Volcātius Sedīgitus was the titulus of a Roman literary critic who flourished around 100 , noted for his ranking of those he considered the best Latin comics.

Nothing is known about Sedigitus beyond that Pliny

Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...

, who calls him an ilustris poeta, states that he got his cognomen

Cognomen

The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...

 because he was born with six fingers on each hand. This rare state, known as polydactyly

Polydactyly

Polydactyly or polydactylism , also known as hyperdactyly, is a congenital physical anomaly in humans, dogs, and cats having supernumerary fingers or toes....

, is caused by a dominant gene. The Romans did not avoid the open expression of blemishes and personal infirmities in the names they gave to public figures. A literary critic, his origin may have been from outside the Roman Empire or his origins may have been lowly. 'Six digits (fingers or toes)' in Latin is sex digitī (singular digitus.) (See Roman naming conventions

Roman naming conventions

By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...

.) Volcatius is an adjective referring to the Volcatia gens

Gens

In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...

 and to the Volcae

Volcae

The Volcae were a tribal confederation constituted before the raid of combined Gauls that invaded Macedon circa 270 BC and defeated the assembled Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 279 BC...

, a Celtic people.

From his work Dē Poētīs 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...

' Noctēs Atticae preserves 13 iambic senarii in didascaly

Didascaly

Didascaly, Greek Antiquity [modern ad. Greek διδασκαλία instruction, teaching; in plural as in quotation. So modern French didascalie.]...

, in which "Canon", as it has been termed, the principal Latin comics are enumerated in order of merit, in this order, from greatest: Caecilius, Plautus

Plautus

Titus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...

, Naevius

Gnaeus Naevius

Gnaeus Naevius was a Roman epic poet and dramatist of the Old Latin period. He had a notable literary career at Rome until his satiric comments delivered in comedy angered the Metelli family, one of whom was consul. After a sojourn in prison he recanted and was set free by the tribunes...

, Licinius

Licinius

Licinius I , was Roman Emperor from 308 to 324. Co-author of the Edict of Milan that granted official toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire, for the majority of his reign he was the rival of Constantine I...

, Atilius, 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,...

, Turpilius, Trabea

Trabea

Trabea is the name of various pieces of Roman clothing. A distinct feature of all trabeae was their color - usually in red or purple. They were formed like a toga and possibly in some cases like a mantle piece and worn by more distinguished members of Roman society.-References:*Philip Smith: Toga...

, Luscius, Ennius

Ennius

Quintus Ennius was a writer during the period of the Roman Republic, and is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was of Calabrian descent...

.

Historian Suetonius

Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....

' work Vita Terentii (Life of Terence) quotes "Vulcacius" as having given a few details about 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,...

's leaving Rome and consequent disappearing. Viz., Sedigitus said that the playwright was going to Asia, i.e., Pergamum, and was never seen again.