The Age of August and the Development of Roman Literature. Roman literature. General character of literature

“The first steps of Roman fiction are associated with the spread of Greek education in Rome. Early Roman writers imitated the classical examples of Greek literature, although they used Roman subjects and some Roman forms. However, in my opinion, it was literature that became the kind of art where the Romans most vividly and distinctively expressed their individuality. During the development of civil society, literature has become one of the leading means of dialogue with the authorities.

There is no reason to deny the existence of oral Roman poetry, which arose in a distant era. The earliest forms of poetry are undoubtedly associated with a cult. This is how a religious hymn arose, a sacred song (carmen), an example of which is the song of the Saliev that has come down to us. It is composed by Saturnic verses. This is the oldest monument of the Italic free poetic scale, analogies to which we find in the oral poetry of other peoples.

Roman literature emerges as imitative literature. The first Roman poet was Livy Andronicus, who translated the Odyssey into Latin.

Libya was originally a Greek from Tarentum. In 272 he was brought to Rome as a prisoner, then he was released and was engaged in teaching the children of aristocrats. The translation of the Odyssey was performed in Saturnian verses. His language was not distinguished by elegance, and even word formations alien to the Latin language were encountered in it. This was the first poetic work written in Latin. For many years they studied in Roman schools from the translation of the Odyssey made by Andronicus. Livy Andronicus wrote several comedies and tragedies, which were translations or alterations of Greek works. During the life of Livy, the poetic activity of Gnei Nevius (circa 274-204), a Campanian native who wrote an epic about the first Punic War with a summary of previous Roman history, began. In addition, Nevi wrote several tragedies, including those based on Roman legends. Since the Romans performed in the tragedies of Nevius, dressed in a ceremonial costume - a toga with a purple border, these works are called fabulae praetextae. “Nevi also wrote comedies in which he did not hide his democratic convictions. In one comedy, he ironically spoke of the then omnipotent Scipio the Elder; to Metellus, he said: "By the fate of the evil Metella in Rome, consuls." For his poems, Nevy was imprisoned and released from there only thanks to the intercession of the tribunes of the people. Nevertheless, he had to retire from Rome "" 1. 1 Troyansky I.M. History of ancient literature. pp. 68-70

“After the second Punic War, the works of the poet Ennius (239-169) appeared. He was originally from Bruttia. Ennius participated in the second Punic War, after which he served as a centurion on the island of Sardinia, here he met Cato the Elder, who brought him with him to Rome. From that time on, Ennius lived in Rome and was engaged in teaching and literary work. Ennius received the rights of Roman citizenship and moved among the noble Romans; he was especially close to the circle of the Scipios.

The main work of Ennius was "Chronicle" ("Annales"), but, in addition, he, like his predecessors, wrote tragedies and comedies. Annius was the first to introduce the hexameter into Latin literature. Thus, Greek poetic meters, based on certain alternations of long and short sounds, could be used for Latin poetry. Annius enjoyed fame during his lifetime, and after his death was revered as one of the best poets. From the works of all three listed poets - Livy, Andronicus, Nevi and Enny - only fragments have survived to this day.

The most popular comedy "The Boastful Warrior". The action takes place in Ephesus. The main character is Pyrgopolinic, a warrior in the service of Seleucus. He managed to take the girl away from Athens. An Athenian boy, her lover, arrives in Ephesus, and he makes efforts to free the girl. The main part in this is the slave Palestron and the good old man, the warrior's neighbor. The old man's client pretended to be in love with the warrior, made an appointment with him, and he, wishing to free himself from the Athenian girl, let her go with rich gifts. In the last act, the intrigue is revealed, the boastful warrior is beaten by the slaves of the wise old man with everyone laughing. Despite the fact that the action of Plautus's comedies is played out in Greek cities, and their heroes bear Greek names, there are many lively responses to Roman reality in them.

Plautus did not have aristocratic patrons, he depended, first of all, on the mass audience, in his comedies, to a certain extent, the interests and views of the broad masses of the urban plebs are reflected. We find in his comedies a protest against usury, against aristocratic arrogance. The comedy "The Boastful Warrior" was probably directed against the mercenary forces and reminded the audience of the victory over Hannibal.

Plautus's plots are not original, in his comedies conditional types are deduced, but Plautus has inimitable comic situations. They are easy to remember. Plautus has created a language of comedy that is fresh and varied; skillfully using wordplay, he created new figurative expressions, successfully introduced neologisms, parodied expressions adopted in the official language and in court. He took a lot from colloquial speech, from the language of the lower classes. In the language of Plautus there are many rude expressions, but nevertheless, it was considered exemplary.

Another representative of the Scipio circle, Lucilius (180-102) is known for his satyrs, which reflected the social life of the era. Lucilius attacked the vices of contemporary society: he condemned perjury, greed and luxury, but at the same time he touched upon literary and other topics. The word satura originally meant a dish of different fruits, and before Lucilius had different meanings. Lucilius applied it to his works to indicate a mixed literary form, but since his time this concept has usually referred to didactic works aimed at condemning the vices and correcting the mores of the modern poet of society. Only fragments of the satyrs Lucilius have survived. Since the time of Lucilius, satire has become a purely Roman literary genre, which developed in the subsequent era. In the period from the end of the III century. until the middle of the 2nd century. BC NS. Roman literature, at first imitative, gradually acquires original features and develops independently. Literature introduced new ideas to Roman society, it contributed to the creation of that Latin language, which was then studied for many centuries.

The last century of the Republic was marked not only by the flourishing of Latin prose, but also by outstanding successes in the field of poetry. Versification was taught in schools, and the ability to compose poetry was a sign of good form.

“In Roman poetry of that time, two currents fought: one of them sought to find common poetic forms, to use a variety of poetic techniques that were cultivated by Hellenistic, especially Alexandrian, poets; the other defended the traditional form of versification, which came from Ennius. Cicero considered himself to be an adherent of this form; Titus Lucretius Kar, the author of the famous philosophical poem "On the Nature of Things", also adjoined the same trend. ”11 Herman N.Yu. and other Essays on the culture of Ancient Rome. pp. 56-58

“The Western Roman Empire fell, and some researchers believe that almost everything created by Rome perished along with it, and further development began almost from scratch. But if even in the early period of the history of the Western "barbarian kingdoms" a significant number of achievements of the material and spiritual culture of antiquity were forgotten, much that it created continued to live in the West. In the East, in Byzantium, the ancient tradition, being reinterpreted, was essentially never interrupted. Both in the west and in the east of Europe, Christianity prevailed, absorbing the values of ancient culture. Thanks to the works of the "church fathers", literate people got acquainted with some of the provisions of ancient philosophy, with history, myths.

When the Slavic countries, including Russia, adopted Christianity, these works, delivered from Byzantium, like other Christian works, historical chronicles, and novels about Alexander the Great, became known here as well. In the West, however, Latin remained the language of church and science for many centuries after the fall of Rome. In monasteries, manuscripts of ancient authors were copied, thanks to which they have come down to us.

If the Eastern European and Slavic countries got acquainted with the ancient heritage through Byzantium, then in Western Europe they knew only what was left of Rome. Only when, with the advance of the Turks to Byzantium, many Byzantine scholars began to move to Italy, here they got acquainted with the ancient heritage in its entirety, which stimulated the flourishing of the Renaissance culture. Now the works of Roman authors were extracted from the monastic depositories, copied, studied, commented on.

Over time, the influence of the ancient heritage grew stronger and stronger. European literature constantly turned to antiquity, and the connection between them became more and more strong. Antique subjects were processed: "Antony and Cleopatra", "Julius Caesar" - by Shakespeare; "Phaedra", "Britannica" - at Racine; "Medea", "Horace", "Pompey" - at Corneille. Whole plays were played: Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors repeated Plautus's Menechms, and Moliere's Miserly repeated Plautus's Casket. The servants of the comedies Molière, Lope de Vega, Goldoni are inspired by the images of the clever, clever slaves of Plautus, helping the masters to arrange their love affairs. Ancient novels were translated and new ones were written to imitate them.

Without acquaintance with ancient culture, it is impossible to understand the numerous Roman reminiscences of the classics of Russian literature. In Russia, as early as the 18th century, ancient authors were translated and already Derzhavin wrote his "Monument" in imitation of Horace's "Monument". He knew Roman literature very well A.S. Pushkin. His translations of Horace are unmatched for their adequacy to the original. Merezhkovsky ("Julian the Apostate"), Bryusov ("Altar of Victory"), etc. turned to ancient subjects. This proves that Roman literature was a completely self-sufficient phenomenon, otherwise it would not have found such a wide response in world literature, and which it still finds ”.

I... INTRODUCTION

Three specific features of Roman literature.

The first distinguishing feature of Roman literature in comparison with Greek is that it is a much later and therefore much more mature literature. The first monuments of Roman literature date back to the 3rd century. BC e., while the first written monuments of Greek literature are attested in the VIII century. BC NS.

Consequently, Roman literature appears on the world stage at least 400-500 years later than Greek literature. Rome could take advantage of the ready-made results of the centuries-old development of Greek literature, assimilate them quickly and thoroughly and create on this basis already its own, much more mature and developed literature. From the very beginning of the development of Roman literature, a strong Greek influence is felt.

The second feature of Roman literature is that it arises and flourishes in that period of the history of antiquity, which for Greece was already a time of decline. This was the period of Hellenism, and therefore they speak of the general Hellenistic-Roman period of literature and history.

Hellenism is characterized by large-scale slavery, this created in the field of ideology, on the one hand, features of universalism, and on the other, features of extreme individualism, with a very large differentiation of human spiritual abilities. So, Roman literature is predominantly Hellenistic literature.

Of these features of literature - its later origin and its Hellenistic nature - a third feature emerges. Roman literature reproduced Hellenism extremely intensively, on a large and wide scale and in much more dramatic, hot and poignant forms. For example, the comedies of Plautus and Terence, although formally imitations of the neo-attic comedy, for example, Menander, but their naturalism and sober assessment of life, their use of the surrounding life and the dramatic nature of their content are a feature of Roman literature.

In the same way, for example, Virgil's Aeneid, being formally an imitation of Homer or Apollonius of Rhodes, is essentially incomparable with them in its drama and tragedy, its sharpness and nervousness, its intense universalism and passionate individualism. Nowhere in ancient literature was there such a sober analysis of reality as in Roman naturalism or in Roman satirists, although naturalism and satire are also characteristic of Greek literature. But both of these features of Roman literature - naturalism and the satirical depiction of life - are so great here that naturalistic satire may well be considered a specifically Roman literary genre.

Finally, although there were enough talented and deep historians in Greece, only in Rome could such historians as Tacitus appear, with such a sharp and insightful analysis of historical life, with such ruthless criticism of the imperial era and with such a free-democratic mood. The colossal dimensions of the Roman republic and empire, the unprecedented scope and drama of the socio-political life of Rome, countless wars, the finest organization of military affairs, thoughtful diplomacy and jurisprudence, that is, everything that was demanded by the enormous size of the Roman republic and empire in comparison with the miniature and separated by classical Greece - all this left an indelible imprint on Roman literature and all this was its national specificity.

II... The periodization of Roman literature.

