with the rectification of the calendar, B.C. 46, perhaps in Greek.
Suetonius says nothing about it, but it was known to Macrobius,
_Saturn._, i. 16, 39, 'Iulius Caesar ... siderum motus, de quibus non
indoctos libros reliquit, ab Aegyptiis disciplinis hausit.' The _liber
de computatione_ and _liber fastorum_, attributed to Caesar by the
Scholiast on Lucan, x. 185, 187, may have formed part of the _De
Astris_.
3. _Anticatones_, written B.C. 45, in reply to Cicero's panegyric on
Cato, with flattering references to Cicero himself. Sueton. _Iul._ 56,
'Reliquit et de Analogia duos libros et Anticatones totidem. ... Sub
tempus Mundensis proelii fecit.' Cicero expresses himself as highly
pleased with the book, _ad Att._ xiii. 51, 'bene existimo de illis
libris, ut tibi coram'; but his tone is different in _Topica_, 94,
'quibus omnibus generibus usus est nimis impudenter Caesar contra
Catonem meum.'
4. _Apophthegmata_, a collection of notable sayings, probably growing
out of the _Dicta Collectanea_ of Sueton. _Iul._ 56, and completed
B.C. 46-5. Cic. _ad Fam._ ix. 16, 4, 'audio Caesarem, cum volumina iam
confecerit +apophthegmatôn+, si quod afferatur ad eum pro meo, quod
meum non sit, reicere solere.'
5. _Letters._--In the time of Suetonius, Caesar's official despatches
to the Senate were extant, and also private letters to Cicero and
other friends, _e.g._ his confidants Balbus and Oppius. In these a
cypher was, where necessary, employed. Cf. Sueton. _Iul._ 56, and
Gell. xvii. 9, 1.
6. _Speeches._--About a dozen titles of speeches are known, but only a
few detached words and phrases survive. As an orator, Caesar stood in
the front rank (Sueton. _Iul._ 55). For encomiums on his style see
Cic. _Brut._ 252, and Quintilian, x. 1, 114, who considered him second
only to Cicero, and remarkable for _vis_, _acumen_, _concitatio_, and
_elegantia_. The language of Tac. _Dial._ 21 is less complimentary,
'Nisi forte quisquam aut Caesaris pro Decio Samnite aut Bruti pro
Deiotaro rege ceterosque eiusdem lentitudinis ac teporis libros legit,
nisi qui et carmina eorumdem miratur.'
7. _Poems._--Caesar in his youth composed a poem in praise of
Hercules, and a tragedy, _Oedipus_. Plutarch (_Caes._ 2) speaks of him
as reciting poems of his own composition to the pirates who took him
prisoner. On his journey from Rome to Spain, B.C. 46, he wrote a
descriptive poem with the title of _Iter_.
Sueton. _Iul._ 56, 'Reliquit ... poema quod inscribitur Iter ...
[fecit] dum ab urbe in Hispaniam ulteriorem quarto et vicensimo die
pervenit ... Feruntur et a puero et ab adulescentulo quaedam scripta,
ut Laudes Herculis, tragoedia Oedipus, item Dicta Collectanea: quos
omnes libellos vetuit Augustus publicari, in epistula quam brevem
admodum ac simplicem ad Pompeium Macrum, cui ordinandas bibliothecas
delegaverat, misit.'
Pliny the younger mentions Caesar as a love poet (_Ep._ v. 3, 5). His
poetry is spoken of by Tacitus in no flattering terms, _Dial._ 21,
'fecerunt enim [Caesar et Brutus] et carmina et in bibliothecas
rettulerunt, non melius quam Cicero, sed felicius, quia illos fecisse
pauciores sciunt.'
The only extant lines are those on Terence (_q.v._).
C. ASINIUS POLLIO.
C. Asinius Pollio (B.C. 76-A.D. 5), governor of Farther Spain B.C.
44, consul B.C. 40, retired from public life after his Dalmatian
triumph, B.C. 39. He was famous as an orator, and was the author of
(1) A history of the civil wars from B.C. 60 (Hor. _Od._ ii. 1, 1
_sqq._). (2) Tragedies (Verg. _Ecl._ 8, 10; Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 42;
_Od._ ii. 1, 9 _sqq._) and love poems (Plin. _Ep._ v. 3, 5). (3) A
work in which the style of Sallust was criticized (Sueton. _Gramm._
10). His remarks on Caesar, Cicero, and Livy may be from the same book
(Sueton. _Iul._ 56; Quint. xii. 1, 22; i. 5, 56).
For Pollio's style, cf. Quint. x. 1, 113, 'A nitore et iucunditate
Ciceronis ita longe abest ut videri possit saeculo prior.' Pollio
founded the first public library at Rome, in the _Atrium Libertatis_,
B.C. 38 (Plin. _N.H._ xxxv. 10), For his intimacy with the poet Cinna,
who wrote the _Propempticon Pollionis_ in his honour, see p. 142; and
for his patronage of Virgil and Horace, see Verg. _Ecl._ 3, 84; 8,
6-13; Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 42. Pollio, of course, belongs to the
Augustan Age, but is mentioned here because of his connexion with the
_Corpus Caesarianum_.
CORNELIUS NEPOS.
(1) LIFE.
The praenomen of Cornelius Nepos is unknown. In Pliny, _N.H._ iii.
127, he is called 'Padi adcola,' and in Pliny, _Ep._ iv. 28, 1 (to
Vibius Severus), he is mentioned as a townsman of T. Catius, 'Imagines
municipum tuorum, Cornelii Nepotis et T. Cati.' Now T. Catius was an
Insubrian (Cic. _ad Fam._ xv. 16, 1), and as the only Insubrian town
on the Padus was Ticinum, Nepos was probably born there.
There is no direct evidence as to the date of his birth but we may
infer from the following facts that he was born not long before B.C.
100.
1. Jerome puts his literary activity under B.C. 40 = yr. Abr. 1977,
'Cornelius Nepos scriptor historicus clarus habetur.'
2. A son of his died B.C. 44 while a boy, and unknown to Cicero.
Cic. _ad Att._ xvi. 14, 4, 'Male narras de Nepotis filio: valde
mehercule moveor et moleste fero; nescieram omnino esse istum puerum.'
3. The respect with which he looks up to Atticus, who was born B.C.
109.
4. A fragment of his _Exempla_ quoted by Pliny, _N.H._ ix. 136,
regarding the changes of fashion in purple robes: 'Nepos Cornelius,
qui divi Augusti principatu obiit, "Me," inquit, "iuvene violacea
purpura vigebat, ... nec multo post rubra Tarentina. Huic successit
dibapha Tyria... Hac P. Lentulus Spinther aedilis curulis (B.C. 63)
primus in praetexta usus improbabatur. Qua purpura quis non iam,"
inquit, "triclinaria facit?"'
Nepos held no public office, but confined himself to literature, in
which he was associated with Atticus. Their intimacy must have begun
after B.C. 65, when Atticus returned to Rome from Athens, where he had
lived more than twenty years.
Pliny, _Ep._ v. 3, 6, 'P. Vergilius, Cornelius Nepos ... Non quidem hi
senatores.'
Nep. _Att._ 13, 7, 'Atque hoc non auditum, sed cognitum praedicamus:
saepe enim propter familiaritatem domesticis rebus interfuimus.'
Nepos knew Cicero, doubtless, through Atticus, but there is no
evidence that they were intimate, except Gell. xv. 28, 1, who is
probably mistaken, 'Cornelius Nepos ... M. Ciceronis ut qui maxime
amicus familiaris fuit.' A fragment of a letter from Cicero to Nepos
is quoted by Sueton. _Iul._ 55; from Nepos to Cicero by Lactant.
_inst. div._ iii. 15, 10; and Fronto (p. 20, ed. Naber) speaks of a
collection of Cicero's works revised by Nepos and Atticus.
Nepos was on intimate terms with Catullus, whom, as coming from
Verona, he may have known in early life. Catullus, who is mentioned by
Nepos (_Att._ 12, 4), dedicated a collection of poems to him (Catull.
1). Nepos was alive in B.C. 29, in which, or the following year, he
completed the life of Atticus.
