There are numerous examples in the literature surrounding Augustus but with a twist, such as Virgil's Aeneid where he has his hero Aeneas combine both respect for the Republic and Augustus himself, thus bridging both with an awareness for the thread of Roman greatness from Aeneas onwards. It can be seen in Book 6, where Aeneas visits the underworld and sees Rome's future (its past in relation to Virgil, though) as well as the description of the shield in Book 8, which links Catiline, Cato and Augustus' own accomplishments.

If one then looks at the time of Nero in the early empire, republicanism was glorified by Lucan and Seneca, in particular. For instance, see Lucan's Civil War with the powerful portrayal of Cato the Younger as an example of the struggle between the forces of dictatorship (Caesar) and libertas (Cato). In fact, when 'caught' in a plot against Nero, a number of leading figures, including Lucan and Seneca almost happily killed themselves as a response to the tyranny of Nero in the guise of not only emulating Cato's famous voluntary death but also in the mistaken revival of republican ideology (in that they had this idealised view but not a practical one).

Cato, incidentally, remains a symbol of republican resistance throughout western thought and was even embraced by George Washington who had Joseph Addison's play on Cato performed to rally his soldiers during a bleak winter during the American Revolution.

There are a number of both primary and secondary sources that an interested reader could look at - I'm not sure if allowed, but if so, I can give some ideas.

EDIT: to add paragraph on Virgil.