LIVES OF EMINENT GRAMMARIANS
I. The science of grammar 842 was in ancient times far from being in vogue at Rome;
indeed, it was of little use in a rude state of society, when the people were
engaged in constant wars, and had not much time to bestow on the cultivation of
the liberal arts 843. At the outset, its pretensions were very slender, for
the earliest men of learning, who were both poets and orators, may be considered
as half-Greek: I speak of Livius 844 and Ennius 845, who are acknowledged to have taught both languages as
well at Rome as in foreign parts 846. But they (507) only translated from the Greek, and if
they composed anything of their own in Latin, it was only from what they had
before read. For although there are those who say that this Ennius published two
books, one on "Letters and Syllables," and the other on "Metres," Lucius Cotta
has satisfactorily proved that they are not the works of the poet Ennius, but of
another writer of the same name, to whom also the treatise on the "Rules of
Augury" is attributed.
II. Crates of Mallos 847, then, was, in our opinion, the first who introduced
the study of grammar at Rome. He was cotemporary with Aristarchus 848, and having been sent by king Attalus as envoy to the
senate in the interval between the second and third Punic wars 849, soon after the death of Ennius 850, he had the misfortune to fall into an open sewer in
the Palatine quarter of the city, and broke his leg. After which, during the
whole period of his embassy and convalescence, he gave frequent lectures, taking
much pains to instruct his hearers, and he has left us an example well worthy of
imitation. It was so far followed, that poems hitherto little known, the works
either of deceased friends or other approved writers, were brought to light, and
being read and commented on, were explained to others. Thus, Caius Octavius
Lampadio edited the Punic War of Naevius 851, which having been written in one volume without any
break in the manuscript, he divided into seven books. After that, Quintus
Vargonteius undertook the Annals of Ennius, which he read on certain fixed days
to crowded audiences. So Laelius Archelaus, and Vectius Philocomus, read and
commented on the Satires of their friend Lucilius 852, which Lenaeus Pompeius, a freedman, tells us he
studied under Archelaus; and Valerius Cato, under Philocomus. Two others also
taught and promoted (508) grammar in various branches, namely, Lucius Aelius
Lanuvinus, the son-in-law of Quintus Aelius, and Servius Claudius, both of whom
were Roman knights, and men who rendered great services both to learning and the
republic.
III. Lucius Aelius had a double cognomen, for he was called Praeconius,
because his father was a herald; Stilo, because he was in the habit of composing
orations for most of the speakers of highest rank; indeed, he was so strong a
partisan of the nobles, that he accompanied Quintus Metellus Numidicus 853 in his exile. Servius 854 having clandestinely obtained his father-in-law's book
before it was published, was disowned for the fraud, which he took so much to
heart, that, overwhelmed with shame and distress, he retired from Rome; and
being seized with a fit of the gout, in his impatience, he applied a poisonous
ointment to his feet, which half-killed him, so that his lower limbs mortified
while he was still alive. After this, more attention was paid to the science of
letters, and it grew in public estimation, insomuch, that men of the highest
rank did not hesitate in undertaking to write something on the subject; and it
is related that sometimes there were no less than twenty celebrated scholars in
Rome. So high was the value, and so great were the rewards, of grammarians, that
Lutatius Daphnides, jocularly called "Pan's herd" 855 by Lenaeus Melissus, was purchased by Quintus Catullus
for two hundred thousand sesterces, and shortly afterwards made a freedman; and
that Lucius Apuleius, who was taken into the pay of Epicius Calvinus, a wealthy
Roman knight, at the annual salary of ten thousand crowns, had many scholars.
Grammar also penetrated into the provinces, and some of the most eminent amongst
the learned taught it in foreign parts, particularly in Gallia Togata. In the
number of these, we may reckon Octavius (509) Teucer, Siscennius Jacchus, and
Oppius Cares 856, who persisted in teaching to a most advanced period of
his life, at a time when he was not only unable to walk, but his sight failed.
IV. The appellation of grammarian was borrowed from the Greeks; but at first,
the Latins called such persons literati. Cornelius Nepos, also, in his book,
where he draws a distinction between a literate and a philologist, says that in
common phrase, those are properly called literati who are skilled in speaking or
writing with care or accuracy, and those more especially deserve the name who
translated the poets, and were called grammarians by the Greeks. It appears that
they were named literators by Messala Corvinus, in one of his letters, when he
says, "that it does not refer to Furius Bibaculus, nor even to Sigida, nor to
Cato, the literator," 857 meaning, doubtless, that Valerius Cato was both a poet
and an eminent grammarian. Some there are who draw a distinction between a
literati and a literator, as the Greeks do between a grammarian and a
grammatist, applying the former term to men of real erudition, the latter to
those whose pretensions to learning are moderate; and this opinion Orbilius
supports by examples. For he says that in old times, when a company of slaves
was offered for sale by any person, it was not customary, without good reason,
to describe either of them in the catalogue as a literati, but only as a
literator, meaning that he was not a proficient in letters, but had a smattering
of knowledge.
The early grammarians taught rhetoric also, and we have many of their
treatises which include both sciences; whence it arose, I think, that in later
times, although the two professions had then become distinct, the old custom was
retained, or the grammarians introduced into their teaching some of the elements
required for public speaking, such as the problem, the periphrasis, the choice
of words, description of character, and the like; in order that they might not
transfer (510) their pupils to the rhetoricians no better than ill-taught boys.
But I perceive that these lessons are now given up in some cases, on account of
the want of application, or the tender years, of the scholar, for I do not
believe that it arises from any dislike in the master. I recollect that when I
was a boy it was the custom of one of these, whose name was Princeps, to take
alternate days for declaiming and disputing; and sometimes he would lecture in
the morning, and declaim in the afternoon, when he had his pulpit removed. I
heard, also, that even within the memories of our own fathers, some of the
pupils of the grammarians passed directly from the schools to the courts, and at
once took a high place in the ranks of the most distinguished advocates. The
professors at that time were, indeed, men of great eminence, of some of whom I
may be able to give an account in the following chapters.
V. SAEVIUS 858 NICANOR first acquired fame and reputation by his
teaching: and, besides, he made commentaries, the greater part of which,
however, are said to have been borrowed. He also wrote a satire, in which he
informs us that he was a freedman, and had a double cognomen, in the following
verses;
Saevius Nicanor Marci libertus negabit,
Saevius Posthumius idem, sed Marcus, docebit.
