King.] 56 [Dec. 16, 
dulus, in the sense of ‘‘lop-eared,’’ * as its derivative flacctdus is ap- 
plied to anything that droops. So far, the marble is of little importance 
in itself, except as a fine specimen of early Roman epigraphy ; but fortu- 
nately, this is one of those very uncommon cases, where the name and 
fame of the deceased are embalmed in history, a circumstance that gives 
a far higher value to any memorial of the man. 
We learn from Suetonius that M. Verrius Flaccus was the son of a 
freedman (libertinus) as was the father of his contemporary and name- 
sake, Horace. He possessed a remarkable talent for teaching ; his plan 
was (apparently an invention of his own) to give his pupils subjects for 
declamations in which they should compete with each other for the prize, 
which was a book, valuable either for its antiquity or its beauty. The 
novelty of his system of education appears to have consisted in this. 
Induced by his high reputation, Augustus appointed him Preeceptor 
to his grandsons, Caius and Lucius ; with a salary of one hundred sestertia 
(£1000) a year. He furthermore lodged him with his whole class (of 
twenty boys) in the palace, making, however, the stipulation that he was 
not to increase the number of his pupils. Flaccus compiled a Table of 
Fasti, which was engraved on marble slabs in the hemicycliwm (alcove) 
at Preeneste, where his statue was standing when Suetonius wrote. He 
died at an advanced age, under Tiberius. 
Ovid refers (Fast. vi, 58) to this work of our Flaccus, where he makes 
Juno say ; 
“‘Tnspice quos habeat nemoralis Aricia fastos 
Et populus Laurens Lanuviumque nemus : 
Kst illis mensis Junonius : inspice Tibur ; 
Et Preenestinee menia sacra Dee.’’ 
According to this, the Tables of Fasti were built into the walls of the 
celebrated Temple of Fortune, the special Deity of Praeneste. This ex- 
planation has been confirmed by a fortunate discovery. In the year 1770, 
Foggini, a Roman antiquary, excavated the ancient Forum of Preneste, 
and came upon the ruins of a circular [semi-circular ?] building, from 
amongst which he recovered the tablets containing the Kalendar for the 
months January, March, April, and September, in a perfect state, together 
with numerous fragments of the others. + 
Our Verrius appears to have been held of high authority in matters of 
antiquity, for Pliny quotes him no fewer than seven times, and always 
upon curious subjects, as the following will show: ‘‘ That the Romans 
upon laying siege to a town, began by evoking the presiding deities of the 
place (én quorum Tutela) by promising them equal or greater honors at 
* The cognomen ‘‘Flaccus” is probably an Oscan word, denoting a personal peculiarity, 
and signifying “ lop-eared.’’ 
+Prof. Nettleship, of Oxford, has skillfully reconstructed the plan of Verrius’ great 
work, ‘‘De Verborum Significatione,’’ in the American Philological Review, Vol. i, p. 
258-70, and ii, p. 1-19. 
