Chapter 59

ministerii locum. Finita equestri militia designatus quaestor necdum senator aequatus senatoribus, etiam designatis tribunis plebei, partem exercitus ab urbe traditi ab Augusto perduxi ad filium eius. In quaestura deinde remissa sorte provinciae legatus eiusdem ad eumdem missus sum.'

In A.D. 9 Velleius served in Dalmatia (ii. 115, 5), afterwards spending two years in Germany (ii. 104, 3 above). In the winter of A.D. 12-13 he took part in the triumph of Tiberius: ii. 121, 2, 'Ex Pannoniis Delmatisque egit triumphum ... quem mihi fratrique meo inter praecipuos praecipuisque donis adornatos viros comitari contigit.'

Velleius was praetor-elect in A.D. 14: ii. 124, 4, 'Quo tempore mihi fratrique meo, candidatis Caesaris, proxime a nobilissimis ac sacerdotalibus viris destinari praetoribus contigit, consecutis ut neque post nos quemquam divus Augustus neque ante nos Caesar commendaret Tiberius.'

The publication of his history, sixteen years later, is the only circumstance recorded of Velleius after this date.

The _Historia Romana_, in two Books, was published A.D. 30, in the consulship of M. Vinicius, to whom the book is addressed (i. 8, 1, and often). The beginning of Book i. is lost; the first eight chapters in our text are occupied with a rapid survey of the history of Greece since the Trojan war, the Phoenician settlements in the Mediterranean, and the chief events in the history of the world before the foundation of Rome. C. 8 breaks off at the rape of the Sabine women, and there is a great lacuna before we reach, in c. 9, the defeat of Perseus at Pydna in B.C. 168. Ch. 9-13 carry the narrative down to the destruction of Carthage and Corinth. Book ii. commences at that point, and ends with the death of Livia, A.D. 29 (ii. 130, 5, 'cuius temporis aegritudinem auxit amissa mater').

Velleius is constantly calling attention to the brevity and compression of his treatment, in such phrases as 'omnia transcursu dicenda' (ii. 55), 'artatum opus' (ii. 86), 'recisum opus' (ii. 89). Much that the plan of his book compels him to omit, he promises to publish later in a larger work, _e.g._ ii. 99, 3, 'iusto servemus operi,' ii. 114, 4, 'iustis voluminibus ordine narrabimus.' Even as it is, he occasionally pauses to describe a great character (ii. 41, Caesar), or to express his personal opinion (ii. 66, 3, denunciation of Antony for Cicero's murder). Specially noticeable are the digressions on the Roman colonies (i. 14-15) and provinces (ii. 38-39), on the prominence of different types of genius at certain epochs (i. 16-18), and on literary history (ii. 9, the chief writers of the time of the Gracci; ii. 36, of the Ciceronian and Augustan ages; i. 5, praise of Homer; i. 7, of Hesiod). As is natural in so short a book, Velleius names very few authorities.

The motive of the history is evidently the glorification of the author's old general, Tiberius, whose actual reign, however, he dismisses in eight chapters. Probably he felt the subject too risky, and devoted his strength to the earlier life of Tiberius, which occupies the greater part even of the chapters nominally devoted to the reign of Augustus (ii. 59-123). Tiberius is spoken of throughout in terms of unqualified praise, and no hint is given of the darker side of his character. Seianus also is extolled (ii. 127-8), as he was in high favour at the time when Velleius wrote.

VALERIUS MAXIMUS.

Nothing is known of the life of Valerius Maximus beyond the fact that he visited Asia in company with Sex. Pompeius, the friend of Ovid and of Germanicus. Pompeius was consul A.D. 14, and between A.D. 27 and 30 became proconsul of Asia.

Val. Max. ii. 6, 8, 'Consuetudinem ... illam etiam in insula Cea servari animadverti, quo tempore Asiam cum Sex. Pompeio petens Iulidem oppidum intravi.'

Valerius dwells on his obligations to Pompeius in his chapter on friendship (iv. 7, _ext._ 2).

His sole work, _Facta et Dicta Memorabilia_, in nine books, is a collection of notable incidents and sayings, classified under appropriate headings, for the convenience of speakers seeking illustrations for their subject-matter. Cf. the preface, 'Urbis Romae exterarumque gentium facta simul ac dicta memoratu digna, quae apud alios latius diffusa sunt quam ut breviter cognosci possint, ab illustribus electa auctoribus digerere constitui, ut documenta sumere volentibus longae inquisitionis labor absit.'

The _illustres auctores_ from whom he draws most of his material are Livy, Cicero (each mentioned only once), Sallust, and Trogus; but thirteen Latin and twenty Greek authors are mentioned by name. He frequently misrepresents his authorities.

Each book is divided into chapters on separate topics (_e.g._ _De Pudicitia_), under each of which he gives (1) illustrations from Roman history, (2) those from the history of other nations. The latter of course are few in comparison.

Although Iulius Paris, the epitomizer of Valerius, speaks of ten books, only nine are extant, and it may be doubted whether there ever was a tenth. Book i. is mutilated.

