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The Student's Companion
to Latin Authors
by
George Middleton, M.A.
Lecturer in Latin, Aberdeen University; Late Scholar of
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
and
Thomas R. Mills, M.A.
Late Lecturer in Greek, Aberdeen University, and Classical Lecturer,
Owens College, Manchester; formerly Scholar of Wadham College, Oxford
_with an Introductory Note by_
Prof. W. M. Ramsay, D.C.L., LL.D.
Aberdeen University
London
Macmillan and Co., Ltd.
New York: The Macmillan Co.
1896
_All rights reserved_
Glasgow: Printed at the University Press by
Robert Maclehose and Co.
PREFACE
The object of this book is to give in a convenient form all the facts
of importance relating to the lives and works of the principal Latin
Authors, with full quotation of original authorities on all the chief
points. It appears to us that these facts are not at present readily
accessible; for the ordinary histories of literature are compelled to
sacrifice much exact information to the demand for a critical
appreciation of the authors. The latter aspect does not enter into the
plan of this book, which may therefore, with advantage, be used side
by side with any work of the kind indicated, the two supplementing one
another. The authors have been, as far as possible, illustrated from
their own works. Special attention has been paid to the great writers,
as the book is meant for use in the upper forms of schools and by
students at the Universities. We had collected a considerable amount
of matter upon the minor authors, most of which it was thought
advisable to omit, so as not to extend the book unduly. An attempt,
however, has been made to retain the most important facts about these,
whenever they illustrated one of the great authors, or whenever it was
thought that they ought to be in the hands of a student. We have
attempted no treatment of early Latin as seen in inscriptions and the
like, but have started with the first literary author, Livius
Andronicus, and have gone down to Tacitus and the younger Pliny,
dealing with each author by himself. A section has been added on
Suetonius. A sketch of the chief ancient authorities on Roman writers
is given at the end of the book, as well as a selected list of
editions, which, without being exhaustive, will, we hope, be of
service to the average student.
Apart from our own study of the authors, our principal authority has,
of course, been the _History of Roman Literature_ by Teuffel and
Schwabe (translated by Prof. G. C. W. Warr), and we have made an
extensive use of editions and monographs both English and foreign,
which are mentioned where necessary. Ennius has been quoted from
Vahlen's edition, Plautus from the new edition of Ritschl, the
fragments of the tragedians and comedians from Ribbeck, of Lucilius
from L. Müller, and of the minor poets from Bährens, the minor
historians from Peter's _Fragmenta_, and Suetonius' fragmentary works
from Reifferscheid.
Some of our materials were originally prepared for the Humanity
classes in Aberdeen University, and the Latin Literary Club in
connexion with the Honours class. We have to thank some of our pupils
for help and criticism, particularly Mr. A. Souter, of Gonville and
Caius College, Cambridge, and Mr. A. G. Wright, of St. John's College,
Cambridge, the latter of whom prepared the materials for the article
on Tibullus, and gave us some useful suggestions. We are specially
indebted to Professor W. M. Ramsay, without whom the book would not
have been written. Professor Ramsay has read nearly the whole of the
work as it has passed through the press, and has all along given us
invaluable assistance and advice. For any errors in the following
pages we are, of course, solely responsible.
ABERDEEN, September, 1896.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.--EARLY POETS AND PROSE WRITERS, 1
Livius Andronicus, 1; Naevius, 4; Plautus, 7; Ennius, 26; Pacuvius,
34; Caecilius Statius, 37; Terence, 39; Early Minor Authors, 52; Cato,
53; Accius, 55; Lucilius, 58; Atta and Afranius, 64; Minor Poets after
Afranius, 65; Authors contemporary with Cicero's youth, 67.
CHAPTER II.--THE CICERONIAN AGE, 69
Cicero, 69; Q. Cicero, 89; Tiro, 90; Atticus, 90; Varro, 91; Laberius,
97; Bibaculus, 99; Caesar and the Corpus Caesarianum, 100; Pollio,
112; Nepos, 112; Lucretius, 119; Sallust, 125; Catullus, 132;
Contemporary Poets (Cinna, Calvus, Varro Atacinus, Publilius Syrus,
etc.), 140.
CHAPTER III.--THE AUGUSTAN AGE, 147
Virgil, 147; Horace, 163; Contemporary Poets, 180; Tibullus, 185;
Propertius, 191; Ovid, 200; Manilius, 213; Livy, 215; Contemporaries
of Livy, 223; Vitruvius, 224; Seneca the Elder, 226.
CHAPTER IV.--POST-AUGUSTAN WRITERS, 231
Velleius Paterculus, 231; Valerius Maximus, 234; Celsus, 235;
Phaedrus, 237; Seneca the Younger, 240; Curtius Rufus, 256; Columella,
258; Pomponius Mela, 259; Persius, 260; Lucan, 264; Petronius, 272;
Calpurnius Siculus, 275; Aetna (Lucilius Iunior), 277; Pliny the Elder,
281; Valerius Flaccus, 286; Silius Italicus, 289; Statius, 291;
Martial, 295; Quintilian, 302; Frontinus, 310; Juvenal, 312; Pliny the
Younger, 326; Tacitus, 336; Suetonius, 348.
APPENDIX A., 351
APPENDIX B., 356
INDEX OF SUBJECTS, 368
INDEX OF TITLES, 378
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The authors ask me to write a word of introduction to their book; but
an introduction is not needed when the book supplies a want and is
trustworthy in what it says. As to the second point, the text will
speak for itself. On the first, a word may be permitted about my own
experience in lecturing. The young student of Latin Literature
requires help in two ways. In the first place, he needs guidance in
learning to recognize and appreciate the literary merit of the
authors. Mr. Cruttwell's, and, still better, Mr. Mackail's book, will
serve his purpose well. They are interesting to read, and they tempt
him on to study for himself. Mr. Mackail's book, especially, shows
delicate literary feeling, and a remarkably catholic and true sense of
literary merit. But, secondly, the student wants a clear statement of
the facts, certain or probable, about the life of each author, the
chronology of his works, and their relation to the circumstances and
personages of the time. Neither of the books which I have named is
satisfactory in this respect. Both of them omit a large number of
facts and theories which the student ought to have before him: Mr.
Cruttwell occasionally even sinks to inaccuracy.
About three years ago I suggested to Mr. Middleton that he should try
to fill up this gap with a book, in which he should bring together all
the information that a student should have ready to his hand in
reading the more familiar classical authors, that he should keep down
the size of his book by omitting all that the student does not want,
and that he should set before his readers the evidence on which each
fact rests, so that they might be led to form opinions and judgments
of their own. Teuffel-Schwabe's great work contains a vast deal that
the ordinary student does not want; and it does not contain a certain
amount which will, I believe, be found in the present book, the
materials for which have been gathered from a wide range of reading.
I am convinced that much can be done to stimulate and invigorate the
young student's feeling for Latin literature by helping him to feel
for himself how each author's words spring from his life, and
conversely how facts and circumstances of his life can be elicited
from his words. There will always remain doubts as to the facts and
dates, _e.g._, in Horace's or in Catullus' life; but any reasoned
theory has its interest, and is better for the pupil than no theory.
The present book will, as I hope, be found useful as an aid to that
method of teaching and of study, provided that both teacher and pupil
bear in mind that it is a companion to other books--not a book
complete in itself.
W. M. RAMSAY.
COMPANION TO LATIN AUTHORS
CHAPTER I.
EARLY POETS AND PROSE WRITERS.
LIVIUS ANDRONICUS.
(1) LIFE.
L. Livius Andronicus, according to the poet Accius, was taken prisoner
at the capture of Tarentum by Q. Fabius Maximus in B.C. 209, and
exhibited his first play in B.C. 197.
Cic. _Brut._ 72-3, 'Accius a Q. Maximo quintum consule captum Tarenti
scripsit Livium annis xxx. postquam eum fabulam docuisse et Atticus
scribit et nos in antiquis commentariis invenimus: docuisse autem
fabulam annis post xi., C. Cornelio Q. Minucio coss. ludis Iuventatis,
quos Salinator Senensi proelio voverat.'
But ancient evidence is unanimous that he was the first literary
writer of Rome, and this is confirmed by his archaic language. Hence
the statement of Cicero _ibid._, that Livius produced his first play
in B.C. 240, must be accepted.
'Atque hic Livius, qui primus fabulam, C. Claudio Caeci filio et M.
Tuditano coss., docuit anno ipso antequam natus est Ennius; post Romam
conditam autem quarto decimo et quingentesimo ... In quo tantus error
Acci fuit, ut his consulibus xl. annos natus Ennius fuerit: cui si
aequalis fuerit Livius, minor fuit aliquanto is, qui primus fabulam
dedit, quam ei, qui multas docuerant ante hos consules, et Plautus et
Naevius.'
Cf. Cic. _Tusc._ i. 3, and Gell. xvii. 21, 42.
Probably Accius, finding in his authorities that Livius was taken
prisoner at the capture of Tarentum (_i.e._ in B.C. 272), wrongly
thought of the second capture by Fabius. In spite of Cicero's
correction, the error of Accius was, we may infer, reproduced by
Suetonius, and thus penetrated into Jerome, who says, yr. Abr. 1830 =
B.C. 187, 'T. [an error] Livius tragoediarum scriptor clarus habetur,
qui ob ingenii meritum a Livio Salinatore, cuius liberos erudiebat,
libertate donatus est.'
It is probable that Livius was the slave of C. Livius Salinator, the
father of the victor of Sena (M. Livius Salinator), and taught the
latter; for he must have been set free before B.C. 240, and the victor
of Sena could hardly have been born earlier than B.C. 258. This
connexion made M. Livius Salinator when consul, B.C. 207, select
Livius Andronicus to prepare a hymn of expiation to the Aventine Juno,
and, probably in the same year, to compose a hymn of thanksgiving for
the success of Rome in the Hannibalic War. For his services the
privileges of a guild were assigned to writers and actors.
Livy xxvii. 37, 'Decrevere pontifices ut virgines ter novenae per
urbem euntes carmen canerent ... conditum ab Livio poeta ... Carmen in
Iunonem reginam canentes ibant illa tempestate forsitan laudabile
rudibus ingeniis, nunc abhorrens et inconditum, si referatur.'
Fest. p. 333, 'Cum Livius Andronicus bello Punico secundo scripsisset
carmen quod a virginibus est cantatum, quia prosperius res publica
populi Romani geri coepta est, publice attributa est ei in Aventino
aedis Minervae, in qua liceret scribis histrionibusque consistere ac
dona ponere, in honorem Livi, quia is et scribebat fabulas et agebat.'
Livius had a twofold reason for writing, (_a_) To assist him in his
profession as a schoolmaster he published a translation of the
_Odyssey_; (_b_) as an actor, he wrote the plays he acted, and
afterwards published them.
Sueton. _Gramm._ 1, 'Livium et Ennium ... quos utraque lingua domi
forisque docuisse adnotatum est.'
Livy vii. 2, 8, 'Livius ... qui ab saturis ausus est primus argumento
fabulam serere, idem scilicet, id quod omnes tum erant, suorum
carminum actor.'
(2) WORKS.
1. _Tragedies._--From the scanty fragments extant and from the titles
(_Achilles_, _Aegisthus_, and six others are known) we see that these
were close imitations of Greek plays. Thus l. 38 (Ribbeck),
'Quem ego nefrendem alui lacteam immulgens opem,'
is, according to Conington, a rendering of Aesch. _Choeph._ 883-4,
+maston pros hô sy polla dê brizon hama
ouloisoin ezêmexas eutraphes gala+.
2. _Comedies._--Slight fragments of three of these are extant.
3. A translation of the _Odyssey_ in Saturnians.[1] This, though rough
and incorrect, long remained a school-book. So Hor. _Ep._ ii. I, 69
_sqq._,
'Non equidem insector delendave carmina Livi
esse reor, memini quae plagosum mihi parvo
Orbilium dictare: sed emendata videri
pulchraque et exactis minimum distantia miror.'
For examples of translation, of. Gell, xviii. 9, 5, 'Offendi ...
librum ... Livi Andronici, qui inscriptus est Odyssea, in quo erat
versus primus ...,
"Virúm mihí Caména | ínsecé versútum,"
factus ex illo Homeri versu,
+Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, polytropon+.'
Fragments 2 and 3,
'Meá puer, quid vérbi | éx tuo óre súpera
fugít?
neque ením te oblítus | Lértié, sum, nóster,'
represent _Od._ i. 64,
+teknon emon, poion se epos phygen herkos odontôn?
pôs an epeit' Odysêos egô theioio lathoimên?+
NAEVIUS.
(1) LIFE.
Cn. Naevius' dates can only be given approximately as B.C. 269-199. As
he served in the First Punic War, he cannot in any case have been born
later than B.C. 257. He was a Campanian by birth.
Gell. i. 24, 2, 'Epigramma Naevi plenum superbiae Campanae, quod
testimonium esse iustum potuisset, nisi ab ipso dictum esset,
"Inmortales mortales si foret fas flere,
flerent divae Camenae Naevium poetam.
Itaque postquam est Orci traditus thesauro,
obliti sunt Romae loquier lingua Latina."'
Naevius' first play was produced B.C. 235; the fact that he served as
a soldier shows that he was not an actor.
Gell. xvii. 21, 45, 'Eodem anno (A.U.C. Dxix.) Cn. Naevius poeta
fabulas apud populum dedit, quem M. Varro in libris de poetis primo
stipendia fecisse ait bello Poenico primo, idque ipsum Naevium dicere
in eo carmine, quod de eodem bello scripsit.'
In his plays he attacked the senatorial party, particularly the
Metelli, and was imprisoned, but afterwards released.
Gell. iii. 3, 15, 'Sicuti de Naevio quoque accepimus, fabulas eum in
carcere duas scripsisse, Hariolum et Leontem, cum ob assiduam
maledicentiam et probra in principes civitatis de Graecorum poetarum
more dicta in vincula Romae a triumviris coniectus esset. Unde post a
tribunis plebis exemptus est, cum in his, quas supra dixi, fabulis
delicta sua et petulantias dictorum, quibus multos ante laeserat,
diluisset.'
Pseud.-Asconius on Cic. _in Verr. act. prior_, 29. 'Dictum facete et
contumeliose in Metellos antiquum Naevii est, "Fato Metelli Romai
fiunt consules," cui tunc Metellus consul (B.C. 206) iratus versu
responderat ..., "Dabunt malum Metelli Naevio poetae."'
Cf. the contemporary reference in Plaut. _Mil._ 212,
'Nam os columnatum poetae esse indaudivi barbaro,[2]
quoi bini custodes semper totis horis occubant.'
For Naevius' freedom of speech cf. his comedies, l. 113 (Ribbeck),
'Libera lingua loquemur ludis Liberalibus';
l. 108 (on Scipio),
'Etiam qui res magnas manu saepe gessit gloriose,
cuius facta viva nunc vigent, qui apud gentes solus praestat,
eum suus pater cum palliod unod ab amica abduxit.'
