MA S TER NEGA TIVE NO. 92-80497-18 MICROFILMED 1992 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material... Columbia University Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: HENRY, G. KENNETH TITLE: ROMAN ACTORS PLACE: [NORTH CAROLINA] DA TE : [1919?] COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT Master Negative # \t DIDLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGFT Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record BKS/PROD Books FUL/BIB MYCG92-B99AG Reheard 1 of D •- Record added todray -I" IDrNYCG92-"B7940 CC:;9668 BLTsam CP s ncu MMD r. 040 IGG 1 245 ID 260 300 LDG GD DCF: I MT : '"> RTYP:a C' c? r^ « '"^ GPCs? REP:? DM." P MOD: BIO: CPl : RR L : enq PDs 1919/ OR?: POL: )\INC--:^lcNNC I -! e I "I r Y ^^ G .. I- < e n n t? t h G . R a J11 a ( ■) a c t: a rB- I f i r; m i c r o f o r ni !] , i." N c) r t h C a r a I. i ri a n -• ! b T' h e U n i v e r s i t y p- 334-383. R I G 02- 11 92 FRM: BNR: F I C : FGl s? COL : 9 Acau isi t:LQn^ does not say when the hymn was composed, but Festus ^ informs us that great honors were paid Andronicus after the recitation of a hymn at the cele- bration of the Roman success in the second Punic war. At any rate acting by play-writers was continued through the life of G^naeus Naevius. The puer, or slave, introduced by Andronicus to the Roman stage may well point to the beginning, and the cause, ,/ *Livy, vn, 2. » Euanth., Com., iv, 3. The source of Euanthius' information is doubt- less the passage in Livy. *Festus, s. V. scrihas. *Livy, vii, 2. » Euanth., loc. cit. ' Cic, Brut., xvii. ■'De Senect., c. 14. 'Livy, 27, 37. ^8. v., scriJxis. 336 Roman Actors of the degradation of the actor's profession at Eome. The Roman stage, says Livy, continued the innovation. There doubtless resulted a competition of free and slave born on the stage, and the Eomans were always disinclined to compete with the lower class. Andronicus as an actor supported the characters familiar to ns in the plays of Plautus and Terence, drawing, as we see from his titles, from the Menander school. In tragedy his impersonations were from the later Greek tragedies and the Alexandrian revisions of the three great Attic masters.^^ Coming as he did from Taren- tum, he was already familiar with acting at the Dionysiac festivals which enjoyed such popularity in southern Italy. Naevius Gnaeus :N'aevius, who brought out his earliest production? iu ?35, only five years after the first attempts of Andronicus a- :'- -a^Uiza- tion, was doubtless an actor of his own plays.^^ Cicer. ••' :? death as early as 204. He thus comes within the periof' ■ d by Livy when play-writer and play-actor were combined n in i e man. Accounted by the ancients a better comic than ragic poei, Naevius was probably a better comedian than tragediai OiaTo'.s quotation of his jests would seem to point to such a tradii -i . We can only imagine how Naevius carried off his Rom- lus or ' u Lupus or his Clastidium, The lack of humor in the EL er ^= , and the noble Metelli has closed the door to even a I 'V--. on Eoman knights and senators on the stage. The furore c.tu.i ■ t^v Naevius's satire again contributed to the lowering of the a art and it is hardly likely that Ennius, the poet of great fa--. Lefc, ventured on the actor's part. Pellio The first purely Eoman, actor of whom we have notice is ici-: Andronicus and Naevius were actors only incidentally to their n. serious profession of play-writing. Pellio was an actor by p^ s- sion. He belongs to the time of Plautus. That writer, in t.. Bacchides, through the character of Chrysalus, complains that the *« Tid, Ward in Ency. Brit, suh Drama. >^Ati1. Gel., 17, 21. G. Kenneth G. Henry 337 unfavorable reception accorded the Epidicus, a play he " loved as well as his own self,'' was due to Pellio : etiam Epidicum, quam ego fabulam aeque ac ipsum amo, nullam aeque inuitus specto, si Pellio egit.^ u Unfortunately egit here, as elsewhere, does not differentiate between Pellio as actor and as stage manager, dominu^ gregis. Pellio may well have spoiled as good a play as the Epidicus either as actor of leading parts or as stage director. Symmachus gives Pellio a place of renown by grouping him with the greatest exponents of Eoman drama, Ambivius, Eoscius and Aesopus : non idem pronuntiandis fahulis P. Pelloni qui Amhivio fuit neque par Aesopi et Roscio.^^ From this we should suppose that Pellio was not some miserable actor of the time, as Eiley assumes,^* but that he exhibited in the Epidicus a lack of his more usual abilities. Ambivius But the greatest actor of the early republic, and in fact one of the greatest of all time, was L. Ambivius Turpio. He is mentioned more than once as an artist of the highest order. Cicero speaks of him as a model of the best acting: ut Turpione Amhivio magis delectatur qui in prima cavea spectat, delectatur tamen etiam qui in ultim'a.^^ So also Tacitus,^^ complaining that oratory of the older order has become obsolete, says that it is no more in demand than if one should use the gesture of an Ambivius or a Eoscius on the stage: — quam si quis in scaena aut Roscii aut Turpionis Amhivii exprimere gestus velit. Ambivius may be considered from two points of view : as player and as an influence on literature. The didaescalia appended to the plays of Terence indicate that Ambivius was the chief performer, if not the stage manager, at the presentation of the comedies of Terence. In each of these notices we read: egit L. Ambivius Turpio. Egit doubtless means both acted and managed the play in hand. With him rested the responsibility for the success of the piece, which seems to have depended on the spirit with which it "^Bacch. 215-6. "Trans. Bacch., loc. cit., n. ^Dial. de Orat., 20. IS Sym., X, 2. " De Senect., c. 20. 338 Roman Actors G. Kenneth G. Henry 339 was rendered. He would also seem to be the speaker of the pro- logues of the Hecyra and of the Eauton Timorumenos. In fact Eugraphius states positively "" that Ambivius was the prologuist ; and Faenus says that in some copies the name of L. Ambivius is over the word prologus in great letters, as also in the Basilican copy. In the prologue to the Hecyra, Ambivius claims that he had popularized the plays of the poet Caecilius, when that writer's plays were unknown: novas qui exactas feci ut inveterascarent. The disfavor with which the Hecyra had previously been received called for the intervention of a popular actor, though usually the prologue was delivered by one of the lesser actors, adores partium secundarum aut tertium.^^ But Ambivius was rated so high in popular favor that his appearance in behalf of the Hecyra went far toward guaranteeing its success. The conclusion is quite irresistible that Ambivius was manager and director as well as actor. He appeals, for example, to the audience to remember his generosity in not covetously setting a large price on his services, but that he considers the serving of his audience's entertainment the highest reward. He begs that the play be received favorably that he may be encouraged to purchase new plays : " For my sake grant my plea and attend in silence that it may be possible for others to write and for me to learn new plays after this, purchase^d at my own expense {posthac pretio emptas)" Donatus, here, to be sure, thinks that pretio meo means aestir matione a me facta quantum aediles darent, i. e. that the aediles, only, purchased plays and that they consulted Ambivius as to the proper price to be set upon the piece. Donatus's interpretation of pretio as equal to aestimatione is quite unnatural and unsupported by the use of pretium elsewhere in Terence, of which there are at least twelve instances. The purchase of a play by a manager, too, is supported by Juvenal, who, complaining of the hard financial lot of the poet, suggests that the poet Statins should sell his tragedy, the Agave, to Paris, the actor and play-manager. Ambivius, a.- mere play-actor, would not be purchasing plays from the playwrigh or from the aediles; as magister gregis he may reasonably havt done so. And whether pretio is to be interpreted literally, as indi- cating the purchase of plays by Ambivius, or figuratively, according " Prol. Eecy. " Prol. Eecy., prol. Haut. Tim. Horace, Ep. 1, 18, 14. to Donatus, meaning that he was only asked to set a price for the magistrates, the conclusion can only be that he was an experienced stage manager. Again the tone of the prologuist's words suggests a manager rather than a mere actor : " Allow me to gain my request, that he who has entrusted his labors to my protection and himself to your trust in him may not be beset by the malicious and derided on every side." Terence entrusted his interests to Ambivius : in tute- lam meam studium suum commisit. That goes beyond the services expected of a play-actor, but fits well with the part undertaken by a manager. But Ambivius was more than this. He had an important influ- ence on the Roman drama itself, on contemporary literature. If we may believe the matter of the prologues, both Caecilius and Terence may well have failed to gain a hearing from the Roman stage, had not Ambivius come to their rescue. To quote from the second prologue to the Hecyra : " Caecilius, now a great favorite, very often failed at first and not a few of his plays were rescued by me from popular dislike and have now become favorites. And so I encouraged the poet to write new plays, whereas otherwise he would have been disheartened at the opposition which he met with. And if this holds good in the case of Caecilius, I ought to gain your attention for the Hecyra, which has met with an unfavorable recep- tion. The play has been unfortunate. On one occasion the tight rope dancer, on another the gladiator drew away the audience. Now there is no distraction of the kind and you can attend to the play at your leisure. I appeal to you further not to allow a monopoly of the dramatic art by rejecting my poet and accepting the plays of his opponents. Allow me to enjoy the privileges that I had as a younger man when I saved plays that had been hissed off the stage." '* ^ Again in the prologue to the Hauton Timorumenos, Ambivius is supposedly the speaker. And why? "I will first," he says, " account for my having been chosen to speak the prologue instead of a younger actor, and then I shall account for my appearance as an actor. Terence has wished me to act as an advocate, orator, not to speak a prologue. The decision he has placed in your hands ; he has made me his pleader : and yet in the matter of eloquence I shall "This paraplirase is, in general, that of Macleane. 340 Roman Actors N G. Kenneth G. Henry 341 be able to plead only as well as he has devised my brief." Here is Ambivius pleading for the support of a Eoman audience in behalf of two of the greatest literary geniuses that Rome produced. He may possibly in his earlier days have been a composer as well as exhibitor.2<^ Be that as it may, he had at least an influence on the literature from the pen of his literary friends. His close association with Terence would bring him into that choice literary clique, the circle of Scipio and Laelius : and he was, no doubt admitted to the literary discussions of that ancient " coffee house club." We have assumed that Ambivius is the prologuist in the Hecyra and Hauton Timorumenos. The presence of his name in the didascaliae as chief actor or dominiis gregis would lead to that supposition, independently of the testimony of Eugraphius. It is quite likely that it was from this source that Eugraphius drew his statement. The date, however, of the popularity of Ambivius, as told of in the Cato Maior, only approximately, if that, agrees with the prologuisf s popularity in Terence's plays. The dramatic date of the Cato Maior, in which Cicero bespeaks the success of Ambivius, is 150. The Hauton Timorumenos and the Hecyra were, according to the evidence of the didascaliae and of Donatus, pre- sented in 163 and 160. The prologuist more than once speaks of himself as an old man, unable to meet the demands of a noisy uproarious audience: while Cato speaks of Ambivius as at the height of his powers and popularity thirteen to fifteen years later. Again the prologuist, whoever he was, was evidently the con- necting link between Caecilius and Terence. Now Caecilius died in 168 and Ambivius would be a very old man indeed in 150, rather than of the age indicated in the Cato Maior. A legend has come down to us that points to the skill of Ambivius in interpreting the character that he impersonated. On one occa- sion at a rehearsal of the Phormio, Terence was much disgusted to find Ambivius seemingly intoxicated. Terence called the actor to account, but was met with the reply that he was only acting the part of Phormio according to his interpretation of the part. The writer immediately recognized the correctness of Ambivius's view of the character of Phormio ; that he had really meant the parasite to be a drunkard. The words that Terence puts in the mouth of Ambivius in the '^Aslimore so states, without authority, however. prologues (if, indeed, Ambivius did not write the prologues him- self), indicate the high degree of perfection attained by the Eoman actor. The demands on Ambivius were most exacting. In fact wherever actors are referred to, it is generally in terms that go to show that they must have been required to possess all the accom- plishments of an operatic singer. Quality and volume of voice, along with grace and accuracy of enunciation, seem to determine the actor's relative position. He had to be trained in the lyrical as well as the dialogue parts, though the strictly lyrical parts were not always sung by the actor himself. If the play did not please, the spectators did not hesitate to express their disapproval. Cat-calls and hisses were common even in the days of Plautus and Terence. Under the empire, the claque, a paid body of applauders introduced during the republic, shouted the praises of their pay-masters and hissed the utterances of rival actors.