Just like Greek literature, Roman literature must be divided into periods - pre-classical, classical and post-classical.

1. The pre-classical period goes back centuries and is characterized at first, as in Greece, by oral folk literature, as well as by the beginning of writing. Until half of the 3rd century. BC NS. this period is usually called Italian. During this period, Rome, originally a small urban community, extended its power to all of Italy.

From the middle of the III century. there is written literature. It develops during the era of the expansion of Rome into the Mediterranean countries (including the first half of the 2nd century) and the outbreak of civil wars (the second half of the 2nd century - 80s of the 1st century BC).

2. The classical period of Roman literature is a time of crisis and the end of the republic (from the 80s to 30 years of the 1st century BC) and the era of the principate of Augustus (up to 14 years of the 1st century AD).

3. But already at the beginning of the 1st century AD. NS. the features of the decline of the classical period are clearly outlined. This process of literary degradation continues until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476. NS. This time can be called the post-classical period of Roman literature. Here one should distinguish between the literature of the flourishing of the empire (1st century A.D.) and the literature of the crisis, the fall of the empire (2nd - 5th centuries A.D.).

III... Pre-classical period

1. Folklore. The folklore period in Rome was distinguished by the same features as in all other countries. Here, apparently, all the usual genres of oral folk art were represented. Unfortunately, we have almost no material that has come down from this antiquity; and we are forced here to restrict ourselves either to the most insignificant and incomprehensible quotations from the later Roman literature, or even not quotations, but only dull mentions of them.

Here, undoubtedly, there was a labor song, associated, for example, with spinning and weaving, with the harvest of grapes, with boat rowing.

The so-called fessennins, songs of a comic, parodic, and sometimes obscene character, which apparently had great social significance, were especially widespread. They were used not only during feasts or rest from work, but also for ridicule and even during triumphal processions to the address of the very victorious commander, in whose honor the triumphal procession was performed.

As in any folklore, here we also find the beginnings of a folk drama and not even just the beginnings. The so-called satura (a word of obscure origin) were in use, something like our improvised scenes.

The historian Titus Livy (VII, 2, 4) reports that in 364 BC. NS. to propitiate the gods during the epidemic, actors and dancers from Etruria were invited, who, with the help of Roman young people, created something like a real theater here, with mimic dances to the accompaniment of a flute. Finally, in the field of drama, the attellans, a special kind of farce that came from the Campanian city of Atella, were very widespread in Rome. He, too, was distinguished by a parodic and satirical character, often attacked public orders and private individuals, and held out in Rome for a very long time.

In addition to all this literary literature, for a long time prose was presented, which was considered the privilege of the nobility and received fixation, first in the form of inscriptions on monuments and columns, and subsequently constituting whole books. These prose works also partly had a poetic dimension and therefore approached poetry. It can be noted: the books of the chief priests and other priests, which at first had the form of a chronicle, which briefly recorded outstanding events of a given time (like the beginning and end of a war, an eclipse of the sun, etc.); private monuments (funeral speeches or inscriptions in the homes of the dead); poetic inscriptions in connection with the triumphs of commanders or gravestone inscriptions. All this has come down to us in a destroyed form and in an insignificant amount.

2. Appius Claudius the Blind. He was a statesman of the late 4th - early 3rd centuries. BC NS.; he may be considered the first Roman writer known to us. He reformed spelling, compiled a collection of poetic maxims, was the author of legal treatises and wrote one military-political speech (against the Epirus king Pyrrhus), which was in circulation as early as the 1st century. n. NS. (Its pronunciation dates back to 280).

3. General characteristics of the literary period. This whole period is distinguished by the fact that there is still no Greek influence here, which in the future was so great that the literature of Rome already turns out to be unthinkable without it.

But one should not think that in Roman literature everything was determined by Greek influence, that Roman literature itself did not have absolutely any originality.

If the Greek influence from a certain moment assumed enormous importance here, it was only because Rome itself had matured enough in socio-political relations, it was probably superficial and, most importantly, did not affect literature at all.

Another thing is the influence of Greece after the 1st Punic War. One of the first Roman writers, the Greek Livy Andronicus, in 240, puts on a Latin drama in Rome. This drama, like all other works of this era, was written in imitation of Greek models, and the first prose writers, being Romans (Fabius Pictor), even wrote in Greek.

IV... The first steps of Roman poetry influenced by Greek

1. Livy Andronicus, a Greek from Tarentum, who arrived in Rome in 272 after the capture of his hometown.

For educational purposes, he transcribed the "Odyssey" in Saturnian verse. After the 1st Punic War, in 240, Livy staged at the festive games one tragedy and one comedy, alterations from Greek, which had great success. In addition, the names of his tragedies have been preserved: "Achilles", "Ajax the scourge", "Trojan horse", "Aegisthus", "Hermione", "Andromeda", "Danae", "Ino", "Terei". It is known that in 204 Livy Andronicus composed a hymn on behalf of the authorities in order to prevent one bad omen.

2. Gnaeus Nevi (c. 270-201) was a freeborn native of Campania; his poetic activity took place in Rome after the 1st Punic War. His tragedies were also close reproductions of Greek originals. The following titles have survived: "The Trojan Horse", "Danae", "Hesiona", "Hector Speaking", "Andromache", "Iphigenia", "Lycurgus". Nevius introduces for the first time the Roman national drama, pretek statues (pretext is a Roman senatorial costume with a purple border). There is news of the dramas Romulus and Clastidia (the victory of the consul Claudius Marcellus over the Gauls at Clastidius in 222). Much more Nevi was popular in comedy, in which he allowed "contamination" (the combination and processing of two Greek plays into one) and the introduction of features from Roman life (the names of 33 plays have been preserved). Known, for example, "Tarenti-nochka" with a bright image of a getter. Being liberal, he tried to imitate ancient Attic comedy and attacked his contemporaries, but this plebeian enthusiasm met with opposition from the government and led to his expulsion from Rome.

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INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE OF ANCIENT ROME

1.1 The origin of literature in rome

1.2 The first Roman poets

1.3 Comedy in the literature of Ancient Rome

1.4 Satire in the literature of Ancient Rome

CHAPTER 2. COMEDIES IN ANCIENT ROME AS A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE

2.1 Roman comedian Plautus and his work as a reflection of real life

2.2 Roman comedian Terence and his work as a reflection of real life

CHAPTER 3. SATIRE IN ANCIENT ROME AS A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE

3.1 Roman satirist Martial and his works, as a reflection of real life

3.2 Roman satirist Juvenal and his works as a reflection of real life

CONCLUSION

LIST OF USED LITERATURE AND SOURCES

INTRODUCTION

The relevance of this topic is due to the fact that the ancient Roman heritage had a huge impact on the formation of Western European literature.

The object of the work is ancient Roman literature.

The subject is the work of ancient Roman comedians and satirists.

The purpose of this work is to study ancient Roman literature, in particular the works of such Roman comedians as Plautus and Terentius, as well as such Roman satirists as Martiala and Juvenal.

This goal is due to the solution of the following tasks:

Analyze the origin of literature in Ancient Rome;

Consider the first Roman poets;

Explore the general characteristics of such ancient Roman literary genres as comedy and satire;

Consider ancient Roman comedies as a reflection of real life, using the works of Plautus and Terentius as an example;

Analyze the ancient Roman satire as a reflection of real life using the example of the works of Martial and Juvenal;

Summarize the impact of the environment and setting on the content and work of ancient Roman writers.

In addition to folk art and poetry, the spread of writing, the ancient Greek literature had a tremendous influence on the formation and development of ancient Roman literature.

The first ancient Roman literary works were imitative works - the first Roman poets and writers found it difficult to create their own works on the meager basis of popular Roman poetry, when next to one of the richest literatures of that time - ancient Greek - with the magnificent epic of Homer, the beautiful Hellenic mythology. In this regard, the first Roman writers represented the Greek ethnos, and the first works in Latin were translations from the Greek language.

The first Roman poet was Livy Andronicus, the founder of Roman fiction. His works had an incredible impact on the formation of ancient Roman literature, despite their imperfection and awkwardness. Thanks to his writings, the Romans got acquainted with the beautiful Greek literature, mythology, with the epic and the theater.

Other contemporaries of Livy Andronicus - Gnei Nevi and Annius - are tragic and comedic writers. Gnaeus borrowed plots from the works of ancient Greek writers, but in his works there is a greater influence of Roman life than that of his predecessor. Nevi's poem about the first Punic War is of no small importance. Annius would have been the first author to describe, in chronological order, by year, the entire history of Rome.

Titus Maccius Plautus made an enormous contribution to the formation of Roman literature, writing about 130 comedies that were on the Roman stage for a long time. The author's comedies have a variety of plots: scenes from the life of mercenary soldiers, family life, from urban bohemia.

It is noteworthy that despite the fact that the writer gave his characters Greek names and described the plot in Greek cities, he described the culture, life and habits of the Romans. So, Plautus describes the Roman forum and city orders, Roman officials, but the plot takes place in one of the Greek cities and the traditions of the Greeks are assumed.

It is also necessary to note another famous comedian - Publius Terentius Afra. However, he used a completely different style of work, unlike Plautus: mainly his works consist of retellings of Greek writers, in particular Menander, and almost do not include Roman subjects.

Comedy was formed as a literary genre in ancient Rome under the significant influence of the works of Greek authors and was, in fact, a borrowed genre. The directly Roman literary genre was satire, which received a deep artistic development in the works of Gaius Lucilius. In his books, the author writes about the vices of contemporary society: greed, bribery, moral decay, perjury, greed.

The formation of slave relations, the expansion of the economy, the successful conquests of Rome led to an increase in wealth, their accumulation in the hands of a few, and also led to the moral decay of the aristocrats. Lucilius described in his works the real life that took place in Ancient Rome, thereby laying the foundation for the realistic direction in Roman literature.

Prose developed along with poetry, comedy and satire. The formation of prose, as well as of Roman poetry, was greatly influenced by the work of Greek authors. Thus, the first literary works were written in ancient Greek, but they reflected Roman history.

The first Roman prose writer was Cato the Elder, who wrote the famous work "On Agriculture" in Greek. The rest of the author's works are written in Latin - about 150 speeches, an essay on medicine, Roman history, an essay on oratory.

Some of the most famous Roman prose writers for their contributions to the development of Roman literature are Mark Terentius Varro and Mark Tullius Cicero.

Terence Varro owns about 74 works in 620 books (unfortunately, few of them have survived to this day). The great merits of the writer are evidenced by the fact that he was honored with a monument during his lifetime, the only Roman writer.

The work of Cicero introduced the Roman people to Greek philosophy, enriched them with knowledge of a considerable number of legal aspects, history, political teachings. Cicero's works aroused great interest among both his contemporaries and in subsequent centuries. Compared with the works of other authors, they have reached the present time in the most complete volume.

The theoretical basis of the work was the work of such authors as A. Angela, Brokatov A.M., Baskin Yu.Ya., Durov V.S., Golubtsova E.S., Demina S.S., Zelinsky F.F., Saveliev L. I., Kravtsova S.I., Lober V.L., Trofimov A.A., Novikova Yu.V., Troisky I.M., Milekhina E.V., Potemkin V.P., Savochkin V.I. ., Ufimtsev P.S.

