1. Origin and Overview

The city of Rome was founded in the 8th century BC. In the area south of Etruria and west of the Tiber River where the ancient Romans lived, the Latin Jupiter Festival, which included literary and artistic activities, should have been established no later than the 7th century BC. Influenced by the Etruscan civilization, the Latins, including the Romans, gradually formed their own local culture.

The culture of ancient Rome mainly inherited Greek culture and gradually developed. During the Hellenistic period, Rome imported many Greek works, translated them and imitated them. After Rome destroyed Greece in 146 BC, it took all Greek mythology, poetry and drama as its own, and found many slaves captured from Greece to serve as tutors, allowing them to write scripts, poems, and study various sciences. , which gave ancient Roman literature a strong Greek color. Taking mythology as an example, after contact with Greek culture, many Roman gods were combined with Greek gods. For example, the main god Jupiter believed by the Romans is equivalent to the Greek Zeus, and his wife Juno is equivalent to Hera. As for the sun god Apollo and the goddess of literature and art, the Muses, they entered Roman mythology directly without even changing their names.

Of course, ancient Roman literature is not all imitations of ancient Greek literature, because after all, it is a product of Roman society, and the language it uses is Latin. In Western academia, ancient Roman literature is considered part of the broad Latin literature. Different from the maritime peoples of ancient Greece, the ancient Romans were an inland people who mainly survived by farming and herding. They had the characteristics of vulgarity, ignorance and simplicity of ancient farmers and herdsmen. After the founding of the country, ancient Rome advocated force and pursued the strength and perfection of society and the country, law and centralization. Its literature had a stronger rational spirit and collective consciousness, and had a solemn and noble temperament, but it also lacked the lively aura and unrestrainedness of Greek literature. Childlike innocence. Ancient Roman literature emphasized balance, rigor, and harmony in art, paying attention to rhetoric and syntax, and tended to be more polished and pretentious in technique.

2. Historical evolution

The development of ancient Roman literature has roughly gone through three stages, namely the Romance Age, the Golden Age and the Silver Age. It should be noted that "The Age" is a political concept, while the "Golden Age" and "Silver Age" are two qualitative names mainly based on the development of the Latin language and the characteristics of the problem. The Golden Age ended in 30 BC and actually included the 70-year Golden Age. In addition, as a political concept, the Age of Peace began in 510 BC, but as a name related to literary development, its beginning was calculated from 240 BC. Although the Western Roman Empire with Rome as its capital fell in 476 AD, academic circles are usually still accustomed to the mid-2nd century AD (130-150) as the end of ancient Roman literature. Latin literature after the mid-2nd century is defined as "postclassical Latin literature." Latin literature in this period has begun to transition to medieval Christian literature and does not belong to ancient Roman literature in the traditional sense.

2.1 The *** era (240 BC - 30 BC)

The formal formation of ancient Roman literature was related to a man named Livius who lived in the 3rd century BC ·Androniscu was closely related to the Greeks. He was the founder of ancient Roman literature and translated Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey" and a large number of ancient Greek lyric poems. Livius's main achievement was to introduce some fine works of ancient Greek literature to the Romans, who lacked a written literary tradition, and transplanted some major forms of ancient Greek literature to ancient Rome, which lacked backbone literary types.

2.1.1 Poetry

There were many all-round writers among the early ancient Roman poets. The poet Aeneus (239 BC - 168 BC) not only rewrote and created tragedies, but also wrote dramas and 4 to 6 volumes of satires. His epic "Chronicle" traces the history of Rome, beginning with Aeneas's experience and ending with the wars in the author's life. It spans 18 volumes, but has been basically lost, with less than 600 lines left. From the perspective of literary history, "Chronicles" abandoned the ancient Shennong meter and adopted the hexameter long and short meter used in Homer's epic poems. But in style, there are obvious traces of imitating Homer. Aeneus had a profound influence on ancient Roman literature. Cicero, Lucretius and Virgil all said that they had been influenced by him. He was revered as the "father of ancient Roman literature".

2.1.2 Comedy

Platus (about 254 BC - 184 BC) was proficient in ancient Greek and was the most famous playwright in the Christian era. It is said that Plautus wrote 130 plays, but according to research, only 21 were written by him, and the others were forged by later generations. His comedies are mainly based on the comedies of manners by the Greek new comedy writer Menander, satirizing the corrupt habits of Roman society. His main works include "Twin Brothers", "Captive", "Businessman", "Donkey", "Locust", etc.

Terentius (190 BC - 159 BC) was born in Carthage. He was a slave and was later freed. He wrote six comedies in his lifetime, including "Mother-in-law", "Two Brothers" and other representative works, which were adapted or translated from ancient Greek new comedies. Its comedy structure is rigorous, the language is elegant but not vivid, the inner conflicts of the characters are delicately depicted, and the characters are natural. His comedies were less interesting than those of Plautus, and were only enjoyed by educated audiences at the time.

