is his poem on agriculture (Georgica), which, in the form of a didactic poem, and in a highly finished style, exhibits his views and feelings respecting rural life. His earlier Eclogues, or pastorals, manifest the same love for nature and a country life. If we recognise in Virgil the first epic and didactic poet of the Romans, Horace is the favorite of the lyric muse, and the priest of the muses, although one cannot judge with certainty concerning his originality, after the loss of his Grecian models; yet his odes are often founded upon national subjects, and then he discovers strong feelings, expressed in a manner becoming a Roman. Many of his odes are patriotic, and others breathe a most charming grace. This poet is also eminent in satire, a species of writing original with the Romans, and which appears to have had a decisive influence on the character of their literature. In most of his epodes and epistles, he touches, with a playful ease and great versatility, upon the ridiculous rather than the criminal, although the latter was not altogether excluded from his satire. In the Augustan age, Propertius and Ovid are among the elegiac poets whom we still possess. In Propertius, a certain dignity appears in the midst of his habitual sensuality, although he was often forced in his thoughts and expressions. The most fruitful poetic talent, and the greatest ease of versification, cannot be denied to Ovid (q.v.); he only indulged too much in his fertility of invention, and was often unmanly in his elegiac complaints. The most characteristic of his poems are the Fasti, or the poetical description of the Roman festivals, and their origin; the least pleasing are, perhaps, his Heroides, or heroic epistles, of which he is the inventor. They are too monotonous, and too much filled with amorous complaints, to have either dignity or truth; they are rather to be considered as rhetorical exercises. Of the other poets belonging to this age there is little to be said. Some esteemed elegiac writers, such as Pedo Albinovanus and Cornelius Gallus, are almost entirely lost to us. A poem upon Etna, attributed to Cornelius Severus, who is praised by Quinctilian, has litthe inventive power; and the didactic poem of Gratius Faliscus upon the chase (Cynegeticon), and that of Manlius upon astronomy, some passages excepted, are more valued for their materials than their manner, which, though inferior, resembles the productions of the Alexandrian school of Greek poetry.-The third age, after the death of Augustus, begins with

Phædrus, an imitator of Æsop, who has more merit, in regard to style, than invention and manner. The degeneracy of Roman poetry is displayed in the harsh and obscure Persius. He and the later Juvenal expressed their indignation at the corruption of the age with unrestrained severity, but have more moral than poetical value. In the principal writers of the later poetry-Lucan, who returned to the historical epic in his versification of the civil war between Cæsar and Pompey, and the bombastic Statius, who wrote the Thebaid and the beginning of the Achilleis, in verse, to say nothing of the minor poets-we find a universal barrenness of invention, and a coldness, which vainly endeavors to kindle itself and its hearers by the fire of rhetoric. These poets had long since lost all poetic feeling, and even the love of republican freedom. With such a corrupt taste as that of the Romans, poets like the pompous Statius, or the wanton epigrammatist Martial,to whom we cannot deny wit and fertility of invention, could alone be successful. Lucan, however, with all his defects of plan and unworthy adulation, sometimes exhibits great elevation of sentiment, vigor of expression, and a happy delineation of character. Valerius Flaccus, who described the Argonautic expedition in vers, in imitation of Apollonius Rhodius, endeavored to shine by his learning, rather than by his originality and freshness of coloring, and Silius Italicus, & great admirer of Virgil, who selected the second Punic war, as the subject of a heroic poem, is merely a historic poet. In the fourth period, Roman literature sunk to a still lower state. The twenty-four fables of Arvienus, or Arvianus, are in a stiff and forced style; on the other hand, the poem of Nemesianus, on the pleasures of the chase, and the seven eclogues of Calpurnius, have some pretensions to purity and ease of style. Ausonius, in his epigrams and idyls (so called), and particularly in his poems on the Moselle, forms as it were the line of division between the ancient and the modern world; Claudian appears almost a miracle in this brazen age. Although not free from rhetorical and epigrammatical excrescences, and, from the desire of displaying his learning, he is still far above his age, and. often approaches to a graceful style. We conclude this part of the subject with Rutilius Numantianus, whose voyage to Gaul, in elegiac measure, is not without merit, and with two Christian poets, Prudentius and Sedulius, in whose writings we

