i inscriptus est Odyssea, in quo erat
versus primus ...,

"Virum mihi Camena | insece versutum,"

factus ex illo Homeri versu,

+Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, polytropon+.'

Fragments 2 and 3,

'Mea puer, quid verbi | ex tuo ore supera
fugit?
neque enim te oblitus | Lertie, sum, noster,'

represent _Od._ i. 64,

+teknon emon, poion se epos phygen herkos odonton?
pos an epeit' Odyseos ego theioio lathoimen?+

NAEVIUS.

(1) LIFE.

Cn. Naevius' dates can only be given approximately as B.C. 269-199. As
he served in the First Punic War, he cannot in any case have been born
later than B.C. 257. He was a Campanian by birth.

Gell. i. 24, 2, 'Epigramma Naevi plenum superbiae Campanae, quod
testimonium esse iustum potuisset, nisi ab ipso dictum esset,

"Inmortales mortales si foret fas flere,
flerent divae Camenae Naevium poetam.
Itaque postquam est Orci traditus thesauro,
obliti sunt Romae loquier lingua Latina."'

Naevius' first play was produced B.C. 235; the fact that he served as
a soldier shows that he was not an actor.

Gell. xvii. 21, 45, 'Eodem anno (A.U.C. Dxix.) Cn. Naevius poeta
fabulas apud populum dedit, quem M. Varro in libris de poetis primo
stipendia fecisse ait bello Poenico primo, idque ipsum Naevium dicere
in eo carmine, quod de eodem bello scripsit.'

In his plays he attacked the senatorial party, particularly the
Metelli, and was imprisoned, but afterwards released.

Gell. iii. 3, 15, 'Sicuti de Naevio quoque accepimus, fabulas eum in
carcere duas scripsisse, Hariolum et Leontem, cum ob assiduam
maledicentiam et probra in principes civitatis de Graecorum poetarum
more dicta in vincula Romae a triumviris coniectus esset. Unde post a
tribunis plebis exemptus est, cum in his, quas supra dixi, fabulis
delicta sua et petulantias dictorum, quibus multos ante laeserat,
diluisset.'

Pseud.-Asconius on Cic. _in Verr. act. prior_, 29. 'Dictum facete et
contumeliose in Metellos antiquum Naevii est, "Fato Metelli Romai
fiunt consules," cui tunc Metellus consul (B.C. 206) iratus versu
responderat ..., "Dabunt malum Metelli Naevio poetae."'

Cf. the contemporary reference in Plaut. _Mil._ 212,

'Nam os columnatum poetae esse indaudivi barbaro,[2]
quoi bini custodes semper totis horis occubant.'

For Naevius' freedom of speech cf. his comedies, l. 113 (Ribbeck),

'Libera lingua loquemur ludis Liberalibus';

l. 108 (on Scipio),

'Etiam qui res magnas manu