Terrence had a considerable influence on the comedy of later generations. His works were imitated by Molière in France and Steele and Sheridan in England.

2.2 The Golden Age (100 BC - 17 BC)

The "Golden Age" refers to the classical or classical period in the development history of Latin and Latin literature in a broad sense (including rhetoric, history and philosophy). The glorious period covers the activities of two famous figures, namely the "Cicero period" (70 BC-30 BC) and the "Augustus period" (31-14 BC). During this period, Rome entered a stage of large-scale expansion. In 27 BC, it ended its political system and established an empire. The ancient Roman Empire entered a period of unprecedented prosperity under the rule of Augustus (ie Octavian) (31-14 BC), and Latin literature and art also experienced unprecedented prosperity.

During the reign of Octavian, measures were taken to stabilize social order and promote economic development, which brought peace and stability to the once turbulent ancient Roman society. Octavian himself attached great importance to cultural construction, and he enlisted literati and poets to serve his cultural policies. The great writers of this period, such as Virgil, Horace, and Ovid, were all his royal writers. It is for this reason that the literary works of this period lack the philosophical exploration spirit and political debate enthusiasm of the Communist Party and the times, but more affirmation of the peaceful life and strong national power brought about by the existing order. The literary style is not as bold and bold as the previous period, but the techniques have become more mature and the pursuit of formal perfection has become more sophisticated.

2.2.1 Poetry

Lucretius (99 BC - 55 BC) was born at the end of the Roman War. His only handed down work is "On the Nature of Things" (On the Nature of Things) ( First translation of "On Nature") has six volumes, each volume has more than a thousand lines, and is a philosophical poem. The whole poem focuses on the philosophical thoughts of Epicurus and the atomism of Democritus, expressing the view of life that matter is immortal and mortals do not need to fear death. Lucretius was a famous wise man in the history of ancient Roman literature. Virgil once said that he envied him for knowing the causes of things and that he was a "happy man".

Catullus (84 BC - 54 BC) was born into a wealthy family in Verona, northern Italy. He often visited Roman high society and was the most accomplished lyric poet in the Golden Age. He was an unswerving communist who had openly opposed Caesar and wrote many spicy satirical poems. Catullus has 116 existing poems. He is good at using aphoristic language to express rich, passionate, complex and subtle emotions. His lyric poetry had an influence on many great European poets in later generations.

Horace (65 BC - 8 BC) was born in an auctioneer family and was a lyric poet as famous as Catullus. He received a good education in his childhood, was proficient in Latin and Greek, could recite the original text of Homer's epic poem, and went to Athens to study philosophy. His representative works include 17 poems in "Collection of Long and Short Sentences" and 18 poems in "Collection of Chats". The former shows that the author is opposed to civil war and fantasizes about the coming of the golden age; the latter satirizes the bad habits of Roman society. But Horace's most famous works are the later "Songbook" (first translation "Ode") and "Art of Poetry". Horace's lyric poems transformed the rhythm of Greek lyric poems. They are ingenious in conception, beautiful in language, elegant and solemn. They use intention, love, and poetic skills as themes, integrating philosophy and emotions. Many people compete to imitate them. "The Art of Poetry" is the highest achievement of literary theory in the ancient Roman period and is regarded as a classic by classical literature.

Virgil (70 BC - 19 BC) was the greatest poet in ancient Rome. His epic "Aeneid" is the first literary epic in the history of Western literature. Virgil was born into a peasant family, and his lyrics are full of romantic pastoral scenes. Representative works include "Pastoral", "Farming Poems" and "Work and Time", which mainly express various feelings about love, current affairs and rural life. However, Virgil's most accomplished work was the epic Aeneid. The whole poem consists of 12 volumes and nearly 10,000 lines in length. It was created in accordance with the will of Augustus. The epic tells the story of Aeneas, the son of the Trojan King and the goddess Venus, who went to Italy to establish a new dynasty, and eulogized the achievements of the Roman ancestors in founding the country and the glory of Rome. The poet wrote Aeneas as the ancestor of Caesar and Octavian, thus affirming Octavian's "theocracy". Although Virgil deliberately imitated Homer's epic when he wrote "The Aeneid", the whole poem emphasizes the sense of mission and responsibility, and is full of seriousness, pathos and compassion, which is a typical Roman style. In terms of language features and artistic techniques, "The Aeneid" has gorgeous rhetoric and slightly dull writing. Virgil's influence on later generations was huge. Dante believed that Virgil was the wisest and understood mankind best, so he used him as a guide to hell and purgatory in "The Divine Comedy". Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" and Milton's "Paradise Lost" also have traces of imitating the "Aeneid".

