Latin Literature: An Anthology

by Michael Grant (Editor), Various (Contributors)

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 from the early Republican works of Cicero and Catullus, to the writers of the Empire such as Lucan and Petronius, to the later writings of St Augustine. The selections cover comedy and epic, history and philosophy, in prose and in verse, and each passage is prefaced by an introduction to the author and his influence. The translators range across history from Alexander Pope and Lord Byron to contemporaries. The result is a broad and brilliant overview of the civilization of Rome and its Empire - an ideal introduction to Latin literature.

Michael Grant was born in 1914. He served as an intelligence officer during the Second World War, and subsequently held academic posts at the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Khartoum and Belfast. Over his lifetime, he published nearly fifty books on the ancient world, ranging from studies of Roman coinage, to biographies of Caesar, Nero and Jesus, to books on Ancient Israel and the Middle Ages. Many of his translations were published in Penguin Classics. Professor Grant moved to Italy in 1966, where he spent most of the rest of his life until his death in 2004.

Genres: Classics, Roman, Anthologies, Classical Studies, Fiction, Philosophy, Literature

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Michael Grant was an English classisist, numismatist, and author of numerous popular books on ancient history. His 1956 translation of Tacitus’s Annals of Imperial Rome remains a standard of the work. He once described himself as "one of the very few freelances in the field of ancient history: a rare phenomenon". As a popularizer, his hallmarks were his prolific output and his unwillingness to oversimplify or talk down to his readership.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Roz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compact compilation of the Roman Republic and Empire's heavy hitters, Penguin's anthology Latin Literature is the kind of thing that really should still be in print. It covers almost the entirety of classical Rome's literary age: ranging from Plautus (200 BC) to Apuleius (c. 150 AD), plus a couple later selections by Tertullian and St. Augustine (400 AD). In between, it has substantial contributions from all the authors you've heard of: the verse of Ovid, Virgil and Horace; the plays of Seneca and Terrance; prose works by Caesar, Tacitus, Suetonius and Cicero.
The difference between this and most other anthologies (and especially the Norton ones which dominate the field), comes in the presentation: editor Michael Grant took an interesting approach, with each author represented in a variety of translations, from archaic (Arthur Golding's 16th century translation of Ovid, up through pioneering translations by Dryden, Dr. Johnson and Alexander Pope to late 20th century attempts by Robert Graves, Mary M Innes and EV Rieu.
Together, these provide a through look at Rome's literary legacy: not only how the literature of Rome evolved through the ages, but also how influential it's been through the centuries: different eras bring different translations, with different interpretations of the same themes. There are several pieces repeated here between different eras and seeing how the art of their translation has changed helps put the translator's task in context. As Grant writes in his introduction, two translations are four times as good as one. One example of many: does Ovid, a poet, translate better when forced into verse? Or is a more literal translation, albiet in prose, a better way to read him? Here Grant picks from both, allowing readers to decide for themselves.
There are a couple of things I didn't like here. A few of the Roman heavyweights - Plutarch, Polybius - are omitted for writing in Greek and others are skipped for not having translations Grant felt worthy of inclusion. Still, these are minor reservations.
All in all, this is a concise, entertaining and great introduction to the classics: it doesn't only show how good the original works are, but helps you establish what you're looking for in a translation.

[George Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very rarely review a book, but this is an excellent snapshot of Roman literature, poetry, and philosophy throughout several eras of the republic and empire. A fantastic seed book to stem more reading from.

[Takipsilim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Romans were not just about conquest, they could write too!

[Michael]

A treasure