Poems by Julius Caesar
Encyclopedia
Poems by Julius Caesar
are mentioned by several sources in antiquity. None are extant. Tacitus
considered their loss a happy accident for the dictator
's literary reputation:
Plutarch
says that verse compositions were among the entertainments Caesar offered the Cilician pirates
who captured him as a young man in 75 BC. Pliny
places "the divine Julius
" on his list of serious men who wrote not-so-serious poems. Caesar's Dicta Collectanea, a collection of his memorable quotations, is assumed to have contained quotations from his verse as well as prose works.
The titles of two works Caesar wrote as a young man are known, a Laudes Herculis ("Praises of Hercules
") and the verse tragedy Oedipus
; their planned publication by the librarian Pompeius Macer was squelched by a "short and simple" — or perhaps "curt and direct" — letter from Caesar's heir Augustus
as incompatible with his program of deification. A third title, Iter ("The Journey"), dates from 46 BC, composed during a 24-day trip from Rome to Spain
during the civil war
. This verse travelogue may have been modeled after Lucilius
's poem about a trip to Sicily
. Caesar's choice of writing as a pastime in prelude to the decisive and brutal Battle of Munda
illustrates the dual preoccupations of the Late Republican aristocrat, with militarism and political power-plays balanced by elite intellectual and aesthetic aspirations.
in discussing the word unguentum, "ointment":
The quoted phrase corpusque suaui telino unguimus is part of a scazon or iambic trimeter
. Its author has also been identified as C. Iulius Caesar Strabo
, the dictator's uncle.
In his Life of Terence
, Suetonius
preserves six lines of dactylic hexameter
by Caesar praising the Roman playwright, along with a more lukewarm assessment by Cicero. These two verse passages, with their similarity of purpose and wording, may have resulted from a school assignment, since both men studied with the teacher and grammarian Gnipho. As such, Caesar's lines are probably not to be taken too seriously as literary criticism, but his notice of Terence as "lover of a pure conversational style" points toward Caesar's own stylistic predilections and linguistic nationalism.
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....
are mentioned by several sources in antiquity. None are extant. Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
considered their loss a happy accident for the dictator
Roman dictator
In the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
's literary reputation:
Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
says that verse compositions were among the entertainments Caesar offered the Cilician pirates
Cilician pirates
The Cilician pirates dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 2nd century BC up until their speedy suppression by Pompey . Although there were notorious pirate strongholds in Cilicia, Cilician had long been a term for pirates.-Rise of piracy:...
who captured him as a young man in 75 BC. Pliny
Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
places "the divine Julius
Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
The Imperial cult of ancient Rome identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority of the Roman State...
" on his list of serious men who wrote not-so-serious poems. Caesar's Dicta Collectanea, a collection of his memorable quotations, is assumed to have contained quotations from his verse as well as prose works.
The titles of two works Caesar wrote as a young man are known, a Laudes Herculis ("Praises of Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
") and the verse tragedy Oedipus
Oedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
; their planned publication by the librarian Pompeius Macer was squelched by a "short and simple" — or perhaps "curt and direct" — letter from Caesar's heir Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
as incompatible with his program of deification. A third title, Iter ("The Journey"), dates from 46 BC, composed during a 24-day trip from Rome to Spain
Hispania Ulterior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania and Gallaecia...
during the civil war
Caesar's civil war
The Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
. This verse travelogue may have been modeled after Lucilius
Lucilius
Lucilius is the nomen of the gens Lucilia of ancient Rome.*Gaius Lucilius, satirist 2nd century BC. Lucilius was credited by Horace and others with originating the genre of satire.*Lucilius Junior, friend and correspondent of the younger Seneca....
's poem about a trip to Sicily
Sicilia (Roman province)
Sicilia was the first province acquired by the Roman Republic, organized in 241 BC as a proconsular governed territory, in the aftermath of the First Punic War with Carthage. It included Sicily and Malta...
. Caesar's choice of writing as a pastime in prelude to the decisive and brutal Battle of Munda
Battle of Munda
The Battle of Munda took place on March 17, 45 BC in the plains of Munda, modern southern Spain. This was the last battle of Julius Caesar's civil war against the republican armies of the Optimate leaders...
illustrates the dual preoccupations of the Late Republican aristocrat, with militarism and political power-plays balanced by elite intellectual and aesthetic aspirations.
What survives
A single incomplete line survives that might come from the Iter, quoted by Isidore of SevilleIsidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
in discussing the word unguentum, "ointment":
The quoted phrase corpusque suaui telino unguimus is part of a scazon or iambic trimeter
Iambic trimeter
iambic trimeter is a meter of poetry consisting of three iambic units per line.In ancient Greek poetry, iambic trimeter is a quantitative meter, in which a line consisted of three iambic metra and each metron consisted of two iambi...
. Its author has also been identified as C. Iulius Caesar Strabo
Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus
Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo Vopiscus was the younger son to Lucius Julius Caesar II and his wife Poppilia and younger brother to Lucius Julius Caesar III...
, the dictator's uncle.
In his Life of Terence
Terence
Publius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...
, Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
preserves six lines of dactylic hexameter
Dactylic hexameter
Dactylic hexameter is a form of meter in poetry or a rhythmic scheme. It is traditionally associated with the quantitative meter of classical epic poetry in both Greek and Latin, and was consequently considered to be the Grand Style of classical poetry...
by Caesar praising the Roman playwright, along with a more lukewarm assessment by Cicero. These two verse passages, with their similarity of purpose and wording, may have resulted from a school assignment, since both men studied with the teacher and grammarian Gnipho. As such, Caesar's lines are probably not to be taken too seriously as literary criticism, but his notice of Terence as "lover of a pure conversational style" points toward Caesar's own stylistic predilections and linguistic nationalism.
Selected bibliography
- Courtney, Edward. The Fragmentary Latin Poets. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993.