What Saevius Nicanor, the freedman of Marcus, will deny,
The same Saevius, called also Posthumius Marcus, will assert.
It is reported, that in consequence of some infamy attached to his character,
he retired to Sardinia, and there ended his days.
VI. AURELIUS OPILIUS 859, the freedman of some Epicurean, first taught
philosophy, then rhetoric, and last of all, grammar. (511) Having closed his
school, he followed Rutilius Rufus, when he was banished to Asia, and there the
two friends grew old together. He also wrote several volumes on a variety of
learned topics, nine books of which he distinguished by the number and names of
the nine Muses; as he says, not without reason, they being the patrons of
authors and poets. I observe that its title is given in several indexes by a
single letter, but he uses two in the heading of a book called Pinax.
VII. MARCUS ANTONIUS GNIPHO 860, a free-born native of Gaul, was exposed in his
infancy, and afterwards received his freedom from his foster-father; and, as
some say, was educated at Alexandria, where Dionysius Scytobrachion 861 was his fellow pupil. This, however, I am not very
ready to believe, as the times at which they flourished scarcely agree. He is
said to have been a man of great genius, of singular memory, well read in Greek
as well as Latin, and of a most obliging and agreeable temper, who never haggled
about remuneration, but generally left it to the liberality of his scholars. He
first taught in the house of Julius Caesar 862, when the latter was yet but a boy, and, afterwards, in
his own private house. He gave instruction in rhetoric also, teaching the rules
of eloquence every day, but declaiming only on festivals. It is said that some
very celebrated men frequented his school,—and, among others, Marcus Cicero,
during the time he held the praetorship 863. He wrote a number of works, although he did not live
beyond his fiftieth year; but Atteius, the philologist 864, says, that he left only two volumes, "De Latino
Sermone;" and, that the other works ascribed to him, were composed by his
disciples, and were not his, although his name is sometimes to be found in them.
VIII. M. POMPILIUS ANDRONICUS, a native of Syria, while he professed to be a
grammarian, was considered an idle follower of the Epicurean sect, and little
qualified to be a master (512) of a school. Finding, therefore, that, at Rome,
not only Antonius Gnipho, but even other teachers of less note were preferred to
him, he retired to Cumae, where he lived at his ease; and, though he wrote
several books, he was so needy, and reduced to such straits, as to be compelled
to sell that excellent little work of his, "The Index to the Annals," for
sixteen thousand sesterces. Orbilius has informed us, that he redeemed this work
from the oblivion into which it had fallen, and took care to have it published
with the author's name.
IX. ORBILIUS PUPILLUS, of Beneventum, being left an orphan, by the death of
his parents, who both fell a sacrifice to the plots of their enemies on the same
day, acted, at first, as apparitor to the magistrates. He then joined the troops
in Macedonia, when he was first decorated with the plumed helmet 865, and, afterwards, promoted to serve on horseback.
Having completed his military service, he resumed his studies, which he had
pursued with no small diligence from his youth upwards; and, having been a
professor for a long period in his own country, at last, during the consulship
of Cicero, made his way to Rome, where he taught with more reputation than
profit. For in one of his works he says, that "he was then very old, and lived
in a garret." He also published a book with the title of Perialogos; containing
complaints of the injurious treatment to which professors submitted, without
seeking redress at the hands of parents. His sour temper betrayed itself, not
only in his disputes with the sophists opposed to him, whom he lashed on every
occasion, but also towards his scholars, as Horace tells us, who calls him "a
flogger;" 866 and Domitius Marsus 867, who says of him:
Si quos Orbilius ferula scuticaque cecidit.
If those Orbilius with rod or ferule thrashed.
(513) And not even men of rank escaped his sarcasms; for, before he became
noticed, happening to be examined as a witness in a crowded court, Varro, the
advocate on the other side, put the question to him, "What he did and by what
profession he gained his livelihood?" He replied, "That he lived by removing
hunchbacks from the sunshine into the shade," alluding to Muraena's deformity.
He lived till he was near a hundred years old; but he had long lost his memory,
as the verse of Bibaculus informs us:
Orbilius ubinam est, literarum oblivio?
Where is Orbilius now, that wreck of learning lost?
His statue is shown in the Capitol at Beneventum. It stands on the left hand,
and is sculptured in marble 868, representing him in a sitting posture, wearing the
pallium, with two writing-cases in his hand. He left a son, named also Orbilius,
who, like his father, was a professor of grammar.
X. ATTEIUS, THE PHILOLOGIST, a freedman, was born at Athens. Of him, Capito
Atteius 869, the well-known jurisconsult, says that he was a
rhetorician among the grammarians, and a grammarian among the rhetoricians.
Asinius Pollio 870, in the book in which he finds fault with the writings
of Sallust for his great affectation of obsolete words, speaks thus: "In this
work his chief assistant was a certain Atteius, a man of rank, a splendid Latin
grammarian, the aider and preceptor of those who studied the practice of
declamation; in short, one who claimed for himself the cognomen of Philologus."
Writing to Lucius Hermas, he says, "that he had made great proficiency in Greek
literature, and some in Latin; that he had been a hearer of Antonius Gnipho, and
his Hermas 871, and afterwards began to teach others. Moreover, that
he had for pupils many illustrious youths, among whom were the two (514)
brothers, Appius and Pulcher Claudius; and that he even accompanied them to
their province." He appears to have assumed the name of Philologus, because,
like Eratosthenes 872, who first adopted that cognomen, he was in high repute
for his rich and varied stores of learning; which, indeed, is evident from his
commentaries, though but few of them are extant. Another letter, however, to the
same Hermas, shews that they were very numerous: "Remember," it says, "to
recommend generally our Extracts, which we have collected, as you know, of all
kinds, into eight hundred books." He afterwards formed an intimate acquaintance
with Caius Sallustius, and, on his death, with Asinius Pollio; and when they
undertook to write a history, he supplied the one with short annals of all Roman
affairs, from which he could select at pleasure; and the other, with rules on
the art of composition. I am, therefore, surprised that Asinius Pollio should
have supposed that he was in the habit of collecting old words and figures of
speech for Sallust, when he must have known that his own advice was, that none
but well known, and common and appropriate expressions should be made use of;
and that, above all things, the obscurity of the style of Sallust, and his bold
freedom in translations, should be avoided.
