Macrobius

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Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius
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Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. c. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during

Latin Verb"), which is now lost. He is the basis for the protagonist Manlius in Iain Pears' book The Dream of Scipio
.

Name

Macrobius's

cognomina), properly ordered Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius. This is what appears in the earliest surviving manuscripts of the Saturnalia and how he is addressed in the excerpts from his lost De Differentiis. He is called "Macrobius Theodosius" in both Cassiodorus and Boethius and was apparently known during his lifetime as "Theodosius": The dedication of De Differentiis is "Theodosius to his Symmachus" (Theodosius Symmacho suo) and he addressed as "the very greatest Theodosius" (Theodosi optime) in a dedicatory epistle to Avianus's Fables. This was mistakenly reversed in later manuscripts to "Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius", which James Willis then used in his edition of the Commentary.[1]
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Life

Macrobius presenting his work to his son Eustachius. From an 1100 copy of Macrobius' "Commentary on the «Dream of Scipio»".

Little is known for certain about Macrobius, but there are many theories and speculations about him. He states at the beginning of his Saturnalia that he was "born under a foreign sky" (sub alio ortus caelo), and both of his major works are dedicated to his son, Eustachius.{{efn|Alan Cameron notes that several of the earliest manuscripts of his works spell his son's name Eustathius, then after pointing out that a certain Plotinus Eustathius was

Urban prefect in 462 observes "Plotinus would be a peculiarly appropriate name for a neoplatonist philosopher and keen admirer of the great Lycopolitan (cf. Comm. I, 8, 5) to have given his son." There is also a Macrobius Plotinus Eudoxius who collaborated with Memmius Symmachus over an edition of Macrobius' Commentary.[1]
: 38  His major works have led experts to assume that he was a pagan.

Which "foreign sky" Macrobius was born under has been the subject of much speculation.

Vergil and Cicero—and favor North Africa, which was part of the Latin-speaking portion of the Roman Empire.[2]

Scholars have attempted to identify him with a Macrobius who is mentioned in the

praepositus (or lord chamberlain) named Macrobius in 422.[4] A number of older authorities go so far as to identify Macrobius the author with the first, and date his floruit to 399–410. There are objections to either identification: as Alan Cameron notes, the complete name of the first candidate is attested in an inscription to be "Flavius Macrobius Maximianus", while the second is excluded because "A praepositus must at this period have been a eunuch."[1]
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However, since Macrobius is frequently referred to as vir clarissimus et inlustris, a title which was achieved by holding public office, we can reasonably expect his name to appear in the Codex Theodosianus. Further, Cameron points out that during his lifetime Macrobius was referred to as "Theodosius", and looking for that name Cameron found a Theodosius who was

praetorian prefect of Italy in 430. "It is significant that the only surviving law addressed to this Theodosius sanctions a privilege for Africa Proconsularis on the basis of information received concerning Byzacena," Cameron notes.[1]
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Works

Commentary on the "Dream of Scipio"

Macrobius's most influential book and one of the most widely cited books of the Middle Ages was a

Johannes Scotus Eriugena (9th century).[5]

See editions by Ludwig von Jan (1848–1852, with a bibliography of previous editions, and commentary),

Teubner text), James Willis (1994, new Teubner), and R. A. Kaster (OCT and Loeb, 2011); on the sources of the Saturnalia see H. Linke (1880) and Georg Wissowa (1880). The grammatical treatise will be found in Jan's edition and Heinrich Keil's Grammatici latini; see also Georg Friedrich Schömann
, Commentatio macrobiana (1871).

Saturnalia

Early printed edition of Macrobius's In Somnium Scipionis and Saturnaliorum.

Macrobius's Saturnalia (

Latin: Saturnaliorum Libri Septem, "Seven Books of the Saturnalia") consists of an account of the discussions held at the house of Vettius Agorius Praetextatus during the holiday of the Saturnalia. It contains a great variety of curious historical, mythological, critical, antiquarian and grammatical discussions. "The work takes the form of a series of dialogues among learned men at a fictional banquet."[7]

Editions and translations

  • Robert A. Kaster (ed.), Macrobius: Saturnalia. Loeb classical library 510–512. Cambridge, MA/ London: Harvard University Press, 2011. 3 volumes.
  • Percival Vaughan Davies (trans.), Macrobius: The Saturnalia. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969.
  • William Harris Stahl (trans.), Macrobius: Commentary on the Dream of Scipio. New York: Columbia University Press, 1952. (Second printing, with revisions, 1966)
  • Macrobius, Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius (1400s). Seven Books of the Saturnalia: Codex from the Plutei Collection of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence (in Latin). World Digital Library. Retrieved 2014-02-28.

Legacy

A prominent lunar crater is named after Macrobius.[8]

Macrobius Cove in Antarctica is named after Macrobius.

Gallery

Cicero's Dream of Scipio described the Earth as a globe of insignificant size in comparison to the remainder of the cosmos.[9] Many early medieval manuscripts of Macrobius include maps of the Earth, including the antipodes, zonal maps showing the Ptolemaic climates derived from the concept of a spherical Earth and a diagram showing the Earth (labeled as globus terrae, the sphere of the Earth) at the center of the hierarchically ordered planetary spheres.[10]

Images from a 12th-century manuscript of Macrobius's Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis (Parchment, 50 ff.; 23.9 × 14 cm; Southern France). Date: ca. 1150. Source: Copenhagen, Det Kongelige Bibliotek, ms. NKS 218 4°.

See also

Notes

References

Citations

  1. ^
    JSTOR 300131
    .
  2. ^ William Harris Stahl, Macrobius: Commentary on the Dream of Scipio (New York: Columbia University, 1952), pp. 4f
  3. ^ Codex Theodosianus XIV.10.15, VIII.5.61, XI.28.6
  4. ^ Codex Theodosianus VI.8.1
  5. ^ a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Macrobius, Ambrosius Theodosius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 269.
  6. .
  7. ^ "Seven Books of the Saturnalia". World Digital Library. 2014-02-26. Retrieved 2014-02-28.
  8. ^ International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  9. ^ Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio, transl. W. H. Stahl, (New York: Columbia Univ. Pr., 1952), chaps. v-vii, (pp. 200-212).
  10. ^ B. Eastwood and G. Graßhoff, Planetary Diagrams for Roman Astronomy in Medieval Europe, ca. 800-1500, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 94, 3 (Philadelphia, 2004), pp. 49-50.

Bibliography

External links