Fuscus
- a Roman surname; e. g.,
- 1 Aristius Fuscus, an intimate friend of Horace; v. Aristius.—
- 2 Fuscus, a soldier, courtier, and sensualist of the time of Domitian, Tac. H. 2, 86; Mart. 6, 76; Juv. 4, 112.—
- II Deriv.: Fuscī-nus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to a Fuscus: explicationes, Sen. Suas. 4 fin.
a rhetorician who flourished at Rome in the latter years of Augustus. He was of equestrian rank, but was degraded from it on account of some remarkable scandal attached to his life. (Plin. Nat. 33.12.152.) He instructed in rhetoric the poet Ovid (Senec. Controv. x. p. 157 Bip.), the philosopher Fabianus (Id. Controv. proem. ii.), and others. He declaimed more frequently in Greek than in Latin (Suasor. iv. p. 29), and his style of declamation is described by Seneca (Controv. proem. ii. p. 134), as more brilliant than solid, antithetical rather than eloquent. Seneca, however, highly commends his statement (explicatio) of an argument. (Suasor. iv.) His eulogy of Cicero (Suasor. vii. p. 50) is the most interesting specimen of his manner. The Suasoriae and Controversiae both abound in citations from the rhetorical exercises of Fuscus. His rival in teaching and declaiming was Porcius Latro [Latro], and their styles seem to have been exact opposites. (Comp. Controv. ii. proem. and x. p. 157.) Pliny (Plin. Nat. 33.12.152) reproaches Fuscus with wearing silver rings. There were two rhetoricians of this name, a father and son, since Seneca generally affixes "pater" to his mention of Arellius Fuscus. The praenomen of one of them was Quintus. [W.B.D]
a friend of the poet Horace. (Sat. 1.9. 61, Ep. 1.10.) Acro (ad loc.) calls Fuscus a writer of tragedies; Porphyrion (ib.) of comedies; while other scholiasts describe him as a grammarian. Since the names Viscus and Tuscus are easily convertible into Fuscus, Heinsius (ad Ov. ex Pont. 4.16. 20) contends that Viscus (Hor. Sat. 1.9. 22) and Tuscus (Ov. l.c.), the author of a poem entitled Phyllis, should be read Fuscus. (See Jahn's Jahrbuch d. Phil. ii 4, p. 420, for the year 1829.) Horace addressed an ode (Carm. 1.22) and an epistle (Ep. 1.10) to by Fuscus Aristius, whom he also introduces elsewhere (Sat. 1.9. 61; 10. 83). [W.B.D]
a correspondent of the younger Pliny. (Ep. 9.36, 40.) Fuscus was of a senatorian family, pos sessed of great eloquence and learning (Plin. Ep. 6.11), and remarkable for his simplicity and sobriety of character. (6.26.) He was Hadrian's colleague in the consulship of A. D. 118. He mar ried a daughter of Julius Servianus. (Plin. Ep. 6.26; D. C. 69.17; Westermann, Römisch. Beredsamk. § 84, 35.)
Fuscus, son of the preceding, was put to death in his nineteenth year, with his father-in-law, Ser vianus, by Hadrian, who charged Fuscus with aspiring to the empire. (Spartian. Hadrian. 23.) Dio Cassius (69.17) says that Fuscus and Servianus owed their death to imprudently expressing displeasure at Hadrian's choice of L. Commodus Verus for his successor. [W.B.D]
one of the most active adherents of Vespasian in his contest with Vitellius for the empire A. D. 69. In decision, zeal, and popularity with the soldiers, Tacitus ranks Fuscus second to Antonius Primus alone. [PRIMUS, ANTONIUS.] During Nero's reign, Fuscus lived in retirement on an estate inherited from noble ancestors; but he served under Galba, and was made by him procurator of Pannonia. In the war with Vitellius, the fleet at Ravenna elected Fuscus their leader, and under his command moved along the eastern coast of Italy, in concert with the troops of Vespasian. For his services at this time Vespasian rewarded Fuscus with the insignia and rank of practor. Under Domitian Fuscus was captain of the body-guard, and gave himself up to the luxurious profusion of the time. Juvenal describes him (4.112) as dreaming of battles in his marble house--
"Fuscus marmorea meditatus proelia villa."
Domitian, however, converted his dreams into reality, by sending him against the Dacians, who, under their king Decebalus, had recently defeated a Roman army, and were ravaging the province of Moesia. Fuscus passed the Danube, but suffered himself to be surprised by the Dacians, who destroyed his army, and captured his baggage and standards. Martial wrote an epitaph on Fuscus (Ep. 6.76), in which he refers to the Dacian campaign. (Tac. Hist. 2.86, 3.4, 12, 42, 66, 4.44; Suet. Domit. 6; D. C. 68.9 ; Oros. 7.10; Tillemont, Hist. des Empereurs, vol. iii. p. 172; Francke, Gesch. Trajan's, p. 80.) Pliny (Plin. Ep. 7.9) addressed a letter to Cornelius Fuscus, recommending translation as one of the best methods of attaining a pure, impressive, and copious style. But as his correspondent was preparing himself for the business of the forum, he can scarcely have been the Fuscus of Vespasian's time. He was probably the son. [W.B.D]
wrote some account of the life of Tetricus Junior, and is quoted by Trebellius Pollio. (Tetric. Jun. 25.)