At the beginning of the Annals Ennius claimed to be a reincarnation of Homer: the ghost of Homer had revealed this
to him in a dream. Many features of his epic were Homeric: a Council of the Gods, battle descriptions, and similes.
But there is much "which strikes a different note, not least the discussion of his own poetic activity at the beginning
of the work. Another autobiographical passage opened Book vii, where Ennius contrasted his own craftsmanship -
with the crude composition of his predecessors. His self-conscious proclamation of his stylistic skill reminds us more
of Callimachus than of Homer. His own style came to seem crude by later canons of taste; but it is clear that he
devoted some care to it in full awareness of his role as a pioneer. There is also a moralizing streak which must have
helped in the establishment of Ennius as a central author in the school curriculum until the time of Virgil. Over half
the work was devoted to events of Ennius' lifetime, the Second Punic War and the subsequent remarkable expansion
of Roman power. Ennius glorifies the military achievements of the Roman nobility and supports traditional Roman
morality. Individual virtue is praised, as in the famous lines about Q. Fabius Maximus Cunctator:
One man by his delays restored our nation.
Our weal he put before his reputation.
Thus now his glory shines more brightly yet
In later years ...('Unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem ...'). Such glorification of an individual was perhaps not in the best Roman
traditions; but the heroes of the Annals displayed virtues which were very much admired by Romans. And other
passages combined profound reflection with stylistic vigour in a memorable way, for instance the following on the
disruptive effects of war:
Wisdom is driven out: violence holds sway.
Sound speakers scorned, rough soldiers have their day.
No longer with abuse or skilful speech
Do men express their hatred, each to each.
But now with weapons, not with writs, they fight;
They strive to rule, press on with massive might.TOC