find hardly any thing but modern features and the first germs of the church songs. In the Roman prose literature, which is, on the whole, of a higher character than the poetical, eloquence, history, philosophy and jurisprudence are the principal departments. After the Romans had entered Greece as conquerors, and began to pay more attention to learning, and particularly after they became sensible of the political importance of eloquence, the Greeks were necessary to their conquerors, as teachers of rhetoric, and of the Greek language and literature, although in this period they were twice banished from Rome. (See Rhetoricians, and Grammarians.) Theoretical instruction was connected with the practice of declamations, as a preparation for public speaking, as forensic eloquence was always the object of ambition during the republic. Of their orators we know many inerely by name and by the reputation which they enjoyed. To this class belong Cornelius Cethegus, Tiberius Gracchus, Cotta, Sulpicius, but particularly Licinius Crassus, Antonius, Hortensius, and even Cæsar himself. Cicero not only acquired the most splendid fame in eloquence, the finest models of which we possess in the fifty-nine orations of his yet extant, but also appears as a teacher in his rhetorical works, and in general had a most important part in founding Roman prose literature. In the age of Augustus, after the death of the last champion of Roman liberty, free eloquence necessarily became silent; yet the works of this, and even of later periods, were more or less imbued with the old spirit. The panegyric of Pliny the younger upon Trajan may be considered as the last note of Roman eloquence: the author was distinguished in Rome as a forensic orator. We can best judge of the fallen state of eloquence by examining the works of Fronto, and later orators (the panegyrists), in imitation of Pliny. Quinctilian, a contemporary of Pliny, is to be regarded as the last stay of rhetoric, both by instruction and his own example. We have under his name 19 greater and 145 smaller declamations, But his merit is greater as a rhetorician and grammarian. In his twelve books De Institutione oratoria, he explains the characteristics of the best models, and at the same time lays down the best rules. Cicero, Caesar, and Terentius Varro, in the most flourishing ages of Roman literature, had, by their grammatical writings, contributed to promote a scientific study of the language, and to give it there

by a settled form. Varro, the most learned philologist and antiquarian of his age, wrote a work upon the Latin language, « in twenty-four books, of which only six remain entire. In a rhetorical view, the declamations (controversia and suasoria of Marcus Sencca, and particularly the valuable dialogue On the Causes of the Decline of Eloquence, which has been " attributed by most authors to Quinctiiian, ↑ must be named. Later grammarians, or * teachers of language and literature of the age of the Antonines, are Aulus Gellius, # Censorinus, Nonius Marcellus, Pomponius Festus, Macrobius, Donatus and? Priscianus, who are valuable for their grammatical information, their commentaries upon more ancient authors, ani! their preservation of fragments of them. The first historical writings were merely details of events, preserved in the annals • of the high priest (pontifex maximus), upon a tablet in his house, and the catalogue of the consuls, with a notice of the most remarkable events, recorded in the temple of Juno Moneta (libri lintei). Fabius Pictor, Albinus Posthumius, the elder Ca- *to, Cœlius Fannius, Valerius of Antium, and some others, were the first historians among the Romans, but without any pretensions to skill in the historical art. Great authors first appeared in the most splendid age of Rome. The spirit, the beautiful simplicity and the judicious style of Julius Cæsar, in his Commentaries on the Gallic and Civil Wars, carried on by himself, have always been admired. The style of Sallust is sometimes forced, but he displays great care in his narrative and in his delineation of character, with such richness of thought and depth of observation,that he may not disadvantageously be compared with his model Thucydi des. If we except the los; universal history of Trogus Pompeius, Livy embraces the widest field among the Roman historians, and deserves to be called perfect in narration and style, although some have attributed to him a certain Patavinity (the provincial dialect of his native city, Patavium). His history begins with the arri val of Eneas in Italy, and reaches to the year of Rome 744; but a few books only are extant. Cornelius Nepos stands next to these models of historical writing, with his lives of distinguished generals, a: least for purity of style. It is to be inmented that his principal historical work is lost. Under the oppression of despotism, even history, which had hitherto been so well sustained by the Romans degenerated: this appears from the forced