There are only two passages which throw any light on the date of composition--viii. 11, _ext._ 4, a denunciation of Seianus, obviously written after his fall in A.D. 31; and vi. 1 praef., before the death of Livia, A.D. 29. The work was published at latest in A.D. 37, for it is dedicated to Tiberius, who is the object of the most servile flattery (_e.g._ ii. 9, 6); similar language is used of Iulius Caesar (iv. 5, 6), and Augustus (i. 7, 1), while Brutus and Cassius are denounced as parricides (i. 5, 7; i. 8, 8).

Two abridgments of Valerius Maximus are extant.

CELSUS.

Of the life of Celsus nothing is known; but he was an older contemporary of Columella. Colum. iii. 17, 4, 'Iulius Atticus et Cornelius Celsus, aetatis nostrae celeberrimi auctores, patrem atque filium Sasernam secuti.'

He wrote an encyclopaedic work on agriculture, medicine, war, rhetoric, and philosophy, but only the section on medicine is extant.

Quint. xi. 12, 24, 'Cum etiam Cornelius Celsus, mediocri vir ingenio, non solum de his omnibus conscripserit artibus sed amplius rei militaris et rusticae et medicinae praecepta reliquerit.'

The first part consisted of five books on agriculture: cf. Colum. i. 1, 14, 'Cornelius totum corpus disciplinae quinque libris complexus est.' This section of the work was probably written in the reign of Tiberius, for it was known to Iulius Graecinus, whose execution took place under Caligula. Plin. _N.H._ xiv. 33, 'Graecinus, qui alioqui Cornelium Celsum transcripsit.'

There are eight books _De Re Medica_. The only indication of their date is in iv. 7, where Celsus mentions a prescription as not found 'in monumentis medicorum.' As this prescription is given by Scribonius Largus, who wrote about A.D. 47, Celsus must have written before that year.

The section on war was used by Vegetius (_De Re Mil._ i. 8).

Rhetoric was also treated in the encyclopaedia. Quintilian, who mentions him as one of the more careful writers on that subject (iii. 1, 21, 'accuratius scripsit Celsus'), frequently combats his opinions and speaks of him rather contemptuously: _e.g._ ix. 1, 18, 'Cornelius Celsus nimia profecto novitatis cupidine ductus. Nam quis ignorasse eruditum alioqui virum credat,' etc. He may be the Celsus of Juv. 6, 245, who (according to the Scholiast) wrote a manual of rhetoric in seven books.

There were also six books on the history of philosophy. Augustine _de haeres. prol._, 'Opiniones omnium philosophorum qui sectas varias condiderunt usque ad tempora sua vi. non parvis voluminibus quidam Celsus absolvit; nec redarguit aliquem, sed tantum quid sentirent aperuit. Cum ferme centum philosophos nominasset,' etc.

Celsus also wrote separate treatises (1) on philosophy, Quint. x. 1, 24, 'Scripsit non parum multa Cornelius Celsus, Sextios secutus, non sine cultu ac nitore'; (2) on strategy (Lydus _de mag._ i. 47).

PHAEDRUS.

The title of Phaedrus' work, 'Phaedri Augusti liberti fabularum Aesopiarum libri,' probably means that he was a freedman of Augustus. Tiberius is called 'Caesar Tiberius' in ii. 6, 7; contrast the reference to Augustus, iii. 10, 39, 'a divo Augusto.' Phaedrus was born in Thrace, possibly in the district of Pieria; but the date is unknown; iii. prol. 17,

'Ego, quem Pierio mater enixa est iugo, in quo tonanti sancta Mnemosyne Iovi fecunda novies artium peperit chorum';

_ibid._ 54,

'Ego, litteratae qui sum propior Graeciae, cur somno inerti deseram patriae decus? Threissa cum gens numeret auctores suos, Linoque Apollo sit parens, Musa Orpheo.'

Some wrongly take these allusions to mean that he belongs to the realm of poesy. That he came to Rome early is shown by the knowledge of Latin literature he acquired in his boyhood. Cf. iii. epil. 33, where he quotes Ennius,

'Ego, quondam legi quam puer sententiam, "Palam mutire plebeio piaculum est," dum sanitas constabit, pulchre meminero.'

After publishing two books of fables, Phaedrus was persecuted by Seianus, in some way unknown; iii. prol. 38,

'Ego porro illius [Aesopi] semita feci viam, et cogitavi plura quam reliquerat, in calamitatem deligens quaedam meam. Quod si accusator alius Seiano foret, si testis alius, index alius denique, dignum faterer esse me tantis malis.'

This persecution may have arisen from references in his fables, such as i. 1 (Lupus et agnus), l. 14,

'Haec propter illos scripta est homines fabula, qui fictis causis innocentes opprimunt';

i. 6 (Ranae ad solem), which Nisard[73] thinks refers to the ambitious marriage which Seianus projected with Livia, daughter of Germanicus, 'The sun dries up the ponds; what will happen if the sun marries and has children?' l. 9,

'Quidnam futurum est, si crearit liberos?'

Phaedrus survived the attacks made on him, and Book v. was written in his old age (see below).

Several personal points are clear from his writings:

(1) He had to meet the attacks of critics; ii. epil. 10,

'Si livor obtrectare curam voluerit, non tamen eripiet laudis conscientiam.'

(2) His desire for fame and his self-consciousness; iii. prol. 60,

'Ergo hinc abesto livor, ne frustra gemas, quoniam sollemnis mihi debetur gloria.'

(3) His contempt for money; iii. prol. 21,

'Curamque habendi penitus corde eraserim';