Varro Marcus Terentius 116 to 27 B.C. by D J Taylor
1
Varro, Marcus Terentius (116–27 B.C.) D J Taylor, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, USA ß 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Varro’s lengthy life (116–27 B.C.) featured two careers that brought him fortune and fame respectively. Dur- ing his more than 30 years of military/political activi- ty he served as triumvir capitalis, quaestor, tribune, praetor, and propraetorian legate, was the first Roman to win a corona rostrata (or navalis), and amassed much wealth and knowledge. He fought with Pompey against Caesar, who pardoned him, but Mark Antony later proscribed him – he escaped, obviously – and destroyed his library. Turning to research, Varro became Rome’s most prolific scholar and most authoritative grammarian. A legend in his own lifetime, he was the only living scholar hon- ored with a statue in Rome’s first public library, and he has been lavishly praised by Cicero, Quintilian, Augustine, the grammatici Latini, the monks of Monte Cassino, Petrarch, Renaissance humanists, and Montaigne, as well as contemporary historians of linguistics, among many others. Varro was an encyclopedic polymath who authored at least 74 scholarly tomes on subjects as diverse as stagecraft (he determined the genuine plays of Plautus, inter alia), numerals, ocean tides, civil law, philosophy, farming, urban affairs, libraries, etc.; his biographical dictionary of 700 famous Greeks and Romans was the first illustrated book, another volume formalized the liberal arts canon, and he composed satires. Varro’s first love, however, was language, the Latin language in particular, and he authored at least 10 major works on language sci- ence. Unfortunately, only 3% of his voluminous cor- pus has survived. The losses of the 45 books of the Antiquitates, his enthnographical masterpiece, and of all but 6 of the 25 books of his magnum opus, the De Lingua Latina, are especially regrettable. In the extant books of the De Lingua Latina, Varro etymologizes hundreds of Latin words in the most scientifically rigorous manner possible at the time, but more importantly he discovers, in theory perfectly and in practice almost so, the declensions and con- jugations that become the centerpiece of Latin gram- mar for all time. In the process of that discovery Varro establishes himself as, arguably, classical antiquity’s most original linguistic thinker, at least on morpho- logical matters, and sets the agenda for the future of Roman language science. It is therefore no surprise that he is the most frequently cited linguistic authori- ty in the ancient Roman grammatical tradition. The three books of De Re Rustica, Varro’s only complete extant work, are a literary guide to farming and man- ifest a genuine affection for land and animals, where- as the 500 or so fragments of his Menippean satires are witty tidbits of philosophical and political insights. Only fragments remain of other works. Nonetheless, Varro is indubitably one of the most prominent figures in Roman intellectual history. See also: Classical Antiquity: Language Study; Quintilian (ca. 30–98 A.D.). Bibliography Boissier G (1861). Etude sur la Vie et les Ouvrages de M. T. Varron. Paris: Hachette. Cichorius C (1922). Romische Studien. Leipzig: Teubner. Gambarara D (1996). ‘Varro, Marcus Terentius.’ In Lexicon Grammaticorum. Tubingen: Niemeyer. 956–959. Ritschl F (1848). ‘Die Schriftstellerei des M. Terentius Varro.’ Rheinisches Museum fur Philologie 6, 481–560. Taylor D (1999). ‘Varro.’ In Briggs W (ed.) Dictionary of literary biography: ancient Roman writers. Detroit: The Gale Group. 340–345. Vasconcellos, Carolina Michae ¨ lis de (1851–1925) R Cavaliere, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ß 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Carolina Michae ¨lis de Vasconcelos built up an im- pressive academic career as a philologist, ethnogra- pher, and historian of Portuguese literature. Born in Berlin on March 15, 1851, Dona Carolina, as she is fondly called in linguistic circles, moved to Oporto, Portugal, in 1876, due to her marriage to the Portu- guese writer and art critic Joaquim de Vasconcelos. Her basic education was achieved at home, first with the philogist Eduardo Maetzner and then with the romanist Karl Goldbeck, with whom she studied clas- sic languages. When she was only 16 years old, she set out the paper ‘Altspanische Prosadarstellung der Crescentiasage von A. Mussafia’ in the pages of the 396 Varro, Marcus Terentius (116–27 B.C.)
