254. At the close of the Augustan period and perhaps under Tiberius wrote the exact scholar Fenestella, whose pattern was Varro. Like Varro, he himself edited an abridgment of his Annals, and both in these and in a separate work, devoted much attention to the history of Roman manners and to the political condition of Rome. L. Arruntius imitated and rather exaggerated Sallust's manner in his History of the Punic wars. The early history of Rome was, perhaps in this period, related by Annius Fetialis, and A. Cremutius Cordus composed an account of the events of recent history. 1. Hieronym. on Eus. Chron. ad a. Abr. 2035 = 6 Tiberii = 772 v. c. Fenestella historiarum scriptor et carminum septuagenarius moritur sepeliturque Cumis. He would, therefore, seem to have been born 702, which agrees with Plut. Crass. 5 extr.: TouTwv qnoi inv érégav (who was about 18 years old a. 668, and therefore born c. 650) ἤδη πρεσβύτιν οὖσαν ὁ Φαινετέλλας ἰδεῖν αὐτὸς καὶ πολλάκις ἀκοῦσαι (perhaps in Spain). Not much probability attaches, therefore, to the statement of Pliny N. H. XXXIII 52: sua memoria coeptum Fenestella tradit, qui obiit novissimo Tiberii Caesaris principatu. As Tiberius died 790 = 37, this statement would oblige us to place Fenestella's life c. 719-789 (Mercklin p. 3). That he wrote the work in question in the reign of Tiberius, does not appear from Pliny N. H. VIII, 74: togas rasas divi Augusti (words of Pliny?) novissimis temporibus coepisse scribit Fenestella. It is certain that he wrote before Asconius who frequently impugns him. The statement of Lydus is certainly wrong de mag. ΙΙ 75: ὡς Φενεστέλλας καὶ Σισένας οἱ Ρωμαῖοί φασιν, ὧν τὰς χρήσεις ὁ Βάρρων ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων ἀνήγαγεν. ἐγὼ δὲ τὰς βίβλους οὔπω τεθέαμαι. Probably Fenestella quoted Sisenna and Varro, and Lydus' source seems to have mixed up the three names. Praenomen and nomen of Fenestella are unknown; the same applies to his carmina. 2. Fenestella is quoted as an authority on numerous statements concerning political and ritual conditions, e. g. on provocatio, the Quaestors, the XVviri, the leges Aureliae, dies festi and profesti, the Roman year, the ludi circenses, libri sibyllini, also on the expense of the aqua Marcia; concerning costumes (togae rasae, uniones, anuli aurei, calcei, silver vessels), living (fish, introduction of olea, rise of luxury) and literary history (on Terence and Cicero). But we never find his Annals quoted as the source of any of these statements, except in the very uncertain passage in Nonius v. praesente. The definite quotations from the Annals actually bear the stamp of a relation of events, but those other statements are remarkable for something reflective, though connected with numerical dates (Mercklin p. 10). See also Sen. Epist. 108, 31: aeque notat (Cicero in Rep.). . provocationem ad populum etiam a regibus fuisse: id ita in pontificalibus libris, et alii putant et Fenestella. The manner in which Fenestella is here associated with the pontificales libri, agrees with the joint mention made of him together with Gracchanus (above 133, 2) and Trebatius (who wrote de religionibus, above 189, 3) by Ulpian, Dig. I 13, 1, 1: et Junius et Trebatius et Fenestella scribunt. We may, perhaps, connect with this the mention made of him as annalium commentator (or = scriptor?) in Tertull. adv. Valent. 34, p. 303. Pliny mentions and uses him as a source in b. VIII (de elephantis etc.), IV (de aquatilium natura), XV (frugiferae arbores), XXXIII (metals), XXXV (painting). 3. Accurate quotations of the Annals of F. occur only in Nonius, p. 221 sq. v. reticulum (perhaps from a description of habits): Fen. annalium (III), p. 154, 20 (v. praesente): Fenestella annal. 