his conduct on this
occasion
; for when Sulla called Max.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - b
N.
LENTULUS home-conspirators, and his irresolution probably
Lurus, son of No. ll, nephew to the last (Eckhel, saved the city from being fired. (Sall. Cut. 32, 43;
vol. ii. p. 302); curule aedile in B. C. 163; consul Cic. in Cat, iii. 4, 7, iv. 6, Brut. 66, &c. ; comp. CE-
in 156 ; censor in 147. (Titul. Terentii Fleaut. ; THEGUS, 8. ) For it was by his over-caution that the
Fasti, A. v. 597, 606 ; Cic. Brut. 20 ; Val. Max. negotiation with the ambassadors of the Allobroges
vi. 9. § 10. )
was entered into ; and these unstable allies revealed
14. CORNELIUS LENTULUS was praetor in the secret to the consul Cicero, who directed them to
Sicily, and was defeated in the Servile war about feign compliance with the conspirators' wishes, and
B. C. 134. (Florus, ii. 19, 7. )
thus to obtain written documents which might be
15. CN. CORNELIUS LENTULUS, consul in B. c. brought in evidence against them. The well-known
97. (Fasti; Plin. 11. N. x. 2, xxx. 3 (1) ; Cas- sequel will be found under the life of Catiline
siod. ) He was probably father by adoption of [p. 632). Lentulus was deposed from the praetor-
No. 24.
ship; given to be kept in libera custodia by the
16. P. Cornelius L. f. L. x. Lentulus, pro aedile P. Lentulus Spinther (No. 20 ; comp. Cic.
bably son of No. 12. He was curule aedile with in Cat. iii. 6, iv. 3, p. Red. ad Quir. 6; Sall
. Cut.
Scipio Nasica in B. C. 169: in their Circensian 50, &c. ); and was strangled in the Capitoline
games they exhibited elephants and bears. (Liv. prison on the 5th of December. (Cic. pro Fluce.
xliy, 18. ) Next year he went with two others to 40, &c. , Philipp. ii. 7 (8); Sall. Cat. 55, &c. )
negotiate with Perseus of Macedon, but without His step-son Antony pretended that Cicero refused
effect. (Liv. xlv. 4. ) He was consul suffectus, to deliver up his corpse for burial. (Cic. Philipp.
with C. Domitius, in B. c. 162, the election of the 1. c. ; Plut. Anton. 2. ) Lentulus was slow in
former consuls being declared informal. (Fasti, thonght and speech, but this was disguised by the
A. V. 591; Cic. de Nat. Deor. ii. 4, de Divin. ii. dignity of his person, the expressiveness and grace
35; Val. Max. i. 1. $ 3. ) He became princeps se- of his action, the sweetness and power of his voice.
natus (Cic. Brut. 28, Divin. in Caecil. 21, de Orat. (Cic. Brut, 64. ) His impudence was excessive, his
i. 48); and must have lived to a good old age, since morals infamous, so that there was nothing so bad
he was wounded in the contest with C. Gracchus but he dared say or do it; but when danger showed
in B. c. 121. (Cic. in Cat. iv. 6, Philipp. viii. 4. ) itself he was slow and irresolute. The former qua-
17. P. CORNELIUS LENTULUS, only known lities made him join the gang of Catiline; the latter
from Fasti, son of No. 16, and father of No. 18. were in great part the ruin of their cause. (Comp.
18. P. CORNELIUS P. F. P. n. LENTULUS, sur- Senec. de Ira, iii. 38; Cic. pro Sull. 25. )
named Sura, son of the last, the man of chief note 19. P. CORNELIUS L. F. LENTULUS, father of
in Catiline's crew. (Cic. in Cat. iii. 5, ir. 6; Ascon. the next.
ad Dirin. 21. ) He was quaestor to Sulla in B. C. 20. P. CORNELIUS P. F. L. N. LENTULUS, sur-
31 (Plut. Cic. 17): before him and L. Triarius, named SPINTHER. (Fast. A. v. 696 ; comp. Goltz.
