Chapter 11

'Superavit dolum Troianum atque Ulixem Pseudolus.'

Several references to the play are found in Cicero: _Cato Maior_, 50 (quoted p. 9); _Phil._ ii. 15; _pro Rosc. Com._ 20. The scene is Athens.

15. _Poenulus_.--The original was a Greek play, +Karchêdonios+, the author of which is unknown, as the fragments of Menander's +Karchêdonios+ do not fit in with Plautus' play. The play was called by Plautus 'Patruus,' but posterity went back to the older name 'Poenulus.' Prol. 53,

'Carchedonius vocatur haec comoedia Graece, Latine Patruus Pultiphagonidae.'[10]

Authorities assign the play to B.C. 189. The play is considerably interpolated, one ending being at l. 1371, another at l. 1422, whence some authorities have considered ll. 1372-1422 as spurious. Ritschl thinks that the two endings are about the same age, and compares the double ending of the _Andria_ of Terence. The play is noted for the two Carthaginian renderings of the soliloquy of Hanno, ll. 930-9, and ll. 940-9. The scene is Calydon in Aetolia.

16. _Persa_.--This play, the original of which is unknown, has been variously assigned to 197 and 186 B.C. The play shows traces of two distinct editions. The scene is Athens.

17. _Rudens_.--This play has been assigned to about B.C. 192. The original is by Diphilus; and the scene is Cyrene. Prol., 1. 32,

'Primumdum huic esse nomen urbi Diphilus Cyrenas voluit.'

18. _Stichus_, performed B.C. 200 _ludis plebeis_, as we learn from the didascalia, 'Graeca Adelphoe Menandru acta ludis plebeis Cn. Baebio C. Terentio aed. pl. ... C. Sulpicio C. Aurelio coss.' This cannot be the _Adelphi_ imitated by Terence, the fragments of which do not bear the least resemblance to the _Stichus_. It may be a second _Adelphi_ by Menander. Others read 'Philadelphoe' in the above didascalia. Part of the play has been lost, and it shows traces of two distinct editions. The scene is Athens.

19. _Trinummus_.--The original was Philemon's +Thêsauros+, as seen from the didascalia, 'Graeca Thensaurus Philemonis acta ludis Megalensibus.' Some indication of the date is got from l. 990,

'Vapulabis meo arbitratud et novorum aedilium.'

The only festival that would suit the term _novi aediles_ is the _ludi Megalenses_[11] as from B.C. 266 to 153 the new magistrates entered on office on the Ides of March. This festival was not of a scenic character till B.C. 194, consequently the _Trinummus_ must be after that date. The mention of Syrian slaves in l. 542 also makes it probable that this is one of the latest works of Plautus. The scene is Athens.

20. _Truculentus_.--The original is unknown. The play was written in Plautus' old age, probably about B.C. 189. The text has suffered greatly. The scene is Athens.

21. _Vidularia_.--Only fragments are extant. It is thought to have been modelled on a play called +Schedia+ by Menander.

_Argumenta._--These are in _senarii_, and give a summary of each play. Two sets are found. The first set are acrostic, and are extant for all the plays except the _Vidularia_ and the _Bacchides_. The second series was probably written by Sulpicius Apollinaris in the second century A.D. There are only five of them extant in the MSS., and fragments of other two.

_Prologues._--These (which were usual in the Old and the New Comedy) gave the name of the piece and the author, the original and its author, the scene of the play, and a partial list of characters. In the Prologue also the poet often asked the favour of the audience. Prologues to fourteen plays are extant. The part of the prologue Plautus (like the New Comedy) assigned either to a god, as in the _Rudens_ to Arcturus, or to one of the characters, as in the _Mercator_ to a youth (cf. _Mil._ and _Amph._), or to an actor addressing the audience in the name of the poet, as in the _Truculentus_. All the prologues have suffered from interpolation, but those of _Amph._, _Merc._, _Rud._, and _Trin._, and the second parts of those of _Mil._ and _Aul._, are founded on what Plautus wrote. The prologues in _Cas._, _Poen._, and _Capt._, are due to later hands. That the prologues are interpolated is shown by their diction; the wit is often poor, and the language un-Plautine, or imitated closely from Plautus' genuine works. The prologues in their present form probably date from a period shortly after that in which Terence flourished, when there was a want of new plays, and people went back to Plautus. This is shown by the references to fixed seats for the spectators (_Poen._ 15, _Amph._ 65, and _Capt._ 11), which were forbidden by a S.C. passed in B.C. 154, when Cassius Longinus began to build a theatre of stone--a law that was not repealed till some years later. Cf. _Capt._ 11,

'Negat hercle ille ultimis accensus. Cedito: si non ubi sedeas locus est, est ubi ambules.'