Also, translations of the works of ancient Roman authors, such as Decimus Junius Juvenal, Mark Valerius Marcial, Titus Maktius Plautus, Publius Terentius Afra, Quintus Horace Flaccus, Varro Marcus Terentius, were also used to directly analyze their works.

The methodological basis of the work was such general scientific methods as the method of comparative analysis, the comparative historical method, the method of synthesis, etc.

The scientific significance of the work lies in the systematization of various genres of ancient Roman literature, identifying the characteristic features of the works of each of the authors under consideration for further analysis of the impact of their works on the development of Western European literature.

The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of using the obtained material in the study of the cultural, political, everyday history of Ancient Rome, since in their works the authors mostly reflected the events that took place at that time.

The work consists of an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion and a list of sources used.

CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE OF ANCIENT ROME

1.1 The origin of literature in rome

The culture and literature of Ancient Rome was formed on the basis of the knowledge and achievements of the Greeks and Etruscans, and at the same time developed in its own special way. The literature of ancient Rome is quite dramatic, it is permeated with criticism of the imperial era and is saturated with the sharpness of a satirical depiction of the facets of life of that time. Also, the development of literature of that time was influenced by the daily life of the Romans, their manners, customs, customs. Poets and writers of that time noticed all these subtleties and tried to illuminate them as brightly as possible in their works.

The literature of Ancient Rome is represented by two main periods of development:

Dominance of oral folk literature until the middle of the 3rd century. BC.;

Directly written literature from the middle of the 3rd century. BC. The emergence of the written literature of Rome is closely related to the birth of the Latin alphabet, which has twenty-one characters. At the end of the III century. BC created the Latin literary language and formed epic poetry. Many talented playwrights and poets appear in Rome: Gnaeus Nevi (lat.Gnaeus Naevius), Livy Andronicus (lat.Livius Andronicus), Titus Maccius Plautus (lat.Titus Maccius Plautus), Publius Terentius Afr (lat.Publius Terentius Afer). The authors were mainly engaged in the creation of palliat (comedy on a Greek plot), togat, attelan - satirical comedies about Roman life. It featured four satirical images: a glutton, a braggart, a charlatan and an old man. One of the most interesting achievements of the fiction of Rome was the genre of satire, and in this genre Gaius Lucilius (lat.Lucilius) worked in the II century. BC.

So, from the II century. BC. the historical genre in prose is developing. Quintus Ennius (Latin Quintus Ennius), a classic of Roman literature, glorified the victory of Rome in the military field in his works. Polybius (Latin Polybios) created

"World History", a work glorifying the victories and conquests of the Roman troops. At this time, there were a lot of wars, the Romans lived in war, which also influenced the life of people, literature and many other aspects of the life of Ancient Rome.

In addition to works of the historical genre, a large place in Roman literature was occupied by scientific, rhetorical and philosophical works.

Early Roman fiction was very closely associated with the beginning of the spread of Greek education in Rome. For a long time, the ideal for the first Roman writers was the classical examples of Greek literature, despite the fact that they used plots from Roman everyday life.

In patrician clans, songs and legends were born, in which they glorified famous ancestors. One of the types of creativity were elogies, compiled during the honor of the deceased representatives of noble families. This also reflects the reality that the ancient Romans had, namely, we see that they very much revered their ancestors, especially when they are famous and eminent relatives.

The earliest example of elogy is the epitaph dedicated to Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus, which also gives an example of a Saturnian size:

In the early era, written laws, treaties, and liturgical books began to appear. Living conditions favored the development of eloquence. Some of the speeches that were delivered were recorded.

Funeral orations also appear in the early era.

1.2 The first Roman poets

The first Roman poet was Livy Andronicus, who translated the Odyssey into Latin.

In one comedy, he ironically said about the then omnipotent Scipio the Elder, to the Metellus, he said: "By the fate of the evil Metella in Rome, the consuls."

At that time, there were many supporters of democracy, but not everyone liked it and not everyone glorified it openly, since for such thoughts one could even be punished, which can be seen below.

For his democratic poetry, Nevy was imprisoned and released from there only thanks to the intercession of the tribunes of the people. But with one condition - to leave Rome forever.

The writers and poets of Ancient Rome succumbed to rather brutal repression, since they personified all ordinary people who tried to fight for their rights, also ridiculed the rulers and aristocrats who considered themselves to be a superior race.

It is safe to say that the best presented was the Roman comedy. For many centuries, the comedies of Titus Maktius Plautus (circa 254-184) were considered exemplary.

I will say a few words about the life of Plautus, who was born in Umbria. Arriving in Rome, he joined the troupe of actors. Concurrently, he was engaged in trade, after that he worked for hire, and in his spare time he wrote his own comedies, which were successfully sold. Unfortunately, it is not known how his life ended.

It is only known that he died in 184. Throughout his life, Plautus traveled a lot, with people who belonged to the most diverse strata of the population of Italy.

Plautus' comedies are hereditary in plot, layout and character. These comedies were created on the basis of the huge influence of the neo-attic comedy, which differed from the political comedy in that it was simply everyday. Plautus's heroes bore Greek names and all the actions took place in Greek cities.

Slaves played an important role in the plays - they almost always appear in the comedy "The parasite and the pimp" "Pseudol". He always described their appearance in a very funny way:

Fat-bellied, big-headed, red, red erysipelas, Sharp eyes, thick caviar, huge

Legs ... ("Pseudol")

The female roles are rather monotonous, moreover, on stage they were performed by men. Comedies were usually based on interesting intrigues. It is noteworthy that all of Plautus's comedies ended happily for the main characters.

Of course, his comedies were not original and conditional types were always deduced in them, but in his comedies there were exclusively comic situations. They were easy to remember. The author himself perfectly understands the traditionality of his plots; it is not for nothing that in the conclusion of "The Prisoners" - a comedy completely unusual in its plot - he himself points to this, saying:

There are no kisses in it, no love scenes at all, No money scams, no thrown children, No lover who steals his object.

Poets write few plays, where the good would become the best ... ("Prisoners")

Plautus wrote about everyday life, everyday life, topicality, because in those days the aristocrats did not reckon with anyone at all and behaved almost like gods, and the writer rather talentedly and topically described their activities, as well as the life and customs of ordinary people using the comedy genre in which he ridiculed their shortcomings.

Terence was constantly in the circles of high Roman society, and his comedies were intended just the same for the educated audience. Terence also imitated the Greek authors, especially Menander, the famous author of the neoattic comedy.

In the works of Terence, there was a very elegant, beautiful language. In this regard, they were considered role models and were repeatedly commented on by grammarians.

Here is a very beautiful excerpt from one of his works:

Oh my brother, brother! How can I praise you? What magnificent words! I have not typed, but still your merits are higher than them.

What an advantage I have over everyone!

No one else has such a worthy brother. ("Brothers")

Lucilius (180-102) is another talented author, famous for his own satyrs in which the social life of the period was described.

Lucilius vividly showed the flaws of his current society: he condemned betrayal, stinginess and wealth, but at the same time he touched upon literary and other topics. The term "satura" in its original form was translated as

"Dish" consisting of various fruits and, according to Lucilius, it had many other meanings. Lucilius applied it to his works to indicate a mixed literary form, but since his time this concept usually refers to didactic works, the purpose of which is to condemn the vices and correct the mores of the modern poet of society. Only fragments of the satire of Lucilius have survived.

Over time, the satire of Lucilius became a purely Roman literary genre that developed in the subsequent era.

In the period from the end of III. until the middle of II. Roman literature, at first hereditary, gradually begins to show in itself original features and develops independently. Literature very closely acquainted society with

One of the most prolific writers of the time was Marcus Terentius Varro (116-27). He surprised his readers with the variety of subjects that were touched upon in the works, and he himself was proud of the amount of everything written.

Varro's works covered almost all branches of knowledge. But Varro owned not only prose, but also several poetic works. For example, an excerpt from his treatise "Agriculture". Here he explains in detail how to care for poultry:

“The brood hens need to put barley soaked in water. For the first two days, the goslings are given barley porridge or barley, and the next three - finely chopped green cress soaked in water; they put it in some kind of vessel. Having driven in nooks or caves, as I have already said, 20 goslings each, they throw egg porridge at them ... "

His satire was famous. Judging by the passages that have come down to us, we can safely say that certain political goals were pursued in them, as well as the formation of new ideas and a method of action. Ineffective philosophical reasoning, for example, is contrasted with the Roman wisdom of life. Varro also touched on political issues. After the establishment of the first triumvirate, he published a satire called The Three-Headed Monster.

The last century of the Republic is marked by the flourishing of Latin prose. As well as huge successes in the field of poetry.

Since ancient times, teaching poetry has been a sign of good form, and the ability to compose poetry has been instilled in all schools. In the Roman Empire at that time, competing with each other, two currents developed: in one, there was a desire to find poetic forms, the possibility of using various methods that were supported by Hellenistic, especially Alexandrian poets; the competing direction involved the traditional form of writing, which came from Ennius. The ancient Roman politician Cicero, as well as the author of the famous philosophical poem "about the nature of things" Titus Lucretius Kar, was the associates of traditional writing.

1.3 Comedy in the literature of Ancient Rome

Such an interesting genre as comedy originates from folk rituals, which were usually arranged in honor of fertility. On these holidays, funny songs, jokes, sometimes even obscene ones, were sounded, which, according to the ancient Greek people, were necessary for the praise and satisfaction of the productive forces of nature. Also, dispute played an important role in these rituals.

Often, comedy performances were organized on the feast of the Great Dionysius, which lasted about three days. Each of the three days of the celebration ended with a comedy show. It can be noted that the days of the holiday became a real theatrical stage on which all representatives of theatrical genres organized real competitions for primacy and skill. The first comedic playwright in ancient Greece was Epichar. His works later served as the basis for the Roman folk comedy Attelan and the works of Plautus. In this example, you can see that in the described time, the dominant ones for the ancient Romans were festivities where they liked to drink, take a walk. Subsequently, this greatly influenced literature and people.

The next stage of maturation was the development of the ancient Attic comedy. This comedy was already more expressive and had characteristic features. For example, the action was based on a thesis that became the subject of controversy and as a result, at the very end of the presentation, was proved.

An important part of the comedy was the parabaza, which represented the chorus's appeal to the audience. Absolutely all the plots for comedies were taken from ordinary everyday life and very accurately revealed the problems of the public. Also, not only life episodes, but also the heroes of comedies themselves were laughed at.

The humorous production was constantly emphasized by violent laughter. Mimic performances, performances of dancers and singers were an obligatory part of all performances. The dancers' numbers were very graceful, sometimes even erotic, which was evident from the characteristic movements. A special place in the performances was given to stage entourage, clothes and masks. Clothing for humorous performances was very different from dramatic performances. The faces of the actors were emphatically, unnaturally ugly. The comedians did not wear shoes with thick soles, emphasizing the short stature of the heroes of the performances, they also wore special linings to increase the belly and buttocks to colossal sizes.

Early Roman fiction was heavily influenced by Greek culture. The first Roman authors took an example from the best works of the Hellenes, but using Roman fables.

However, in my opinion, it was literature that became the kind of art where the Romans most vividly and distinctively expressed their individuality.