Verres had to give an account of the monies he had A. U. 693; Eckhel, vol. v. p. 182. ) He received this
received as quaestor in Cisalpine Gaul. (Cic. in nickname from his resemblance to the actor Spinther,
Verr. i. 14. ) He was soon after himself called to and it was remarked as curious, that his colleague
account for the same matter, but was acquitted in the consulship, Metellus Nepos, was like Pam-
It is said that he got his cognomen of Sura from philus, another actor. (Plin. H. N. vii. 10; Val.
his conduct on this occasion ; for when Sulla called Max. ix. 14. & 4. ) Caesar commonly calls him by
him to account, he answered by scornfully putting this name (B. C. i. 15, &c. ): not so Cicero ; but
out his leg, “like boys," says Plutarch,“ when there could be no harm in it, for he used it on his
they make a blunder in playing at ball. ” (Cic. coins when pro-praetor in Spain, simply to distin-
17. ) Other persons, however, had borne the name guish himself from the many of the same family
before, one perhaps of the Lentulus family. (Liv. (Eckhel, 1. c. ); and his son bore it after him. He
xxii. 31 ; comp. Suet. Domit. 13; Dion Cass. was curule aedile in B. c. 63, the year of Cicero's
Ixviii. 9, 15. ) In B. c. 75 he was praetor ; and consulship, and was entrusted with the care of the
Hortensius, pleading before such a judge, had no apprehended conspirator, P. Lent. Sura (No. 18).
difficulty in procuring the acquittal of Terentius His games were long remembered for their splen-
Varro, when accused of extortion. (Ascon. ad dour; but his toga, edged with Tyrian purple, gave
Divin. 7 ; Plut. Cic. 17 ; Acron. ad Horat. Serm. offence. (Sall. Cat. 47; Cic. de Off. ii. 16 ; Plin.
ii. 1. 49. ) In B. C. 71 he was consul. (Fusti, H. N. ix. 63, xxxvi. 12, (7). ) He was praetor in
A. U. 682 ; Consularis in Vell. Pat. ii. 34 ; Dion B. C. 60: at the Apollinarian games he, for the first
Cass. xxxvii. 30. ) But in the next year he was time, drew an awning over the theatre (carbasina
ejected from the senate, with sixty-three others, vela, Plin. H. N. xix. 6), and omamented the
for infamous life and manners. (Gell. v. 6; Plut. scenes with silver. (Val. Max. ii. 4. 6. ) By
1. c. ; Dion Cass. , &c. ; see No. 25. ). It was this, Caesar's interest he obtained Hither Spain for his
probably, that led him to join Catiline and his
From his distinguished birth and high * That many fictitious oracles were current after
rank, he calculated on becoming chief of the con- the burning of the capitol is clear from Tacit. Ann.
spiracy ; and a prophecy of the Sibylline books was i vi. 12 ; comp. Suct. Oct. 31.
crew.
## p. 731 (#747) ############################################
LENTULUS.
731
LENTULUS.
;
next year's province, where he remained into part at Corfinium. When Cacsar invested the place,
of 58. (Caes. B. C. i. 22; Cic. ud Fum. i. 9. § 4, and Pompey refused to come to their relief, Len-
&c. )
tulus was allowed by the garrison to open negotia-
He returned to become candidate for the consul- tions with Caesar.
The general received him
ship, when he was elected again, by Caesar's sup- favourably, dismissed him with bis friends, and
port. (Caes. l. c. ) But on the very day of his took the troops into his own service. (Caes. B. C.
entering office, 1 Jan. B. c. 57, he moved for the i. 15—23. ) Lentulus retired to Puteoli and pro-
immediate recall of Cicero (Cic. in Pis. 15); brought bably joined Pompey in Greece not long after.
over his colleague Metellus Nepos to the same (Cic. ad Alt. ix. 11, 13, 15. ) He shared in the
views ; and his services were gratefully acknow- presumption of his party, for we find him disputing
ledged by Cicero. (Pro Seat. 40, 69, Brul. 77, with Metellus, Scipio, and Domitius, who had the
od Att. iii. 22. &c. ; and comp. the letters to Lentulus best right to succeed Caesar as pontiſex maximus.
