Decimus Laberius
Encyclopedia
Decimus Laberius was a Roman
eques and writer of mimes.
He seems to have been a man of caustic wit, who wrote for his own pleasure. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar
ordered him to appear in one of his own mimes in a public contest with the actor Publilius Syrus
. Laberius pronounced a dignified prologue on the degradation thus thrust on his sixty years, and directed several sharp allusions against the dictator. Caesar awarded the victory to Publilius, but restored Laberius to his equestrian rank, which he had forfeited by appearing as a mimus. Laberius was the chief of those who introduced the mimus into Latin literature towards the close of the republican period. He seems to have been a man of learning and culture, but his pieces did not escape the coarseness inherent to the class of literature to which they belonged; and Aulus Gellius
accuses him of extravagance in the coining of new words. Horace
speaks of him in terms of qualified praise.
An edition and English translation of the surviving fragments of his work by Costas Panayotakis were published in January 2010 as no 46 in Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries (ISBN 978-0-521-88523-2).
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
eques and writer of mimes.
He seems to have been a man of caustic wit, who wrote for his own pleasure. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
ordered him to appear in one of his own mimes in a public contest with the actor Publilius Syrus
Publilius Syrus
Publilius Syrus, a Latin writer of maxims, flourished in the 1st century BC. He was a Syrian who was brought as a slave to Italy, but by his wit and talent he won the favor of his master, who freed and educated him....
. Laberius pronounced a dignified prologue on the degradation thus thrust on his sixty years, and directed several sharp allusions against the dictator. Caesar awarded the victory to Publilius, but restored Laberius to his equestrian rank, which he had forfeited by appearing as a mimus. Laberius was the chief of those who introduced the mimus into Latin literature towards the close of the republican period. He seems to have been a man of learning and culture, but his pieces did not escape the coarseness inherent to the class of literature to which they belonged; and Aulus Gellius
Aulus Gellius
Aulus Gellius , was a Latin author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome, where he held a judicial office...
accuses him of extravagance in the coining of new words. Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
speaks of him in terms of qualified praise.
An edition and English translation of the surviving fragments of his work by Costas Panayotakis were published in January 2010 as no 46 in Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries (ISBN 978-0-521-88523-2).