The Roman Poets of the Republic, 2nd Edition

This 1881 landmark of Victorian classical scholarship mounts a passionate defense of Roman poetry at a time when critics dismissed it as mere Greek imitation. W.Y. Sellar, one of the great Romanists of his generation, traces the development of Latin verse from its indigenous beginnings through the Republic era, revealing a tradition that, while in dialogue with Greek models, possesses its own fierce originality, emotional depth, and distinctly Roman character. He examines the great poets Ennius, Lucretius, Catullus, and Virgil, illuminating how each adapted Greek forms tragedy, comedy, satire, epic to Roman purposes, creating something that crackles with the energy of a civilization obsessed with empire, duty, and the flesh. More than a historical survey, the book asks what it means for one culture to absorb another's artistic legacy and make it new. For classicists, literary historians, and anyone curious about how we evaluate borrowed art, Sellar's eloquent revaluation remains essential.