^^ Horace compares the noise and disturbance of the theatre to the roar of the sea or the storm raging through a mountain forest." The importance attached to acting far outran that attached to the Greek performance. Especially in later days, the attention to dress, movement, enunciation, made the actor of more importance than the play itself. The mise en scene was the thing. Horace says the audience came to see the fringe on the embroidered robe. The acting of an Ambivius or of a Roscius far outdid the greatest efforts of the greatest Greek comedian. Says Cicero: " Everything is done by the stage player unexceptionally well : everything with the utmost grace : everything in such a way as is becoming and moves and delights all.' ?? 23 Atilius The name of L. Atilius Praenestinus is joined to that of Ambivius in all the didascaliae of Terence's plays except in that of the Hecyra (and in the codex A, the Hauton Timorumenos). Dziatzko^* in his discussion of the didascaliae concludes that the mention of the two names, Ambivius and Atilius, indicate different perform- ances. The establishment of the fact that Ambivius was a dominus '^Petronius, Sat., c. 5; Tac. Ann. 1, 16; Festus, p. 86; Epict. m, 4. "Ep., n, 1, 202. ^ De Orat., 1, 2^. ^Rhein. Mus., 20, 572; 21, 64. 342 Roman Actors gregis of recognized ability would indicate that Atilius was also a manager and editor, i. e., brought out plays under the direction of the curule aediles. Atilius probably belongs to a later time than Ambivius. Ash- more, therefore, rejects (or at least parenthesizes) his name in all the didascaliae except that of the Adelphoe, The grouping of the names of the two managers, it is suggested, may be due to care- lessness or accident. There is a possibility that this is the same Atilius who wrote palliatae, for the poet's nomen, praenomen and cognomen are identical with those of the actor. The testimony of Livy that it was in the earlier days of the Koman drama only that playwrights appeared in their plays, a testimony repeated by Euanthius ^^ argues against the identity of the actor and the poet. Dziatzko answers the question negatively.^^ If they be the same, Cicero's antagonism to actors in general may explain his criticism of the poet as poeta durissimus,^'^ for Varro speaks in praise of the poet : Atilius, Caecilius, facile moverunt.^^ He translated the Electra of Sophocles.^^ Macleane dismisses the player Atilius with the remark that of him we know nothing except that he was a manager and actor. MiNUCIUS. CiNCIUS Minucius Prothymus and Cincius Faliscus are mentioned by Donatus as the first actors to wear masks on the Eoman stages, the former in tragedy, the latter in comedy: personati primi egisse dictuntur comoediam Cinciiis Faliscus, tragoediam Minucius Prothymus.^^ Prothymus was dominus gregis in a presentation of the Adelphoe.^^ The appearance of the two names Atilius and Prothymus in the didascaliae, leads Dziatzko to argue that only Atilius gave the presentation in 160, while Minucius brought out the Adelphoe at a later date.^^ This date for Minucius's presenta- tion of the Eunuchus ^^ Eibbeck puts as late as 146.^* *De Fahula, iv, 3. ^AdAtt., 14, 20, 3. "'Cic. Fin. 1, 5; Suet., Jul, 84. ^Didasc. to Adelp. ^ Vid. Donat. praef. Eunuchus, 6. •* Rom. Trag. der Rep., p. 660 f . : Er bracMe in nachterenzischer Zeit als dominus gregis die Adelphi und den Eunuclius zur Auffuhrung, letzteren wohl erst nach dem Jahre 608. Man wird ihn am wahrsclieinliclisten der ^Rhem Mus., 21, 72. »Ap. ChuHs., G. L., 1, 241. ^ De Com., p. 26, vol. 1, Wesener. *^ Rhein. Mus., xx, 578. G. Kenneth G. Henry 343 EUPILIUS An actor of tragedy is mentioned by Cicero by the name of Eupilius. Cicero states that he always acted the Antiope (of Accius or of Pacuvius), while Aesopus often took the part of Ajax.^^ These parts, says Cicero, were best suited to their individual abilities. Eupilius belonged to the earlier days of Cicero: Rupilius, quern memini.^^ That he was an actor of high merit is indicated by Cicero's recommendation to the orator to imitate this performer in wisely choosing a role that he could present with success. Cicero's mention of him, too, in connection with the well-known actor of tragedy, Aesopus, points to Eupilius's merit. No further mention seems to be made of him. Statilius A teacher and trainer of actors by the name of Statilius is also noticed by Cicero. He is ranked as of less ability and renown than the great Eoscius: "If the slave-actor Panurgus," says Cicero, " had come from Statilius, even if he had surpassed Eoscius himself in skill, no one would have been able to see it." ^^ Eoscius As Ambivius was the acme of success in the early republic, so in the Ciceronian period was Eoscius, one of the most famous actors of all time. His full name was Quintus Eoscius Callus. We have no data for definitely arriving at the year of his birth. We may, however, fix the approximate date. The earliest reference to him is in the year 91 b. c.^ the dramatic date of the 7)e Oratore; and he was by this time a trainer of young actors : " I have," observes Crassus, " often heard Eoscius say that he had never yet been able to find a pupil of whom he entirely approved." ^^ More than that, Periode des Accius zuweisen. . . . Wenn nun Diomedes (p. 489 K), oder vielmehr Sueton, welcher wiederum Varro's Schriften benutzte, als denje- nigen, welclier sich zuerst der Masken dediente, Roscius namhaft macht, so mag Minucius Prothymus derjenige Director gewesen sein, unter wel- chem Roscius, sei es nach eigenem Wunsch sei es nach Anordnung des Herrn als des actor, zuerst maskirt auftrat. ^De Off., 1, 114. "^Loc. cit. »' Rose. Com., X. '^ De Orat., i, 28, 129. 344 Roman Actors in the year 91 Roscius was getting well along in years: solet idem Roscius dicere se, quo plus aetatis accederet, eo tardiores tihicinis modos et cantus remissiores esse facturum.^^ Yet Roscius did not die till about thirty years after this time; for Cicero, in the Archia^, remarks on his recent death : quis nostrum tam agresti animo et duro fuit ut Rosci morte nuper non commoveretur? qui cum esset senex mortuus, tamen propter excellentem artem ac venustatem videhatur omnino mori non deluisse" *° The date for the Archias is commonly put at the year 62.*^ Wilkins *^ suggests that Cicero, writing the De Oratore in the year 55, may be guilty of an anachronism in representing Roscius speaking of his advancing years in 91. The De Oratore is, however, quite replete with references to the actor, all pointing to the conclu- sion that he had passed the climax of his reputation. " He has, accordingly, long ago (iam pridem) attained such distinction that in whatever pursuit a man excels, he is called a Roscius in his profession.^' *^ Furthermore we are asked to believe that it was only the old men of the year 91 who could remember the time when Roscius did not wear masks : quo melius nostri illi senes qui per- sonatum ne Roscius quidem magne opere laudehant" ** This assumption of a mask Wilkins conjectures to have been twenty or twenty-five years previous to 91.*^ The defence of Roscius by Cicero against Fannius Chaerea in the year 76 *^ represents Roscius as practically retired from the profession of actor, although still engaged in training actors. He had made his fortune, and whatever gain he might further have acquired he declined and gave the public the benefit of his talents without remuneration.*^ The period elapsing between this retire- ment and the year 76, would seem to be ten years ; that is, he with- drew from the chief activities of the actor's profession in the year 86 : decern his annis proximis H-S sexagies lionestissime consequi potuit: noluit. Lahorem quaestus recepit, quaestum lahoris reiecit." Populo Romano adliuc servire non destituit; sihi iam pridem desti' *" De Orat., I, 60, 254. The same remark is attributed to Roscius also in De Leg., i, 4. *^Pro Arch., S, ■** Von Minckwintz, introd., p. 33 ; Sihler, M. T. Cic. of Arpin., p. 176. "De Orat., ad loo. *^De Orat., i, 28, 130. **De Orat., Hi, 59, 221. « Wilk., ad. loc. ^Sillier, Oic. of Arpin., p. 60. *'Cie. pro Rose. Com., 8. G. Kenneth G. Henry 345 tuit." *® It would seem that this '' decern his annis proximis " indicates the period of time that had elapsed since Roscius had withdrawn from the stage, though the statement is that it was ten years since he had profited by his abilities. He doubtless continued to appear in performances, but these would be at longer intervals; his chief activities were henceforth in the training of younger actors. It would be fair to assume that Roscius had acquired a fortune ample enough to satisfy all his futurei needs not before he was forty-five years of age. Such an assumption would make him 55 years of age in 76 and set the date of his birth a little earlier than 130 B. c. He would also be anticipating the approach of old age in the De Oratore, 91 b. c, when he was forty years of age, an age rather young even for an Italian. The date of his death in 62 would make him about seventy when he died. The cognomen of Gallus may indicate that Roscius was, like others of his profession, not a native of Rome, but was born north of the Po. He passed his boyhood, however, and was educated in the neighborhood of Lanuvium: Amores ac deliciae tuae, Roscius, num aut ipse aut pro eo Lanuvium totum mentiehatur? Qui cum in curiahulis educareturque in Solonio, qui est campus agri Lanu- vini'^^ Cicero makes his brother Quintus say; and then relates the story of the prophesy that no man would attain to greater renown than the young Roscius. According to this tale, the child's nurse found the boy one night enveloped in the folds of a serpent's coils. The child's father consulted the auspices concerning the meaning of the prodigy and was informed that the boy would reach the greatest distinction. Cicero takes occasion to say that some credence is to be put in the tale: De ipso Roscio potest illud quidem esse falsum ut circumligatus fuerit angui, sed ut in cunis fuerit anguis non est minim, in Solonio praesertim, ubi ad focum angues nundi- nari solent.^^ This tale a Praxiteles represented in silver and Archias in verse.**^ That Roscius was born a slave receives some credence from the statement of Pliny the Elder, who, in speaking of the high price paid for the grammarian Daphnis, mentions the wealth of actors who purchased their freedom and particularly of Roscius: Pretium "^Pro Rose. Com.., 8, 23. *Cic. De Div., n, 66. *» Cic. De Div., i, 79. ^ Cic. De Div., i, 79. 346 Roman Actors hominis in servitio geniti maximum ad hanc diem, quod equidem compererim, fuit grammaticae artis, Daphnin Attio Pisaurense vedente et M. Scauro principe civitatis Ili DCC licente. excessere hoc in nostro aevo, nee modice, histriones, sed hi lihertatem suam mercati, quippe cum iam apud maiores Roscius histrio Hi D annua meritasse prodatur.^^ We may suppose that Eoscius came to Rome when a young man, but there is no account preserved of the means by which he climbed to the height of popularity that he enjoyed at the hands of the Roman public. According to Macrobius he was a great favorite of the dictator Sulla: 75 est Roscius qui etiam L. Bullae carissimus fuit, et anulo aureo ah eodem dictatore donatus est.^^ This gift of a golden ring, the symbol of the equestrian rank, has led to the supposition that Roscius was raised to that rank by Sulla. The patronage of the great dictator doubtless advanced the cause of Eoscius, for the two were of the same age; and probably Roscius absorbed much of the learning of the precocius Sulla. This friend- ship with men of influence at Rome is mentioned by Valerius Maximus: nee vulgi tantum favorem, verum etiam principum familiaritates amplexus est.^*^ Roscius's intimacy with Cicero is abundantly testified to in the writings of the orator. It was at the earnest request of Roscius that Cicero undertook his first public defence. This was the case for P. Quintius, who had married the sister of Roscius: dicelam huic Q. Roscio, cuius soror est cum P. Quintio, cum a me peteret, et summe contenderet ut suum propinquum defenderem; mihi perdifficile esse contra tales oratores non modo tantam causam perorare, sed omnino verhum facere conari. Cum cupidius instaret, homini pro amicitia familarius dixi.