t Orestes to
death, sent Augustulus into banishment, with a pension for his support,
and, having abolished the title of emperor, in A.D. 476 declared himself
King of Italy.

Romulus Augustus was the last emperor of the West, and bore the name of
the founder of the monarchy as well as of the empire, a singular
circumstance.

In this manner fell the Roman Empire, a noble fabric, which its founder
hoped would endure forever. Its destruction, however, gave rise to the
various kingdoms and states of modern Europe, and thus civilization and
Christianity, which might have remained confined to the shores of the
Mediterranean, have been spread over a large portion of the world.

CHAPTER XLV.

ROMAN LITERATURE UNDER THE EMPIRE. A.D. 14-476.

Roman literature, which had risen to its highest excellence under
Augustus, declined rapidly under his successors, and was finally lost
with the fall of the Western empire. The language was no longer pure,
and neither prose nor poetry retained the harmony and elegance of the
Augustan age. A certain sadness and discontent, which marks all the
later literature, forms also a striking contrast with the cheerful tone
of the earlier writers. Every part of the empire, however, abounded with
men of letters, and a high degree of mental cultivation seems every
where to have prevailed.

Epic poetry continued to nourish, and Virgil found many imitators. The
best epic writer of this period was M. Annaeus Lucanus, who was born at
Corduba, in Spain, in the year A.D. 38. Lucan was educated at Rome under
the Stoic Cornutus, and was introduced by his uncle Seneca to the
Emperor Nero. Having for a time enjoyed the patronage of Nero, he at
length became the object of his jealousy and hatred, was accused of
having taken part in Piso's conspiracy, and was condemned to death. He
was allowed, as a favor, to put an end to his own life, and thus died,
A.D. 65. Although so young, for he was scarcely twenty-seven years of
age, Lucan, besides several shorter poems, produced the Pharsalia, an
epic, of which he finished only ten books: it relates the wars between
Caesar and Pompey, and contains many fine thoughts and striking images.
He evidently prefers Pompey to Caesar, and possessed a strong love for
liberty, which lends vigor to his verses. His language is pure, his
rhythm often harmonious, but he never attains the singular delicacy and
sweetness of his master, Virgil.

C. Silius Italicus, the place of