and declamatory style of Velleius, from hom we possess a short sketch of Roman history, in which he indulges in the rossest flattery. Florus is still more to e condemned: he wrote an abridgment of Roman history; but his style is bomKastic, and his adulation disgraceful. Vaerius Maximus, in his memoirs of memrable men, is a mere compiler and colctor of anecdotes. Suetonius, besides as rhetorical and grammatical works, wrote the lives of the emperors, which re interesting from their contents. Tacius elevated himself above a degenerate ze by his truly Roman spirit, his depth 1 thought, and power of expression, which has been often imitated, but seldom with success. It may be said, with truth, hat in him the poet, the philosopher and he historian are united. After Trajan, ve meet no great authors; but Greek litrature again asserted its claims, and Rocan history was treated of by Greek thors. It is perhaps owing to Justin's Bridgment, that we have lost the general istory of Trogus Pompeius, in forty-four Hooks. So great was the ignorance of toman history under the later emperors, hat Eutropius was ordered by the empeor Valens to write a short sketch of it. of Aurelius Vietor little need be said, and we cannot greatly lament the loss of is principal work upon the origin of the Roman people, which extended only through one year after the foundation of Rome. Ammianus Marcellinus is of superior merit, and, although his style is somewhat barbarous, contains interesting views, and displays a sound judgment. The six authors of the imperial history Scriptores Historia Augusta), Spartianus, Capitolinus, Trebellius, Vopiscus, Gallicanus and Lampridius, deserve little praise. The Romans distinguished themselves in philosophy only by spreading the doctrines of the Greek philosophers in a popular language; and the most eminent statesmen, in the most flourishing periods of Rome, were friends and admirers of philosophy. Among the earlier Romans, Lælius, Scipio Africanus the younger, and Lucullus, deserve to be mentioned in this view. Of the lofty spirit of Lucretius, although he embraced an dious system, and the principles of Horace, who called Epicureanism an insane wisdom, we have already spoken; but Cicero, by the introduction of the more elevated moral philosophy of the Greeks, rendered the most important service to the intellectual cultivation of his countrymen. He did not wander in the laby

rinths of speculation, but he clung to philosophy in prosperity and adversity. and taught it in a classical language. Originally a follower of Plato, he often adopted the ethical lessons of the Stoics, or, when their excessive austerity repelled him, embraced those of Aristotle. The doctrines of Epicurus he rejected as injurious to men, and especially in their relations of citizens. His works also afford much information in regard to the history of ancient philosophy; for example, his Tusculan questions. Philosophy, although sometimes persecuted by the emperors, as it had been earlier by Cato the elder, always found admirers at Rome, and almost every school had its adherents there; but it was more the subject of conversation, in the schools and in the world, than of writings. The old academy and the school of Epicurus were at first the most popular; but oppression turned men to Stoicism, which, with its pompous apothegms, influenced some of the poets also, as Lucan, for example. The philosopher Annæus Seneca, in the age of Nero, of whom, besides other works, we possess twelve philosophical treatises, is distinguished for his artificial subtleties and glittering antitheses; but his writings contain many excellent thoughts, finely expressed. In the fourth period of Roman literature, we shall only mention Apuleius. The most known of his productions is the Golden Ass. He was of the sect of the New Platonists; and, even in the pleasing tale of Psyche, we find traces of the Platonic philosophy. The epistolary style is connected with eloquence, and Roman literature contains some collections of epistles worthy of imitation. The letters of Cicero are mostly addressed to the greatest men of his age, on passing events, and are written with purity, and elegance, and simplicity. They contain authentic materials for the history of the time, and are the last memorials of the republic. The letters of Pliny the younger are written with taste and elegance, and give us a pleasing picture of their author; but they are too artificial, and appear to owe their existence less to any real occasion for writing than to the wish of appearing as an author. The twenty-four letters of Annæus Seneca to Lucilius relate chiefly to the philosophical system of the Stoics, and are more worthy of attention for their matter, than their manner, which partakes of the common faults of his style. We have yet to notice the letters of Symmachus, about the end of the fourth century, and those of the still ter