_The Acts._--The plays of Plautus probably went on with few breaks, during which the audience were entertained with music. Cf. _Pseud._ 573,

'Tibicen vos interea hic delectaverit.'

_Diverbium and Canticum._--There was no chorus in Roman comedy, but part of the play was set to music and sung to the flute. Some MSS. denote this by C (Canticum); while DV (usually placed only over iambic senarii) denotes dialogue or soliloquy (Diverbium). Iambic senarii were spoken; other metres were sung; but the scenes in septenarii stood midway between the dialogue and the _canticum_. Only about a fourth of Plautus' verses are in iambic senarii, while in Terence, who followed Menander in this respect, about half of the verses are in this form.

_The Characters._--These, with the occasional exception of slaves, are un-Roman, and exhibit Greek traits belonging to Athens of the time of the New Comedy. Plautus, unlike Terence, usually alters the names used in the original Greek plays, and substitutes 'tell-tale names'; so Parmeno (+paramenôn+), 'the faithful slave'; Polemo, 'the soldier'; Misargyrides, playfully for the _tarpessita_ (banker). The names are often of Latin derivation; thus Saturio, in _Pers._; Peniculus, in _Menaech._; Curculio, in _Curc._

_The Language of Plautus_, in spite of the Greek dress his plays assume, represents essentially the conversational language of his time. Many Greek features in language are, however, retained. For words kept in the original Greek cf. +pausai+, +oichetai+, +euge+, +palin+, +epithêkên+ (all in the _Trin._); for Greek words Latinized cf. _gynaeceum_, _parasitus_, _opsonium_, _dapsilis_ (= +dapsilês+); for hybrid new formations based on Greek cf. _thensaurarius_, _plagipatidae_, _opsonari_, _pultiphagus_.

_References to manners and customs._--(_a_) Many references to Greek life are retained from the original, especially in matters relating to dress, art, and money (Plautus has no reference to Roman money). Such are _chlamys_, _petasus_, _pallium_, _cyathus_, _cantharus_, _thermopolium_, _cerussa_, _melinum_ (_pigmentum_), _gynaeceum_, _balineae_, _ambulacrum_, _porticus_, _fores Samiae_ (_Menaech._ 178), _nummus_ (= drachma or didrachma), _nummi Philippei_, _mina_, _tarpessita_, _symbolus_, _epistula_. Cf. also _Pseud._ 146-7,

'Ut ne peristromata quidem aeque picta sint Campanica, neque Alexandrina beluata tonsilia tappetia.'

(_b_) There are, however, innumerable references to Roman public life and manners and customs, even in passages manifestly close to the original, although references to public events are rare.

1. _Military expressions._--These, many of which are used metaphorically, were well adapted for an audience most of whom had seen service. The following are from the _Miles_: _legiones_, _imperator_, _peditastelli_, _rogare_, _latrocinari_, _stipendium_, _conscribere_, _contubernales_, _eques_, _pedes_, _machinas parare_. Cf. also _Pseud._ 148,

'Dederamque suas provincias';

_Pseud._ 572,

'Dum concenturio in corde sycophantias';

_Bacch._ 709,

'De ducentis nummis primum intendam ballistam in senem: ea ballista si pervortam turrim et propugnacula, recta porta invadam extemplo in oppidum antiquom et vetus.'

All references, however, to the enrolment of mercenaries (_latrones_) are probably Greek and belong to the original play.

2. _Political expressions._--(_a_) Names of officials, etc. So _tresviri_, _quaestor_, _aedilis_, _praetor_, _senatus_. Cf. _Trin._ 879,

'Census quom sum iuratori recte rationem dedi';

_Pseud._ 1232,

'Centuriata habuit capitis comitia.'

(_b_) Law. So _advocatus_ (_Mil._ 663), _festuca_ (_Mil._ 961), _lege agito_ (_Mil._ 453). Cf. _Menaech._ 571-95 (on patrons and clients); _Trin._ 500-4, where Roman terms of _stipulatio_ are used.

