ABSTRACT
Florus was a Roman historian of the second century ad, who probably wrote in c. ad 140. One of the manuscripts describes his work as an abridgment of Livy's History. Marcus Cornelius Fronto was modest about his command of Greek, as he showed in a letter to Marcus Aurelius's mother, Domitia Lucilla, who was surrounded by Greek writers and scholars. His most favoured model of speech and life was Cato the elder. Gaius offers a pleasantly lucid and economical form of exposition. Albinus is important not only because he led the revival of Platonism in the Antonine period but also because he pointed the way towards the future Neoplatonism of Plotinus. Apuleius was very well versed in a range of earlier classical writings. Gellius's Latin is a curious mixture, involving an attempt at old-world classical purity. The Gnostic Christian writers, 'heretics', also produced notable and enthusiastic personalities. The Gnostics deserve eternal fame because of their consideration of the problem of evil.
