Capella
1.
Martianus Mineus Felix. A poet, born, according to Cassiodorus,
at Madaura in Africa; he calls himself, however, at the end of his work, “the
foster-child of the city of Elissa”; whether it be that he was born at Carthage, or
else received his education there, which latter is the more probable opinion of the two. The
MSS., however, give him the title of “the Carthaginian.” In process of
time he attained to proconsular dignity, but whether he was a Christian or not is a matter of
uncertainty. About the middle of the fifth century of our era he wrote at Rome a work bearing
the appellation of
Satira or
Satyricon, divided into nine
books. It is a species of encyclopædia, half prose and half verse, modelled after
the Varronian satire. The first two books form a detached and separate work, entitled
De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii, and treating of the apotheosis of
Philology and her marriage with Mercury. We find in it, among other things, a description of
heaven, which shows that the mystic notions of the Platonists of that day approximated in a
very singular manner to the truths of Christianity. In the seven following books Capella
treats of the seven sciences which formed at that time the circle of human
study—namely, grammar, logic, rhetoric, geometry, astrology (astronomy),
arithmetic, and music, which comprehends poetry. (See
Liberales Artes.) This work, written in an exaggerated and pedantic
style, was introduced into the schools in the Middle Ages; hence it was frequently copied,
and the text has become extremely corrupt. The prosody shows that accent had begun to destroy
the distinction of quantity, for we find, e. g.,
lōquax,
flăgitaret, Canŏpus, etc. On the text, see Dick,
De Martiano Capella Emendando (Berne, 1885). The best edition
of Capella is that of Eyssenhardt
(Leipzig, 1866); the
editio
princeps was that of Bodianus
(Vincent. 1499). The distinguished jurist,
Grotius, edited the work when only fourteen years of age.
2.
An elegiac poet, mentioned with commendation by Ovid (
Pont. xvi. 36). We have no remains of his productions.
