Category: Encyclopedias/Dictionaries/Reference

The Student's Companion to Latin Authors

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.

Chapters

86. Chapter 86

Fonteius Capito and C. Iulius Rufus were consuls A.D. 67, in which year the sexagenarian friend whom Juvenal addresses was born. The date of writing will therefore be A.D. 127.[...

92. Chapter 92

*Juvenal.* L. Friedländer, Leip. '95 A. Weidner, Leip. '89 XIII. Satires, J. E. B. Mayor, Lond. '93 " C. H. Pearson and H. A. Strong, Oxf. '92 " E. G. Hardy, Lond. '95

28. Chapter 28

According to Jerome, Bibaculus was born B.C. 103, but, as he laughs at the old age of the grammarian Orbilius (114-c. 17 B.C.), authorities put the date twenty years later.

68. Chapter 68

_Rhetorical treatment_ is seen in (1) the vast amount of hyperbole employed; cf. the account of the siege of Massilia, iii. 538-762; (2) the geographical and mythological learni...

61. Chapter 61

L. Annaeus Seneca, the son of Annaeus Seneca, the rhetor, was born at Corduba in Spain. For information about his family see under 'Seneca the elder,' pp. 226-7. He was probably...

11. Chapter 11

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. T...

24. Chapter 24

M. Tullius Cicero, the son of a Roman knight, was born at Arpinum on 3rd January, B.C. 106. Jerome yr. Abr. 1911, 'M. Tullius Cicero Arpini nascitur matre Helvia, patre equestri...

62. Chapter 62

sustinetur, ruit. Proinde iure meritoque populus Romanus salutem se principi suo debere profitetur, qui noctis, quam paene supremam habuimus, novum sidus inluxit. Huius hercule,...

57. Chapter 57

In dealing with the legendary period he admits that his narrative has no trustworthy foundation, and gives it merely for what it is worth: Praef. 6, 'Quae ante conditam condenda...

26. Chapter 26

scripseras, totam Academiam ab hominibus nobilissimis abstuli transtulique ad nostrum sodalem et ex duobus libris contuli in quattuor'). Of this second edition in four Books we...

43. Chapter 43

iii. 3 touches intimately the political questions of the day. Pointed reference is made to Cleopatra; she is the _mulier peregrina_ (l. 20), the _Lacaena adultera_ (l. 25), who...

81. Chapter 81

quis eos antiquitatis nimius admirator in Graccorum Catonisque et aliorum similium lectione durescere velit ... Alterum, quod huic diversum est, ne recentis huius lasciviae flos...

38. Chapter 38

Donatus, 'Cui [Augusto] multo post perfectaque demum materia tres omnino libros recitavit, secundum quartum sextum, sed hunc notabili Octaviae adfectione, quae cum recitationi i...

23. Chapter 23

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...

36. Chapter 36

Our chief authority for the life of Virgil, apart from his own writings and those of his contemporaries, is Donatus, whose work is probably based on Suetonius' _De Poetis_. Dona...

22. Chapter 22

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....

35. Chapter 35

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....

69. Chapter 69

The full name of Silius is got from an inscription (_C.I.L._ vi. 1984), and is Ti. Catius Silius Italicus. Our chief information about his life is found in Pliny, _Epist._ iii....

50. Chapter 50

He had been introduced to Maecenas after the publication of his first Book, but naturally was not on such intimate terms with him as older men like Virgil and Horace were. ii. 1...

27. Chapter 27

establish Caesar's veterans in Campania: Plin. _N.H._ vii. 176, 'Varro auctor est xx. viro se agros dividente Capuae,' etc. He also held the office of tribune (Gell. xiii. 12, 6...

59. Chapter 59

ministerii locum. Finita equestri militia designatus quaestor necdum senator aequatus senatoribus, etiam designatis tribunis plebei, partem exercitus ab urbe traditi ab Augusto...

21. Chapter 21

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. Val...

19. Chapter 19

Jerome yr. Abr. 1838 = B.C. 179, 'Statius Caecilius comoediarum scriptor clarus habetur, natione Insuber Gallus et Ennii primum contubernalis. Quidam Mediolanensem ferunt. Mortu...

32. Chapter 32

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 d...

53. Chapter 53

The work is thus a medley of religion, history, and astrology, and in its explanations of customs may be compared to the +Aitia+ of Callimachus. For information about religious...