As regards Nepos' character and views, Pliny, _Ep._ v. 3, 6,
attributes to him _sanctitas morum_. The words of Cicero, _ad Att._
xvi. 5, 5, imply only a playful compliment, 'Et ais, "+met'
amymona+." Tu vero +amymôn+, ille [Nepos] quidem +ambrotos+.'
Nepos' slight regard for philosophy is shown by a letter to Cicero
quoted by Lactant. _inst. div._ iii. 15, 10, 'Tantum abest, ut ego
magistram esse putem vitae philosophiam beataeque vitae perfectricem,
ut nullis magis existimem opus esse magistris vivendi quam plerisque,
qui in ea disputanda versantur.'
Cf. also Cic. _ad Att._ xvi. 5, 5, 'Nepotis epistulam exspecto.
Cupidus ille meorum? qui ea, quibus maxime +gaurio+, legenda non
putet.'
Philosophy, according to Nepos, ought to be practical.
Nep. _Att._ 17, 3, 'Nam principum philosophorum ita percepta habuit
praecepta, ut his ad vitam agendam, non ad ostentationem uteretur.'
Nepos, as is shown by his works, supported government by the Senate.
(2) WORKS.
1. Erotic poems; mentioned by Pliny, _Ep._ v. 3, 6.
2. _Chronica_, in three books, embracing universal history. Catull. 1,
'Quoi dono lepidum novom libellum
arida modo pumice expolitum?
Corneli, tibi; namque tu solebas
meas esse aliquid putare nugas
iam tum, cum ausus es unus Italorum
omne aevom tribus explicare chartis,
doctis, Iuppiter, et laboriosis.'
It is clear, from the above, that Nepos had mentioned Catullus in the
work. That the mythical period was treated of is shown by Ausonius,
_Ep._ 16, 'Apologos Titiani et Nepotis chronica quasi alios apologos
(nam et ipsa instar sunt fabularum) ... misi ... ad institutionem
tuorum.'
From Catullus we may possibly infer that the _Chronica_ were written
before B.C. 63[31]; _unus Italorum_ would imply that they were written
before the similar works of Varro and Atticus.
3. _Exempla_, in at least five Books, treating of the history of Roman
manners.
Gell. vi. 18, 11, 'Cornelius Nepos in libro exemplorum quinto.'
4. _Life of the elder Cato_.
Nep. _Cat._ 3, 5, 'Huius de vita et moribus plura in eo libro
persecuti sumus, quem separatim de eo fecimus rogatu T. Pomponii
Attici. Quare studiosos Catonis ad illud volumen delegamus.'
5. _Life of Cicero_, written after his death (B.C. 43). Gell. xv. 28,
2, 'in primo librorum, quos de vita illius composuit.'
6. _A geographical work_, referred to by Pliny, _N.H._ v. 4, etc. All
the above works are lost.
7. _De Viris Illustribus_, his last work, was dedicated to Atticus
(praef. i); an addition to the life of Atticus was made after his
death.
_Att._ 19, 1, 'Hactenus Attico vivo edita a nobis sunt. Nunc, quoniam
fortuna nos superstites ei esse voluit, reliqua persequemur.'
From _Att._ 12, 1-2, we may conclude that the publication took place
between B.C. 35 and 33. The addition to the life of Atticus was
written at some time between B.C. 31 and 27, as in _Att._ 19, 2,
Octavian is called _imperator_, but not _Augustus_, a title which he
received in the last-mentioned year.
The work contained at least sixteen Books: cf. Charis. _G.L._ i. 141
(ed. Keil), 'Cornelius Nepos illustrium virorum libro xvi.'; and was
divided into sections of two Books each, the first on distinguished
foreigners, the second on distinguished Romans of the same class. We
possess the book _de excellentibus ducibus exterarum gentium_; from
_de historicis Latinis_ the lives of Cato the Censor and Atticus, and
fragments of the letters of Cornelia, mother of the Gracci. There are
also mentioned the books _de regibus_ (Nep. _de reg._ 1, 1; 3, 5); _de
excellentibus ducibus Romanorum_ (Nep. _Hann._ 13, 4); _de historicis
Graecis_ (Nep. _Dion,_ 3, 2); _de poetis_ (Sueton. p. 31 R.); _de
grammaticis_ (Sueton. p. 103 R.). The work probably dealt also with
_iurisconsulti_, _oratores_, and _philosophi_. The book is biographical
rather than historical, and is designed to compare foreigners with
Romans, and to please, as well as instruct, those ignorant of Greek
culture.
_Pel._ 1, 1, 'Vereor ... ne non vitam eius enarrare, sed historiam
videar scribere.'
_Hann._ 13, 4, 'Tempus est ... Romanorum explicare imperatores, quo
facilius collatis utrorumque factis, qui viri praeferendi sint, possit
iudicari.'
_Pel._ 1, 1, 'Medebor cum satietati tum ignorantiae lectorum.'
_Praef._ 2, 'Hi erunt fere, qui expertes litterarum Graecarum,' etc.
Besides tradition and his own recollection, Nepos mentions the
following sources: Thucydides (_Them._ 1, 4, etc.); Xenophon (_Ag._ 1,
1); Plato's _Symposium_ (_Alc._ 2, 2); Theopompus (_Alc._ 11, 1);
Dinon (_Con._ 5, 4); Timaeus (_Alc._ 11, 1); Silenus, Sosilus,
Polybius, Sulpicius Blitho, Atticus (_Hann._ 13, 1 and 3); the
writings of Hannibal (_Hann._ 13, 2); Speeches and _Origines_ of Cato
(_Cat._ 3, 2); Cicero's works, especially _Epp. ad Att._ (_Att._ 16,
3). The book contains lives of twenty Greek generals from the Persian
wars to the time of Alexander's successors; a short article on Persian
and Macedonian kings who were also generals; and the lives of Hamilcar
and Hannibal, Cato and Atticus. The work possesses little independent
value, and the following are the chief faults:
1. There are many mistakes in history and geography.
2. The biographies, and the events recorded in them, are badly
arranged; eulogy is employed indiscriminately, and petty anecdotes are
too frequent.
3. Important names, as Cimon and Lysander, are dismissed too briefly;
others, as Atticus and Datames, are treated too fully. Many are left
out altogether, as some of the leaders in the Peloponnesian war.
4. Important authorities are not used: so Herodotus, for Miltiades,
Themistocles, and Pausanias. No use is made of the _Hellenica_ of
Xenophon.
For views on Nepos, cf. Gell. xv. 28, 1, 'Cornelius Nepos rerum
memoriae non indiligens.'
Pliny, _N.H._ v. 4, 'Portentosa Graeciae mendacia ... quaeque alia
Cornelius Nepos avidissime credidit.'
Nepos is not mentioned by Quintilian in his list of Roman historians.
In the MSS. only the _Atticus_ and the _Cato_ are ascribed to Nepos,
the rest being entitled _Liber Aemilii Probi de excellentibus ducibus
exterarum gentium_. It has been suggested that this arose from a
misapprehension of _em_(_endavi_) _Probus_. There is an epigram by
this Probus in the MSS., referring to poems of his and standing after
the Life of Hannibal, which informs us that he was a contemporary of
Theodosius (probably Theodosius I., A.D. 379-395). That the work
cannot be by him is shown by the political references, which suit only
the beginning of the empire, by the mention of Atticus in the preface,
and by the correspondence in style between the book and the lives of
Atticus and Cato, admittedly the work of Nepos; also by the fact that
L. Ampelius, who probably wrote before the time of Diocletian, used
the work in his _Liber Memorialis_.
LUCRETIUS.
Our information about Lucretius' life is very scanty. Jerome yr. Abr.
1922 = B.C. 95, 'T. Lucretius poeta nascitur, qui postea amatorio
poculo in furorem versus, cum aliquot libros per intervalla insaniae
conscripsisset, quos postea Cicero emendavit, propria se manu
interfecit anno aetatis xliiii.' (B.C. 52 or 51).