Consideration of the historical life and everyday life of the ancient period makes it possible to understand the inner world of the Romans and their thinking. Without this knowledge, it is in no way possible to use everyday material to study broader historical patterns. Analyzing the everyday life of the ancient Romans, in particular their private life, I tried to determine how much our modern consciousness differs from the antiquity.

Exactly like a few years ago , thus, even today, any individual plays a huge role in the texture of our society, as exemplified by our current family structure.

Ancient Rome is very similar to a modern developed city, and much more than meets the eye. A huge number of residents faced the same problems that we do. The life and values of the ancient era of course disappeared and remained vestiges of the past, but the similarity of our life with a simple Roman in everyday and everyday matters should not be denied.

Ancient Roman society worked tirelessly: everyone knew their place, function and purpose. The Roman people woke up, worked for the benefit of their state, relatives and friends, and spent their free time - exactly like a person of our time. Two thousand years later, we still live according to a schedule and follow certain rules. But often our society sets the wrong priorities: work or hobbies become more important than family and traditions. In ancient Rome, such a luxury was unacceptable. For the citizens of Rome, the most important thing in life was family, their own home, children, family warm relations, full of mutual understanding and love.

Nowadays, in many families, it is considered a remnant of society. But at the same time, for several centuries, in Roman society, the despotism and unshakable power of the father was taken for granted, as a necessary phenomenon.

I believe that the current concept of morality of our time would have been incomprehensible for antiquity and not at all necessary.

Society was divided into rich and poor, married for profit, as well as a long patriarchy: all this indicates the absence of those moral values that are present in modern society. Perhaps it was the fall in morality that became one of the reasons for the collapse of the Roman Empire.

If we compare the relationship of a person to his home now and at that time, you can find a huge number of similarities, but at the same time differences with Roman life. Modern society, which owns many benefits, in comparison with antiquity, follows the same laws of being: not be content with little, but strive for more. Property is one of the indicators of our position in society, which is why we treat our things with such awe. In the ancient world, a person and his property did not have a special connection. Yes, a Roman could have property that he valued and tried to make it luxurious, but rather this was done not for personal satisfaction, but to demonstrate his own social status.

In our time, there are special connections between people and things, a person, understanding the possession of something as a personal property, associates his home and its environment with himself. In most cases, a person becomes attached to things, makes repairs in his houses as he would like, and does not put his personal life on display. Although, one cannot say that all people of our time do this, let's say, they are the majority.

The private life of the ancient Romans was very dependent on slaves. Slaves completely belonged to their master; in Roman society, they were a means of production. Asking ourselves the question, would the Roman system based on slavery be workable today, we see the obvious answer - "no". And this answer is caused not so much by the laws and rules of modern society, but this conclusion follows from logical considerations. In the modern world, slavery would be an ineffective way of doing business. In the modern world, no entrepreneur would take on the heavy burden of keeping slaves. Slavery brings income only under two conditions: non-human conditions for keeping slaves and wealth, and power for the masters. These two factors met in antiquity or in backward societies in the modern world where there is poverty. Our society has stepped over this step irrevocably. Bullying and physical abuse of slaves was common among the Romans. And for us in today's society it looks monstrous, although there are exceptions. Our society is more

complex and orderly, while Roman is more violent. And it is impossible to combine these lifestyles, either one or the other.

For many centuries, the comedies of Titus Maktius Plautus (circa 254-184) were considered exemplary. According to the plot, layout and nature of the comedy

Plavtas are imitative; in other words, they were created under the influence of neo-attic comedy, which, unlike the political comedy of the classical era, was a comedy of everyday life.

The culture of the ancient world did not die out over time, having survived the invasions of the barbarians and the dark ages, survived and "nurtured" European literature.

Such ancient subjects as "Anthony and Cleopatra",

Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Phaedrus, Britannica by Racine, Medea,

"Horace", "Pompey" by Corneille.

Merezhkovsky ("Julian the Apostate"), Bryusov ("Altar of Victory"), Andreev (the plays "The Abduction of the Sabine Women" and "Horse in the Senate") turned to ancient subjects.

That is, it proves that Roman literature had a huge impact on literature throughout the world. She was completely self-sufficient, otherwise she would not have found such a wide response in world literature, and which she still finds.

1.4 Satire in the literature of Ancient Rome

Roman literature in its development used the richest experience of the Greeks. The Romans borrowed Greek literary genres, forms and subjects, translated or imitated Greek authors.

The heightened interest of the Romans in everyday reality, in the "prose of life" contributed to the rapid development of satire. "Satire is entirely ours",

The ancient Romans argued. Indeed, it was in Rome that satire reached its highest peak.

Two of its forms were distinguished here. One, exclusively poetic, was developed by poets. This is Lucilius, Horace, Juvenal. Another kind of satire was a mixture of prose and poetry ("Menippian satire"). Its brightest examples were two remarkable works of the era of Nero (middle of the 1st century AD). This is the famous novel by Petronius "Satyricon" and the anonymous pamphlet "The Apotheosis of the Divine Claudius", where the deification of the emperor Claudius is parodied, who, instead of becoming a god, turned into a pumpkin. Here is a very striking excerpt from this work:

“For Claudius, this was not new, but only seemed very unfair. They argued about the kind of punishment for a long time, not finding a suitable punishment in any way. There were those who said that Sisyphus had worked hard enough on his burden, that Tantalus would die of thirst if he was not helped, that it would be time to stop the wheel of the unfortunate Ixion. But they decided not to release any of the old criminals from punishment, so that Claudius would not hope for this in the future. It was decided to establish a new punishment, inventing a vain work for him, in the form of some aimless amusement. Then Eak orders him to play at the grain with a holey horn. "

The satirical depiction of morals is the main content and epigrams of Martial, the greatest master of this genre in world literature, as well as the comedies of Plautus and Terence.

The founder of Roman poetry was the unusually gifted poet Catullus (first half of the 1st century BC). Among his poems, love lyrics are especially famous, which depict the poet's love story for the famous secular beauty Claudia. All shades of love feelings are reflected here - delight and joy, despair and anguish.

Far from the ardent passion of Catullus is the sublime and restrained muse of Horace, who was a contemporary of Virgil. In his work, Roman poetry reached its climax. Horace's poetic fame was mainly made up of "Odes" - four books with a wide variety of topics. Here are love poems, and odes on the themes of friendship, and everyday reasoning. Many odes are devoted to a political theme: the praises of Augustus, the victorious Roman weapon.

The most talented of the Roman lyricists was the younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, Ovid. Already early poems - "Songs of Love" - made his name famous. They contain not only the lyrical outpourings of an admiring or desperate soul, but also humor and irony.

Obviously parody works - "The Art of Love" and "Remedies of Love". This is a kind of practical guide for lovers, presented with the grace and wit inherent in the poet.

Octavian Augustus saw in The Art of Love a mockery of his marriage legislation, and Ovid was sent into exile, where he died in constant longing for Rome. In exile, "Sorrowful Elegies" and

"Messages from Pontus".

The culmination of Ovid's creativity was two large poems - "Metamorphoses" (Transfigurations) and "Fasti", a poetic calendar of Roman holidays (not finished). "Metamorphoses" is a kind of poetic encyclopedia of ancient mythology. Ovid retells about 250 myths about the transformation of people into plants and animals, emphasizing the idea of the eternity and constant change of life.

The unsurpassed Roman orator and politician Cicero became the creator of classical Latin fiction. His speeches, revised for publication, letters to friends, treatises on rhetoric, philosophical works (a popular presentation of Greek philosophical theories that Cicero thought useful to his compatriots) were a valuable contribution to Roman culture.

The most prominent representatives of historical prose were Cato the Elder, Titus Livy, Tacitus, who wrote works on the history of Rome. Suetonius, the author of biographies of the first twelve Caesars, worked in the genre of historical biography.

CHAPTER 2. COMEDIES IN ANCIENT ROME AS A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE

2.1 Roman comedian Plautus and his works as a reflectionreal life

Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254-184 BC), a genius Roman comedian from Sarsina in Umbria.

The Romanization of Greek plots is reflected in the fact that Plautus often introduced features of the Roman way of life, Roman culture, the Roman court, and Roman self-government into his comedies. So, he talked a lot about praetors, aediles, and these are officials of the Roman government, not the Greek; about the senate, the curiae - these are also phenomena of the state system of Rome, not Greece.

Plautus' work is plebeian in nature, it is closely connected with the traditions of the Italian folk theater. In antiquity, 130 comedies were attributed to Plautus, only 21 have survived to this day. Reproducing the usual plots of the "new" comedy, its masks (a young man in love, a boastful warrior, a resourceful slave, a stern father, etc.), Plautus introduces elements into his plays folk theater - buffoonery, a carnival game, brings their plays closer to the more primitive "grassroots" forms of comic play. An example of a piece with a significant amount of buffoonery is Pseudol, staged in 191.

The protagonist of most of Plautus's comedies ("Ghosts", "Bacchides", Pseudolus, etc.) is a clever slave-intriguer who helps the master, and so often deceives him.

He has always enjoyed great popularity among the audience. Plavt painted the image of the quirky slave with great love and made the central figure of many comedies; his comedies have their own direction, stemming from the social life of the poet and his position in the class struggle.

The slave markets are the places where Roman cosmopolitanism was most evident. Slaves were brought from the most remote corners of the empire and from outside it, they belonged to a wide variety of nationalities. It is interesting to note that there was no such thing as racism in the empire, and no one was persecuted for their skin color. The differences between people determined their status: you are either a Roman citizen, or a foreigner - "peregrinus", or a slave.

The sale of slaves was clearly regulated: the merchant had to pay import duties and sales tax. Usually the Romans despised these traders, many of whom were of Eastern origin. Where did they find slaves to sell? And how did they become slaves at all? Differently. Some were already born slaves: if your mother is a slave, then her master can do whatever he wants with you, for you automatically become his property. He could keep you or sell you to make money on it. Often, the Romans, who owned a large number of slaves, set up real "nurseries" that replenish the market.

Most of the slaves, however, were born free, inside or outside the empire, and then fell into slavery: these are prisoners of war whom the Roman state sold to private individuals (even in peacetime, there were hostilities here and there, and slave traders followed each legion on the move. buying up prisoners). Many slaves were bought abroad from merchants from Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa (as in the past centuries, slaves from Black Africa were delivered to the courts of Arab or European rulers or to the estates of American latifundists). Then convicted criminals, children - "refuseniks", picked up on the streets and raised by heartless people who turned them into slaves (a similar fate awaited children kidnapped by bandits or pirates).

There were also ordinary people who made debts and were "sold" by their creditors to a slave trader. Although the law distinguished them from ordinary slaves.

The last form of slavery is striking - the one that could be defined as "self-enslavement." We are talking about people who were born free, but so poor that they were "sold" to others.

As I said, there was a great difference between urban slaves (familia urbana) and rural slaves (familia rustica). The former were treated more leniently so as not to reduce their value in case they had to put up slaves for sale. And for rural slaves, such an opportunity was not provided. Their life was terrible: they were always looked after by a former slave, whom the master entrusted with the management of the estate or farm. In his mind, a slave who does not work is useless. Therefore, all the time the slave should be busy with work, there was not a minute left for rest and personal life.