3. _Festivals and localities._--References to these are rarer. Examples are: _Mil._ 691,

'Da, mi vir, Calendis meam qui matrem moenerem';

_Trin._ 545,

'Campans genus';

_Trin._ 609,

'Tam modo, inquit Praenestinus.'

_Mil._ 359,

'Credo ego istoc exemplo tibi esse pereundum extra portam';

a reference to the Esquiline gate, outside which slaves were executed.

4. _Private life._--These references are mostly to the lower classes, especially slaves, with whom Plautus was very familiar. Hence words referring to household duties, as _promus_, _suppromus_, _cella_, _cellarius_, _verna_, _pulmentum_ (from _Mil._) To their patois also belong phrases for cheating, like _emungere_, _intervortere_, _sarcinam imponere_, _ducere_, _ductare_, _circumducere_, and the very large number of words relating to punishment, as: _furcifer_, _verbero_, _supplicium virgarum_, _varius virgis_, _talos frangere_, _crux_, _verberea statua_ (_Pseud._ 911); _gymnasium flagri_ (_Asin._ 297). Cf. also _Epid._ 17,

'Quid ais? perpetuen valuisti?--Varie.'

From slave life come also terms of abuse like _volturius_, _scelus_, _odium populi_, _mers mala_, _lapis_, _saxum_. Note that cruelty in the treatment of slaves is peculiarly Roman; but their familiarity with their masters and their general situation are from Greek life.

_Prosody._[12]--Plautine prosody, which reflected the variation of quantity found in the popular speech, was not properly understood even in Cicero's time.

Cf. Cic. _Or._ 184, 'Comicorum senarii propter similitudinem sermonis sic saepe sunt abiecti ut non numquam vix in eis numerus et versus intellegi possit.'

The chief points are as follows:

1. Final -s is often lost. _Rud._ 103,

'Patér, salveto, ambóque adeo. Et tu sálvos sis';

_Most._ 1124,

'Quóque modo dominum ádvenientem sérvos ludificátus sit.'

2. A mute followed by a liquid does not make the preceding vowel long. Thus _agris_, _libros_, _duplex_, are iambi.

3. Iambic words may become pyrrhics, on account of the stress accent on the first syllable. So _domi_ and _cave_ have the last syllable short.[13] _Trin._ 868,

'Fóris pultabo. Ad nóstras aedis híc quidem habet rectám viam';

_Stich._ 99,

'Bónas ut aequomst fácere facitis, quóm tamen absentís viros.'

4. The stress accent sometimes causes final syllables to be dropped, and so to have no effect on quantity, as in _enim_, _apud_, _quidem_, _parum_, _soror_, _caput_, _amant_, _habent_, etc. _Trin._ 77,

'Qui in méntem venit tibi ístaec dicta dícere?'

_Stich._ 18 (anapaestic),

'Haec rés vitae me, sóror, saturant.'

No shortening, however, takes place when the accent goes back to the antepenult (cf. _contine_), nor in words like _aetas_, _mores_, where the first syllable is long, nor even in _abi_, _tene_, _tace_, and the like, when the chief accent is weakened, i.e., where these words are pronounced slowly and emphatically (especially before a pause). _Asin._ 543,

'Intro abi: nam té quidem edepol níhil est inpudéntius.'

5. This influence of the chief accent affects also combinations of two monosyllabic words which make an iambus, and combinations like _ego illi_, _age ergo_, in which the second syllable of the second word is elided. _Trin._ 354,

'Is est inmunis, quoí nihil est qui múnus fungatúr suom';

_Trin._ 133,

'Non égo illi argentum rédderem? Non rédderes';

_Stich._ 237,

'Adíbo ad hominem. Quís haec est quae advorsúm venit?'

6. The chief accent could also affect a preceding syllable. In polysyllables or polysyllabic combinations, when the chief accent was on the third syllable, the second syllable, if long, could be shortened, provided the first syllable were short. _Trin._ 456,

'Ferentárium esse amícum inventum intéllego';

_Stich._ 59,

'Néc voluntate id fácere meminit,' etc.;

_Stich._ 179,

'Per annónam caram díxit me natúm pater.'

