Marcus Caelius Rufus (died 48 BC) was an

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

in the late

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. He was born into a wealthy

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

family from Interamnia Praetuttiorum, on the central east coast of Italy. He is best known for his prosecution of

Gaius Antonius Hybrida Gaius Antonius Hybrida (flourished 1st century BC) was a politician of the Roman Republic. He was the second son of Marcus Antonius (orator), Marcus Antonius and brother of Marcus Antonius Creticus; his mother is unknown. He was also the uncle o ...

in 59 BC. He was also known for his trial for public violence (''de vi publica'') in March 56 BC, when

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 ...

defended him in the extant speech ''

Pro Caelio ''Pro Caelio'' is a speech given on 4 April 56 BC, by the famed Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero in defence of Marcus Caelius Rufus, who had once been Cicero's pupil but more recently had become estranged from him. Cicero's reasons for defendin ...

'', and as both recipient and author of some of the best-written letters in the ''ad Familiares'' corpus of Cicero's extant correspondence (Book 8). He may be the Rufus named in the poems of

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; ), known as Catullus (), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes. Life ...

Life and career

In his twenties, Caelius became associated with

Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115–53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome". Wallechinsky, David & Walla ...

and Cicero, while he was also briefly connected to

Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina ( – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to seize control of the Roman state in 63 BC. ...

and his conspiracy. Caelius first achieved fame through his successful prosecution in 59 BC of

for corruption. Antonius Hybrida had served as consul with Cicero for the year 63 BC, and his prosecution was a sign of the negative political atmosphere towards Cicero at the time. A year later, in 58 BC, Cicero was exiled, through the efforts of his political enemy

Publius Clodius Pulcher Publius Clodius Pulcher ( – 18 January 52 BC) was a Roman politician and demagogue. A noted opponent of Cicero, he was responsible during his plebeian tribunate in 58 BC for a massive expansion of the Roman grain dole as well as Cic ...

. Cicero was recalled from exile in 57 BC with the help of his ally

Titus Annius Milo Titus Annius Milo (died 48 BC) was a Roman politician and agitator. The son of Gaius Papius Celsus, he was adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus. In 52 BC, he was prosecuted for the murder of Publius Clodius Pulcher and exile ...

, who was

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

at the time. Sometime around 57 BC, Caelius and Clodia are believed to have had an affair which ended acrimoniously. In 56 BC, Caelius was prosecuted for ''vis'' (violence), specifically for murdering an ambassador. He was successfully defended by Crassus and, more famously, Cicero, whose speech ''

'' argued that the prosecutor, Atratinus, was being manipulated by Clodia to get revenge on Caelius for an affair gone wrong. Caelius was tribune of the ''plebs'' in 52 BC and

curule aedile Aedile ( , , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public orde ...

in 50 BC. During this period, he wrote a series of witty and informative letters to Cicero, who was serving as

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

at the time. After much hesitation, Caelius sided with

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

against

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

in the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, warning Cicero accordingly not to align his fortunes with Pompey: in 48 BC, he was rewarded with the office of ''

praetor peregrinus ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discha ...

'' (“judge of suits involving foreigners”). However, when his proposed program of debt relief was opposed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and he was suspended from office, he joined in a rebellion against Caesar which was quickly crushed. It was during this rebellion that Caelius was killed.

In Catullus

Caelius may appear in the poetry of

under his

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "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 hereditar ...

''Rufus''. Rufus in Carmen 69 and 77 as suggested by Riese to be Caelius, rejected by

Robinson Ellis Robinson Ellis, FBA (5 September 1834 – 9 October 1913) was an English classical scholar. Biography Ellis was born at Barming, near Maidstone, and was educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey, Rugby School, and Balliol College, Oxford. H ...

