eology, which now lost its former clarity, directness and
simplicity. Still there are a few outstanding literary figures who deserve
mention because they are so expressive of the tendencies of the time or
because they have been able to attain a higher level.

*Ausonius and Symmachus (c. 345-405 A. D.).* The career of Ausonius, a
professor of grammar and rhetoric at Bordeaux, whose life covers the
fourth century, shows how highly rhetorical instruction was valued. His
ability procured him imperial recognition, and he became the tutor of
Gratian, from whom he received the honor of the consulate in 379. His
poetical works are chiefly clever verbal plays, but one, the _Mosella_,
which describes a voyage down the river Moselle, is noteworthy for its
description of contemporary life and its appreciation of the beauty of
nature. Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, city prefect, and the leader of the
pagan party in Rome under Gratian and Valentinian II, is a typical
representative of the educated society of the time which strove to keep
alive a knowledge of classical literature. He left a collection of
orations and letters, poor in thought, but rich in empty phrase.

*Ammianus Marcellinus, fl. 350-400 A. D.* A man of far different stamp was
Ammianus Marcellinus, by birth a Greek of Antioch, and an officer of high
rank in the imperial army. Taking Tacitus as his model, he wrote in Latin
a history which continued the former's work for the period from 96 to 378
A. D. Of this only the part covering the years 353 to 378 has survived.
His history is characterized by sound judgment and objectivity, but is
marred by the introduction of frequent digressions extraneous to the
subject in hand and by a strained rhetorical style. However, it remains
the one considerable pagan work in Latin prose from the late empire.

*Claudius Claudianus and Rutilius Namatianus (both fl. 400 A. D.).* The
"last eminent man of letters who was a professed pagan" in the western
empire was Claudius Claudianus. Claudian was by birth an Egyptian Greek
who took up his residence in Rome about 395 A. D. and attached himself to
the military dictator, Stilicho. He chose to write in Latin, and composed
hexameter epics which celebrated the military exploits of his patron. He
also wrote mythological epics and elegiacs. Claudian found his inspiration
in Ovid and reawakened the charm of Augustan poetry. A contemporary of
Claudian, and, like him a pagan, was Rutilius Namatianus, wh