XI. VALERIUS CATO was, as some have informed us, the freedman of one
Bursenus, a native of Gaul. He himself tells us, in his little work called
"Indignatio," that he was born free, and being left an orphan, was exposed to be
easily stripped of his patrimony during the licence of Sylla's administrations.
He had a great number of distinguished pupils, and was highly esteemed as a
preceptor suited to those who had a poetical turn, as appears from these short
lines:
Cato grammaticus, Latina Siren,
Qui solus legit ac facit poetas.
Cato, the Latin Siren, grammar taught and verse,
To form the poet skilled, and poetry rehearse.
Besides his Treatise on Grammar, he composed some poems, (515) of which, his
Lydia and Diana are most admired. Ticida mentions his "Lydia."
Lydia, doctorum maxima cura liber.
"Lydia," a work to men of learning dear.
Cinna 873 thus notices the "Diana."
Secula permaneat nostri Diana Catonis.
Immortal be our Cato's song of Dian.
He lived to extreme old age, but in the lowest state of penury, and almost in
actual want; having retired to a small cottage when he gave up his Tusculan
villa to his creditors; as Bibaculus tells us:
Si quis forte mei domum Catonis,
Depictas minio assulas, et illos
Custodis vidit hortulos Priapi,
Miratur, quibus ille disciplinis,
Tantam sit sapientiam assecutus,
Quam tres cauliculi et selibra farris;
Racemi duo, tegula sub una,
Ad summam prope nutriant senectam.
"If, perchance, any one has seen the house of my Cato, with marble slabs of
the richest hues, and his gardens worthy of having Priapus 874 for their guardian, he may well wonder by what
philosophy he has gained so much wisdom, that a daily allowance of three
coleworts, half-a-pound of meal, and two bunches of grapes, under a narrow roof,
should serve for his subsistence to extreme old age."
And he says in another place:
Catonis modo, Galle, Tusculanum
Tota creditor urbe venditahat.
Mirati sumus unicum magistrum,
Summum grammaticum, optimum poetam,
Omnes solvere posse quaestiones,
Unum difficile expedire nomen.
En cor Zenodoti, en jecur Cratetis!
"We lately saw, my Gallus, Cato's Tusculan villa exposed to public sale by
his creditors; and wondered that such an unrivalled master of (516) the schools,
most eminent grammarian, and accomplished poet, could solve all propositions and
yet found one question too difficult for him to settle,—how to pay his debts. We
find in him the genius of Zenodotus 875, the wisdom of Crates." 876
XII. CORNELIUS EPICADIUS, a freedman of Lucius Cornelius Sylla, the dictator,
was his apparitor in the Augural priesthood, and much beloved by his son
Faustus; so that he was proud to call himself the freedman of both. He completed
the last book of Sylla's Commentaries, which his patron had left unfinished. 877
XIII. LABERIUS HIERA was bought by his master out of a slave-dealer's cage,
and obtained his freedom on account of his devotion to learning. It is reported
that his disinterestedness was such, that he gave gratuitous instruction to the
children of those who were proscribed in the time of Sylla.
XIV. CURTIUS NICIA was the intimate friend of Cneius Pompeius and Caius
Memmius; but having carried notes from Memmius to Pompey's wife 878, when she was debauched by Memmius, Pompey was
indignant, and forbad him his house. He was also on familiar terms with Marcus
Cicero, who thus speaks of him in his epistle to Dolabella 879: "I have more need of receiving letters from you, than
you have of desiring them from me. For there is nothing going on at Rome in
which I think you would take any interest, except, perhaps, that you may like to
know that I am appointed umpire between our friends Nicias and Vidius. The one,
it appears, alleges in two short verses that Nicias owes him (517) money; the
other, like an Aristarchus, cavils at them. I, like an old critic, am to decide
whether they are Nicias's or spurious."
Again, in a letter to Atticus 880, he says: "As to what you write about Nicias, nothing
could give me greater pleasure than to have him with me, if I was in a position
to enjoy his society; but my province is to me a place of retirement and
solitude. Sicca easily reconciled himself to this state of things, and,
therefore, I would prefer having him. Besides, you are well aware of the
feebleness, and the nice and luxurious habits, of our friend Nicias. Why should
I be the means of making him uncomfortable, when he can afford me no pleasure?
At the same time, I value his goodwill."
XV. LENAEUS was a freedman of Pompey the Great, and attended him in most of
his expeditions. On the death of his patron and his sons, he supported himself
by teaching in a school which he opened near the temple of Tellus, in the
Carium, in the quarter of the city where the house of the Pompeys stood 881. Such was his regard for his patron's memory, that when
Sallust described him as having a brazen face, and a shameless mind, he lashed
the historian in a most bitter satire 882, as "a bull's-pizzle, a gormandizer, a braggart, and a
tippler, a man whose life and writings were equally monstrous;" besides charging
him with being "a most unskilful plagiarist, who borrowed the language of Cato
and other old writers." It is related, that, in his youth, having escaped from
slavery by the contrivance of some of his friends, he took refuge in his own
country; and, that after he had applied himself to the liberal arts, he brought
the price of his freedom to his former master, who, however, struck by his
talents and learning, gave him manumission gratuitously.
XVI. QUINTUS CAECILIUS, an Epirot by descent, but born at Tusculum, was a
freedman of Atticus Satrius, a Roman (518) knight, to whom Cicero addressed his
Epistles 883. He became the tutor of his patron's daughter 884, who was contracted to Marcus Agrippa, but being
suspected of an illicit intercourse with her, and sent away on that account, he
betook himself to Cornelius Gallus, and lived with him on terms of the greatest
intimacy, which, indeed, was imputed to Gallus as one of his heaviest offences,
by Augustus. Then, after the condemnation and death of Gallus 885, he opened a school, but had few pupils, and those very
young, nor any belonging to the higher orders, excepting the children of those
he could not refuse to admit. He was the first, it is said, who held
disputations in Latin, and who began to lecture on Virgil and the other modern
poets; which the verse of Domitius Marcus 886 points out.
Epirota tenellorum nutricula vatum.
The Epirot who,
With tender care, our unfledged poets nursed.
XVII. VERRIUS FLACCUS 887, a freedman, distinguished himself by a new mode of
teaching; for it was his practice to exercise the wits of his scholars, by
encouraging emulation among them; not only proposing the subjects on which they
were to write, but offering rewards for those who were successful in the
contest. These consisted of some ancient, handsome, or rare book. Being, in
consequence, selected by Augustus, as preceptor to his grandsons, he transferred
his entire school to the Palatium, but with the understanding that he should
admit no fresh scholars. The hall in Catiline's house, (519) which had then been
added to the palace, was assigned him for his school, with a yearly allowance of
one hundred thousand sesterces. He died of old age, in the reign of Tiberius.