Donatus, _vit. Verg._ 2, 'Initia aetatis Cremonae egit [Vergilius]
usque ad virilem togam, quam xv. anno natali suo accepit isdem illis
consulibus iterum duobus quibus erat natus, evenitque ut eo ipso die
Lucretius poeta decederet' (October 15).
Teuffel thinks xliiii. is wrong, and would read xlii., thus giving the
dates as B.C. 96-55, as he thinks that Jerome has fixed the date of
birth one year too late. Munro (vol. ii. p. 1) accepts xliiii., but
thinks that Jerome (as elsewhere) is a few years wrong in the date of
Lucretius' birth, and gives the dates as B.C. 99-55. It is impossible
to decide as to the date of birth, but most authorities agree on B.C.
55 as the date of death, a view which is supported by the only
contemporary reference to the poet: Cic. _ad Q.F._ ii. 11, 4 (written
in February, B.C. 54), 'Lucreti poemata, ut scribis, ita sunt: multis
luminibus ingeni, multae tamen artis; sed cum veneris. Virum te
putabo, si Sallusti Empedoclea legeris, hominem non putabo.'
The above extract is given in the reading of the MSS. Some editors
read _non_ before _multis_, others _non_ before _multae_, but it is
best to follow the MSS. (with Tyrrell), translating "But when you come
(we shall talk about it). I shall consider you a hero, if you read
Sallust's _Empedoclea_; I shall not consider you a human being."
As regards Lucretius' madness, there is no absolute impossibility in
the story. Munro (vol. ii. pp. 2, 3) accepts Jerome's account of
Cicero's editorship; others, less probably, believe that Q. Cicero was
editor. The first view is rendered probable by the high opinion
Lucretius had of Cicero, as seen from the frequency with which he
imitates his _Aratea_ (Munro on Lucr. v. 619), and from the knowledge
Cicero shows of Lucretius' work, as in _Tusc._ i. 48.
The poet's full name is given in the MSS. as T. Lucretius Carus.
This is all the direct evidence regarding Lucretius' life.[32] The _de
rerum natura_ is addressed to C. Memmius.[33] From Cic. _ad Fam._
xiii. 1 (where Cicero tells us he employed his good offices with
Memmius on behalf of Patro for the preservation of the gardens of
Epicurus), it appears that he was not an Epicurean. Memmius is the
only contemporary mentioned by Lucretius; i. 24,
'Te sociam studeo scribendis versibus esse
quos ego de rerum natura pangere conor
Memmiadae nostro, quem tu, dea, tempore in omni
omnibus ornatum voluisti excellere rebus.'
Many, arguing from the fact that Carus is not known elsewhere as a
cognomen of the gens Lucretia, think that the poet was a freedman or a
freedman's son, but from the tone of equality in which he addresses
Memmius, it is more probable that he was a patrician; cf. i. 140,
'Sed tua me virtus tamen et sperata voluptas
suavis amicitiae quemvis sufferre laborem
suadet.'
Several personal characteristics may be inferred from the poem:
1. His earnestness and sincerity; iii. 28,
'His ibi me rebus quaedam divina voluptas
percipit atque horror,' etc.
Cf. the importance he attaches to his subject, i. 926,
'Avia Pieridum peragro loca nullius ante
trita solo.'
2. His admiration for the great men of the past. Cf. iii. 1024-52,
where Ancus, the Scipios, Homer, Democritus, and Epicurus are praised;
the introductions to Books i., iii., v., vi., on Epicurus; i. 716-33
on Empedocles; i. 117-9 on Ennius.
3. His powers of observation and love of nature. Cf. i. 716-25; ii. 29
_sqq._, 40 _sqq._; 323-32; iv. 572 _sqq._
4. His experience of women. Book iv. 1037-the end.
5. His wide reading. The poem shows knowledge of Epicurus, Empedocles,
Democritus, Anaxagoras, Heraclitus, Plato, the Stoic writers,
Thucydides, Hippocrates, Homer, Euripides. Among Latin writers Ennius,
Naevius, Pacuvius, Lucilius, and Accius are all imitated.
There is a reference to contemporary history in i. 41-3,
'Nam neque nos agere hoc patriai tempore iniquo
possumus aequo animo nec Memmi clara propago
talibus in rebus communi desse saluti.'
Munro thinks that these lines were written B.C. 59, when Memmius was
_praetor designatus_, in fierce opposition to Caesar, and on the side
of the Senate. If this is so, the poem was probably written between
B.C. 60 and 55. The lines on ambition and its attendant evils (as iii.
931 _sqq._, v. 1117-35, etc.) may have been written with a special
view to the facts of Memmius' life. Lucretius may refer to his
recollection of the civil wars in v. 999,
'At non multa virum sub signis milia ducta
una dies dabat exitio.'
In ii. 40 _sqq._ there is perhaps a reference to Caesar's army in the
Campus Martius at the beginning of B.C. 58.
The _de rerum natura_ is an exposition of Epicureanism, especially on
its physical side; i. 54,
'Nam tibi de summa caeli ratione deumque
disserere incipiam et rerum primordia pandam,' etc.
The title is taken from Epicurus' +peri physeôs+, which Lucretius
followed closely, as is evident from the account of the Epicurean
philosophy in Diogenes Laertius, x., and from the fragments of
Epicurean writers discovered at Herculaneum in 1752. He probably used
as his model Empedocles' poem +peri physeôs+.
The object of the poem is to deliver men from the fear of death and of
the gods; iii. 37,
'Et metus ille foras praeceps Acheruntis agendus';
i. 62-101; cf. l. 101,
'Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum.'
Note that the invocation to Venus at the beginning of the poem is not
inconsistent, but is an address to the universal principle of
generation; cf. i. 21,
'Quae quoniam rerum naturam sola gubernas.'
The scope of the Books is as follows: Books i. and ii. state the
physical theories of Democritus and Epicurus. Book i. states the
Atomic Theory of Democritus, held by Epicurus, that the world consists
of atoms and void. The theories of Heraclitus, Empedocles, Anaxagoras,
etc. are refuted; i. 740,
'Principiis tamen in rerum fecere ruinas
et graviter magni magno cecidere ibi casu.'
Book ii. treats of the combinations of atoms, and the principle of the
swerve introduced to explain free-will. The varieties of atoms are
shown to be limited. In Book iii. the nature of the mind and life is
shown to be material. _Religio_ and the fear of death (cf. ll. 978
_sqq._) are attacked principally in this Book; iii. 830,
'Nil igitur mors est ad nos neque pertinet hilum,
quandoquidem natura animi mortalis habetur.'
Book iv. treats of the theory of _simulacra_ or images, of the senses,
and particularly of love. Book v. treats of the formation of the earth
and the heavenly bodies, the origin of life, and the progress of
civilization. It is shown that nothing has been created, and that
everything must perish. Book vi. treats of abnormal phenomena, such as
thunder and lightning, tempests, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc. The
plague at Athens is described (from Thucydides). Books v. and vi. are
unfinished.
Ethical views are given only by the way, the poem being primarily on
physics. Pleasure is the end of action: ii. 172, 'dux vitae dia
voluptas.' This pleasure is the absence of disturbance (+ataraxia+),
hence all passion (as of love, iv. 1121-40) is deprecated; ii. 14,
'O miseras hominum mentes, o pectora caeca!
qualibus in tenebris vitae quantisque periclis
degitur hoc aevi quodcumque est! nonne videre
nil aliud sibi naturam latrare, nisi utqui
corpore seiunctus dolor absit, mente fruatur
iucundo sensu cura semota metuque?'
Lucretius, as Epicurus, is often weak in physics. Cf. v. 564 _sqq._,
of the sun's size,
'Nec nimio solis maior rota nec minor ardor
esse potest, nostris quam sensibus esse videtur.'
In i. 1052 _sqq._ he states well the theory of the antipodes but his
dependence on Epicurus will not allow him to accept it. Reasons are
sometimes given for a thing that never existed, as in iv. 710-21 for
the fear that a lion has for a cock. Some passages come near the
results of modern science, cf. v. 837 _sqq._ on extinct species; v.
855 _sqq._ on the struggle for existence; v. 610-3, on the invisible
rays of the sun.
The references to Lucretius by name are few.