himself, ad Fum. i. 1—9. ) Now, therefore, not- (Cacs. D. C. iji. 03. ) After Pharsilicy
, he followed
withstanding his obligations to Caesar, he had Pompey to ligypt, and got safe to Rhodes. (Ad
openly taken part with the aristocracy. Yet herum. xii. 14 ; comp. Cires. B. C. iii. 102. ) Of his
opposed them in promoting Pompey's appointment subsequent fate we in e not informed.
to the supreme superintendence of the corn market. Lentulus Spinther owes his importnnce chiefly
His secret motive was to occupy Pompey at home, to his high birth and his connection with Cicero.
and thus prevent him from being charged with the He was a common-place sort of man, of tolerable
office of restoring Ptolemy Auletes, the exiled king honesty. As an orator, he made up, by pains and
of Egypt; for then he hoped that this would fall industry, for the gifts that had been denied him by
to his share, as proconsul of Cilicia. (Cic. ad Att. nature. (Cic. Brut. 77. )
iv. 1, ad Fam. i. 1. $7; Plut. Pomp. 49. For the 21. P. CorneLIUS P. F. P. N. LENTULUS
life and fortunes of this king, see PTOLEMAEUS SPINTHER, son of the last. (Cic. ad Fam. i. 7,
AULETES). Lentulus obtained a decree in his xii. 15, ad Q. Fr. ii. 3, &c. ) He assumed the
favour ; and intended to depart at the close of his toga virilis in B. C. 57, and therefore was born in
consulship. But in December, a statue of Jupiter 74. In the same year he was elected in the college
on the Alban hill was struck by lightning: the of augurs, having been first received (by a sham
Sibylline books were consulted, and an oracle found adoption) into the Manlian gens; because two of
which forbade the restoration of a king of Egypt the same gens could not at once be in the college,
by armed force. Cato, who had just become and Faustus Sulla of the Cornelian was already a
tribune, was an enemy of Lentulus: he availed member. (Cic. pro Sext. 69; Dion Cass.
Lurus, son of No. ll, nephew to the last (Eckhel, saved the city from being fired. (Sall. Cut. 32, 43;
vol. ii. p. 302); curule aedile in B. C. 163; consul Cic. in Cat, iii. 4, 7, iv. 6, Brut. 66, &c. ; comp. CE-
in 156 ; censor in 147. (Titul. Terentii Fleaut. ; THEGUS, 8. ) For it was by his over-caution that the
Fasti, A. v. 597, 606 ; Cic. Brut. 20 ; Val. Max. negotiation with the ambassadors of the Allobroges
vi. 9. § 10. )
was entered into ; and these unstable allies revealed
14. CORNELIUS LENTULUS was praetor in the secret to the consul Cicero, who directed them to
Sicily, and was defeated in the Servile war about feign compliance with the conspirators' wishes, and
B. C. 134. (Florus, ii. 19, 7. )
thus to obtain written documents which might be
15. CN. CORNELIUS LENTULUS, consul in B. c. brought in evidence against them. The well-known
97. (Fasti; Plin. 11. N. x. 2, xxx. 3 (1) ; Cas- sequel will be found under the life of Catiline
siod. ) He was probably father by adoption of [p. 632). Lentulus was deposed from the praetor-
No. 24.
ship; given to be kept in libera custodia by the
16. P. Cornelius L. f. L. x. Lentulus, pro aedile P. Lentulus Spinther (No. 20 ; comp. Cic.
bably son of No. 12. He was curule aedile with in Cat. iii. 6, iv. 3, p. Red. ad Quir. 6; Sall
. Cut.
