 In the first century BCE, the Greek concept of the "magos" was adopted into Latin and used by a number of ancient Roman writers as "magus" and "magia".The earliest known Latin use of the term was in Virgil's "Eclogue", written around 40 BCE, which makes reference to "magicis… sacris" (magic rites).The Romans already had other terms for the negative use of supernatural powers, such as "veneficus" and "saga".