Literature

Below is a chronological list of the most reputed Latin authors, from the 3rd century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E., with their major works listed beneath. The authors are organized by the period in Latin literature to which they correspond: Early Latin Literature, the Ciceronian and Augustan Periods of the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the so-appelled “Archaizing Period”, and the Patristic Period, with a description for each; authors whose works have survived only in fragments are marked here with the symbols and letter “(F).” All the titles found here, with some exceptions, are links to the editions as they are hosted on the online Latin Library.

Early Latin Literature

After the fragments of Old Latin writings, the earliest extant works in Latin are Cato the Elder’s De Agri Cultura, a farming manual, and the plays of Plautus and Terence. As their power began to extend across the Mediterranean in the 3rd century B.C.E., the Romans became greatly influenced by Greek meters, subjects, rhetorical devices, ideas, and literary forms. This is best exemplified in the plays of this period, with both Plautus’ and Terence’s work being inspired by Greek New Comedy, which focused on the behavior of more mundane settings and characters.

Livius Andronicus (F) (ca. 284 – ca. 204 B.C.E)

  1. Odusia (The Odyssey)

Gnaeus Naevius (F) (ca. 270 – ca. 201 B.C.E.)

  1. Poenici Fragmenta (Punic Fragments)

Cato the Elder (234 – 149 B.C.E.)

  1. De Agri Cultura (On Agriculture)

Ennius (F) (ca. 239 – ca. 169 B.C.E.)

  1. Fragmenta (Fragments)

Plautus (ca. 254 – 184 B.C.E.)

  1. Menaechmi (The Brothers Menaechmus)
  2. Amphitruo
  3. Bacchides (The Bacchises)
  4. Rudens (The Fisherman’s Rope)
  5. Persa (The Persian)

Terence (ca. 195/185 – 159 B.C.E.)

  1. Eunuchus (The Eunuch)
  2. Adelphoe (The Brothers)
  3. Hecyra (The Mother-in-Law)
Edition of Cato’s De Agri Cultura, from the Biblioteca Medicea
Laurenziana in Florence, Italy. (Italia, m.p. catone, de agri cultura,
e varrone, de rustica, XV sec., pluteo 51.2, Sailko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 Unported)

Golden Age (80 B.C.E. – 14 C.E.)

It was in this period that scholars generally consider Latin literature to have reached its height. From the twilight years of the Republic to the beginning years of the Empire, its authors managed to mold and stretch the Latin language into what it is widely known as today. It is, however, divided into two: The Ciceronian Period (80 – 43 B.C.E.) and the Augustan Period (43 B.C.E. – 14 C.E.).

Ciceronian Period (80 – 43 B.C.E.)

The fall of the Republic produced not only many of Rome’s most famous figures, but also its authors. Named after Roman politician, lawyer, and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 – 43 B.C.E), who played so decisive a part in the development of Latin literature, oratory, and philosophy, the Ciceronian Period was also host to such writers as the poet Catullus (ca. 84 – 54 B.C.E.), the philosopher-poet Lucretius (ca. 98 – 55 B.C.E.), and the giant prosaist of contemporary politician Julius Caesar (102/100 – 44 B.C.E).

Catullus (ca. 84 – 54 B.C.E.)

  1. Anthology of Poems

Lucretius (ca. 98 – 55 B.C.E.)

  1. De Rerum Natura (On The Nature of Things)

Caesar (102/100 – 44 B.C.E.)

  1. Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War)
  2. Commentarii de Bello Civili (Commentaries on the Civil War)
First page of Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello
Gallico, from the Bavarian State Library.

Cicero (106 – 43 B.C.E.)

  1. Orationes in Catilinam (Orations against Catiline)
  2. De Officiis (On Duties)
  3. De Re Publica (On the Republic)
Cicero Denounces Catiline (1889), by Cesare Maccari.
  1. De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum (On the Ends of Good and Evil)
  2. De Legibus (On the Laws)
  3. Tusculanae Disputationes (Tusculan Disputations)
  4. Cato Maior de Senectute (Cato the Elder on Old Age)
  5. Laelius de Amicitia (On Friendship)
  6. Epistulae (Letters)

Augustan Period (43 B.C.E. – 14 C.E.)

The latter half of the Golden Age witnessed the rise of the first Roman Emperor Augustus, who, with the aid of Maecenas, aimed to bolster his new regime with the help of literature. Thus, the Augustan Period produced the most famous poems in the Latin language, such as Horace’s Odes and Vergil’s Aeneid, although Livy did also compile his History of Rome during this time. Other famous writers listed here are Ovid (43 B.C.E. – 17 C.E.), who wrote on themes of love, and Sextus Propertius (50 B.C.E. – 2 C.E.), who was similarly noted for his love elegies.

Horace (65 – 8 B.C.E.)

