Latin Literature: An Anthology

by Various and Michael Grant

Book Overview

A classic introduction to Latin literature, with translations of the best passages from Virgil, Livy, Ovid, Seneca and many others. This classic anthology traces the development of Latin literature... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140443894
• Release Date: May 1979
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.8" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

THE BEGINNING OF MODERNISM.

In this fine anthology of some of the best Latin literature that has come down to us from the past 2 millenia,one can discern the approach that shies away from the mythological addled inspired narratives of it's Greek predecessors paving the way for a more hands-on,practical approach to life & art.The Romans did not have the depth & sublimity of the Greeks, & they greatly borrowed from them;but what they had was the marked transition that shifted the course of western literature from the dominantly religious & mystic inspired experiences to a stripped-down,less effusive & flowery engraved style of writing which is more closely akin to our own.And with Suetonius,we probably have the first example of tabloid sensationalism at it's finest."Star" magazine nearly 2,000 years ago!!!. What particularly dominates here are the histories, & what makes this book compelling reading is the individual styles of most of the historians.Their topics are no less interesting.But it's the best of their poets & the writers in the Republican era as a whole who I consider to leave the greatest impression.Lacking in broader & more commanding scope compared to their great precursors,the Romans nevertheless added a new style into history's foray headed to our own.