Editing Caecilius Statius (section)

==Life and work==
A contemporary and intimate friend of [[Ennius]], according to tradition he was born in the territory of the Celtic Insubrian [[Gaul]]s, probably in [[Mediolanum]], and was probably taken as a prisoner to Rome (c.&nbsp;200), during the [[Roman-Gallic wars]]. Originally a slave, he assumed the name of [[Caecilia gens|Caecilius]] from his patron, probably one of the [[Metelli]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} However, according to one source he was free-born of [[Samnites|Samnite]] stock whose family had settled in Cisalpine Gaul following the [[Second Punic War]]. In this case he would have been a native speaker of a language close to Latin, rather than [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] Insubrian. There he came to the attention of Marcus Caecilius Denter, the Legatus Legionibus Praepositus in Cisalpine Gaul in 200&nbsp;BC who introduced him in Rome.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robson |first1=D.O. |title=The Nationality of the Poet Caecilius Statius |journal=The American Journal of Philology | date=1938| volume=59 |issue=3 |pages=301–308 |doi=10.2307/291581 |jstor=291581 }}</ref>

He supported himself by adapting Greek plays for the Roman stage from the [[Ancient Greek comedy#New Comedy|New Comedy]] writers, especially [[Menander]], a genre called [[Fabula palliata|Comoedia Palliata]]. If the statement in the life of [[Terence]] by [[Suetonius' minor works|Suetonius]] is correct and the reading sound, Caecilius's judgment was so esteemed that he was ordered to hear Terence's ''Andria'' (exhibited 166 BC) read and to pronounce an opinion upon it.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

After several failures, Caecilius gained a high reputation. [[Volcatius Sedigitus]], the dramatic critic, places him first amongst the comic poets; [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]] credits him with [[pathos]] and skill in the construction of his plots; [[Horace]] (''Epistles'', ii. I. 59) contrasts his dignity with the art of Terence. [[Quintilian]] (''Inst. Orat.'', x. I. 99) speaks somewhat disparagingly of him, and [[Cicero]], although he admits with some hesitation that Caecilius may have been the chief of the comic poets (''De Optimo Genere Oratorum'', I), considers him inferior to Terence in style and Latinity (''Ad Atticum'' vii. 3), as was only natural, considering his foreign extraction.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

The fact that his plays could be referred to by name alone without any indication of the author (Cicero, ''De Finibus'', ii. 7) is sufficient proof of their widespread popularity. Caecilius holds a place between [[Plautus]] and Terence in his treatment of the Greek originals; he did not, like Plautus, confound things Greek and Roman, nor, like Terence, eliminate everything that could not be romanized.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

The fragments of his plays are chiefly preserved in [[Aulus Gellius]], who cites several passages from ''Plocium'' (''The Necklace'') together with the original Greek of Menander,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} affording the only opportunity, apart from Plautus' ''[[Bacchides (play)|Bacchides]]'', to make a substantial comparison between a Roman comedy and its Greek model.  Caecilius' version, diffuse and by no means close as a translation, does not reproduce the spirit of the original.

His comedies "apparently included serious thoughts on moral and social issues, mostly related to the immediate family, the corresponding relationships, and the impact of one’s personal affairs on one’s position in society."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Manuwald |first1=Gesine |title=Caecilius Statius |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195389661/obo-9780195389661-0234.xml |website=Oxford Bibliographies |access-date=Jan 20, 2020}}</ref>