Naevius was banished and went to Utica, where he died, probably about
B.C. 199. It must have been after peace was concluded (B.C. 202), as
otherwise he could have reached Utica only by deserting to the
enemy.[3] Jerome gives B.C. 201, Cicero B.C. 204, although he says
Varro put the date later. The verses on Scipio quoted above could
hardly have been written before the battle of Zama.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1816 = B.C. 201, 'Naevius comicus Uticae moritur,
pulsus Roma factione nobilium, ac praecipue Metelli.'
Cic. _Brut._ 60, 'His consulibus (B.C. 204), ut in veteribus
commentariis scriptum est, Naevius est mortuus; quamquam Varro noster,
diligentissimus investigator antiquitatis, putat in hoc erratum
vitamque Naevi producit longius.'
(2) WORKS.
1. _Tragedies._--There are extant seven titles and a very few
fragments.
2. _Comedies._--There are titles of about thirty-four _palliatae_,[4]
and upwards of one hundred and thirty lines extant.
Naevius seems to have adopted _contaminatio_[5] in his plays. Ter.
_Andr._ prol. 15,
'Id isti vituperant factum atque in eo disputant
contaminari non decere fabulas ...
qui quom hunc accusant, Naevium Plautum Ennium
accusant.'
3. _Praetextae._--Tragedies on Roman subjects, 'Clastidium' and
'Romulus.' The _praetexta_ was invented by Naevius.
4. _Bellum Punicum_, an epic poem in Saturnians, divided later into
seven Books. About seventy-four lines are extant.
Sueton. _Gramm._ 2, 'C. Octavius Lampadio Naevii Punicum bellum, uno
volumine et continenti scriptura expositum, divisit in septem libros.'
Books i. and ii. contained the mythical origin of Rome and Carthage,
Aeneas' flight from Troy and his sojourn at the court of Dido in
Carthage. In Book iii. the history of the First Punic War commenced.
The work was imitated by Ennius and Virgil, sometimes closely by the
latter. Cf. Servius on _Aen._ i. 198-207, 'O socii,' etc. 'Et totus
hic locus de Naevio belli Punici libro translatus est.' _Ibid._ i.
273, 'Naevius et Ennius Aeneae ex filia nepotem Romulum conditorem
urbis tradunt.'
Macrob. _Saturn._ vi. 2, 31, 'In principio Aeneidos tempestas
describitur et Venus apud Iovem queritur ... Hic locus totus sumptus a
Naevio est ex primo libro belli Punici.'
PLAUTUS
(1) LIFE.
Plautus' full name, T. Maccius Plautus, was discovered by Ritschl in
the Ambrosian (Milan) palimpsest, which gives, _e.g._ after the two
plays named: 'T. Macci Plauti Casina explicit': 'Macci Plauti Epidicus
explicit.' In Plaut. _Merc._ l. 6, the MS. reading _Mactici_ was
emended by Ritschl to _Macci Titi_; and in _Asin._ prol. l. 11,
_Maccius_ is the right reading. The MSS. read _Maccus_, which Bücheler
(_Rhein. Mus._ 41, 12) takes to mean 'buffoon,' or 'writer of
comedies,' from which Plautus took his family name, Maccius, on
becoming a Roman citizen. 'M. Accius,' formerly supposed to be the
name, is found in no MS., but 'Accius' is found in _Epitome Festi_, p.
239, which gives us the poet's birthplace, Sarsina in Umbria, and
suggests another derivation for his name: 'Ploti appellantur, qui sunt
planis pedibus, unde et poeta Accius, quia Umber Sarsinas erat, a
pedum planitie initio Plotus, postea Plautus est dictus.'
In the corresponding passage of Festus, we have only '...us poeta,
quia Umber,' etc. The name of the poet is lost, and the epitomizer has
doubtless made a mistake.
Sarsina is mentioned once by Plautus, _Mostell._ 770,
'Quid? Sarsinatis ecquast, si Umbram non habes?'
The year of his birth can only be conjectured; he died B.C. 184.
Cic. _Brut._ 60, 'Plautus P. Claudio L. Porcio coss. mortuus est.'
Jerome erroneously assigns Plautus' death to yr. Abr. 1817 = B.C. 200,
'Plautus ex Umbria Sarsinas Romae moritur, qui propter annonae
difficultatem ad molas manuarias pistori se locaverat; ibi quotiens ab
opere vacaret, scribere fabulas et vendere sollicitius consueverat.'
From this notice, and from the passage of Gellius below, we learn that
Plautus lost in foreign trade the money he had made as an assistant to
scenic artists, and had to work for his living in a flour mill at
Rome, during which time he wrote plays, and continued to do so
afterwards.
Gell. iii. 3, 14, 'Saturionem et Addictum et tertiam quamdam, cuius
nunc mihi nomen non subpetit, in pistrino eum scripsisse, Varro et
plerique alii memoriae tradiderunt cum, pecunia omni, quam in operis
artificum scaenicorum pepererat, in mercatibus perdita inops Romam
redisset et ob quaerendum victum ad circumagendas molas, quae
"trusatiles" appellantur, operam pistori locasset.'
We conclude from these varied employments that Plautus can hardly have
been less than thirty years old when he began to write plays. His
intimacy with the Scipios (Cic. _de Rep._ iv., apud Augustin. _Civ.
D._ ii. 9), who fell in Spain B.C. 212, leads to the conclusion that
he must have been well established as an author by that date, though
none of his plays can be proved to have been written so early. If we
suppose that his career as a playwright commenced at thirty, and that
his acquaintance with the Scipios lasted ten years, the year of his
birth must have been about B.C. 254. This view is supported (1) by the
notice in Cic. _Brut._ 73, that Plautus had produced many plays by
B.C. 197; (2) by Cic. _Cato maior_, 50, 'quam gaudebat ... Truculento
Plautus, quam Pseudolo,' where Plautus is said to have written these
plays as _senex_. Now the _Pseudolus_ was written B.C. 191; and
therefore, as a man could not be called _senex_ till he was at least
sixty, his birth must have been not later than B.C. 251.
Plautus is said to have written his own epitaph.
Gell. i. 24, 3, 'Epigramma Plauti, quod dubitassemus an Plauti foret,
nisi a M. Varrone positum esset in libro de poetis primo:
"Postquam est mortem aptus Plautus, Comoedia luget,
Scaena est deserta, ac dein Risus, Ludus Iocusque,
et Numeri innumeri simul omnes conlacrimarunt."'
(2) WORKS.
Plautus' plays were early criticized as to their genuineness. Gell.
iii. 3, 1-3, after mentioning the canons of Aelius Stilo, Sedigitus,
etc., says that Varro admitted twenty-one plays which were given by
all the canons, and added some more. 'Nam praeter illas unam et
viginti, quae Varronianae vocantur, quas idcirco a ceteris segregavit,
quoniam dubiosae non erant, set consensu omnium Plauti esse
censebantur, quasdam item alias probavit adductus filo atque facetia
sermonis Plauto congruentis easque iam nominibus aliorum occupatas
Plauto vindicavit.'
About one hundred and thirty plays were current under the name of
Plautus; the theory of Varro (Gell. iii. 3, 10) that these were
written by a certain Plautius is improbable.
Gell. iii. 3, 11, 'Feruntur sub Plauti nomine comoediae circiter
centum atque triginta.'
There is little doubt that the 'fabulae Varronianae' are those which
have come down to us with the addition of the _Vidularia_, which was
lost between the sixth and the eleventh centuries. The number of
Varro's second class, consisting of those pieces that stood in most of
the indices and exhibited Plautine features, Ritschl has fixed at
nineteen, from citations in Varro _de lingua Latina_. Besides the
genuine plays the names of thirty-two others are known.
The extant plays[6] are as follows:
1. _Amphitruo_, a _tragicomoedia_, the only play of Plautus of the
kind. Prol. 59,
'Faciam ut conmixta sit haec tragicomoedia.'
The original and the date are unknown. The play shows the features of
the Sicilian _Rhinthonica_.[7] About three hundred lines have been
lost after Act. iv., Scene 2. The scene is Thebes, which, with Roman
carelessness or ignorance, is made a harbour; cf. ll. 629 _sqq._
2. _Asinaria_ (sc. _fabula_), from the +Onagos+ of Demophilus,
supposed to have been a writer of the New Comedy. Prol. 10-12,
'Huic nomen Graece Onagost fabulae;
Demophilus scripsit, Maccius vortit barbare.
Asinariam volt esse, si per vos licet.'
Authorities assign the play to about B.C. 194. The scene is Athens.
3. _Aulularia_ (from _aulula_, 'a little pot.')--Neither the original
nor the exact time of composition is known. From Megadorus' tirade
against the luxury of women, ll. 478 _sqq._, it has been inferred that
the play was written after the repeal of the Oppian Law in B.C. 195.
The end of the play is lost. The scene is Athens.
4. _Captivi_, a piece without active interest (_stataria_), without
female characters, and claiming a moral purpose; l. 1029,
'Spectatores, ad pudicos mores facta haec fabulast.'
Some authorities think that the parasite (Ergasilus) is an addition to
the original play, which may have belonged to the New Comedy. The
scene is in Aetolia.
5. _Curculio_, so called from the name of the parasite. The Greek
original is unknown; but ll. 462-86 contain a speech from the
Choragus, in the style of the +parabasis+ of the Old Comedy. In
l. 509,
'Rogitationes plurumas propter vos populus scivit
quas vos rogatas rumpitis,'
there is probably an allusion to the Lex Sempronia de pecunia credita,
B.C. 193. The scene is Epidaurus.
6. _Casina_, so called from a slave-girl introduced. The original was
the +Klêroumenoi+ of Diphilus. Prol. 31,
'Clerumenoe vocatur haec comoedia
Graece, Latine Sortientes. Deiphilus
hanc Graece scripsit.'
The inference from l. 979, 'Nam ecastor nunc Bacchae nullae ludunt,'
that the play was written after the S.C. de Bacchanalibus in B.C. 186,
is improbable; the words rather show, as Mommsen[8] believes, an
anterior date, when it was not yet dangerous to speak of the
Bacchanalia. Some authorities find support for the latter date in the
words of the prologue, ll. 9-20 (written after the poet's death). The
text of the play has suffered greatly. The scene is Athens.
7. _Cistellaria_.--This play contains a reference to the war against
Hannibal then going on; ll. 197 _sqq._,
'Bene valete, et vincite
virtute vera, quod fecistis antidhac, ...
ut vobis victi Poeni poenas sufferant.'
According to Ritschl, about 600 verses have been lost. The scene is
Sicyon.
8. _Epidicus_.--This play is referred to in the _Bacchides_, ll. 213-5
(spoken by Chrysalus), where the unpopularity of the play is
attributed to the acting of Pellio.
'Non res, sed actor mihi cor odio sauciat.
Etiam Epidicum, quam ego fabulam aeque ac me ipsum amo,
nullam aeque invitus specto, si agit Pellio.'
_Epid._ 222,
'Sed vestita, aurata, ornata ut lepide! ut concinne! ut nove!' etc.,
shows that the piece was written after the repeal of the Lex Oppia
Sumptuaria, B.C. 195. The plot is complicated, and _contaminatio_ is
assumed by some authorities. The play contains only seven hundred and
thirty-three lines, and some believe it to be a stage edition. The
scene is Athens.
9. _Bacchides_.--The first part of this play, along with the last part
of the _Aulularia_,[9] has been lost, as also the prefaces of the
grammarians, so that we do not know what was in the first part. The
original was probably Menander's +Dis exapatôn+. Plautus
appears to refer to this twice, l. 1090,
'Perii: pudet. Hocine me aetatis _ludos bis factum_ esse indigne';
l. 1128,
'Pol hodie altera iam _bis detonsa_ certost.'
The line, +hon hoi theoi philousin, apothnêskei neos+, which
belongs to the same play (Stobaeus, _Serm._ 120, 8) is translated in
ll. 816-7,
'quem di diligunt
adulescens moritur.'
The date is pretty well fixed by l. 1073,
'Quod non triumpho: pervolgatumst, nil moror.'
Now, triumphs were not frequent till after the Second Punic War, and
were especially frequent from B.C. 197 to 187. The play probably
refers to the four triumphs of B.C. 189, and may have been brought out
in that or the following year. The scene is Athens.
10. _Mostellaria_ (sc. _fabula_, 'a play dealing with a ghost,' from
_mostellum_, dim. of _monstrum_).--The play is quoted by Festus, p.
166, as 'Mostellaria'; pp. 162 and 305, as 'Phasma.' According to
Ritschl, the +Phasma+ of Philemon was Plautus' model. The
reference to _unguenta exotica_ (l. 42) points to a late date, when
Asiatic luxury was growing common. The play is imitated in Ben
Jonson's _Alchemist_. The scene is Athens.
11. _Menaechmi_.--If ll. 409 _sqq._, 'Syracusis ... ubi rex ... nunc
Hierost,' were written independently by Plautus, the date must be
before B.C. 215; but the reference may only mean that the Greek
original was composed between 275 and 215 B.C. It has been conjectured
that a comedy by Posidippus (possibly called +Didymoi+) was
the original, from Athenaeus, xiv. p. 658, +oude gar an heuroi
tis hymon doulon tina mageiron en kômôdia plên para Poseidippô
monô+. Now, the _Menaechmi_ is the only play of Plautus where a cook
is a house-slave, Cylindrus being the slave of Erotium; in his other
plays cooks are hired from the Forum. The scene is Epidamnus.
12. _Miles Gloriosus_.--In ll. 211-2 (the only personal allusion in
Plautus),
'Nam os columnatum poetae esse indaudivi barbaro,
quoi bini custodes semper totis horis occubant,'
we have a reference to the imprisonment of Naevius, which shows that
the play was written before his banishment, probably B.C. 206-5 (see
under 'Naevius'). Line 1016, 'Cedo signum, si harum Baccharum es,'
shows that the play is anterior to B.C. 186.
The original is the +Alazôn+ of some Greek poet. Cf. ll. 86-7,
'Alazon Graece huic nomen est comoediae:
id nos Latine gloriosum dicimus.'
The play, however, exhibits _contaminatio_. Two distinct actions, the
cheating of Sceledrus (Act i.) and the cheating of the Miles (Acts ii.
and iii.), are united rather loosely; and it has been conjectured that
Menander's +Kolax+, or (according to Ritschl) Diphilus'
+Hairêsiteichês+, was the play used. Ritschl's view is perhaps
supported by the word _urbicape_ in l. 1055. The play is the longest
_palliata_ preserved. The scene is Ephesus.
13. _Mercator_.--The original is Philemon's +Emporos+; ll. 5-6,
'Graece haec vocatur Emporos Philemonis;
eadem Latine Mercator Macci Titi.'
Some light is thrown on the date by ll. 524-6.
'_L._ Ovem tibi eccillam dabo, natam annos sexaginta,
peculiarem. _P._ Mei senex, tam vetulam? _L._ Generis Graeci est.