In these real "concentration camps" (from this point of view, the villas were colonies of a strict regime: even the room where the slaves slept is called ergastulum), the slave could not even marry of his own free will. In this sense, a slave resembles a cow or a dog. In fact, the differences are so tiny. It can even be seen in the names. The working cattle were called instrumentum semivocale, and the slave was called instrumentum vocale.

In a few words, the slave traders (mangones) indicated on the tablets the origin, merits and some demerits of the "living commodity". In a matter of moments, the fate of the exposed slaves changed forever.

The number of own slaves - was one of the signs of prosperity. In private houses, usually five to twelve slaves were served, a maximum of twenty. However, some patricians owned five hundred slaves in the city and two or three thousand outside Rome, on their estates and farms.

There were also "public" slaves belonging to a city or state, and slaves of the emperor. They worked in "public" places, for example, in large baths, in the vigil building, in the food depots, in the annona, or they worked for paving roads, building bridges, and so on.

Most of these slaves served in "offices": they were in charge of administration and finances.

Thus, we are talking about people who can read and write and often have some kind of culture. Therefore, they were treated better than their counterparts in the village or in the port.

All of these slaves kept the Roman economy afloat. The law did not consider them as living beings, but referred to the category of "things". The owner was free to act with them at his own discretion, he could even kill. One ancient, later abolished, law ordered the execution of all the slaves of a master who was killed by one of them, because the rest were unable to protect him and did not report their brother. One can imagine what kind of atmosphere reigned in the slave familiae in every mansion.

With rare exceptions, the state did not interfere at all in the relationship between the master and his slaves. This is a closed world: whether the relationship will be friendly or cruel, it is up to the owner to decide. It is as natural as it is natural for us today that the state is not interested in our "relationship" with an electric harvester or a lawn mower. The owner has the right to torture, maim, kill his slaves.

And that, really nobody protested?

Many objected, for example, Seneca, or the Stoics, who considered slaves to be human beings, not things and demanded an appropriate attitude towards them. And yet the importance of slaves to the Roman economy and finances was so high that no one even thought about how to do without them. Nevertheless, a gradual improvement in their situation is still observed.

If during the republican period it was extremely difficult, in the era of the empire, over time, slaves begin to receive, if not "rights", then at least "permissions": they are allowed to have their earned money with them in order to subsequently buy freedom and marry according to the rules of "slave marriage" (although their children will remain the property of the master). The treatment of slaves is also softened, and the prohibition of killing slaves is imposed on the masters. Some customs will remain unchanged, such as leasing your slave to a workshop, bakery or other work in the city in order to take his earnings. This is a kind of "rent" that allows even poor people to survive in Rome. It is enough to have one or two slaves.

For the rich, there was another form of investment: you could give a capable slave a certain amount of money (called a peculium), buy him a workshop and start his work as an artisan, certainly profitable. The slave, undoubtedly, was interested in the success of his enterprise, because his life would be favorably different from the life of his fellows, he would enjoy the respect of the owner, and if he could, then, having received freedom (which is quite likely with respect from the master), he will be able to start his own business and break out into the people.

How could a slave be recognized on the streets of Rome? It was not easy, as the Greek historian Appian confirms. Outwardly, he looked very much like a free citizen. Facial features that betray belonging to a particular nationality will not help us. Because many Roman citizens were freed or descended from former slaves.

The main feature by which one could easily recognize a slave was clothing. She was usually more modest among slaves. On the neck hung a plaque, like our cats and dogs. They were written with the name and often the amount of reward in the event of the capture and return of the slave to the owner. In one of Ostia's workshop (on Diana Street) they found a new collar for a slave with the inscription: "Hold me so that I don't run away: I run away" 1 (Tene me ne fugiam, fugio).

On a medallion attached to another bronze collar, now on display among the exhibits of the National Roman Museum of the Baths of Diocletian, one can read that a reward of one solidus will be given to the one who returns the slave (in case of escape) to the owner named Zonin (Fugi, tene me cum revocaveris me domino meo Zonino accipis solidum). This slave lived much later than the era I am describing (between

300 and 500 AD), but the custom remained unchanged throughout the imperial era.

Leaving the slave market, one could meet our eyes with a crying red-haired girl who was dragged by a man: fate was favorable to her, but the girl did not know about it yet: she would not end up in a cheap lupanarium, but would serve a wealthy family, which would show to her respect, within the framework of her position. Looking at her face, disheveled hair and youthful body, so brutally exposed to the public, the question arises: can she ever regain her freedom? Perhaps if she's lucky.

Indeed, many slaves regained freedom through manumissio, that is, liberation that could be done in various ways. The owner could indicate this in a letter or will (a very common phenomenon). Or, for example, go to Trajan's forum, the Ulpia Basilica, where the ancient Atrium libertatis (literally "House of Freedom") was transferred, and enter it on the censorship lists as a Roman citizen. From that moment on, the slave became a freedman, acquired Roman citizenship and automatically received all the civil rights of a Roman citizen, that is, the same as those of his former master, to whom he was legally obliged to work off a certain amount of workdays annually. The master became his master, and these duties of the former slave are called operae.

Plautus's plots are not original, in his comedies conditional types are deduced, but Plautus has inimitable comic situations. They are easy to remember. Plautus has created a language of comedy that is fresh and varied; skillfully using wordplay, he created new figurative expressions, successfully introduced neologisms, parodied expressions adopted in the official language. He took a lot from colloquial speech, from the language of the lower classes. There are many rough expressions in the language of Plautus:

What do you care about me, you scoundrel?

There are no bulls in the village, who should you follow? Say please! Yes, I like to Party, to love, to be confused with mistresses. I'm risking mine, not your back. ("Ghost")

Plautus masterfully mastered the most complex lyrical forms and made them a means of expressing the most varied feelings and moods. An abundance of expressive means joins the inexhaustible wit; the richness of the wordplay, put at the service of the comic effect, cannot be conveyed in another language:

At the neighbor's pimp

That fluteschitsu with which your son is in love, With skillful and cunning tricks

I intend to take away, and, moreover, I will do both before the evening. 2 ("Pseudolum")

Despite the presence of individual "touching" plays, Plavt's theater as a whole had an attitude towards the funny, the caricature, and the farce. This manifested itself in the development of the type. Greek comedy knew how to vary its type, to give it individual shades. Plautus preferred bright and thick colors.

The traditional masks of "greedy" getters and "grumpy" wives were comically sharper and more ideologically closer to the Roman public than

“Touching” versions of these images in plays with a humane tendency.

A very bright moment of greed of heterosexuals is seen in the comedy "Bacchis": How kind you are! Well, do it like this:

On the occasion of my arrival, I want to give lunch to my sister. Make us

Luxurious shopping for a revelry.

From the height of more stringent aesthetic requirements, later Roman criticism (for example, Horace) reproached Plautus for caricature and inconsistency of images. Plautus's goal is to continuously excite laughter with every scene, phrase, gesture.

Among the haves - between the nobles (aristocrats) and horsemen (the second estate, which played a leading role in financial affairs) due to the division of the booty received from the exploitation of the provinces, and in the lower strata of society, especially among the ruined farmers, there were strife due to further landlessness.

These changes in the social and political life of Rome were reflected in literature and theater. The growing participation of small-scale and proletarian elements in the social struggle led to the theater becoming more interested in the life of the lower classes. The protagonists of the Togat were artisans: cloth-makers, shoemakers, weavers, millers and other people. In comedies, images of women were given - not slaves or heterosexuals: they were wives, daughters, stepdaughters of artisans. All of this reflected a change in social relations. Woman in the II century. BC NS. freed from strong family ties and went beyond the threshold of her house, where until that time, obedient to her husband, she lived exclusively with domestic interests. If slaves were brought out in the toga, then they behaved as befits Roman slaves: they dare not be smarter than their masters. Plautus mostly describes in his comedies young merchants, who often trade in overseas lands, shows the conflicts of children with their fathers, interfering with their personal lives, conflicts with pimps, from whose hands you need to snatch your beloved girls, with usurers from whom you have to borrow money:

A young man ransomed his girlfriend at will, Having squandered all the good in the absence of his father. And so the old man returned. Tranion managed to circle his finger around him: they say, a son left the house, frightened by a ghost.

Yes, here the usurer appeared, demanded

I begged forgiveness to him and the young man. 1 ("Ghost")

In comedies, Plautus's passionate hatred of usurers is everywhere felt. Condemnation, thirst for accumulation, tirades against luxury and donor wives, a negative image of usury, which aroused "popular hatred" - all this was quite burning for Rome. But the educational significance of Plautus's comedy is not limited to this.

The best comedy of Plavat is the comedy "The Treasure". Plautus shows himself here as a psychologist. In the comedy "The Treasure", Plautus portrayed the poor man Euclion, who found the treasure. Instead of putting money into business, into the household, he bury it and tormented for days, fearing that someone might find his treasure:

Don't know who I am? Let me tell you briefly:

I'm Lar at home, from the house of this one, From where, as you can see, I came out. Here

I have been living for many years, I was the patron saint of the Father and the grandfather of the new owner.

His grandfather entrusted me with a prayer of gold Hidden treasure: in the middle of his hearth

Buried, he begged me to protect him.

And he died; I was so greedy in my soul that I didn't want to show it to my son,

He preferred to leave him in poverty, Just not to point out the treasures. He left a small piece of land,

Let him live in great labor and be in poverty. 1 ("Treasure")

Euclion became a curmudgeon. Plautus deliberately exaggerates this trait of his hero. Euclion is so stingy that, according to the slave Strobil, he is sorry that the smoke from his hearth flies out.

Plautus depended, first of all, on the mass audience; in his comedies, to a certain extent, the interests and views of the broad masses of the urban plebs are reflected. In his comedies, a protest against usury, against aristocratic arrogance is clearly visible.

The theme of the thrown and found child is entirely devoted to the comedy.

"The Box", a remake of Menander's "Companions". "Menekhma" - have a plot that goes back to the tale of two brothers: a brother goes to look for his missing brother and frees him from the spell of an evil witch:

Today he arrived at Epidamnes with his servant,

He is looking for his missing brother.

Here the city of Epidamnes, while in it the action of the Comedy being given now, goes on;

Another will go - the place will change: After all, the roles in the troupe change: either a pimp will appear here before us, Now a beggar, now an old man, now a tsar, now a young man,

Now a fortuneteller, now a poor man, now a parasite. ("Two Menechmas")

In the comedies of Plautus, there is a spirit of fun, optimism, a thirst for life, a desire to act, to clear the path to happiness. Its main characters are grotesque, their features are hyperbolic, there are a lot of buffoonery in comedies, a lot of comic appeals directly to the audience; the language of the heroes amazes with an abundance of sharp jokes, play on words, a mass of colloquial expressions, funny “qui pro quo” when the heroes do not understand each other. All this gives an extraordinary liveliness to the comedy of Plautus, brings in "Italian vinegar" as opposed to the "Attic salt" of Greek comedies. No wonder the Roman philologist Varro (1st century BC), who studied the comedies of Plautus and compiled their classification, fully agrees with the opinion of the old grammar Elius Stilon (late 2nd century) that “the muses themselves would use the language of Plautus if wanted to speak Latin. "

Thus, it is very clearly seen that Plautus wrote about everyday life, everyday life, topicality, since in those days the aristocrats did not reckon with anyone at all and behaved almost like gods, but a writer.

