A Prosopography to Catullus

199 Pages·1955·4.064 MB·English

by  Chester Louis Neudling

A PROSOPOGRAPHY
TO CATULLUS

IOWA STUDIES IN CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY
GERALD F. ELSE, Editor
State University of Iowa
A PROSOPOGRAPHY
TO CATULLUS
By
CHESTER LOUIS NEUDLING
OXFORD
1 9 SS
Printedi n Gr,lll Britain by
StephenA .ll.ltin& Son.t,L td.,
H,rtford
Paper-bound copies at 2.7s.6 d. each ($4.00 in U.S.A.) may be obtained from the author at
the Department of Oassics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.A.
PREFACE
If Catullus is one of the most biographical of ancient writers, he is
also one of the most perplexing. Of the scores of names which appear
momentarily or frequently in his poems-the pimps and prostitutes,
young-men-about-town, wits and wastrels, poets, dilettants, politicians,
statesmen, ward-heelers, scoundrels, pose11rso,r ators great and small, who
people his dazz1iog and decadent world in the capital-some are only
names ; others are shadowy figures slightly known in the history of their
times but given life and blood for us by Catullus' characterization or
caricature; a few are the great household-names of Roman history. The
problems posed by these names have fascinated scholars from ancient
times through the humanists and the great classical minds of the nineteenth
century to the present : from Ovid and Apuleius to Raphael Regius,
Muretus, Victorius, Scaliger ; Ludwig Schwabe, Lucian Mi.iller,
J.
Robinson Ellis, H. A. Munro, Bernard Schmidt, Carlo Pascal, Tenney
Frank, and many others. The problems concerning the people in Catullus
are represented by the three chief groups of people found there : ( 1) those
of whom, in general, little is known, where the main problem is one of
identification ; ( 2) those whose identity is reasonably well established but
whose relationship to Catullus is not too clear ; (3) prominent figures,
well-known from other sources, toward whom Catullus expresses friend
ship, an:.ff ~nism, or amused tolerance.
In d · g with. these three groups of names I have accordingly varied
my treatment. Among the first group I have noted previous attempts to
identify these persons and adduced additional evidence where possible,
especially from epigraphy or nomenclature, to support existing identifica
tions or suggest new ones .. With the second group, whose identity is
reasonably clear, I have attempted to give a resume of their activities with
special emphasis on their personal, social, political, and literary affilia
tions in order to illustrate the precise character of their relationship to
Catullus and others of his circle. In the case of the third group-men
like Ocero, Caesar, Pompey, M. Caelius Rufus, and L. Manlius Torquatus
-it is unnecessary to add to the abundant literature about their careers,
and I have contented myself with examining certain particular aspects of
their activities and associations in hope of further explaining and docu
menting the attitudes, generally political or literary, expressed toward
them by Catullus and his circle. To this end I have given rather extended
treatment to some well-known persons-notably to Caelius and Torquatus
-with the purpose of pointing out in them certain characteristics which
appear with some frequency among the associates of Catullus ·( in these
cases, a drift towards Epicureanism and a certain bravado coupled with
the sophisticated worldliness of their generation). In each article of the
T
prosopography I have followed a general order of topics as follows : identi
fication (where applicable), coupled with documentation of name and dates ;
activities and political career ; literary works ; and relationship to Catullus.
I have varied this schemain a number of cases, particularly where identifica
tion rests upon the career or literary work of the person. My method, like
that of other prosopographers, has been to draw heavily upon ancient
literary and historical sources, but I have made more frequent use of
inscriptions and Roman nomenclature in establishing the geographical
distribution, social class, and legal status of the less well-known persons
in Catullus.
My aim throughout the prosopography has been to provide a useful
reference tool for the student of Catullus, supplanting the scattered and
incomplete studies of Catullan personalities which have appeared in
articles, monographs, studies of Catullus, and the commentaries in
editions of his poems. For the scholar, I hope that I have indicated some
useful lines of research and provided a firm basis for their pursuit. It will
be noted that I have omitted Catullus himself from this study, though in
strict faith I was bound to deal with all those who appear in the poems,
and the mournful or mocking Catulle may rise to haunt me ; but I could
see little point in adding to the already vast literature on the poet himself,
especially since this prosopography is itself a mirror of Catullus' image
seen in the persons of those he knew.
It is beyond the scope of a pure prosopography to state general con
clusions about the group of persons studied ; but certain observations
may be made in summary which will be exemplified and documented in
the various articles. These are ( 1) that I have been unable to justify the
assumption often made that many of the names in Catullus are cryptonyms,
apart from the demonstrable examples Lesbia, Lesbius, and probably
Socration ; ( 2) that a very considerable number of Catullus' acquaintances
were Epicureans or had Epicurean leanings or associates (e .g. Quintilius
Varos, L. Manlius Torquatus, C. Memmius, Cornelius Nepos, Q. Corni
ficius, and possibly others) ; (3) that the continuity of poetic tradition
during the difficult period of transition from republican to Augustan
poetry is confirmed by the survival of a few Catullan littlrate11rss,u ch as
C. Asinius Pollio, Quintilius V arus, and Valerius Cato, through the Civil
War and into the Augustan Age.
