Sallust’s popularity is shown by the numerous references to him, particularly in Quintilian. Cf. Quint. x. 1, 101, ‘At non historia cesserit Graecis, nec opponere Thucydidi Sallustium verear’; § 102, ‘immortalem illam Sallustii velocitatem.’ Cf. also Martial, xiv. 191, ‘primus Romana Crispus in historia.’ Tacitus is the most important writer influenced by Sallust. For imitations cf. Tac. Agr. 37, where part of the description of a battle is modelled on Iug. 101. Cf. also Cat. 43, ‘facto non consulto in tali periculo opus esse,’ and Tac. Hist. i. 62, ‘ubi facto magis quam consulto opus esset.’
CATULLUS.
The poet’s full name, C.[35] Valerius Catullus, is got from Jerome and other authorities quoted below, as also his birthplace, Verona, to which Catullus himself refers (c. 67, 34, ‘Veronae meae’; 68, 27; 100, 2). The dates of his birth and death are uncertain. Jerome gives them as B.C. 87-58.
Yr. Abr. 1930 = B.C. 87, ‘Gaius Valerius Catullus scriptor lyricus Veronae nascitur.’
Yr. Abr. 1959 = B.C. 58, ‘Catullus xxx. aetatis anno Romae moritur.’ His early death is referred to by Ovid, Am. iii. 9, 61,
‘Obvius huic [Tibullo] venias hedera iuvenilia cinctus
tempora, cum Calvo, docte Catulle, tuo’;
but it is quite certain that the year of his death given by Jerome as B.C. 58 is wrong. In c. 113, 2, the second consulship of Pompeius in B.C. 55 is referred to, and cc. 11 and 29 were written after Caesar’s expedition to Britain in B.C. 55. C. 52 used to be taken as referring to B.C. 47, from l. 3, ‘per consulatum perierat Vatinius,’ but, as shown below, was written in B.C. 55 or 54. As no clear reference is found to any event after B.C. 54 (a highly important time, which would have been likely to produce some sarcastic poetry from Catullus), it is best to accept the view that Catullus lived from 87 to 54 or 53 B.C. B. Schmidt (ed. mai. 1887, prolegomena), on the other hand, fixes the dates as 82-52 B.C. (accepting Jerome’s account of Catullus’ age), and attributes c. 38 (to Cornificius) to the latter year.
Catullus’ family was wealthy and of good position, as is seen from his having estates at Sirmio (c. 31) and Tibur (c. 44), and from the fact that his father was a friend of Julius Caesar.
Sueton. Iul. 73, ‘Hospitioque patris eius [Catulli], sicut consueverat, uti perseveravit.’
Catullus went to Rome early, and there, as Schmidt thinks, was taught by the grammarian Valerius Cato, to whom c. 56 is probably addressed. From c. 68, 34-5, we see that he was settled at Rome.