2.2 Roman comedian Terence and his work as a reflection of real life

Publius Terentius Afer - the most gifted, after Plautus, the representative of the ancient Roman comedy. The best source for his biography is an ancient biography belonging to Suetonius. He lived between the 2nd and 3rd Punic wars (about 195 - 159 BC). Having somehow got to Rome, Terentius was a slave to Senator Terence Lucan, who, noticing his outstanding abilities, gave him an excellent education, and then he was released.

The talent of the author gave him access to the high society of Roman society. The best part of the young generation of the Roman aristocracy, who was well acquainted with the rich literature of the Greeks, then strove, under foreign influence, to ennoble both Russian speech and Russian customs.

At the center of this society was Scipio Africanus, next to whom stood his friend Lelius. Terence also joined this circle.

...

2.1. Titus Lucretius Kar

We know little about the life of Lucretius. He devotes his poem to the praetor Memmius, addressing him as an equal. Perhaps because he belonged to a higher circle, although some are inclined to consider him a person of democratic origin. Christian writer IV-V centuries n. NS. Jerome says that Lucretius lost his mind from drinking a love drink, that he wrote his poem only at those moments when he regained consciousness and ended his life by suicide. However, in the poem there is no trace of the morbidity of consciousness; this version apparently refers to the subsequent period and was invented by opponents of the philosophy of Lucretius.

The poem "On the Nature of Things" is a philosophical work. The author used rhythmic speech and diverse forms of poetic presentation to make the subject of his work accessible to the reader. Expounding his teaching "in sonorous and sweet verses," he acts, in his words, like a doctor "who smears honey on the edges of a bowl when he gives children a bitter healing drink."

Lucretius is a staunch supporter and passionate preacher of the teachings of Epicurus, which, in his opinion, should rid people of superstition and give them happiness.

The poem begins with a hymn to the all-good Venus, the personification of a single and eternally living nature. The first book formulates the law of the eternity of matter as the basis of the doctrine of all that exists: nothing comes from nothing, but everything is born and grows from the smallest primary bodies, of which all bodies are composed. A significant part of the next book is devoted to the development of this idea.

The third book deals with the question of life and death. Lucretius denies the immortality of the soul. The spirit and soul of a person will be born and die with the body. Therefore, death is the inevitable end of existence. The fourth book establishes that our senses are the main source of knowledge of things. In the fifth book, a majestic picture of the universe is developed. The world has arisen as a result of various cohesions of individual bodies. The world does not stagnate in its position, everything is transient, nature is eternally changing. Lucretius tells the story of the formation of the earth and the appearance of living beings on it. He gives an outline of the development of primitive society. The first people were more like animals, they did not have laws and rules of community, violence reigned among them. But gradually people subjugated the forces of nature, they learned how to make fire, began to use the skins of animals, a family appeared, as a result of the contract, a society arose. The sixth book explains various natural phenomena: thunderstorms, earthquakes, temperature fluctuations, epidemic diseases.

The poem reveals a holistic, basically materialistic and mechanistic worldview. Its author is not only a rationalist-thinker, but also a poet, he not only studies nature, but also adores it.

Some descriptions (thunderstorms, clouds) speak of the strength of the author's poetic perception of natural phenomena. One of the main tasks of Lucretius is to free people from the fear of death and from superstition. The natural picture of the world leaves no room for divine intervention. In agreement with Epicurus, Lucretius says that the gods lead a serene life and do not touch human affairs. Man's powerlessness before nature, his helplessness in explaining its phenomena were the causes of religious delusions, which can be the source of all evil.

The ideal of Lucretius is a sage who has learned the laws of life and nature, freed from superstition, retired from worries and enjoying his peace of mind. Epicurean ethics are basically apolitical. It justifies individualism, the removal of a person from social life.

He prefers the life of a primitive society to a life full of fussy worries, remote from nature and burdened by struggle. However, pessimism is alien to Lucretius. Admiration for nature, faith in her inexhaustible powers are combined with an apology for the human mind, which penetrates into the deepest secrets of the universe and is the source of true wisdom. This is the power of Lucretius' optimism.

The poem "On the Nature of Things" is the greatest work of world literature, it continues to amaze with the depth of thought, and more than once has been a source of creative inspiration. The doctrine, in its essence, is in contradiction with many phenomena of the Roman social order, filled with ritual and superstition, Lucretius clothed in the traditional Latin poetic form. He did not follow the Alexandrian models, but the Roman poet Ennius, to whom he treated with great respect.

Lucretius' reform of Enny's verse was significant for later poets, especially Virgil. About 100 BC. NS. Latin poems appear, written under the influencealexandrinism. This trend arose at the court of the Ptolemies, and the following features are characteristic of it: 1)underlined erudition the author (especially in matters of mythology); 2)grace and sophistication forms; 3) exceptional attention topersonal experiences especially loving. At the end of the first half of the 1st century. Alexandrinism is also becoming fashionable in Rome. He finds many supporters, mainly among the aristocratic youth. People of the conservative direction stood for the old Ennian verse, and Cicero disparagingly called the new poetsneoteric ("Youths", "innovators").

2.2. Guy Valery Catullus

The first place among the new poets belongs, undoubtedly, to Catullus. Gaius Valerius Catullus (circa 87-54 BC) was born in the Transpadan city of Verona. Having settled in Rome, he became close with representatives of the aristocratic youth, among whom there were many talented people.

Greek and Hellenistic poetry was well known to Catullus. A number of his poems are written in a purely Alexandrian spirit ("The Wedding of Thetis and Peleus", two marriage songs - epithalamia, etc.). Catullus paid tribute to the emphasized learning that was required of the poet of the Alexandrian school, but at the same time he gave true, full of realism characteristics of human feelings and passions. The lyric poems of Catullus, the main ones of which he dedicated to his beloved Lesbia, acquired particular importance in world literature.

Under this fictitious name, as it was established in antiquity, was hidden the aristocrat Clodia, the sister of the famous tribune of 58, who was repeatedly mentioned in the works of Cicero. Catullus' poems introduce us to the twists and turns of the entire novel: Catullus speaks of his passion, leading him to shyness. The first enthusiasm and joy of success was followed by disappointment: Catullus had suspicions that aroused jealousy and soon confirmed. Catullus is experiencing opposite feelings, with particular force captured by him in a couplet that begins with the words: "Though I hate, I love."

In the end, Catullus breaks with Claudia, and this break causes him, as it were, numb. He prays to the gods to save him from his love sickness; he is disappointed in love and subsequently did not want to return to his former lover.

Love for Claudia is not the only motive in Catullus' lyric works. He writes poems about the death of his beloved brother and numerous and varied poems dedicated to friends. Catullus' verses on nature are remarkable. The poem, addressed to the native peninsula of Sirmium, was written by the poet on his return from Bithynia; his native land is dearer to Catullus than all the other "peninsulas and islands, the Tinian and Bithinian fields."

Thus, the lyrics of Catullus reflect the complex range of the poet's personal experiences. He was influenced not only by the Alexandrians - he was influenced by the early Greek lyricists (especially Sappho and Archilochus). Catullus managed to find words of exceptional power and charm to express complex human experiences, and he can rightfully be considered the first major Roman lyric poet. In the lyric works of Catullus, the development of individualism in Roman society is most vividly reflected.

Political motives were also not alien to Catullus. His father was considered a friend and guest of Caesar, while Catullus himself moved in the circle of anti-Caesarian youth; he owns several harsh epigrams to Caesar, and especially to the latter's favorite, Mamurra. True, in one of the poems Catullus admires Caesar's successes in Britain.

At the end of the period under review, outstanding poets of the beginning of the Empire, Virgil and Horace, began their activity, but their works published by them during the years of the last civil wars are inseparable from all their work, which is closely related to the political and social relations of the times of the Augustan principate.

III. Literature of the early Empire

1. Literary life in the era of Augustus

The era of Augustus is the heyday of Roman culture. In his time, such works of literature and art were created, which acquired world-historical significance and remained models for many centuries. These works are the result of centuries of development of Roman culture, but at the same time they express those ideological currents that are characteristic of the era of Augustus.

Roman poetry flourished during the reign of Augustus. Civil wars did not interrupt the line of development, the beginning of which dates back to the middle of the 1st century. BC NS. The poets of the August era continued the traditions of Lucretius and Catullus.

Of undoubted importance was the peace established by Augustus, which was especially favorable for the privileged strata of Italian society. It is not for nothing that all poets are Italians by origin. Italy gave Rome the talents that made Roman poetry immortal.

For fictional prose of this time, the historical genre is characteristic. An outstanding work of the era is the "History" of Titus Livy. Other historical works of the Augustus era have not reached us. Many of them, judging by the scant information that we have at our disposal, apparently were of a journalistic nature.

The age of Cicero is the heyday of Roman eloquence. Rhetoric retains its meaning in the Augustan era; it is taught in schools and influences a wide variety of literary genres. But oratory begins to decline, social conditions did not contribute to its prosperity. Tacitus explained this phenomenon in the following way: "Prolonged calmness, continuous inaction of the people, constant silence in the Senate and all the stricter rules of the princeps pacified the most eloquence, like everything else."

At the same time, the era of Augustus is the time of creativity of the best Roman poets. The eldest of them, Virgil and Horace, began their poetic activity during the civil wars.

2. Virgil

Publius Virgil Maron (70-19 BC)k, v.) was born in northern Italy, near the city of Mantua, in the family of a wealthy landowner, he received a good education, studied literature, rhetoric, and was familiar with epicurean philosophy. The turbulent events of the era of civil wars were reflected in the fate of Virgil. His small estate was to be transferred to the veterans. He was saved, however, by the intercession of his friends before Octavian. This time Virgil kept his land, but he still had to lose it on the next partition. However, with the help of Maecenas (in whose circle Virgil entered), he became the owner of another small estate.

Virgil became famous for his Bucolics. They consist of ten poems, eclogues, influenced by the idylls of the Greek poetIIIin. BC NS. Theocritus. In a number of eclogs, Virgil depicts shepherds competing in the bosom of nature in poetry. They glorify the surrounding nature, their flocks. Some eclogs have love motives; significant space is also given to various mythological images. Like Theocritus, some eclogs take place in Sicily, while in others it unfolds in the poet's native northern Italy. These works, dedicated to nature, peaceful herds and village life, also reflected political motives contemporary to the author. The ninth eclogue speaks of godless warriors who take over the land.IN the first eclogue (written, probably later than others) one of the shepherds is forced to leave his native arable land, while the other promises to offer prayers in honor of the new deity, which is in Rome and by which Virgil undoubtedly meant Octavian.

The fourth eclogue, written in 40 AD, after the Brundisian peace, stands somewhat apart. In it, the author predicts the birth of a divine baby who will bring peace and happiness to people on earth. This eclogue is not like the others; it has the character of a solemn prophecy. Already in antiquity, they argued about who Virgil had and what he meant by the eternal baby, the birth of which he predicted. Commentators saw in him the son of Azinnius Pollio, consul of 40, a famous public figure and writer, to whom the eclogue was dedicated. But, in all likelihood, this work was created under the influence of oriental prophecies, which, under the name of the Sibylline books, were widespread at that time.

