Calpurnius

Calpurnĭus, a, um, adj. [a Calpo Numae regis filio, Fest. p. 36],

• the name of the very distinguished Calpurnian gens: familia, Cic. Pis. 23, 53.—
• II Esp., as subst.
• • A Masc.
  • • 1 C. Calpurnius Piso, praetor B.C. 186, Liv. 39, 6, 1; 39, 30, 1 sqq.; and consul B.C. 180, id. 40, 35, 1; 40, 37, 1.—
    • 2 L. Calpurnius Piso, consul B.C. 112, and afterwards, B.C. 107, lieutenant of Cassius, Caes. B. G. 1, 6; 1, 12; 1, 14.—
    • 3 L. Calpurnius Bestia, tribune of the people B.C. 121, consul B.C. 111, and a general against Jugurtha, Cic. Brut. 34, 128; Sall. J. 27 sqq.—
    • 4 C. Calpurnius Piso, son-in-law of Cicero, Cic. Att. 2, 24, 3; id. Sest. 24, 54 al.—
    • 5 The intimate friend of Antonius, Anton. ap. Cic. Att. 10, 8 A, 2.—
    • 6 L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, consul with P. Mucius Scaevola, A.U.C. 621, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 49, § 108; id. Brut. 27, 106; id. Tusc. 3, 8, 16; Val. Max. 4, 3, 11 al.—
  • B Fem.
  • • 1 Cal-purnĭa, ae, the wife of Caesar, Vell. 2, 57, 2.—
    • 2 The wife of Antistius and daughter of Bestia, Vell. 2, 26 fin. al.—Hence,
• III Calpurnia lex.
• • • • a De pecuniis repetundis, introduced by the tribune of the people, L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, A.U.C. 605, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 84, § 195; 2, 4, 25, § 56; id. Brut. 27, 106; id. Off. 2, 21, 75 Beier.—
      • b De ambitu, by the consul C. Calpurnius Piso, A.U.C. 687, Cic. Mur. 23, 46; Corn. Fragm. Ascon. (v. 2, p. 68 Orell.); Tac. A. 15, 20.—
      • c Militaris, Sisenn. ap. Non. p. 107, 16.— Deriv.: Calpurnĭānus, a, um, adj., of or pertaining to a Calpurnius: equites, serving under the praetor Calpurnius, Liv. 39, 31, 7.

Calpurnius, a, um, Name eines röm. plebej. Geschlechts (dessen Familien die Beinamen Flamma, Asprenas, Piso [Frugi], Bestia, Bibulus führen), aus dem am bekanntesten: C. Calp. Piso, 186 v. Chr. Prätor u. dann Proprätor in Spanien, Liv. 39, 6, 1; 39, 30, 1 sqq.: Konsul 180 v. Chr., Liv. 40, 35, 1, u. als solcher gestorben, Liv. 40, 37, 1. – L. Calp. Piso, Konsul im J. 112 u. später (107) Legat des Kassius, Caes. b. G. 1, 6 u. 12 14. – L. Calp. Piso Frugi, bekannt wegen seiner strengen Rechtlichkeit und edlen Gesinnung, Cic. Tusc. 3, 16. Val. Max. 4, 3, 11: Volkstribun 149 v. Chr., Cic. Brut. 106: Konsul 133 v. Chr., Cic. Verr. 4, 108. – L. Calp. Bestia, Volkstribun 121 v. Chr., Cic. Brut. 128: Konsul (111) u. Feldherr gegen Jugurtha, Sall. Iug. 27 sqq. – L. Calp. Bibulus, der Stiefsohn des M. Brutus, Hor. sat. 1, 10, 86 (wo bl. Bibule); vgl. W. Teuffel Gesch. der röm. Literat.⁵ § 255, 2. – C. Calp. Piso, Schwiegersohn Ciceros, Cic. ad Att. 2, 24, 3; Sest. 54. – L. Calp. Piso Caesonius, Konsul im J. 58 v. Chr., Schwiegervater Cäsars, Gegner Ciceros, Caes. b. c. 1, 3. § 6. u. oft Cic. de domo, pro Sest., in Pis. – Calpurnia, Cäsars Gemahlin (Tochter des zuletzt gen. Calp.), Vell. 2, 57, 2. – Außerdem: T. Calpurnius Siculus, ein röm. Bukoliker aus der zweiten Hälfte des 3. Jahrh. n. Chr., unter dessen Namen wir elf Eklogen besitzen, in denen politische Anspielungen mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit auf die Zeiten des Karus u. Numerianus (280 n. Chr.) gedeutet werden. Vgl. W. Teuffel Gesch. der röm. Literat.⁵ § 306, 1. – Adi. kalpurnisch, familia, Cic.: domus, Auct. Paneg. in Pis. – bes. Calpurnia lex, α) de repetundis, vom Volkstribun L. Calp. Piso Frugi, Cic. de off. 2, 75 (u. dazu Beier). – β) de ambitu, vom Konsul C. Calp. Piso, Cic. Mur. 46. – Dav. Calpurniānus, a, um, kalpurnianisch, equites, unter dem (oben zuerst gen.) Prätor Kalpurnius dienende, Liv. 39, 31, 7.

