[e] Lucretius is not without his partisans at this hour. Many of the French critics speak of him with rapture; and, in England, Dr. Wharton of Winchester seems to be at the head of his admirers. He does not scruple to say that Lucretius had more spirit, fire, and energy, more of the vivida vis animi, than any of the Roman poets. It is neither safe nor desirable to differ from so fine a genius as Dr. Wharton. The passages which he has quoted from his favourite poet, shew great taste in the selection. It should be remembered, however, that Quintilian does not treat Lucretius with the same passionate fondness. He places Virgil next to Homer; and the rest, he says, of the Roman poets follow at a great distance. MACER and LUCRETIUS deserve to be read: they have handled their respective subjects with taste and elegance; but Macer has no elevation, and Lucretius is not easily understood. Cæteri omnes longe sequuntur. Nam MACER et LUCRETIUS legendi quidem; elegantes in suâ quisque materiâ, sed alter humilis, alter difficilis. Lib. x. cap. 1. Statius, the poet, who flourished in the reign of Domitian, knew the value of Lucretius, and, in one line, seems to have given his true character; et docti furor arduus Lucreti; but had he been to decide between him and Virgil, it is probable, that he would say to Lucretius, as he did to himself,
——Nec tu divinam Æneida tenta,
Sed longe sequere, et vestigia semper adora.
THEBAIDOS lib. xii. ver. 816.
[f] Aufidius Bassus and Servilius Nonianus were writers of history. Bassus, according to Quintilian, deserved great commendation, particularly in his History of the German war. In some of his other works he fell short of himself. Servilius Nonianus was known to Quintilian, and, in that critic's judgement, was an author of considerable merit, sententious in his manner, but more diffuse than becomes the historic character. See Quintilian, lib. x. cap. 1. The death of SERVILIUS, an eminent orator and historian, is mentioned by Tacitus in the Annals, b. xiv. s. 19; but the additional name of NONIANUS is omitted. The passage, however, is supposed to relate to the person commended by Quintilian. He died in the reign of Nero, A.U.C. 812; of the Christian æra 59.
[g] Varro was universally allowed to be the most learned of the Romans. He wrote on several subjects with profound erudition. Quintilian says, he was completely master of the Latin language, and thoroughly conversant in the antiquities of Greece and Rome. His works will enlarge our sphere of knowledge, but can add nothing to eloquence. Peritissimus linguæ Latinæ, et omnis antiquitatis, et rerum Græcarum, nostrarumque; plus tamen scientiæ collaturus, quam eloquentiæ. Lib. x. cap. 1.
Sisenna, we are told by Cicero, was a man of learning, well skilled in the Roman language, acquainted with the laws and constitution of his country, and possessed of no small share of wit; but eloquence was not his element, and his practice in the forum was inconsiderable. See De Claris Oratoribus, s. 228. In a subsequent part of the same work, Cicero says, that Sisenna was of opinion, that to use uncommon words was the perfection of style. To prove this he relates a pleasant anecdote. One Caius Rufus carried on a prosecution. Sisenna appeared for the defendant; and, to express his contempt of his adversary, said that many parts of the charge deserved to be spit upon. For this purpose he coined so strange a word, that the prosecutor implored the protection of the judges. I do not, said he, understand Sisenna; I am circumvented; I fear that some snare is laid for me. What does he mean by sputatilica? I know that sputa is spittle: but what is tilica? The court laughed at the oddity of a word so strangely compounded. Rufio accusante Chritilium, Sisenna defendens dixit quædam ejus SPUTATILICA esse crimina. Tum Caius Rufius, Circumvenior, inquit, judices, nisi subvenitis. Sisenna quid dicat nescio; metuo insidias. SPUTATILICA! quid est hoc? Sputa quid sit, scio; tilica nescio. Maximi risus, De Claris Oratoribus, s. 260. Whether this was the same Sisenna, who is said in the former quotation to have been a correct speaker, does not appear with any degree of certainty.
[h] For the character of Secundus, see s. ii. note [c].
[] Quintilian says, the merit of a fine writer flourishes after his death, for envy does not go down to posterity. Ad posteros enim virtus durabit, nec perveniet invidia. Lib. iii. c. 1. Envy is always sure to pursue living merit; and therefore, Cleo observes to Alexander, that Hercules and Bacchus were not numbered among the gods, till they conquered the malignity of their contemporaries. Nec Herculem, nec Patrem Liberum, prius dicatos deos, quàm vicissent secum viventium invidiam. Quintus Curtius, lib. viii. s. 18. Pliny the younger has a beautiful epistle on this subject. After praising, in the highest manner, the various works of Pompeius Saturninus, he says to his correspondent, Let it be no objection to such an author, that he is still living. If he flourished in a distant part of the world, we should not only procure his books, but we should have his picture in our houses: and shall his fame be tarnished, because we have the man before our eyes? Shall malignity make us cease to admire him, because we see him, hear him, esteem and love him? Neque enim debet operibus ejus obesse, QUOD VIVIT. An si inter eos, quos nunquam vidimus, floruisset, non solum libros ejus, verum etiam imagines conquireremus, ejusdem nunc honor præsentis et gratia quasi satietate languescet? At hoc pravum malignumque est, non admirari hominem admiratione dignissimum, quia videre, alloqui, audire, complecti, nec laudare tantum, verum etiam amare contingit. Lib. i. ep. 16.
Section XXIV.