Language and Writing
From Rome
"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult." -Seneca
Ancient Rome led us into the realm of writing and language. They influenced the very words you are reading this moment. Their alphabet evolved into this our modern one, their letters are used in these words right now. They didn't only conquer places, but they added extremely important parts of our everyday culture. There is writing everywhere. On coins, books, candy, even food. To be without these things is a terrible thing, so we owe Rome a lot of thanks.
Contents |
Latin
The Romans used Latin as their language. From Latin, the 'romance languages' appeared. These include Spanish, French, Portuguese, Romanian, and Italian. Although English is not technically a romance language, it is still heavily influenced by Latin. Pretty much all English words have Latin roots[1]. Here are some examples:
Legend-------legator ( meaning one who leaves a legacy)
Notorious----notus (meaning well known or famous)
Ridicule-----ridere ( meaning to laugh)
Vacant-------vac (meaning empty)
Video--------vid (meaning to see)
The Romans also used the Latin alphabet as their own. You'll notice that the letters are much like our own. Over the years to come, the alphabet would evolve into the modern one today. Here is a copy of the alphabet:
Their number system[2] is still used today, and as was everything else in their language, it is Latin. Here is their form of numbering:
I =1
V =5
X =10
L =50
C =100
D =500
M =1000
School Writing
Ancient Rome didn't have any public schools. Most children studied at home or went to the private schools. These private schools were usually had one class in one classroom, and there they only learned Language Arts. Since the slaves could not afford to go to to private schools, they taught their children at home. Up until they were fourteen, they studied Latin and Greek.
The paper at the time that was made from trees was extremely expensive, and the alternative, animal hides, matched the other's price. So schools came up with a way to write while not having to pay much at all. Thus, the wax tablet was born. These wax tablets were created by melting candles into a frame, so that it would take the shape of a rectangle or square could be created. Once dry,students could write on it by carving into it with a metal sort of stick called a stylus. Once they were done with their work, a student could rub the wax smooth for later writing purposes.
Books back then were very expensive. They were hand written with ink, on one long sheet of paper (hide or tree-produced) and then rolled onto a stick or bone. This is called a scroll. Students hardly ever had them, for 1) they cost much too much money, and 2) to be created, one person had to copy off the original work, with ink, and hand-write a whole book. You can imagine why people weren't keen on creating too many of these. It was only by the first century A.D. that Romans began to created books that were bound like our own.
Schools then had only a few books at all.
Writers and Their Works
"Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on Earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes a spiritual calling." -Virgil
Roman writers were highly thought of and writing was considered one of the very high arts. Here is a website where you can explore a time line of Roman writers:[3]. Also, some writers who influenced us:
Livy
Titus Livius, or Livy in English, wrote a huge history of Rome. He wrote a span from the mythical times to his own day, around 59 B.C. to 17 A.D.. You can imagine how helpful that is for our historians! He wrote amazing accounts of the struggle for Rome's poets and writers, artists and so on. His works consisted of about 142 books, but only about 35 were recovered.
Gnaeus Naevius
Naevious was the first Roman drama writer. He wrote epic poems and dramas, and lived from about 264 to 194 B.C.. Around 265, he began to dislike some nobilities, especially the Meteilli, and began to kill some of them in his plays. In reaction, he was imprisoned for two years. During that, he wrote two apology plays. What made him the most famous was his comedies.
Delivering a Piece of Work
In Rome, when reciting someone's story or poem, to sit quietly with respect and wait for the end was considered rude. To jump, shout, and comment during the recitation was flattering. This can also backfire. If some work is horrible, the audience may pelt the reader with stones. To make sure that writers these good responses, the poor ones would make sure that the audience had plenty enthusiastic relatives, and the rich authors would hire their own "professional" clappers and scatter them in a crowd, so there was no chance of getting booed off the stage. For plays and such, there, of course,would be a stage, and actors. In the beginning, one actor would recite the play while a chorus mirrored his words. This later progressed to actors moving and props, with a backdrop, and for death scenes, yes, prisoners were actually killed on stage. To find out more about these plays, got to the Theater section in Art and Music.
Euge! Euge! (Bravo! Bravo!)
References
-Ancient Roman Literature, Poetry, Drama [4]
-Ancient Roman Reading Craze [5]
-Books [6]
-Quotes from Virgil [7]
-Quotes from Seneca [8]
-Kids InfoBits Magazines (SFPL) [9]
-Life in Roman Times [10]
-History Alive! Text Book
