Bassus, Saleius
a Roman epic poet, contemporary with Statius.
Quintilian thus characterises his genius: “
vehemens et poeticum fuit nec ipsum senectute maturum.” The last words are somewhat obscure, but probably signify that he died young, before his powers were ripened by years.
He is the “
tenuis Saleius” of Juvenal, one of the numerous band of literary men whose poverty and sufferings the satirist so feelingly deplores ; but at a later period his wants were relieved by the liberality of Vespasian, as we learn from the dialogue on the decline of eloquence, where warm praise is lavished on his abilities and moral worth.
Works
We have not even a fragment acknowledged as the production of this Bassus.
A panegyric, indeed, in 261 heroic hexameters, on a certain Calpurnius Piso, has been preserved, the object and the author of which are equally uncertain; and hence we find it attributed to Virgil, to Ovid, to Statius, and very frequently to Lucan, whose name is said to be prefixed in some MSS., while Wernsdorf, rejecting all these suppositions, labours hard to prove that it ought to be ascribed to Saleius Bassus, and that the Piso who is the hero of the piece must be the well-known leader of the great conspiracy against Nero.
The strong points in the position are the allusions (1. 180) to the game of draughts in which this Piso is known to have been an adept (Vet. Schol.
ad Juv. 5.109), and the references by the writer to his own humble origin and narrow means, a description altogether inapplicable to the well-born and wealthy bard of Corduba. Granting, however, that Wernsdorf is right so far as Piso and Lucan are concerned, it by no means follows, from the simple fact that the author in question was poor and neglected, that we are entitled, in the absence of all other evidence direct or circumstantial, to identify him with Saleius Bassus, for it is certain that the same conditions would hold good of Statius, Serranus, and a long list of versifiers belonging to the same period.
Further Information
Quint. 10.1, 90;
Dialog. de Oratt. cc. 5, 9;
Juv. 7.80; Wernsdorf,
Poett. Latt. Minn. vol. iv. r. i. pp. 36, 72, 75, 236
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W.R]
