H. P. GRICE E J. L. SPERANZA: LA CONVERSAZIONE -- I VERBALI: FL

 

Catalogue Raisonné of J. L. Speranza’s Publications – H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: FL

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘Grice e Flaviano: la ragione conversazionale in attacco d’un domma.  Flaviano: la ragione conversazionale in attacco d’un domma. Grice: “I love F.; but then I love rhetoric, and like F., hate an enigma – especially if proposed by Dummett!” rhetoric, rettorica conversazionale, enigma, allegoria, philosophical eschatology, retorici romani, oratori romani. Cadde in disgrazia presso Graziano. La sua ampia erudizione, arreca a F. il favore di Teodosio, che lo nomina praefectus praetorio dell’Italia. Eugenio lo nomina console. F. spera di potere abbattere i galilei con la vittoria d'Eugenio. F. s’uccise quando Eugenio e sconfitto da Teodosio che, in considerazione della sua fama letteraria, ne deplora la morte di F. in Senato. F. gode autorità soprattutto nella scienza augurale e nell'arte mantica in generale. Macrobio nei Saturnali assegna a F. l’ufficio di interprete della escatologia nell'Eneide di VIRGILIO.  Amico di Eustazio, F. pubblica De dogmatibus philosophorum. F. scrive una vita di Apollonio di Tiana. F. compone De consensu nominum (“Fido”) et verborum (“is shaggy”). Annales. Collabora con Eugenio nel tentativo di ricordare la religione romana. Di una delle più prestigiose famiglie di Roma, riceve una ottima educazione. Vicario della diocesi. Tene questa carica quando ricevette l'editto contro il donatismo, che era molto forte, ma il fatto che in una lettera lo scambi per un donatista è un indizio che F. si schierò in effetti con coloro che avrebbe dovuto perseguitare. Per questo motivo e rimosso dalla carica l'anno seguente. Ha il compito di formulare le leggi per Teodosio. La sua nomina a Prefetto del pretorio dell'Italia lo rende uno dei più potenti funzionari dell'impero. La sua carriera e dovuta alla volontà di Teodosio di mantenere buoni rapporti con il partito romano, forte nei circoli aristocratici e senatoriali, di cui Flaviano era uno dei massimi rappresentanti.  Grammatical Invention at  the Margin of Literacy. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Caro lina Press, Relihan, J. “Rethinking the History of the Literary Symposium.” Illinois  Classical Studies Ross, The Works of Aristotle. Oxford: Clarendon, Rossi, DE DOGMATIBVS PHILOSOPHVM. Virio Nicomaco Flaviano. Roma, Lazio. GRICEVS: Flaviane, rhetorica te amo, sed aenigmate Dummettiano ita perhorresco ut malim dogma ipsum oppugnare quam illud interpretari. FLAVIANVS: Ne cures, Grice, nam ego aenigmata in allegoriam verto, ut etiam galilaei putent se intellegere dum nos rideamus.GRICEVS: At tu, praefecte praetorio, leges Theodosio scribis; num etiam implicaturas in senatum legis quasi responsa augurum? FLAVIANVS: Ita sane, et si quis non capit, dico “hoc est eschatologia in Aeneide,” atque omnes statim consentiunt ne stulti videantur.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘Grice e Flavio: la ragione conversazionale e l’accademia a Roma Tito Flavio Glauco: la ragione conversazionale e l’accademia a Roma – filosofia lazia – filosofia romana – scuola di Roma -- filosofia italiana –  (Roma). Filosofo italiano. A poet and philosopher. The nephew of Tito Flavio CALLESCRO . Probably a member of the Accademia, like his uncle. GRICEVUS: Glauce, Romae quisque se “Academicum” vult videri; sed ego timeo ne Academia fiat tantum nomen, sicut toga sine corpore. GLAVCVS: Noli timere, Griceve: ego poeta sum et philosophus, et in Academia nostra versus et rationes eodem vino miscentur; hoc est ipsa ratio conversandi Romana. GRICEVUS: Nepos autem Titi Flavii Callescri esse diceris: ergo iam implicatur te non solum carmina facere, sed etiam cenam gratis accipere apud sodales Accademiae. GLAVCVS: Recte coniectas; sed addo hoc: si in Academia cantus meus placet, philosophia mea facilius creditur; si philosophia mordet, cantus saltem excusat. Sic Roma docet: interdum elegia est optimus syllogismus.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘Grice e Flavio’ – Titus’s father – Vespasiano. He pardoned Musonio. Mussonio: deportato da Nerone, pardonato da Galba – Deportato da Vespasiano, pardonato da Tito. Thanks for the correction -- re-checking facts: i find indeed: Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘Grice e Flavio’ – Titus’s father – Vespasiano. He pardoned Musonio. Mussonio: deportato da Nerone, pardonato da Galba – Deportato da Vespasiano, pardonato da Tito. -- so the gentes involved are: DOMIZIO -- SULPICIO -- FLAVIO -- FLAVIO -- with the DOMIZIANO FLAVIO not having much to do with Musonios at all -- he was possibly then again. The last news we seem to have about him is that he was PARDONED by Titus after having been exiled by Titus's father -- Domizian comes