A literary work of his is spoken of by Seneca, also a poem in which he mentions Alpheus and Arethusa:
Ep. 46, 1, ‘Librum tuum, quem mihi promiseras, accepi. Levis mihi visus est, cum esset nec mei nec tui corporis, sed qui primo adspectu aut T. Livi aut Epicuri posset videri.... Non tantum delectatus, sed gavisus sum.’
N.Q. iii. 26, 6, ‘Hoc et a te traditum est ut in poemate, Lucili carissime, et a Vergilio, qui adloquitur Arethusam.’
A poem on Aetna is referred to in Ep. 79, 5-7, ‘Donec pudor obstet, ne Aetnam describas in tuo carmine et hunc sollemnem omnibus poetis locum adtingas; quem quo minus Ovidius tractaret, nihil obstitit, quod iam Vergilius impleverat ... Aut ego te non novi aut Aetna tibi salivam movet: iam cupis grande aliquid et par prioribus scribere.’
Some authorities think that Lucilius had meant to incorporate this description in a larger poem, but changed his mind, and wrote a poem on Aetna alone.
As regards the date of the poem: (1) It was written at a time when imitation of Ovid was common. Cf. Sen. N.Q. iv. 2, 2, ‘Quare non cum poeta meo iocor et illi Ovidium suum impingo?’ (2) There is no mention of Vesuvius in the list of volcanoes in 1. 425 sqq. The poem must therefore have been written before A.D. 79.
The following are the arguments for Lucilius having been the author:
(1) The poem was written by one who knew Aetna and the vicinity. Now Lucilius was long procurator of Sicily.
(2) Military metaphors, as ll. 464-74, would fit in with his having been a soldier.
(3) The author speaks as if he knew the neighbourhood of Naples well.