellius]], a collection of anecdotes and reports of literary discussions among his friends; and the letters of the orator [[Marcus Cornelius Fronto]] to [[Marcus Aurelius]]. The most famous work of the period was ''Metamorphoses'', also called ''[[The Golden Ass]]'', by [[Apuleius]]. This novel concerns a young man who is accidentally changed into a donkey. The story is filled with tales of love and witchcraft.

=== Latin in the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Early Modernity ===
Pagan Latin literature showed a final burst of vitality from the late 3rd century till the 5th centuries – [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] in history, [[Quintus Aurelius Symmachus]] in oratory, and [[Ausonius]] and [[Rutilius Claudius Namatianus]] in poetry. The ''Mosella'' by Ausonius demonstrated a modernism of feeling that indicates the end of classical literature as such.

Writers who laid the foundations of [[Christian Latin literature]] during the 4th century and 5th century included the church fathers [[Augustine of Hippo]], [[Jerome]], and [[Ambrose]], and the first great Christian poet, [[Prudentius]]. Some Latin writing by Christian women also survives: the prison diary of the martyr [[Perpetua of Carthage]],<ref>{{cite book | first=Barbara K. | last=Gold | title=Perpetua: Athlete of God | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2018 | isbn=978-0195385458 }}</ref> and an account of a [[Christian pilgrimage]] by the pilgrim [[Egeria (pilgrim)|Egeria]].<ref>{{cite book | author=Egeria | author-link=Egeria (pilgrim) | title=The Pilgrimage of Egeria: A New Translation of the Itinerarium Egeriae with Introduction and Commentary | translator1=Anne McGowan | translator2=Paul F. Bradshaw | translator2-link=Paul F. Bradshaw | year=2018 | location=Collegeville, MN | publisher=Liturgical Press Academic | isbn=9780814684214 }}</ref>

During the [[Early Middle Ages]], there was a noted literary activity in the [[Carolingian Empire]], mostly in modern-day [[France]], characterized as the [[Carolingian Renaissance]], and some 80 Latin-language writers from this period have been covered in the ''Clavis Scriptorum Latinorum Medii Aevi'' published by [[Brepols]]. The [[High Middle Ages]] would be characterized by a renewal of Latin literature through the translation of the [[Toledo School of Translators|Toledo School]] of works from [[Al-Andalus|Islamic Spain]], both original and translations from previous Greek texts, and with [[Scholasticism]] Latin would find a new philosophical expression.

During the Renaissance there was a return to the Latin of classical times, called for this reason [[Neo-Latin]]. This purified language continued to be used as the ''lingua franca'' among the learned throughout Europe, with the great works of [[Descartes]], [[Francis Bacon]], and [[Baruch Spinoza]] all being composed in Latin. Among the last important books written primarily in Latin prose were the works of [[Emanuel Swedenborg|Swedenborg]] (d. 1772), [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] (d. 1778), [[Leonhard Euler|Euler]] (d. 1783), [[Carl Friedrich Gauss|Gauss]] (d. 1855), and [[Isaac Newton]] (d. 1727), and Latin remains a necessary skill for modern readers of great early modern works of linguistics, literature, and philosophy.

==== Great Britain and Ireland ====
The ''Handlist of the Latin Writers of Great Britain and Ireland before 1540'', published by [[Brepols]], contains the names of some 2,000 Latin-language writers originating from modern-day [[England]], [[Ireland]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]], covering a period from the 5th century to the 16th.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Presentation |url=https://www.brepols.net/products/IS-9782503505756-1 |access-date=3 April 2025 |website=Brepols}}</ref>

Several of the leading pre-modern English poets wrote in Latin as well as English.  [[Milton's 1645 Poems]] are one example, but there were also [[Thomas Campion]], [[George Herbert]] and Milton's colleague [[Andrew Marvell]]. Some indeed wrote chiefly in Latin and were valued for the elegance and Classicism of their style. Examples of these were [[Anthony Alsop]] and [[Vincent Bourne]], who were noted for the ingenious way that they adapted their verse to describing details of life in the 18th century while never departing from the purity of Latin diction.<ref>D.K.Money, "The Latin Poetry of English Gentlemen", in ''Neo-Latin Poetry in the British Isles'', London 2012, [https://books.google.com/books?id=baNhaEOtbzYC&pg=PR5 pp. 125ff]</ref> One of the last to be noted for the quality of his Latin verse well into the 19th century was [[Walter Savage Landor]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Poems of W. S. Landor|url=http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/landor.html|access-date=2022-02-02|website=www.thelatinlibrary.com}}</ref>

== Characteristics ==
Much Latin writing reflects the Romans' interest in rhetoric, the art of speaking and persuading. Public speaking had great importance for educated Romans because most of them wanted successful political careers. When Rome was a [[Roman Republic|republic]], effective speaking often determined who would be elected or what bills would pass. After Rome became an [[Roman Empire|empire]], the ability to impress and persuade people by the spoken word lost much of its importance. But training in rhetoric continued to flourish and to affect styles of writing. A large part of rhetoric consists of the ability to present a familiar idea in a striking new manner that attracts attention. Latin authors became masters of this art of variety.

=== Language and form ===
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2023}}
Latin is a highly [[inflection|inflected]] language, with many grammatical forms for various words. As a result, it can be used with a pithiness and brevity unknown in English. It lends itself to elaboration, because its tight syntax holds even the longest and most complex sentence together as a logical unit. Latin can be used with conciseness, as in the works of [[Sallust]] and [[Tacitus]]. Or it can have wide, sweeping phrases, as in the works of [[Livy]] and the speeches of [[Cicero]].

Latin lacks the poetic vocabulary of Greek. Some earlier Roman poets tried to make up for this deficiency by creating new compound words, as the Greeks had done; nevertheless, Roman writers seldom invented words. Except in epic poetry, they tended to use familiar vocabulary, giving it poetic value by combinations of words and by rich sound effects. Rome's leading poets had great technical skill in the choice and arrangement of language. They had an intimate knowledge of the Greek poets, whose themes appear in almost all Roman literature.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Ancient Rome}}

* [[Medieval Latin]]
* [[Renaissance Latin]]
* [[Neo-Latin]]
* [[Contemporary Latin]]
* [[Prosody (Latin)]]
* [[Clausula (rhetoric)]]
* [[Alliteration (Latin)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* [[Elaine Fantham|Fantham, Elaine]]. "Latin literature." ''World Book Advanced.'' World Book, 2011. Web. 18 October 2011.

== External links ==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Latin literature
  |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* {{wikisource-inline|Portal:Classical Latin literature|Classical Latin literature}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20030618160911/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/index.html Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum.]}}
* [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com The Latin Library.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111213010615/http://www.fh-augsburg.de/%7Eharsch/augustana.html Bibilotheca Augustana.] (archived 13 December 2011)
* [https://archive.today/20121204163129/http://kaali.linguist.jussieu.fr/CGL/index.jsp Corpus Grammaticorum Latinorum: complete texts and full bibliography.] (archived 4 December 2012)
* [http://catalogustranslationum.org/ Catalogus Translationum et Commentariorum]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Latin Literature|short=x}}

{{Latin periods}}
{{Ancient Rome topics |collapsed}}
{{European literature}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Latin-language literature| ]]
[[Category:History of literature|Latin]]