Eam sei curabeis, perbonast; tondetur nimium scite.'
This could not have been written before B.C. 196, the date of the
settlement of Greece. The play shows traces of two distinct editions.
The scene is Athens.
14. _Pseudolus_.--The Greek original is unknown. The date of
production (B.C. 191) is got from the didascalia, as restored by
Ritschl, 'M. Iunio M. fil. pr. urb. acta Megalesiis.' The Megalesian
games were held in that year in honour of the dedication of the temple
which had been vowed to Cybele, B.C. 204 (Livy, xxxvi. 36). 'Pseudolus'
= +Pseudylos+, but is connected by popular etymology with _dolus_. Cf.
the puns in l. 1205,
'Edepol hominem verberonem Pseudolum, ut docte dolum
commentust';
l. 1244,
'Superavit dolum Troianum atque Ulixem Pseudolus.'
Several references to the play are found in Cicero: _Cato Maior_, 50
(quoted p. 9); _Phil._ ii. 15; _pro Rosc. Com._ 20. The scene is
Athens.
15. _Poenulus_.--The original was a Greek play, +Karchêdonios+,
the author of which is unknown, as the fragments of Menander's
+Karchêdonios+ do not fit in with Plautus' play. The play was called
by Plautus 'Patruus,' but posterity went back to the older name
'Poenulus.' Prol. 53,
'Carchedonius vocatur haec comoedia
Graece, Latine Patruus Pultiphagonidae.'[10]
Authorities assign the play to B.C. 189. The play is considerably
interpolated, one ending being at l. 1371, another at l. 1422, whence
some authorities have considered ll. 1372-1422 as spurious. Ritschl
thinks that the two endings are about the same age, and compares the
double ending of the _Andria_ of Terence. The play is noted for the
two Carthaginian renderings of the soliloquy of Hanno, ll. 930-9, and
ll. 940-9. The scene is Calydon in Aetolia.
16. _Persa_.--This play, the original of which is unknown, has been
variously assigned to 197 and 186 B.C. The play shows traces of two
distinct editions. The scene is Athens.
17. _Rudens_.--This play has been assigned to about B.C. 192. The
original is by Diphilus; and the scene is Cyrene. Prol., 1. 32,
'Primumdum huic esse nomen urbi Diphilus
Cyrenas voluit.'
18. _Stichus_, performed B.C. 200 _ludis plebeis_, as we learn from
the didascalia, 'Graeca Adelphoe Menandru acta ludis plebeis Cn.
Baebio C. Terentio aed. pl. ... C. Sulpicio C. Aurelio coss.' This
cannot be the _Adelphi_ imitated by Terence, the fragments of which do
not bear the least resemblance to the _Stichus_. It may be a second
_Adelphi_ by Menander. Others read 'Philadelphoe' in the above
didascalia. Part of the play has been lost, and it shows traces of two
distinct editions. The scene is Athens.
19. _Trinummus_.--The original was Philemon's +Thêsauros+, as
seen from the didascalia, 'Graeca Thensaurus Philemonis acta ludis
Megalensibus.' Some indication of the date is got from l. 990,
'Vapulabis meo arbitratud et novorum aedilium.'
The only festival that would suit the term _novi aediles_ is the _ludi
Megalenses_[11] as from B.C. 266 to 153 the new magistrates entered on
office on the Ides of March. This festival was not of a scenic
character till B.C. 194, consequently the _Trinummus_ must be after
that date. The mention of Syrian slaves in l. 542 also makes it
probable that this is one of the latest works of Plautus. The scene is
Athens.
20. _Truculentus_.--The original is unknown. The play was written in
Plautus' old age, probably about B.C. 189. The text has suffered
greatly. The scene is Athens.
21. _Vidularia_.--Only fragments are extant. It is thought to have
been modelled on a play called +Schedia+ by Menander.
_Argumenta._--These are in _senarii_, and give a summary of each play.
Two sets are found. The first set are acrostic, and are extant for all
the plays except the _Vidularia_ and the _Bacchides_. The second
series was probably written by Sulpicius Apollinaris in the second
century A.D. There are only five of them extant in the MSS., and
fragments of other two.
_Prologues._--These (which were usual in the Old and the New Comedy)
gave the name of the piece and the author, the original and its
author, the scene of the play, and a partial list of characters. In
the Prologue also the poet often asked the favour of the audience.
Prologues to fourteen plays are extant. The part of the prologue
Plautus (like the New Comedy) assigned either to a god, as in the
_Rudens_ to Arcturus, or to one of the characters, as in the
_Mercator_ to a youth (cf. _Mil._ and _Amph._), or to an actor
addressing the audience in the name of the poet, as in the
_Truculentus_. All the prologues have suffered from interpolation, but
those of _Amph._, _Merc._, _Rud._, and _Trin._, and the second parts
of those of _Mil._ and _Aul._, are founded on what Plautus wrote. The
prologues in _Cas._, _Poen._, and _Capt._, are due to later hands.
That the prologues are interpolated is shown by their diction; the wit
is often poor, and the language un-Plautine, or imitated closely from
Plautus' genuine works. The prologues in their present form probably
date from a period shortly after that in which Terence flourished,
when there was a want of new plays, and people went back to Plautus.
This is shown by the references to fixed seats for the spectators
(_Poen._ 15, _Amph._ 65, and _Capt._ 11), which were forbidden by a
S.C. passed in B.C. 154, when Cassius Longinus began to build a
theatre of stone--a law that was not repealed till some years later.
Cf. _Capt._ 11,
'Negat hercle ille ultimis accensus. Cedito:
si non ubi sedeas locus est, est ubi ambules.'
_The Acts._--The plays of Plautus probably went on with few breaks,
during which the audience were entertained with music. Cf. _Pseud._
573,
'Tibicen vos interea hic delectaverit.'
_Diverbium and Canticum._--There was no chorus in Roman comedy, but
part of the play was set to music and sung to the flute. Some MSS.
denote this by C (Canticum); while DV (usually placed only over iambic
senarii) denotes dialogue or soliloquy (Diverbium). Iambic senarii
were spoken; other metres were sung; but the scenes in septenarii
stood midway between the dialogue and the _canticum_. Only about a
fourth of Plautus' verses are in iambic senarii, while in Terence, who
followed Menander in this respect, about half of the verses are in
this form.
_The Characters._--These, with the occasional exception of slaves, are
un-Roman, and exhibit Greek traits belonging to Athens of the time of
the New Comedy. Plautus, unlike Terence, usually alters the names used
in the original Greek plays, and substitutes 'tell-tale names'; so
Parmeno (+paramenôn+), 'the faithful slave'; Polemo, 'the
soldier'; Misargyrides, playfully for the _tarpessita_ (banker). The
names are often of Latin derivation; thus Saturio, in _Pers._;
Peniculus, in _Menaech._; Curculio, in _Curc._
_The Language of Plautus_, in spite of the Greek dress his plays assume,
represents essentially the conversational language of his time. Many
Greek features in language are, however, retained. For words kept in the
original Greek cf. +pausai+, +oichetai+, +euge+, +palin+, +epithêkên+
(all in the _Trin._); for Greek words Latinized cf. _gynaeceum_,
_parasitus_, _opsonium_, _dapsilis_ (= +dapsilês+); for hybrid new
formations based on Greek cf. _thensaurarius_, _plagipatidae_,
_opsonari_, _pultiphagus_.
_References to manners and customs._--(_a_) Many references to Greek life
are retained from the original, especially in matters relating to dress,
art, and money (Plautus has no reference to Roman money). Such are
_chlamys_, _petasus_, _pallium_, _cyathus_, _cantharus_, _thermopolium_,
_cerussa_, _melinum_ (_pigmentum_), _gynaeceum_, _balineae_,
_ambulacrum_, _porticus_, _fores Samiae_ (_Menaech._ 178), _nummus_ (=
drachma or didrachma), _nummi Philippei_, _mina_, _tarpessita_,
_symbolus_, _epistula_. Cf. also _Pseud._ 146-7,
'Ut ne peristromata quidem aeque picta sint Campanica,
neque Alexandrina beluata tonsilia tappetia.'
(_b_) There are, however, innumerable references to Roman public life
and manners and customs, even in passages manifestly close to the
original, although references to public events are rare.
1. _Military expressions._--These, many of which are used
metaphorically, were well adapted for an audience most of whom had seen
service. The following are from the _Miles_: _legiones_, _imperator_,
_peditastelli_, _rogare_, _latrocinari_, _stipendium_, _conscribere_,
_contubernales_, _eques_, _pedes_, _machinas parare_. Cf. also _Pseud._
148,
'Dederamque suas provincias';
_Pseud._ 572,
'Dum concenturio in corde sycophantias';
_Bacch._ 709,
'De ducentis nummis primum intendam ballistam in senem:
ea ballista si pervortam turrim et propugnacula,
recta porta invadam extemplo in oppidum antiquom et vetus.'
All references, however, to the enrolment of mercenaries (_latrones_)
are probably Greek and belong to the original play.
2. _Political expressions._--(_a_) Names of officials, etc. So
_tresviri_, _quaestor_, _aedilis_, _praetor_, _senatus_. Cf. _Trin._ 879,
'Census quom sum iuratori recte rationem dedi';
_Pseud._ 1232,
'Centuriata habuit capitis comitia.'
(_b_) Law. So _advocatus_ (_Mil._ 663), _festuca_ (_Mil._ 961), _lege
agito_ (_Mil._ 453). Cf. _Menaech._ 571-95 (on patrons and clients);
_Trin._ 500-4, where Roman terms of _stipulatio_ are used.
3. _Festivals and localities._--References to these are rarer.
Examples are: _Mil._ 691,
'Da, mi vir, Calendis meam qui matrem moenerem';
_Trin._ 545,
'Campans genus';
_Trin._ 609,
'Tam modo, inquit Praenestinus.'
_Mil._ 359,
'Credo ego istoc exemplo tibi esse pereundum extra portam';
a reference to the Esquiline gate, outside which slaves were executed.
4. _Private life._--These references are mostly to the lower classes,
especially slaves, with whom Plautus was very familiar. Hence words
referring to household duties, as _promus_, _suppromus_, _cella_,
_cellarius_, _verna_, _pulmentum_ (from _Mil._) To their patois also
belong phrases for cheating, like _emungere_, _intervortere_, _sarcinam
imponere_, _ducere_, _ductare_, _circumducere_, and the very large
number of words relating to punishment, as: _furcifer_, _verbero_,
_supplicium virgarum_, _varius virgis_, _talos frangere_, _crux_,
_verberea statua_ (_Pseud._ 911); _gymnasium flagri_ (_Asin._ 297). Cf.
also _Epid._ 17,
'Quid ais? perpetuen valuisti?--Varie.'
From slave life come also terms of abuse like _volturius_, _scelus_,
_odium populi_, _mers mala_, _lapis_, _saxum_. Note that cruelty in the
treatment of slaves is peculiarly Roman; but their familiarity with
their masters and their general situation are from Greek life.
_Prosody._[12]--Plautine prosody, which reflected the variation of
quantity found in the popular speech, was not properly understood even
in Cicero's time.
Cf. Cic. _Or._ 184, 'Comicorum senarii propter similitudinem sermonis
sic saepe sunt abiecti ut non numquam vix in eis numerus et versus
intellegi possit.'
The chief points are as follows:
1. Final -s is often lost. _Rud._ 103,
'Patér, salveto, ambóque adeo. Et tu sálvos sis';
_Most._ 1124,
'Quóque modo dominum ádvenientem sérvos ludificátus sit.'
2. A mute followed by a liquid does not make the preceding vowel long.
Thus _agris_, _libros_, _duplex_, are iambi.
3. Iambic words may become pyrrhics, on account of the stress accent
on the first syllable. So _domi_ and _cave_ have the last syllable
short.[13] _Trin._ 868,
'Fóris pultabo. Ad nóstras aedis híc quidem habet rectám viam';
_Stich._ 99,
'Bónas ut aequomst fácere facitis, quóm tamen absentís viros.'
4. The stress accent sometimes causes final syllables to be dropped,
and so to have no effect on quantity, as in _enim_, _apud_, _quidem_,
_parum_, _soror_, _caput_, _amant_, _habent_, etc. _Trin._ 77,
'Qui in méntem venit tibi ístaec dicta dícere?'
_Stich._ 18 (anapaestic),
'Haec rés vitae me, sóror, saturant.'
No shortening, however, takes place when the accent goes back to the
antepenult (cf. _contine_), nor in words like _aetas_, _mores_, where
the first syllable is long, nor even in _abi_, _tene_, _tace_, and the
like, when the chief accent is weakened, i.e., where these words are
pronounced slowly and emphatically (especially before a pause).
_Asin._ 543,
'Intro abi: nam té quidem edepol níhil est inpudéntius.'
5. This influence of the chief accent affects also combinations of two
monosyllabic words which make an iambus, and combinations like _ego
illi_, _age ergo_, in which the second syllable of the second word is
elided. _Trin._ 354,
'Is est inmunis, quoí nihil est qui múnus fungatúr suom';
_Trin._ 133,
'Non égo illi argentum rédderem? Non rédderes';
_Stich._ 237,
'Adíbo ad hominem. Quís haec est quae advorsúm venit?'
6. The chief accent could also affect a preceding syllable. In
polysyllables or polysyllabic combinations, when the chief accent was
on the third syllable, the second syllable, if long, could be
shortened, provided the first syllable were short. _Trin._ 456,
'Ferentárium esse amícum inventum intéllego';
_Stich._ 59,
'Néc voluntate id fácere meminit,' etc.;
_Stich._ 179,
'Per annónam caram díxit me natúm pater.'
7. The following common words have to be separately considered, _ille_,
_iste_, _unde_, _inde_, _nempe_. In the last three the liquid was
practically dropped; _iste_ was pronounced as _ste_; and in _ille_ only
one _l_ was heard, cf. _ellum_, _ellam_ (_en-illum_ = _en-ilum_ =
_en-lum_ = _ellum_). _Frustra_ is a trochee, as in _Menaech._ 692 (at
the end of a line), _frústra sis_; and the first _i_ of _fieri_ is
long. Cf. _Trin._ 532,
'Si in ópserendo possint interfieri.'
8. An original long vowel is sometimes kept when later authors have it
short. Examples are, _es_ (from _esse_), final _-or_, as _exertitor_,
_fateor_, _ecastor_; verbal endings, as _eris_, _eget_, _sit_, _det_,
_fuat_, _velit_.
9. _Synizesis._ _Deus_, _meus_, _tuos_, _suos_ (nom.), _eius_, _ei_,
_eum_, _quoius_, _quoi_, _huius_, _huic_, _rei_, etc., may be
monosyllables; _deorum_, _meorum_, _duorum_, _fuisti_, etc., may be
dissyllables; _diutius_, _exeundum_, etc., may be trisyllables. Other
examples are _proin_, _proinde_, _praeoptare_, _dehortor_, _aibam_,
_quator_.