Around 29 BC NS. a new work by Virgil, "Georgiki", appears. This is a didactic work giving instruction to the farmer. The work was written at the initiative of the Patron; it encouraged the honorable work of a farmer, and praised Italy. The advantage of "Georgik" is that it is not a dry treatise on agriculture, written in verse. Various digressions, genre scenes, descriptions of nature, sonorous verses, skillful use of figurative means of speech - all this allows us to classify "Georgiki" as highly artistic compositions. Virgil poeticizes Italy, Saturn's land, the most fertile and best in the world. All Italy should be proud of the glorious past of Rome. Many lines are dedicated to the glorification of Octavian. The main poetic work of Virgil named after the legendary ancestor of the Julian clan Aeneas is called "Aeneid". It is modeled on the greatest Greek poems - The Iliad and The Odyssey.

The concept and basic idea of the "Aeneid" are quite consistent with the political tendencies of Augustus. Virgil sang about his legendary ancestor, who achieves success not only because of his courage, but also because of his piety, which manifests itself both in relation to deities and those close to him. In the image of the pious Aeneas, an ideal Roman is given, whose behavior should serve as an example for posterity. The poem has a religious and didactic character. She must restore the old Roman piety, respect for the gods, fear of them, faith in signs and encourage the fulfillment of the covenants of piety and religious rites.

In the history of Roman literature, the work of Virgil is one of the most important stages. Virgil was familiar with the Alexandrian school; Alexandrism influenced his work, but, nevertheless, Virgil created purely Roman poetry.

3. Creativity of Horace

Another outstanding poet of the time of Augustus Crete Horace Flaccus (65-8 BC) also belonged to the circle of the patron. One of the earliest works of Horace was satire. Horace follows the example of Lucilius, but more than he pays attention to the grace of form. Horace condemns the vices and shortcomings of the people around him: stinginess, arrogance, excessive luxury, the pursuit of inheritance. He condemns mediocre poets, rich upstarts. There is no bitterness and indignation in his verses. Satyrs were written during the difficult times of the reign of the second triumvirs; this explains, perhaps, the fact that the author does not name either names or social groups.

Horace expressed his political sentiments in "epods", which, like satire, were written in the early period of his work.

The best works of Horace are undoubtedly his odes. And they reflected the political life of that time. However, the main thing in Horace's odes is not political themes. Like Catullus, Horace is a lyric poet. He preaches moderation, but at the same time the rational use of pleasure.Carpediem“Take advantage of the day” is his slogan.

In his famous work known as "The Monument", which subsequently caused many imitations, Horace says that his name will be honored as long as Rome exists, since he "poured the Aeolian melody into an Italic song."

IV ... Roman literature I — II cc. AD

1. General character of literature

The era of Augustus was marked by the activity of Roman poets; it is not for nothing that this time is called the golden age of Roman literature. But already in the last years of Augustus's reign, one can notice a certain decline in literature; but despite this, poetry "became fashionable." Passion for poetry is characteristic both for the time of Nero and for subsequent periods. Pliny the Younger speaks of a “harvest of poets” that crave listeners and connoisseurs. The works of the Roman satirists Martial and Juvenal testify to the same.

Based on what has come down to us from the works of poets of that time, it is possible to establish some features characteristic of fiction.I— IIcenturies. Poetry spread in Rome. The custom of re-citation, public reading of his works, introduced under Augustus by Azinius Pollio, has become generally accepted. Professional poets appeared who lived not so much by publishing their works as by the grace of their patrons.

During this period, all kinds of aphorisms, and short ones, designed for the effect of cost-making, became widespread. There is little originality in the poetry of this era. Imitation of Latin patterns is one of the characteristic features. Virgil was canonized. Many poets imitate him, even Columella, who wrote a completely prosaic work about agriculture, a book about caring for fruit trees, set it down in verse, as if filling in this essential gap in the "Georgics". Italy and Rome during the times of the Julius-Claudians and Flavians retained their priority in cultural life. But if at the time of Augustus almost all poets were Italian natives, in subsequent periods provincials acquired great importance. Lucan, Colomella, Seneca, Martial, Quintilian were from Spanish cities, and Apuleius is African.

Of the writers of this time, two poets, Martial and Juvenal, gained the greatest fame.

2. Martial

Mark Valerius Martial (about 40 - 104 years), a native of Spain, received a rhetorical education in his homeland and arrived in Rome during the time of Nero. In his works, he repeatedly returns to the description of the life of a poor man - a poet who feeds on handouts of the rich, dependent on his patrons, among whom there are people who are arrogant, mean and heartless. Marcial also does not spare clients who are waiting for mercy from their patrons.

3. Juvenal

Little is known about the life of Decimus Junius Juvenal. He was born in the Italian city of Aquina in the second halfIcentury AD, received a rhetorical education; his writing activity took place during the time of Troyan and Adrian. Juvenal earned the fame of one of the irreconcilable and harsh satirists.

Juvenal's condemnation of contemporary morals borders on complete pessimism. The surviving 16 satyrs dealt with various aspects of Roman life. He touched on the same topic as Marcial when he wrote about how difficult it is for an honest and talented person to find patrons who would reward him as he deserves, as well as the humiliating position of clients. One of the satyrs is dedicated to the vices of Roman women. Juvenal ridicules the vices of noble people, their vanity, boasting of distant ancestors.

V. Literature of the late Roman Empire

This period in the history of Roman literature did not pass unnoticed. Outstanding works were created, not inferior to the monuments of the classical era. ForIVcentury, it was characteristic that high society remained true to pagan traditions. In the literature of this time, pagan motives were still preserved and voices were heard expressing a sharp protest against Christianity. Mythological subjects continued to be favorite for poets, but these works satisfied only a limited circle of people. Among the last ancient poets, Decius Magnus Ausonius (310 - 393), Claudius Claudian (endIV- Start Vcenturies) and Claudius Rutilius Namatian.

VI ... Literary heritage of the Roman civilization

The Western Roman Empire fell, and some researchers believe that almost everything created by Rome perished with it, and further development began almost from scratch. But if even in the early period of the history of the Western "barbarian kingdoms" a significant number of achievements of the material and spiritual culture of antiquity were forgotten, much that it created continued to live in the West. In the East, in Byzantium, the ancient tradition, being reinterpreted, was essentially never interrupted. Both in the west and in the east of Europe, Christianity prevailed, absorbing the values of ancient culture. Thanks to the works of the “church fathers”, literate people got acquainted with some of the provisions of ancient philosophy, with history, myths.

When the Slavic countries, including Russia, adopted Christianity, these works, delivered from Byzantium, like other Christian works, historical chronicles, and novels about Alexander the Great, became known here as well. In the West, Latin remainedthe language of church and science for many centuries after the fall of Rome. In monasteries, manuscripts of ancient authors were copied, thanks to which they have come down to us.

Over time, the influence of the ancient heritage grew stronger and stronger. European literature constantly turned to antiquity, and the connection between them became more and more strong. Antique subjects were processed: "Antony and Cleopatra", "Julius Caesar" by Shakespeare, "Phaedrus", "Britannica" by Racine, "Medea", "Horace", "Pompey" by Corneille. Whole plays were played: Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors repeated Plautus's Menechms, and Moliere's Miserly repeated Plavt's Casket. The servants of the comedies Molière, Lope de Vega, Goldoni are inspired by the images of the clever, clever slaves of Plautus, helping the masters to arrange their love affairs. Ancient novels were translated and new ones were written to imitate them.

Without acquaintance with ancient culture, it is impossible to understand the numerous Roman reminiscences of the classics of Russian literature. In Russia, as early as the 18th century, ancient authors were translated and already Derzhavin wrote his "Monument" in imitation of Horace's "Monument". He knew Roman literature very well A.S. Pushkin. His translations of Horace are unmatched for their adequacy to the original. Merezhkovsky (“Julian the Apostate”), Bryusov (“The Altar of Victory”), Andreev (the plays “The Abduction of the Sabine Women” and “Horse in the Senate”) addressed ancient subjects.

XII ... Bibliography

Mashkin N.A. "History of the Ancient World", L., 1948

Troyansky I.M. "History of Ancient Literature", 3rd edition, L., 1957

Edited by V.D. Blavatsky "Ancient civilization", M., 1973

1. The emergence of Roman poetry and drama in the middle of the 2nd century. BC.

2. Early forms of Roman prose

3. The first Roman poets

3.1. Plautus

3.2. Terence

3.3. Satyrs Lucilia

II. Roman literature of the late republican period

1. Roman prose

1.1. Guy Julius Caesar

1.2. Guy Sallust Crisp

1.3. Mark Terence Varro

2. Roman poetry of the 1st century. BC.

2.1. Titus Lucretius Kar

2.2. Guy Valery Catullus

III. Literature of the early Empire

1. Literary life of the era of Augustus

2. Virgil

3. Creativity of Horace

IV. Roman literatureI -2nd century. AD

1. General character of literature

2. Martial

3. Juvenal

V. Literature of the late Roman Empire

Vi. Literary heritage of the Roman civilization

XII. Bibliography

I. The origin of literature in Rome

1. The rise of Roman poetry and drama in the middleII century. BC.

The first steps of Roman fiction are associated with the spread of Greek education in Rome.Early Roman writers imitated the classical examples of Greek literature, although they were used

Roman subjects and some Roman forms. There is no reason to deny the existence of oral Roman poetry, which arose in a distant era. The earliest forms of poetry are undoubtedly associated with a cult.

Thus arose a religious hymn, a sacred song (carmen), an example of which is the song of the Saliev that has come down to us. It is composed by Saturnic verses. This is the oldest monument of the Italic free poetic scale, analogies to which we find in the oral poetry of other peoples.

In patrician clans, songs and legends were composed that glorified famous ancestors. One of the types of creativity were elogies, composed in honor of the deceased representatives of noble families. The earliest example of elogy is the epitaph dedicated to L. Cornelius Scipio the Bearded, which also gives an example of a Saturnian size. Other types of Roman oral creativity include funeral songs sung by special mourners, all kinds of conspiracies and incantations, also composed in verse. Thus, long before appearances Roman fiction in the true sense of the word, the Romans create a poetic meter, saturnic verse, which was used by the first poets.

Rudiments of roman folk drama should be sought in various rural festivals, but its development is associated with the influence of neighboring peoples. The main types of dramatic performances were atellans.

Oki appeared in Etruria and were associated with cult activities; but this form was developed by the Oscans, and the very name "Atellan" comes from the Campanian city of Atella. Atellans were special plays, the content of which was taken from rural life and the life of small towns.

2. Early forms of Roman prose

3. The first Roman poets

Roman literature emerges as imitative literature. The first Roman poet was Livy Andronicus, who translated the Odyssey into Latin.

Livy Andronicus wrote several comedies and tragedies, which were translations or alterations of Greek works.

During the life of Libya, poetic activity began Wrath Nevi(circa 274-204), a Campanian native who owns an epic work of the first Punic War with a summary of previous Roman history.

