Volcatius Sedigitus () was the ''titulus'' of a Roman literary critic who flourished around 100 , noted for his ranking of those he considered the best Latin comics. Nothing is known about Sedigitus beyond that

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

, who calls him ''illustrem in poetica'', states that he got his

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 ...

because he was born with six fingers on each hand. This rare state, known as ''

polydactyly Polydactyly or polydactylism (), also known as hyperdactyly, is an anomaly in humans and animals resulting in supernumerary fingers and/or toes. Polydactyly is the opposite of oligodactyly (fewer fingers or toes). Signs and symptoms In human ...

'', is caused by a

dominant gene In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and t ...

. 'Six digits (fingers or toes)' in Latin is ''sex digitī'' (singular ''digitus''.) The Romans did not avoid openly referencing blemishes and personal infirmities in the names they gave to public figures. (See ''

Roman naming conventions Over the course of some fourteen centuries, the Romans and other peoples of Italy employed a system of nomenclature that differed from that used by other cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of a combination of personal and fam ...

''.) A literary critic, his origin may have been from outside the Roman Empire or his origins may have been lowly. ''Volcatius'' is an adjective referring to the Volcatia gens and to the

Volcae The Volcae () were a Gallic tribal confederation constituted before the raid of combined Gauls that invaded Macedonia c. 270 BC and fought the assembled Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 279 BC. Tribes known by the name Volcae were found si ...

, a Celtic people. From his work ''Dē Poētīs'' Aulus Gellius' ''Noctēs Atticae''"LacusCurtius • Gellius — Noctes Atticae, Liber XV"
Retrieved on 2008-11-25. Incorrectly spelled here as "Vulcacius" (see next reference).Johann Jacob (1635—1706). ''

Lexicon Universale The ''Lexicon Universale'' of 1698 is an early modern humanist encyclopedia in Latin by Johann Jacob Hofmann of Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binninge ...

''. Lugduni Batavorum, 1698
p. 695
(In Latin.) preserves 13 iambi
senarii
in didascaly, in which "Canon", as it has been termed, the principal Latin comics are enumerated in order of merit, from greatest: Caecilius,

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

, Naevius
LiciniusAtilius

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

TurpiliusTrabeaLuscius

Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria ...

. Historian Suetonius' work ''Vita Terentii'' (''Life of Terence'') quotes "Vulcacius" as having given a few details about

's leaving Rome and consequent disappearing.

Viz. The abbreviation ''viz.'' (or ''viz'' without a full stop) is short for the Latin , which itself is a contraction of the Latin phrase ''videre licet'', meaning "it is permitted to see". It is used as a synonym for "namely", "that is to say", "to ...

, Sedigitus said that the playwright was going to Asia, i.e.,

Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

, and was never seen again.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Volcatius Sedigitus Year of birth missing Year of death missing Ancient Roman poets 2nd-century BC poets 2nd-century BC Romans Literary critics Volcatii