There is a statue of him at Praeneste, in the semi-circle at the lower side of
the forum, where he had set up calendars arranged by himself, and inscribed on
slabs of marble.
XVIII. LUCIUS CRASSITIUS, a native of Tarentum, and in rank a freedman, had
the cognomen of Pasides, which he afterwards changed for Pansa. His first
employment was connected with the stage, and his business was to assist the
writers of farces. After that, he took to giving lessons in a gallery attached
to a house, until his commentary on "The Smyrna" 888 so brought him into notice, that the following lines
were written on him:
Uni Crassitio se credere Smyrna probavit.
Desinite indocti, conjugio hanc petere.
Soli Crassitio se dixit nubere velle:
Intima cui soli nota sua exstiterint.
Crassitius only counts on Smyrna's love,
Fruitless the wooings of the unlettered prove;
Crassitius she receives with loving arms,
For he alone unveiled her hidden charms.
However, after having taught many scholars, some of whom were of high rank,
and amongst others, Julius Antonius, the triumvir's son, so that he might be
even compared with Verrius Flaccus; he suddenly closed his school, and joined
the sect of Quintus Septimius, the philosopher.
XIX. SCRIBONIUS APHRODISIUS, the slave and disciple of Orbilius, who was
afterwards redeemed and presented with his freedom by Scribonia 889, the daughter of Libo who had been the wife of
Augustus, taught in the time of Verrius; whose books on Orthography he also
revised, not without some severe remarks on his pursuits and conduct.
XX. C. JULIUS HYGINUS, a freedman of Augustus, was a native of Spain,
(although some say he was born at Alexandria,) (520) and that when that city was
taken, Caesar brought him, then a boy, to Rome. He closely and carefully
imitated Cornelius Alexander 890, a Greek grammarian, who, for his antiquarian
knowledge, was called by many Polyhistor, and by some History. He had the charge
of the Palatine library, but that did not prevent him from having many scholars;
and he was one of the most intimate friends of the poet Ovid, and of Caius
Licinius, the historian, a man of consular rank 891, who has related that Hyginus died very poor, and was
supported by his liberality as long as he lived. Julius Modestus 892, who was a freedman of Hyginus, followed the footsteps
of his patron in his studies and learning.
XXI. CAIUS MELISSUS 893, a native of Spoletum, was free-born, but having been
exposed by his parents in consequence of quarrels between them, he received a
good education from his foster-father, by whose care and industry he was brought
up, and was made a present of to Mecaenas, as a grammarian. Finding himself
valued and treated as a friend, he preferred to continue in his state of
servitude, although he was claimed by his mother, choosing rather his present
condition than that which his real origin entitled him to. In consequence, his
freedom was speedily given him, and he even became a favourite with Augustus. By
his appointment he was made curator of the library in the portico of Octavia 894; and, as he himself informs us, undertook to compose,
when he was a sexagenarian, his books of "Witticisms," which are now called "The
Book of Jests." Of these he accomplished one hundred and fifty, to which he
afterwards added several more. He (521) also composed a new kind of story about
those who wore the toga, and called it "Trabeat." 895
XXII. MARCUS POMPONIUS MARCELLUS, a very severe critic of the Latin tongue,
who sometimes pleaded causes, in a certain address on the plaintiff's behalf,
persisted in charging his adversary with making a solecism, until Cassius
Severus appealed to the judges to grant an adjournment until his client should
produce another grammarian, as he was not prepared to enter into a controversy
respecting a solecism, instead of defending his client's rights. On another
occasion, when he had found fault with some expression in a speech made by
Tiberius, Atteius Capito 896 affirmed, "that if it was not Latin, at least it would
be so in time to come;" "Capito is wrong," cried Marcellus; "it is certainly in
your power, Caesar, to confer the freedom of the city on whom you please, but
you cannot make words for us." Asinius Gallus 897 tells us that he was formerly a pugilist, in the
following epigram.
Qui caput ad laevam deicit, glossemata nobis
Praecipit; os nullum, vel potius pugilis.
Who ducked his head, to shun another's fist,
Though he expound old saws,—yet, well I wist,
With pummelled nose and face, he's but a pugilist.
XXIII. REMMIUS PALAEMON 898, of Vicentia 899, the offspring of a bond-woman, acquired the rudiments
of learning, first as the companion of a weaver's, and then of his master's,
son, at school. Being afterwards made free, he taught at Rome, where he stood
highest in the rank of the grammarians; but he was so infamous for every sort of
vice, that Tiberius and his successor Claudius publicly denounced him as an
improper person to have the education of boys and young men entrusted to him.
Still, his powers of narrative and agreeable style of speaking made him very
popular; besides which, he had the gift of making extempore verses. He also
wrote a great many in (522) various and uncommon metres. His insolence was such,
that he called Marcus Varro "a hog;" and bragged that "letters were born and
would perish with him;" and that "his name was not introduced inadvertently in
the Bucolics 900, as Virgil divined that a Palaemon would some day be
the judge of all poets and poems." He also boasted, that having once fallen into
the hands of robbers, they spared him on account of the celebrity his name had
acquired.
He was so luxurious, that he took the bath many times in a day; nor did his
means suffice for his extravagance, although his school brought him in forty
thousand sesterces yearly, and he received not much less from his private
estate, which he managed with great care. He also kept a broker's shop for the
sale of old clothes; and it is well known that a vine 901, he planted himself, yielded three hundred and fifty
bottles of wine. But the greatest of all his vices was his unbridled
licentiousness in his commerce with women, which he carried to the utmost pitch
of foul indecency 902. They tell a droll story of some one who met him in a
crowd, and upon his offering to kiss him, could not escape the salute, "Master,"
said he, "do you want to mouth every one you meet with in a hurry?"