7. The following common words have to be separately considered, _ille_, _iste_, _unde_, _inde_, _nempe_. In the last three the liquid was practically dropped; _iste_ was pronounced as _ste_; and in _ille_ only one _l_ was heard, cf. _ellum_, _ellam_ (_en-illum_ = _en-ilum_ = _en-lum_ = _ellum_). _Frustra_ is a trochee, as in _Menaech._ 692 (at the end of a line), _frústra sis_; and the first _i_ of _fieri_ is long. Cf. _Trin._ 532,

'Si in ópserendo possint interfieri.'

8. An original long vowel is sometimes kept when later authors have it short. Examples are, _es_ (from _esse_), final _-or_, as _exertitor_, _fateor_, _ecastor_; verbal endings, as _eris_, _eget_, _sit_, _det_, _fuat_, _velit_.

9. _Synizesis._ _Deus_, _meus_, _tuos_, _suos_ (nom.), _eius_, _ei_, _eum_, _quoius_, _quoi_, _huius_, _huic_, _rei_, etc., may be monosyllables; _deorum_, _meorum_, _duorum_, _fuisti_, etc., may be dissyllables; _diutius_, _exeundum_, etc., may be trisyllables. Other examples are _proin_, _proinde_, _praeoptare_, _dehortor_, _aibam_, _quator_.

10. _Hiatus._ This occurs, though not frequently, (_a_) at the natural division of the metre. _Menaech._ 219,

'Spórtulam cape átque argentum. | éccos treis nummós habes.'

(_b_) At the natural break in the sense, especially with change of speakers. _Trin._ 432,

_PH._ 'Tempúst adeundi.' _LE._ 'Éstne hic Philto qui ádvenit?'

The hiatus is commonest in monosyllabic words, or words ending in a short syllable followed by _m_, making the first syllable of an arsis resolved into two shorts. _Trin._ 433,

'Is hérclest ipsus. Édepol _ne ego_ istúm velim';

_Trin._ 305,

'Quí homo cum animo inde áb ineunte aetáte depugnát suo.'

_Views on Plautus._--For Cicero's high opinion of Plautus cf. _de Off._ i. 104, 'Duplex omnino est iocandi genus: unum inliberale petulans, flagitiosum obscaenum, alterum elegans urbanum, ingeniosum facetum. Quo genere non modo Plautus noster et Atticorum antiqua comoedia, sed etiam philosophorum Socraticorum libri referti sunt.'

Horace's unfavourable judgment is well known.

_Ep._ ii, 1, 170,

'Adspice Plautus quo pacto partis tutetur amantis ephebi, ut patris attenti, lenonis ut insidiosi, quantus sit Dossenus edacibus in parasitis, quam non adstricto percurrat pulpita socco. Gestit enim nummum in loculos demittere, post hoc securus cadat an recto stet fabula talo.'

Cf. _A.P._ 270-4. Cf. also Quint. x. 1, 99, 'In comoedia maxime claudicamus, licet Varro Musas, Aelii Stilonis sententia, Plautino dicat sermone locuturas fuisse, si Latine loqui vellent.'

ENNIUS.[14]

(1) LIFE.

Q. Ennius was born B.C. 239 at Rudiae in Calabria (about nineteen miles south of Brundisium).

Gell. xvii. 21, 43, 'Consoles secuntur Q. Valerius et C. Mamilius, quibus natum esse Q. Ennium poetam M. Varro in primo de poetis libro scripsit eumque, cum septimum et sexagesimum annum haberet, duodecimum annalem scripsisse, idque ipsum Ennium in eodem libro dicere.' (Cf. Cic. _Tusc._ i. 3.) Enn. _Ann._ l. 440,

'Nos sumus Romani qui fuimus ante Rudini.'

Servius, _in Aen._ vii. 691, '(At Messapus equom domitor): Ab hoc Ennius dicit se originem ducere.' (Enn. _Ann._ xviii. fr. 6.)

Ennius knew Greek, Latin, and Oscan. Latin he may have known as a boy, since the colony of Brundisium was founded B.C. 244; the use of Greek had been widely spread in South Italy through the influence of the Greek colonies.[15]

Gell. xvii. 17, 1, 'Q. Ennius tria corda habere sese dicebat, quod loqui Graece et Osce et Latine sciret.'