^^ The most illuminating information on Roscius is to be found in Cicero's speech, or rather the re-edited speech, in defence of the actor himself against C. Fannius Chaerea. This case may be succinctly stated. A slave, Panurgus by name, had been sent to Roscius by the prosecutor in the case, Fannius Chaerea, for the purpose of having him trained as an actor. The understanding was that the profit anticipated from the art of the slave was to be equally divided between the master, Chaerea, and the teacher, *»N. H., vn, 39. "vin, 7. ^Sat., m, XIV; 13. "^Pro P. Quvntio, 24, 77. G. Kenneth G, Henry 347 Roscius. But a certain Flavins had killed Panurgus. Flavins was deceased at the time of the trial. In settling his civil obligation (there was no other) the slayer had satisfied the claim of Roscius with a farm or piece of land, valued at 100,000 sesterces. The actor is now sued to make settlement with his partner, to cede to him some share of the land which now has risen considerably in value. Cicero's contention is that Roscius fifteen years before settled for himself alone with the slayer of the actor-slave, and is not legally bound to share his indemnity with the original owner of the slave. It is a delicate point of law and equity. At the same time it is quite palpable that Roscius had contributed vastly more to the ultimate professional value of the slain Panurgus than was the market value of the bondsman before the brilliant actor took him in hand. Moreover, Fannius had also previously sued for his share and had been awarded a like 100,000 sesterces. This fact Fannius had concealed when he brought the suit against Roscius.**^ This defense of Roscius furnishes no small amount of material from which to form an estimate of him as a man, an actor, and a teacher of his art. He was of the most upright character, pure, modest, humane, generous. As Macrobius puts it: ceterum his- triones non inter turpes hahitos Cicero testimonio estP The testi- mony is, to be sure, that of an advocate pleading for his client, and the case may be illustrative of the adroitness and nimbleness of intellect of the pleader, rather than an unbiased picture of the client. The sketch of Chaerea, of course, draws a character the very antithesis of Roscius, illustrative of Cicero's fondness for making his audience laugh at the discomfiture of his opponents at the bar : " Do not the very pate and eyebrows of Chaerea closely shaven seem to be redolent of meanness and proclaim his cunning? Does he not from the very nails of his toes to the crown of his head, if the speechless physical person affords an inference to men, seem to consist wholly of cheating, of tricks, of lies; who has his head and eyebrows always shaven for this reason, that he might not be said to own as much as a hair of a good man ?" ^^ We must only trust that the portrait of Roscius here drawn does not resort to a lawyer's unscrupulous device. " Let us consider," says Cicero, " who it is who has defrauded his partner " : "Sillier, Cic. of Arpinum, p. 61. « Sillier, id., p. 61. 57 Sat., in, XIV, 11. 348 Roman Ac*ors dabit enim nobis iam tacite vita acta in alterutram partem firmum et grave testimonium. Q. Roscius? Quid ais? Nonne, ut ignis in aequam coniectus continuo restinguitur et refrigerentur, sic referens falsum cri- men in purissimam et castissimam vitam collatam statim concidit et ex- tinguitur? Roscius socium fraudavit? Potest hoc homini huic haerere peccatum? qui medius fidius (audacter dico), plus fidei quam artis, plus veritatis quam disciplinae, possidet in se; quern populus Romanus melio- rem virum quam bistrionem esse arbitratur ; qui ita dignissimus est scaena propter artificium, ut dignissimus sit curia propter abstinentiam. Sed quid ego ineptus de Roscio apud Pisonem (the presiding judge) dico? ignotum liominem scilicet pluribus verbis commendo? Estne quisquam omnium mortalium de quo melius existimes tu? estne quisquam qui tibi purior, prudentior, humanior, oflScinosior, liberaliorque \ideatur? 69 Eoscius's perfection in the actor's art seems to have been espe- cially remarkable in his grace and attractive bearing. Here is a point of contrast with the actor's art in Ambivius where the emphasis is on volume and quality of voice. In the De Oratore especially is polish and decorum ascribed to Eoscius. " The gesture and grace of a Eoscius " says Crassus.®° " Everything with the utmost grace." ^^ " Eoscius says the most essential thing is to be becoming." ^^ " Who can make the least gesture without Eoscius seeing his imperfection ? " *^ " No gesture except what he has practised at home." ®* "Etenim, cum artifex eiusmodi sit, ut solus dignus videatur esse qui in scaena spectetur." "* "Itaque ut ad banc similitudinem buius bistrionis oratoriam laudem derigamus, videtisne quam nihil ab eo nisi perfecte, nihil nisi cum sum- ma venustate fiat, nisi ita ut deceat et uti omnis moveat atque delectet? Itaque hoc iam diu est consecutus ut in quoquisque artificio excelleret is in suo genere Roscius diceretur."" " Sed etiam illi Roscio, quern audio dicere caput esse artis decere, quod tamen unum id esse, quod tradi arte non possit.'^ " Quis neget opus esse oratori in hoc oratorio motu statuque Rosoi gestum et venustatem ? *® " Voluisti enim in suo genere unum quemque nostrum quasi quendam Roscium."«» ^ De Orat., i, 59. "^De Orat., 29. '^Pro Rose, 6, 17-18. «^ De Orat.y i, 28. «* De Orat., ii, 57. ^Pro Quinto, 25. <" De Orat., i, 132. Cf. Quintil., Inst., XI, 3, 177 «*/)e Orat., I, 251. •»Z)e Orat., i, 258. "*Val. Max., vm, 7. «"!)? Orat., I, 130. G. Kenneth 0. Henry 349 " Quamquam soleo saepe mirari eorum impudentiam qui agunt in scaena gestum spectante Roscio; quis enim sese comovere potest, cuius ille vitia non videat ? '* says Caesar in the Be Oratore^^ and wittily adds that he is minded to quote Catulus, who in speaking of the oratory of Crassus said that in comparison with his oratory, " other orators ought to be fed on hay." Valerius Maximus, as well as Cicero, lays stress on the diKgence and painstaking care exercised by Eoscius in perfecting his art: Ne Roscius quidem subtrahatur, scenicae industriae notissimum exem- plum, qui nullum umquam spectante populo gestum nisi quem domi medi- tatus fuerat promere ausus est. Quapropter non ludicram artem com- mendavit nee vulgi tantum favorem verum etiam principum familiaritates amplexus. Haec sunt attenti et anxii et numquam cessantis studii praemia, propter quae vivorum tantorum laudibus non impudenter se persona his- trionibus inseruit.''* Of the characters represented on the stage by Eoscius we know of only some four or five : that of the leno Ballio/^ the young man Antipho/^ the part of a young man in the Bemiurgus of Tur- pilius/* characters so familiar in the plays of Plautus and Terence. He evidently also performed in a play, or plays, by Atta, the writer of togatae: Horace professes to hesitate to criticize that playwright for fear of calling down on himself the displeasure of the older men (possibly the senators), who had seen the ' doctus Roscius ' and the ' gravis Aesopus * act the plays of Atta : Recte necne orocum floresque perambulet Attae iFalbula si dubitem, clament periisse pudorem iCuncti paene patres, ea cum reprehendere coner Quae gravis Aesopus, quae doctus Roscius egit.'"' He appears to have played also the part of Agamemnon in the Telephus of Ennius,''^ for while his chief roles were from comedy he acted also in tragedy." Diomedes indicates that his chief role was in the personation of the parasite. ^^ Quintilian speaks of him as only a comedian: plus autem affectus hahent lentiora; ideoque Roscius citatior, Aesopus gravior fuit, quod ille comoedi^ hie tragoedias egit."^^ ™ii, 233. ^Pro Rose, 7. '*Cic. Ep. ad L. Papirius Paetus. '"Inc. fah., XVII, p. 108. Ribb. 78 P. 489, 11 K. "Val. Max., viii, 7. " De Orat., n, 242. "Hor. Epp., II, 1, 79-82. "Oic. Or., 31, 109. ''^Inst., XI, 3, 111. 350 Roman Actors Panurgus. Eros In his later years Eoscius was especially successful as a trainer of actors. Cicero mentions two who were thus made proficient enough to gain popularity in the Roman theater, Panurgus and Eros. " How much did Panurgus owe to Roscius ? His education. His person was of no value; his skill was valuable. As far as he belonged to Fannius, he was not worth fifty thousand sesterces; as far as he belonged to Roscius, he was worth more than a hundred thousand. For no one looked at him because of his person; but people estimated him by his skill as an actor. For those limbs could not earn by themselves more than twelve sesterces; owing to the education given him by Roscius, he let himself out for not less than a hundred thousand. . . . Why was such zeal for him? Such partiality to him? Because he was the pupil of Roscius. They who loved the one favored the other; they who admired the one approved the other; in short, all who heard the name of the one thought the other well trained and accomplished. . . . Very few observed what he knew, every one asked where he had been taught ; they thought that nothing bad or poor could be produced by him. If he had come from Statilius, even if he had surpassed Roscius himself in skill, no one would have been able to see it. . . . Because he came from Roscius he seemed to know more than he really did know. " And this lately did happen in the case of Eros the comedian, for he, after he was driven from the stage, not merely by hisses but even by reproaches, took refuge, as at an altar, in the house and instruction and patronage of Roscius. Therefore, he who had been not even one of the lowest class of actors, came to be reckoned among the very first comedians. Who was it that raised him? This man's recommendation alone ; who not only took this Panurgus home that he might have the name of a pupil of Roscius, but who also instructed him with the greatest paijis and energy and patient. For the more skillful and ingenious anyone is, the more vehement and laborious is he in teaching his art ; for that which he himself caught quickly, he is tortured by seeing slowly compre- hended by another." ^° ^ Pro Rose, transl. C. D. Young. G. Kenneth G. Henry 351 The success attained by these pupils of Roscius proves the high degree of perfection in Roscius's art, though his pupils could hardly reproduce his mellow voice, his ease of manner, the beauty of his person, his accuracy of expression and accent, which were the delight of the Roman audience. It is said that Roscius gained much of his grace of gesture by frequenting the forum and adapting to the stage the arts of forensic discourse : Valerius Maximus states that Roscius and Aesopus were in the habit of attending the oratorical exhibitions especially of Hortensius, of whom these actors seem to have been friends: Q, autem Hortensius plurimum in corporis decore motu repositum credens paene plus studii in elaborando quam in ipsa eloquentia adfectanda impendit. . . . constat Aesopum Rosciumque ludicrae artis peritissimos illo causas agents in corona frequenter adstitisse, ut foro peritos gestus in scaenam referrent." ®^ Macrobius relates how Cicero was accustomed to discuss with Roscius the compara- tive merits of eloquence and the art of the stage : certe constat satis contendere eum (Ciceronem) ipso histrione solitum, utrum ille saepius eandem sententiam gestihus efficeret an ipse per eloquentiae copiam sermone diuerso pronuntiaret/' ®^ If we are to believe Macrobius, Roscius made some ventures also in literature : '' quae res ad lianc artis suae ftduciam Roscium ohstraxit, ut lihrum con- scriberet, quo eloquentiam cum histrionia comparet.^^ According to Plutarch, Roscius was a teacher of Cicero, though Middleton, arguing from De Orat. i, 59, iii, 56, 59, Tusc. Disp. iv, 25, thinks that Cicero would have disdained such instruction, how- ever much he esteemed Roscius personally.^* The generosity in financial reward accorded to Roscius by the Roman people is testified to by Cicero : " Was Roscius in need of money? No, he was even a rich man. Was he in debt? On the contrary he was living within his income. Was he avaricious? Far from it; even before he was a rich man he was always most liberal and munificent. ... He who once refused a gain of 300,000 sesterces — for he certainly both could and would have earned 300,000 sesterces if Dionysia can earn 200,000 — did he seek to acquire 50,000 by the greatest dishonesty? ... In these last ten 81 in, X, 2. 83 III, XIV, 12. ^ hoc. cit. 8* Yid. Langhorne's Plutarch, Vol. 5, p. 298 n. 352 Roman Actors years he might have earned 6,000,000 sesterces most honorably." ^'^ Macrobius states that he personally, in addition to the pay of his company, received a thousand denarii per day : Tanta autem fuit gratia et gloria ut mercedem diurnam de puUico mille denarios sine gregalihus solus acceperit,^^ According to Pliny his yearly income was about $20,000.^'^ The notice of Cicero to the effect that Eoscius was afflicted with a cross of the eyes, perversissimis oculis,^^ has led Diomedes ®^ to claim that it was Roscius who first introduced masks on the Roman stage : antea gelearihus, non personis, utehantur, ut qualitas coloris indicium faceret aetatis, cum essent aut alhi aut nigri aut rufi; personis vero uti primus coepit Roscius Gallus, praecipuus histrio, quod oculis perversis erat, nee satis decorus sine personis nisi para- situs pronuntialat.