Caecilius Statius, or Statius Caecilius (died 168 (or 166) BC) was a Roman comic poet. The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ...

A contemporary and intimate friend of Ennius, he was born in the territory of the Insubrian Gauls, and was probably taken as a prisoner to Rome (c. 200), during the great Gallic war. Originally a slave, he assumed the name of Caecilius from his patron, probably one of the Metelli. He supported himself by adapting Greek plays for the Roman stage from the New Comedy writers, especially Menander. If the statement in the life of Terence by Suetonius is correct and the reading sound, Caecilius's judgment was so esteemed. that he was ordered to hear Terence's Andria (exhibited 166 BC) read and to pronounce an opinion upon it. Quintus Ennius (239 - 169 BC) was a writer during the period of the Roman Republic, and is often considered the father of Roman poetry. ... Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given,in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... Greek comedy is the name given to a wide genre of theatrical plays written, and performed, in Ancient Greece. ... Bust of Menander Menander (342–291 BC) (Greek ), Greek dramatist, the chief representative of the New Comedy, was born in Athens. ... Publius Terentius Afer, better known as Terence, was a comic playwright of the Roman Republic. ... Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (69 or 70 AD - after 130 AD ) or known as Suetonius was a prominent Roman historian. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC - 160s BC - 150s BC140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC Years: 171 BC 170 BC 169 BC 168 BC 167 BC - 166 BC - 165 BC 164 BC 163...

After several failures Caeciius gained a high reputation. Volcacius Sedigitus, the dramatic critic, places him first amongst the comic poets; Varro credits him with pathos and skill in the construction of his plots; Horace (Epistles, ii. I. 59) contrasts his dignity with the art of Terence. Quintilian (Inst. Orat., x. I. 99) speaks somewhat disparagingly of him, and Cicero, although he admits with some hesitation that Caecilius may have been the chief of the comic poets (De Optimo Genere Oratorum, I), considers him inferior to Terence in style and Latinity (Ad Alt. vii. 3), as was only natural, considering his foreign extraction. Marcus Terentius Varro ([[116 BC]–27 BC), also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Roman scholar and writer, who the Romans came to call the most learned of all the Romans. ... Horace, as imagined by Anton von Werner Quintus Horatius Flaccus, (December 8, 65 BC - November 27, 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. ... Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (c. ...

The fact that his plays could be referred to by name alone without any indication of the author (Cicero, De Finibus, ii. 7) is sufficient proof of their widespread popularity. Caecilius holds a place between Plautus and Terence in his treatment of the Greek originals; he did not, like Plautus, confound things Greek and Roman, nor, like Terence, eliminate everything that could not be romanized. Titus Macchius Plautus, generally referred to simply as Plautus, was a playwright of Ancient Rome. ...

The fragments of his plays are chiefly preserved in Aulus Gellius, who cites several passages from the Ploczum (necklace) together with the original Greek of Menander. The translation which is diffuse and by no means close, fails to reproduce the spirit of the original. In his Laelius de Amicitia (On Friendship), Cicero refers to Caecilius Status's comedy Epicleros (The Heiress) and quotes two lines: “Of an old fool one never made such sport as you have made of me this very day;” (Cicero,De Amicitia, XXVI) . [1] . This is one of only a few fragments, that are known from this comedy by Caecilius Statius. Aulus Gellius ( 125 - after 180), Latin author and grammarian, possibly of African origin, probably born and certainly brought up at Rome. ... Laelius de Amicitia Liber by Marcus Tullius Cicero Introduction The date of its composition belongs within the year 44 B.C., but the month cannot be fixed with absolute certainty. ... Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA:Classical Latin pronunciation: , usually pronounced in American English or in British English; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, philosopher, widely considered one of Romes greatest orators...

References

• Otto Ribbeck, Scaenicae Romanorum Poesis Fragmenta (1898)
• Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel, Caecilius Statius, &c. (1858)
• Theodor Mommsen, History of Rome (Eng. tr.), bk. iii. ch. 14
• F. Skutsch in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie (1897).

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Statius Caecilius