New Latin Grammar | Page 4

a careful examination of their structure and vocabulary demonstrates their intimate relationship and proves overwhelmingly their descent from a common parent. We must believe, therefore, that at one time there existed a homogeneous clan or tribe of people speaking a language from which all the above enumerated languages are descended. The precise location of the home of this ancient tribe cannot be determined. For a long time it was assumed that it was in central Asia north of the Himalaya Mountains, but this view has long been rejected as untenable. It arose from the exaggerated importance attached for a long while to Sanskrit. The great antiquity of the earliest literary remains of the Sanskrit (the Vedic Hymns) suggested that the inhabitants of India were geographically close to the original seat of the Indo-European Family. Hence the home was sought in the elevated plateau to the north. To-day it is thought that central or southeastern Europe is much more likely to have been the cradle of the Indo-European parent-speech, though anything like a logical demonstration of so difficult a problem can hardly be expected.
As to the size and extent of the original tribe whence the Indo-European languages have sprung, we can only speculate. It probably was not large, and very likely formed a compact racial and linguistic unit for centuries, possibly for thousands of years.
The time at which Indo-European unity ceased and the various individual languages began their separate existence, is likewise shrouded in obscurity. When we consider that the separate existence of the Sanskrit may antedate 2500 B.C., it may well be believed that people speaking the Indo-European parent-speech belonged to a period as far back as 5000 B.C., or possibly earlier.
3. Stages in the Development of the Latin Language.--The earliest remains of the Latin language are found in certain very archaic inscriptions. The oldest of these belong to the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. Roman literature does not begin till several centuries later, viz. shortly after the middle of the third century B.C. We may recognize the following clearly marked periods of the language and literature:
a. The Preliterary Period, from the earliest times down to 240 B.C., when Livius Andronicus brought out his first play. For this period our knowledge of Latin depends almost exclusively upon the scanty inscriptions that have survived from this remote time. Few of these are of any length.
b. The Archaic Period, from Livius Andronicus (240 B.C.) to Cicero (81 B.C.). Even in this age the language had already become highly developed as a medium of expression. In the hands of certain gifted writers it had even become a vehicle of power and beauty. In its simplicity, however, it naturally marks a contrast with the more finished diction of later days. To this period belong:
Livius Andronicus, about 275-204 B.C. (Translation of Homer's Odyssey; Tragedies). Plautus, about 250-184 B.C. (Comedies). Naevius, about 270-199 B.C. ("Punic War"; Comedies). Ennius, 239-169 B.C. ("Annals"; Tragedies). Terence, about 190-159 B.C. (Comedies). Lucilius, 180-103 B.C. (Satires). Pacuvius, 220-about 130 B.C. (Tragedies). Accius, 170-about 85 B.C. (Tragedies).
c. The Golden Age, from Cicero (81 B.C.) to the death of Augustus (14 A.D.). In this period the language, especially in the hands of Cicero, reaches a high degree of stylistic perfection. Its vocabulary, however, has not yet attained its greatest fullness and range. Traces of the diction of the Archaic Period are often noticed, especially in the poets, who naturally sought their effects by reverting to the speech of olden times. Literature reached its culmination in this epoch, especially in the great poets of the Augustan Age. The following writers belong here:
Lucretius, about 95-55 B.C. (Poem on Epicurean Philosophy). Catullus, 87-about 54 B.C. (Poet). Cicero, 106-43 B.C. (Orations; Rhetorical Works; Philosophical Works; Letters). Caesar, 102-44 B.C. (Commentaries on Gallic and Civil Wars), Sallust, 86-36 B.C. (Historian). Nepos, about 100-about 30 B.C. (Historian). Virgil, 70-19 B.C. ("Aeneid"; "Georgics"; "Bucolics"). Horace, 65-8 B.C. (Odes; Satires, Epistles). Tibullus, about 54-19 B.C. (Poet). Propertius, about 50-about 15 B.C. (Poet). Ovid, 43 B.C.-17 A.D. ("Metamorphoses" and other poems). Livy. 59 B.C.-17 A.D. (Historian).
d. The Silver Latinity, from the death of Augustus (14 A.D.) to the death of Marcus Aurelius (180 A.D.), This period is marked by a certain reaction against the excessive precision of the previous age. It had become the practice to pay too much attention to standardized forms of expression, and to leave too little play to the individual writer. In the healthy reaction against this formalism, greater freedom of expression now manifests itself. We note also the introduction of idioms from the colloquial language, along with many poetical words and usages. The following authors deserve mention:
Phaedrus, flourished about 40 A.D. (Fables in Verse) Velleius Paterculus, flourished about 30 A.D. (Historian). Lucan, 39-65 A.D. (Poem on the Civil War). Seneca, about 1-65 A.D. (Tragedies; Philosophical Works). Pliny