10. _Hiatus._ This occurs, though not frequently, (_a_) at the natural
division of the metre. _Menaech._ 219,
'Spórtulam cape átque argentum. | éccos treis nummós habes.'
(_b_) At the natural break in the sense, especially with change of
speakers. _Trin._ 432,
_PH._ 'Tempúst adeundi.' _LE._ 'Éstne hic Philto qui ádvenit?'
The hiatus is commonest in monosyllabic words, or words ending in a
short syllable followed by _m_, making the first syllable of an arsis
resolved into two shorts. _Trin._ 433,
'Is hérclest ipsus. Édepol _ne ego_ istúm velim';
_Trin._ 305,
'Quí homo cum animo inde áb ineunte aetáte depugnát suo.'
_Views on Plautus._--For Cicero's high opinion of Plautus cf. _de
Off._ i. 104, 'Duplex omnino est iocandi genus: unum inliberale
petulans, flagitiosum obscaenum, alterum elegans urbanum, ingeniosum
facetum. Quo genere non modo Plautus noster et Atticorum antiqua
comoedia, sed etiam philosophorum Socraticorum libri referti sunt.'
Horace's unfavourable judgment is well known.
_Ep._ ii, 1, 170,
'Adspice Plautus
quo pacto partis tutetur amantis ephebi,
ut patris attenti, lenonis ut insidiosi,
quantus sit Dossenus edacibus in parasitis,
quam non adstricto percurrat pulpita socco.
Gestit enim nummum in loculos demittere, post hoc
securus cadat an recto stet fabula talo.'
Cf. _A.P._ 270-4. Cf. also Quint. x. 1, 99, 'In comoedia maxime
claudicamus, licet Varro Musas, Aelii Stilonis sententia, Plautino
dicat sermone locuturas fuisse, si Latine loqui vellent.'
ENNIUS.[14]
(1) LIFE.
Q. Ennius was born B.C. 239 at Rudiae in Calabria (about nineteen
miles south of Brundisium).
Gell. xvii. 21, 43, 'Consoles secuntur Q. Valerius et C. Mamilius,
quibus natum esse Q. Ennium poetam M. Varro in primo de poetis libro
scripsit eumque, cum septimum et sexagesimum annum haberet, duodecimum
annalem scripsisse, idque ipsum Ennium in eodem libro dicere.' (Cf.
Cic. _Tusc._ i. 3.) Enn. _Ann._ l. 440,
'Nos sumus Romani qui fuimus ante Rudini.'
Servius, _in Aen._ vii. 691, '(At Messapus equom domitor): Ab hoc
Ennius dicit se originem ducere.' (Enn. _Ann._ xviii. fr. 6.)
Ennius knew Greek, Latin, and Oscan. Latin he may have known as a boy,
since the colony of Brundisium was founded B.C. 244; the use of Greek
had been widely spread in South Italy through the influence of the
Greek colonies.[15]
Gell. xvii. 17, 1, 'Q. Ennius tria corda habere sese dicebat, quod
loqui Graece et Osce et Latine sciret.'
Ennius came to Sardinia during the Second Punic War, probably with
other Calabrian auxiliaries, but in what year is doubtful. Silius
Italicus xii. 387 _sqq._, says he was centurion B.C. 215, and
distinguished himself greatly; but his account is quite untrustworthy.
In Sardinia he made the acquaintance of M. Porcius Cato, then
quaestor, who induced him to come to Rome B.C. 204.
Nep. _Cato_, i. 4, 'Praetor (B.C. 198) provinciam obtinuit Sardiniam,
ex qua, quaestor superiore tempore ex Africa decedens, Q. Ennium
poetam deduxerat.'
The poet's Graecizing influence seems to have led afterwards to
hostility between him and his patron, but in spite of this, Ennius
appears to have cherished warm feelings towards Cato, and praised his
exploits in the _Annals_.
Cic. _Tusc._ i. 3, 'Oratio Catonis, in qua obiecit ut probrum M.
Nobiliori quod is in provinciam poetas duxisset. Duxerat autem consul
ille in Aetoliam, ut scimus, Ennium.'
Cic. _pro Arch._ 22, 'In caelum huius proavus Cato tollitur: magnus
honos populi Romani rebus adiungitur.'
So far as is known, Ennius was at Rome B.C. 204-189. He lived plainly,
and supported himself by teaching Latin and Greek.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1777 = B.C. 240, 'Q. Ennius poeta Tarenti [an error]
nascitur, qui a Catone quaestore Romam translatus habitavit in monte
Aventino, parco admodum sumptu contentus, et unius ancillae
ministerio.'
Sueton. _Gramm._ 1, 'Livium et Ennium, quos utraque lingua domi
forisque docuisse adnotatum est.'
At Rome he was on familiar terms with the elder Scipio Africanus and
his brother Cornelius Nasica, and their circle.
Cic. _pro Arch._ 22, 'Carus fuit Africano superiori noster Ennius;
itaque etiam in sepulchro Scipionum putatur is esse constitutus ex
marmore.'
A pleasant story of his relations with Nasica is given by Cic. _de
Or._ ii. 276. Two epigrams on Scipio (Nos. 2 and 3) are extant.
In B.C. 189 Ennius accepted an invitation from M. Fulvius Nobilior to
accompany him in his campaign against the Aetolians, and be a witness
of his exploits. Fulvius' victory gave the poet materials for the
praetexta _Ambracia_, and Book xv. of the _Annals_.
Cic. _pro Arch._ 27, 'Ille qui cum Aetolis Ennio comite bellavit
Fulvius.' Cf. Cic. _Tusc._ i. 3 (above).
In B.C. 184 the poet received the Roman citizenship through the son of
Fulvius, Q. Nobilior. Hence 'nos sumus Romani, qui fuimus ante Rudini'
(above). He also received a grant of land at Potentia or Pisaurum from
Fulvius, who was then _triumvir coloniae deducendae_.
Cic. _Brut._ 79, 'Q. Nobiliorem M. f. ..., qui etiam Q. Ennium, qui cum
patre eius in Aetolia militaverat, civitate donavit, cum triumvir
coloniam deduxisset.'
Ennius probably spent the greater part of his days, after returning
from the Aetolian war, at Rome; and during this period he was on
intimate terms with the comic poet Caecilius Statius (see p. 37). He
was often in indifferent circumstances, in spite of the grant of land
he had received. Ennius died of gout B.C. 169.
Cic. _Cato Maior_, 14, 'Annos septuaginta natus--tot enim vixit
Ennius--ita ferebat duo quae maxima putantur onera, paupertatem et
senectutem, ut eis paene delectari videretur.'
Cic. _Brut._ 78, 'Hoc [C. Sulpicio Gallo] praetore ludos Apollini
faciente, cum Thyesten fabulam docuisset, Q. Marcio Cn. Servilio coss.
(B.C. 169) mortem obiit Ennius.'
Jerome yr. Abr. 1849 = B.C. 168, 'Ennius poeta septuagenario maior
articulari morbo periit, sepultusque est in Scipionis monumento via
Appia intra primum ab urbe miliarium. Quidam ossa eius Rudiam ex
Ianiculo translata affirmant.'
For his gout cf. Enn. _Sat._ 1. 8,
'Numquam poetor nisi si podager';
Hor. _Ep._ i. 19, 7,
'Ennius ipse pater numquam nisi potus ad arma
prosiluit dicenda.'
'Ennius "equi fortis et victoris senectuti comparat suam"' (Cic. _Cato
Maior_, 14).
The lines are _Ann._ xviii. fr. 7,
'Sic ut fortis equus, spatio qui saepe supremo
vicit Olimpia, nunc senio confectus quiescit.'
His epitaph (_Epigr._ i) is quoted by Cic. _Tusc._ i. 34 and 117,
'Aspicite, o cives, senis Enni imaginis formam!
hic vestrum panxit maxima facta patrum;
Nemo me dacrumis decoret nec funera fletu
faxit. Cur? Volito vivus per ora virum.'
According to Aelius Stilo, Ennius has depicted his own character in
_Ann._ vii. fr. 10, wherein he portrays Servilius Geminus, the trusty
companion of a man of position (Gell. xii. 4). For Ennius'
self-appreciation cf. also his epitaph (if by himself) quoted above,
and _Ann._ i. fr. 4,
'Latos per populos terrasque poemata nostra
clara cluebunt.'
In philosophy Ennius was an eclectic. Cf. _Trag._ 1. 417,
'Philosophari est mihi necesse, at paucis: nam omnino haut placet.
Degustandum ex ea, non in eam ingurgitandum censeo.'
His rationalism is seen in _Telamo_, fr. 1,
'Ego deum genus esse semper dixi et dicam caelitum,
sed eos non curare opinor, quid agat humanum genus:
nam si curent, bene bonis sit, male malis, quod nunc abest';
_ibid._, fr. 2,
'Sed superstitiosi vates inpudentesque arioli,
aut inertes aut insani aut quibus egestas imperat,
qui sibi semitam non sapiunt, alteri monstrant viam,
quibus divitias pollicentur, ab eis drachumam ipsi petunt.'
Traces of Epicureanism are seen in _Ann._ i. fr. 13,
'Terraque corpus
quae dedit ipsa capit neque dispendi facit hilum.'
Ennius also believed in the Pythagorean theory of metempsychosis, and
considered that his soul had animated the body of a peacock. _Ann._ i.
fr. 14,
'Memini me fiere pavom.'
Persius 6, 10,
'Cor iubet hoc Enni postquam destertuit esse
Maeonides Quintus pavone e Pythagoreo.'
Cf. also Lucr. i. 120-6.
(2) WORKS.
1. _Tragedies._--Of those founded on mythology we have fragments of
twenty-two, eight at least of which were borrowed from Euripides. The
_Auct. ad Herenn._ ii. 34, quotes nine lines which are a literal
translation of the beginning of the _Medea_. The date of the
_Thyestes_, B.C. 169, is the only one known (Cic. _Brut._ 78, quoted
p. 28). Besides these, Ennius probably wrote a praetexta on 'the Rape
of the Sabines'; and his _Ambracia_ is probably a praetexta on the
capture of the town by M. Fulvius Nobilior in B.C. 189 (L. Müller
includes it in the _Saturae_).
2. _Comedies._--There are very slight fragments of the _Cupuncula_ and
the _Pancratiastes_.
3. _Saturae._--A miscellaneous collection of poems.
Porphyr. ad Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 47, 'Ennius quattuor libros saturarum
reliquit.'
The reference in Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 66,
'Quam rudis et Graecis intacti carminis auctor,'
is not to Ennius, as some have supposed, but to the inventor of
_satura_, whoever he may have been.
The _Saturae_ include (_a_) _Scipio_, probably a short epic. It was
mostly written in trochaic septenarii. (_b_) _Epicharmus_ (in trochaic
tetrameters), dealing with Pythagoreanism in the department of
physics. (_c_) _Euhemerus_ or _Sacra Historia_, modelled on Euhemerus'
+hiera anagraphê+,[16] the doctrines of which were applied
to the religion of Rome.
Cic. _N.D._ i. 119, 'Euhemerus, quem noster et interpretatus et
secutus est praeter ceteros Ennius.'
(_d_) _Protreptica_ or _Praecepta_, containing moral maxims. (_e_)
_Hedyphagetica_, 'On Gastronomy,' modelled on a hexameter poem by
Archestratus (about B.C. 310). (_f_) _Sota_, so called from
+Sôtadês+, after whom the Sotadean metre has been named. The book
was probably of a lascivious nature. (_g_) Epigrams; the chief of
which are mentioned above.
4. The _Annales_, an epic poem in hexameters, which dealt with the
history of Rome down to the beginning of the Third Macedonian War. It
contained eighteen Books; there are about six hundred lines extant.
The following is a sketch of the contents:
Book i., from Aeneas to the death of Romulus; ii., reigns of Numa
Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius; iii., the last three
kings; iv.-v., the republic down to the war with Pyrrhus; vi., the war
with Pyrrhus; vii., First Punic War, etc.; viii.-ix., Second Punic
War; x.-xii., Second Macedonian War, Cato's consulship; xiii.-xv., War
with Antiochus, subjugation of the Aetolians; xvi.-xviii., from
Istrian War to beginning of Third Macedonian War.
_Ennius' services_ to Latin literature lay partly in introducing the
use of the hexameter and other metres from Greek in place of the old
Saturnian metre. His versification is, of course, rough in comparison
with that of later writers, the principal points being
(1) Harsh elisions. _Ann._ l. 199,
'Hos et ego in pugna vici victusque sum ab isdem.'
(2) Quadrisyllable endings; l. 23,
'Est locus Hesperiam quam mortales perhibebant.'
(3) Absence of caesura, or abrupt break, l. 188,
'Bellipotentes sunt magis quam sapientipotentes';
l. 511,
'Cui par imber et ignis, spiritus et gravis terra.'
(4) Omission of _-s_ in scansion, as in the last two examples.
(5) Short vowels sometimes lengthened; l. 86,
'Omnibus cura viris uter esset induperator.'
(6) Prosaic lines (often spondaic); l. 34,
'Olli respondit rex Albai longai';
l. 174,
'Cives Romani tunc facti sunt Campani.'
(7) Harsh instances of tmesis; l. 586,
'Saxo cere comminuit brum':
l. 605,
'Massili portabant iuvenes ad litora tanas.'
(8) Apocope; l. 451
'replet te laetificum _gau_';
l. 561,
'divom domus altisonum _cael_';
l. 563,
'endo suam _do_' (= in suam domum).
(9) Alliteration used freely; l. 113,
'O Tite tute Tati tibi tanta tiranne tulisti';
l. 452,
'At tuba terribili sonitu taratantara dixit.'
(10) Non-elision; l. 275,
'Miscent inter sese inimicitiam agitantes.'
_Influence of Ennius._--This is seen in Lucretius, and to a very great
extent in Virgil. For Lucretius' appreciation of Ennius see Lucr. i.
117-9. Cf. also _Ann._ l. 150,
'Postquam lumina sis oculis bonus Ancus reliquit,'
and Lucr. iii. 1025,
'Lumina sis oculis etiam bonus Ancus reliquit.'
Servius on Verg. _Aen._ viii. 630-4, says 'Sane totus hic locus
Ennianus est.' Cf. Servius also on _Aen._ i. 20; xi. 608, etc. A large
number of imitations are quoted by Macrobius, especially in _Saturn._
Book vi. Virgil modified and refined many of Ennius' rough
expressions. Thus _Ann._ l. 452 (above quoted), becomes, in Verg.
_Aen._ ix. 503,
'At tuba terribilem sonitum procul aere sonoro
increpuit';
_Ann._ l. 464,
'irarumque effunde quadrigas'
becomes in Verg. _Aen._ xii. 499,
'irarumque omnes effundit habenas.'
_Views on Ennius._--A very few of these may be quoted. Lucr. i. 117-9,
'Ennius ut noster cecinit qui primus amoeno
detulit ex Helicone perenni fronde coronam,
per gentes Italas hominum quae clara clueret.'