Another great writer of the Golden Age was Ovid (43 BC - 18 BC), who studied rhetoric in Rome when he was young. However, when he became an adult, he did not become a litigator according to his father's wishes but became a poet. His representative poems include 49 "Love Poems", "Love Art" and "Ancient Ladies". However, Ovid's most famous work is the mythological poem "Metamorphoses", which is written in epic rhythm and includes 250 mythological stories. It is a collection of Greek and Roman mythology and provided important materials and creative inspiration for later generations of writers. Story collections such as "The Decameron" and "The Canterbury Tales" all imitate "The Metamorphosis" in their framework.

In addition, the creations of great literary figures such as Dante, Shakespeare, Montaigne, Moliere, and Goethe were all influenced by him to varying degrees.

The lyric poets of the Golden Age also include Propertius (50 BC-15 BC) and Tibulus (54 BC-19 BC). The former is famous for his love poems that express delicate emotions, while the latter is good at describing simple pastoral scenery.

2.2.2 Prose

The prose of ancient Rome originated from the speeches of Cato (234 BC - 149 BC) and flourished in the "Golden Age", that is, the Roman Empire. The end of the period and the reign of Octavian. During this period, political struggles and class conflicts in Rome were intense, and the legal system of the ruling class had begun to take shape. This made many politicians enthusiastic about the study of eloquence, resulting in the rapid development of prose as a genre.

Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC) was the most famous essayist of this period. When he was young, he studied philosophy and law and worked as a lawyer for a while. At the age of 43, he entered politics as a consul and later as governor of Sicily. During the civil war, he followed Pompey against Caesar and defended the position of the aristocratic senators. He was later assassinated in the political strife.

Cicero's major prose achievements are speeches and letters. There are about 900 of his letters in existence, mainly including 16 volumes of "Letter to Atticus" and 16 volumes of "Letter to Friends". These letters reflect social life at the end of the Republic of China, depict various political figures, and have a style close to spoken language. There are 58 speeches handed down from generation to generation, divided into two categories: court speeches and political speeches. Cicero's prose pays attention to the procedural organization of materials, sophisticated syntax, rich vocabulary, symmetrical paragraphs, and sonorous tone, which is called "Cicero's syntax." His speeches had a strong motivational power, and sometimes he even used insults and distorted facts to infect the audience's emotions.

Cicero's contribution to Latin prose was very great. He established the principles of "accuracy, fluency, freshness and forcefulness" in Latin literary language. His prose style had a profound influence on later generations and became a model for prose among various European nations. His political rival Caesar even openly praised him: "Your achievements are higher than those of military generals, and expanding the field of knowledge is more valuable than expanding the territory of the Roman Empire."

Caesar ( 102 BC - 44 BC) was the adoptive father of Augustus. He was a famous military strategist, politician and dictator in the history of ancient Rome. He was assassinated by the Nazis in 44 BC. His prose contributions mainly include the seven-volume historical work "Gaul Wars" and the three-volume "Civil War" that recalls the war between him and Pompey. His prose language is concise, concise, unpretentious, and reflects a very different style from Cicero.

In addition, historians Sallust (date of birth and death unknown) and Livy (64-17 BC) also developed Latin style.

2.3 Silver Age (17-130)

The one hundred years after Octavian's death was known as the "Silver Age" of Roman literature. During this period, Rome continued to weaken politically, and its internal conflicts became increasingly fierce. Its literary development was characterized by increasingly strong court interests, advocating for fancy writing styles, and abusing rhetoric, which made the literary style appear crowded and bloated. This characteristic reached its climax in the first half of the 2nd century. It was fashionable for aristocratic young people to publicly recite empty poetry, and literature became a pastime for a few people. The most accomplished literary styles of the Silver Age were satirical literature that reflected the lower-class thoughts of slave owners and works that reflected the dissatisfaction of the old communists.

2.3.1 Poetry

Lucan (39-65) was one of the most outstanding poets of the Silver Age and created the most outstanding poem after "The Aeneid" The epic poem Pharsalia. Mattiali (40-104) was the best epigraphic poet of this era. His main poems are the "Collection of Epigraphic Poems" (the first translation of "Anthology of Epigrams"), which contains more than 1,500 poems in 12 volumes. His style is short and concise, subtle and abrupt, full of wit and humor. Juvenal (60-127) is famous for his satirical poems. He is good at using the past to describe the present, and his poetic style is severe and sharp. His poem "Even if you don't have genius, anger will produce poetry" has become a famous saying. In the era of rising bourgeois revolution in Europe in the 19th century, Juvenal's works received great attention. Schiller, Hugo and Belinsky all gave him high praise.

In terms of lyric poetry, Statius (45-95) is almost the only accomplished poet, who is good at describing the life interests of the leisure class.

