Laevius

Roman poet and writer

Laevius (died c. 80 BC) was a Latin poet, of whom practically nothing is known. He is sometimes identified with the Laevius Melissus mentioned by Suetonius.

Quotes

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  • Te Andromacha per ludum manu
    lasciuola ac tenellula
    capiti meo, trepidans libens
    insolita plexit munera.
    • With her hands Andromacha, for sport,
      those tender, playful little hands,
      eager and excited, for my head
      wove you, extraordinary gift.
    • From Erotopaegnia (tr. Kenneth Quinn)
  • Corpore (inquit) pectoreque undique obeso ac
    Mente exsensa tardigenuclo
    Senio obpressum.
    • Of chest and body wasted everywhere;
      Of mind devoid of sense and slow of pace;
      With age o’ercome.
    • From Alcestis, quoted by Aulus Gellius, XIX, vii, 3 (tr. J. C. Rolfe)
  • Venus <o> amoris altrix,
    genetrix cupiditatis,
    mihi quae diem serenum
    hilarula praepandere cresti,
    opesculae tuae ac ministrae.
    • O Venus, who keeps love alive,
      mother of longing and desire,
      it is you who favors me,
      your little maid servant,
      and spends out a clam day
      in front of me.
    • From Pterygion Phoenicis, quoted by Charisius, 288K (tr. C. F. Heffernan)

About

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  • The grammarians too were so highly esteemed, and their compensation was so ample, that Lutatius Daphnis, whom Laevius Melissus, punning on his name, often called the “darling of Pan,” is known to have been bought for seven hundred thousand sesterces and soon afterwards set free.
    • Suetonius, De Grammaticis, III (tr. J. C. Rolfe)

Bibliography

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  • J. C. Rolfe, The Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius, Vol. 1, LCL 195 (1927), p. 204
  • J. C. Rolfe, The Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius, Vol. 3, LCL 195 (1928), pp. 366, 380
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