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Apollinarius Sidonius, who was also known as a poet. The former are not unsuccessful imitations of Pliny the younger; the latter are marked by the faults of their age, but are interesting for their contents. With the poets are connected the mythological authors of the Romans. The Roman worship was in a great measure similar to that of the Greeks, but by no means entirely the same, as many have supposed: the heroic mythology of the Greeks was introduced into Rome by the poets, although it had no connexion with the national traditions. The Roman mythological writers, therefore, derived their knowledge mostly from Greek sources, and have little that is peculiar or original. The domestic religion of the Romans is to be learned from their antiquarian and historical authors. Hyginus, whose age we cannot accurately determine, left a collection of 277 mythological stories, which are, perhaps, the outlines of ancient tragedies. A poetical astronomy of the same author illustrates the constellations celebrated in poetry. The age of Fulgentius, by whom we have three books of mythological fables, is equally uncertain. Petronius, a contemporary of Nero, may most properly be mentioned here, as he is connected with the poets by his Satyricon, in which he describes the corruption of his age with wit and vivacity, and by his poetical pieces interspersed through that work. In mathematics, the Greeks had laid the foundation for a scientific geometry and astronomy, and medicine opened a wide field for their inventive spirit. In all these departments, the Romans were not much distinguished. Among the mathematical authors, Vitruvius is the first, both in time and merit. He was also an architect; and his work on architecture is still highly esteemed. Frontinus wrote upon aqueducts, Vegetius upon the military art (the application of mathematics to the art of war could not fail to find favor among the Romans); and after him Firmicus Maternus wrote a Mathesis; but this is, in reality, a treatise on astrology, as was also the work of Julius Obsequens on prodigies. Pomponius Mela and Vibius Sequester are worthy of being mentioned as geographers. The latter gives a list of the names of rivers, seas, mountains, forests, &c. Tacitus, by his description of ancient Germany, may be included under this head. Physicians were first esteemed among the Romans after the time of Cesar and Augustus; od the eight books of Celsus on medi

cine, which form only a part of a large encyclopædia, are very important, both on account of their contents and their style. Æmilius Macer and Aulus Apuleius (not the Apuleius before mentioned) wrote concerning the qualities of plants. We also possess some unimportant treatises on medicine by Scribonius Largus and Marcellus Empiricus; and there is still extant a poem on the subject of this science by Serenus Sammoniacus, a favorite of the empero Severus. Several agricultural works of the Romans are entirely lost to us. There is still extant a work on agriculture, whica bears the name of Cato the elder; and the three books of the learned Varro on husbandry are very important and instructive. The works of Columella and Palladius on agriculture, are partly written in verse, and deserve commendation. A miserably written work on the art of cookery is ascribed to the notorious gourmand ApiciusAmong the polyhistors is Pliny the elder, who wrote a work on natural history, n. which he at the same time treated of cœmography and geography, medicine and the arts, with great erudition, but yet in a stiff style. He has given us an example of what the Romans might have done, with their great advantages, for the extension of human knowledge. Solinus made an abridgment of this work. nally Marcianus Capella, in the fifth century, wrote, in barbarous language, a sort of encyclopædia, under the name of Satyricon (on account of the variety of its contents), in which he treated of several of the sciences, with their most importan: principles. On a review of Roman literature, we find, that it continued to flourish. only for a short time, from Cicero till the death of Trajan, that the prose reached a higher degree of excellence than poetry, m which various departments obtained various success, and that, notwithstanding the merits of the Romans in art and literature, the Greeks excelled them. Perhap their literature, at least the poetry, would have attained a greater elevation, if they had imitated less, and sought for origina ideas in domestic scenes.-Sce Manso, On the Characteristics of Roman Lateroture (in German, Breslau, 1818); Cavriana, Delle Scienze, Lettere ed Arti dei Romani dalla Fondazione di Roma fino al Augusto, Mantua, 1822, 2 vols.); Dunlop's History of Roman Literature (3 vol. 1828). In jurisprudence alone did Roman literature acquire an entirely peculiar character, and an elevation which it has maintained down to the latest times, and which has enabled it to exert a powerful

influence on all the refined nations of modern Europe. (See Civil Law.) ROMAN SCHOOL. (See Italy; division, Italian Art.)