XXIV. MARCUS VALERIUS PROBUS, of Berytus 903, after long aspiring to the rank of centurion, being at
last tired of waiting, devoted himself to study. He had met with some old
authors at a bookseller's shop in the provinces, where the memory of ancient
times still lingers, and is not quite forgotten, as it is at Rome. Being anxious
carefully to reperuse these, and afterwards to make acquaintance with other
works of the same kind, he found himself an object of contempt, and was laughed
(523) at for his lectures, instead of their gaining him fame or profit. Still,
however, he persisted in his purpose, and employed himself in correcting,
illustrating, and adding notes to many works which he had collected, his labours
being confined to the province of a grammarian, and nothing more. He had,
properly speaking, no scholars, but some few followers. For he never taught in
such a way as to maintain the character of a master; but was in the habit of
admitting one or two, perhaps at most three or four, disciples in the afternoon;
and while he lay at ease and chatted freely on ordinary topics, he occasionally
read some book to them, but that did not often happen. He published a few slight
treatises on some subtle questions, besides which, he left a large collection of
observations on the language of the ancients.
LIVES OF EMINENT RHETORICIANS.
(524)
I. Rhetoric, also, as well as Grammar, was not introduced amongst us till a
late period, and with still more difficulty, inasmuch as we find that, at times,
the practice of it was even prohibited. In order to leave no doubt of this, I
will subjoin an ancient decree of the senate, as well as an edict of the
censors:—"In the consulship of Caius Fannius Strabo, and Marcus Palerius Messala
904: the praetor Marcus Pomponius moved the senate, that an
act be passed respecting Philosophers and Rhetoricians. In this matter, they
have decreed as follows: 'It shall be lawful for M. Pomponius, the praetor, to
take such measures, and make such provisions, as the good of the Republic, and
the duty of his office, require, that no Philosophers or Rhetoricians be
suffered at Rome.'"
After some interval, the censor Cnaeus Domitius Aenobarbus and Lucius
Licinius Crassus issued the following edict upon the same subject: "It is
reported to us that certain persons have instituted a new kind of discipline;
that our youth resort to their schools; that they have assumed the title of
Latin Rhetoricians; and that young men waste their time there for whole days
together. Our ancestors have ordained what instruction it is fitting their
children should receive, and what schools they should attend. These novelties,
contrary to the customs and instructions of our ancestors, we neither approve,
nor do they appear to us good. Wherefore it appears to be our duty that we
should notify our judgment both to those who keep such schools, and those who
are in the practice of frequenting them, that they meet our disapprobation."
However, by slow degrees, rhetoric manifested itself to be a (525) useful and
honourable study, and many persons devoted themselves to it, both as a means of
defence and of acquiring reputation. Cicero declaimed in Greek until his
praetorship, but afterwards, as he grew older, in Latin also; and even in the
consulship of Hirtius and Pansa 905, whom he calls "his great and noble disciples." Some
historians state that Cneius Pompey resumed the practice of declaiming even
during the civil war, in order to be better prepared to argue against Caius
Curio, a young man of great talents, to whom the defence of Caesar was
entrusted. They say, likewise, that it was not forgotten by Mark Antony, nor by
Augustus, even during the war of Modena. Nero also declaimed 906 even after he became emperor, in the first year of his
reign, which he had done before in public but twice. Many speeches of orators
were also published. In consequence, public favour was so much attracted to the
study of rhetoric, that a vast number of professors and learned men devoted
themselves to it; and it flourished to such a degree, that some of them raised
themselves by it to the rank of senators and the highest offices.
But the same mode of teaching was not adopted by all, nor, indeed, did
individuals always confine themselves to the same system, but each varied his
plan of teaching according to circumstances. For they were accustomed, in
stating their argument with the utmost clearness, to use figures and apologies,
to put cases, as circumstances required, and to relate facts, sometimes briefly
and succinctly, and, at other times, more at large and with greater feeling. Nor
did they omit, on occasion, to resort to translations from the Greek, and to
expatiate in the praise, or to launch their censures on the faults, of
illustrious men. They also dealt with matters connected with every-day life,
pointing out such as are useful and necessary, and such as are hurtful and
needless. They had occasion often to support the authority of fabulous accounts,
and to detract from that of historical narratives, which sort the Greeks call
"Propositions," "Refutations" and "Corroboration," until by a gradual process
they have exhausted these topics, and arrive at the gist of the argument.
Among the ancients, subjects of controversy were drawn either from history,
as indeed some are even now, or from (526) actual facts, of recent occurrence.
It was, therefore, the custom to state them precisely, with details of the names
of places. We certainly so find them collected and published, and it may be well
to give one or two of them literally, by way of example:
"A company of young men from the city, having made an excursion to Ostia in
the summer season, and going down to the beach, fell in with some fishermen who
were casting their nets in the sea. Having bargained with them for the haul,
whatever it might turn out to be, for a certain sum, they paid down the money.
They waited a long time while the nets were being drawn, and when at last they
were dragged on shore, there was no fish in them, but some gold sewn up in a
basket. The buyers claim the haul as theirs, the fishermen assert that it
belongs to them."
Again: "Some dealers having to land from a ship at Brundusium a cargo of
slaves, among which there was a handsome boy of great value, they, in order to
deceive the collectors of the customs, smuggled him ashore in the dress of a
freeborn youth, with the bullum 907 hung about his neck. The fraud easily escaped
detection. They proceed to Rome; the affair becomes the subject of judicial
inquiry; it is alleged that the boy was entitled to his freedom, because his
master had voluntarily treated him as free."
Formerly, they called these by a Greek term, syntaxeis, but of late
"controversies;" but they may be either fictitious cases, or those which come
under trial in the courts. Of the eminent professors of this science, of whom
any memorials are extant, it would not be easy to find many others than those of
whom I shall now proceed to give an account.
II. LUCIUS PLOTIUS GALLUS. Of him Marcus Tullius Cicero thus writes to Marcus
Titinnius 908: "I remember well that when we were boys, one Lucius
Plotius first began to teach Latin; and as great numbers flocked to his school,
so that all who were most devoted to study were eager to take lessons from him,
it was a great trouble to me that I too was not allowed to do so. I was
prevented, however, by the decided opinion (527) of men of the greatest
learning, who considered that it was best to cultivate the genius by the study
of Greek." This same Gallus, for he lived to a great age, was pointed at by M.
Caelius, in a speech which he was forced to make in his own cause, as having
supplied his accuser, Atracinus 909, with materials for his charge. Suppressing his name,
he says that such a rhetorician was like barley bread 910 compared to a wheaten loaf,—windy, chaffy, and coarse.