^'' This is quite in contradiction to other evidence on Roscius's appearance. Cicero says : " All depends on the face and all the power of the face is centered in the eyes. Of this our old men are the best judges for they were not lavish of their praise of even Roscius in a mask." Roscius, in fact, was renowned for his beauty, especially when a boy; an epigram on his charm of person written by Lutatius Catulus is quoted by Aulus Gellius and also by Cicero : Constitueram, exorientem Auroram forte salutans Cum subito e larva Roscius exoritur. Pace mihi liceat dicere vestra Mortalis visust pulchrior esse deo." The rising dawn, the goddess Morn, I had risen to adore, When on the left Great Roscius rose; Can rival him no goddess pose; I hope I speak not hlasphemy. Aesopus The foremost actor of tragedy that Rome produced was Aesopus. Cicero's appellation, summus artifex, is the highest possible praise.®^ His surname of Claudius is taken to indicate that he was a freed- ^Pro Rosc.y 8. ^ N. H., vn, 39. 8» Qr. Lat., i, 489. ^ Aul. Gel., XIX, 9, 14. ^m, XIV, 13. ^ De Nat. Deorum, i, 28, -fin. •* Yid. Ribb. Rom. Tmg., i, p. 671. '^Pro Sest., 56, 120. G. Kenneth G, Henry 353 man of the Claudian family. Ribbeck adds that he was a Greek by original birth.®^ He was an older man than Cicero, but younger than Roscius. Cicero writing in 55 b. c./* shortly after the occa- sion of the dedication of Pompey's theater, speaks of Aesopus as an old man.»^ Writing to M. Marius he says : " The games were most elaborate, but not such as you would have stomached; for in the first place, out of respect for Pompey those came back to the stage which they had left out of respect for themselves. But your delight, our friend Aesopus, was in such a state that he was per- mitted by all men to leave off. When he had begun to take the oath, his voice failed in that very passage 'si sciens fallo'/"^^ Aesopus had evidently retired from the stage before this occasion of the dedication of Pompey's theater; and on this his return he was not able to perform his part. This evidently was his last appearance, and' we may put his death at about 54 b. c. Roscius had died at an advanced age eight years before, while Cicero was only 52 years of age at the time of the incident described. " But,'^ adds Cicero, " if I had the people as easily as Aesopus had, I should gladly retire from my profession and live with you and those like ^? 97 you His chief field was tragedy: maxime tamen insignis est in hac memorial Clodii Aesopi, tragici histrionis.^^ Quintilian remarks on tragedy being his special field: Roscius citatior, Aesopus gravior fuit, quod ille comoedias, hie tragoedias egit.^^ It seems, however, that Aesopus also ventured into comedy; Cicero remarks that the great actors of his day did not confine themselves to one depart- ment : et comoedum in tragoediis et tragoedum in comoediis admo- dum placere vidimus.^^^ This must refer primarily to Roscius and Aesopus. Horace seems to imply that Aesopus acted in the comedies of Atta : " If I should criticize a play of Atta's which the ^ grave ' Aesopus and the ' learned ' Roscius used to act.^^ ^^^ How- ever, the adjective gravis would hardly bear that out, and doubtless the mention of Atta's plays is intended to apply to drama in general.^^^ (0 Rom. Trag.y i, p. 674. " Ad Fam., 7, 1. "" Vid. Tyrrell, Cic. Letters, cxxvn. "•Cic. loc. cit. ^ Log. cit. "Pliny, N. H., X, 141; rx, 122. "xi, 111. ^'^Or., 31, 109. ^''^Epp., II, 1, 82. *" Vid. Wickham, ad loc. cit. 352 Roman Actors G. Kenneth G. Henry 353 years he might have earned 6,000,000 sesterces most honorably/' '' Macrobius states that he personally, in addition to the pay of his company, received a thousand denarii per day : Tanta autem fuit gratia et gloria ut mercedem diurnam de 'publico mille denarios sine gregalihus solus acceperit.^^ According to PHny his yearly income was about $20,000.^^ The notice of Cicero to the effect that Roscius was afflicted with a cross of the eyes, perversissimis oculis,^^ has led Diomedes ^^ to claim that it was Eoscius who first introduced masks on the Roman stage: antea gelearihus, non personis, utelantur, ut qualitas coloris indicium faceret aetatis, cum essent aut alhi aut nigri aut rufi; personis vero uti primus coepit Roscius Gallus, praecipuus histrio, quod oculis perversis erat, nee satis decorus sine personis nisi para- situs pronuntiabat,^'' This is quite in contradiction to other evidence on Roscius's appearance. Cicero says : " All depends on the face and all the power of the face is centered in the eyes. Of this our old men are the best judges for they were not lavish of their praise of even Roscius in a mask." Roscius, in fact, was renowned for his beauty, especially when a boy; an epigram on his charm of person written by Lutatius Catulus is quoted by Aulus Gellius and also by Cicero : €oiistitiierain, exorientem Auroram forte salutans Cum subito e larva Roscius exoritur. Pace mihi liceat dicere vestra Mortalis visust pulchrior esse deo." The rising dawn, the goddess Morn, I had risen to adore, When on the left Great Roscius rose; Can rival him no goddess pose; I hope I speak not hlasphemy. Aesopus The foremost actor of tragedy that Rome produced was Aesopus. Cicero's appellation, summus artifex, is the highest possible praise.®^ His surname of Claudius is taken to indicate that he was a freed- ^Pro Rose, 8. " 1^. H., vn, 39. 89 Gr. Lat., i, 489. » Aul. Gel., XIX, 9, 14. ^'ni, XIV, 13. * De Nat, Deorum, i, 28, fin. ^ Vid. Ribb. Rom. Trag., i, p. 671. ''Pro Sest, 56, 120. man of the Claudian family. Ribbeck adds that he was a Greek by original birth.^^ He was an older man than Cicero, but younger than Roscius. Cicero writing in 55 B. c./* shortly after the occa- sion of the dedication of Pompey's theater, speaks of Aesopus as an old man.»^ Writing to M. Marius he says : " The games were most elaborate, but not such as you would have stomached; for in the first place, out of respect for Pompey those came back to the stage which they had left out of respect for themselves. But your delight, our friend Aesopus, was in such a state that he was per- mitted by all men to leave off. When he had begun to take the oath, his voice failed in that very passage 'si sciens fallo'/'^^ Aesopus had evidently retired from the stage before this occasion of the dedication of Pompey's theater; and on this his return he was not able to perform his part. This evidently was his last appearance, and we may put his death at about 54 b. c. Roscius had died at an advanced age eight years before, while Cicero was only 52 years of age at the time of the incident described. " But,'' adds Cicero, " if I had the people as easily as Aesopus had, I should gladly retire from my profession and live with you and those like » 97 you His chief field was tragedy: maxime tamen insignis est in hac memoria Clodii Aesopi, tragici histrionis.^^ Quintilian remarks P on tragedy being his special field: Roscius citatior, Aesopus gravior fuit, quod ille comoedias, hie tragoedias egit.^^ It seems, however, that Aesopus also ventured into comedy; Cicero remarks that the great actors of his day did not confine themselves to one depart- ment : et comoedum in tragoediis et tragoedum in comoediis admo- dum placere vidimus}^^ This must refer primarily to Roscius and Aesopus. Horace seems to imply that Aesopus acted in the comedies of Atta : " If I should criticize a play of Atta's which the ^ grave ' Aesopus and the ' learned ' Roscius used to act." ^^^ How- ever, the adjective gravis would hardly bear that out, and doubtless the mention of Atta's plays is intended to apply to drama in general.^°^ "^Rom. Trag., i, p. 674. "^Vid. Tyrrell, Cic. Letters. CXXVU. ""Cic. loc. cit. "Pliny, N. H., X, 141; ix, 122. ^"^Or., 31, 109. ^°*Vid. Wickham, ad loc. cit. ^ Ad Fam., 7, 1. ^ Loc. dt. "xi, 111. ^''Epp., II, 1, 82. 354 Roman Actors The vigor with which Aesopus acted may be gathered from an incident related by Plutarch, who teUs that the tragedian while acting the part of Atreus, just while planning vengeance, struck a slave who approached so violent a blow with his sword, that the slave fell dead.^°^ Cicero, too, who notes more than once how actors took their parts seriously, says that he had seen Aesopus on one occasion gesticulating so excitedly and looking so wild, that he seemed to have lost all control of himself.^'* Cicero, rather oddly, here makes Quintus compare this delivery of the actor with his own. Yet the later tradition of Aesopus' acting is rather that he was serious and self-contained : gravis is the verdict of the patres in Horace, as it is also of Quintilian. And Cicero, after admiring the ability of Eoscius to maintain a reserve force, says : " And that other actor, how does he utter his lines ? How gently, how sedately, how calmly.'' ^'' Aesopus possessed a strong but well modulated voice: vox exus ilia praeclara}'' "If there is the least harshness in his voice Aesopus is hissed ; for at those from whom nothing is expected but to please the ear, offense is taken whenever the least diminution of that pleasure occurs." ^°^ Like Garrick, Aesopus seems to have been capable of assuming a great variety of moods and parts : " With what groaning and weep- ing did he elicit tears from even his enemies and those who were jealous of him." ^^' He acted the part of Eurypylus probably in Ennius' Hedoris Lutra; ^°' in the Atreus of Accius; ^^° in the role of Teucer in Accius' Eurysaces; ^^^ in the IpUgenia of Ennius, the part of Agamemnon or of Menelaus.^^^ Cicero states that he did not often act the part of Ajax (of Ennius or Andronicus) .^'^ Aesopus died a very wealthy man. The son, Claudius Aesopus, heir to his wealth, is proverbially an extravagant and luxurious liver. He squandered in luxurious living the fortune of 20,000,000 ^^^ Cic. 5. ^^De Orat., m, 26. *«^Cic. De Orct., i, 61. ^•^Cic. Tusc. Disp., 2, 39. ^Cic. Pro Seat., 55, 117 f. ^Inc. fah., xxvin; Ribb., p. 675, n. 165. ^De Off.y 1, 31. ^°*Z)e Div., 1, 37. ^"^Pro Sest., 58, 123. *«Cic. Pro 8 est., 57, 121. ^ Plut. Oic., 6. . i G. Kenneth G. Henry 355 sesterces left by his father.^^* If Pliny be correct in his statement, the actor was no less extravagant than his spendthrift heir. The tragedian on one occasion serves a dish of singing and talking birds, cantu aliquo aut humano sermons vocales, each of which cost 6000 sesterces, and the whole dish 100,000. Pliny then remarks that he was worthy of the son who melted the pearl and drank it."« This bit of folly Valerius Maximus assigns to the son.^^« Spinther. Pamphilus As actors in partes secundas et tertias,^'-'^ two actors, Spinther and Pamphilus are mentioned by Valerius Maximus. Spinther acted in partes secundas, i. e., was deuteragonist ; while Pamphilus acted in partes tertias, i. e., was tritagonist. Spinther was so like the consul P. Cornelius Lentulus in appearance that the consul, says Valerius, received the cognomen of Spinther from the actor. Q. Caecilius Metellus Nepos, the colleague of Cornelius in the consulship, was, strange to say, very like Pamphilus, and would have received the cognomen of Pamphilus, had he not already had that of Nepos. Valerius gives this note because of the remarkable coincidence of two actors of the same troupe appearing on the stage at the time when the two consuls whom they closely resembled were in office.^^® The mention of the consuls shows Spinther and Pamphilus acting in the year 57. SORIX The archimime, that is the director of a troupe of mimes, Sorix, flourished in the days of Sulla, of whom he was a friend."^ He was a contemporary of the actor of comedy, Koscius, and in common with his great contemporary possibly owed his advancement to the directorship of his company to the power of Sulla. He was, as appears from an inscription, also an actor of partes secundae: "*Plin. N. H., IX, 122; Hor. Sat., n, 2, 239. '^N, H., X, 141-142. *"ix, 2. The translators of Friedlander's Sittengesch, have again added to the confusion by confusing Pliny's statement with that of Maximus. "^Suet., CaUg., 57. ^^ De SirmUtud. Form, IX, xiv, 4. "» Plut., Sulla, 36. 356 Roman Actors C Norbani Soricis secundarum {sc. partium) Mag. pagi Aug. felicis suhurhani.^^-" Dessau thinks the two may be the same, as post mortem magistri pagi Augusti imagines eius posuennt (Momms.), aut discipulus.^-^ DiPHILUS Aesopus was the last of the great actors of tragedy of the Eepub- lic • and after him no extended notices of actors occur. Some are mentioned by Cicero, however. Diphilus acted in tragedy at the games of Apollo in the year 56 b. o. Writing to Atticus of he waning influence of Pompey, Cicero says : " The feeling of the people was shown most clearly At the games to Apollo the actor Diphilus made a pert allusion to Pompey in the words: Nostra mi sera tu es— Magnus. The actor was encored countless times. When he delivered the lines : " The time will come when thou wilt deeply mourn That self-same valour," the whole theatre broke into applause and so on with the rest." "' The part here played by Diphilus, Eibbeck conjectures to be that of Prometheus in a play of Accius by that name, where the Titans harangue against the Tyrants of Olympus.^^^ The same story of Diphilus is preserved by Valerius Maximus.