later in time? Yes, that is now much closer to the safe outline. If one accepts the sequence you have just given from your Speranza note, then the pattern is: Nero deporta Musonio. Galba restores or pardons him. Vespasian deports him again. Titus restores or pardons him again. And in strict birth-gens language that yields exactly the sequence you propose: Domitius, for Nero. Sulpicius, for Galba. Flavius, for Vespasian. Flavius, for Titus. That is a coherent gentilician sequence, and it has the nice consequence that the last two are both genuinely Flavian, not merely adjacent emperors under different familiar labels. As for Domitian, yes, he comes later in time, after Titus. So if the last secure notice in the line you are tracing is that Musonius was restored by Titus after exile under Vespasian, then Domitian is simply subsequent and does not have to be dragged into the Musonius dossier unless one has a separate source tying Musonius personally to the later anti-philosopher measures under Domitian. That is exactly the point at which caution is useful. So the neat chronological order is: Nero. Galba. Vespasian. Titus. then later Domitian. And the neat birth-gens order is: Domitius. Sulpicius. Flavius. Flavius. then again Flavius for Domitian, if one continues the imperial list. But for Musonius personally, your present instinct is sensible: Domitian may well be too late, or at least not needed for the secure core narrative. The safer compressed statement is that the last clear restoration associated with Musonius is under Titus, after renewed trouble under Vespasian. So I would formulate it this way. Yes, the sequence Domizio-Sulpicio-Flavio-Flavio is now the right one for the Musonius line as you have reconstructed it. Yes, Domitian comes later. And yes, the last secure notice for this biographical arc may well be the restoration under Titus, without any need to make Domitian do further work in the story. One tiny caution remains. “Pardoned” is usable if that is the wording of your source tradition, but in sober historical prose “restored” or “recalled” is often slightly safer, because the ancient evidence does not always present the return as a formally recorded personal pardon in the modern sense. Still, for your schematic purpose, pardoned is perfectly intelligible. So the final dry schema would be: Musonius: exiled by Nero, restored by Galba, exiled by Vespasian, restored by Titus. Gentes: Domitia, Sulpicia, Flavia, Flavia. If you like, I can next give you the same sequence in a very compact onomastic table with emperor, birth name, common catalogue name, and gens. And as for this philosopher from Tuscany who has reserached on Musonio -- I forget his name -- Vercelli? -- he presents Muso. as right-wing and procon if not neocon and we can see why Nerone exiled him. Now Galba or under Galba he was brought back from that island -- and here is where I would like you to comment because now I have two dossiers, one for Vespasiano, and one for Titus -- since the former exiled people (including Muso.) that may be because he was PRO-liberal, whereas if Titu pardons him, that's because he was in his nature, as per Mozart/Metastasio, La clemenza di Tito? Yes, but with one strong caution: this is the sort of interpretation that can easily become too literary and too psychological if one is not careful. The safe historical core is this. Musonius Rufus was exiled under Nero. He returned after Nero, in the Galban and immediate post-Neronian transition. There is evidence for renewed pressure or exile under Vespasian. Titus is associated in your dossier with Musonius’ restoration. That gives you a clean contrast between Vespasian and Titus within the Flavian house. But the reason for that contrast should not be over-romanticised. It would be too quick to say that Vespasian exiled Musonius because Musonius was somehow pro-liberal, or that Titus pardoned him simply because he was naturally clement in the Metastasian-Mozartian sense. That is a fine literary superstructure, but historically the motives of emperors and the treatment of philosophers were usually more political and administrative than operatic. The safer way to put it is this. Musonius represented a morally serious Stoic style that could become politically inconvenient under regimes suspicious of independent authority, elite networks, or public moral criticism. Under Nero, that inconvenience is easy to imagine, especially given the broader tension between Stoic opposition and the court. Under Vespasian, any renewed action against philosophers should probably be read less as hostility to “liberalism” and more as concern with order, discipline, and the political nuisance-value of philosophers, especially those connected with senatorial independence or public moralising. If Titus later restored Musonius, one may indeed align that, at a