Cic. _Opt. Gen. Or._ 2, 'Licet dicere Ennium summum epicum poetam, si
cui ita videtur.' Hor. _Ep._ ii. 1, 50,
'Ennius et sapiens et fortis et alter Homerus,
ut critici dicunt, leviter curare videtur
quo promissa cadant et somnia Pythagorea.'
Propert. v. 1, 61,
'Ennius hirsuta cingat sua dicta corona.'
Quint. x. 1, 88, 'Ennium sicut sacros vetustate lucos adoremus, in
quibus grandia et antiqua robora iam non tantam habent speciem quantam
religionem.'
PACUVIUS.
(1) LIFE.
M. Pacuvius, the son (not grandson as Jerome states) of Ennius'
sister, was born at Brundisium, B.C. 220, spent most of his life at
Rome, and died at Tarentum shortly before B.C. 130. He was a painter
as well as a poet.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1863 = B.C. 154, 'Pacuvius Brundusinus tragoediarum
scriptor clarus habetur, Ennii poetae ex filia nepos, vixitque Romae
quoad picturam exercuit ac fabulas venditavit, deinde Tarentum
transgressus prope nonagenarius diem obiit.'
Pliny, _N.H._ xxxv. 19, 'Celebrata est in foro boario, aede Herculis,
Pacuvii poetae pictura. Ennii sorore genitus hic fuit, clarioremque
eam artem Romae fecit gloria scaenae.'
Cic. _Brut._ 229, 'Accius isdem aedilibus ait se et Pacuvium docuisse
fabulam, cum ille octoginta, ipse triginta annos natus esset.'
As Accius was born B.C. 170, Cicero's words imply that Pacuvius was
born B.C. 220, and produced plays as late as B.C. 140, while from
Jerome we may conclude that he died shortly before B.C. 130. That
Pacuvius was taught by his uncle Ennius is shown by Varro, _Sat.
Menipp._ 356 (Bücheler),
'Pacvi[17] discipulus dicor, porro is fuit Enni,
Ennius Musarum: Pompilius clueor.'
He was a member of the literary circle of Laelius. Cf. Laelius' words
in Cic. _Lael._ 24, 'In hospitis et amici mei M. Pacuvi nova fabula.'
In his last years he was intimate with Accius: cf. Gell. xiii. 2, 'Cum
Pacuvius, inquiunt, grandi iam aetate et morbo corporis diutino
adfectus, Tarentum ex urbe Roma concessisset, Accius tunc, haut parvo
iunior, proficiscens in Asiam, cum in oppidum venisset, devertit ad
Pacuvium comiterque invitatus plusculisque ab eo diebus retentus,
tragoediam suam, cui Atreus nomen est, desideranti legit.'
Gell. i. 24, 4, gives Pacuvius' epitaph, as written by himself,
'Epigramma Pacuvii verecundissimum et purissimum, dignumque eius
elegantissima gravitate:
"Adulescens, tam etsi properas, te hoc saxum rogat,
ut sese aspicias, deinde quod scriptum est legas.
Hic sunt poetae Pacuvi Marci sita
ossa. Hoc volebam nescius ne esses. Vale."'
(2) WORKS.
1. _Tragedies._--Titles of twelve are known, and over four hundred
lines of fragments are extant. The _Antiopa_, which is the best known,
was from Euripides.
Cic. _de Fin._ i. 4, 'Quis enim tam inimicus paene nomini Romano est,
qui Enni Medeam aut Antiopam Pacuvi spernat aut reiciat quod se eisdem
Euripidis fabulis delectari dicat?'
The _Niptra_ is from Sophocles. Cic. _T.D._ ii. 49, speaking of ll.
256-8 (Ribbeck), says, 'Pacuvius melius quam Sophocles.'
Pacuvius also wrote one praetexta, _Paulus_, doubtless on L. Aemilius
Paulus, the victor of Pydna.
2. _Saturae_ (lost).
Sueton. p. 20 R., 'Carmen quod ex variis poematibus constabat satura
vocabatur, quale scripserunt Pacuvius et Ennius.'
Pacuvius, like Ennius, shows interest in philosophy, and attacks
superstition; l. 93,
'Mater est terra: ea parit corpus, animam aeter adiugat';
ll. 366-75; cf. l. 372,
'Sunt autem alii philosophi, qui contra fortunam negant
esse ullam, sed temeritate res regi omnis autumant';
ll. 83-5,
'Nam isti qui linguam avium intellegunt
plusque ex alieno iecore sapiunt quam ex suo,
magis audiendum quam auscultandum censeo.'
For Pacuvius' stilted expressions, cf. Quint. i. 5, 67, 'Ceterum etiam
ex praepositione et duobus vocabulis dure videtur struxisse Pacuvius
"Nerei repandirostrum, incurvicervicum pecus"' (l. 408);
_Paulus_, l. 5
'Qua vix caprigeno generi gradilis gressio est.'
Some views on Pacuvius may be referred to:
Cic. _de Opt. Gen. Or._ 1, 'Itaque licet dicere et Ennium summum
epicum poetam et Pacuvium tragicum et Caecilium fortasse comicum.'
Hor. _Ep._ ii. 1, 55,
'Ambigitur quotiens uter utro sit prior, aufert
Pacuvius docti[18] famam senis, Accius alti';
Mart. xi. 90, 5,
'Attonitusque legis "terrai frugiferai,"
Accius et quidquid Pacuviusque vomunt.'
Cf. also Gell. vi. 14, 6; Cic. _Brut._ 258; _Or._ 36; Quint. x. 1, 97;
Persius, 1. 76-8; Tac. _Dial._ 20.
CAECILIUS STATIUS.
(1) LIFE.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1838 = B.C. 179, 'Statius Caecilius comoediarum
scriptor clarus habetur, natione Insuber Gallus et Ennii primum
contubernalis. Quidam Mediolanensem ferunt. Mortuus est anno post
mortem Ennii [iii.] et iuxta eum in Ianiculo sepultus.'
iii. is an addition by Ritschl, as we know Caecilius to have been
alive in B.C. 166, when Terence's _Andria_ was performed. Some read
iv. The date of his death will then be B.C. 166 or 165. Caecilius
probably came to Rome among the Insubrian prisoners of war at some
time between B.C. 200 and 194. The year of his birth is unknown; he is
never mentioned, like other old writers, such as Plautus and Ennius,
as having lived to a great age. If he died B.C. 166, we might suppose
that he was born about B.C. 219, as that would make him of military
age when the Insubrian war began in B.C. 200. His name as a slave was
Statius. His patron is unknown.
Gell. iv. 20, 13, 'Statius servile nomen fuit ... Caecilius quoque ille
comoediarum poeta inclutus servus fuit; et propterea nomen habuit
"Statius." Sed postea versum est quasi in cognomentum: appellatusque
est Caecilius Statius.'
Elsewhere he is sometimes called merely Caecilius (as Cic. _de Or._
ii. 40), but never Statius alone.
(2) WORKS.
Caecilius' works were at first unsuccessful; cf. the actor Ambivius'
words in Ter. _Hec._ prol. ii. 6-7,
'In eis quas primum Caecili didici novas,
partim sum earum exactus, partim vix steti.'
Later he examined plays before they were acted, as, _e.g._ Terence's
_Andria_ in B.C. 166 (see under 'Terence,' p. 42). This implies that
he occupied a responsible and leading position in the guild of poets.
We have two hundred and ninety lines of fragments, and titles of
forty-two comedies, sixteen of which correspond with those of plays by
Menander. For Caecilius' imitation of Menander see Gell. ii. 23. Cf.,
_e.g._, 'Caecilii Plocium legebamus; hautquaquam mihi et qui aderant
displicebat... Sed enim postquam in manus Menander venit, a principio
statim, di boni, quantum stupere atque frigere quantumque mutare a
Menandro Caecilius visus est!'
Among the views on Caecilius are:
Cic. _ad Att._ vii. 3, 10, '(Caecilius) malus auctor Latinitatis est'
(probably because he was an Insubrian).
Cic. _de Opt. Gen. Or._ 1, 'fortasse summus comicus.' Sedigitus ap.
Gell. xv. 24,
'Caecilio palmam Statio do mimico.'
Hor. _Ep._ ii. 1, 59,
'(dicitur) vincere Caecilius gravitate.'
The contemporaries of Caecilius include _Trabea_, _Atilius_ ('poeta
durissimus,' Cic. _ad Att._ xiv. 20, 3), _Aquilius_ (possibly the
author of the _Boeotia_, attributed by Varro to Plautus, Gell. iii. 3,
4), _Licinius Imbrex_, _Luscius Lanuvinus_, all writers of _palliatae_.
Our chief information about Luscius Lanuvinus is got from the
prologues to Terence's plays (in all of which, except that of the
_Hecyra_, he is attacked), and from Donatus' commentary on these
passages. From Ter. _Eun._ prol. 9-13, we see that he did not tone
down his originals to suit a Roman audience,
'Idem Menandri Phasma nuper perdidit
atque in Thensauro scripsit, causam dicere
prius unde petitur, aurum qua re sit suom,
quam illic qui petit, unde is sit thensaurus sibi
aut unde in patrium monumentum pervenerit.'
Donatus _ad loc._, 'Arguit Terentius quod Luscius contra consuetudinem
litigantium defensionem ante accusationem induxerit.'
TERENCE.
(1) LIFE.
Our chief source of information is Suetonius' life of Terence,
preserved by Donatus, who also makes a slight addition of his own.
Jerome's notice is also based on Suetonius.
P. Terentius Afer was born in Africa, and was brought in early life to
Rome, where he was a slave of P. Terentius Lucanus, by whom he was
educated and subsequently manumitted.
Sueton. _vit. Ter._ p. 26 R., 'P. Terentius Afer, Karthagine natus,
serviit Romae Terentio Lucano senatori, a quo ob ingenium et formam
non institutus modo liberaliter, sed et mature manu missus est. Quidam
captum esse existumant: quod fieri nullo modo potuisse Fenestella
docet, cum inter finem secundi Punici belli et initium tertii et natus
sit et mortuus.'
Terence's cognomen probably shows that he belonged to one of the
African peoples subdued by Carthage. It may be taken as certain that
he was not of Punic birth, and that he was brought to Rome in the
ordinary course of the slave trade.
The date of Terence's birth is not accurately known. Sueton. _ibid._
p. 32, 'Nondum quintum atque vicesimum ingressus annum ... egressus
urbe est neque amplius rediit,' which refers to his voyage to Greece
in B.C. 160, would make the year of his birth to be B.C. 185. This,
however, is an improbable assumption, which rests on the fact that
Roman scholars attributed to him the age of his intimate friend, P.
Scipio Africanus the younger. Thus Sueton. _ibid._ p. 27 (of Terence,
Scipio, Laelius), says, 'quamvis et Nepos aequales omnes fuisse
tradat'; with which contrast _ibid._ 'Fenestella ... contendens
utroque maiorem natu fuisse.' Terence must have been some years older,
as his first piece, the _Andria_, was produced B.C. 166. A successful
piece like it makes it probable that he had then passed his boyhood,
and it is likely that he was born about B.C. 190. The reproach of his
adversary in _Heaut. Tim._ prol. 23,
'_repente_ ad studium hunc se adplicasse _musicum_,'
means only that he had not made himself prominent by previous
exercises in play-writing. Further in _H.T._ prol. 51-2, he describes
his opponents as _adulescentuli_,
'Exemplum statuite in me, ut adulescentuli
vobis placere studeant potius quam sibi.'
Terence was on intimate terms with P. Scipio Africanus and C. Laelius,
who were supposed to have helped him in the composition of his plays.
Sueton. _ibid._ p. 30, 'Non obscura fama est adiutum Terentium in
scriptis a Laelio et Scipione: eamque ipse auxit, numquam nisi leviter
se tutari conatus, ut in prologo Adelphorum (ll. 15-21),
"Nam quod isti dicunt malivoli, homines nobiles
hunc adiutare adsidueque una scribere,
quod illi maledictum vehemens esse existumant:
eam laudem hic ducit maxumam, quom illis placet
qui vobis univorsis et populo placent,
quorum opera in bello, in otio, in negotio
suo quisque tempore usust sine superbia."
... Sciebat Laelio et Scipioni non ingratam esse hanc opinionem, quae
tum magis et usque ad posteriora tempora valuit.'
Sueton. p. 31, also repeats a story that C. Laelius was the author of
the lines _H.T._ 723 _sqq._
Cf. also Cic. _ad Att._ vii. 3, 10, 'Terentium, cuius fabellae propter
elegantiam sermonis putabantur a C. Laelio scribi.'
Quint. x. 1, 99, 'Licet Terentii scripta ad Scipionem Africanum
referantur.'
The remark that ll. 20-1 of the above extract from the _Adelph._ could
not refer to young men like Scipio and Laelius was made even in
antiquity.
Sueton. _ibid._ p. 31, 'Santra (a grammarian of the time of Augustus)
Terentium existimat, si modo in scribendo adiutoribus indiguerit, non
tam Scipione et Laelio uti potuisse, qui tunc adulescentuli fuerint,
quam C. Sulpicio Gallo, homine docto, quo console Megalensibus ludis
initium fabularum dandarum fecerit, vel Q. Fabio Labeone et M.
Popillio, consulari utroque ac poeta. Ideo ipsum non iuvenes designare
qui se adiuvare dicantur, sed viros quorum operam et in bello et in
otio et in negotio populus sit expertus.'
In K. Dziatzko's opinion (second edition of _Phormio_, p. 10, Leipzig,
1885), the expression 'homines nobiles' points to the literary circle
of Terence, including old as well as young men, while in what follows
he touches upon the general reputation of those noble families among
the Roman people. There is nothing to show that Terence got more than
general support and advice from his friends. That his diction reflects
the conversational language of the better classes is recognized.
In B.C. 166, Terence submitted to Caecilius Statius, the examiner of
plays, his first work, the _Andria_, which was accepted, and performed
in that year.
Sueton. _ibid._ pp. 28-9, 'Scripsit comoedias sex. Ex quibus primam
Andriam cum aedilibus daret, iussus ante Caecilio recitare ad cenantem
cum venisset, dicitur initium quidem fabulae, quod erat contemptiore
vestitu, in subsellio iuxta lectulum residens legisse, post paucos
vero versus invitatus ut accumberet cenasse una, dein cetera
percucurrisse non sine magna Caecilii admiratione.'
From the fact of Caecilius' not recognizing him we may conclude that
Terence had as yet no connexion with the guild of poets. This fits in
with _H.T._ prol. 23-4,
'Repente ad studium hunc se adplicasse musicum,
amicum ingenio fretum, haud natura sua.'
Hence probably arose the hatred of other writers, referred to as
_isti_ (_Andr._ 15; 21); _iniqui_ (_H.T._ 27); cf. also _Hec._ prol.
ii. 38,
'Nolite sinere per vos artem musicam
recidere ad paucos.'