31. Chapter 31

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 ha...

34. Chapter 34

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 aga...

51. Chapter 51

He sought no higher office, having neither strength nor inclination for the Senate; he assumed the narrow stripe of the _eques_, and devoted himself to poetry and pleasure. _Tr....

49. Chapter 49

The remarkable coincidence between iii. 5, 15-20, and Ovid, _A.A._ ii. 669-70, _Tr._ iv. 10, 6, _Amor._ ii. 14, 23-4, is best explained by Hiller (_Hermes_, xviii. 360-1), who s...

5. Chapter 5

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.

6. Chapter 6

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...

52. Chapter 52

'Carmina cum primum populo iuvenilia legi, barba resecta mihi bisve semelve fuit. Moverat ingenium totam cantata per urbem nomine non vero dicta Corinna mihi. Multa quidem scrip...

55. Chapter 55

exposui.' The division into decades (_i.e._ sets of ten Books) is first mentioned towards the end of the fifth century; it is merely a conventional arrangement, the subject-matt...

77. Chapter 77

Some are tell-tale names, as Vetustilla, 'an old woman,' iii. 93; Dento, 'a gourmand,' v. 45; Eulogus, 'a herald,' vi. 8; but the same names, _e.g._ Zoilus, are often used to de...

41. Chapter 41

offence, and in _Sat._ i. 10 he gives reasons for his former criticism. Horace's Epicureanism is more pronounced in Book i. than in Book ii. In _Sat._ i. 1 and i. 3 (cf. ll. 99-...

40. Chapter 40

time. We have references to Actium (B.C. 31), as in _Sat._ ii. 5, 63; and _Sat._ ii. 1 (written last) speaks of Augustus (ll. 11-15) as the hero in war, not yet the bringer of p...

37. Chapter 37

Mantua, while in ll. 39-43 a Sicilian scene is introduced from Theocritus. The lofty mountains, _e.g._ 1, 84, are Sicilian, and so are many of the trees, as chestnut and pine, w...

29. Chapter 29

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....

18. Chapter 18

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...

87. Chapter 87

Pro Caecina, C. A. Jordan, Leip. '47 De Imp. Cn. Pompei, A. S. Wilkins, Lond. '94 Pro Cluentio, W. and G. G. Ramsay, Oxf. '89 Pro Cluentio, W. Y. Fausset, Lond. '88 De Lege Agra...

10. Chapter 10

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, an...

4. Chapter 4

Velleius Paterculus, 231; Valerius Maximus, 234; Celsus, 235; Phaedrus, 237; Seneca the Younger, 240; Curtius Rufus, 256; Columella, 258; Pomponius Mela, 259; Persius, 260; Luca...

20. Chapter 20

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...

7. Chapter 7

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 idci...

54. Chapter 54

Quint. ii. 5, 20, 'quemadmodum Livius praecipit' (on models of style); Sen. _Contr._ ix. 2, 26, 'Livius de oratoribus ... aiebat' (on obscurity of expression); Sen. _Contr._ ix....

72. Chapter 72

Later he had a house of his own (ix. 18, 2, etc.), and mentions his slaves (i. 101; v. 34, etc.). That he was still poor in A.D. 98 is evident from Pliny, _Ep._ iii. 21, 2, 'Pro...

78. Chapter 78

Quintilian married late in life. His wife died at the age of eighteen, his younger son soon afterwards at the age of five, the elder one subsequently at the age of nine.

70. Chapter 70

The failure of Piso's conspiracy in A.D. 65 and the consequent downfall of the Senecas must have affected Martial's position. In A.D. 96 Martial addresses as his patroness Argen...

88. Chapter 88

*Sallust.* Cat. and Iug., W. W. Capes, Oxf. '89 Cat. and Iug., C. Merivale, Lond. '84 Cat. and Iug., (and frags. of Hist.), R. Jacobs and H. Wirz, Berl. '94 Cat., A. M. Cook, Lo...

8. Chapter 8

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,...

71. Chapter 71

Martial is unsparing in his flattery of Domitian and his freedmen. Cf. ix. 79, iv. 45, of Parthenius, the emperor's chamberlain; vii. 99, viii. 48, of Crispinus, the emperor's f...

56. Chapter 56

auctorem habui'; xxi. 38, 3, 'L. Cincius Alimentus, qui captum se ab Hannibale scribit, maxime auctor moveret.' Criticism of his authorities is most conspicuous in the case of V...

