The Gracchi brothers both strive for reforms of the Roman Republic, but fail due to the conservative customs of the upper class and their resistance to change. Following the attempts of the Gracchi brothers are those of two military leaders, Marius and Sulla. The introduction of Stoicism into Rome is a major influence on Roman leaders. Cicero's prose is primarily a fusion of Roman political thought and Stoicism's basic beliefs that happiness is attained by way of the virtuous life and the highest good is tranquility of mind. Lucretius, author of On the Nature of Things , is the most renowned of the Roman Epicureans.
Epicureanism is one of the most notable influences the Greek world bestows on Roman civilization.
Because Sulla grants full control of the Roman empire to the aristocracy, his efforts are challenged by two leaders in defense of the Roman people, Julius Caesar and Pompey. These two leaders join their efforts to seize the Roman government but soon become rivals. A close friend of Horace , the poet Virgil authors The Eclogues and The Aeneid. He is later considered a prophet of Christianity in the Middle Ages. Horace's literature exemplifies the fusion of Epicureanism and Stoicism.