As to further connexion between Caecilius and Terence, note (1) that
they had a common actor Ambivius; (2) that Terence sometimes imitates
Caecilius. Thus, according to Donatus, _Andr._ 805,
'ut quimus, aiunt, quando ut volumus non licet'
is from Caecilius (l. 177 R.),
'vivas ut possis quando nec quis ut velis.'
Cf. also _Adelph._ 985,
'Quod prolubium? quae istaec subitast largitas?'
and Caecilius (l. 91 R.),
'Quod prolubium, quae voluptas, quae te lactat largitas?'
Terence died B.C. 159, on his way home from Greece, where he had
probably gone the year before. The place of his death is uncertain.
Whatever plays he may have written while in Greece are lost.
Sueton. _ibid._ p. 32, 'Post editas comoedias, nondum quintum atque
vicesimum ingressus annum, causa vitandae opinionis qua videbatur
aliena pro suis edere, seu percipiendi Graecorum instituta moresque
quos non perinde exprimeret in scriptis, egressus urbe est neque
amplius rediit ... Q. Cosconius redeuntem e Graecia perisse in mari
dicit cum fabulis conversis a Menandro: ceteri mortuum esse in Arcadia
sive Leucadiae tradunt, Cn. Cornelio Dolabella M. Fulvio Nobiliore
coss., morbo implicatum ex dolore ac taedio amissarum sarcinarum quas
in nave praemiserat, ac simul fabularum quas novas fecerat.'
Terence's personal appearance is mentioned by Sueton. p. 33, who also
states that he had property, and left a daughter who afterwards
married a Roman knight. 'Fuisse dicitur mediocri statura, gracili
corpore, colore fusco. Reliquit filiam, quae post equiti Romano
nupsit: item hortulos xx. iugerum via Appia ad Martis.'
(2) WORKS.
1. _Andria_.--The particulars of its production are given above. Of
its success, Donatus in his commentary says, 'Successu adspecta
prospero hortamento poetae fuit ad alias conscribendas.' The
didascalia to the _Andria_ is lost, but we can restore it as follows
from Donatus' information, 'Incipit Andria Terenti. Acta ludis
Megalensib. M. Fulvio M' Glabrione aedil. curul. Egit L. Ambivius
Turpio.[19] Modos fecit Flaccus Claudi. Tibis paribus tota. Graeca
Menandru. Facta i. M. Marcello C. Sulpicio cos.'
The meaning of the didascalia is as follows: The piece was produced at
the Megalesian games (held at the beginning of April) under the curule
aediles mentioned; L. Ambivius Turpio undertook the representation;
the music was composed (as in all Terence's comedies) by Flaccus,
slave of Claudius, and given throughout _tibiis paribus_.[20] The Greek
original was by Menander; it was the first work of Terence, and the
year of production was B.C. 166.
The play is adapted from Menander's +Andria+ with additions
from his +Perinthia+. _Andr._ prol. 13,
'Quae convenere in Andriam ex Perinthia
fatetur transtulisse atque usum pro suis.'
The prologue dates from the first performance, though Wagner and
Ribbeck have inferred from l. 5,
'Nam in prologis scribundis operam abutitur,'
that it was written for a second representation, possibly in B.C. 164.
There are two endings to the play; the shorter one is genuine, the
longer spurious, and omitted in the best MSS.
2. _Heauton Timorumenos_ is from Menander's +Heauton
timôroumenos+, 'self tormentor.' The title is referred to in l. 146,
'hic me exerceo,'
l. 81,
'An quoiquamst usus homini, se ut cruciet?'
and prol. 5,
'Ex integra Graeca integram comoediam
hodie sum acturus Heauton timorumenon.'
The play was produced at the Ludi Megalenses in B.C. 163, as is seen
from the didascalia, 'Incipit Heauton Timorumenos Terenti. Acta ludis
Megalensib. L. Cornelio Lentulo L. Valerio Flacco aedilib. curulib.
Egit Ambivius Turpio. Modos fecit Flaccus Claudi. Acta primum tibis
inparib., deinde duabus dextris. Graeca Menandru. Facta ii. M'
Iuventio Ti. Sempronio cos.'
The play is called 'stataria' in prol. 36,
'Date potestatem mihi
statariam agere ut liceat per silentium.'
3. _Eunuchus_, 'contaminated' from Menander's +Eunouchos+ and
his +Kolax+. _Eun._ prol. 19,
'Nunc acturi sumus
Menandri Eunuchum';
_ibid._ 30,
'Colax Menandrist: in east parasitus colax
et miles gloriosus: eas se non negat
personas transtulisse in Eunuchum suam
ex Graeca: sed eas ab aliis factas prius
Latinas scisse sese, id vero pernegat.'
The didascalia shows that the piece was produced at the Ludi
Megalenses in B.C. 161, and from the MSS. we may conclude that it was
also acted in B.C. 146. The didascalia is, 'Incipit Eunuchus Terenti.
Acta ludis Megalensib. L. Postumio Albino L. Cornelio Merula aedilib.
curulib. Egit Ambivius Turpio. Modos fecit Flaccus Claudi. Tibis
duabus dextris _tota_. Graeca Menandru. Facta _iii._ M. Valerio C.
Fannio cos.'
Sueton. _vit. Ter._ p. 29, speaks of the success of the play,
'Eunuchus quidem his deinceps acta est meruitque pretium quantum nulla
antea cuiusquam comoedia, octo milia nummum.'
4. _Phormio_, the fifth comedy Terence composed, and the fourth
completely represented. It was first performed at the Ludi Romani,
B.C. 161. The Greek original was the +Epidikazomenos+ of
Apollodorus of Carystus. _Phorm._ prol. 24,
'Adporto novam
Epidicazomenon quam vocant comoediam
Graeci, Latini Phormionem nominant,
quia primas partis qui aget, is erit Phormio
parasitus, per quem res geretur maxume,'
The didascalia is, 'Incipit Terenti Phormio. Acta ludis Romanis. L.
Postumio Albino L. Cornelio Merula aedilib. curulib. Egit L. Ambivius
Turpio. Modos fecit Flaccus Claudi. Tibis imparib. tota. Graeca
Apollodoru Epidicazomenos. Facta iiii. C. Fannio M. Valerio cos.
From notices in the MSS. it is probable that a second representation
took place in B.C. 141 at the Megalesian games.
5. _Hecyra_ is founded on a play by Apollodorus of Carystus, doubtless
called +Hêkyra+; cf. Donatus' preface, 'fabula Apollodori
dicitur esse Graeca.' The first attempted representation was in B.C.
165, at the Ludi Megalenses. _Hec._ prol. i. 1,
'Hecyra quom datast
nova, ei novom intervenit vitium et calamitas,
ut neque spectari neque cognosci potuerit:
ita populus studio stupidus in funambulo
animum occuparat.'
The second (unsuccessful) representation was at the ludi funerales of
Aemilius Paulus in B.C. 160. _Hec._ prol. ii. 38,
'Refero denuo.
Primo actu placeo. Quom interea rumor venit
datum iri gladiatores, populus convolat,
tumultuantur clamant pugnant de loco:
ego interea meum non potui tutari locum.'
Cf. _Phorm._ prol. 31,
'Ne simili utamur fortuna, atque usi sumus
quom per tumultum noster grex motus locost.'
The first prologue was written for the second performance; the second
(spoken by the actor Ambivius) for the third performance, also in B.C.
160. The didascalia is, 'Incipit Terenti Hecyra. Acta ludis
Megalensib. S. Iulio Caesare Cn. Cornelio Dolabella aedilib. curulib.
Egit L. Ambivius Turpio. Modos fecit Flaccus Claudi. Tibis paribus
tota. Graeca _Apollodoru_. Facta v. Cn. Octavio T. Manlio cos. Relata
est L. Aemelio Paulo ludis funeralib. Non est placita. Tertio relata
est Q. Fulvio L. Marcio aedilib. curulib.'
6. _Adelphoe_ is founded on Menander's +Adelphoi+ with a scene
added from Diphilus' +Synapothnêskontes+. _Adelph._ prol. 6,
Synapothnescontes Diphili comoediast;
eam Commorientis Plautus fecit fabulam.
In Graeca adulescens est, qui lenoni eripit
meretricem in prima fabula: eum Plautus locum
reliquit integrum; eum hic locum sumpsit sibi
in Adelphos, verbum de verbo expressum extulit.'
That this was the first performance is shown by _novam_ in l. 12. The
part from Diphilus is Act ii., Scene 1. The play was produced in B.C.
160 at the ludi funerales of L. Aemilius Paulus, as shown by the
didascalia, 'Incipit Terenti Adelphoe. Acta ludis funeralib. L.
Aemelio Paulo. Fecere Q. Fabius Maxumus P. Cornelius Africanus. Egit
L. Ambivius Turpio. Modos fecit Flaccus Claudi. Tibis Sarranis tota.
Graeca Menandru. Facta vi. M. Cornelio Cethego L. Anicio Gallo cos.'
The order given above agrees essentially with the numbers denoting the
order of production, as given in the didascaliae. We must, however,
assume that the first representation of the _Hecyra_ remained
unnoticed, and must give the second place (instead of the third) to
the _H.T._, with a section of the MSS., and the third place to the
_Eun._ with Donatus against the MSS.
_Prologues._--Terence uses these as weapons against his enemies, the
chief of whom was Luscius Lanuvinus (see under his name), who attacked
Terence for 'contaminatio' and for want of spirit in his plays. Cf.
_H.T._ prol. 17,
'Multas contaminasse Graecas, dum facit
paucas Latinas';
_Phorm._ prol. 5,
'tenui esse oratione et scriptura levi.'
Terence justifies repeatedly his use of 'contaminatio.' _H.T._ prol.
16,
'Nam quod rumores distulerunt malivoli,
multas contaminasse Graecas, dum facit
paucas Latinas: id esse factum hic non negat,
neque se pigere et deinde facturum autumat.
Habet bonorum exemplum, quo exemplo sibi
licere id facere quod illi fecerunt putat.'
Cf. _Andria_, prol. 15-21; _Adelph._ prol. 1-14; _Eun._ prol. 31-3.
Luscius also attacked him for not adhering more closely to his Greek
originals, in spite of the fact that, generally speaking, Terence
translated closely from these. Cf. _Adelph._ prol. 10-11, quoted
above. A piece was considered to be new if it had not previously been
presented to a Roman audience. So Terence justifies his originality in
_Adelph._ prol. 6-14, or excuses himself on the ground that he did not
know that a piece had been previously used: _Eun._ prol. 19-34.
_Representation of the plays._--Ambivius was the chief actor in all
the plays. He is the speaker of the prologue of _H.T._ and of the
second prologue of _Hec._ He calls himself _senex_, cf. _H.T._ prol.
1. For his popularity cf. _Hec._ prol. ii. 55,
'Mea causa causam accipite et date silentium.'
The music was provided by Flaccus, slave of Claudius. The composer
himself was probably the instrumentalist. Four kinds of flutes are
mentioned as used by him: _tibiae pares_, _impares_, _sarranae_, and _duae
dextrae_ (see note p. 45). The scene of all the plays is at Athens.
There is no chorus. The form of the plays is modelled closely on
Greek. More than half of the verses are iambic senarii, the next
commonest being troch. septen. and iamb. octon. These are used in
dialogue. Trochaic octonarii are used in lyrical parts, other lyrical
metres being rare, and the anapaestic metre not being used. Short
lines are also found in the middle of lyrical pieces, or at the end of
pieces of dialogue. _Andr._ 605,
'Sed eccum video ipsum: occidi.'
Single words sometimes stand at the head of a lyrical piece, as
_Phorm._ 485 'Dorio,' which makes a line.
The different kinds of scenes are under the same conditions as in
Plautus. We have (1) scenes provided with music, probably represented
in MSS. by C (Canticum). (2) Scenes sung as recitative, with musical
accompaniment, in MSS. denoted by M.M.C. (perhaps for 'Modi Mutati
Cantici'). (3) Scenes in senarii, without music, in MSS. denoted by DV
(Diverbium). The division into scenes is very ancient; but the
division into acts, though existing in the time of Terence (cf. _Hec._
prol. 39, 'primo actu placeo,'), is not marked in the MSS.
_Names of characters._--Terence uses only Greek names, which often
suit the characters of the persons, and many of which are repeated in
the different plays. Cf. Pamphilus and Glycerium, of the lovers in the
_Andr._; Chremes (+chremptomai+, 'cough'), for an old man, in
_Andr._, _H.T._, _Phorm._; Crito (+krinô+, 'judge'), for an old
man, in _Andr._, _Phorm._; Sosia (+sôzein+), for a freedman, in
_Andr._, _Hec._ So names of slaves as Davus (+Daos+, 'Dacian'),
Dromo, Geta, Syrus, all in several plays.
_The arguments_, consisting of twelve senarii each, were composed by
C. Sulpicius Apollinaris in the second century A.D.
_Prosody._--For the variations from later usage, see under 'Plautus.'
Terence is, of course, more regular in this respect than Plautus.
_Views on Terence._--To those given above the following may be added:
Gell. vi. 14, 6, 'Exempla in Latina lingua M. Varro esse dicit
ubertatis Pacuvium, gracilitatis Lucilium, mediocritatis
Terentium.'[21]
Sueton. _vit. Ter._ p. 34, 'Cicero in Limone hactenus laudat,
"Tu quoque, qui solus lecto sermone, Terenti,
conversum expressumque Latina voce Menandrum
in medium nobis sedatis motibus effers,
quiddam come loquens atque omnia dulcia miscens";
item C. Caesar,
"Tu quoque, tu in summis, o dimidiate Menander,
poneris, et merito, puri sermonis amator.
Lenibus atque utinam scriptis adiuncta foret vis,
comica ut aequato virtus polleret honore
cum Graecis, neve hac despectus parte iaceres.
Unum hoc maceror ac doleo tibi desse, Terenti."'
EARLY MINOR AUTHORS.
(_a_) POETS:
The poetical contemporaries of Terence were:
1. _Titinius_, the first writer of _togatae_; fifteen titles and about
one hundred and eighty lines of fragments are extant. He probably
began to write after Terence's death.
2. _Sextus Turpilius._--We have titles of thirteen of his _palliatae_,
six of which are probably from Menander. He died B.C. 103, probably
about eighty.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1914 = B.C. 103, 'Turpilius comicus senex admodum
Sinuessae moritur.'
3. _Iuventius_, _Valerius_, and _Vatronius_ wrote _palliatae_; _P.
Licinius Tegula_ a hymn to Juno, B.C. 200 (Livy xxxi. 12); _Q. Fabius
Labeo_ (cos. B.C. 183) and _M. Popillius Laenas_ (cos. 173) were poets.
(_b_) PROSE WRITERS:
_Fabius Pictor_ was the earliest Roman historian: Liv. i. 44,
2, 'scriptorum antiquissimus Fabius Pictor.' A relative of Q. Fabius
Maximus Cunctator (Plut. _Fab. Max._ 18), he took part in the war with
the Cisalpine Gauls, B.C. 225 (Eutropius, iii. 5), and after the
battle of Cannae was sent by the Senate on a mission to the oracle of
Delphi (Liv. xxii. 57, 5).