. Catullus writes about a former friend named Rufus who betrayed him in an unspecified way, perhaps referring to the affair with Clodia (usually identified with the loved then reviled "Lesbia" of Catullus's poetry), the alleged attempt of Caelius to poison her, or subsequent attacks on her through Cicero (see

pro Caelio ''Pro Caelio'' is a speech given on 4 April 56 BC, by the famed Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero in defence of Marcus Caelius Rufus, who had once been Cicero's pupil but more recently had become estranged from him. Cicero's reasons for defendin ...

). Catullus lambastes this Rufus in an

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...

that ends:

You ripped it away, alas, alas cruel poison of our life
alas, alas destroyer of our friendship.

In ''Caelius'' in 58, Catullus seems to expect a sympathetic ear as he bewails Lesbia's sexual profligacy; the former is an invective that taunts ''Rufus'' for bodily offensiveness that drives away women.

In imperial historiography

A flamboyant, witty, ambitious and quarrelsome character, Caelius attracted much attention from the minor historian

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; ) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the period from the death of ...

in the following century.S Usher, ''The Historians of Greece and Rome'' (London 1969) p. 242

In popular culture

* Marcus Caelius Rufus appears in multiple books in the Steven Saylor's

Roma Sub Rosa ''Roma Sub Rosa'' is a series of historical mystery novels by Steven Saylor set in ancient Rome and therefore populated by famous historic Roman citizens. The phrase "Roma Sub Rosa" means, in Latin, "Rome under the rose." If a matter was '' sub ...

series of historical novels set during the fall of the Roman Republic. * Rufus features prominently in the Cicero novels by British novelist Robert Harris.

Primary source

* Cic. Brut. 79.273 * Quint. Inst. VI. 3.69 *Quint. Inst. X. 1. 115 * Quint. Inst. X.2.25 * Tac. Dial. 18, 21, 25 * Pliny, N.H 7.165

Bibliography

Ancient Sources

* Clark, Albert Curtis (ed.) Oxford Classical Texts, ''M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes'' vol. I (Oxford University Press, 1905) - ''pro Sex. Roscio Amerino'' (pp. 1–58)
- ''de imperio Cn. Pompei ad Quirites'' (pp. 59–90)
- ''pro A. Cluentio'' (pp. 91–184)
- ''In L. Catilinam'' (orationes IV) (pp. 185–242)
-- I. ''oratio qua L. Catilinam emisit, in Senatu habita''
-- II.''oratio secunda, habita ad populum''
-- III.''oratio tertia, habita ad populum''
-- IV. ''oratio quarta, habita in Senatu''
- ''pro L. Murenam'' (pp. 243–292)
- ''pro M. Caelio'' (pp. 293–333)

Modern works

* Boissier, G: ''Cicero and his friends : a study of Roman society in the time of Caesar'' (1897

* Austin, R G: ''M. Tulli Ciceronis pro M. Caelio oratio'', 3rd edition (Oxford University Press, 1960), - Introduction with bibliography (i-xxxii)
- Latin text (1-39)
- Commentary (40-143)
- Appendices and Addenda (144-175)
- Indices (176-180) * Volponi, M: "M. Celio Rufo, ''ingeniose nequam''", ''MIL'' 31.3 (1970), 197-280 * Sumner, Graham V: ''The Orators in Cicero's Brutus: Prosopography and Chronology'' (Phoenix supplementary volume 11, University of Toronto Press, 1973) * Alexander, Michael C: ''Trials in the Late Roman Republic, 149 BC to 50 BC'' (Phoenix supplementary volume 26, University of Toronto Press, 1990)

References

External links

Encyclopædia Britannica Marcus Caelius Rufus
* E. T. Merrill
Commentary on Catullus
Intr. 59 *Robinson Ellis, A commentary on Catullus, lix, note 1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Caelius Rufus, Marcus 48 BC deaths 1st-century BC Romans Ancient Roman politicians Rufus, Marcus Correspondents of Cicero Curule aediles People from Teramo Roman-era inhabitants of Italy Tribunes of the plebs People acquitted of murder Year of birth unknown