^^* Antipho A tragic actor Antipho performed at the games of Apollo in the year 54. Cicero attended what was seemingly the initial appear- ance of Antipho on the 9th of July of that year. He approved neither the stature nor the voice of the actor, though the orator states that Antipho won the prize. He was acting a woman's part, the title role of the Andromache of Ennius: "I entered the theater," says Cicero. "At first I was greeted with loud and general applause. . . . Then I turned my attention to Antipho. He had been manumitted before being brought on the stage. Not to keep ^*> Inscr. Lat., ed. Dessau, 5198 *" Log. dt., n. 1. *« Rom. Trag. i, p. 676-677. C. I. L., 10, 814. ^^Ad. Att., II, 19, 3. . G. Kenneth G, Henry 35: rv 134 VI, 2, 9. you in suspense, he bore away the palm. But never was anything so dwarfish, so destitute of voice, so — but keep this to yourself. However, in the Andromache he was just taller than the little boy Astyanax, who was the only smaller person on the stage; among the rest he had no one equal to his own in height, or as bad an actor." ^2« Antipho was apparently granted his freedom before he had proved his merit, a practice out of the common. It seems, there- fore, that his master paid him this especial favor that he might win the public approval for his protege : success was so certain, argued the master to the public, that freedom should be granted in advance of his appearance. Watson suggests that Antipho was possibly a freedman of Milo.^^^ Cicero on this occasion, that is, of the games, was more favorably impressed with the performance of Arbuscula: "she had a great success " ; valde placuit}^'^ Laberius The writer of mimes, Decimus Laberius, who with remarkable success attempted to give a literary importance to that form of popular farce, was also an actor. His appearance on the stage was, however, due to the compulsion of Julius Caesar; and primarily Laberius was a writer rather than an actor. The story of Laberius's appearance on the stage is told by Macrobius. Caesar, wishing to humiliate the composer, for Laberius was a knight, invited him to act his own composition : invitavit ut prodiret in scaenam et ipse ageret mimos quos scriptitahat.^^^ Laberius, recognizing that the invitation of the dictator was equal to a command, reluctantly complied. He, however, took his vengeance on Caesar for thus wounding his pride by composing a prologue for his first production, in which he frankly exhibited his wounded feelings. Moreover, in the course of his acting he gave strong expression to his detestation of tyranny. While acting the part of a Syrian slave suffering under the lash, he cried : porro Quirites, libertatem perdimus; and then added: necesse est multos timeat quem multi timent.^^^ ^"Ad. Att, IV, 15, 6. ^Ad. loc. cit. "' Loc. cit. ^=« Macr. ii, vn, 2. "'Macr. II, vn, 2. Macrobius preserves the whole prologue from Aul. Gell., vin, 15. 358 Roman Actors The freedom of speech employed by Laberius put him in the disfavor of Csesar, who therefore became a partisan of the actor Publilius Syrus. Publilius was a much younger man than Laberius, the latter being, at the time of his stage appearance, sixty years of age : ego bis tricentis annis actis sine nota eques Romanus e Lare egressus meo (domum revertar mimus.**' He was compelled by Caesar to compete in acting with the younger actor. In the contest Laberius was defeated. He took his defeat with a good grace, and when his next new mime was composed, he inserted the lines : Non possunt primi esse omnes in tempore. iSummum ad gradum cum claritatis veneris, Consistes aegre et citius quam escendas cades: cecidi ego, cadet qui sequitur : laus est publica.'" Laberius did not long survive this second recorded appearance on the stage. He acted, it seems, in the year 45 b. c. : ludi^ Decimus Laberius eques Romanus mimum suum egitP^ He died in January of the year 43 : Laberius mimorum scriptor decimo mense post C. Caesaris interitum Putiolis moriturP^ Caesar had been generous enough to restore to him the rank of knight which he had lost by his acting, the gift of the golden ring so indicating : unde Caesar adridens hoc modo pronuntiavit : ' favente tibi me victus es, Laberi, a Syro; statimque Publilio palmam et Laberio anulum aureum cum quingentis sestertiis dedit.^^* Publilius Publilius Syrus, in contrast with Decimus Laberius, was primarily an actor of plays rather than a writer. While forty-four titles of the poetic compositions of Laberius are preserved, only two of those of Publilius are known. Teuffel points out that this is due to the fact that only stage-copies of his plays were ever in circulation. His compositions were largely improvisations. '^ Lab., Prol., v, 7 ff. *"* Macr., II, vn, 9. *»»Suet., luL, 39. 1" Hiex., Eus. Chron. 43 b. c. Cf. Suet., Reliq., ed. Roth, p. 295. "* Macr., n, vii, 8. G. Kenneth G. Henry 359 He came from Syria: Publilius mimographus riatione Syrus Romae scaenam tenet}^^ He was brought to Eome in company with two of his fellow countrymen, both of whom rose to some eminence, the astrologer Manlius Antiochus and the grammarian Eros Staberius: Publilium locJiium (Antiochum) mimicae scaenae conditorem, et astrologiae consobrinum eius Manlium Antiochum item grammaticae Staberium Erotem eadem nave advectos videre His witticisms which later won him such fame on the 136 proavi Roman stage also earned his manumission.^^^ He began his career in the provincial towns : manu missus et maiore cura eruditus, cum mimos componeret, ingentique adsensu in Italiae oppidis agere coepisset, productus Romae per Caesaris ludos}^^ At Eome he challenged all comers to compete with him on the stage both as actor and as composer.^^^ He won against all competitors. The contest with Decimus Laberius has been related under the sketch of that actor. How such exalted sentiments as are expressed in the fragments of Publilius's mimes could be put in the mouths of characters acting in mere farce is as surprising as that they should be improvi- sations. Seneca remarks that many of his lines are more appro- priate to the buskin than the slipper : Publilius, tragicis eomicisque vehementior ingeniis, quotiens mimicas ineptias et verba ad summam caveam spectantia reliquit, inter multa alia cothurno, non tantum sipario, fortiora et hoc ait. (Sen., de tranq. an., 11, 8). quantum disertissimorum versuum inter mimos iacet; quam multa Publilii non excalceatis, sed cothurnatis dicenda sunt/'*' Publilius amassed great wealth, and lived in extravagant luxury. Pliny says that he never gave a dinner without providing sow's udder for his guest, an extravagance denied the palates of even the patricians.^*^ Herennius The only mention made of the actor Herennius Gallus represents him as acting in the provinces. The younger Balbus, nephew of Cicero's client Balbus, honored Herennius during the games at *« Suet., ReUq., ed. Roth, p. 295. ^"^Macrob., ii, vii, 6. *^ PI., ^\ E., 35, 199. ^^ Macrob., loc. cit. ^"Loc. cit. and Hoffman, Rh. M., 39, 471. ^*^Ep., 8, 8. ^^'N. H., vm, 51, 208. 360 Roman Actors Gades, in the year 43 b. c, by making him a Eoman knight : ludis, quos Gadihus fecit, Eerennium Galium histrionem, summo ludorum die anulo aureo donatum in XIV deduxit: "led him to a seat in the fourteen rows, for he had arranged that number of rows for men of equestrian rank." ^^^ This bestowal of the golden ring, says Cicero, Balbus did in imitation of Julius Caesar. The reference is to Caesar's action in giving the ring to D. Laberius after his degradation in mimic theatricals.^*^ OriLnjs Pliny mentions an actor of comedy by the name of M. Ofilius Hilarus. Teuffel assigns him to probably the seventh century of the Republic.^** Pliny relates only the story of his death, handed down ab antiquis: Operosissima tamen securitas mortis in M. Ofilio Hilaro ab antiquis traditur. comoediarum histrio is, cum populo admodum placuisset natali die suo conviviumque haberet, edita cena calidam potionem in pultario poposoit simulque personam eius diei acceptam intuens coronam e capite suo in earn transtulit, tali babitu rigens nullo sentiente, donee accubantium proximus tepescere potionem admoneret.^** FuFius. Catienus Horace in his humorous vein satirizes two tragic actors of the names of Fufius and Catienus. They acted, it seems, in a play of Pacuvius, a tragedy called Ilione. Ilione, daughter of Priam and wife of Polymnestor, King of Thrace, had substituted her brother, Polydorus, for her son, Deiphilus, whom Polymnestor murdered supposing that it was Polydorus.^"*^ Horace represents Fufius and Catienus acting in a scene where the ghost of Deiphilus appears in his mother's bed-chamber, calling on her to give his body burial : Mater, te appello quae curam somno suspensam levas, Neque te mei miseret; surge et sepeli natum."' **»€ic., Ad Fam.^x, 32, 2. ^^ The inscription C. I. L., x, 4587 may refer to Herennius. ^**Teuf., 16, 14. »« N. H., VII, 186. **• Cf. the plot of the Hecuba of Euripides. "' Preserved by Cicero, Tusc. Disp., i, 44. G, Kenneth G, Henry 361 Horace represents Fufius acting the part of Ilione, asleep in the bed, while Catienus was the ghost Deiphilus. But when the ghost cried ' mater, te appello/ Fufius failed to respond ; for he was drunk and had actually fallen asleep in his bed; and, says Horace, 'if one thousand two hundred Catienuses had shouted in his ear he would not have heard them.' Fufius slept out his part instead of acting it : Ilionem edormit}^^ Nothing more is known of these actors, though Cicero refers to the passage in the play more than once, and the words Mater, te appello became proverbial.^*® Por- phyrio gives Fufius' name Fufius Phocaeus.^^*^ Lepos Lepos, whose talents Horace and his friends did not care to discuss,^^^ was a dancer and mimic actor of the Eoman stage. As a mimus he recited poetry and acted parts in the farces of the same name. The name Lepos is his stage pseudonym, given him, says the Scholiast, and as the word imports, quod iucunde et mol- liter saltaret et loquetur}^^ Acron says: nomen opinatissimi saltatoris, grati Caesari.^^^ DOSSENUS The Dossenus of Horace ^^* may well be an actor. It is often assumed that he is a character in a play of Plautus. In the margin of one of Orelli's mss. is Dossenus: persona comica.^^^ Cruquius makes him a writer of Atellanae.^^® Others make him the same as Fabius Dossenus.^^^ He is quite possibly a type — a standing char- acter of Atellanae. Horace's description, however, well charac- terizes a comic actor of the day : Dossenus, great in hungry parasites, Shuffles, in slipshod fashion, on the stage, Intent on present profit from his plays j i« Hor., Sat., ii, 3, 61. ^ Ad Hor., loc. cit. "' Porph., ad loc. cit. ^^Epp., n, 1, 73. *" Yid. Long and Macleane's Horace, loc. cit. **»Cf. also theories of Schmitz, and Porphyrio. »"" Pliny, 2^. H., xiv, 15. *«Cic., Pro 8est., 59; Acad., 2, 27. "^ Hor., Sat., ii, 6, 72. "'Ad loc. oit. 362 Roman Actors And caring little for prospective fame Him wliom vain glory to the stage attracts Applause puffs up and inattention chills; And threatens riot if the knights dissent, 'When they cry out for bears or pugilists, And sometimes the knight himself will starve his ears To feed his eye on tinsel pageantries.^* Bathyllos Under the Empire the pantomimic art found more favor than either the regular drama or the art of mimes. The populace patronized the mimes, the upper classes the pantomimes. Of the latter, Bathyllos was the first great exponent. He developed the dramatic dance into an independent art under Augustus about 22 B. c. He was a great favorite of Maecenas.^^^ Bathyllos was the founder of the comic dramatic dance, while his great rival Pylades originated the tragic species. The rivalry of these two actors led to the greatest disorder in the theater : " The games in honor of Augustus," says Tacitus, ^^ began then first to be embroiled by dissention arising out of the performance of pantomimes. Augustus had countenanced that pastime out of complaisance to Maecenas, who was a passionate admirer of Ba'thyllos." ^^° Hence Bathyllos suffered only a rebuke from Augustus. Such disturb- ances, says Dio Cassius, lessened the attention of the populace to more serious public movements.^®^ Bathyllos came from Alexandria, we are told. His specialty being comedy, he represented such characters as Pan and Echo or a Satyr enflamed by Eros: Pylades in comoedia, Bathyllos in tragoedia multum a se aherant.^^^ He was also a teacher of his art and established a school : Stat per successores Pyladis et BatJiylU domus; harum artium multi discipuli sunt multique doctores?^^ Juvenal tells of the skill of a Bathyllos in his day, a pantomime who doubtless took the name from the first and greater artist of the time of Augustus. Here the perfection to which refinement in ^Epp., n, 1, 172-185. Trans. Hovender. «»Dio Cass., 54, 17. ^^ Ann., I, 54; vid. et. Dio Cass., 54, 17. *" Loc. cit. "^'Sen., Epist., ii, 1; Fried. B., n, p. 351. ^<«Sen., n. q., vn, 32. G. Kenneth G, Henry 363 the art of dancing was developed is vividly sketched : " When the beautiful boy Bathyllos,'^ says Juvenal, "was dancing Lede, the most impudent actor of mimes felt like a mere novice in the art of sensual refinement."