It is superfluous to state that I am greatly indebted in this study to
the many scholars, editors, commentators, and writers of articles on the
persons in Catullus. I have acknowledged my debts at the appropriate
places in the text, but must here mention certain works which I have
frequently used, together with the short titles (in parentheses) by which
I have referred to them :
Editions of Catullus by Emil Baehrens, Robinson Ellis, Gustav
Friedrich, Wilhelm Kroll, and Elmer T. Merrill (Baehrens, Ellis,
Friedrich, Kroll, and Merrill).
vi
Baehrens, Emil, FragmentaP oetarumR omanorum( Baehrens, FPR).
Ellis, Robinson, A Commentaryo n Catul/us (Ellis, Comm.).
Keil, Heinrich, GrammatiriL atini (GLK).
Munro, Hugh A. J., Criticismsa nd Elucidationso f Catullus (Munro,
Crit. and Blue.).
Pauly, A., Wissowa, G., Kroll, W., Realenzyclopiiddiee r Altertums
wissenschaf(tP W).
Schanz, Martin, and Hosius, Carl, Geschichted er romischenL iteraftlf'
(Schanz-Hosius).
Schulze, Wilhelm, Zur Geschichtlea teinischeEr igenname(nS chulze, LE).
Schwabe, Ludwig, QuaestionesC atullianae(S chwabe, Q. C.).
Full bibliographical data for these works will be found in my bibliography,
which contains also a number of other works ; its purpose being to list
only those volumes which have been frequently used in my research or
which are of central importance for the general problems with which I
have dealt. Books and articles concerning individual persons or special
aspects of the prosopographical problems appear at their appropriate
places in the text. I hasten to recognize the absence in both text and
bibliography of at least two works which might be expected there :
Mauriz Schuster's new Teubner text of Catullus (Leipzig, 1950) and
T. Robert S. Broughton's The Magis-trateosf the RomanR epublic,V olume II
(American Philological Association, 195 3). I have consulted Schuster
regularly but found little new material in what is after all an editiom inor
not intended to deal with prosopography. The second volume of
Professor Broughton's important work appeared too late to be used in
my study.
Finally, I should like to express my appreciation to the persons and
institutions concerned in my work. This prosopography is a much
expanded and largely rewritten form of a dissertation entitled The Person
alities of the CatullianC irclea nd submitted in August, 1948, to the faculty
of the Graduate College, the State University of Iowa, in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. To Pro
fessor Gerald F. Else, Professor of Classics at The State University of
Iowa, I owe superlative thanks for his stimulating instruction and indis
pensable criticism as my major professor and adviser. To him also, as
Editor of the Iowa Studiesi n ClassicalP hilology,t he greatest credit is due
for his kindness and perseverance in helping me bring the present work
to publication, in reading and criticizing the manuscript and proof, and
in securing aid toward publication from the Graduate College of the
State University of Iowa, to which my sincere thanks are also due.
The work of enlarging and completing this study was undertaken at
Brasenose College, Oxford, England, between June, 1951, and July, 195 2.
For the opportunity to study at Oxford I must thank Dean G. D. Nichols
of the College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Arkansas, who
secured leave of absence for me ; Professor Ronald Syme, Camden
vii
Professor of History in Brasenose College, Oxford, for my recommenda
tion to that College, for many excellent lectures, and for much useful
advice as my supervisor of study ; the Bodleian and Haverfield
Libraries, Oxford, for providing the instruments of research ; H. M.
Last, Principal of Brasenose College ; Mr. and Mrs. Michael Holroyd
of that College; and all others of the faculty, staff, and students of
Brasenose who made me welcome and helped me in my study. I must
also record here my gratitude to the late Mr. G. F. Bate, of Four Oaks,
Warwickshire, England, for his kindness and generosity, which made
possible the completion of this work.
YIU
AEMILIUS
The Aemilius who is the subject of that exceedingly coarse and abusive
epigram, Catullus 97 :
Non (ita me di ament) quicquam referre putavi
utrumne os an culum olfacerem Aemilio. ...
is hardly identifiable, since there is too little information about him in
the poem. Aemilius was, however, a notorious ladies' man and un
commonly vain (vs. 9). Obviously he travelled among the same circles
as Catullus, was of about the same age as those young blades, and had
:possibly attempted to steal one of Catullus' current loves, as Baehrens
(e d. ad loc.) suggests. That the girl who was apparently involved was
1,
not Lesbia is clear from the oblique and almost disinterested reference to
her (97, nf); and the poem is therefore to be dated c. 56-54 B.c. For
similar poems of invective or threat on such grounds cf. Catullus 69
and 40.