Nep. _Att._ 12, 4, 'L. Iulium Calidum, quem post Lucreti Catullique
mortem multo elegantissimum poetam nostram tulisse aetatem vere videor
posse contendere.'
Ovid, _Am._ i. 15, 23,
'Carmina sublimis tunc sunt peritura Lucreti,
exitio terras cum dabit una dies.'
_Trist._ ii. 425,
'Explicat ut causas rapidi Lucretius ignis.'
Stat. _Silv._ ii. 7, 76,
'docti furor arduus Lucreti.'
Quint. x. 1, 87, 'Macer et Lucretius legendi quidem, sed non ut
phrasin, id est, corpus eloquentiae faciant; elegantes in sua quisque
materia, sed alter humilis alter difficilis.'
Cf. Tac. _Dial._ 23.
His influence on Virgil is seen _passim_. Cf. Gell. i. 21, 7, 'Non
verba sola sed versus prope totos et locos quoque Lucreti plurimos
sectatum esse Vergilium videmus.'
Verg. _Georg._ ii. 490 _sqq._ and _Ecl._ 6, 31 _sqq._ refer to
Lucretius. _Georg._ ii. 490,
'Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas
atque metus omnes et inexorabile fatum
subiecit pedibus strepitumque Acherontis avari.'
Horace has also imitated him in several places: so _Sat._ i. 3, 99-110
(on primitive man) = Lucr. v. 1028 _sqq._; _Sat._ i. 5, 101 _sqq._ =
Lucr. v. 82 _sqq._ Most of the poets after him, particularly Manilius,
came under his influence.
SALLUST.
(1) LIFE.
C. Sallustius Crispus was born B.C. 86 at Amiternum, in the country of
the Sabines, and died B.C. 35.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1931 = B.C. 86, 'Sallustius Crispus, scriptor
historicus, in Sabinis Amiterni nascitur.' _Ibid._ 1982 = B.C. 35,
'Sallustius diem obiit, quadriennio ante Actiacum bellum.'
Sallust was of plebeian family, as is seen from the fact that he was
afterwards _tribunus plebis_. According to the Pseud.-Cic. _in
Sallustium declamatio_, 13-14, he led an evil life in youth, and
brought his father with sorrow to the grave.
Cf. § 14, 'Cuiquam dubium potest esse, quin mori coegerit eum
[patrem]?'
There is a story that Milo punished him for an amour with his wife.
Gell. xvii. 18, 'M. Varro ... in libro quem scripsit "Pius aut de
pace," C. Sallustium scriptorem seriae illius et severae orationis, in
cuius historia notiones censorias fieri atque exerceri videmus, in
adulterio deprehensum ab Annio Milone loris bene caesum dicit et, cum
dedisset pecuniam, dimissum.'
The story is corroborated by Pseud.-Cic. _in Sall._ 15; by Macrob.
iii. 13, 9, '_alienae_ luxuriae obiurgator et censor,' and others; and
Sallust himself appears to admit that there was something wrong;
_Cat._ 4, 'a quo incepto studioque me ambitio mala detinuerat.'[34]
Sallust speaks of the political offices he filled, and of the class of
men who were unsuccessful candidates about the same time--a supposed
reference to M. Cato's candidature for the praetorship, B.C. 55.
_Iug._ 4, 'Qui si reputaverint, et quibus ego temporibus magistratus
adeptus sim et quales viri idem adsequi nequiverint,' etc.
After being quaestor (Pseud.-Cic. _in Sall._ 15), he was, in B.C. 52,
_tribunus plebis_, when he and other two tribunes opposed Cicero in
his defence of Milo.
Ascon. _in Cic. pro Mil._ p. 33 (Kiessl. and Schöll), 'C. Sallustius
et T. Munatius Plancus tr. pleb. inimicissimas contiones de Milone
habebant.'
In B.C. 50, Sallust was _legatus pro quaestore_ to Bibulus in Syria,
according to Mommsen (_Hermes_, i. 171), who thinks that the Sallust
to whom Cicero writes _ad Fam._ ii. 17 is the historian. In the same
year he was expelled from the Senate by the censors, Appius Claudius
and L. Piso.
Pseud.-Cic. _in Sall._ 16, 'neque post illum delectum senatus vidimus
te.'
In B.C. 49, Caesar reappointed him quaestor, and he resumed his place
in the Senate.
Pseud.-Cic. _in Sall._ 17, 'in senatum post quaesturam est reductus.'
In B.C. 48, he commanded a legion in Illyria without distinction
(Orosius vi, 15, 8), and next year he was Caesar's agent with the
insurgent legions in Campania (Appian, _B.C._ ii. 92). In B.C. 46 he
was praetor, and as such commanded successfully an expedition to seize
the enemy's stores in Cercina.
_Bell. Afr._ 8, 'Item C. Sallustium Crispum praetorem ad Cercinam
insulam versus, quam adversarii tenebant, cum parte navium ire iubet.'
(See also c. 34.)
At the end of the year he was appointed proconsul of Numidia.
_Ibid._ 97, 'Ibi Sallustio pro consule cum imperio relicto ipse Zama
egressus Uticam se recepit.'
As proconsul, he plundered the province, and bought, probably with the
spoils, the _horti Sallustiani_, which afterwards belonged to the
Roman emperors (see Tac. _Ann._ xiii. 47; _Hist._ iii. 82).
Pseud.-Cic. _in Sall._ 19, 'Nonne ita provinciam vastavit, ut nihil
neque passi sint neque exspectaverint gravius in bello socii nostri,
quam experti sint in pace hoc Africam interiorem obtinente?'
Sallust is said to have married Terentia, whom Cicero had divorced
(Jerome _adv. Iov._ 1). Probably he had no son, as he adopted a
grandson of his sister.
Tac. _Ann._ iii. 30, 'Crispum equestri ortum loco C. Sallustius, rerum
Romanarum florentissimus auctor, sororis nepotem in nomen adscivit.'
After Caesar's death, Sallust retired from public life, and, having no
taste for sport or agriculture, spent his leisure in writing history.
_Cat._ 4, 'Ubi ... mihi reliquam aetatem a re publica procul habendam
decrevi, non fuit consilium socordia atque desidia bonum otium
conterere, neque vero agrum colundo aut venando servilibus officiis
intentum aetatem agere; sed ... statui res gestas populi Romani
carptim, ut quaeque memoria digna videbantur, perscribere.'
Sallust, as above stated, died B.C. 35.
(2) WORKS.
1. _De Catilinae Coniuratione_ (so _Cat._ 4). The book is called
_bellum Catilinae_ by Quint. iii. 8, 9, and in some MSS.; in MSS. also
_bellum Catilinarium_. The work was written after Caesar's death
(_Cat._ 53-4). It is, as Mommsen (_R.H._ iv. 184, note) states, a
political pamphlet in the interests of the democratic party (on which
the monarchy was based), and tries to clear Caesar from the charge of
being implicated in the Catilinarian conspiracy, and collaterally
performing the same service for C. Antonius, the uncle of the
triumvir.
Cf. _Cat._ 49, 'Sed isdem temporibus Q. Catulus et C. Piso neque
pretio neque gratia Ciceronem inpellere potuere, uti per Allobroges
aut alium indicem C. Caesar falso nominaretur. Nam uterque cum illo
gravis inimicitias exercebant ... Sed ubi consulem ad tantum facinus
inpellere nequeunt,' etc. (Cf. also Caesar's speech in _Cat._ 51.)
_Cat._ 59, 'At ex altera parte C. Antonius pedibus aeger, quod proelio
adesse nequibat, M. Petreio legato exercitum permittit.' Dion Cassius,
xxxvii. 39, on the other hand, says that this was a pretence, Antonius
being unwilling to fight against his old confederate.
2. _Bellum Iugurthinum_. (So in MSS. and Quint. iii. 8, 9.)
_Iug._ 5, 'Bellum scripturus sum, quod populus Romanus cum Iugurtha
rege Numidarum gessit, primum quia magnum et atrox variaque victoria
fuit, dehinc quia tunc primum superbiae nobilitatis obviam itum est.'