III. LUCIUS OCTACILIUS PILITUS is said to have been a slave, and, according
to the old custom, chained to the door like a watch-dog 911; until, having been presented with his freedom for his
genius and devotion to learning, he drew up for his patron the act of accusation
in a cause he was prosecuting. After that, becoming a professor of rhetoric, he
gave instructions to Cneius Pompey the Great, and composed an account of his
actions, as well as of those of his father, being the first freedman, according
to the opinion of Cornelius Nepos 912, who ventured to write history, which before his time
had not been done by any one who was not of the highest ranks in society.
IV. About this time, EPIDIUS 913 having fallen into disgrace for bringing a false
accusation, opened a school of instruction, in which he taught, among others,
Mark Antony and Augustus. On one occasion Caius Canutius jeered them for
presuming to belong to the party of the consul Isauricus 914 in his administration of the republic; upon which he
replied, that he would rather be the disciple of Isauricus, than of Epidius, the
false accuser. This Epidius claimed to be descended from Epidius Nuncio, who, as
(528) ancient traditions assert, fell into the fountain of the river Sarnus 915 when the streams were overflown, and not being
afterwards found, was reckoned among the number of the gods.
V. SEXTUS CLODIUS, a native of Sicily, a professor both of Greek and Latin
eloquence, had bad eyes and a facetious tongue. It was a saying of his, that he
lost a pair of eyes from his intimacy with Mark Antony, the triumvir 916. Of his wife, Fulvia, when there was a swelling in one
of her cheeks, he said that "she tempted the point of his style;" 917 nor did Antony think any the worse of him for the joke,
but quite enjoyed it; and soon afterwards, when Antony was consul 918, he even made him a large grant of land, which Cicero
charges him with in his Philippics 919. "You patronize," he said, "a master of the schools for
the sake of his buffoonery, and make a rhetorician one of your pot-companions;
allowing him to cut his jokes on any one he pleased; a witty man, no doubt, but
it was an easy matter to say smart things of such as you and your companions.
But listen, Conscript Fathers, while I tell you what reward was given to this
rhetorician, and let the wounds of the republic be laid bare to view. You
assigned two thousand acres of the Leontine territory 920 to Sextus Clodius, the rhetorician, and not content
with that, exonerated the estate from all taxes. Hear this, and learn from the
extravagance of the grant, how little wisdom is displayed in your acts."
VI. CAIUS ALBUTIUS SILUS, of Novara 921, while, in the execution (529) of the office of edile
in his native place, he was sitting for the administration of justice, was
dragged by the feet from the tribunal by some persons against whom he was
pronouncing a decree. In great indignation at this usage, he made straight for
the gate of the town, and proceeded to Rome. There he was admitted to
fellowship, and lodged, with Plancus the orator 922, whose practice it was, before he made a speech in
public, to set up some one to take the contrary side in the argument. The office
was undertaken by Albutius with such success, that he silenced Plancus, who did
not venture to put himself in competition with him. This bringing him into
notice, he collected an audience of his own, and it was his custom to open the
question proposed for debate, sitting; but as he warmed with the subject, he
stood up, and made his peroration in that posture. His declamations were of
different kinds; sometimes brilliant and polished, at others, that they might
not be thought to savour too much of the schools, he curtailed them of all
ornament, and used only familiar phrases. He also pleaded causes, but rarely,
being employed in such as were of the highest importance, and in every case
undertaking the peroration only.
In the end, he gave up practising in the forum, partly from shame, partly
from fear. For, in a certain trial before the court of the One Hundred 923, having lashed the defendant as a man void of natural
affection for his parents, he called upon him by a bold figure of speech, "to
swear by the ashes of his father and mother which lay unburied;" his adversary
taking him up for the suggestion, and the judges frowning upon it, he lost his
cause, and was much blamed. At another time, on a trial for murder at Milan,
before Lucius Piso, the proconsul, having to defend the culprit, he worked
himself up to such a pitch of vehemence, that in a crowded court, who loudly
applauded him, notwithstanding all the efforts of the lictor to maintain order,
he broke out into a lamentation on the miserable state of Italy 924, then in danger of being again reduced, he said, into
(530) the form of a province, and turning to the statue of Marcus Brutus, which
stood in the Forum, he invoked him as "the founder and vindicator of the
liberties of the people." For this he narrowly escaped a prosecution. Suffering,
at an advanced period of life, from an ulcerated tumour, he returned to Novara,
and calling the people together in a public assembly, addressed them in a set
speech, of considerable length, explaining the reasons which induced him to put
an end to existence: and this he did by abstaining from food.
END OF THE LIVES OF GRAMMARIANS AND RHETORICIANS.
THE LIFE OF TERENCE.
Publius Terentius Afer, a native of Carthage, was a slave, at Rome, of the
senator Terentius Lucanus, who, struck by his abilities and handsome person,
gave him not only a liberal education in his youth, but his freedom when he
arrived at years of maturity. Some say that he was a captive taken in war, but
this, as Fenestella 925 informs us, could by no means have been the case, since
both his birth and death took place in the interval between the termination of
the second Punic war and the commencement of the third 926; nor, even supposing that he had been taken prisoner by
the Numidian or Getulian tribes, could he have fallen into the hands of a Roman
general, as there was no commercial intercourse between the Italians and
Africans until after the fall of Carthage 927. Terence lived in great familiarity with many persons
of high station, and especially with Scipio Africanus, and Caius Delius, whose
favour he is even supposed to have purchased by the foulest means. But
Fenestella reverses the charge, contending that Terence was older than either of
them. Cornelius Nepos, however, (532) informs us that they were all of nearly
equal age; and Porcias intimates a suspicion of this criminal commerce in the
following passage:—
"While Terence plays the wanton with the great, and recommends himself to
them by the meretricious ornaments of his person; while, with greedy ears, he
drinks in the divine melody of Africanus's voice; while he thinks of being a
constant guest at the table of Furius, and the handsome Laelius; while he thinks
that he is fondly loved by them, and often invited to Albanum for his youthful
beauty, he finds himself stripped of his property, and reduced to the lowest
state of indigence. Then, withdrawing from the world, he betook himself to
Greece, where he met his end, dying at Strymphalos, a town in Arcadia. What
availed him the friendship of Scipio, of Laelius, or of Furius, three of the
most affluent nobles of that age? They did not even minister to his necessities
so much as to provide him a hired house, to which his slave might return with
the intelligence of his master's death."