ROMILLY, Sir Samuel, an eminent lawyer, the son of a jeweller, of French extraction, was born in London, in 1757. He received a private education, and was placed in the office of a solicitor, which be quitted to study for the bar, to which he was called in 1783. For some years his practice was chiefly confined to draughts in equity; but he gradually rose to distinction in the court of chancery, in which he ultimately took the lead, being equally distinguished by his profound legal information, and logical and forcible eloquence. His general politics agreeing with those of the whigs, he was, during the short administration of Mr. Fox and lord Grenville (1806), appointed solicitorgeneral, and knighted. When his party went out of office, he remained in parliament, where he became distinguished by his talent in debate, and particularly by the eloquence with which he pleaded the necessity of a revision of the criminal code, with a view to the limitation of capital punishment, and a more appropriate regulation of the scale of penalties. On this subject he also composed a very able pamphlet Observations on the Criminal Law of England (1810)-and to his exertions may be traced the final determination of the executive to the reforms and condensation of the various acts in regard to crime, which have since taken place under the superintendence of sir R. Peel. Sir Samuel Romilly also published Objections to the Creation of a Vice-chancellor (1812); and was in the height of popularity and reputation, when a nervous disorder, produced by grief at the death of his wife, to whom he was devotedly attached, deprived him of reason, and, in a fit of temporary frenzy, he terminated his useful and philanthropic existence, November 2, 1818. A collection of his speeches, with a Memoir of his Life, by H. Peters, was published in 1820. B. Constant published his Eloge (Paris, 1819).

ROMULUS was the founder and first king of Rome. According to tradition, his mother was Rhea Sylvia, a daughter of Numitor, king of Alba, and one of the priestesses of Vesta, who were employed in preserving the fire sacred to this goddess, and were bound to spend their lives in strict chastity. She was devoted to the service of Vesta, by her uncle Amulius, who had deprived her father of his throne, and wished to prevent her from having

posterity who might dispossess him of his usurped crown. But the royal maid forgot her vow of chastity, and male twins were the fruit of her clandestine amour. In order to escape the horrible punishment denounced by the law against those vestals who violated their vows, Rhea Sylvia gave out that Mars, the god of war, was the father of her children. This artifice saved the mother, and a fortunate accident her children, who were exposed by command of Amulius in a wild and desert country on the banks of the Tiber. Here a she wolf is said to have found them, and to have suckled them until chance brought thither a countryman, Faustulus by name, who took them home and educated them. With him Romulus and Remus spent their youth, exercising themselves in the chase, and sometimes in rapine. The younger, Remus, was taken prisoner by the servants of Amulius, and his courageous brother collected a small band of enterprising companions, with whom he not only freed his brother, but likewise deprived Amulius of his usurped throne, and reinstated his old grandfather Numitor in his dominions. After the termination of this exploit, Romulus, in connexion with his brother, resolved to build a city. The gods, it is said, during a solemn sacrifice, pointed out the proper site, by the flight of seven eagles. Thus was Rome founded in the year 752 (according to others 754) B. C. The unanimity which had heretofore prevailed between the two brothers, ended with this enterprise: either from ambition or a sudden burst of anger, Romulus imbrued his hands in his brother's blood. According to another tradition, Remus fled from the anger of his brother beyond the Alps, and founded Rheims. The small numbers of friends who had followed Romulus were by no means sufficient to people his city; he saw himself, therefore, compelled to make it a place of refuge for every houseless exile. Men enough were thereby gained; but the Roman citizens soon wanted women, and their proposals for the daughters of the neighboring cities were rejected by the fathers of the maidens, who looked with an envious eye on the increase of this city. On this account Romulus instituted a religious festival, to which he invited the Sabines (see the article Sabines), with their wives and daughters. came; but, in the midst of the festival, the unarmed strangers were suddenly attacked, and deprived of their wives and daughters, and every Roman hastened to provide himself with a female companion. The two states thus became engaged in war; but

They