All You Need To Know : Greek and Roman Themes in Goldsmith

Abstract

Greek and Roman themes in Goldsmith are covered under the headings of Education ; the Histories of Greece and Rome ; and Greek and Roman themes in Goldsmith's creative work. Goldsmith learnt Greek and Latin at grammar schools and at Trinity College, Dublin, where the syllabus had begun to resemble its modern counterpart. Goldsmith's Histories of Greece and Rome, which went into numerous editions and were much translated, must be judged as text-books for children, as lively, pleasing compilations that tell the students all they need to know. Goldsmith's view of Classics in his creative work is that of Augustan Neoclassicism with Virgil and, above all, Horace as the preferred models ; Goldsmith's most Horatian work is The Deserted Village.