Quintus Roscius (ca. 126 BC – 62 BC) was a

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

actor. The cognomen Gallus is dubious, as it appears only once as a scholia in a manuscript of Cicero's

Pro Archia Cicero's oration ''Pro Archia Poeta'' ("On Behalf of Archias the Poet") is the published literary form of his defense of Aulus Licinius Archias, a poet accused of not being a Roman citizen. The accusation is believed to have been a political move ...

Life

''Constiteram exorientem Auroram forte salutans
'' '' cum subito a laeva Roscius exoritur.
'' ''Pace mihi liceat, caelestes, dicere vestra
'' ''mortalis visus pulchrior esse deo.''
I stood by chance to greet the uprising Aurora, when suddenly, on the left, Roscius rose up. Please, o heavenly gods, give me leave to say that a mortal seemed to me more handsome than a god.—
Quintus Lutatius Catulus Quintus Lutatius Catulus (149–87 BC) was a Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic in 102 BC. His consular colleague was Gaius Marius. During their consulship the Cimbri and Teutons, Teutones marched south again and Cimbrian War, threatened ...

Roscius was born a slave in

Lanuvium Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia. Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive view ...

, about 3 miles (4.8 km) from Rome. Later he would encourage the legend that his nursemaid once found a snake coiled around him in his crib, a very

auspicious Auspicious is a word derived from Latin originally pertaining to the taking of 'Augury, auspices' by an augur of ancient Rome. It may refer to: * Luck, the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable positive or negative events ...

omen, but

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

scoffed at the veracity of this story.Hermann Goll (1873) "Rome's Greatest Actor". ''The Galaxy'' Vol.16, Sheldon & Company, New York. pp.122–123 His master sent him to be trained as an actor after observing his penchant for mimicry.Hermann Goll (1873) "Rome's Greatest Actor". ''The Galaxy'' Vol.16, Sheldon & Company, New York. p.123 For many years he received no remuneration as it was the custom for slave-owners to take most or all of their slaves' salaries but eventually his master permitted him to keep part of his earnings and in time he bought his freedom.Hermann Goll (1873) "Rome's Greatest Actor". ''The Galaxy'' Vol. 16, Sheldon & Company, New York The name Roscius was his former master's, a legacy of his servitude.Karl Mantzius (1903) ''A History of Theatrical Art in Ancient and Modern Times'', Duckworth & Co., London, p. 229-230. Provided this cognomen is correct, Gallus might have been his slave name but might also have signified that his father was a Gallic slave. No other Roman actor obtained comparable popularity and esteem. So highly was he regarded that even his pupils were assured of success on the boards. The refined Greek method of acting was currently out of vogue in favor of coarser fodder, but Roscius overturned this view, demonstrating that the highest art lies in moderation, not clown-like antics. With an ostensibly handsome face and manly figure, his looks were immortalized in verse by

Quintus Lutatius Catulus Quintus Lutatius Catulus (149–87 BC) was a Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic in 102 BC. His consular colleague was Gaius Marius. During their consulship the Cimbri and Teutons, Teutones marched south again and Cimbrian War, threatened ...

. He studied the delivery and gestures of the most distinguished advocates in the Forum, especially

Quintus Hortensius Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114–50 BC) was a Roman lawyer, an orator and a statesman. Politically he belonged to the Optimates. He was consul in 69 BC alongside Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus. His nickname was ''Dionysia'', after a fam ...

, and won universal praise for his grace and elegance on the stage. He especially excelled in comedy.

took lessons from him. The two often engaged in friendly rivalry to try whether the orator or the actor could express a thought or emotion with the greater effect, and Roscius wrote a treatise in which he compared acting and oratory. Catulus composed a

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four Line (poetry), lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India ...

in his honour, and the dictator

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

presented him with a gold ring, the badge of the equestrian order, a remarkable distinction for an actor in Rome, where the profession was held in contempt. Like his contemporary Aesopus, Roscius amassed a large fortune, being paid 1000

denarii The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It continued to be mi ...

per performance at his peak. He appears to have retired from the stage some time before his death. In 76 BC he was sued by C. Fannius Chaerea for 50,000

sesterces The ''sestertius'' (: ''sestertii'') or sesterce (: sesterces) was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin. The name ''sester ...

Reputation

By the Renaissance, Roscius formed the paradigm for dramatic excellence. When

Thomas Nashe Thomas Nashe (also Nash; baptised 30 November 1567 – c. 1601) was an English Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel '' The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including '' Pierce P ...

wanted to praise

Edward Alleyn Edward Alleyn (; 1 September 156621 November 1626) was an England, English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich. Early life Alleyn was born on 1 September 1566 in Bishop ...

as the best actor of his generation, he called Alleyn a Roscius (''

Pierce Penniless ''Pierce Penniless his Supplication to the Divell'' is a tall tale, or a prose satire, written by Thomas Nashe and published in London in 1592. It was among the most popular of the Elizabethan pamphlets. It was reprinted in 1593 and 1595,Harri ...

,'' 1592); John Downes titled his history of Restoration drama ''Roscius Anglicanus'' (1708).

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

, the leading English actor of his day, was known as the English Roscius. The African American actor

Ira Aldridge Ira Frederick Aldridge (July 24, 1807 – August 7, 1867) was an American-born British actor, playwright, and theatre manager, known for his portrayal of William Shakespeare, Shakespearean characters. James Hewlett (actor), James Hewlett and Ald ...

, who was born in New York in 1807 and died in Lodz, Poland in 1867, and one of the finest Shakespearean actors of his age, was known as 'The African Roscius'.

In literature

Roscius is mentioned by

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in Act II, Scene II of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

, and in

Henry VI, Part 3 ''Henry VI, Part 3'' (often written as ''3 Henry VI'') is a Shakespearean history, history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591 and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. Whereas ''Henry VI, Part 1, ...

Act 5, Scene 6 In the 1850 novel ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

, the character Mr. Barkis calls the title character 'a young Roeshus', the misspelling apparently meant to reflect Barkis' rustic background.

References

*H.H. Pfluger, ''Cicero's Rede pro Q. Roscio Comoedo (1904)''. *

External links

''Pro Q. Roscio Comoedo'', English translation
at ''attalus.org'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallus, Quintus Roscius 120s BC births 62 BC deaths Republican era slaves and freedmen Ancient Roman actors 2nd-century BC Romans 1st-century BC Romans Roscii Lanuvium