Calpurnĭus, (11) ĭī, m. , nom dʼune famille romaine où se trouvaient les surnoms de Piso, Bestia, Bibulus, etc.  : Cic. , Cæs. , Liv. , Hor. || -nĭus, a, um, de la famille Calpurnia, de Calpurnius : Sisenna Hist. 120 ; Cic. Mur. 46 ; Pis. 53 || -nĭānus, a, um, de Calpurnius : Liv. 39, 31, 7.

Calpurnius Bibulus, L. or M. Bibulus

1. L. Calpurnius Bibulus, obtained each of the public magistracies in the same year as C. Julius Caesar. He was curule aedile in B. C. 65, praetor in 62, and consul in 59. Caesar was anxious to obtain L. Lucceius for his colleague in the consulship; but as Lucceius was a thorough partizan of Caesar's, while Bibulus was opposed to him, the aristocratical party used every effort to secure the election of the latter, and contributed large sums of money for this purpose. (Suet. Jul. 19.) Bibulus, accordingly, gained his election, but was able to do but very little for his party. After an ineffectual attempt to oppose Caesar's agrarian law, he withdrew from the popular assemblies altogether, and shut himself up in his own house for the remainder of the year; whence it was said in joke, that it was the consulship of Julius and Caesar. He confined his opposition to publishing edicts against Caesar's measures: these were widely circulated among his party, and greatly extolled as pieces of composition. (Suet. Jul. 9. 49; Cic. Att. 2.19, 20; Plut. Pomp. 48; comp. Cic. Brut. 77.) To vitiate Caesar's measures, he also pretended, that he was observing the skies, while his colleague was engaged in the comitia (Cic. pro Dom. 15); but such kind of opposition was not likely to have any effect upon Caesar.

On the expiration of his consulship, Bibulus remained at Rome, as no province had been assigned him. Here he continued to oppose the measures of Caesar and Pompey, and prevented the latter in 56 from restoring in person Ptolemy Auletes to Egypt. When, however, a coolness began to arise between Caesar and Pompey, Bibulus supported the latter, and it was upon his proposal, that Pompey was elected sole consul in 52, when the republic was almost in a state of anarchy through the tumults following the death of Clodius. In the following year, 51, Bibulus obtained a province in consequence of a law of Pompey's, which provided that no future consul or praetor should have a province till five years after the expiration of his magistracy. As the magistrates for the time being were thus excluded, it was provided that all men of consular or praetorian rank who had not held provinces, should now draw lots for the vacant ones. In consequence of this measure Bibulus went to Syria as proconsul about the same time as Cicero went to Cilicia. The eastern provinces of the Roman empire were then in the greatest alarm, as the Parthians had crossed the Euphrates, but they were driven back shortly before the arrival of Bibulus by C. Cassius, the proquaestor. Cicero was very jealous of this victory which had been gained in a neighboring province, and took good care to let his friends know that Bibulus had no share in it. When Bibulus obtained a thanksgiving of twenty days in consequence of the victory, Cicero complained bitterly, to his friends, that Bibulus had made false representations to the senate. Although great fears were entertained, that the invasion would be repeated, the Parthians did not appear for the next year. Bibulus left the province with the reputation of having administered its internal affairs with integrity and zeal.

On his return to the west in 49, Bibulus was appointed by Pompey commander of his fleet in the Ionian sea to prevent Caesar from crossing over into Greece. Caesar, however, contrived to elude his vigilance; and Bibulus fell in with only thirty ships returning to Italy after landing some troops. Enraged at his disappointment, he burnt these ships with their crews. This was in the winter; and his own men suffered much from cold and want of fuel and water, as Caesar was now in possession of the eastern coast and prevented his crews from landing. Sickness broke out among his men; Bibulus himself fell ill, and died in the beginning of the year 48, near Corcyra, before the battle of Dyrrhachium. (Caes. Civ. 3.5-18; D. C. 41.48; Plut. Brut. 13; Oros. 6.15 ;; Cic. Brut. 77.)

Bibulus was not a man of much ability, and is chiefly indebted for his celebrity to the fact of his being one of Caesar's principal, though not most formidable, opponents. He married Porcia, the daughter of M. Porcius Cato Uticensis, by whom he had three sons mentioned below. (Orelli, Onomast. Tull. p. 119, &c.; Drumann's Gesch. Roms, ii. p. 97, &c.)

Calpu'rnius

standard-bearer of the first legion in Germany at the accession of Tiberius, A. D. 14. When Munatius Plancus arrived in the camp of Gennanicus in Germany, as the ambassador of the senate, the rebellious soldiers would have murdered him while he was embracing as a suppliant the sacred standards, had not Calpurnius checked the violence of the soldiers. (Tac. Ann. 1.39.) [L.S]

Calpu'rnius or Calpu'rnius Siculus

surnamed SICULUS, a Roman pastoral poet.

