CAECILIUS STATIUS, or STATIUS CAECILIUS

This article appears in Volume V04, Page 934 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BUN-CAL

CAECILIUS STATIUS, or STATIUS CAECILIUS , Roman comic poet, contemporary and intimate friend of Ennius, died in 168 (or 166) B.C. He was born in the territory of the Insubrian Gauls, and was probably taken as a prisoner to Rome (c. 200), during the

great

GREAT

Gallic war. Originally a slave, he assumed the name of

Caecilius

CAECILIUS

from his patron, probably one of the Metelli. He supported himself by adapting Greek plays for the Roman stage from the new comedy writers, especially Menander. If the statement in the

life

LIFE

of Terence by Suetonius is correct and the

reading

READING

sound,

Caecilius

CAECILIUS

's judgment was so esteemed. that he was ordered to hear Terence's Andria (exhibited 166 B.C.) read and to pronounce an

opinion

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

upon it. After several failures Caecilius gained a high reputation. Volcacius Sedigitus, the dramatic critic, places him first amongst the comic poets; Varro credits him with pathos and skill in the construction of his plots;

Horace

HORACE [QuINTus HORATIUS FLACCUS] (65-8 B.C.)

(Epistles, ii. 1. 59) contrasts his dignity with the art of Terence. Quintilian (Inst. Oral., x. 1. 99) speaks somewhat disparagingly of him, and Cicero, although he admits with some hesitation that Caecilius may have been the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

of the comic poets (De Optimo Genere Oratorum, I), considers him inferior to Terence in style and Latinity (Ad Att. vii. 3), as was only natural, considering his foreign extraction. The fact that his plays could be referred to by name alone without any indication of the author (Cicero, De Finibus, ii. 7) is sufficient proof of their widespread popularity. Caecilius holds a place between

Plautus

PLAUTUS, TITUS MACCIUS (originally perhaps MACCUS; cf. Asin. Prol. 11)

and Terence in his treatment of the Greek originals; he did not, like

Plautus

PLAUTUS, TITUS MACCIUS (originally perhaps MACCUS; cf. Asin. Prol. 11)

, confound things Greek and Roman, nor, like Terence, eliminate everything that could not be romanized.
The fragments of his plays are chiefly preserved in Aalus Genius, who cites several passages from the Plocium (necklace) together with the

original

ORIGINAL

Greek of Menander. The

translation

TRANSLATION

which is diffuse and by no means close, fails to reproduce the spirit of the

original

ORIGINAL

. Fragments in Ribbeck, Scaenicae Romanorum Poesis Fragmenta (1898) ; see also W. S. Teuffel, Caecilius Statius, &c. (1858) ; Mommsen, Hist. of Rome (Eng. tr.), bk. iii. ch. 14; F. Skutsch in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopadie (1897).

End of Article: CAECILIUS STATIUS, or STATIUS CAECILIUS

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/BUN_CAL/CAECILIUS_STATIUS_or_STATIUS_C.html">
CAECILIUS STATIUS, or STATIUS CAECILIUS
</a>

(Previous)
CAECILIUS

(Next)
CAECINA

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email