Saevius Nicanor () is mentioned by

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

as the first grammarian who acquired fame and honour as a teacher among the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

. He probably lived in the 3rd or 2nd century BC. He was the author of commentaries, the greater portion of which was said to have been suppressed (''intercepta dicitur''), and of a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

where he declares himself to have been a freedman; and to have been distinguished by a double

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

Sevius Nicanor Marci libertus negabit:
Sevius Nicanor Pothos idem ac Marcus docebit.

Saevius Nicanor, freedman of Marcus, will deny
he's the same person as Saevius Pothos, even if Marcus says so.

Suetonius adds that according to some accounts, because of a bad reputation he retired to

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

and there died. Saevius Nicanor is invoked as a fictional authority in several of the works of

James Branch Cabell James Branch Cabell (; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and ''belles-lettres''. Cabell was well-regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, and Sinclair Lewis. His works ...

, most notably ''Taboo: A Legend Retold from the Dirghic of Saevius Nicanor'' (1921)

References

* Suetonius, ''De grammaticis et rhetoribus'' 5. * {{Authority control 2nd-century BC Romans 3rd-century BC Romans