79. Chapter 79

to the young princes, who are mentioned along with Geta and Quintilian's elder son; Book vi. prooem. was written not long afterwards, and refers to his bereavements; in Book xii...

58. Chapter 58

C.[72] Velleius Paterculus was born at latest B.C. 19, as he was quaestor-elect A.D. 6. He was descended from a distinguished family in Campania (Vell. ii. 16, 2; Liv. xxiii. 7...

60. Chapter 60

There are, besides the five Books, thirty fables usually printed as an appendix, and probably composed by Phaedrus. The fables are all in 'impure' iambic senarii, like those of...

45. Chapter 45

Tibullus was on friendly terms with Horace, who addressed to him _Od._ i. 33 and _Ep._ i. 4. Horace was doubtless attracted by the frank nature of Tibullus (_Ep._ i. 4, 1, 'Albi...

44. Chapter 44

Delia's real name was Plania (+dêlos+ = _planus_): cf. Apuleius, _Apol._ 10, 'eadem igitur opera accusent ... Tibullum quod ei sit Plania in animo Delia in versu.' She was a _li...

90. Chapter 90

80. Chapter 80

satisfeceram huic parti, nihil eorum, quae legi vel didici, quod modo probabile fuit, omittendo; sed eruere in animo est, quae latent, et penitus ipsa huius loci aperire penetra...

91. Chapter 91

*Pliny the Elder.* L. van Jan and Mayhoff (text), Leip. '75-92 J. Sillig, Hamburg, '51-58 J. Hardouin, Paris, 1723 D. Detlefsen (crit.), Berl, '66-82 (Selections) Chrestomathia...

39. Chapter 39

to Maecenas in the spring of B.C. 38. Now all the references to Maecenas, with the exception of the prologue in _Sat._ 1 (written last), are in the second half of the book, ther...

33. Chapter 33

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 gove...

76. Chapter 76

In iv. 55, 3, Arpi is given as Cicero's birthplace; in v. 30, 2, etc., Calabria instead of Apulia is given as Horace's native district. Catullus is Martial's chief model for hen...

12. Chapter 12

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....

42. Chapter 42

institutions of Augustus: (1) the professional soldier as opposed to the citizen-soldier of the republic. The officers were taken from the two privileged classes, and there was...

48. Chapter 48

of that name is mentioned in ancient literature, and it has been suggested that the author may have been a young relative of Tibullus who used a Greek adaptation of the gentile...

74. Chapter 74

_Martial's Models._--His manner is very original, but some of his motives are taken from Greek epigrammatists, especially from Lucillius, who flourished under Nero. Thus iv. 53...

17. Chapter 17

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 Macrobi...

66. Chapter 66

64. Chapter 64

'Non quia te superi patrio privare sepulchro maluerint, Phariae busto damnantur harenae: parcitur Hesperiae; procul hoc et in orbe remoto abscondat fortuna nefas, Romanaque tell...

85. Chapter 85

eulogized in 7, 1-35. Dürr thinks it probable that 7, 36-243, was written under Trajan, and that the introduction, in praise of Hadrian, was written afterwards. This is also Fri...

25. Chapter 25

Lucullus, Catulus, Hortensius, and Cicero, and the scene, Hortensius' villa. Cicero was not satisfied with this arrangement (_ad Att._ xiii. 12, 3, 'homines nobiles illi quidem,...

67. Chapter 67

The gods are not introduced as chief agents; cf. the censure of Petronius quoted below. Lucan prides himself on despising the gods, and substitutes for them his favourite divini...

30. Chapter 30

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 f...

13. Chapter 13

82. Chapter 82

46. Chapter 46

1. Chapter 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...

2. Chapter 2

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; Sallus...

73. Chapter 73

84. Chapter 84

'instantem regi Armenio Parthoque cometen,' refers to a comet seen at Rome in November A.D. 115; and 6, 411, 'nutare urbes, subsidere terras,' to the earthquake at Antioch, 13th...

47. Chapter 47

written several years later. It is unfinished, not having received the author's final revision, and was probably published soon after his death, certainly several years before O...

65. Chapter 65

3. Chapter 3

9. Chapter 9

16. Chapter 16

83. Chapter 83

14. Chapter 14

15. Chapter 15

63. Chapter 63

75. Chapter 75

89. Chapter 89