Cic. de Opt. Gen. Or. 1, ‘fortasse summus comicus.’ Sedigitus ap. Gell. xv. 24,
‘Caecilio palmam Statio do mimico.’
Hor. Ep. ii. 1, 59,
‘(dicitur) vincere Caecilius gravitate.’
The contemporaries of Caecilius include Trabea, Atilius (‘poeta durissimus,’ Cic. ad Att. xiv. 20, 3), Aquilius (possibly the author of the Boeotia, attributed by Varro to Plautus, Gell. iii. 3, 4), Licinius Imbrex, Luscius Lanuvinus, all writers of palliatae. Our chief information about Luscius Lanuvinus is got from the prologues to Terence’s plays (in all of which, except that of the Hecyra, he is attacked), and from Donatus’ commentary on these passages. From Ter. Eun. prol. 9-13, we see that he did not tone down his originals to suit a Roman audience,
‘Idem Menandri Phasma nuper perdidit
atque in Thensauro scripsit, causam dicere
prius unde petitur, aurum qua re sit suom,
quam illic qui petit, unde is sit thensaurus sibi
aut unde in patrium monumentum pervenerit.’
Donatus ad loc., ‘Arguit Terentius quod Luscius contra consuetudinem litigantium defensionem ante accusationem induxerit.’
TERENCE.
(1) LIFE.
Our chief source of information is Suetonius’ life of Terence, preserved by Donatus, who also makes a slight addition of his own. Jerome’s notice is also based on Suetonius.