MINOR POETS

( a ) The poets immediately after Afranius include (1) Hostius.—He was perhaps the grandfather of Cynthia (Hostia), Pro pert i us’ mistre . Prop. iv. 20, 7, ‘Est tibi form a potens; sunt castae Palladis artes, splendid a que a doc to fama refulget avo.’ There are nine lines extant from his epic poem Bellum Histricum , which was probably on the war of B.C. 125. Frag. 5 (Bährens), ‘Non si mihi linguae centum atque ora sient totidem vocesque liquatae,’ is from Il. ii. 489, and is imitated by Verg. Aen. vi. 625 (as noticed by Macrob. Saturn. vi. 3, 6). (2) Writers of epigrams—Pompilius, Valerius Aedituus, Porcius Licinus, and Q. Lutatius Catulus (cons. B.C. 102). (3) Q. Valerius Soranus wrote verse on philology and archaeology. (4) Volcacius Sedigitus wrote verse on literary history up to the time of the fabula palliata . He wrote indices of Plautus (Gell. iii. 3, 1), and a work De Poetis , which included his canon on the comic poets (Gell. xv. 24). ‘Caecilio palm am Statio do mimico. Plautus secund us facile exuperat ceteros. Dein Naevius, qui fervet, pretio in tertiost. Si erit, quod quarto detur, dabitur Licinio. Post insequi Licinium facio Atilium. In sexto consequetur hos Terentius, Turpilius septimum, Trabea octavum optinet, no no loco e e facile facio Luscium. Decimum addo causa anti quit at is Ennium.’ ( b ) The following poets wrote during Cicero’s youth, B.C. 106-84: (1) Cn. Matius, author of Mimiambi , and a translation of the Iliad . An example of the last is Frag. I (Bährens) = Il. i. 56, ‘Corpora Graiorum maerebat mandier igni.’ (2) Laevius, author of Erotopaegnia , of a lyrical character. Porphyr. ad Hor. Od. iii. 1, 2, ‘Roman is utique non prius audit a, quamvis Laevius lyric a ante Horatium scrip ser it; sed videntur ill a non Graecorum lege ad lyricum characterem exacta.’ About sixty lines are extant. Gell. xix. 7 speaks of Laevius’ curious vocabulary, and instances oblittera for oblitterata ; trisaeclisenex , dulciorelocus , etc. (3) A. Furius of Antium. Only six lines are extant. (4) C. Iulius Caesar Strabo, a tragic writer and orator. (5) Sueius. His works are ( a ) Moretum , an idyll; ( b ) Pulli , on the breeding of fowls; ( c ) Nidus ; ( d ) an epic poem, Annales . (6) Writers of fabula A tell an a ; [24] Novius and L. Pompon i us (Bon on i ens is). Fronto p. 62 (ed. Naber), ‘Elegant is Novium et Pomponium et id genus in verb is rustic an is et i ocular i bus ac ridiculariis.’ Of Novius forty-three titles and over one hundred lines are preserved, and of Pompon i us about seventy titles and two hundred lines. The well-known characters of the fabula A tell an a are retained, as is seen from the titles. Cf. Duo Do eni , Maccus Copa of Novius; Bucco Adopt at us , Maccus Miles , Maccus Sequester , Maccus Virgo of Pompon i us.