lost, but who enjoyed
a great reputation among the Romans. Q. CAECILIUS was a native of Milan,
and, like Terence, came to Rome as a slave. He was the immediate
predecessor of Terence, and died B.C. 108, two years before the
representation of the _Andria_. L. AFRANIUS flourished B.C. 100, and
wrote comedies describing Roman scenes and manners, called _Comoediae
Togatae_, to distinguish them from those depicting Grecian life, which
were termed _Palliatae_, from _pallium_, the national dress of the
Greeks.

There were two tragic poets contemporary with Terence, who also enjoyed
great celebrity, though their works have likewise perished. M. PACUVIUS,
son of the sister of Ennius, was born about B.C. 220, and died in the
90th year of his age. He is praised by the Latin writers for the
loftiness of his thoughts, the vigor of his language, and the extent of
his knowledge. Hence we find the epithet _doctus_ frequently applied to
him. Most of his tragedies were taken from the Greek writers; but some
belonged to the class called _Praetextatae_, in which the subjects were
taken from Roman story. One of these, entitled _Paullus_, had as its
hero L. AEmilius Paullus, the conqueror of Perseus, king of Macedonia. L.
ACCIUS, a younger contemporary of Pacuvius, was born B.C. 170, and lived
to a great age. Cicero, when a young man, frequently conversed with him.
His tragedies, like those of Pacuvius, were chiefly imitations of the
Greek; but he also wrote some on Roman subjects, one of which was
entitled _Brutus_.

Though the Roman Drama, properly so called, was derived from the Greeks,
there were some kinds of dramatic exhibitions which were of Italian
origin. The first of these were the _Atellanae Fabulae_, or Atellane
Plays, which took their name from Atella, a town in Campania. They were
composed in the Oscan dialect, and were at first rude extemporaneous
farces, but were afterward divided into acts like a regular drama. They
seem to have been the origin of the Policinello of modern Italy. The
Oscan dialect was preserved even when they were introduced at Rome. The
_Mimes_ were another species of comedy, of which only the name seems to
have been derived from the Greek. They were a species of low comedy of
an indecent description, in which the dialogue was subordinate to
mimicry and gesture. The Dictator Sulla was very fond of these
performances. The two most distinguished writers of Mimes were DEC.
LABERIUS, a knight, and P. SYRUS, a