The author is generally believed to have lived towards the end of the third century, and the person to whom the work is addressed is supposed to be the Aurelius Olympius Nemesianus whose poem on hunting is still extant. It will be found, however, upon a careful investigation of authorities, that we not only know nothing whatsoever with regard to the personal history of Calpurnius, but that every circumstance connected with his name, his age, his works, and his friends, is involved in obscurity and doubt. In several MSS. he is designated as Titus, in others as Caius, in a great number the praenomen is altogether wanting, while the only evidence for the determination of the epoch when he flourished rests upon the gratuitous assumption that he is identical with the Junius or Julius Calpurnius commemorated by Vopiscus in the life of Carus. In like manner we are left in uncertainty whether we ought to consider the term Siculus as a cognomen, or as an appellation pointing out his native country, or as an epithet bestowed upon him because he cultivated the same style of composition with the Syracusan Theocritus. Some have sought to prove, from internal evidence, that, like the Mantuan bard, he was raised from a humble station by the favour of some exalted patron, but this hypothesis receives no support from the passages referred to, and those who have attempted in a similar manner to ascertain the precise epoch when he flourished have arrived at conflicting conclusions. Even if the dedication to Nemesianus is genuine, and this is far from certain, it does not necessarily follow, that this must be the same Nemesianus who was contemporary with Numerianus. Works Pastoral Poems

Among the works of the Latin poets we find eleven pastorals which usually bear the title T. Calpurnii Siculi Bucolicon Eclogae, to which is sometimes added Ad Nemesianum Carthaginiensem. Assessment

The literary merits of Calpurnius may be briefly discussed. In all that relates to the mechanism of his art he deserves much praise. His versification is smooth, flowing, and sonorous, and his diction for the most part pure and elegant, although from being too elaborately finished it is sometimes tinged with affectation. In all the higher departments he can advance no claim to our admiration. He imitates closely the Eclogues of Virgil, and like Virgil is deficient in the simplicity, freshness, and reality which lend such a charm to the Idylls of Theocritus--a deficiency which he awkwardly endeavours to supply by occasionally foisting harsh and uncouth expressions into the mouths of his speakers. He evidently was a careful student of Horace, Tibullus, Propertius, Juvenal, and Statius, for we can often detect their thoughts and even their expressions, unless, indeed, we are disposed to adopt the absurd notions advocated by Ascensius, that he belonged to the Augustan age, and might thus have been copied by the others instead of borrowing from them. Authorship

In the oldest MSS. and editions the whole eleven eclogues are attributed to Calpurnius. Ugoletus, upon the authority of a single MS., separated the last four from the rest, assigning them to Nemesianus; but independent of the feeble authority upon which this change was introduced, the tone and spirit of the whole eleven is so exactly uniform, that we might at once conclude with confidence that they were productions of the same pen, and this has been satisfactorily established by Wernsdorf. Editions

The Editio Princeps is without place or date, but is usually found appended to the Silius Italicus printed at Rome in 1471, by Sweynheim and Pannartz. The next in antiquity is that of Venice, 1472. The most valuable modern editions are those contained in the Poetae Latini Minores of Burmann (Leida, 1731), and in the Poetae Latini Minores of Wernsdorff (Altenb. 1780), and in Lemaire's Classics (Paris, 1824). The text has been recently revised with much care by Glaeser, (Gotting. 1842.) [W.R]

Calpu'rnius Aspre'nas

[Asprenas.]

Calpu'rnius Crassus

[Crassus.]

Calpu'rnius Faba'tus

[Fabatus.]

Calpu'rnius Flaccus

[Flaccus.]

Calpu'rnius Galeria'nus

[Galerianus.]

Calpu'rnius Salvia'nus

[Salvianus.]

Calpurnius

(1) A writer of mimes, not to be confounded with the pastoral poet of the same name.

(2) A Christian in the time of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, from whom we have fifty-one Declamationes remaining.

(3) Titus Calpurnius (called Sicŭlus), a Latin poet, a native of Sicily, lived during the first century of our era, under the emperor Nero. In the earliest editions of his works, and in all but one of the MSS., eleven eclogues pass under his name. Ugoletus, however, at a later period, guided by this single MS., showed that four of the eleven were the work of Nemesianus. The Eclogues of Calpurnius are not without merit, though greatly inferior in elegance and simplicity to Vergil's. They are dedicated to Nemesianus, his protector and patron, for he himself was very poor. In the time of Charlemagne these pieces were placed in the hands of young scholars. Besides these poems, which were written in imitation of Vergil's Bucolica, there exists a poetical panegyric, De Laude Pisonis, which is now generally attributed to Calpurnius. Editions of this are those of Held (Breslau, 1831), and Weber (Marburg, 1859); of the Eclogues, those by Glaeser (Göttingen, 1842); with Nemesianus by Schenkl (Prague, 1885); and with commentary, introduction, and appendix by Keene (London, 1887). A good translation of the Eclogues into English verse is that by E. L. Scott (London, 1891). See Einsiedeln Poems.