Fabius wrote in Greek an account of the Second Punic War, prefixed to
which was a sketch of the history of Rome from its foundation: Liv.
xxii. 7, 4, 'Fabium aequalem temporibus huiusce belli potissimum
auctorem habui.' There was also a Latin version, made either by Fabius
Pictor or by a namesake (Gell. v. 4, 3).
The same subject was treated by _L. Cincius Alimentus_, who was
praetor B.C. 210 (Liv. xxvi. 23, i), and took an active part in the
war in Sicily during the next two years (Liv. xxvii. 7, 12, and
throughout that Book). He was taken prisoner by Hannibal, and
conversed with him: Liv. xxi. 38, 3, 'L. Cincius Alimentus, qui captum
se ab Hannibale scribit, maxime auctor moveret ...'
Both Fabius and Cincius wrote in Greek, and both gave a cursory view
of the earlier history: Dion. Hal. i. 6, +Romaiôn hosoi ta
palaia erga tês poleôs Hellênikê dialektô synegrapsan, hôn eisi
presbytatoi Kointos te Phabios kai Leukios Kinkios ... toutôn de tôn
andrôn hekateros hois men autos ergois paregeneto, dia tên empeirian
akribôs anegrapse, ta de archaia to meta ton ktisin tês poleôs
genomena kephalaiôdôs epedramen.+
CATO.
M. Porcius Cato, the Censor (B.C. 234-149), born at Tusculum, of a
yeoman stock, was one of the most prominent figures of his time. For
the best account of his military and political career, including his
advancement to the Consulship (B.C. 195) and Censorship (B.C. 184),
and his economic and social reforms, the reader may be referred to
Mommsen, _R.H._, vol. ii. _passim_.
Cato was the founder of Latin prose, and the chief opponent of the
exaggerated Hellenism that was finding its way into Roman life and
literature (cf. his own words quoted by Pliny, _N.H._ xxix. 14,
'Quandoque ista gens suas litteras dabit, omnia corrumpet'); but even
he shows traces of Greek influence. Cato is represented now only by
(1) his treatise _De Agri Cultura_, the earliest extant work in Latin
prose, which, besides giving instruction for the husbandman, deals
with housekeeping, cookery, and medicine.
(2) His great work was the _Origines_, the earliest history in Latin
prose, the contents of which are enumerated by Nepos, _Cato_, 3, 3,
'Senex historias scribere instituit. Earum sunt libri vii. Primus
continet res gestas regum populi Romani, secundus et tertius unde
quaeque civitas orta sit Italica (ob quam rem omnes Origines videtur
appellasse); in quarto autem bellum Poenicum est primum, in quinto
secundum. Atque haec omnia capitulatim sunt dicta. Reliqua quoque
bella pari modo persecutus est usque ad praeturam Ser. Galbae, qui
diripuit Lusitanos (B.C. 151). Atque horum bellorum duces non
nominavit, sed sine nominibus res notavit.[22] In eisdem exposuit quae
in Italia Hispaniisque aut fierent aut viderentur admiranda: in quibus
multa industria et diligentia comparet, nulla doctrina.'
An attempt has been made by A. Bormann (_M. Porcii Catonis Originum
Libri vii._, Brandenburg 1858, p. 38) to prove that the principle of
division was geographical, and that history only came in incidentally
in connexion with the reduction of provinces; but as Nepos was writing
to an eminent authority on antiquities, his account is likely to be
right. The period between the kings and the Punic Wars was probably
omitted by Cato through want of authorities.
The title _Origines_ fails to indicate the scope of the work, which
was chiefly occupied with general history; it was probably taken, as
Nepos suggests, from the contents of Books ii. and iii., which seem to
have been the most novel and valuable part of the undertaking.
(Jordan, however, takes 'Origines' as equivalent, not to the Greek
+ktiseis+, but to 'res Romanae ab origine repetitae.')
(3) _Praecepta ad Filium_ was the general title of a didactic work
containing rules for medicine, husbandry, and rhetoric (_e.g._ 'Rem
tene, verba sequentur'). Cf. Quint. iii. 1, 19, 'Romanorum primus,
quantum ego quidem sciam, condidit aliqua in hanc materiam (rhetoric)
M. Cato ille Censorius.'
(4) _Speeches._--Fragments of eighty speeches, out of about two
hundred and thirty, are collected by Jordan. They are almost equally
divided between forensic and deliberative speeches: none is known of
earlier date than B.C. 195. Cato incorporated some of them in the
_Origines_, _e.g._ For the Rhodians (Gell. vi. 3, 7), and Against
Galba (Cic. _Brut._ 89).
Works on civil law are attributed to Cato, and we hear also of
+apophthegmata+ (Cic. _de Off._ i. 104), _Liber de re militari_ (Gell.
vi. 4, 5), and _Carmen de moribus_ (Gell. xi. 2, 2).
ACCIUS.
(1) LIFE.
The forms Accius and Attius are both found on inscriptions, _e.g._
from Pisaurum; but in the MSS. of Nonius Marcellus, who often quotes
Accius, and who is careful about his forms, 'Accius' is always found,
and generally in MSS. of other authors.
L. Accius was born B.C. 170 at Pisaurum (of. Pliny, _N.H._ vii. 128,
'Attio Pisaurense').
Jerome yr. Abr. 1878 = B.C. 139, 'L. Accius tragoediarum scriptor
clarus habetur, natus Mancino et Serrano coss. (B.C. 170) parentibus
libertinis et seni iam Pacuvio Tarenti sua scripta recitavit. A quo et
fundus Accianus iuxta Pisaurum dicitur, quia illuc inter colonos
fuerat ex urbe deductus.'
This last statement must refer to Accius' father, as the colony of
Pisaurum was founded B.C. 184. Jerome's chronology is corroborated by
Cic. _Brut._ 229, 'Accius isdem aedilibus (B.C. 140) ait se et
Pacuvium docuisse fabulam, cum ille lxxx., ipse xxx. annos natus
esset.'
Accius' friendship and influence with leading men is shown by Cic.
_pro Arch._ 27, 'D. Brutus, summus vir et imperator (cons. B.C. 138)
Acci amicissimi sui carminibus templorum ac monumentorum aditus
exornavit suorum.'
_Auct. ad Herenn._ i. 24, 'Mimus quidam nominatim Accium poetam
compellavit in scaena. Cum eo Accius iniuriarum egit'; ii. 19, 'P.
Mucius eum qui L. Accium poetam nominaverat condemnavit.'
The above shows his self-consciousness; cf. also Pliny _N.H._ xxxiv.
19, 'Notatum ab auctoribus et L. Accium poetam in Camenarum aede
maxima forma statuam sibi posuisse, cum brevis admodum fuisset.'
For Accius' friendship with Pacuvius, see p. 35. Accius must have
lived to about B.C. 86, as Cicero (born B.C. 106) talked with him on
literary subjects.
Cic. _Brut._ 107, 'D. Brutus M. filius, ut ex familiari eius L. Accio
poeta sum audire solitus.'
His _Tereus_ was produced in B.C. 104, as is seen from
Cic. _Phil._ i. 36 (B.C. 44), 'Nisi forte Accio tum plaudi et
sexagesimo post anno palmam dari, non Bruto, putabatis.'
(2) WORKS.
1. _Tragedies._--Titles of about forty-five plays, and about seven
hundred lines of fragments are extant. The fragments show imitation of
Aeschylus as well as of Sophocles and Euripides.
2. _Praetextae._--_Aeneadae_ or _Decius_, and _Brutus_. _Decius_
treated of the self-sacrifice of P. Decius Mus at Sentinum, B.C. 295.
Cf. l. 15, 'Patrio exemplo et me dicabo atque animam devoro (=
devovero) hostibus.' _Brutus_ treated of the overthrow of Tarquinius
Superbus and the establishment of the consulship.
3. _Didascalica_, in at least nine books, a history of Greek and Latin
poetry, with special attention to the drama. The few fragments are
mostly in Sotadean metre. Cf. Gell. vi. 9, 16, 'L. Accius in
Sotadicorum libro I.'
4. _Pragmaticon libri_ (in trochaic tetrameters) on literary subjects.
5. _Praxidica_, on agriculture. Two lines on ploughing are quoted from
'liber parergon,' i., but it is not certain whether this is an
independent work.
6. _Annales_, in hexameters.
7. A work in Saturnians.
Accius gave attention to points of language. Cf. Quint. i. 7, 14,
'Semivocales geminare diu non fuit usitatissimi moris, atque e
contrario usque ad Accium et ultra porrectas syllabas geminis, ut
dixi, vocalibus scripserunt.'
Accius, like Ennius and Pacuvius, attacks superstition. Cf. ll. 169-70,
'Nil credo auguribus, qui auris verbis divitant
alienas, suas ut auro locupletent domos.'
That Virgil imitated Accius is mentioned by Macrob. vi. 1, 58, who
compares, _e.g._, l. 156,
'Virtuti sis par, dispar fortunis patris,'
and _Aen._ xii. 435-6,
'Disce, puer, virtutem ex me verumque laborem,
fortunam ex aliis.'
_Views on Accius._--A few of these may be referred to. Cic. _pro
Sest._ 120, 'Summi poetae ingenium.' Ovid. _Am._ i. 15, 19,
'Animosi Accius oris.'
Cf. also Quint. x. 1, 97; Tac. _Dial._ 20; and Hor. _Ep._ ii. 1, 55
(see 'Pacuvius,' p. 37).
Of the prose writers contemporary with Accius, the most important were
the annalists _L. Cassius Hemina_ and _L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi_; the
orators _Ti._ and _C. Graccus_, and their opponent _C. Fannius_, and
_M. Aemilius Scaurus_, the _princeps senatus_, who also wrote an
autobiography (Cic. _Brut._ 112). _L. Coelius Antipater_ wrote a
history of the Second Punic War in seven Books, making use of Silenus,
whose account was favourable to the Carthaginians (Cic. _de Div._ i.
49). His strength lay in style (Cic. _de Or._ ii. 53); though
painstaking, he was apt to exaggerate (Liv. xxvii. 27, 12; xxix, 25,
3).
LUCILIUS.
(1) LIFE.
C. Lucilius' dates are given by Jerome as B.C. 148-103.
yr. Abr. 1869 = B.C. 148, 'Lucilius poeta nascitur.'
yr. Abr. 1914 = B.C. 103, 'C. Lucilius satirarum scriptor Neapoli
moritur, ac publico funere effertur anno aetatis xlvi.'
If Jerome's notice were correct, Lucilius would have been only
thirteen years old at the time of the Numantine War (B.C. 134) in
which he served.
Velleius ii. 9, 4, 'Celebre et Lucili nomen fuit qui sub P. Africano
Numantino bello eques militaverat.'
It is probable that Jerome has confused the consuls of B.C. 180, A.
Postumius Albinus and C. Calpurnius Piso, with those of B.C. 148, Sp.
Postumius Albinus and L. Calpurnius Piso, and that Lucilius was born
B.C. 180. No reference is found in Lucilius to any event after B.C.
103, so that Jerome may be right in giving that as the year of his
death. In Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 34, Lucilius is called _senex_, which
shows that he lived a long life.
Lucilius was born at Suessa in Campania. He was an _eques_, and was
the great-uncle of Pompey. Juv. 1, 19,
'Cur tamen hoc potius libeat decurrere campo,
per quem magnus equos Auruncae flexit alumnus,
si vacat ac placidi rationem admittitis, edam.'
Porphyr. ad Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 75, '"infra Lucili censum": Constat
enim Lucilium avonculum maiorem Pompei fuisse: etenim avia Pompei
Lucilii soror fuerat.'
Velleius ii. 29, 2, 'Fuit [Cn. Pompeius] genitus matre Lucilia,
stirpis senatoriae.' This Lucilia was Lucilius' niece, and her father,
Lucilius' brother, was a senator.
Lucilius was very intimate with Africanus the younger and Laelius, and
celebrated them in his works. Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 71,
'Quin ubi se a volgo et scaena in secreta remorant
virtus Scipiadae et mitis sapientia Laeli,
nugari cum illo et discincti ludere, donec
decoqueretur olus, soliti.'
Schol. Cruq. _ad loc._, 'Scipio Africanus et Laelius feruntur tam
fuisse familiares et amici Lucilio, ut quodam tempore Laelio circum
lectos triclinii fugienti Lucilius superveniens eum obtorta mappa quasi
feriturus sequeretur.'
Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 16,
'Attamen et iustum poteras et scribere fortem,
Scipiadam ut sapiens Lucilius.'
Lucil. _Sat._ xxx. 5 (of Scipio),
'Sicubi ad auris
fama tuam pugnam clarans adlata dicasset.'
Such intimate association could not have existed if Lucilius had been,
as Jerome implies, only nineteen at Scipio's death in B.C. 129.
There are many references to Lucilius' attacks on public men. Cf. Hor.
_Sat._ ii. 1, 62,
'Quid? cum est Lucilius ausus
primus in hunc operis componere carmina morem,
detrahere et pellem, nitidus qua quisque per ora
cederet, introrsum turpis, num Laelius et qui
duxit ab oppressa meritum Carthagine nomen
ingenio offensi aut laeso doluere Metello
famosisque Lupo cooperto versibus? atqui
primores populi arripuit populumque tributim,
scilicet uni aequus virtuti atque eius amicis.'
Lucil. lib. incert., ll. 63-4, quoted by Cic. _N.D._ i. 64,
'"Tubulus si Lucius umquam,
si Lupus aut Carbo, Neptuni filius,"
ut ait Lucilius, putasset esse deos, tam periurus aut tam impurus
fuisset?'
Pers. 1, 114,
'Secuit Lucilius urbem,
te Lupe, te Muci, et genuinum fregit in illis.'
Juv. 1, 165,
'Ense velut stricto quotiens Lucilius ardens
infremuit, rubet auditor cui frigida mens est
criminibus, tacita sudant praecordia culpa.'
_The Saturae._--There were thirty Books altogether, by whom arranged
is unknown. Fragments are extant from all the Books, except xxi. and
xxiv. (and possibly xxiii. and xxv.). Books i.-xx. and xxx. were in
hexameters; xxii. in elegiacs; xxvi.-xxvii. in trochaic septenarii;
and the next two in trochaic septenarii, iambic senarii, and
hexameters. Books xxvi.-xxix. were published first, then Book xxx. In
Book xxvi. Lucilius states his views of life, his poetic principles,
what led him to write satire, etc. Cf. l. 3,
'Nunc itidem populum aucupamur istis cum scriptoribus.'
Lines 7-20 contain a conversation between Lucilius and a friend who
wishes him to engage in public life. Cf. ll. 16-7,
'Publicanu' vero ut Asiae fiam scripturarius
pro Lucilio, id ego nolo, et uno hoc non muto omnia.'
Two divisions of the work may be recognized--(i) Books i.-xxi. (to
which xxii.-xxv. may be an addition) in hexameters; these Books are
referred to as one collection by Varro, _L.L._ v. 17. (2) Books
xxvi.-xxx. in various metres.