Ennius came to Sardinia during the Second Punic War, probably with other Calabrian auxiliaries, but in what year is doubtful. Silius Italicus xii. 387 _sqq._, says he was centurion B.C. 215, and distinguished himself greatly; but his account is quite untrustworthy. In Sardinia he made the acquaintance of M. Porcius Cato, then quaestor, who induced him to come to Rome B.C. 204.

Nep. _Cato_, i. 4, 'Praetor (B.C. 198) provinciam obtinuit Sardiniam, ex qua, quaestor superiore tempore ex Africa decedens, Q. Ennium poetam deduxerat.'

The poet's Graecizing influence seems to have led afterwards to hostility between him and his patron, but in spite of this, Ennius appears to have cherished warm feelings towards Cato, and praised his exploits in the _Annals_.

Cic. _Tusc._ i. 3, 'Oratio Catonis, in qua obiecit ut probrum M. Nobiliori quod is in provinciam poetas duxisset. Duxerat autem consul ille in Aetoliam, ut scimus, Ennium.'

Cic. _pro Arch._ 22, 'In caelum huius proavus Cato tollitur: magnus honos populi Romani rebus adiungitur.'

So far as is known, Ennius was at Rome B.C. 204-189. He lived plainly, and supported himself by teaching Latin and Greek.

Jerome yr. Abr. 1777 = B.C. 240, 'Q. Ennius poeta Tarenti [an error] nascitur, qui a Catone quaestore Romam translatus habitavit in monte Aventino, parco admodum sumptu contentus, et unius ancillae ministerio.'

Sueton. _Gramm._ 1, 'Livium et Ennium, quos utraque lingua domi forisque docuisse adnotatum est.'

At Rome he was on familiar terms with the elder Scipio Africanus and his brother Cornelius Nasica, and their circle.

Cic. _pro Arch._ 22, 'Carus fuit Africano superiori noster Ennius; itaque etiam in sepulchro Scipionum putatur is esse constitutus ex marmore.'

A pleasant story of his relations with Nasica is given by Cic. _de Or._ ii. 276. Two epigrams on Scipio (Nos. 2 and 3) are extant.

In B.C. 189 Ennius accepted an invitation from M. Fulvius Nobilior to accompany him in his campaign against the Aetolians, and be a witness of his exploits. Fulvius' victory gave the poet materials for the praetexta _Ambracia_, and Book xv. of the _Annals_.

Cic. _pro Arch._ 27, 'Ille qui cum Aetolis Ennio comite bellavit Fulvius.' Cf. Cic. _Tusc._ i. 3 (above).

In B.C. 184 the poet received the Roman citizenship through the son of Fulvius, Q. Nobilior. Hence 'nos sumus Romani, qui fuimus ante Rudini' (above). He also received a grant of land at Potentia or Pisaurum from Fulvius, who was then _triumvir coloniae deducendae_.

Cic. _Brut._ 79, 'Q. Nobiliorem M. f. ..., qui etiam Q. Ennium, qui cum patre eius in Aetolia militaverat, civitate donavit, cum triumvir coloniam deduxisset.'

Ennius probably spent the greater part of his days, after returning from the Aetolian war, at Rome; and during this period he was on intimate terms with the comic poet Caecilius Statius (see p. 37). He was often in indifferent circumstances, in spite of the grant of land he had received. Ennius died of gout B.C. 169.

Cic. _Cato Maior_, 14, 'Annos septuaginta natus--tot enim vixit Ennius--ita ferebat duo quae maxima putantur onera, paupertatem et senectutem, ut eis paene delectari videretur.'

Cic. _Brut._ 78, 'Hoc [C. Sulpicio Gallo] praetore ludos Apollini faciente, cum Thyesten fabulam docuisset, Q. Marcio Cn. Servilio coss. (B.C. 169) mortem obiit Ennius.'

Jerome yr. Abr. 1849 = B.C. 168, 'Ennius poeta septuagenario maior articulari morbo periit, sepultusque est in Scipionis monumento via Appia intra primum ab urbe miliarium. Quidam ossa eius Rudiam ex Ianiculo translata affirmant.'

For his gout cf. Enn. _Sat._ 1. 8,

'Numquam poetor nisi si podager';

Hor. _Ep._ i. 19, 7,

'Ennius ipse pater numquam nisi potus ad arma prosiluit dicenda.'

'Ennius "equi fortis et victoris senectuti comparat suam"' (Cic. _Cato Maior_, 14).