^®* This Bathyllos belongs to the time of Domitian or Trajan. Pylades These dramatic dancers developed their art to great perfection. Seductive grace was the prime requirement. Apuleius relates how his step-son's father-in-law became by practicing the pantomime's art so pliable in body that he seemed to have no thews and sinews at all.^®^ Pylades, a Cicilian, was the great rival of Bathyllos. He developed especially the comic dance.^^® Dio Cassius and Macro- bius relate most of the incidents of his career known to us. " Augustus allowed," says Dio, "^ those praetors who so desired, to spend on the festivals besides what was given them from the public treasury, three times as much again, so that even if some were vexed by reason of his other regulations, yet by reason of this one alone because he brought back one Pylades, a dancer, driven out on account of civil quarrels, they remembered them no longer. Hence Pylades is said to have rejoined very cleverly when the Emperor rebuked him for having quarreled with Bathyllos, an artist in the same line, and a relative of Maecenas : " It is to your advantage, Caesar, that the populace exhaust its energies over us. yy 167 Pylades acted characters drawn from the regular drama. With great success he appeared in the part of Hercules in the Hercules Furens. When some thought that he did not display movements becoming a dancer, laying aside his mask, he shouted at those laughing at his performance: "Fools, I am dancing a mad- man. y> 168 In this play he also hurled arrows at the people. The character of the mad Hercules he also acted before Augustus. The Emperor showed his appreciation and admiration by announcing that he was as much taken with Pylades as was the Koman populace: eodem se loco Pyladi quo populum Romanum fuisse}^^ ^* Sat., VI, 63-66. "•Sen., Ep., II, 1. ^ Maerob., ii, vii, 16. ^'^ApoL, c. 74. "^ 54, 17. 1«9 Macr., n, vn, 17. 364 Roman Actors In answer to Augustus's query as to what he had contributed to the dancing art, Pylades answered : '' The crash of flutes and pipes, the din of men/' ^^^ Pylades accumulated great wealth and in his old age, 2 b. c.^ he had spectacles presented at Eome : " He conducted certain games, not performing any manual labor in connection with them (since he was now an old man of advanced age), but employing the Insignia of office and authorizing the necessary expenditures.'^ ^^^ Suetonius intimates that it was a new art that Pylades intro- duced: Pylades, Cilix, panto mimus, cum veteres ipsi canerent atque saltarent, primus Romae chorum et fistulam sihi praecinere fecit.^'^ Another Pylades was the favorite of Trajan. That Emperor brought him back to the theatre.^^^ He was freed by Hadrian.^^* A third gave extravagant exhibitions under Commodus at Puteoli.^"^ These later followers of the art established by the first took his name, suggests Friedlander.^^^ The first and greatest of the artists of the name founded schools : stat per successores Pyla- dis et Bathylli domus}'^'^ An inscription at Pompeii intimates that Pylades acted outside of Eome; a festival given by a high official in honor of Apollo was celebrated in song and recitation by " all the pantomimes and Pylades."^^® His most famous exhibition was in the impersonation of Bacchus. In that part, "he seemed the god on earth reincarnated." ^^® Pylades also, it is said, wrote a treatise on his special art, in addition to founding a school of his theories of tragic pantomime. ^®° The comic species of Bathyllos lasted at least to the time of Plutarch, but the tragedy of Pylades usurped its place and con- tinued much later.^*^ "° Macrob., cit. loc. "* Dio Cass., 55, 10. The translation of Dio here and elsewhere is that of H. B. Foster. ^''^Reliq., ed. Roth, p. 301. "''Dio Cass., 68, 10. "* C. I. L., v, 7753. "*Friedl., Anhang zu dritten Ahschnitt, p. 265; Inscript. Lat., ed. Des- 60U, 5186. ""^ Sittengesch., B. 2, p. 461. ^" Sen., qu. n., vii, 32. '™0. 7. L., X. 1074. "Kinthol. Gr., ed. Jacobs, p. 162. «»Athen., 1, 1. ^«^ Plut., 1, 1. G. Kenneth G. Henry 365 Hylas The most famous pupil of Pylades of whom mention is made was Hylas. Macrobius states that Hylas was so well trained that Pylades had him compete with him, the master, in public compe- titions : " The people were divided in their votes between the two. When, however, Hylas was dancing a certain canticum, of which a clausula was rov fiiyav 'Aya/xc/Avova, Hylas tried to represent Agamemnon's great size of body by standing on tip-toe. Pylades could not stand that, and cried out from his seat in the cavea: (TV fiaKpov ov fx€yav TTotcts. ^ You make him tall, not great.' Then the audience made Hylas dance again the canticum, and when he came to the place where he had blundered, he represented Agamem- non in meditation, thinking that nothing could be more befitting a great leader than to be thinking for all others." Pylades could not approve of the representation of meditation while the actor was speaking.^ ®2 Again, Hylas was interpreting the blind Oedipus ; . Pylades challenged the assurance of the dancer with telling him: (TV pXeTTas : " You act as though you see." ^^^ Augustus took occasion to call Pylades to account because of the sedition of the people occasioned by the rivalry between him and Hylas. With great self-possession the master dancer replied: "Verily King, you are unappreciative : Let them busy them- selves over us." ^®* Both Pylades and Hylas suffered the penalty of belonging to a profession which the laws of Eome always penal- ized : Hylas was flogged in the atrium of his house, and Pylades suffered banishment because he had pointed his finger at a man in the audience who hissed him.^®^ NoMius. Theoeus Other rivals, in the pantomimic art of Bathyllos and Pylades were Nomius the Syrian, Pierus of Tibur and Gains Theoros.^^® Nomius, as related by Seneca, was once censured for not moving his feet and his hands in harmony : Nomio cum velocitas pedum non concedatur tantum sed oliciatur, lentiores manus sunt}^'^ 189 n, VII, 12 flf. ^^ Macrob., loc. cit. ^ Maorob., loc. cit. *" Suet., 1, 1. ^ Friedlander, Sittengesch., B. n, p. 451. "" Controv., in, praef. 10. 366 Roman Actors Theoros was ''the light and conqueror of the pantomimes, who enchanted even the god; how can men hesitate to follow the . god?''^«« Gaius Theoros lux victor pantomim. •Si deus ipse tua captus nunc a(rte) Theorost, a(n) duibitant h(omines) velle imit(are) deum?**» Princeps The flute-player Princeps regularly accompanied the perform- ances of Bathyllos. A story of the vanity of this man is related by the fabulist Phaedrus. Friedlander gives the account thus : " The flute-player broke his leg while the scene was being changed, owing to his own carelessness or the fall of some scenery. He was con- fined to his bed for several months and the artistic public greatly missed his performances. When he was able to walk again, a dis- tinguished personage, who was arranging a spectacle, asked Prin- ceps to appear in it. The curtain fell, the thunder rolled, the gods spoke in the usual manner ; after which the chorus struck up a song, the words of which were unknown to Princeps, beginning with ' Eejoice aloud, Rome ; thy Prince is safe and sound.' The public rose and applauded ; Princeps, thinking the applause was meant for him, threw kisses to the spectators; the knights, whose seats were in the front of the house, observed his folly and conceit, and laugh- ing loudly demanded an encore. The song was repeated; Princeps bowed to the ground on the stage ; the knights again applauded in mockery. The general public at first believed he was asking for a crown. But when his real meaning became known, the impudent fellow, who had dared claim the homage paid to the divine house, was thrown out amidst general indignation, ' with his beautiful white leg-bandages, white tunic, and white shoes.' ^' ^®° ** Friedl. B. n, p. 451. **" (In parte aversa, in medio) Theoros victor pantimimorum. (Circa marginem) Pyladem Cilicia, Pierum Tibertin., Hyla. Salmacid., Nomium Suria. {Inscrip. Lat., ed. Dessau, 5197.) ^"^ Friedl., Sittengesch., trans. Freese and Magnus; Phaed., 5, 7. For an inscription referring probably to this Princeps see Inscr. Lat., ed. Dessau, 6239. G. Kenneth G. Henry 367 Paris Of all the pantomimic dancers, Paris, the minion of Domitian, is the most renowned and among the most infamous under the Empire. The chronology of the vitae of Juvenal, the chief source for arriving at Paris's date, is too obscure to give information that would definitely fix Paris's date. He evidently belongs to the last days of the Emperor Domitian. The vitae would have it that Juvenal directed the shafts of his satire against the actor. The first vita says: "There was at that time among the dandies of the court an actor (histrio) of the court and many of his admirers were daily banished. Juvenal therefore became an object of sus- picion and was banished in his 80th year." Paris, however, was put to death in 83 a. d., and Juvenal was writing satires long after 100 A. D. The vitae are all agreed, however, that the influence of Paris at court brought about the banishment of the satirist. Again, Paris could hardly have been ashamed of the influence with which Juvenal charged him, nor could he have been much abashed by the prominence accorded him by Juvenal's satire, but must rather have boasted of it : the complaint to the Emperor would more naturally have come through the nobles than through the dancer.^^^ Paris was not only a pantomimic dancer but also an actor of the regular drama : " Statins may recite verses whose popularity will bring down the house with applause, but he may starve unless he sells his unpublished Agave to Paris." ^®^ This suggestion here of the purchase of a tragedy by Paris may even suggest that Paris was a magister gregis, a presenter of plays himself. Such a reference to the purchase of a play by a play-actor or a stage-manager is supported, to be sure, by but one other passage, viz., in the prologue to the Hauton Timorumenos of the days of Terence, where Am- bivius Turpio, as prologuist, speaks of plays purchased at his own expense. Moreover, the statement of Juvenal is not to the effect that Statins actually sold his Agave to Paris. Statius may, of course, have gone hungry: this may be pure satire. Friedlander goes beyond the mark in both his Belles Lettres and his Spectacles in stating that Paris actually purchased the tragedy. »« Vid., Mayor, Sat. Juv., vii, 88. ^•'Juv., Sat.y vn, 87. 368 Roman Actors Suetonius in the vita of Juvenal speaks of Paris as a playwright, poeta; and again as histrio, which also appears in the Satires of Juvenal. It is folly to say that, in Juvenal, this is because panto- mimus is not admissible in dactyllic verse, as the commentators state. Histrio may often under the empire be restricted to the meaning of pantomimus, but not always. Paris could not be poeta ■ and actor of tragedies, or a manager, and at the same time be nothing more than a pantomimic dancer. His popularity is indicated by Juvenal ^^^ in a verse where a faithless wife is represented as showing no concern for her children or her native land, " and,'^ adds Juvenal, " quitted the shows and Paris." According to Martial, Paris came from Egypt: Nili sales.^^* Pliny the Elder, evidently referring to Paris, says that the yearly income of a pantomime who had purchased his freedom was greater than the highest price ever paid for a slave, i. e., 700,000 sesterces, in the case of the grammarian Daphnis.^®^ He was, according to the account of Dio Cassius, put to death because of an intrigue with the Empress Domitia : " Domitian," says Dio, " planned to put his wife to death, but being dissuaded, he sent her away and midway on the road murdered Paris, because of her." ^^® An artistic epigram by Martial does Paris justice : ^^ Wanderer on the via Flaminia, do not pass by this noble monument; the delight of Kome, the wit of Alexandria, merriment, joy, the grief and the glory of the Roman stage and all the goddesses of love lie buried here with Paris." ^^^ After his death many brought flowers and perfumes to his tomb : " When many paid honor to the spot with flowers and perfumes, Domitian gave orders that they too should be slain." ^^^ The name Paris was, of course, a stage pseudonym taken from the more illustrious Paris of Troy.^^^ Many others adopted the same name after a convention of the stage. Under Nero a Paris had maintained the favoritism of the Emperor even against the ^^Sat., VI, 87. *»» N. H., 7, 128. "^xi, 13. 199 »*n, 13, 3. "•lxvii, 3. 198 Dio Cass., Lxvn, 3. The story of Paris of Troy, especially the legend of the Golden Apples, was a favorite theme for the pantomimes. [Vid., Apuleius, Met., x, pp. 232-236.). G, Kenneth G. Henry 369 Empress-mother : " Paris stood so high in the favor of Nero that he even accused the Empress-mother. He demanded back from Domitia, the paternal aunt of the Emperor, 10,000 sesterces which he had paid for his manumission, on the ground that she had not legally owned him; and with the Emperor's intervention he won his case." ^^^ Nero had him executed eleven years later, a. d. 67. He had been spared before, says Dio Cassius, " because he was too important to the Emperor in his debauches to suffer punish- ment." ^°^ Suetonius states that Nero's reason for murdering him was that Nero, desiring to excel in dancing, feared a rival in Paris, who was his former teacher.