Scipio Nasica in B. C. 169: in their Circensian 50, &c. ); and was strangled in the Capitoline
games they exhibited elephants and bears. (Liv. prison on the 5th of December. (Cic. pro Fluce.
xliy, 18. ) Next year he went with two others to 40, &c. , Philipp. ii. 7 (8); Sall. Cat. 55, &c. )
negotiate with Perseus of Macedon, but without His step-son Antony pretended that Cicero refused
effect. (Liv. xlv. 4. ) He was consul suffectus, to deliver up his corpse for burial. (Cic. Philipp.
with C. Domitius, in B. c. 162, the election of the 1. c. ; Plut. Anton. 2. ) Lentulus was slow in
former consuls being declared informal. (Fasti, thonght and speech, but this was disguised by the
A. V. 591; Cic. de Nat. Deor. ii. 4, de Divin. ii. dignity of his person, the expressiveness and grace
35; Val. Max. i. 1. $ 3. ) He became princeps se- of his action, the sweetness and power of his voice.
natus (Cic. Brut. 28, Divin. in Caecil. 21, de Orat. (Cic. Brut, 64. ) His impudence was excessive, his
i. 48); and must have lived to a good old age, since morals infamous, so that there was nothing so bad
he was wounded in the contest with C. Gracchus but he dared say or do it; but when danger showed
in B. c. 121. (Cic. in Cat. iv. 6, Philipp. viii. 4. ) itself he was slow and irresolute. The former qua-
17. P. CORNELIUS LENTULUS, only known lities made him join the gang of Catiline; the latter
from Fasti, son of No. 16, and father of No. 18. were in great part the ruin of their cause. (Comp.
18. P. CORNELIUS P. F. P. n. LENTULUS, sur- Senec. de Ira, iii. 38; Cic. pro Sull. 25. )
named Sura, son of the last, the man of chief note 19. P. CORNELIUS L. F. LENTULUS, father of
in Catiline's crew. (Cic. in Cat. iii. 5, ir. 6; Ascon. the next.
ad Dirin. 21. ) He was quaestor to Sulla in B. C. 20. P. CORNELIUS P. F. L. N. LENTULUS, sur-
31 (Plut. Cic. 17): before him and L. Triarius, named SPINTHER. (Fast. A. v. 696 ; comp. Goltz.
Verres had to give an account of the monies he had A. U. 693; Eckhel, vol. v. p. 182. ) He received this
received as quaestor in Cisalpine Gaul. (Cic. in nickname from his resemblance to the actor Spinther,
Verr. i. 14. ) He was soon after himself called to and it was remarked as curious, that his colleague
account for the same matter, but was acquitted in the consulship, Metellus Nepos, was like Pam-
It is said that he got his cognomen of Sura from philus, another actor. (Plin. H. N. vii. 10; Val.
his conduct on this occasion ; for when Sulla called Max. ix. 14. & 4. ) Caesar commonly calls him by
him to account, he answered by scornfully putting this name (B. C. i. 15, &c. ): not so Cicero ; but
out his leg, “like boys," says Plutarch,“ when there could be no harm in it, for he used it on his
they make a blunder in playing at ball. ” (Cic. coins when pro-praetor in Spain, simply to distin-
17. ) Other persons, however, had borne the name guish himself from the many of the same family
before, one perhaps of the Lentulus family. (Liv. (Eckhel, 1. c. ); and his son bore it after him. He
xxii. 31 ; comp. Suet. Domit. 13; Dion Cass. was curule aedile in B. c. 63, the year of Cicero's
Ixviii. 9, 15. ) In B. c. 75 he was praetor ; and consulship, and was entrusted with the care of the
Hortensius, pleading before such a judge, had no apprehended conspirator, P. Lent. Sura (No. 18).
difficulty in procuring the acquittal of Terentius His games were long remembered for their splen-
Varro, when accused of extortion. (Ascon. ad dour; but his toga, edged with Tyrian purple, gave
Divin. 7 ; Plut. Cic. 17 ; Acron. ad Horat. Serm. offence. (Sall. Cat. 47; Cic. de Off. ii. 16 ; Plin.