1. II (of unknown time), and p. 385, 9 (v. rumor): F. annali 1. XXII (of a. 698 v. v.). There is no doubt that Plutarch Sull. 28 and Crass. 4 sq. derives his information from Fenestella's Annals. Even if the historical statements were taken from the Annals, they do not prove that they were carried to the regal period, as they may have occurred in excursuses (Mercklin, Pliny N. H. XV 1). The errors traced in Fenestella by Asconius and Gellius are partly of no consequence (Mercklin p. 9 sq.), partly are they based upon divergence of opinion, and do not, therefore, upset the judgment of Lactantius (inst. div. I 6, 14): Fenestella diligentissimus scriptor, which is rather borne out by such passages as Sueton. vit. Terent. 1 and Macrob. I 10, 5 sq. See also Lactant. de ira dei 22, 5: plurimi et maximi auctores tradiderunt, Varro et Fenestella. The few connected passages, which we know (especially ap. Non. v. rumor, also Prisc. VIII 20 p. 386, 13 sq. Htz) prove his style to have been discursive and circumstantial. Hence an abridgment mentioned by Diomed. I p. 365, 7 sq.: apud Fenestellam in libro epitomarum secundo: quemadmodum Caesar a piratis captus sit etc. This appears to have been a kind of table of contents, like the prologues of Trogus, though much more extensive than these. On the sole authority of Fulgentius (myth. III 2) rests and is, therefore, almost devoid of authority the citation: ut Fenestella in Achaicis (or Arch.) scribit. nostrorum 4. The fragments of Fenestella were for the last time collected in Frotscher's edition of Corte's Sallust (Lips. 1825) I p. 489-494. See also the additions by L. Mercklin, de Fen. p. 12, and by J. Poeth, de Fen. p. 21-56. L. Mercklin, de Fenestella historico et poeta, Dorpat 1844. 12 pp. 4. A tedious account by J. Poeth, de Fen. historiarum scriptore et carminum, Bonn 1849. 5. The two books de magistratibus et sacerdotiis Romanorum published under the name of L. Fenestella (e. g. Vindob. 1510. 4. Paris 1530. 1535) are the composition of the Canon Andr. Dom. Fiochi (+1452) and were also edited under his name (Floccus) by Aegid. Witsius 1561. This forgery was so very naïve as to mention 'episcopi' and 'archiepiscopi' among the sacerdotia. 6. Suet. gramm. 20: fuit (Hyginus) familiarissimus Ovidio poetae et Clodio Licino consulari historico, qui eum. . tradit liberalitate sua quoad vixerit sustentatum. He is no doubt the cons. suff. of a. 757 (ex Kal. Iul.) Caius Clodius Licinus (Orelli 644. 3260; C. I. lat. I p. 473 sq. 180), and perhaps also identical with Clodius Licinus quoted by Livy in libro IV rerum romanarum (a. 560) with rather astonishing accuracy. Of the same we should probably understand Nonius v. pristis (Claudius rerum romanarum libro XII) and v. patibulum (Licinius rerum rom. libro XXI). It would, therefore, seem that he began his history with the Punic wars and carried it down to the time of Augustus. M. Hertz, de historic. 1871. p. 4-9. 7. Sen. Epist. 114, 17: L. Arruntius, vir rarae frugalitatis (Vellei. II 86, 2 of a. 723: L. Arruntii, prisca gravitate celeberrimi, fides), qui historias belli punici scripsit, fuit Sallustianus et in illud genus nitens. 18: quae apud Sallustium rara fuerunt apud hunc crebra sunt et paene continua. ib. 19: Arruntius in primo libro belli punici. Tac. A. XI 6: meminissent. . recentiorum Arruntii et Aesernini; ad summa provectos incorrupta vita et facundia. Sen. controv. VII praef. 7 (p. 182, 2 sqq. Bu.) mentions him as an adversary of new-fashioned eloquence. He is probably L. Arruntius L. f. who was consul a. 732 together with Acerninus, and was the father of the consul a. 759 who bears the same name and died a. 790. The historian is no doubt the same Arruntius as is mentioned by Pliny in his list of sources in b. III, V and VI (the description of Spain, Africa and Asia). 8. Annius Fatialis, mentioned by Pliny among his sources ín b. 16, 33 and 36, and quoted XXXIV 13, 29 as an authority for the statement that the statue of Cloelia rather represented a Valeria; a statement probably originally due to Valerius Antias (Schwegler, Hist. of Rome II p. 8) and which should perhaps even attributed to him in Pliny (by changing Annius into Antias). H. Peter, hist. I p. CCCXVIII. CCCXXI. 9. Iulius Marathus, libertus et a memoria eius (Augustus), . . tradit, Suet. Aug. 79, cf. 94: auctor est I. M. (of a legend in praise of Augustus). 10. On Cremutius Cordus see below 292, 1. 11. On T. Labienus see below 262, 8. On the historical works of Hyginus and Verrius Flaccus see below 256, 1 sq. 257, 2. 255. As concerns the grammarians, Sinnius Capito followed the example of earlier writers in composing both grammatical works and such as treated of the history of literature. Varro's influence on Sinnius appears in the national tendency of his investigations and in the epistolary form adopted by him. 1. M. Hertz, on Sinnius Capito, an Essay on the history of Roman Grammar, Berlin 1845. A collection of his fragments ibid. p. 27–37. Cf. Egger, vet. serm. lat. reliqq. p. 63-68. 2. Gell. V 20, 1: soloecismus, a Sinnio Capitone eiusdemque aetatis aliis imparilitas appellatus, vetustioribus Latinis stribiligo dicebatur. 21, 9-11: Sinni Capitonis, doctissimi viri (cf. Hieron. in n. 3), epistulae sunt uno in libro multae positae in templo Pacis. prima epistula scripta est ad Pacuvium Labeonem. in ea rationes grammaticas posuit per quas docet "pluria" latinum esse, "plura" barbarum. 28, 2: Sinnius Capito in literis quas ad Clodium Tuscum dedit. Cf. Festus p. 162 (si diligentius inspiciatur, ut fecit Sinnius Capito). 170 M. To the same class we should probably add the liber de syllabis Sinni Capitonis mentioned by Pomp. p. 110, 2 Keil (Gramm. lat. V). Cf. J. Becker, Ztsch. f. AW. 1847, nr. 133. In his etymologies (Fest. p. 138. 230. 340) Capito, like Nigidius (186, 4) appears as a purist. 3. Lactant. Inst. div. VI 20, 35: Sinnius Capito in libris spectaculorum docet. Cf. Festus p. 326 and 364. M. Hertz p. 20 sq. His explanations of proverbial phrases (Fest. p. 145. 261. 282. 322. 325. 334) were probably contained in a work specially devoted to this subject. Hertz p. 22. 32 sqq. Philologus I p. 610 sqq. Geographical and ethnographical investigations? Hieronym. in Gen. III p. 319 Vall.: legamus Varronis de antiquitatibus libros et Sinnii Capitonis et Graecum Phlegonta ceterosque eruditissimos viros, et videbimus omnes paene insulas etc. Hertz p. 23. 30 sq., who uses this passage in support of his assumption (p. 25) that Sinnius Capito, like Varro, wrote a comprehensive work, Antiquitates or De antiquitatibus, in which he stored up his investigations on subjects of Roman religion, polity, and law. C. Wachsmuth in his edition of Lyd. de ostent. p. XX, understands of this also Lyd. ost. 3 (p. 6, 16) and de magistr. prooem. (o te Kanítov καὶ Φοντήιος). 256. Fenestella's and Sinnius Capito's tendency in the investigation of antiquarian lore and their Varronian direction were shared by the learned freedman M. Verrius Flaccus, chiefly known by his Fasti and his comprehensive lexicon entitled de verborum significatu, a rich store-house of the most important information concerning Roman antiquities. We possess a great part of the abridgment made of this work by Pompeius Festus, and also the abridgment made again of Festus by the deacon Paulus, both of whom adopted the method of omitting antiquated and obsolete statements. 1. Suet. gramm. 17: M. Verrius Flaccus libertinus docendi genere 2. The fragments of Verrius are collected in the editions of Festus 3. The work de verborum significatu was alphabetically |