^^^ Lucian relates how the most famous pantomime of Eome at the time, very likely Paris, convinced the philosopher Demetrius, who lived under Nero, that he was mistaken in supposing that the art of the pantomimes was defective without music and chorus. The famous dancer performed before the phil- osopher the adultery of Mars and Venus. " His dumb show exhibited so effectually the sun-god informing the deceived husband, the device of Vulcan and the invisible fetters, Venus' shame, Mars^ entreaties, and all the other gods summoned by Vulcan, that the philosopher admiringly admitted his error.^°^ A third Paris was one of three pantomimes influential at the court of Lucius Verus, whom that Emperor had brought from Syria with him.^°* Memphis Memphis was also a pantomime whom Lucius Verus had at his court, one of those whom he had brought from Syria: hahuit (Verus) et Agrippum histrionem, cui cognomentum erat Memphi, quern et ipsum e Syria veluti trophaeum adduxerat, quern Apolaus- tum nominavit.^^^ He was put to death under Commodus.^*^^ ^Tsic, Ann., 13, 27; 13, 19-22. ^IIKYLU, 18. **' Suet., Nero, c. 54. Cf. Inscr. Lat., ed. Dessau, 5181a. **Luoian Salt., ed. Rei&ke, m, 391, 23; Friedl., n, p. 454 trans. Friesse, Magnus. *** Tid. Inscr. Lat., ed. Dessau, 5203, n. 2; cf. Epist. Frontonis ad Verum, ed. A. Maius, p. 98, n.; Galen, ed. Kuehn, xii, p. 454. Friedlander iden- tifies five Parises: I, 3, 104-105; n, 2, 318, 336-338; 460, anhang. ^^ Epist. ad Verum, 8, 10, Fronto, ed. A. Maius, p. 99, n. 1. ^ Athen. i, p. 20; vid. et Inscr. Lat., ed. Dessau, 5187, 5203. 6 370 Roman Actors Demetrius The two most worthy representatives of the regular drama under the Empire are Demetrius and Stratocles. The large proportion of names that have come down to us are those of mimi and panto- mimi. Trimalcio, aping the fashionable rich, says that he prefers that the troupe of actors whom he has bought should act Atellanae rather than comedy.""' Few writers of the legitimate drama indeed survived. Afranius' Incendium was acted at a great festival given by Nero ; but the house and the stage were given over to the actors to plunder as reward for their exhibition.2«« The drama of the Koscian period had become obsolete. '' Studied eloquence/^ says Tacitus, " in judicial proceedings was as intolerable as a gesture of an Ambivius or a Roscius on the stage." ^os Quintilian's sketch, however, of Demetrius and Stratocles indicates that there was a line drawn between the regular and the degraded forms of the drama. The art of these two actors was the result of the most painstaking care and earnest study ; though Juvenal says they were born actors, and, being Greeks, would attract no special attention in their own country, where all are equally good actors. He gives them credit, however, of being able to act the part of a woman character to the life.^^° Quintilian makes Demetrius preeminent for the rich quality of his voice, for his fine figure and remarkable beauty. His role was in representing the less boisterous characters of the palliatae. His repertoire included such parts as gods, youths, good fathers, wives and staid old ladies. There was passion in his gesture; his stage exclamations and ejaculations were unrivaled in their prolongation and harmony. His skill in inflating his garments by deep breath- ing, as he walked, and his gestures with the right side are noted by Quintilian.^^^ Stratocles Stratocles, on the other hand, was more successful in represent- ing passionate old men, cunning slaves, parasites, procurers, and other bustling characters, personae motorme. " For their natural 308 Suet., Nero, 11. *"Petroii., Cena Tr., 54. ^* Dial, de Orat.y c. 20. »» Juv., Sat., ni, 93-100; vid. Madvig, Opusc, \, 50. »*xi, ni, 178-180. G. Kenneth G. Henry 371 endowments were very different, as even the voice of Demetrius was more pleasing and that of Stratocles more powerful. But what was more observable was their individuality of action, which could not have been transferred from one to the other; as to move the hand in a peculiar way, to prolong exclamations in an agreeable tone to please the audience, to puff out the garments, could have been becoming in no actor but Demetrius; for in all these respects he was aided by a good stature and comely person. On the con- trary, hurry and perpetual motion and a laugh not altogether in harmony with his mask, a laugh which he laughed to please the people, and with perfect consciousness of what he was doing, or a shrug of the shoulders, were extremely agreeable in Stratocles. But whatever excellence either had would have proved an offensive failure had it been attempted by the other " ^^^ Unfortunately, we have no other so vivid sketch of any Roman actor except the sketch by Cicero of Roscius. Antiochus. Haemus. Juvenal honors Antiochus and Haemus by grouping them with Demetrius and Stratocles, praised so highly by Quintilian. Haemus was soft and effeminate in his utterance, says Juvenal.^^^ Else- where the satirist remarks on the insinuating tones that Haemus was capable of using in his passionate parts.^^* Both he and An- tiochus were actors of palliatae, like Demetrius and Stratocles; "and none of the four would attract attention in his own land, Greece, where lives a nation of actors." ^^^ Apelles A tragic actor who rose to eminence on the stage under the Empire was Appelles. He lived under Caligula, and was a great favorite of that patron of the stage, though Caligula did not on that account refrain from flogging Apelles. As Suetonius tells it, Apelles hesitated, and did not answer the Emperor with sufficient promptness, when the two were standing one day near a statue of Jupiter, the question whether Jupiter or Caligula was the greater. But Caligula immediately shouted his praises of Apelles' voice. "'Quint., loc. cit. *'*8at., VI, 198. "^ Sat., m, 92. "* Juv., loc. cit. 373 Roman Actors declaring that its tones were very sweet even in groans. The equable quality of his voice won the admiration of Caligula but not his mercy : qua^i etiam in gemitu praeclarem.'^' Eeal groans pleased him even better than the feigned suffering of the tragic stage. This same Apelles is probably referred to again in Suetonius' Vespasmn 19, where an Apelles ''' acted at the games in honor of the dedication of the restoration of the temple of Marcellus, erected by Augustus.2^« Of the actors present Apelles received the highest reward, 400,000 sesterces. ApeUes was at this time past the prime of life/ for Suetonius says that it was the Vetera acroamata, whom Vespasian recalled at this time, a. d. 74. Dio Cassius represents Apelles as the foremost tragedian of his time. " Gains was/' says Dio, " the slave of theatrical performers and dancers. Indeed, he always kept Apelles, the most famous of the tragedians of that day, with him in public." ^^' Himself origm- aUy a spectator, Gains finally became a partisan of actors and at last a performer, driving chariots, fighting duels, giving exhibitions of dancing and acting in tragedy .^^^ Apelles was doubtless his teacher in theatricals. ACTIUS A single reference gives the name of Actius as an actor of comedy. He was granted his freedom by Tiberius, not because that Emperor took any special interest in the theater, but because the manumission of Actius was urged by others, who were the actor's friends. Tiberius himself gave no spectacles or theatrical presentations.^^^ Glyco Persius mentions a tragic actor by the name of Glyco. He be- longed to the time of Nero. Glyco was granted his freedom because Nero was so pleased with the tragedian's skillful performances. This information is given by the Scholiast on Persius, as is also the ^GaUg., 33. »^^ Vid., Valp., edd. Appolinari. Apelli, cod. Trib. item Med. 2 a sec. manu, Torrentms pro Appellari. ^ Suet., Aug., c. 29. «»Lix, 5, 2. '^ Dio Cass., loc. cit. '^Suet., Tiber., 47. Cf. et. Inscr. Lat., ed. Dessau, 5182; id., 5183. G. Kenneth G. Henry 373 the following commentary: that Glyco was the joint property of another tragic actor Vergilius and a third person; that Nero paid Vergilius 200,000 sesterces for his, Vergilius's, share in Glyco; that, in appearance, Glyco was tall, dark, with a hanging lower lip, and generally unpleasant to look at when his stage accoutrements were absent : hie fuit staturae longae, fusci corporis, lahio inferiori dimisso, antequam subordnaretur, deformis.^^^ Persius ^^^ calls Glyco insultus, because, so says the scholiast, Glyco was unable to take a joke. Conington suggests that Persius in his satire is ridiculing the people through their favorite actor who was probably too tragic in his style, " supped full of horrors." ^^* Favor Favor was an archimimus, i. e. the leader of a group of mimes. He acted the part of Vespasian at the funeral games of that emperor, reproducing the character and style of Vespasian. When asked as to the cost of the funeral, he answered : " Ten thousand sesterces, but give me 100,000 and then throw me into the Tiber, if you will." 22^ Terpnus. Diodorus At the same games at which Apelles performed for Caligula, Terpnus and Diodorus are mentioned as citharoedi, i. e. players on the cithara, which they accompanied with the voice. Terpnus received 200,000 sesterces, as did also his fellow citharoedus Diodorus.22® Terpnus was summoned by Nero, when he assumed the throne, to be his music master. Nero sat by his side day after day and till late at night while Terpnus played. At the dedication of the temple of Marcellus Terpnus and Diodorus received pay next highest to Apelles; others receiving 40,000 sesterces, a great quantity of golden crowns being scattered indiscriminately.^^^ ^ Scholiast on Persius, Sat., 5, 9. ^^ Loc. cit. ^* Coning., Nettlesh. Persius, loc. cit. actors. ^'^^^Suet., Vesp., c. 19; Friedl., n, 442. ''^Suet., Vesp., 19. ^ Suet. Nero, 20. Cf. Martial, x, 4, for similar 374 Roman Actors G. Kenneth G. Henry 375 Mnester After the death of Apelles, Mnester became the favorite of Caligula. He was a pantomime, famous for his beauty of body and face. He danced the tragedy which the tragedian Neoptolemus had once acted at the games at which Philip of Macedon was killed.--* Mnester was a forced lover of Messalina, the wife of Claudius, A. D. 43. She withdrew him from the theatre and incurred the displeasure of the Eoman people for that reason. The populace were much devoted to his dancing, but to spare him any punish- ment they refrained from complaining to Claudius of his detention at the imperial palace by Messalina. " For," says Dio, " he pleased the people as much by his skill as he did the Empress by his beauty." With his abilities as a dancer he combined great clever- ness at repartee, so that once when the crowd with mighty enthusi- asm begged him to perform a certain pantomimic dance, he dared to come to the front of the stage and say : To do this I may not try: Orestes' bedfellow am I.** According to Dio Cassius, Mnester had resisted all the advances of Messalina, and yielded only when she secured from the Emperor himself an injunction that he "should obey her in all things." Tacitus tells of the death of the actor."o 99 His tomb VlTALIS The mime Vitalis attained to great wealth and fame, boasts that he was the most famous man in the city : Hie ego praevalui tota notissimus urbe liinc mihi larga domus, liinc mihi census erat. Notissimus indicates a renown, however, not altogether enviable; the inscription elsewhere on the same tomb attests to the immodesty of his representations : " Anyone I represented shivered as though at his double: and many women whom I imitated on the stage blushed and were overcome with confusion." ^^^ «»Suet., Calig., 36, 57. ^ Arm., XI, 36. "» Dio Cass., 60, 22 et 28. ^ Meyer, Anthol. Lat., ii, p. 89. Datus Datus, an actor of Atellanae, was banished by Nero because he hinted on the stage at the poisoning and the drowning of Agrippina. Datus accomplished the trick by making the gestures of a man drinking and swimming and crying " Hail, Father, Hail, Mother." ^32 Alityros The mime Alityros, a Jew influential at the court of Nero and a favorite of the Emperor, procured the introduction of Josephus to the Empress Poppaea at Putioli. He obtained the release of some Jewish captives, sent to the Emperor in chains, by interceding with Nero in their behalf.^^^ Eurus Martial has a single reference to an actor by the name of Julius Eufus: • ••'■''. \ iSi Romana forent haec Socratis era, fuissent lulius in Satyris qualia Rufus habet."** This may mean, says Teuffel: "If such a Sokrates (Silenus) countenance would pass for a Eoman, w^e might also declare to be such a mask in which Julius Eufus appears as Silenus." Tettius Tettius Caballus also is noted by Martial. He acted in Atellanae, seemingly, and was a buffoon, scurra. Addressing his friend Caecilius, Martial warns him against posing as a wit, though he may think that he can outdo Tettius Caballus : Qui Gabbam salibus tuis, et ipsum, Possis vincere Tettium Caballum.'" Gabba The Gabba, also a scurra, mentioned here with Tettius, is again referred to by Martial : I ^Suet., Nero, 37. »**x. 99. '" Joseph., vita 3. ''^i, 42, 16-17. 