3rd-century Roman writer and grammarian
Censorinus
(
fl.
AD
230
) was a
Roman
grammarian
and miscellaneous writer.
Name
[
edit
]
From its grammatical form, Censorinus is presumably his
cognomen
, the shared surname of a branch of a Roman family (
gens
). The cognomen
Censorinus
would typically be used by those descended from,
adopted by
, or related by prominent
marriage
to someone who had held the office of
censor
. Censorinus's
given name
(
praenomen
) and
family name
(
nomen
) are unknown, although the
Marcii Censorini
were by far the most prominent family to use the cognomen. The author is sometimes distinguished as
Censorinus the Grammarian
(
Censorinus Grammaticus
).
Life
[
edit
]
Little is known of Censorinus, although he lived during the 3rd century and apparently dedicated
De Die Natali
to his patron Quintus Caerellius as a birthday gift.
Works
[
edit
]
Censorinus was the author of a lost work
De Accentibus
as well as the surviving
De Die Natali
.
[2]
De Die Natali
[a]
(
Latin
for "On the Natal Day" or "On the Birthday") or
Opusculum de Die Natali
("Little Work on the Birthday") was apparently written in 238 for the birthday of Censorinus's patron Quintus Caerellius. The contents are of a varied character: the natural history of man, the influence of the stars and
genii
,
music,
religious rites
,
astronomy
, the doctrines of the
Greek philosophers
, and
antiquarian
subjects. The second part deals with chronological and mathematical questions, and has been of great service in determining the principal epochs of ancient history. The whole is full of curious and interesting information. The style is clear and concise, although somewhat
rhetorical
, and the
Latinity
?for the period?good. The chief authorities used were
Varro
and
Suetonius
. Some scholars, indeed, hold that the entire work is practically an adaptation of the lost
Pratum
of Suetonius. The fragments of a work
De Naturali Institutione
, dealing with astronomy,
geometry
,
music
, and
versification
, and usually printed with the
De Die Natali
of Censorinus, are not by him. Part of the original manuscript, containing the end of the genuine work, and the title and name of the author of the fragment are lost.
Legacy
[
edit
]
A bright
crater
in the
Sea of Tranquility
on the Moon has been named after him.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Sometimes?mistakenly?given as
De Die Natale
.
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
Editions
[
edit
]
- De Die Natali
(in Latin), Bologna: Benedetto Faelli, 1497
.
- Lindenbrog, Heinrich, ed. (1614), (in Latin)
.
- Mangeart, J., ed. (1614),
Sur le Jour Natal
(in French), Paris: C.L.F. Panckoucke
.
- Jahn, Otto
, ed. (1845), (in Latin)
.
- Hultsch, Friedrich
, ed. (1867), (in Latin)
.
- Cholodniak, Ivan, ed. (1889),
De Die Natali Liber ad Q. Caerellium
(in Latin), St Petersburg: Russian Imperial Academy of Science
.
- Maude, William, ed. (1900),
De Die Natali ("The Natal Day")
, New York: Cambridge Encyclopedia Co.
, omitting the first 11 chapters.
- Parker, Holt N., ed. (2007),
Censorinus: The Birthday Book
, Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
ISBN
978-0-226-09974-3
.
- Brodersen, Kai, ed. (2012),
Censorinus: Uber den Geburtstag
(in German), Darmstadt: WBG,
ISBN
978-3-534-18154-4
.
- Brodersen, Kai, ed. (2011),
Censorinus: Das Geburtstagsbuch
(in German), Darmstadt: Primus,
ISBN
978-3-89678-752-1
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Academics
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|