Inflation is the increase in the prices of goods and services across an economy. When prices inflate, you need more money to buy the same things. The opposite of inflation is deflation, when prices are lower across a range of goods and services.
James Howell, a 17th century historian cum writer was the first writer to earn his living from writing alone in the English language; other writers of those times pursued writing as a hobby, not a profession as writing alone never paid enough.
In time, however, Roman writers began to produce original works in their own language, though Greek literature was still used as the model of what constituted good writing. One of the first works of Roman literature was The Origines, a work written by Marcus Portius Cato in the 2d century.