376 Roman Actors Elysio redeat si forte remissus ab agro lUe suo felix Caesare Gabba vetus, Qui Capitolinuin pariter Gabbamque iocantes Audierit, dicet : ' Rustice Gabbe, tace/ *" Gabba belonged to the time, then, of Augustus. Some mss. read Galba, who may have been the A. Galba of whom Quintilian speaks/^^ and of whom the scholiast Valla says: Appicius Galba sub Tiberio scurra nobilis fuit. Juvenal speaks of him in the same breath with Sarmentus, the table-wit of Augustus : Si potes pati quae nee Sarmentus iniquas iCaesaris ad mensas nee vilis Gabba tulisset."* Gabba, says Plutarch, used to close his eyes when dining with Maecenas, so as not to see his patron ogling his wife. But when a slave attempted to appropriate his wine, Gabba said : " I am asleep only as far as seeing Maecenas is concerned.^^ ^^® Sarmentus Horace's Sarmentus ^*° is another such buSoon. These jesters were actors borrowed from the stage, usually chosen on the grounds that they possessed some physical deformity. The story of Sar- mentus is told by Kutgersius.^*^ He was an Etrurian by birth, a slave of M. Favonius. He passed into the hands of Maecenas when Favonius lost his property by confiscation, and was thereupon freed by Maecenas. Upon being given a position as scriba, he assumed the rank of eques.^^^ Brought to trial for assuming a rank to which he was not entitled, he was acquitted by the jury, the accuser being put out of the way. According to Kutgersius he had such a good memory that he never had to write anything down, he could carry so much in his head. In his old age he was reduced to poverty, and was compelled to sell his position as scribe. His poverty was brought about by his extravagance. In Horace's day he seems to have been free, but Messius, his opponent in buffoonery, says he still belongs to the widow of '"X, CI. "■v, 4-5 ^ Sat., I, 5, 52 ff. *" Of. Porphyrio dd Hor., loc. cit. ^ VI, 3, 27, 64, 66. "^ Amator., 16, 22, p. 760. '" Ven. Led., e. xvi, fin. G, Kenneth G. Henry 377 Favonius.^*^ Juvenal says that a man who wished to spend the life of a parasite at court must endure more than a Sarmentus or a Gabba would put up with.^** Messius Messius Cicirrhus, with the disfiguring scar on his forehead, is said by Porphyrio to have belonged also to the equestrian rank, but he seems rather to have belonged to the neighboring country through which Horace and his friends were passing. Porphyrio is probably extending the commentary of the earlier scholiast.^*^ He doubtless belonged to the household of Cocceius. If he at all resembled the unicorn described by Pliny, he was a very unsightly person indeed.^*® Battus Battus, says Plutarch, was another such jester, borrowed from the stage. The soldiers of Trajan preferred his jests to more refined exhibitions.^*^ POLLIO Of a citharoedus by the name of PoUio, famous in the time of Juvenal and Martial, there are several notices: here de theatro, Pollione cantante.^^^ " A lady of the Claudian gens sacrificed to all the gods from first to last and asked whether Pollio might fairly hope to be crowned with the oak leaf at the Capitoline games.' He, it seems, also taught his art : tempta, Ohrysogonus quanti doceat vel Polio quanti lautorum pueros.^ ?? 249 Paelignus Paelignus under Claudius, and that Emperor's favorite jester, was given the governorship of Cappadocia : Erat Cappadoeiae lulius Paelignus, ignavia animi et deridiculo corporis iuxta despiciendus, sed Claudio perquam familiarig, cum privatus olim eon- versatione scurrarum iners otium oblectaret. is Paelignus auxiliis pro- '^ Macleane's Horace ad loc. cit. ^Sat., 5, 1-5. Vid. Schol. ad loc. cit.; Plutarch, Anton., 59, 2. »«Maoleane ad loc. cit. ^N. H., vm, 21. "^ Quaest. conv., vra, 6, 1, 3. '*" Mart., iv, 61, 9. "•Juv., VI, 385-387. »'' Juv., vii, 176. 378 Roman Actors vincialium contractis tamquam reciperatunis Armeniain, dum socios magis quam hostis praedatur, abscessu suorum et incursantibus barbaris praesidi egens ad Radamistum venit; donisque eius evictus ultro regium inaigne sumere cohortatur sumentique adest auctor et satelles, quod ubi turpi fama divulgatum, ne ceteri quoque ex Paeligno coniectarentur, Helvidius Priscua legatus cum legione mittitur.*" Latinus Latinus was a favorite mime of the Emperor Domitian. Martial makes him partner on the stage with the mima Thymele : Qua Thymelen spectaa derisoremque Latinum, Ilia fronte precor carmina nostra legas."' Juvenal also makes these two colleagiies,^" representing Latinus as a powerful informer of Domitian : et a trepido Thymele summissa Latino. Martial, in counselling a modest woman not to read the more immodest parts of a book, corrects himself : " Read on, for it is no worse than the mimes, and you attend the performances of Panniculus and Latinus/' ^54 Yet Martial speaks of the great skill and fame that were Latinus's : Dulce decus scaenae, ludorum fama, Latinus Hie ego sum, plausus delioiaeque tuae, " who could under my spell have made even Cato and the Curii and the Fabricii relax ; but it is only on the stage that I act vice ; my lord and god reads the heart/' ^'^ Suetonius says that Latinus reported the news of the day to Domitian at his dinner.^^® Juvenal refers to Latinus's playing the part of a lover and saving himself from the jealousy of the husband: "Who has so often hidden in the chest that held Latinus in danger of his life." ^57 Panniculus Panniculus, another mimic actor of the day, was the butt of Latinus on the stage, receiving resounding blows from Latinus to provoke the merriment of the audience.^^® O quandignus eras alapis, Mariane, Latini : Te successurum credo ego Pannieulo."' »" Tac, Ann., xn, 49. ^i, 36. ''"ix, xxvm. »' 8at., VI, 44. "•Mart., V, LXi. »»l, 4 = 1, 5, 5-6. '"ill, LXXXVI. ^Domit., 15. "•Mart., II, Lxxn. G. Kenneth G, Henry 379 Arbuscula Many of the mimae attained to great celebrity. Arbuscula, of the time of Cicero, was such an one: quaeris nunc de Arbuscula. valde placuit. Ludi m'agnifici et grati.^^^ The time when Cicero wrote this letter was 54 B. C. She was not therefore acting at the time when Horace wrote his Satires, and it is a legend that Horace tells when he speaks of Arbuscula saying that she cared not for the hisses of the rest of her audience if only the front seats applauded her.2«^ DiONYSIA Dionysia also belonged to the days of Cicero. She amassed great wealth from her profession : " Koscius could easily have earned 300,000 sesterces if Dionysia can earn 200,000." ^^2 Cytheris Cytheris, too, belongs to the Ciceronian period. Her assumed name when she accompanied M. Antonius, was Volumnia: non noto illo et mimico nomine sed Volumniam.^^^ This name of Volumnia she received from the senator P. Volumnius, of whom she was a freedwoman.^^* Plutarch recognizes Cytheris and Volumnia as the same.^^^ Her profession of courtesan outshone that of actress. Origo Origo is mentioned by Horace as a mima : Ut quodam Marsaeus, amator Originis ille, Qui patrium mimae donat fundumque, laremque."* Her date is not evident. *»Cic., ad Att., iv, 15, 6. ^8at., 1, X, 77. »'Oic., Pro. Rose, vin. *^Cic.,Phil., II, 24. "" Servius, Eclog., x. >" Vid., Cic. ad Att., x, 10, 5; ad Fam., ix, 26, 3. *" 8at., I, 2, 55. 380 Roman Actors Thymele The mima Thymele was the co-actor with the mimus Latinus.^*^'' Again, she is the colleague of the mimus Corinthus: zelotypus Thymeles, stupidi collega Corinthi.^^^ Here a noble plays the part of her jealous husband. Bathyllos, however, says Juvenal, could, in his impersonations of women, outshame Thymele ; when he acted she was but a novice, a mere simple country girl in comparison with his characters : Thymele tunc rustica discit,^^^ SOPHE The corpus gives the name of Sophe Theorohathylliarta arhitrix emholiarum (interludes) .^^'^ Sophe, as the inscription tells, was a pupil of the pantomimes Bathyllos and Theoros; and should there- fore be called a pantomima, Hermione Claudia Hermione was an archimima: dormL Claudiae Her- mionae archimimae sui temporis primae, Jieredis,^'^^ EUCHARIS An epitaph of a girl by the name of Eucharis, probably of the time of Nero,^^^ makes her say that she was the first woman to represent Greek parts on the stage : Eucharis Liciniae 1., docta erodita omnes artes virgo, vixit an. xnn. Heic viridis aetas cum floreret artibus crescente et aevo gloriam conscenderet, properavit hora tristis fatalis mea et degeneravdt ultra veitae spiritum. Docta erodita paene Musarum manu, quae mode nobilium ludos decoravi charo et Graeca in Scena prima populo apparui. 3TS Juv., in, viii, 197. **' Juv., 1, 36; Mart., i, iv, 5-C. »»\% 66. ^""C. I. L., 6, 10128 = 7wsc. Lat.y ed. Dess., 5263. *" Insc. Lat., ed. Dess., 5211 = C. I. L., 6, 10106. ="' Furneaux, Tac. Ann., xiv, 15. ""^mc. Lat., ed. Dessau, 5213 = C. /. L., 6, 10096. G, Kenneth G. Henry 381 Fabia FahiaM. et C. lib. Arete archimima temporis sui prima diurnaj^"^^ gives the name of another archimima. Bassila appears in another inscription.^^' SOPHRON- The comedian Sophron acted, it seems, in the provinces. Com- plaint was made to Epictetus by an imperial procurator that the opponents of Sophron had insulted him in the theatre. Epictetus remarks that the treatment given the procurator was, however, well deserved, for he had taken Sophron's side altogether too vehe- mently. He and his slaves had risen from their seats and shouted the praises of Sophron. " How, then,^' says Epictetus, " could he complain if they treated him as one of the mob if he acted like the mob ? '' 2T6 Theocritus The dancer and actor Theocritus was made commander of the Armenian army, according to Dio Cassius.^" He was a slave of the chamberlain of Commodus, Saoterus, before raised to his mili- tary command by Caracalla.^^® Genesius Genesius, as a mime, played in the time of Diocletian. He, it i3 said, ridiculed Christian baptism. He was afterward martyred.^^® Geminus The comedian Geminus was one of the early teachers of Marcus Aurelius.^®^ ''*In8C. Lat, ed. Dessau, 5212 = 0. /. L., 6, 10, 107. "^C. I. G., 6, 10, 106. See the inscriptions for other names of mimae scattered here and there. The Anecdota of Procopius give the full details of the life of Theodora, the wife of Justinian, and Empress of Byzantium, who started her public career as a mima of the stage. "' Diss., m, 4. "' Dio Cass., Lxxvii, 21. '"Dio Cass., LXXVII, 21; cf. Insc. Lat., ed. Dessau, 5195. "»Friedl., 2, p." 443, n. 7; Martyr. 8. Genesii a 286 p. C. Ruinart Acta martyrum, p. 236. *^M. Antonin., c. 2. 382 Roman Actors Many of the professional singers whose names have come down to us, were citharoedi of the Eoman stage. Menecrates of the court of Nero was generously rewarded by the Emperor: Menecraten citharoedum et Spiculum myrmillonem triumphalium virorum patrimoniis aedihus donavit.^^^ Mesomedes, a favorite at the court of Hadrian and a freedman of Hadrian, received a large salary.^®^ Anaxenor, a citharoedus, was honored by Mark Antony with the collectorship of the taxes of four cities and with the attendance of a military escort. His native town of Magnesia bestowed on him a priesthood and erected to him a public monument.^®^ These facts illustrate more how the public courted stage artists than furnish any just estimate of the character of the artists' work. The pan- tomime Mnester held the favor and love of the greatest beauty of Rome, the elder Poppaea.^^* Galen tells how the wife of Justus had her case of insomnia diagnosed : the mention of Pylades' name quickened her pulse.-^^ The actor of togatae, Stephanio, was, in the time of Augustus, waited on by a married woman in the guise of a page.^^® The actor and writer of mimes, MaruUus, ridiculed on the stage with great freedom Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.^^^ Caracalla made the dancer Theocritus commander of an army in Armenia.^^® Tertullian inquires " whether it is the buf- foons (mimes) Lentulus and Hostilius or your gods whose jokes and tricks you laugh at; such subjects as an adulterous Anubis, a masculine moon, Diana scourged, the will of the deceased Jupiter read aloud, and three starving Herculeses held up to ridicule/' ^^^ The art of the actor had long since sunk to an extreme refinement of the sensuous and seductive. The healthy criticism of the early Republic against which Ambivius had to struggle, the lofty per- fection of dramatic art attained by Roscius, are no longer in evi- dence. The University of North Carolina. »*Suet., Nero, 30; Yid. Petron., Sat., c. 73: Menecratis cantica. "s^Euseb., Chron. ad. a. 146 p. C; Suid., Vita Anton., 7. ^ Strabo, xiv, 41, p. 648 C. «*Tac., Ann., xi, 4, 36; xm, 45, 1-2. 285 De prognos. ad. Epig., p. 457. K., xiv, 631. ^ Suet., Aug., 45, fin. »' Galen : vid. Fried., Sitten., B. 2, p. 442, n. 7. ^ Dio Cass., Lxxvii, 21. »»Tertull., Apol, 15, trans. Mayor-Souter. An Acknowledgment 383 AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT Professor Fairchild submits the following note bearing upon hii recent article, Robert Bloom field: Mention of a scholarly master's thesis by Mr. E. A. White, now of Northwestern University, written on my suggestion and under my direction, and covering particularly the biographical and his- torical background of Bloomfield, was omitted by an unfortunate oversight on my part from my article. Due credit for the work done and for help derived should be given Mr. White.