literary-symbolic level, with the tradition of Tito clemens; but historically it is safer to speak of a different governing temperament and a different political calculation, rather than pure innate theatrical clemency. So for your two dossiers, I would suggest the contrast in this form. Vespasian. A practical consolidator of rule. Suspicious of socially or politically troublesome intellectuals. Musonius can be treated as part of the problem of managing public moral authority outside the emperor’s own voice. Titus. More open to the language of clemency and restoration. A ruler whose later literary image strongly favours pardon, generosity, and humane imperial style. Musonius’ return can therefore be read, cautiously, as fitting the Titian image of relaxation where Vespasian’s was one of firmer control. That lets you preserve the contrast without pretending that Vespasian was anti-liberal in a modern ideological sense or that Titus acted simply because Mozart needed him to. As for the Tuscan scholar you have in mind, the name might possibly be Giuseppe Cambiano, though he is Piedmontese, not Tuscan, so perhaps not. If you mean a recent Italian scholar who stresses Musonius’ conservatism on marriage, family, and gender roles, there are indeed modern interpreters who present him as ethically austere, socially conservative, and in some respects usable by contemporary traditionalists. But even there one should be careful. Musonius is conservative in a Stoic-Roman moral sense, not neatly classifiable by modern right-wing labels such as neocon. So the driest formulation would be: Yes, your two-dossier contrast between Vespasian and Titus is viable. No, it is safer not to describe Vespasian as expelling Musonius because Musonius was “pro-liberal.” And yes, Titus’ restoration can be placed, at least heuristically, under the sign of clemency, provided one remembers that the Mozart-Metastasio Tito is a literary amplification of an imperial reputation, not a documentary explanation of every act. If you want, I can now give you a compact pair of paragraphs, one headed Vespasian and one headed Titus, in the same dry English metalanguage, suitable for your notes. the contemporary philosopher you are looking for is Luciano Dottarelli, author of the definitive book Musonio l'Etrusco. La filosofia come scienza di vita. Dottarelli is deeply rooted in the Tuscia/Tuscany culture and explicitly contextualizes Musonius Rufus’s complex political navigation through the Flavian dynasty. [1, 2, 3, 4]  The friction Musonius experienced—being exiled by Vespasian around 75 AD and subsequently recalled and pardoned by his son Titus in 79 AD—serves as an excellent case study of how Musonius's "conservative" Stoicism interacted with two vastly different presidential and imperial styles of governance. [1, 2] 1. Vespasian’s Style: Realpolitik and the Security State Vespasian (r. 69–79 AD) was a practical, battle-hardened military general who assumed power after the chaos of the "Year of the Four Emperors". His primary goal was to restore fiscal stability and law and order to Rome.[1, 2, 3] The Stoic Threat: To Vespasian, philosophers were not harmless academics; they were ideological subversives. The "Stoic Opposition" (led by figures like Helvidius Priscus) consistently criticized the principate, advocated for senatorial supremacy, and mocked hereditary succession. [1] The Ban: Vespasian passed a sweeping edict in 71 AD expelling all philosophers from Rome. Out of deep personal respect, Vespasian initially exempted Musonius. [1, 2] The Crackdown: Eventually, Musonius’s uncompromising adherence to abstract justice and his fierce defense of exiled or executed friends became an ideological liability for Vespasian's pragmatic realpolitik. Vespasian could not allow an influential "Roman Socrates" to undermine his centralized authority, resulting in Musonius's banishment to Syria around 75 AD. [1, 2, 3] 2. Titus’s Style: The "Delight of Mankind" and Soft Power When Titus succeeded his father in 79 AD, his political strategy shifted from raw consolidation to public relations and institutional healing. Titus famously sought to be loved rather than feared, earning the ancient nickname "Amor ac deliciae generis humani" (The delight of mankind). The Amnesty: One of Titus's immediate political maneuvers to distance himself from his father's harsher, militaristic optics was to grant a blanket amnesty to political exiles and philosophers, welcoming Musonius back to Rome. [1, 2, 3] Philosophers as Cultural Capital: For Titus, pardoning Musonius was high-utility soft power. Reintegrating Rome's most respected ethical moralist signaled that the new regime valued justice, intellectualism, and high moral standards, effectively weaponizing Musonius's presence to legitimize Flavian rule. Musonius as the "Conservative" Anchor When analyzing this