The lines are _Ann._ xviii. fr. 7,

'Sic ut fortis equus, spatio qui saepe supremo vicit Olimpia, nunc senio confectus quiescit.'

His epitaph (_Epigr._ i) is quoted by Cic. _Tusc._ i. 34 and 117,

'Aspicite, o cives, senis Enni imaginis formam! hic vestrum panxit maxima facta patrum; Nemo me dacrumis decoret nec funera fletu faxit. Cur? Volito vivus per ora virum.'

According to Aelius Stilo, Ennius has depicted his own character in _Ann._ vii. fr. 10, wherein he portrays Servilius Geminus, the trusty companion of a man of position (Gell. xii. 4). For Ennius' self-appreciation cf. also his epitaph (if by himself) quoted above, and _Ann._ i. fr. 4,

'Latos per populos terrasque poemata nostra clara cluebunt.'

In philosophy Ennius was an eclectic. Cf. _Trag._ 1. 417,

'Philosophari est mihi necesse, at paucis: nam omnino haut placet. Degustandum ex ea, non in eam ingurgitandum censeo.'

His rationalism is seen in _Telamo_, fr. 1,

'Ego deum genus esse semper dixi et dicam caelitum, sed eos non curare opinor, quid agat humanum genus: nam si curent, bene bonis sit, male malis, quod nunc abest';

_ibid._, fr. 2,

'Sed superstitiosi vates inpudentesque arioli, aut inertes aut insani aut quibus egestas imperat, qui sibi semitam non sapiunt, alteri monstrant viam, quibus divitias pollicentur, ab eis drachumam ipsi petunt.'

Traces of Epicureanism are seen in _Ann._ i. fr. 13,

'Terraque corpus quae dedit ipsa capit neque dispendi facit hilum.'

Ennius also believed in the Pythagorean theory of metempsychosis, and considered that his soul had animated the body of a peacock. _Ann._ i. fr. 14,

'Memini me fiere pavom.'

Persius 6, 10,

'Cor iubet hoc Enni postquam destertuit esse Maeonides Quintus pavone e Pythagoreo.'

Cf. also Lucr. i. 120-6.

(2) WORKS.

1. _Tragedies._--Of those founded on mythology we have fragments of twenty-two, eight at least of which were borrowed from Euripides. The _Auct. ad Herenn._ ii. 34, quotes nine lines which are a literal translation of the beginning of the _Medea_. The date of the _Thyestes_, B.C. 169, is the only one known (Cic. _Brut._ 78, quoted p. 28). Besides these, Ennius probably wrote a praetexta on 'the Rape of the Sabines'; and his _Ambracia_ is probably a praetexta on the capture of the town by M. Fulvius Nobilior in B.C. 189 (L. Müller includes it in the _Saturae_).

2. _Comedies._--There are very slight fragments of the _Cupuncula_ and the _Pancratiastes_.

3. _Saturae._--A miscellaneous collection of poems.

Porphyr. ad Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 47, 'Ennius quattuor libros saturarum reliquit.'

The reference in Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 66,

'Quam rudis et Graecis intacti carminis auctor,'

is not to Ennius, as some have supposed, but to the inventor of _satura_, whoever he may have been.

The _Saturae_ include (_a_) _Scipio_, probably a short epic. It was mostly written in trochaic septenarii. (_b_) _Epicharmus_ (in trochaic tetrameters), dealing with Pythagoreanism in the department of physics. (_c_) _Euhemerus_ or _Sacra Historia_, modelled on Euhemerus' +hiera anagraphê+,[16] the doctrines of which were applied to the religion of Rome.

Cic. _N.D._ i. 119, 'Euhemerus, quem noster et interpretatus et secutus est praeter ceteros Ennius.'

(_d_) _Protreptica_ or _Praecepta_, containing moral maxims. (_e_) _Hedyphagetica_, 'On Gastronomy,' modelled on a hexameter poem by Archestratus (about B.C. 310). (_f_) _Sota_, so called from +Sôtadês+, after whom the Sotadean metre has been named. The book was probably of a lascivious nature. (_g_) Epigrams; the chief of which are mentioned above.

4. The _Annales_, an epic poem in hexameters, which dealt with the history of Rome down to the beginning of the Third Macedonian War. It contained eighteen Books; there are about six hundred lines extant. The following is a sketch of the contents: