Volcacius Sedigitus

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Volcacius Sedigitus (Latin pronunciation: [wɔɫˈkaːki.ʊs seːˈdɪɡɪtʊs]) (alternative spelling Volcatius[1]) was the titulus[2] of a Roman literary critic[3] who flourished around 100 b.c.,[4] noted for his ranking of those he considered the best Latin comics.

Nothing is known about Sedigitus beyond that Pliny[5] calls him illustrem in poetica and states that he got his cognomen because he was born with six fingers (Latin sex digitī) on each hand.[2] This rare state, known as polydactyly, is caused by a dominant gene. The Romans did not avoid openly referencing blemishes and personal infirmities in the names they gave to public figures.[6] (See Roman naming conventions.)

His origin may have been lowly or from outside the Roman Empire. His nomen gentilicium, "Volcacius", may be derived from the Volcae, a Celtic people.[7]

From his work Dē Poētīs Aulus Gellius' Noctēs Atticae[8][9][10] preserves 13 iambic senarii in didascaly, in which "Canon", as it has been termed, the principal Latin comics are enumerated in order of merit, from greatest: Caecilius, Plautus, Naevius, Licinius, Atilius, Terence, Turpilius, Trabea, Luscius, Ennius.[1]

Historian Suetonius' work Vita Terentii (Life of Terence) quotes "Vulcacius" as having given a few details about Terence's leaving Rome and consequent disappearing. Namely, Sedigitus said that the playwright was going to Asia, i.e., Pergamum, and was never seen again.[11][12][13]

References

  1. ^ a b William Smith; Charles Anthon (1860). A new classical dictionary of Greek and Roman biography, mythology and geography. Vol. 2. New York: Harper & Brothers. p. 794. Sedigĭtus, Volcātĭus, from whose work De Poëtis A. Gellius (xv., 24) has preserved thirteen iambic senarians, in which the principal Latin comics are enumerated in order of merit.
  2. ^ a b Edward Courtney (2003). The fragmentary Latin poets (2 ed.). Oxford. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-19-926579-4.
  3. ^ "Caecilius, Statius." Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008. "Roman comic poet ranked by the literary critic Volcatius Sedigitus at the head of all Roman writers of comedy."
  4. ^ Gian Biagio Conte; Joseph Solodow; Don P. Fowler; Glen W. Most (1999). Latin Literature: A History (2 ed.). Johns Hopkins University. p. 573. ISBN 978-0-8018-6253-3. around 100 b.c. the critic Volcacius Sedigitus established a canon
  5. ^ Natural History 11.244.
  6. ^ Samuel Pegge (1818). Anonymiana; or, Ten centuries of observations on various authors and subjects (2 ed.). London: Nichols, Son, and Bentley. p. 165. Apud "Sigon. de Nom. Rom", p. 365.
  7. ^ Oskar Bandle; Kurt Braunmuller; Ernst Hakon Jahr; Allan Karker; Hans-Peter Naumann; Ulf Teleman (February 2003). Nordic Languages: An International Handbook of the History of the North Germanic Languages. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 578. ISBN 978-3-11-014876-3. The (Lat.) proper names Volcatius, Volcius, Catuvolcus are plausibly related to Volcae.
  8. ^ xv.24.
  9. ^ "LacusCurtius • Gellius — Noctes Atticae, Liber XV". Retrieved on 2008-11-25.
  10. ^ Johann Jacob Hofmann (1635—1706). Lexicon Universale. Lugduni Batavorum, 1698. p. 695. (In Latin.)
  11. ^ Vita 5 = fpl fr. 2.
  12. ^ E. J. Kenney; Wendell Vernon Clausen (1982). The Cambridge History of Classical Literature. Vol. 2: Latin Literature. Cambridge University. p. 815. ISBN 978-0-521-21043-0.
  13. ^ "Suetonius: Life of Terence". Retrieved 2009-11-08.

Bibliography

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