The object of the book is to give a picture of the low state of the
oligarchical government (cf. _Iug._ 8, 'Romae omnia venalia esse'),
and to glorify Marius, the chief of the democratic party.
Of his sources, Sallust mentions Sisenna (_Iug._ 95) for information
about Sulla, and native authorities for African ethnography.
_Iug._ 17, 'Sed qui mortales initio Africam habuerint, quique postea
adcesserint, aut quo modo inter se permixti sint ... uti ex libris
Punicis, qui regis Hiempsalis dicebantur, interpretatum nobis est ...
dicam.'
Sallust probably also used the memoirs of Scaurus, Sulla, and Catulus.
3. _Historiae_.--This work dealt with the events from B.C. 78 to 67.
Cf. Ausonius, p. 264 (ed. Peiper),
'Ab Lepido et Catulo iam res et tempora Romae
orsus his senos seriem conecto per annos.'
There is no reference in the fragments to any event after B.C. 67. The
book took up the history where Sisenna had left off, B.C. 78. Cf. i.
_frag._ 1 (ed. Maurenbrecher), 'Res populi Romani M. Lepido Q. Catulo
coss. ac deinde militiae et domi gestas composui.'
Four speeches and two letters from the _Histories_ have been preserved
in a collection of Sallustian speeches and letters made for rhetorical
purposes, probably in the second century A.D. Besides these there are
considerable fragments, chiefly from Books ii. and iii. We may
conclude from _Iug._ 95, 'neque enim alio loco de Sullae rebus dicturi
sumus,' that the career of Sulla was not treated of in the
_Histories_. He is, however, repeatedly mentioned.
Two works are falsely attributed to Sallust:
1. _Oratio invectiva in Tullium_, composed, along with an _Oratio
invectiva in Sallustium_ falsely ascribed to Cicero, by the same
ancient rhetorician. The _Or. in Tull._ is quoted by Quintilian, if
the MSS. are right, _e.g._ iv. 1, 68.
2. An oration and an epistle _ad Caesarem senem de re publica_, both
probably belonging to the imperial period.
_Sallust as a historian._--1. He departed from the annalistic
arrangement, and took a broader view of his subject, endeavouring to
connect events together, and to trace the motives of actions.
2. He shows a want of precision in his facts. Instead of giving dates,
he often says vaguely _interea_; _isdem temporibus_; _dum haec
aguntur_. One year in the Jugurthine war is left unaccounted for, and
Marius is represented as consul in B.C. 105. So in geography and
ethnography (as in the _Iugurtha_) he is not to be trusted. In _Iug._
21 he forgets that Cirta is fifty miles from the sea, and that city is
besieged in the usual way, though surrounded on three sides by gorges.
He prides himself on his impartiality.
_Cat._ 4, 'Mihi a spe, metu, partibus rei publicae animus liber erat.'
So _Hist._ i. fr. 6.
His leaning to the popular party, however, has been shown above.
3. His speeches do not always suit the speaker or his audience, and
are not historical. Thus the speech of Catiline (_Cat._ 20) does not
suit his audience and is not authentic, and that of Marius (_Iug._ 85)
is too learned for the speaker.
4. His prefaces have little to do with what follows. Cf. Quint. iii.
8, 9, 'C. Sallustius in bello Iugurthino et Catilinae nihil ad
historiam pertinentibus principiis orsus est.'
5. He is too fond of hackneyed moral maxims and trite sayings. Thus:
_Cat._ i, 'Sed nostra omnis vis in animo et corpore sita est,' etc.
_Iug._ 2, 'Nam uti genus hominum compositum ex corpore et anima est,
ita res cunctae studiaque omnia nostra corporis alia, alia animi
naturam secuntur.'
His tone is that of a severe moralist.
_Cat._ 3, 'Sed ego adulescentulus initio sicuti plerique studio ad rem
publicam latus sum, ibique mihi multa advorsa fuere. Nam pro pudore,
pro abstinentia, pro virtute audacia, largitio, avaritia vigebant,'
etc.
As this moralizing did not fit in with the facts of his life he was
censured for it, as shown above.
_Sallust's authorities and models._--Besides the authorities mentioned
above, he used a _breviarium rerum omnium Romanarum_ prepared for him
by the grammarian Ateius (Sueton. _Gramm._ 10). He is said to have
borrowed phrases from Cato.
Quint. viii. 3, 29, 'Nec minus noto Sallustius epigrammate incessitur:
"Et verba antiqui multum furate Catonis,
Crispe, Iugurthinae conditor historiae."'
The similarity of Sallust's style to that of Thucydides, whom he tried
to emulate, was remarked by the ancients.
Quint. ix. 3, 17, 'Ex Graeco vero translata vel Sallustii plurima,
quale est "volgus amat fieri"' [_Iug._ 34, a poor instance, and
wrongly quoted]. Cf. _Cat._ 6, 'magisque dandis quam accipiundis
beneficiis amicitias parabant,' and Thuc. ii. 40, 4, +ou gar
paschontes eu alla drôntes ktômetha tous philous+: _Iug._ 73, 'in
maius celebrare,' and Thuc. i. 10, 3, +epi to meizon kosmêsai+.
Sallust's popularity is shown by the numerous references to him,
particularly in Quintilian. Cf. Quint. x. 1, 101, 'At non historia
cesserit Graecis, nec opponere Thucydidi Sallustium verear'; § 102,
'immortalem illam Sallustii velocitatem.' Cf. also Martial, xiv. 191,
'primus Romana Crispus in historia.' Tacitus is the most important
writer influenced by Sallust. For imitations cf. Tac. _Agr._ 37, where
part of the description of a battle is modelled on _Iug._ 101. Cf.
also _Cat._ 43, 'facto non consulto in tali periculo opus esse,' and
Tac. _Hist._ i. 62, 'ubi facto magis quam consulto opus esset.'
CATULLUS.
The poet's full name, C.[35] Valerius Catullus, is got from Jerome and
other authorities quoted below, as also his birthplace, Verona, to
which Catullus himself refers (c. 67, 34, 'Veronae meae'; 68, 27; 100,
2). The dates of his birth and death are uncertain. Jerome gives them
as B.C. 87-58.
Yr. Abr. 1930 = B.C. 87, 'Gaius Valerius Catullus scriptor lyricus
Veronae nascitur.'
Yr. Abr. 1959 = B.C. 58, 'Catullus xxx. aetatis anno Romae moritur.'
His early death is referred to by Ovid, _Am._ iii. 9, 61,
'Obvius huic [Tibullo] venias hedera iuvenilia cinctus
tempora, cum Calvo, docte Catulle, tuo';
but it is quite certain that the year of his death given by Jerome as
B.C. 58 is wrong. In c. 113, 2, the second consulship of Pompeius in
B.C. 55 is referred to, and cc. 11 and 29 were written after Caesar's
expedition to Britain in B.C. 55. C. 52 used to be taken as referring
to B.C. 47, from l. 3, 'per consulatum perierat Vatinius,' but, as
shown below, was written in B.C. 55 or 54. As no clear reference is
found to any event after B.C. 54 (a highly important time, which would
have been likely to produce some sarcastic poetry from Catullus), it
is best to accept the view that Catullus lived from 87 to 54 or 53
B.C. B. Schmidt (ed. mai. 1887, prolegomena), on the other hand, fixes
the dates as 82-52 B.C. (accepting Jerome's account of Catullus' age),
and attributes c. 38 (to Cornificius) to the latter year.
Catullus' family was wealthy and of good position, as is seen from his
having estates at Sirmio (c. 31) and Tibur (c. 44), and from the fact
that his father was a friend of Julius Caesar.
Sueton. _Iul._ 73, 'Hospitioque patris eius [Catulli], sicut
consueverat, uti perseveravit.'
Catullus went to Rome early, and there, as Schmidt thinks, was taught
by the grammarian Valerius Cato, to whom c. 56 is probably addressed.
From c. 68, 34-5, we see that he was settled at Rome.
'Romae vivimus: illa domus,
illa mihi sedes, illic mea carpitur aetas.'
Catullus wrote love-poetry soon after taking the _toga virilis_; c.