_Dates of Composition._--Hor. _Sat._ ii. 1, 62-70 (quoted above),
shows that Lucilius attacked Lupus and Metellus while Scipio and
Laelius were still alive, _i.e._ not after B.C. 129; xxvi., ll. 88-9,
in which Lucilius sneers at marriage,
'Homines ipsi hanc sibi molestiam ultro atque aerumnam offerunt.
Ducunt uxores, producunt, quibus haec faveant, liberos,'
may have special reference to the attempts of Metellus in his
censorship (B.C. 131) to encourage it. If this is so, Books xxvi.-xxx.
were composed about B.C. 131-129. Book i. was composed after the death
of Carneades in B.C. 129 (cf. l. 12, 'nec si Carneaden ipsum Orcu'
remittat'), and probably soon after the death of Lupus, on whom the
gods are represented as sitting in judgment.
Serv. ad _Aen._ x. 104, 'Totus hic locus de primo Lucili translatus
est libro; ubi inducuntur di habere concilium et agere primo de
interitu Lupi cuiusdam ducis in re publica, postea sententias dicere.'
In B.C. 126 Lucilius was probably, along with other _peregrini_,
banished under the law of M. Iunius Pennus, trib. pl. in that year. He
probably returned in B.C. 124, when the law was repealed by C.
Graccus. Bk. xi. was composed after the condemnation of L. Opimius in
B.C. 110. Cf. ll. 19-21,
'Quintus Opimius ille, Iugurtini pater huius,
et formosus homo fuit et famosus, utrumque
primo adulescens, posterius dat rectiu' sese.'
_Subjects of the Satires._--These were very varied. Besides personal
satire, we have (1) ethical criticism, as ridicule of philosophers and
attacks on luxury.
Lib. incert. ll. 134-5 (imitated by Hor. _Sat._ i. 3, 132 _sqq._;
_Ep._ i. 1, 106-8),
'Nondum etiam, qui haec omnia habebit,
formonsus, dives, liber, rex solu' feretur?'
iv. 4-6 (cf. Hor. _Sat._ ii. 2, 46-8),
'O Publi, o gurges, Galloni: es homo miser, inquit,
cenasti in vita numquam bene, cum omnia in ista
consumis squilla atque acupensere cum in decimano.'
(2) Travels, as the account of the journey to the Sicilian Strait,
imitated by Hor. _Sat._ i. 5.
(3) Literary criticism. Lucilius jeers at Ennius' line,
'Sparsis hastis longis campus splendet et horret,'
according to Servius ad _Aen._ xi. 601, 'Est versus Ennianus
vituperatus a Lucilio dicente per irrisionem eum debuisse dicere
"horret et alget."' Euripides is criticised in xxix., frag. 9. Points
of orthography and the like are also treated of, cf. ix. 11,
'Iam puerei venere. E postremum facito atque i,
ut pueri plures fiant. I si faci' solum,
pupilli, pueri, Lucili hoc uniu' fiet.'[23]
Some other points may be noted:
(1) He addresses a large circle of readers, xxix. 99,
'Persium non curo legere: Laelium Decumum volo.'
Cf. Cic. _de Or._ ii. 25, 'Hic [Persius] fuit enim, ut noramus, omnium
fere nostrorum hominum doctissimus: "Laelium Decimum volo," quem
cognovimus virum bonum et non inlitteratum sed nihil ad Persium.'
(2) For his self-esteem of. xxvi. 16, (quoted above). So xxx. 1,
'Quoi sua conmittunt mortali claustra Camenae.'
(3) He often mixes Greek words with Latin. Cf. v. 12,
'Hoc nolueris et debueris te
si minu' delectat, quod +technion+ Eisocratiumst
+lêrôdes+que totum ac +symmeirakiôdes+,
non operam perdo.'
(4) For his carelessness as to style of. Hor. _Sat._ i. 4, 9,
'In hora saepe ducentos,
ut magnum, versus dictabat, stans pede in uno:
cum flueret lutulentus, erat quod tollere velles;
garrulus atque piger scribendi ferre laborem,
scribendi recte; nam ut multum, nil moror.'
For Lucilius' influence on other poets, see above; also under
'Persius,' p. 262. For Horace's views on Lucilius, see above; also
_Sat._ i. 4; i. 10; ii. 1.
Cf. Quint. x. 1, 93, 'Satira quidem tota nostra est, in qua primus
insignem laudem adeptus Lucilius quosdam ita deditos sibi adhuc habet
amatores, ut eum non eiusdem modo operis auctoribus sed omnibus poetis
praeferre non dubitent. Ego quantum ab illis tantum ab Horatio
dissentio, qui Lucilium "fluere lutulentum" et "esse aliquid, quod
tollere possis" putat. Nam eruditio in eo mira et libertas atque inde
acerbitas et abundantia salis.'
ATTA AND AFRANIUS.
Writers of _togatae_ were Atta and Afranius.
Sueton. p. 15 R., 'Togatas tabernarias in scaenam dataverunt praecipue
duo, L. Afranius et T. Quintius.'
T. Quintius Atta died B.C. 77, according to Jerome yr. Abr. 1940, 'T.
Quintius Atta, scriptor togatarum, Romae moritur.'
Eleven titles and about twenty lines of fragments are extant. Horace
refers to Atta in _Ep._ ii. 1, 79 _sqq._,
'Recte necne crocum floresque perambulet Attae
fabula si dubitem, clament periisse pudorem
cuncti paene patres, ea cum reprendere coner
quae gravis Aesopus, quae doctus Roscius egit.'
L. Afranius was probably born between B.C. 154 and 144. He was the
chief writer of _togatae_ (Quint. x. 1, 100, 'Togatis excellit
Afranius'), and also an orator.
Cic. _Brut._ 167, 'L. Afranius poeta, homo perargutus, in fabulis
quidem etiam ut scitis disertus.'
There are extant forty-two titles (with Latin names) and more than
four hundred lines of fragments. The plays exhibit Roman surroundings,
and describe low life, especially of the provincial towns. Cf. the
title _Brundusinae_, also l. 136,
'Ubi hice Moschis, quaeso, habet, meretrix Neapolitis?'
Afranius imitated Menander, and probably Terence.
Hor. _Ep._ ii. 1, 57,
'Dicitur Afrani toga convenisse Menandro.'
Macrob. _Saturn._ vi. 1, 4, 'Afranius togatarum scriptor in ea togata,
quae Compitalia inscribitur, non inverecunde respondens arguentibus,
quod plura sumpsisset a Menandro,
"Fateor" inquit "sumpsi non ab illo modo,
sed ut quisque habuit conveniret quod mihi,
quod me non posse melius facere credidi
etiam a Latino"' (ll. 25-8).
Sueton. _vit. Ter._ p. 33 R., 'Terentium Afranius omnibus comicis
praefert.'
MINOR POETS:
(_a_) The poets immediately after Afranius include
(1) Hostius.--He was perhaps the grandfather of Cynthia (Hostia),
Propertius' mistress. Prop. iv. 20, 7,
'Est tibi forma potens; sunt castae Palladis artes,
splendidaque a docto fama refulget avo.'
There are nine lines extant from his epic poem _Bellum Histricum_,
which was probably on the war of B.C. 125. Frag. 5 (Bährens),
'Non si mihi linguae
centum atque ora sient totidem vocesque liquatae,'
is from _Il._ ii. 489, and is imitated by Verg. _Aen._ vi. 625 (as
noticed by Macrob. _Saturn._ vi. 3, 6).
(2) Writers of epigrams--Pompilius, Valerius Aedituus, Porcius
Licinus, and Q. Lutatius Catulus (cons. B.C. 102).
(3) Q. Valerius Soranus wrote verse on philology and archaeology.
(4) Volcacius Sedigitus wrote verse on literary history up to the time
of the _fabula palliata_. He wrote _indices_ of Plautus (Gell. iii. 3,
1), and a work _De Poetis_, which included his canon on the comic
poets (Gell. xv. 24).
'Caecilio palmam Statio do mimico.
Plautus secundus facile exuperat ceteros.
Dein Naevius, qui fervet, pretio in tertiost.
Si erit, quod quarto detur, dabitur Licinio.
Post insequi Licinium facio Atilium.
In sexto consequetur hos Terentius,
Turpilius septimum, Trabea octavum optinet,
nono loco esse facile facio Luscium.
Decimum addo causa antiquitatis Ennium.'
(_b_) The following poets wrote during Cicero's youth, B.C. 106-84:
(1) Cn. Matius, author of _Mimiambi_, and a translation of the
_Iliad_. An example of the last is Frag. I (Bährens) = _Il._ i. 56,
'Corpora Graiorum maerebat mandier igni.'
(2) Laevius, author of _Erotopaegnia_, of a lyrical character.
Porphyr. ad Hor. _Od._ iii. 1, 2, 'Romanis utique non prius audita,
quamvis Laevius lyrica ante Horatium scripserit; sed videntur illa non
Graecorum lege ad lyricum characterem exacta.'
About sixty lines are extant. Gell. xix. 7 speaks of Laevius' curious
vocabulary, and instances _oblittera_ for _oblitterata_;
_trisaeclisenex_, _dulciorelocus_, etc.
(3) A. Furius of Antium. Only six lines are extant.
(4) C. Iulius Caesar Strabo, a tragic writer and orator.
(5) Sueius. His works are (_a_) _Moretum_, an idyll; (_b_) _Pulli_, on
the breeding of fowls; (_c_) _Nidus_; (_d_) an epic poem, _Annales_.
(6) Writers of _fabula Atellana_;[24] Novius and L. Pomponius
(Bononiensis). Fronto p. 62 (ed. Naber), 'Elegantis Novium et
Pomponium et id genus in verbis rusticanis et iocularibus ac
ridiculariis.'
Of Novius forty-three titles and over one hundred lines are preserved,
and of Pomponius about seventy titles and two hundred lines. The
well-known characters of the _fabula Atellana_ are retained, as is
seen from the titles. Cf. _Duo Dosseni_, _Maccus Copa_ of Novius; _Bucco
Adoptatus_, _Maccus Miles_, _Maccus Sequester_, _Maccus Virgo_ of
Pomponius.
PROSE WRITERS OF THE SAME PERIOD:
_L. Cornelius Sisenna_ (praetor B.C. 78), author of _Historiae_ of the
Social and Civil Wars (Vell. Pat. ii. 9). Cicero thought him superior
to his predecessors, but childish (_Brut._ 228, _De Leg._ i. 7), and
Sallust remarks his want of frankness in speaking of Sulla's career
(_Iug._ 95). He avoided a piecemeal and desultory treatment of events;
cf. his own words quoted by Gell. xii. 15, 2, 'Nos una aestate in Asia
et Graecia gesta litteris idcirco continentia mandavimus, ne
vellicatim aut saltuatim scribendo lectorum animos impediremus.' His
translation of the +Milêsiaka+ of Aristides is mentioned by Ovid,
_Tr._ ii. 443.
Contemporary with Sisenna were _Q. Claudius Quadrigarius_, and
_Valerius Antias_, whose narrative was coloured by partiality for the
Valerii and for Scipio Africanus (see under 'Livy').
_C. Licinius Macer_, father of the poet Calvus, was one of Livy's
sources for the early history. Dion. Hal. (vi. 11 and vii. 1)
complains of his carelessness and the weakness of his chronology. He
claimed that he used original authorities, _e.g._ the _libri lintei_,
lists of magistrates written on linen. He was a strong democrat, and
is looked upon by Mommsen (_R.H._ iv., p. 602) as manufacturing
authorities in support of his political views.
_Sulla_ wrote memoirs of his own life (Plut. _Lucull._ 1), and
_Lucullus_ composed in Greek a history of the Marsian War (_ibid._).
Footnotes to Chapter I
[1] The scheme of this old national metre, which depends on accent and
not on quantity, may be seen from the two examples given below.
Various forms are found, but one of the commonest types is identical
with the rhythm of the nursery rhyme,
'The queen was in the parlour, eating bread and honey.'
[2] 'I have heard that a Roman poet is languishing in prison with head
on hand'--probably a metaphor from a pillar (but the sense is far from
certain).
[3] Utica was besieged by Scipio from 204 to 202 B.C.
[4] In the _fabula togata_ or _tabernaria_ the surroundings of the
comedy were Roman, in the _fabula palliata_ Greek, as in Plautus'
plays. _Togata_ in a wider sense included tragedy as well as comedy.
[5] This term means the construction of a new play by uniting two old
ones.
[6] The references are to the revised edition of Ritschl.
[7] A species of burlesque tragedy, called after its inventor
Rhinthon, who flourished B.C. 300.
[8] _R.H._ ii. p. 431 trans.
[9] This shows that the ancient (rough alphabetical) order has been
departed from. Some grammarian of the fifth century altered the
position of the play on account of the reference to it in _Epid._
213-5 (quoted above).
[10] I.e. the 'Patruus' written by the old Roman (lit., 'son of the
porridge-eater').
[11] These games were celebrated in April. Plays were exhibited also
at the _Ludi Romani_ (September) and the _Ludi Plebei_ (November).
[12] Much of the information on this head is taken from J. Brix's
edition of the _Trinummus_. Leipzig, 1888.
[13] This is shown in the universal classical usage of _bene_, _male_,
etc.
[14] The references are to Vahlen's edition.
[15] Thus the original name of Beneventum was Maleventum, i.e.
+MaloFenta+, accusative of +MaloFeis+; cf. Agrigentum from
+Akragas+, and Tarentum from +Taras+.
[16] Euhemerus of Messana, who wrote about the end of the fourth
century B.C., tried in this work to show that the worship of the gods
arose from the worship of deified kings and heroes.
[17] The Oscan form of _Pacuvi_.
[18] The term _doctus_ refers to his knowledge of the Greek laws of
artistic composition.
[19] After Ambivius' name appears in most of the didascaliae 'L.
Hatilius Praenestinus.' Probably this person was an actor at some
later productions, and his name has in this way crept into the MSS.
[20] _Tibiae_ were called _pares_ or _impares_ according as they were
or were not of the same length and key. _Duae dextrae_ were two pipes
both playing the treble. _Tibiae Sarranae_, from Sarra, the old Latin
name for Tyre, were a special form of _tibiae pares_.
[21] _Mediocritas_ = +to meson+, the intermediate style between
+to hadron+, 'the florid' (_ubertas_), and +to ischnon+,
'the simple' (_gracilitas_). See W. Peterson's note on Quint. x. 1,
44.
[22] For the omission of names, cf. iv. 12 (Jordan), 'dictatorem
Karthaginiensium magister equitum monuit' (of Hannibal and Maharbal).
[23] This means that Lucilius would represent the nom. plu. by _-ei_
and the gen. sing, by _-i_.
[24] The _fabula Atellana_ was a species of farce adopted by the
Romans from the Oscan town of Atella in Campania. See Livy, vii. 2,
for this and the early history of the Roman drama.