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Varro was an encyclopedic polymath who authoredat least 74 scholarly tomes on subjects as diverseas stagecraft (he determined the genuine plays ofPlautus, inter alia), numerals, ocean tides, civil law,philosophy, farming, urban affairs, libraries, etc.; hisbiographical dictionary of 700 famous Greeksand Romans was the first illustrated book, anothervolume formalized the liberal arts canon, and hecomposed satires. Varro’s first love, however, waslanguage, the Latin language in particular, and heauthored at least 10 major works on language science.Unfortunately, only 3% of his voluminous corpushas survived. The losses of the 45 books of theAntiquitates, his enthnographical masterpiece, and ofall but 6 of the 25 books of his magnum opus, the DeLingua Latina, are especially regrettabl
Transcript of Varro Marcus Terentius 116 to 27 B.C. by D J Taylor
CppB
396 Varro, Marcus Terentius (116–27 B.C.)
Varro, Marcus Terentius (116–27
B.C.) D J Taylor, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, USA� 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Varro’s lengthy life (116–27 B.C.) featured two careersthat brought him fortune and fame respectively. Dur-ing his more than 30 years of military/political activi-ty he served as triumvir capitalis, quaestor, tribune,praetor, and propraetorian legate, was the firstRoman to win a corona rostrata (or navalis), andamassed much wealth and knowledge. He foughtwith Pompey against Caesar, who pardoned him,but Mark Antony later proscribed him – he escaped,obviously – and destroyed his library. Turning toresearch, Varro became Rome’s most prolific scholarand most authoritative grammarian. A legend in hisown lifetime, he was the only living scholar hon-ored with a statue in Rome’s first public library,and he has been lavishly praised by Cicero, Quintilian,Augustine, the grammatici Latini, the monks ofMonte Cassino, Petrarch, Renaissance humanists, andMontaigne, as well as contemporary historians oflinguistics, among many others.
Varro was an encyclopedic polymath who authoredat least 74 scholarly tomes on subjects as diverseas stagecraft (he determined the genuine plays ofPlautus, inter alia), numerals, ocean tides, civil law,philosophy, farming, urban affairs, libraries, etc.; hisbiographical dictionary of 700 famous Greeksand Romans was the first illustrated book, anothervolume formalized the liberal arts canon, and hecomposed satires. Varro’s first love, however, waslanguage, the Latin language in particular, and heauthored at least 10 major works on language sci-ence. Unfortunately, only 3% of his voluminous cor-pus has survived. The losses of the 45 books of theAntiquitates, his enthnographical masterpiece, and ofall but 6 of the 25 books of his magnum opus, the DeLingua Latina, are especially regrettable.
Vasconcellos, Carolina Michaelis dR Cavaliere, Universidade Federal Fluminense,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
� 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
arolina Michaelis de Vasconcelos built up an im-ressive academic career as a philologist, ethnogra-her, and historian of Portuguese literature. Born inerlin on March 15, 1851, Dona Carolina, as she is
In the extant books of the De Lingua Latina, Varroetymologizes hundreds of Latin words in the mostscientifically rigorous manner possible at the time,but more importantly he discovers, in theory perfectlyand in practice almost so, the declensions and con-jugations that become the centerpiece of Latin gram-mar for all time. In the process of that discovery Varroestablishes himself as, arguably, classical antiquity’smost original linguistic thinker, at least on morpho-logical matters, and sets the agenda for the future ofRoman language science. It is therefore no surprisethat he is the most frequently cited linguistic authori-ty in the ancient Roman grammatical tradition. Thethree books of De Re Rustica, Varro’s only completeextant work, are a literary guide to farming and man-ifest a genuine affection for land and animals, where-as the 500 or so fragments of his Menippean satiresare witty tidbits of philosophical and politicalinsights. Only fragments remain of other works.Nonetheless, Varro is indubitably one of the mostprominent figures in Roman intellectual history.
See also: Classical Antiquity: Language Study; Quintilian
(ca. 30–98 A.D.).
Bibliography
Boissier G (1861). Etude sur la Vie et les Ouvrages de M. T.Varron. Paris: Hachette.
Cichorius C (1922). Romische Studien. Leipzig: Teubner.Gambarara D (1996). ‘Varro, Marcus Terentius.’ In Lexicon
Grammaticorum. Tubingen: Niemeyer. 956–959.Ritschl F (1848). ‘Die Schriftstellerei des M. Terentius
Varro.’ Rheinisches Museum fur Philologie 6, 481–560.Taylor D (1999). ‘Varro.’ In Briggs W (ed.) Dictionary of
literary biography: ancient Roman writers. Detroit: TheGale Group. 340–345.
e (1851–1925)fondly called in linguistic circles, moved to Oporto,Portugal, in 1876, due to her marriage to the Portu-guese writer and art critic Joaquim de Vasconcelos.Her basic education was achieved at home, first withthe philogist Eduardo Maetzner and then with theromanist Karl Goldbeck, with whom she studied clas-sic languages. When she was only 16 years old, she setout the paper ‘Altspanische Prosadarstellung derCrescentiasage von A. Mussafia’ in the pages of the