68, 15,
'Tempore quo primum vestis mihi tradita purast,
iucundum cum aetas florida ver ageret,
multa satis lusi.'
Catullus' love for Lesbia is the outstanding fact of his life. Her
real name was Clodia, the sister of P. Clodius, nicknamed for her
immorality 'quadrantaria.'
Apuleius, _Apol._ 10, 'Accusent C. Catullum quod Lesbiam pro Clodia
nominarit.'
Ovid, _Trist._ ii. 427,
'Sic sua lascivo cantata est saepe Catullo
femina, cui falsum Lesbia nomen erat.'
The name Lesbia (which scans like Clodia) may be got from Sappho, the
Lesbian poetess, on whom c. 51 (probably the first addressed to
Clodia) is modelled. The facts known about Clodia all fit in with what
Catullus tells us of Lesbia. For Lesbia's beauty, cf. cc. 43 and 86;
Clodia was called +boôpis+ from her large and lustrous eyes
(Cic. _ad Att._ ii. 9, 1; 12, 2, etc.). For her relations with her
husband, cf. Cic. _ad Att._ ii. 1, 5 (written B.C. 60), 'Est enim
seditiosa: cum viro bellum gerit.' A hint of the real name is got from
c. 79, where the Lesbius mentioned is Clodius, just as Lesbia is
Clodia,
'Lesbius est pulcer: quid ni? quem Lesbia malit
quam te cum tota gente, Catulle, tua.'
It is probable that the acquaintance began in B.C. 61. In B.C. 62
Clodia was the wife of Q. Caecilius Metellus Celer (Cic. _ad Fam._ v.
2, 6), and in that year Metellus was governor of Gallia Cisalpina. Now
from c. 83 it is evident that Lesbia's husband was in Rome when she
began to be annoyed by Catullus' attentions. We may conclude from c.
30 that P. Alfenus Varus introduced Catullus to Lesbia. In that poem
Catullus blames Varus for leading him on and then leaving him in the
lurch. M'. Allius is next mentioned (c. 68) as a friend in whose house
Catullus met Lesbia; and cc. 2, 3, 5, and 7 probably belong to this
fortunate period of the poet's love. C. 8 speaks of Lesbia's leaving
him (cf. c. 92), probably on account of her husband's suspicions. Cf.
c. 5, 1,
'Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus,
rumoresque senum severiorum
omnes unius aestimemus assis.'
C. 107 speaks of an unexpected reconciliation (celebrated in c. 36).
C. 107, 5,
'Restituis cupido atque insperanti, ipsa refers te
nobis. O lucem candidiore nota!'
When Catullus, on account of his brother's death, left Rome for
Verona, he already knew that Lesbia had other lovers (c. 68, ll. 27
_sqq._, 135 _sqq._). There are many poems against his rivals: c. 82,
against Quintius; c. 40, against Ravidus; cc. 74, 80, 88-91, 116,
against Gellius; c. 77, against Rufus, who is attacked also in cc. 59
and 69 (this is M. Caelius Rufus, the orator, who intrigued with
Clodia: Cic. _pro Cael._ 17, etc.); c. 79, against Lesbius (see
above). After Catullus returned to Rome, he found that he had lost
Lesbia's affections. C. 70 was then written,
'Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle
quam mihi, non si se Iuppiter ipse petat.
Dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti,
in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.'
The words of this poem show that it must have been written after the
death of Clodia's husband Metellus, which took place in B.C. 59, and
it was probably written soon after that event, when Catullus had
returned to Rome from Verona.
Nos. 72, 85, and especially 58, show increasing bitterness, and must,
with the possible exception of 58, be assigned to the years B.C. 59 or
58. In c. 76 he prays for power to give Lesbia up; cf. ll. 23-6,
'Non iam illud quaero, contra ut me diligat illa,
aut, quod non potis est, esse pudica velit:
ipse valere opto et taetrum hunc deponere morbum.
O di, reddite mi hoc pro pietate mea.'
It is probable that the separation between the lovers occurred not
later than B.C. 58; otherwise Catullus would not have left for
Bithynia in the next year. In c. 11, the last poem that refers to
Lesbia, which, from the reference to Britain in l. 12, cannot have
been written before B.C. 55, we see that Catullus is cured of his
passion; cf. ll. 21-4,
'Nec meum respectet, ut ante, amorem,
qui illius culpa cecidit velut prati
ultimi flos, praetereunte postquam
tactus aratro est.'
In the spring of B.C. 57 Catullus went to Bithynia on the staff of the
propraetor C. Memmius (cc. 10 and 28). From c. 10, 29, 'meus sodalis
Cinna est Gaius,' we see that C. Helvius Cinna accompanied him. In c.
46, 9 he speaks of the pleasant meetings of the staff, 'O dulces
comitum valete coetus.' C. 46 shows that Catullus left Bithynia in the
spring of the following year: ll. 1-4,
'Iam ver egelidos refert tepores ...
Linquantur Phrygii, Catulle, campi.'
The dirge in c. 101 shows that Catullus, on his way to Italy, visited
his brother's tomb in the Troad, and paid the last rites to it. C. 4,
written soon after his return to Sirmio, tells us how he made his way
home again. About the same time was composed the address to Sirmio in
c. 31; c. 10 proves that he soon went back to Rome.
The poems against Caesar's party belong to the years B.C. 55 and 54.
In cc. 41 and 43 Catullus calls a Transpadane girl 'decoctoris amica
Formiani,' the reference being to Mamurra, 'the bankrupt from
Formiae,' who had been Caesar's _praefectus fabrum_ in Gaul, and who
may have been a successful rival of Catullus in love. C. 29, written
probably in B.C. 54, attacked Mamurra, and also his patrons, Caesar
and Pompey. From l. 24, 'socer generque, perdidistis omnia,' it is
clear that the poem was written before Julia's death in September,
B.C. 54; and from ll. 11-12,
'eone nomine, imperator unice,
fuisti in ultima occidentis insula,'
that it was written after Caesar's first expedition to Britain in B.C.
55. The poem is referred to by Sueton. _Iul._ 73, 'Valerium Catullum,
a quo sibi versiculis de Mamurra perpetua stigmata imposita non
dissimulaverat, satis facientem eadem die adhibuit cenae hospitioque
patris eius sicut consueverat uti perseveravit.'
C. 52 (against Vatinius) was written B.C. 55 or 54. It used to be
assigned to B.C. 47, when Vatinius was consul, but l. 3, 'per
consulatum perierat Vatinius' means 'Vatinius perjures himself by his
hope of the consulship' (his name stood on the list agreed on at Luca,
which is mentioned by Cic. _ad Att._ iv. 8_b_, 2); and l. 2, 'Sella in
curuli struma Nonius sedet,' cannot refer to B.C. 47, as the only
ordinary curule magistrates in that year were P. Vatinius and Q.
Fufius Calenus. Among other poems against personal enemies are c. 98,
against Vettius, and c. 108, against Cominius, both of them informers;
and c. 84, against Arrius, who aspirated his words wrongly, and who,
from l. 7, 'hoc misso in Syriam,' is supposed to have gone out to
Syria as _legatus_ to Crassus in B.C. 55. C. 49 is an attack on Cicero:
'Disertissime Romuli nepotum,
quot sunt quotque fuere, Marce Tulli,
quotque post aliis erunt in annis,
gratias tibi maximas Catullus
agit, pessimus omnium poeta,
tanto pessimus omnium poeta
quanto tu optimus omnium patronus.'
The sting lies in the _double entendre_ in the last two lines, which
really mean 'so much the worst poet of all poets, as you are the best
advocate of all clients, good and bad.' So Cicero is called in a good
sense _omnium patronus_ by Caecina in Cic. _ad Fam._ vi. 7, 4. The
poem has special reference to B.C. 54, when Cicero defended Vatinius
(whom he had reviled two years before in the speech _Pro Sestio_),
when prosecuted by Catullus' friend, Calvus (cf. c. 14, 1-3); and
thanks Cicero ironically for some criticism he had passed on his
poems. Catullus attacks several contemporary poets; so in c. 22,
Suffenus, who in c. 14 is coupled with Caesius and Aquinus; Volusius
in cc. 36 and 95; cf. 36, 1, 'Annales Volusi, cacata charta.'[36]
Among Catullus' friends were Veranius and Fabullus (cc. 9, 28, etc.);
P. Alfenus Varus of Cremona (cc. 10, 22, 30), consul B.C. 39, and a
famous _iurisconsultus_. C. 61 celebrates the marriage of L. Manlius
Torquatus (who was praetor B.C. 49) and Vinia Aurunculeia. Several
poems are addressed to brother poets; c. 35 is to Caecilius of Novum
Comum; c. 38 to Cornificius, a writer of slight love poems (Ovid,
_Trist._ ii. 436) who died B.C. 41; c. 95 is on Cinna's _Zmyrna_; cc.
