nobles who adopted the new fashion; above all the circle of the Scipios esteemed and propagated Grecian culture, and also kept tolerably free from its exaggerations.7) Africanus the Elder manifested his desertion of the old Roman mode of thought especially by his familiar saying: numquam se minus esse otiosum quam cum otiosus esset;) and the occupation of his leisure becomes manifest from the charge of his adversaries, esp. Q. Fabius, a. 550/204, that he spent his time over old books and in gymnastics.") Another very respectable advocate of the Grecian tendency was L. Aemilius Paulus (c. 527/227-594/160). They both wrote and spoke Greek fluently, as did also T. Quinctius Flamininus (cos. 556/198), Ti. Gracchus (cos. 577/177. 591/163), C. Sulpicius Gallus (cos. 588/166), Cn. Octavius and in general all the annalists of the war with Hannibal (Fabius Pictor, Cincius, Acilius). Q. Labeo (cos. 571/183) and M. Laenas (cos. 581/173) wrote verses.

Even Cato showed at least in Latin prose an eager literary activity, and he who had asserted that the Romans would forget how to act, under the influence of Greek literature,1o) was in his old age obliged to learn Greek himself. But already were the symptoms of the decay of the old Roman severity becoming more frequent,) so much so that a man of the old stamp, like T. Manlius Torquatus, felt strange and solitary in his native town.12) With each generation, nay almost every year, these symptoms become more serious, in the breaking-up of family life, the contempt of law and order, and even of the national gods. The opposition of the adherents of the old system grew indeed in the same proportion; Cato the Elder especially waged fierce war against these tendencies in his censorship (a. 570/184).

But it was impossible to stop a process resulting from a

7) See NAEVIUS ap. Gell. NA. 7 (6) 8, 5. VAL. Max. 6, 7, 1.

8) Cic. off. 3, 1. Cf. ABALDI, die Freunde und Förderer der griech. Bildung in Rom, Würzb. 1875; d. Gegner der griech. Bildung in Rom, Burghausen 1876. ADUPUY, de Graecis Romanorum amicis aut praeceptoribus, Brest 1879.

9) Liv. 29, 19 ad fin.

10) Cf. § 2, 1 and in PLIN. NH. 29, 14 quandoque ista gens suas literas dabit omnia corrumpet.

11) Liv. 26, 2, 15 (a. 543/211) eum (Cn. Fulvius) in ganea lustrisque, ubi iuventutem egerit, senectutem acturum.

12) Liv. 26, 22, 9 (a. 543/211) neque ego vestros mores consul ferre potero neque vos imperium meum. Cf. the frequent complaints of Plautus about the growing mores mali, e.g. Trin. 30. 531. 1028.

thousand unavoidable circumstances, to oppose the great change then accomplishing itself with irresistible power, in the religion, life and customs, in the thoughts and actions of the nation. Though the new culture was made solely responsible for the evils of the time, yet this convenient reproach, which made it possible to shift the blame, was by no means proved. Besides, the means employed were often absurd and not to the purpose. Thus a. 581/173 the Epicurean philosophers Alkaios and Philiskos were banished from Rome, a. 593/161 the philosophers and rhetores latini were again expelled, a. 599/155 the Athenian ambassadors (whose chief was Karneades) were sent home as soon as possible. But then again a. 587/167 the Senate decoyed one thousand noble and highly educated Achaeans (Polybios among them) into Italy, and there detained them as hostages during 17 years. Altogether the policy of shameless selfishness, which was pursued by the Roman Senate during this period, and reached its climax in their abominable conduct towards the unhappy, prostrate city of Carthage 13)——— the frivolous wars tending to nothing but aggrandisement and enrichment waged by Rome continuously after the second Punic war-destroyed the old Roman character far more effectually than Grecian art and philosophy could ever have done. Henceforth there was a fearful increase in internal corruption, immorality,14) bribery, an insatiable eagerness for riches, disregarding everything else and impudently setting aside laws, orders of the Senate and legal proceedings, making war unauthorised, celebrating triumphs without permission, plundering the provinces, robbing the allies. Ignominious treaties and conclusions of peace became more and more frequent. Instead of by character (virtus) as of old, Rome now extended its power by deceit, perfidiousness and diplomatic craft. A certain culture did indeed gradually spread itself even among the great multitude; a fact borne out by the mere occurrence 15) of numerous foreign words in Plautus (and Ennius), and by the ludi scenici gaining the superiority over the circenses.18) But the plays of the palliata, which were the