  1. Sermones (Satires)
  2. Carmina (Odes)
  3. Epistulae (Epistles)

Ovid (43 B.C.E. – 17 C.E.)

  1. Metamorphoses
  2. Amores (The Loves)
  3. Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love)

Virgil (70 – 19 B.C.E.)

  1. Aeneid
  2. Eclogae (The Eclogues)
  3. Georgica (The Georgics)

Propertius (ca. 50 B.C.E. – 2 C.E.)

  1. Elegiae (Elegies)

Livy (59 B.C.E. – 17 C.E.)

  1. Ab Urbe Condita (From the Founding of the City; The History of Rome)

Silver Age (14 C.E. – 138 C.E.)

While in the Silver Age, or Post-Augustan Age, such magnificent writers as the satirist Juvenal (55 – 128 C.E.), the Stoic philosopher Seneca (4 B.C.E. – 65 C.E.), and the famous historian Tacitus (ca. 55 – 117 C.E.), among others, continued to compose more of Latin’s famous works, the literature of this period seems to lack the same certainty as the period before. Wheelock and LaFleur write, “… but often there were also artificialities and conceits, a striving for effects and a passion for epigram” (2011) (xxxiii), which they argue demonstrates a diminished “literary sense and power.” The unstable politics of the period also bore an effect on the period’s writers and literature.

Juvenal (55 – 128 C.E.)

  1. Saturae (Satires)

Martial (45 – 104 C.E.)

  1. Epigrammata (Epigrams)

Tacitus (ca. 55 – 117 C.E.)

  1. Annales (The Annals)
  2. Historiae (Histories)

Seneca (4 B.C.E. – 65 C.E.)

  1. Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius)
  2. Dialogi (Dialogues)

Quintilian (ca. 35 – 95 C.E.)

  1. Institutiones (Institutions)
  2. Declamationes Maiores (The Major Declamations)

Pliny the Younger (ca. 62 – 113 C.E.)

  1. Epistulae (Letters)
  2. Panegyricus (Panegyric)

Petronius (ca. 27 – ca. 66 C.E.)

  1. Satiricon Liber (The Book of Satyrlike Adventures)
  2. Fragmenta (Fragments)

The Archaising Period (mid-to-late 2nd Century)

This period is arguably distinct for its passion for the style of Early Latin and in incorporating diction from the common vernacular, and includes writers such as Fronto (c. 100 – late 160s C.E.) and Aulus Gellius (ca. 125 – ca. 180 C.E.).

Fronto (c. 100 – late 160s C.E.)

  1. Correspondence (on the Internet Archive)

Aulus Gellius (ca. 125 – ca. 180 C.E.)

  1. Noctes Atticae (Attic Nights)

The Patristic Period (late 2nd Century – 5th Century)

It was in this period when, as the Empire began to embrace Christianity, many Church fathers found their voice in Latin literature, as did St. Ambrose (ca. 339 – 397 C.E.), Lactantius (ca. 250 – ca. 325 C.E.), and Sts. Jerome (ca. 342-347 – 420 C.E.) and Augustine (354 – 430 C.E.). As in the Archaising Period, these authors, though sometimes employing Classical forms, sought to emulate closer the common vernacular, to proselytize a wider audience. It was also in this time that the Vulgate, the chief Latin edition of the Bible, was produced by Jerome.

Ambrose (ca. 339 – 397 C.E.)

  1. de Mysteriis (On Mysteries)
  2. Hymni (Hymns)
  3. Epistula ad Sororem (Letter to His Sister)
  4. Epistulae Variae (Various Letters)

Lactantius (ca. 250 – ca. 325 C.E.)

  1. Book I of Divinarum Institutionum (Of Divine Institutions)
  2. De Mortibus Persecutorum (On the Deaths of the Persecutors)

Jerome (ca. 342-347 – 420 C.E.)

  1. Epistulae (Letters)
  2. Vita Pauli (The Life of Paul)
  3. Vita Malchi (The Life of Malchus)
  4. Contra Ioannem (Against John)
  5. Biblia Sacra Vulgata (The Vulgate)

Augustine (354 – 430 C.E.)

  1. Confessiones (Confessions)
  2. De Civitate Dei (On the City of God)
  3. De Trinitate (On the Trinity)
  4. Sermones (Sermons)

Thus is our list of Latin literature from the 3rd century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E.. We plan to include sections for Medieval, Renaissance, and New Latin works in the future. If we have missed a prominent work or author, please do not hesitate to notify us through the Contact page.

References

  • Wheelock, F. M., & LaFleur, R. A. (2011). A Brief Survey of Latin Literature. In Wheelock’s Latin 7th Edition (pp. xxx–xxxiv). essay, Collins Reference, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
  • Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2014, March 18). New Comedy. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/New-Comedy