14, 50, and 96 are addressed to C. Licinius Calvus; c. 56 to Valerius
Cato (see above); c. 65 to Hortensius Ortalus, who asked Catullus to
translate Callimachus; c. 1, and possibly c. 102, to Cornelius Nepos.
_Catullus' longer poems._--These, unlike the shorter personal poems,
are mostly due to Alexandrian influence, to which Catullus may have
been introduced by his teacher, Valerius Cato. To these poems Catullus
owes his title _doctus_ (Tibull. iii. 6, 41; Martial, i. 62, 1, etc.).
They include: c. 66, 'coma Berenices,' from Callimachus; cf. c. 65,
ll. 15-6,
'Sed tamen in tantis maeroribus, Ortale, mitto
haec expressa tibi carmina Battiadae';
c. 68 to Allius, also Alexandrian; c. 64, the 'Nuptials of Peleus and
Thetis,' l. 30 of which,
'Oceanusque, mari totum qui amplectitur orbem,'
is from Euphorion, fr. 158 (Meineke), +Okeanos, tô pasa
perirrytos endedetai chthôn+; c. 63, the 'Attis' in Galliambic metre;
c. 62, a translation of a Sapphic epithalamium. C. 51, and possibly
some parts of c. 61, are from Sappho. Catullus was the first Roman to
use the Sapphic measure (in cc. 11 and 51).
_Publication of the Poems._--From the arrangement of the poems, which
accords neither with chronology nor with subjects, and from the large
number of lines extant (2286), which does not suit _libellus_ (c. i.
1), it is highly probable that they were not left by Catullus as we
find them. C. 2, beginning 'Passer, deliciae meae puellae,' was the
first of a series of short poems. Cf. Martial, iv. 14, 13,
'Sic forsan tener ausus est Catullus
magno mittere passerem Maroni';[37]
the book being named from its first word, like _Arma virumque_ of the
_Aeneid_. C. 1 (to Cornelius Nepos) is the first of another series of
short pieces (cf. the epithet _nugae_ in l. 4). Catullus doubtless
published his larger pieces together. The traditional arrangement, due
to a later hand, is as follows: (1) The lyric poems in various metres;
(2) the larger poems and the elegies; (3) the shorter poems written in
elegiacs. Catullus began to be popular as soon as his works were
published; cf. Nep. _Att._ 12, 4 (quoted p. 124). He is imitated in
the _Priapea_, in Ovid, in Ausonius, in the _Ciris_, in Martial, etc.
C. 4 is closely parodied in Verg. _Catal._ 8.
CONTEMPORARY POETS:
(_a_) _Ticidas_ wrote the Hymenaeus and love-poems on Perilla. For the
latter cf. Ovid, _Trist._ ii. 433-4 and 437-8 (read by Riese
immediately after),
'Quid referam Ticidae, quid Memmi carmen, apud quos
rebus adest nomen nominibusque pudor,
et quorum libris modo dissimulata Perillae
nomine nunc legitur dicta, Metelle, tuo?'
(_b_) _C. Helvius Cinna_ was intimate with Catullus, who refers to him
in c. 10 as being along with him in Bithynia in B.C. 57. See p. 136.
From the reference to Gallia Cisalpina in Cinna, frag. I (Bährens), we
might conclude that he was a countryman of Catullus,
'At nunc me Cenumana per salicta
bigis raeda rapit citata nanis.'
In Sueton. _Iul._ 52, Cinna is spoken of as a partisan of Caesar:
'Helvius Cinna tribunus plebis,' etc.; and he is probably identical
with the person mentioned _ibid._ 85, as put to death in mistake for a
man of the same name shortly after the murder of Caesar: 'Plebs statim
a funere ad domum Bruti et Cassii cum facibus tetendit, atque aegre
repulsa, obvium sibi Helvium Cinnam per errorem nominis, quasi
Cornelius is esset, quem graviter pridie contionatum de Caesare
requirebat, occidit caputque eius praefixum hastae circumtulit.'
Cf. especially Plutarch, _Brut._ 20, +ên de tis Kinnas,
poiêtikos anêr, ouden tês aitias metechôn, alla kai philos Kaisaros
gegonôs+, etc.[38]
Weichert (_Poet. Lat. Rell._ p. 157) thinks that Plutarch has confused
the tr. pleb. with the poet, and that Virgil's words (below) imply
that Helvius Cinna was alive when the _Eclogue_ was written (B.C.
41-39). The latest authorities, however, identify the two persons.
Verg. _Ecl._ 9, 35,
'Nam neque adhuc Vario videor nec dicere Cinna
digna, sed argutos inter strepere anser[39] olores.'
Cinna's works were:
1. _Zmyrna_, on the incestuous love of Myrrha for Cinyras. Cinna spent
nine years on this poem, which was very obscure. Catull. 95,
'Zmyrna mei Cinnae nonam post denique messem
quam coeptast nonamque edita post hiemem.'
Philargyrius ad Verg. _Ecl._ 9, 35, 'Fuit autem liber obscurus adeo ut
et nonnulli eius aetatis grammatici in eum scripserint magnamque ex
eius enarratione sint gloriam consecuti.'
2. _Propempticon Pollionis_, written on the occasion of Asinius
Pollio's visit to Greece.
3. _Epigrams and Love Poems._--For the latter cf. Ovid, _Trist._ ii.
435 (on the erotic poets),
'Cinna quoque his comes est, Cinnaque procacior Anser,
et leve Cornifici parque Catonis opus.'
(_c_) _C. Licinius Macer Calvus_ was the son of the annalist C.
Licinius Macer, and was born 28th May, B.C. 82.
Cic. _ad Q.F._ ii. 4, 1, 'Macer Licinius.'
Valer. Max. ix. 12, 7, 'C. Licinius Macer, Calvi pater.'
Pliny, _N.H._ vii. 165, 'C. Mario Cn. Carbone iii. coss. a. d. v. Kal.
Iun. M. Caelius Rufus et C. Licinius Calvus eadem die geniti sunt.'
Calvus probably died B.C. 47. Cf. Cic. _ad Fam._ xv. 21, 4, written to
C. Trebonius towards the end of that year. The letter refers to
correspondence with Calvus, and criticizes his oratory.
See also Cic. _Brut._ 279 and 283-4; and, for his relations with
Cicero, Tac. _Dial._ 18. Calvus vied with Cicero for the first place
in the forum. His best known speeches were _in Vatinium_, whom he
prosecuted at least three times (B.C. 58-54).
Seneca, _Controv._ vii. 4, 6-8, 'Calvus, qui diu cum Cicerone
iniquissimam litem de principatu eloquentiae habuit, usque eo
violentus actor et concitatus fuit, ut in media eius actione surgeret
Vatinius reus et exclamaret: Rogo vos, iudices, num si iste disertus
est, ideo me damnari oportet? Idem postea cum videret a clientibus
Catonis, rei sui, Pollionem Asinium circumventum in foro caedi, imponi
se supra cippum iussit; erat enim parvolus statura, propter quod etiam
Catullus in hendecasyllabis (c. 53) vocat illum "salaputtium
disertum." ... Solebat praeterea excedere subsellia sua et impetu
latus usque in adversariorum partem transcurrere. Et carmina quoque
eius, quamvis iocosa sint, plena sunt ingentis animi ... Compositio
quoque eius in actionibus ad exemplum Demosthenis riget: nihil in illa
placidum, nihil lene est, omnia excitata et fluctuantia.'