13) On this Macchiavellian policy see CPETER, Studien zur röm. Gesch., Halle 1863, 115. Even such an ardent admirer of the Romans as Polybios is thereby repeatedly roused to outbursts of indignation; see 31, 18; cf. 31, 8. 12. 19 extr. 32, 2. 14) Cf. Polyb. 31, 24 and esp. 32, 11 (p. 1096 Bk.).

15) MOMMSEN RG. 1o, 877.—FOWEISE, d. griech. Wörter im Lat., Lpz. 1882; RhM. 38, 547. GASAALFELD, Tensaurus italo-graecus, Wien 1884 etc.

16) At the end of the Republic there were 66 days annually appropriated to festivals of these 2 days were occupied with feasts (epulae), 16 days with ludi

principal food offered to the people in the dramatic exhibitions, could not do much towards preserving the old austerity of morals.17)

92. The work nearly finished in the 6th century was completed in the 7th; the year 608/146 brought the destruction of Carthage and Corinth. With Carthage, the stimulus for continued valour and expertness in war disappeared for ever. The very man who was obliged to destroy Carthage, a man more far-seeing than the old zealot Cato, deplored its fall; the fall of Corinth and the abolition of Greek independence caused numbers of Greeks to emigrate to Rome, there to make up for the loss of their home. The peculiar Roman character had now come to an end, and for ever: Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit. From the 6th into the 7th century the noble figure of Africanus minor (569/185-625/129) attracts our attention, he who was the friend of Panaitios and Polybios; around him congregated all who tried to keep above water in this sea of egotism, greediness and immorality: among his contemporaries, besides Terence, his brother Q. Fabius Maximus (cos. 609/145), his brother-in-law Q. Aelius Tubero, M'. Manilius (cos. 605/149), the younger Laelius (cos. 614/140), D. Junius Brutus (cos. 616/138), L. Furius Philus (cos. 618/136), Sp. Mummius, Sex. Pompeius, P. Rupilius (cos. 622/132), C. Lucilius (born 574/180); among the younger men, the sons-in-law of Laelius, C. Fannius and Q. Mucius, as well as the younger Tubero, P. Rutilius, A. Verginius and others.') But the stronger the opposition in which these circles found themselves in their thought and action to the dominant tendency, the more they fell into aristocratic seclusion and so much the less became their influence.

The rottenness of the nobility and the internal corruption of the upper classes became manifest in the Numantine war (611/143-621/133) and roused the Gracchi (621/133-631/123) to their efforts; they stand forth prominently in the war with Jugurtha (643/111-648/106) and enable the rude force of Marius,

circenses (and preparations), but 48 days with ludi scenici. In the calendar of a. 354 a.d. (§ 74, 8) there are marked 175 days for ludi, of these 10 gladiatorial, 64 circensian, but 101 scenic. MoмMSEN, CIL. 1, p. 378. FRIEDLÄNDER, SG. 25, 272.

17) Sometimes it becomes manifest that this culture was only a slight varnish, which gave way as soon as the rigour of discipline was relaxed. Cf. e.g. POLYB. 30, 13 (from ATHEN. 14, p. 615) in the year 587/167.

