Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus Explained

Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus (28 May 82 BC[1] –) was an orator and poet of ancient Rome.

Son of Licinius Macer and thus a member of the gens Licinia, he was a friend of the poet Catullus, whose style and subject matter he shared.[2]

Calvus' oratorical style opposed the "Asian" school in favor of a simpler Attic model: he characterized Cicero as "Latin: solutum et enervem" (loose and nerveless), while Cicero described him as "Latin: exsanguem et aridum" (bloodless and dry).[3] [4] However, there was no enmity between these two, and Cicero praised Calvus highly.[5]

Tacitus mentions twenty-one of his speeches, including several speeches against Publius Vatinius.[6] Calvus likely prosecuted Vatinius multiple times, in 58 BC and then later in 54 BC, where he was defended by Cicero.[7] One of these trials (probably the second) is described in Catullus's poem 53.[8] At the trial one of the bystanders caused Catullus to laugh by crying out "Great gods, what an eloquent Latin: salaputium!". The meaning of the rare word Latin: salaputium has been disputed, but it has been suggested that it may have referred to Calvus' wit or short stature. There may also have been an obscene meaning.[9] [10]

Seneca the Elder mentions his short stature, and refers a story in which Calvus asked to be raised to a platform, so that he could defend one of his clients, Asinius Pollio, being attacked by supporters of Gaius Cato.[11] Seneca also tells a story of how, at a trial, the defendant jumped up and complained "I ask you, judges, am I to be condemned just because that man is a good speaker?"[12]

Catullus counted him as a close friend and addressed several poems to him. In one of these, no. 50, he describes how he and Calvus spent a pleasant afternoon taking turns to write short poems.[13]

Frédéric Plessis published fragments of Calvus in 1896.[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 7.165
  2. Book: la. 1825. De C. Licinio Calvo, oratore et poeta. Augustus Weichert. 2024-04-16. 2024-04-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20240416004315/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960/t70v8k21s. live.
  3. Tacitus, Dialogus, 18
  4. 289689 . Cicero's Correspondence with Brutus and Calvus on Oratorical Style . Hendrickson . G. L. . The American Journal of Philology . 1926 . 47 . 3 . 234–258 . 10.2307/289689 .
  5. 288916 . Cicero and the Poetae Novi . Frank . Tenney . The American Journal of Philology . 1919 . 40 . 4 . 396–415 . 10.2307/288916 .
  6. Tacitus, Dialogus, 21
  7. In Vatinium . Cicero . 1958 . Harvard University Press . 10.4159/dlcl.marcus_tullius_cicero-in_vatinium.1958 . 330–331 . 2024-04-16.
  8. 265227 . Comfort . Howard . The Date of Catullus LIII . Classical Philology . 1935 . 30 . 1 . 74–76 . 10.1086/361811 .
  9. 23324455 . On the Oscanism salaputium in Catullus 53 . Hawkins . Shane . Transactions of the American Philological Association . 2012 . 142 . 2 . 329–353 . 10.1353/apa.2012.0017 .
  10. Quinn, K. (1973) Catullus: the Poems, 2nd ed., pp. 248–249.
  11. Seneca the Elder, Controversiae, 7.4.7
  12. Seneca the Elder, Controversiae, 7.4.6
  13. 295106 . Catullus c. 50: The Exchange of Poetry . Burgess . Dana L. . The American Journal of Philology . 1986 . 107 . 4 . 576–586 . 10.2307/295106 .
  14. Book: Plessis . Frédéric . Calvus: édition complète des fragments et des témoignages . 1896 . Klincksieck . Paris .