2.3.2 Drama

Seneca (4-65 AD) is the most important tragedy writer in ancient Rome. He was influenced by Stoic philosophy and was good at rhetoric and philosophy. , and served as the teacher of the famous tyrant Nero. He advocated that people use inner peace to overcome the pain in life and promoted compassion and kindness. He wrote 9 tragedies and 1 satire in his lifetime, most of which were based on Greek tragedies. The style of his works is lofty and serious, mixed with a lot of moral preaching, which makes the dialogues and characters in his works lack a sense of reality. His representative work is the tragedy "The Trojan Women". In his later years, Seneca was sentenced to death by Nero for participating in the Senate nobles' opposition to Nero's tyranny.

2.3.3 Prose

The "prose" here is not prose in the narrow sense of modern literature, but generally refers to the "prose style" in Latin literature, and Verses are relatively common, including prose, novels, biographical literature, chronicles, etc.

Strictly speaking, the genre of "novel" in the history of European literature was born in the ancient Roman period. Satyrica by Petronius (birth and death unknown) is a legendary novel, of which two fragments exist. It extensively records the popular hedonistic life in the semi-Hellenistic cities of southern Italy. The characters' language in the book conforms to the characteristics of dialects, and the writing style is elegant, witty and funny. Although there are differences between its form and traditional novels, academic circles tend to regard it as the first picaresque novel in the history of European literature.

However, the recognized "father of novels" is Apuleius (124-175). He was born in an officer family in North Africa. He traveled around and studied philosophy and illusion. His most famous work is the novel "The Golden Donkey", written in autonarrative form. It is the first full-length novel in the history of Western literature that has had a profound impact.

In terms of chronicles and biographical literature, representative figures include Tacitus (55-118), Plutarch (46-120) and Suetonius (69-118) 140 years).

Tacitus was the last representative of the Roman Catholics and the Noblesse. His main works include "History" and "Chronicles". Although these two works are both historical works, they have a strong literary character. Their historical view is derived from "individual creation of history", and the recorded descriptions of emperors and generals of the past dynasties are very true and contagious. Plutarch's representative work is "Lives of Greek and Roman Famous Persons", which records the lives of semi-mythical figures to Roman emperors in the first century. Shakespeare, Goethe and others have drawn from it for their creations. However, this work contains many distortions in historical facts, and its influence gradually weakened after the 19th century. Suetonius wrote "The Biography of the Twelve Emperors of Rome", which describes Roman society and the 12 emperors from Caesar to Domitian. The writing is simple and smooth, which is a rare thing in ancient Roman literature. A work of rhetoric. In addition, he also wrote "Biographies of Famous People", from which almost all future generations' understanding of the lives of ancient Roman writers came from.

2.4 Late Empire Literature (3rd to 5th century AD)

The decline period of Roman literature. From the second half of the 2nd century, the Roman state began to show obvious political and economic crises. The literature of the 3rd century declined significantly. Only the hunting poems and pastoral songs of Nemexian (a man from the 3rd century) were outstanding. His poems imitate Virgil's "Pastoral" and express his yearning for simple life and natural scenery. In 330 AD, the imperial capital moved eastward, and the political center of gravity moved eastward. After Christianity became the state religion, Christian literature developed rapidly in the 4th and 5th centuries, pushing secular literature into second place. Among Christian writers, Lactantius (? ~325) was known as the Cicero of Christianity for his pure writing; Augustine's "Confessions" occupies a certain position in the history of literature; Chilonimus once translated the "Bible" Translated into Latin, it became the final version for later generations. His research on classical Latin works provided some useful materials for future generations; Sidonius's poems and letters also have certain characteristics. Due to limitations in content, the works of Christian writers generally have low artistic value.

Although secular literature is suppressed and excluded by the church, it still retains a certain market and influence. Classical Latin continued to be popular among the upper classes, classical Latin works continued to be read in schools of grammar and rhetoric, and many Christian writers often used traditional rhetorical techniques and poetic techniques in their creations.

At the end of the 4th century, the empire was officially divided into east and west parts. Italy once again became the political center of Western Rome. Court literature became popular and poetry creation was dominated by short poems. Claudian and Namatian were the main poets of this period. Prose from the 4th to 5th centuries was greatly influenced by the styles of Pliny the Younger and Swetonius. Ammianus (ca. 330-ca. 395) was the last Roman historical prose writer. He continued the history of Tacitus. Another direction of the development of prose is the translation or rewriting of late Greek novels, such as "The Exploits of Alexander", "Dictis", "Dales", etc.

In 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire fell. During the Middle Ages, only a few classical writers' works continued to circulate. It was not until the Renaissance that ancient Roman literary works were recited, exerting considerable influence on the development of European literature in later generations in terms of ideas and artistic techniques.