ii. 1. 49. ) In B. C. 71 he was consul. (Fusti, H. N. ix. 63, xxxvi. 12, (7). ) He was praetor in
A. U. 682 ; Consularis in Vell. Pat. ii. 34 ; Dion B. C. 60: at the Apollinarian games he, for the first
Cass. xxxvii. 30. ) But in the next year he was time, drew an awning over the theatre (carbasina
ejected from the senate, with sixty-three others, vela, Plin. H. N. xix. 6), and omamented the
for infamous life and manners. (Gell. v. 6; Plut. scenes with silver. (Val. Max. ii. 4. 6. ) By
1. c. ; Dion Cass. , &c. ; see No. 25. ). It was this, Caesar's interest he obtained Hither Spain for his
probably, that led him to join Catiline and his
From his distinguished birth and high * That many fictitious oracles were current after
rank, he calculated on becoming chief of the con- the burning of the capitol is clear from Tacit. Ann.
spiracy ; and a prophecy of the Sibylline books was i vi. 12 ; comp. Suct. Oct. 31.
crew.
## p. 731 (#747) ############################################
LENTULUS.
731
LENTULUS.
;
next year's province, where he remained into part at Corfinium. When Cacsar invested the place,
of 58. (Caes. B. C. i. 22; Cic. ud Fum. i. 9. § 4, and Pompey refused to come to their relief, Len-
&c. )
tulus was allowed by the garrison to open negotia-
He returned to become candidate for the consul- tions with Caesar.
The general received him
ship, when he was elected again, by Caesar's sup- favourably, dismissed him with bis friends, and
port. (Caes. l. c. ) But on the very day of his took the troops into his own service. (Caes. B. C.
entering office, 1 Jan. B. c. 57, he moved for the i. 15—23. ) Lentulus retired to Puteoli and pro-
immediate recall of Cicero (Cic. in Pis. 15); brought bably joined Pompey in Greece not long after.
over his colleague Metellus Nepos to the same (Cic. ad Alt. ix. 11, 13, 15. ) He shared in the
views ; and his services were gratefully acknow- presumption of his party, for we find him disputing
ledged by Cicero. (Pro Seat. 40, 69, Brul. 77, with Metellus, Scipio, and Domitius, who had the
od Att. iii. 22. &c. ; and comp. the letters to Lentulus best right to succeed Caesar as pontiſex maximus.
himself, ad Fum. i. 1—9. ) Now, therefore, not- (Cacs. D. C. iji. 03. ) After Pharsilicy
, he followed
withstanding his obligations to Caesar, he had Pompey to ligypt, and got safe to Rhodes. (Ad
openly taken part with the aristocracy. Yet herum. xii. 14 ; comp. Cires. B. C. iii. 102. ) Of his
opposed them in promoting Pompey's appointment subsequent fate we in e not informed.
to the supreme superintendence of the corn market. Lentulus Spinther owes his importnnce chiefly
His secret motive was to occupy Pompey at home, to his high birth and his connection with Cicero.
and thus prevent him from being charged with the He was a common-place sort of man, of tolerable
office of restoring Ptolemy Auletes, the exiled king honesty. As an orator, he made up, by pains and
of Egypt; for then he hoped that this would fall industry, for the gifts that had been denied him by
to his share, as proconsul of Cilicia. (Cic. ad Att. nature. (Cic. Brut. 77. )
iv. 1, ad Fam. i. 1. $7; Plut. Pomp. 49. For the 21. P. CorneLIUS P. F. P. N. LENTULUS
life and fortunes of this king, see PTOLEMAEUS SPINTHER, son of the last. (Cic. ad Fam. i. 7,
AULETES). Lentulus obtained a decree in his xii. 15, ad Q. Fr. ii. 3, &c. ) He assumed the
favour ; and intended to depart at the close of his toga virilis in B. C. 57, and therefore was born in
consulship. But in December, a statue of Jupiter 74. In the same year he was elected in the college
on the Alban hill was struck by lightning: the of augurs, having been first received (by a sham
Sibylline books were consulted, and an oracle found adoption) into the Manlian gens; because two of
which forbade the restoration of a king of Egypt the same gens could not at once be in the college,
by armed force. Cato, who had just become and Faustus Sulla of the Cornelian was already a
tribune, was an enemy of Lentulus: he availed member. (Cic. pro Sext. 69; Dion Cass.