He wrote comedies, the earliest of which, The Andria, having to be performed
at the public spectacles given by the aediles 928, he was commanded to read it first before Caecilius 929. Having been introduced while Caecilius was at supper,
and being meanly dressed, he is reported to have read the beginning of the play
seated on a low stool near the great man's couch. But after reciting a few
verses, he was invited to take his place at table, and, having supped with his
host, went through the rest to his great delight. This play and five others were
received by the public with similar applause, although Volcatius, in his
enumeration of them, says that "The Hecyra 930 must not be reckoned among these."
The Eunuch was even acted twice the same day 931, and earned more money than any comedy, whoever was the
writer, had (533) ever done before, namely, eight thousand sesterces 932; besides which, a certain sum accrued to the author for
the title. But Varro prefers the opening of The Adelphi 933 to that of Menander. It is very commonly reported that
Terence was assisted in his works by Laelius and Scipio 934, with whom he lived in such great intimacy. He gave
some currency to this report himself, nor did he ever attempt to defend himself
against it, except in a light way; as in the prologue to The Adelphi:
Nam quod isti dicunt malevoli, homines nohiles
Hunc adjutare, assidueque una scribere;
Quod illi maledictun vehemens existimant,
Eam laudem hic ducit maximam: cum illis placet,
Qui vobis universis et populo placent;
Quorum opera in bello, in otio, in negotio,
Suo quisque tempore usus est sine superbia.
————For this,
Which malice tells that certain noble persons
Assist the bard, and write in concert with him,
That which they deem a heavy slander, he
Esteems his greatest praise: that he can please
Those who in war, in peace, as counsellors,
Have rendered you the dearest services,
And ever borne their faculties so meekly.
Colman.
He appears to have protested against this imputation with less earnestness,
because the notion was far from being disagreeable to Laelius and Scipio. It
therefore gained ground, and prevailed in after-times.
Quintus Memmius, in his speech in his own defence, says "Publius Africanus,
who borrowed from Terence a character which he had acted in private, brought it
on the stage in his name." Nepos tells us he found in some book that C. Laelius,
when he was on some occasion at Puteoli, on the calends [the first] of March, 935 being requested by his wife to rise early, (534) begged
her not to suffer him to be disturbed, as he had gone to bed late, having been
engaged in writing with more than usual success. On her asking him to tell her
what he had been writing, he repeated the verses which are found in the
Heautontimoroumenos:
Satis pol proterve me Syri promessa—Heauton. IV. iv. 1.
I'faith! the rogue Syrus's impudent pretences—
Santra 936 is of opinion that if Terence required any assistance
in his compositions 937, he would not have had recourse to Scipio and Laelius,
who were then very young men, but rather to Sulpicius Gallus 938, an accomplished scholar, who had been the first to
introduce his plays at the games given by the consuls; or to Q. Fabius Labeo, or
Marcus Popilius 939, both men of consular rank, as well as poets. It was
for this reason that, in alluding to the assistance he had received, he did not
speak of his coadjutors as very young men, but as persons of whose services the
people had full experience in peace, in war, and in the administration of
affairs.
After he had given his comedies to the world, at a time when he had not
passed his thirty-fifth year, in order to avoid suspicion, as he found others
publishing their works under his name, or else to make himself acquainted with
the modes of life and habits of the Greeks, for the purpose of exhibiting them
in his plays, he withdrew from home, to which he never returned. Volcatius gives
this account of his death:
Sed ut Afer sei populo dedit comoedias,
Iter hic in Asiam fecit. Navem cum semel
Conscendit, visus nunquam est. Sic vita vacat.
(535) When Afer had produced six plays for the entertainment of the
people,
He embarked for Asia; but from the time he went on board ship
He was never seen again. Thus he ended his life.
Q. Consentius reports that he perished at sea on his voyage back from Greece,
and that one hundred and eight plays, of which he had made a version from
Menander 940, were lost with him. Others say that he died at
Stymphalos, in Arcadia, or in Leucadia, during the consulship of Cn. Cornelius
Dolabella and Marcus Fulvius Nobilior 941, worn out with a severe illness, and with grief and
regret for the loss of his baggage, which he had sent forward in a ship that was
wrecked, and contained the last new plays he had written.
In person, Terence is reported to have been rather short and slender, with a
dark complexion. He had an only daughter, who was afterwards married to a Roman
knight; and he left also twenty acres of garden ground 942, on the Appian Way, at the Villa of Mars. I, therefore,
wonder the more how Porcius could have written the verses,
————nihil Publius
Scipio profuit, nihil et Laelius, nihil Furius,
Tres per idem tempus qui agitabant nobiles facillime.
Eorum ille opera ne domum quidem habuit conductitiam
Saltem ut esset, quo referret obitum domini servulus. 943
Afranius places him at the head of all the comic writers, declaring, in his
Compitalia,
Terentio non similem dices quempiam.
Terence's equal cannot soon be found.
On the other hand, Volcatius reckons him inferior not only (536) to Naevius,
Plautus, and Caecilius, but also to Licinius. Cicero pays him this high
compliment, in his Limo—
Tu quoque, qui solus lecto sermone, Terenti,
Conversum expressumque Latina voce Menandrum
In medio populi sedatis vocibus offers,
Quidquid come loquens, ac omnia dulcia dicens.
"You, only, Terence, translated into Latin, and clothed in choice language
the plays of Menander, and brought them before the public, who, in crowded
audiences, hung upon hushed applause—
Grace marked each line, and every period charmed."
So also Caius Caesar:
Tu quoque tu in summis, O dimidiate Menander,
Poneris, et merito, puri sermonis amator,
Lenibus atque utinam scriptis adjuncta foret vis
Comica, ut aequato virtus polleret honore
Cum Graecis, neque in hoc despectus parte jaceres!
Unum hoc maceror, et doleo tibi deesse, Terenti.
"You, too, who divide your honours with Menander, will take your place among
poets of the highest order, and justly too, such is the purity of your style.
Would only that to your graceful diction was added more comic force, that your
works might equal in merit the Greek masterpieces, and your inferiority in this
particular should not expose you to censure. This is my only regret; in this,
Terence, I grieve to say you are wanting."
THE LIFE OF HORACE.
HORATIUS FLACCUS was a native of Venusium 963, his father having been, by his own account, a freedman
and collector of taxes, but, as it is generally believed, a dealer in salted
(541) provisions; for some one with whom Horace had a quarrel, jeered him, by
saying; "How often have I seen your father wiping his nose with his fist?" In
the battle of Philippi, he served as a military tribune 965, which post he filled at the instance of Marcus Brutus
966, the general; and having obtained a pardon, on the
overthrow of his party, he purchased the office of scribe to a quaestor.
