ABSTRACT
Classical imitation has surprisingly humble origins. Imitation of previous authors' works - as distinct from Greek mimesis, connoting imitation of nature or truth - began in Rome when Latin was a rough-hewn, lowly language and Rome as yet an unimportant nation. The eventual cultural elevation of classical imitatio appears all the more improbable, though, once people recognize the lowly status of the particular authors who initiated it. In describing Shakespeare as possessing "small Latin and less Greek," Ben Jonson might have been characterizing the sources of early classical imitation in Renaissance England. Another iconic Roman imitator, Publius Terentius Afer, was a slave from Africa, described as of fuscus colore or "dark color," a description which, combined with his cognomen "Africanus," suggests that he was black. Previous critics have observed points of similarity between early modern English and modern postcolonial voices.