1) Cf. Cic. Lael. 101.

himself a man of insignificant intellect, to gain marvellous successes. His ignorance of Greek was exceptional in his time,2) especially among the ruling class; 3) the performances of Greek plays at Rome in the original Greek attest the great extent of this knowledge. Many inscriptions of this period are written in the two languages, and the Romans, who formerly in their palliatae denoted themselves as barbari, now share the lead with the Greeks: they leading in politics, and the latter in culture. The Roman writers of the period acknowledge the superiority of the Greek literature, some by resigning all rivalry in formal polish, as Lucilius did, and others again by striving after correctness and elegance in a higher degree, as e.g. L. Accius; many were by blind imitation even led to shallow trifling, e.g. the erotic epigrammatists. The political situation led to increased extension and refinement of the popular amusements.*) The drama therefore still held the principal place in literary production. Tragedy was, in the 7th century, respectably represented by L. Accius; in the comedy palliata, togata, the artistic Atellana and Mimus succeeded each other rapidly, but in this succession attest a continuous descent, in accordance with the taste of the mob, to plebeian farces and to vulgar spectacular amusement. The epos was still kept up by the impulse it received in the middle of the 6th century (through Naevius and Ennius), without, however, deriving any further encouragement from contemporary history. In general, poetical production had nearly died out with the exception of the drama, and Lucilius and the erotic poets alluded to. The nation itself was destitute of poetical power and aspiration, nor did the internal disturbances admit of sufficient mental tranquillity. On the other hand, historical composition, oratory and jurisprudence were forced in the atmosphere of political strife and grew rapidly both in extent and depth. Among the historical writers the most remarkable in the 7th century u.c. are Piso Frugi, Antipater, Asellio, also the latest of the Annalists, Valerius Antias, Sisenna and Licinius Macer. The most brilliant orators, after C. Gracchus, are M. Antonius and L. Crassus. Jurisprudence is best represented

2) SALL. Iug. 85, 32.

8) P. Crassus, cos. 623/131, knew five Greek dialects: see § 133, 5 ad fin. 4) Cf. § 12, 2. The attempt at reform made by the censors of a. 639/115 was an exception and remained without further consequences; see § 9, 7.

by the two Q. Scaevolas, the augur and the pontifex. Learned investigation was carried on diligently in all branches after the middle of the 7th century, in prose as well as in verse, though, with the exception of L. Aelius Stilo, generally not by native Roman citizens.

93. As regards language and prosody these two centuries are a period of most active development, and include all the three grades through which Roman poetry passed, that of the saturnian, the dramatic and the dactylic poets. As early as the 6th century U.c. the Latin was in danger of falling into something like the Umbrian loss of endings, of weakening all its suffixes, losing its declensions, and thus passing even then into the condition of the Romance languages. Old Latin had a strong tendency to degrade the long vowels, especially when final. The high-tone, by giving importance to the accented syllable, often had the effect of weakening adjacent long syllables (whether long by nature or position) and reducing them to short ones. Especially in iambic words or combinations the long syllable was shortened by the accent falling on the short one. Final consonants were slurred in pronunciation and became less and less audible. The nasals blended readily with the following vowel and disappeared. Lastly, little words in common use were clipped by being mispronounced or only half sounded. The oldest poets, especially Plautus and the other dramatic writers, struggling with their foreign material and writing for the people, readily availed themselves of the licences, which the fluctuating pronunciation of everyday life afforded for their versification. In respect of metre they are equally negligent: they showed little sensitiveness regarding hiatus, in the theses (except the last) they put short or long syllables indifferently; indeed the saturnian verse allowed of the arses being quite suppressed: a liberty which the dramatic writers of course avoided under the guidance of their Greek models. They also delighted in alliteration, employing it for the sake of cohesion as well as for ornament.1)

1) Even the later artistic poetry did not disdain alliteration, which always continued popular in prose phraseology. Recent writings: WEBRARD, d. Allitt. in d. lat. Spr., Bayr. 1882. CBOETTICHER, de allitt. ap. Rom. vi et usu, Berl. 1884. HJORDAN, Beitr. z. Gesch. d. lat. Spr. (Berl. 1879) 167. EWÖLFFLIN, d. allitter. Verbindd. d. lat. Spr., Münch. SBer. 1882 2, 1. GLANDGRAF, de figuris etym