The coarseness of this epigram does not rule out the possibility that
it is political slander against some unpopular public figure : cf. the poems
on Caesar and Mamurra (e.g. .29, 41, 57, 94). The implications of the
satire, at any rate, coincide with the chronology and character of M.
Aemilius Lepidus, the triumvir. He was born about 89 B.C. and therefore
in his early thirties at the date of the epigram. His family was connected
with L. Manlius Torquatus, a friend of Catullus ; and his character is
universally reported as lazy, trifling and vain (cf. Veil. Pat. 2, So, 1 : vir
omniumv anissimus); on his socordiac, f. Tac. Ann. 1, 9; apyfa, App. B. C.
5, 1.24, cf. 3, 84; voo&fa, Dio 48, 4, 1, cf. 49, 1.2, 1. The nature of
Catullus' invective indicates that Aemilius inspired no respect-a view of
Lepidus shared by Cicero even when he supported Lepidus at the height
of the latter's career (Phil. 13, 43).
The Aemilius of Catullus 97 might also be identifiable with L. Aemilius
Paullus, who was a witness against P. Sestius in 56 along with two
B.C.
other victims of Catullus' satire, L. Gellius Poplicola and P. Vatinius
(cf. Cic.Q. Fr. 2, 4, 1; Catullus So, 88-91, 5.2).
The coarseness of Catullus' description of Aemilius, however, is
perhaps an indication that he was a person of no account ; and there were
many Aemilii of non-senatorial rank in Republican times (cf. e.g. CIL 2
1 ,
1016f, 123 I, 1018f, 2074, 2669, 2670).
This epigram is probably another example of Catullus' adaptation of
a Greek original for a specific occasion : cf. Anth. Pal. I 1, 241 and 4IS.
B
2.
ALFENUS V ARDS
It is probable that the Alfenus immemor of Catullus 30, as Tenney
Frank argued (Catullus and Horace,6 5f), was P. Alfenus Varos, the jurist
and juridical writer (cf. Pomponius, Dig. 1, 2., 2., 44: Gell. 7, 5, 1), who
was consul sujfectus in 39 He was a student of Servius Sulpicius
B.C.
(Pomponius, foe. cit.), the noted jurist and friend of Cicero.1 His social
and literary aspirations are implied in Horace's reference to him (Sat.
1, 5, 130) as the Alfenus vaferw ho, after putting aside the tools of his lowly
trade (cobbler or barber, depending on a textual emendation), rose to a
position of importance. Porphyrio (ad foe.) identifies this vafer as Alfenus
Varus Cremonensism, entions his connection with Sulpicius, and refers to
the fact that he plied his trade in Cremona.
It is probable that this is the Alfenus who, as legatus of Octavian,
handled the distribution of land in Transpadane Gaul in 41 Probus,"
B.C. ("
Vita Vergili, p. 53 , 59 Reiff.). The Vita (ibid.) says that he protected
Vergil's farm, and that Vergil in gratitude dedicated the sixth Ecloguet o
him (c f. also Serviu s on Eel. 6, 6) and mentioned him with praise in
Eel. 9, 2.6-2.9. Frank (Vergil, 12.5f) shows that the statements of the Vita
and Servius, that Alfenus had done Vergil a favour, are based on the
assumption that Eel. 6 is addressed to him, rather than, as is more probable,
to Quintilius Varos. Further, Frank argues (ibid.), the reference in Eel. 9
is undoubtedly to Alfenus, but is a plea to him, as legatusi n charge of
land distribution, to spare Mantua, not a recognition of past favours.
The Veronese Scholia (on Eel. 7, 9) and Servius (on Eel. 6, 13) also state
that Alfenus was a fellow-student of Vergil at the Epicurean school of
Siro. This statement is possibly another instance of confusion with
Quintilius Varos, also an associate of Vergil, whose connections with
the school at Naples are well established ; but perhaps both Quintilius
and Alfenus Varos were there, since Alfenus' knowledge of Epicurean
doctrine is clearly shown in a reference to the atomic theory (Pomponius,
Dig. 6, 76 Jin.).
Tenney Frank's suggestion (CQ 15 [192.0] 16o) that Alfenus Varos
was the Suffenus of Catullus 14 and has only the evidence of Alfenus'
2.2.
birth in Cremona to support it. The name Suffenus is unexampled,
though similar names occur (cf. Schulze, LE 2.39); but it is perhaps a
corruption of Sufenas (see "Nonius ").
1 For Alfenus' juridical career and digests, see Jars, PW 1, 1473f. His literary
career is discussed by K.lebs, ibid., 147zf.