32 Hzjlory qf Caricature and Grotffpue 
Lucius Afranius and Quinctius Atta, who appear to clofe the liit of the 
Roman writers of comedy.  
But another branch of comic literature had fprung out of the fatire of 
the religious feitivities. A year after Livius Andronicus produced the 
firft drama at Rome, in the year 239 13.0., the poet Ennius was born at 
Rudiae, in Magna Graecia. The fatirical verfe, whether Saturnine or 
F efcennine, had been gradually improving in its form, although {till very 
rude, but Ennius is faid to have given at leaft a new polilh, and perhaps 
 a new metrical ihape, to it. The verfe was {till irregular, but it 
 appears to have been no longer intended for recitation, accompanied by 
the ilute. The Romans looked upon Ennius not only as their earlieft epic  
poet, but as the father of fatire, a clafs of literary competition which  
appears to have originated with them, and which they claimed as their 
own." Ennius had an imitator in M. Terentius Varro. The fatires or 
thefe firft writers are faid to have been very irregular compofitions, mixing 
profe with verfe, and fometimes even Greek with Latin; and to have 
been rather general in their aim than perfonal. But foon after this 
period, and rather more than a century before Chriit, came Cains 
Lucilius, who raifed Roman fatirical literature to its perfection. Lucilius, 
we are told, was the Iirft who wrote Fatires in heroic verfe, or hexameters, 
mixing with them now and then, though rarely, an iambic or trochaic 
line. He was more refined, more pointed, and more perfonal, than his 
predeceilors, and he had refcued fatire from the [treet performer to make 
it a clafs of literature which was to be read by the educated, and not 
merely liitened to by the vulgar. Lucilius is faid to have written thirty 
books of fatires, of which, unfortunately, only fome fcattered lines 
remain. 
Lucilius had imitators, the very names of mofc of whom are now for- 
gotten, but about forty years after his death, and fixty-five years before 
the birth of Chriit, was born Quintus Horatius Flaccus, the oldeit of the 
fatiriils whofe works we now poH'ef3s, and the moft polifhed of Roman 
poets. 
Quintilian says, " Sarira quidem ma myira gji." 
De Instir. Oraror., lib. X.