Afterwards insinuating himself first, into the good graces of Mecaenas, and then
of Augustus, he secured no small share in the regard of both. And first, how
much Mecaenas loved him may be seen by the epigram in which he says:
Ni te visceribus meis, Horati,
Plus jam diligo, Titium sodalem,
Ginno tu videas strigosiorem. 967
But it was more strongly exhibited by Augustus, in a short sentence uttered
in his last moments: "Be as mindful of Horatius Flaccus as you are of me!"
Augustus offered to appoint him his secretary, signifying his wishes to Mecaenas
in a letter to the following effect: "Hitherto I have been able to write my own
epistles to friends; but now I am too much occupied, and in an infirm state of
health. I wish, therefore, to deprive you of our Horace: let him leave,
therefore, your luxurious table and come to the palace, and he shall assist me
in writing my letters." And upon his refusing to accept the office, he neither
exhibited the smallest displeasure, nor ceased to heap upon him tokens of his
regard. Letters of his are extant, from which I will make some short extracts to
establish this: "Use your influence over me with the same freedom as you would
do if we were living together as friends. In so doing you will be perfectly
right, and guilty of no impropriety; for I could wish that our intercourse
should be on that footing, if your health admitted of it." And again: "How I
hold you in memory you may learn (542) from our friend Septimius 968, for I happened to mention you when he was present. And
if you are so proud as to scorn my friendship, that is no reason why I should
lightly esteem yours, in return." Besides this, among other drolleries, he often
called him, "his most immaculate penis," and "his charming little man," and
loaded him from time to time with proofs of his munificence. He admired his
works so much, and was so convinced of their enduring fame, that he directed him
to compose the Secular Poem, as well as that on the victory of his stepsons
Tiberius and Drusus over the Vindelici 969; and for this purpose urged him to add, after a long
interval, a fourth book of Odes to the former three. After reading his
"Sermones," in which he found no mention of himself, he complained in these
terms: "You must know that I am very angry with you, because in most of your
works of this description you do not choose to address yourself to me. Are you
afraid that, in times to come, your reputation will suffer; in case it should
appear that you lived on terms of intimate friendship with me?" And he wrung
from him the eulogy which begins with,
Cum tot sustineas, et tanta negotia solus:
Res Italas armis tuteris, moribus ornes,
Legibus emendes: in publica commoda peccem,
Si longo sermone morer tua tempora, Caesar.—Epist. ii. i.
While you alone sustain the important weight
Of Rome's affairs, so various and so great;
While you the public weal with arms defend,
Adorn with morals, and with laws amend;
Shall not the tedious letter prove a crime,
That steals one moment of our Caesar's time.—Francis.
In person, Horace was short and fat, as he is described by himself in his
Satires 970, and by Augustus in the following letter: "Dionysius
has brought me your small volume, which, little as it is, not to blame you for
that, I shall judge favourably. You seem to me, however, to be afraid lest your
volumes should be bigger than yourself. But if you are short in stature, you are
corpulent enough. You may, therefore, (543) if you will, write in a quart, when
the size of your volume is as large round as your paunch."
It is reported that he was immoderately addicted to venery. [For he is said
to have had obscene pictures so disposed in a bedchamber lined with mirrors,
that, whichever way he looked, lascivious images might present themselves to his
view.] [971] He lived for the most part in the retirement of his farm 972, on the confines of the Sabine and Tiburtine
territories, and his house is shewn in the neighbourhood of a little wood not
far from Tibur. Some Elegies ascribed to him, and a prose Epistle apparently
written to commend himself to Mecaenas, have been handed down to us; but I
believe that neither of them are genuine works of his; for the Elegies are
commonplace, and the Epistle is wanting in perspicuity, a fault which cannot be
imputed to his style. He was born on the sixth of the ides of December [27th
December], in the consulship of Lucius Cotta 973 and Lucius Torquatus; and died on the fifth of the
calends of December [27th November], in the consulship of Caius Marcius
Censorinus and Caius Asinius Gallus 974; having completed his fifty-ninth year. He made a
nuncupatory will, declaring Augustus his heir, not being able, from the violence
of his disorder, to sign one in due form. He was interred and lies buried on the
skirts of the Esquiline Hill, near the tomb of Mecaenas. 975
(544) M. ANNAEUS LUCANUS, a native of Corduba 976, first tried the powers of his genius in an encomium on
Nero, at the Quinquennial games. He afterwards recited his poem on the Civil War
carried on between Pompey and Caesar. His vanity was so immense, and he gave
such liberty to his tongue, that in some preface, comparing his age and his
first efforts with those of Virgil, he had the assurance to say: "And what now
remains for me is to deal with a gnat." In his early youth, after being long
informed of the sort of life his father led in the country, in consequence of an
unhappy marriage 977, he was recalled from Athens by Nero, who admitted him
into the circle of his friends, and even gave him the honour of the
quaestorship; but he did not long remain in favour. Smarting at this, and having
publicly stated that Nero had withdrawn, all of a sudden, without communicating
with the senate, and without any other motive than his own recreation, after
this he did not cease to assail the emperor both with foul words and with acts
which are still notorious. So that on one occasion, when easing his bowels in
the common privy, there being a louder explosion than usual, he gave vent to the
nemistych of Nero: "One would suppose it was thundering under ground," in the
hearing of those who were sitting there for the same purpose, and who took to
their heels in much consternation 978. In a poem also, which was in every one's hands, he
severely lashed both the emperor and his most powerful adherents.
At length, he became nearly the most active leader in Piso's conspiracy 979; and while he dwelt without reserve in many quarters on
the glory of those who dipped their hands in the (545) blood of tyrants, he
launched out into open threats of violence, and carried them so far as to boast
that he would cast the emperor's head at the feet of his neighbours. When,
however, the plot was discovered, he did not exhibit any firmness of mind. A
confession was wrung from him without much difficulty; and, humbling himself to
the most abject entreaties, he even named his innocent mother as one of the
conspirators 980; hoping that his want of natural affection would give
him favour in the eyes of a parricidal prince. Having obtained permission to
choose his mode of death 981, he wrote notes to his father, containing corrections
of some of his verses, and, having made a full meal, allowed a physician to open
the veins in his arm 982. I have also heard it said that his poems were offered
for sale, and commented upon, not only with care and diligence, but also in a
trifling way. 983