Catullus also refers to Calvus in c. 14, and in c. 96, where he speaks
of the 'mors immatura Quintiliae,' probably Calvus' wife.
Of the poems about nineteen lines are extant. They included: (1)
_ludicra_ (in hendecasyllables); (2) _epithalamia_; (3) _Io_; (4) _ad
uxorem_; (5) _epigrammata_. For the last cf. Sueton. _Iul._ 73, 'C.
Calvo post famosa epigrammata de reconciliatione per amicos agenti
ultro ac prior scripsit.' (6) 'Calvi de aquae frigidae usu,' which
forms the title of Martial xiv. 196, may have been a didactic poem.
Other references to Calvus' poetry are: Ovid, _Trist._ ii. 431,
'Par fuit exigui similisque licentia Calvi,
detexit variis qui sua furta modis';
Propert. iii. 34, 89,
'Haec etiam docti confessast pagina Calvi
cum caneret miserae funera Quintiliae';
Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 16,
'Illi, scripta quibus comoedia prisca viris est,
hoc stabant, hoc sunt imitandi: quos neque pulcher
Hermogenes umquam legit, neque simius iste
nil praeter Calvum et doctus cantare Catullum.'
(_d_) _P. Terentius Varro Atacinus_ was born B.C. 82 in Gallia
Narbonensis near Atax (a river, not a town, as Jerome states).
Jerome yr. Abr. 1935 = B.C. 82, 'P. Terentius Varro vico Atace in
provincia Narbonensi nascitur; qui postea xxxv. annum agens Graecas
litteras cum summo studio didicit.'
Porphyr. ad Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 46, 'Terentius Varro Narbonensis, qui
Atacinus ab Atace fluvio dictus est.'
Varro must have died before B.C. 35, when Horace, speaking of satire,
wrote, _Sat._ i. 10, 46,
'Hoc erat, experto frustra Varrone Atacino
atque quibusdam aliis melius quod scribere possem.'
Varro's works were:
1. _Bellum Sequanicum_, probably an epic on Caesar's war with
Ariovistus in B.C. 58.
2. _Saturae_, mentioned only in the above passage of Horace.
3. _Argonautae_, a translation from Apollonius Rhodius in four Books.
Probus ad Verg. _Georg._ ii. 126, 'Varro qui quattuor libros de
Argonautis edidit.'
Cf. Sen. _Controv._ vii. 1, 27, 'Illos optimos versus Varronis (=
Apoll. iii. 749-50),
"Desierant latrare canes urbesque silebant;
omnia noctis erant placida composta quiete."
Solebat Ovidius de his versibus dicere, potuisse fieri longe meliores,
si secundi versus ultima pars abscideretur et sic desineret "omnia
noctis erant."'[40]
Cf. also Quint. x. 1, 87; Ovid, _Am._ i. 15, 21; Stat. _Silv._ ii. 7,
77.
4. _Chorographia_, a geographical work, as the fragments show.
5. _Ephemeris_.--Serv. ad Verg. _Georg._ i. 375, 'Hic locus omnis de
Varrone est; nam et Varro et Vergilius Aratum secuti sunt.'
6. _Elegies._--One line is given by Bährens. Cf. Propert. iii. 34, 85,
'Haec quoque perfecto ludebat Iasone Varro,
Varro Leucadiae maxima flamma suae.'
(_e_) _Publilius Syrus_ was a manumitted slave, a native of Syria,
probably of Antioch.
Jerome yr. Abr. 1974 = B.C. 43, 'Publilius mimographus natione Syrus
Romae scaenam tenet.'
Pliny, _N.H._ xxxv. 199, 'Est et vilissima [creta] qua circum
praeducere ad victoriae notam pedesque venalium trans maria advectorum
denotare instituerunt maiores talemque Publilium Antiochium (MSS.
lochium) mimicae scaenae conditorem et astrologiae consobrinum eius
Manilium Antiochum, item grammaticae Staberium Erotem eadem nave
advectos videre proavi.'
An account of Publilius' manumission, and his contest with Laberius in
B.C. 45, is given by Macrob. _Saturn._ ii. 7, 4-8, and is quoted under
'Laberius,' p. 97.
Publilius' works were:
1. _Mimi._--Two titles are quoted.
2. _Sententiae._--Six hundred and ninety-seven lines from his mimes
(unconnected and alphabetically arranged) are preserved from different
sources. Most are iambic senarii, some trochaic septenarii.
Macrob. _Saturn._ ii. 7, 10, 'Publili sententiae feruntur lepidae et
ad communem usum adcommodatissimae.'
Cicero heard his and Laberius' plays in B.C. 46. See _ad Fam._ xii.
18, 2, quoted under 'Laberius,' p. 99.
Sen. _de tranquill._ 11, 8, 'Publilius, tragicis comicisque
vehementior ingeniis, quotiens mimicas ineptias et verba ad summam
caveam spectantia reliquit, inter multa alia cothurno, non tantum
sipario fortiora, et hoc ait,
"Cuivis potest accidere quod cuiquam potest."'
The lines are, like the above, proverbs of worldly wisdom, and seem to
have been used in schools.
Jerome _Ep. ad Laetam_, 107, 'Legi quondam in scholis puer,
"Aegre reprendas quod sinas consuescere."'
Footnotes to Chapter II
[25] Q. Hortensius Hortalus (B.C. 114-50), Cicero's rival as an
orator, and author of _Annales_ (Vell. ii. 16, 3), a _Rhetoric_
(Quint. ii. 1, 11), and love poems (Ovid _Tr._ ii. 441).
[26] According to _ad Att._ ii. 1, 3 (if genuine), Cicero intended to
publish speeches 9-11 in a collection of 'orationes consulares' ('Hoc
totum +sôma+ curabo ut habeas').
[27] _R.H._ iv. 311 (note).
[28] Q. Asconius Pedianus (A.D. 3-88), probably a native of Padua,
author of a commentary on Cicero's speeches. The extant part is on
_Pro Cornelio de maiestate_, _In toga candida_, _In Pisonem_, _Pro
Scauro_, and _Pro Milone_. The commentary on the Verrines and Divinatio,
which deals almost exclusively with the language, is spurious: the true
Asconius confines himself to the subject-matter.
[29] The Epicurean philosophy was expounded in the writings of C.
Amafinius, Rabirius, and T. Catius, whose opinions and literary style
were alike distasteful to Cicero (_Ac._ i. 5; _ad. Fam._ xv. 19, 2).
[30] F. Ritschl, _Opuscula_, iii., p. 525.
[31] L. Schwabe, _Quaest. Catull._, p. 296. B. Schmidt, however (ed.
of Catullus, p. 57), thinks that the _Chronica_ are not referred to
here.
[32] A life of Lucretius has been recently discovered by J. Masson
(_Journal of Philology_, xxiii. 46), which was written by Girolamo
Borgia in 1502. It gives B.C. 95-51 as the poet's dates. Several new
points were supposed to lend it a claim to authority, such as the
statement that he was 'matre natus diu sterili.' This, however, has
been shown to rest on a wrong reading of Q. Serenus Sammonicus' _Liber
Medicinalis_, xxxii., in a passage dealing with the barrenness of
women, 'hoc poterit magni quartus [liber] monstrare Lucreti,' where
_partus_, the reading of the oldest edition, was used. This, and other
considerations, show that the _vita_ does not rest on any ancient
sources, beyond those which are still extant.
[33] Memmius wrote love poems (Ovid, _Tr._ ii. 433).
[34] Some ascribe these stories to Lenaeus, a freedman of Pompey,
Sueton. _Gramm._ 15.
[35] Only inferior MSS. give Q., and the reading in c. 67, 12, 'verum
istud populi, fabula, Quinte, facit,' is not to be accepted.
[36] Some critics, without sufficient proof, identify Volusius with
the inferior poet Tanusius Geminus.
[37] Martial, of course, has here forgotten his dates.
[38] The incident has been borrowed from Plutarch by Shakespeare,
_Julius Caesar_, Act iii. Scene 3.
[39] See p. 184.
[40] This appears to us to be an indirect proof that the half lines in
Virgil are often complete as they stand.