GRICE E PLAUTO: L'IMPLICATURA CONVERSAZIONALE, O LA FILOSOFIA NEL PRINCIPATO DI NERONE -- ROMA -- FILOSOFIA ITALIANA -- LUIGI SPERANZA

 

 

Grice e Plauto: l’implicatura conversazionale, o la filosofia nel principato di Nerone – Roma – filosofia italiana – Luigi Speranza (Roma). Filosofo italiano. Scolaro di Musonio. Insigne. Roman noble and a political rival of Emperor NERONE. A relative of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He is the grandson of DRUSO -- only son of TIBERIO CESARE --, and the great-grandson of TIBERIO and his brother DRUSO. Also descends from MARCO VIPSANIO AGRIPPA and MARC’ANTONIO. He is descended from GIULIO CESARE. His father is Gaio Rubellio Blando. Blando’s family originates from Tivoli and are of the equestrian class. He is the grandson of DRUSO, his mother having previously been married to NERONE GIULIO CESARE, without issue. P. derives his cognomen from his great grandfather LUCIO SERGIO P., and may have used his nomen gentilicium SERGIO as his own prae-nomen, as a lead pipe is attested with the name of SERGIO RUBELLIO P. But this person may have been his son. He becomes an innocent victim to the intrigues of Empress Valeria Messalina. One possibility is that P. is seen by Messalina as a rival to her son BRITANNICO. Emperor CLAUDIO -- who was husband to Messalina, father to BRITANNICO and maternal uncle to Julia -- does not secure any legal defense for his niece. Consequently, Julia is executed. Julia  is considered to be a virtuous person by those who know her.  P. marries the daughter to LUCIO ANTISTIO VETO. P.’s father-in-law serves as consul, legatus of Germania Superior, and Proconsul of Asia. P. is considered a loving husband and father. The names of his children are not known -- none of them survived NERONE’s purges. P. appears to have been a follower of IL PORTICO. According to TACITO, TIGELLINO writes to NERONE. Plautus again, with his great wealth, does not so much as affect a love of repose, but he flaunts before us his imitations of the old Romans, and assumes the self-consciousness of the PORTICO along with a philosophy, which makes men restless, and eager for a busy life." When he was exiled from Rome by NERONE, P. is accompanied by the famous teacher of IL PORTICO MUSONIO RUFO (si veda). P. is associated with a group of philosophers from IL PORTICO who criticise the perceived tyranny and autocratic rule of certain emperors, referred to today as the Opposition from IL PORTICO.  Junia Silana, sister of CALIGULA's first wife Junia Claudilla, a rival of Empress Agrippina the Younger and the ex-wife of Messalina's lover GAIO SILIO, accuse Agrippina of plotting to overthrow NERONE to place P. on the throne. NERONE takes no action at the time, but over time, NERONE's relationship with Silana warms while his relationship with his mother sours. After a comet appears, public gossip renews rumours of NERONE's fall and P.'s rise. NERONE exiles P. to his estate in Asia. After rumors that P. is in negotiations with the eastern general GNEO DOMIZIO CORBULO over rebellion, P. is executed by NERONE. When P.’s head is given to NERONE by a freedman, NERONE mocks how frightening the long nose of P. is. P.’s widow, children and father-in-law are successively executed, victims of the increasing brutality of NERONE. TACITO states that P. is old-fashioned in tastes, his bearing austere and he lives a secluded life. He is greatly respected by his peers, and the execution of his family is cause for consternation among those who know him.  Possibly named Gaio or Sergio. The Journal of Roman Studies, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, TACITO, Annals, Holiday, Hanselman, P. the Man Who Would Not Be King". Lives of the PORTICO. New York: Portfolio/Penguin.Categories: Romans Julio-Claudian dynasty Rubellii. Rubellio Plauto. Keyword: Portico, Musonio Rufo, Nerone, la filosofia nel principato di Nerone.