In addition, Nevi wrote several tragedies, including those based on Roman legends.

Since the Romans performed in the tragedies of Nevius, dressed in a ceremonial costume — a toga with a purple border — these works are called fabulae praetextae.

After the second Punic War, the works of the poet appeared Ennia (239-169)... He was originally from Bruttia. Ennius participated in the second Punic War, after which he served as a centurion on the island of Sardinia, here he met Cato the Elder, who brought him with him to Rome. From that time on, Ennius lived in Rome and was engaged in teaching and literary work. Ennius received the rights of Roman citizenship and moved among the noble Romans; he was especially close to the circle of the Scipios.

The main work of Ennius was "Chronicle" ("Annales"), but, in addition, he, like his predecessors, wrote tragedies and comedies. Annius was the first to introduce the hexameter into Latin literature. Thus, Greek poetic meters, based on certain alternations of long and short sounds, could be used for Latin poetry.

Annius enjoyed fame during his lifetime, and after his death was revered as one of the best poets.

From the works of all three listed poets - Livy, Andronicus, Nevi and Ennius - only fragments have survived to this day.

3.1. Plautus

The Roman comedy is better represented. For many centuries, the comedies of Titus Maktius Plautus (circa 254-184) were considered exemplary. Plautus was born in Umbria. Arriving in Rome , he entered a clerk in a troupe of actors, then engaged in trade, but unsuccessfully, after that he worked for hire, and in his free time he wrote comedies that he managed to sell. The further fate of Plautus is unknown to us. We only know that he died in 184. Plautus had to travel a lot, meet people who belonged to the most diverse strata of the Italian population.

Plautus' comedies are imitative in plot, layout and character. They were created under the influence of a novelty comedy, which, unlike the political comedy of the classical era, was a comedy of everyday life. The heroes of Plavta are Greek names, action his comedy takes place in Greek cities. In the comedies of Plautus, as in the new attic comedy, conditional types appear.

The most popular comedy "The Boastful Warrior". The action takes place in Ephesus. The main character is Pyrgopolinic, a warrior in the service of Seleucus. He managed to take the girl away from Athens. An Athenian youth comes to Ephesus, her the lover who is making an effort to free the girl. The main part in this is the slave Palestron and the good old man, the warrior's neighbor. The old man's client pretended to be in love with the warrior, made an appointment with him, and he, wishing to free himself from the Athenian girl, let her go with rich gifts. In the last act, the intrigue is revealed, the boastful warrior is beaten by the slaves of the wise old man with everyone laughing. Despite the fact that the action of Plautus's comedies is played out

in Greek cities, and their heroes bear Greek names, there are many lively responses to Roman reality in them.

Plautus did not have aristocratic patrons, he depended, above all, from mass spectator, his comedies reflect, to a certain extent, the interests and views of the broad masses of the urban plebs. We find in his comedies a protest against usury, against aristocratic arrogance. The comedy "The Boastful Warrior" was probably directed against the mercenary forces and reminded the audience of the victory over Hannibal.

3.2. Terence

3.3. Satyrs Lucilia

Another representative of the Scipio circle, Lucilius (180-102) is known for his satyrs, which reflected the social life of the era. Lucilius attacked the vices of contemporary society: he condemned perjury, greed and luxury, but at the same time he touched upon literary and other topics. The word satura originally meant a dish of different fruits, and before Lucilius had different meanings. Lucilius applied it to his works to indicate a mixed literary form, but since his time this concept has usually referred to didactic works aimed at condemning the vices and correcting the mores of the modern poet of society. Only fragments of the satyrs Lucilius have survived.

II. Roman literature of the late republican period

1. Roman prose

1.1. Guy Julius Caesar

1.2. Guy Sallust Crisp

1.3. Mark Terence Varro

One of the most prolific writers of the time was Marcus Terentius Varro (116-27). He amazed his them readers with a variety of plots that were touched upon in his works, and the amount of everything written.

Varro's works covered almost all branches of knowledge. But Varro is not only a prose writer, he also owns a number of poetic works. He was famous satire. Based on the passages that have come down to us, we can say that they pursued certain political and didactic goals. Fruitless philosophical reasoning, for example, is contrasted with Roman everyday wisdom. Varro also touched upon burning political issues. After the establishment of the first triumvirate, he published a satire called The Three-Headed Monster.

2. Roman poetry of the 1st century. BC NS.

2.1. Titus Lucretius Kar

We know little about the life of Lucretius. He devotes his poem to the praetor Memmius, addressing him as an equal. Perhaps because he belonged to a higher circle , although some are inclined to consider him a person of democratic origin. Christian writer IV-V centuries n. NS. Jerome says that Lucretius lost his mind from drinking a love drink, that he wrote his poem only at those moments when he regained consciousness and ended his life by suicide. However, in the poem there is no trace of the morbidity of consciousness; this version apparently refers to the subsequent period and was invented by opponents of the philosophy of Lucretius.

Lucretius is a staunch supporter and passionate preacher of the teachings of Epicurus, which, in his opinion, should rid people of superstition and give them happiness.

The poem begins with a hymn to the all-good Venus, the personification of a single and eternally living nature. The first book formulates the law of the eternity of matter as the basis of the doctrine of all that exists: nothing comes from nothing, but everything is born and grows from the smallest primary bodies , of which all bodies are composed. A significant part of the next book is devoted to the development of this idea.

The poem reveals a holistic, basically materialistic and mechanistic worldview. Its author is not only a rationalist-thinker, but also a poet, he not only studies nature, but also adores it.

Lucretius' reform of Enny's verse was significant for later poets, especially Virgil. About 100 BC. NS. Latin poems appear, written under the influence alexandrinism. This trend arose at the court of the Ptolemies, and the following features are characteristic of it: 1) underlined erudition the author (especially in matters of mythology); 2) grace and sophistication forms; 3) exceptional attention to personal experiences especially loving. At the end of the first half of the 1st century. Alexandrinism is also becoming fashionable in Rome. He finds many supporters, mainly among the aristocratic youth. People of the conservative direction stood for the old Ennian verse, and Cicero disparagingly called the new poets neoteric("Youths", "innovators").

2.2. Guy Valery Catullus

III ... Literature of the early Empire

1. Literary life in the era of Augustus

At the same time, the era of Augustus is the time of creativity of the best Roman poets. The eldest of them - Virgil and Horace - began their poetic activity during the civil wars.

2. Virgil

Publius Virgil Maron (70-19 BC) k, v.) was born in northern Italy, near the city of Mantua, in the family of a wealthy landowner, he received a good education, studied literature, rhetoric, and was familiar with epicurean philosophy. The turbulent events of the era of civil wars were reflected in the fate of Virgil. His small estate was to be transferred to the veterans. He was saved, however, by the intercession of his friends before Octavian. This time Virgil kept his land, but he still had to lose it on the next partition. However, with the help of Maecenas (in whose circle Virgil entered), he became the owner of another small estate.

Virgil became famous for his Bucolics. They consist of ten poems, eclogues, written under the influence of the idylls of the Greek poet of the 3rd century. BC NS. Theocritus. In a number of eclogs, Virgil depicts shepherds competing in the bosom of nature in poetry. They glorify the surrounding nature, their flocks. Some eclogs have love motives; significant space is also given to various mythological images. Like Theocritus, some eclogs take place in Sicily, while in others it unfolds in the poet's native northern Italy. These works, dedicated to nature, peaceful herds and village life, also reflected political motives contemporary to the author. The ninth eclogue speaks of godless warriors who take over the land. IN the first eclogue (written, probably later than others) one of the shepherds is forced to leave his native arable land, while the other promises to offer prayers in honor of the new deity, which is in Rome and by which Virgil undoubtedly meant Octavian.

The fourth eclogue, written in 40 AD, after the Brundisian Peace, stands somewhat apart, in which the author predicts the birth of a divine baby who will bring peace and happiness to people on earth. This eclogue is not like the others; it has the character of a solemn prophecy. Already in antiquity, they argued about who Virgil had and what he meant by the eternal baby, the birth of which he predicted. Commentators saw in him the son of Azinnius Pollio, consul of 40, a famous public figure and writer, to whom the eclogue was dedicated. But, in all likelihood, this work was created under the influence of oriental prophecies, which, under the name of the Sibylline books, were widespread at that time.

The concept and basic idea of the "Aeneid" are quite consistent with the political tendencies of Augustus. Virgil glorified his legendary ancestor, who achieves success not only because of his courage, but also because of his piety, which manifests itself both in relation to the deities and his loved ones. In the image of the pious Aeneas, an ideal Roman is given, whose behavior should serve as an example for posterity. The poem has a religious and didactic character. She must restore the old Roman piety, respect for the gods, fear of them, faith in signs and encourage the fulfillment of the covenants of piety and religious rites.

3. Creativity of Horace

Another outstanding poet of the time of Augustus Crete Horace Flaccus (65-8 BC) also belonged to the circle of the patron. One of the earliest works of Horace was satire. Horace follows the example of Lucilius, but more than he pays attention to the grace of form. Horace condemns the vices and shortcomings of the people around him: stinginess, arrogance, excessive luxury, pursuit of inheritance. He condemns mediocre poets, rich upstarts. There is no bitterness and indignation in his verses. Satyrs were written during the difficult times of the reign of the second triumvirs; this explains, perhaps, the fact that the author does not name either names or social groups.

Horace expressed his political sentiments in "epods", which, like satire, were written in the early period of his work.

The best works of Horace are undoubtedly his odes. And they reflected the political life of that time. However, the main thing in Horace's odes is not political themes. Like Catullus, Horace is a lyric poet. He preaches moderation, but at the same time the rational use of pleasure. Carpe diem - “Take advantage of the day” is his slogan.

IV. Roman literatureI -2nd century. AD

1. General character of literature

Based on what has come down to us from the works of poets of that time, it is possible to establish some features characteristic of the fiction of the 1st-2nd centuries. Poetry spread in Rome. The custom of re-citation, public reading of his works, introduced under Augustus by Azinius Pollio, has become generally accepted. Professional poets appeared who lived not so much by publishing their works as by the grace of their patrons.

Of the writers of this time, two poets, Martial and Juvenal, gained the greatest fame.

The Age of August and the Development of Roman Literature. Roman literature. General character of literature

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INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE OF ANCIENT ROME

1.1 The origin of literature in rome

1.2 The first Roman poets

1.3 Comedy in the literature of Ancient Rome

1.4 Satire in the literature of Ancient Rome

CHAPTER 2. COMEDIES IN ANCIENT ROME AS A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE

2.2 Roman comedian Terence and his work as a reflection of real life

CHAPTER 3. SATIRE IN ANCIENT ROME AS A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE

3.2 Roman satirist Juvenal and his works as a reflection of real life

CONCLUSION

LIST OF USED LITERATURE AND SOURCES

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE OF ANCIENT ROME

1.1 The origin of literature in rome

1.2 The first Roman poets

1.3 Comedy in the literature of Ancient Rome

1.4 Satire in the literature of Ancient Rome

CHAPTER 2. COMEDIES IN ANCIENT ROME AS A REFLECTION OF REAL LIFE

2.2 Roman comedian Terence and his work as a reflection of real life

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