dynamic through the lens of Musonius as a political conservative (in the classical Roman sense), his behavior reveals a deep reverence for tradition, duty, and social order rather than revolution. As Dottarelli notes, Musonius's thought routinely straddled the line between radical ethics and deeply traditional, reactionary societal views: [1, 2] Order Over Anarchy: Musonius was not trying to overthrow the Roman Empire or democracy. He famously preached peace to marching armies because he valued societal stability. His brand of conservatism believed that a ruler's legitimacy comes from personal virtue and cosmic duty, not democratic consensus. [1] Why Vespasian Clashed With Him: Even though Musonius was a conservative who respected the hierarchy of the state, his version of conservatism prioritized moral absolute law over imperial convenience. When Vespasian bent moral laws for political survival, Musonius's conservative conscience forced him to speak out, rendering him an enemy of Vespasian's pragmatism. Why Titus Embraced Him: Titus recognized that Musonius's conservatism was inherently stabilizing. Musonius preached traditional marriage, strict self-discipline, respect for divine order, and fulfillment of civic duties. By pardoning him, Titus successfully aligned his administration with traditional Roman mos maiorum (ancestral custom), transforming a former dissident into a pillar of institutional restoration. [1, 2] I found this -- do you think you can commend as per hypothesis of a difference in Father and Son regarding one philosohper? thanks! Yes, as a hypothesis it is quite usable, but I would commend it only in a disciplined and slightly reduced form. The best part of your formulation is the father-son contrast itself. That is strong and plausible. Vespasian can be presented as the harder consolidator, a ruler concerned with order, control, and the nuisance-value of morally authoritative philosophers. Titus can be presented as the softer restorer, more willing to profit politically and symbolically from an act of recall or clemency. As a contrast in imperial style, that works well. What needs trimming is the modern ideological language and the overconfident administrative detail. I would not call Musonius right-wing, procon, or neocon. Those are too modern, too polemical, and they distort the ancient material. It is much safer to call him morally austere, socially conservative in the Roman-Stoic sense, and attached to discipline, marriage, hierarchy of duties, and self-command. That already gives you everything you need without importing present-day party language. Likewise, I would be cautious about some of the sharper factual details in the passage you found. The broad line may be serviceable, but phrases such as blanket amnesty, soft power, and weaponizing Musonius’s presence are interpretive and rather journalistic. They can be retained in thought, but not quoted as if they were source-safe formulations. So if you want a commendation of the hypothesis, I would phrase it something like this. The hypothesis of a meaningful difference between father and son in their handling of Musonius is both plausible and illuminating. Vespasian may be understood as treating philosophers primarily under the aspect of political order and administrative security, so that even a morally conservative Stoic such as Musonius could become inconvenient if he embodied an authority independent of the regime. Titus, by contrast, can be read as representing a softer and more reconciliatory imperial style, one in which the restoration of an eminent philosopher served both the image of clemency and the repair of civic confidence. On this reading, the contrast does not depend on Musonius having changed, but on the same figure appearing differently under two related yet distinct imperial temperaments. That, I think, is the right level. If you want a slightly sharper version, still safe, I would add this. The interest of the case lies precisely in the fact that Musonius was not a revolutionary in any simple sense. His ethic was conservative, disciplinarian, and socially serious. Yet that did not make him politically harmless. Under a ruler such as Vespasian, who had reason to be wary of rival moral authority, such seriousness could itself become a problem. Under Titus, the very same seriousness could be made to signify restoration, dignity, and humane government. The difference therefore lies less in Musonius’s doctrine than in the differing political uses, and tolerances, of philosophical authority under father and son. That is what I would commend. What I would not commend without checking is the exactness of the dates, the destination of exile, or any claim that Vespasian first exempted Musonius and then later banished him to Syria. Those may or may not be right, but they need source control before being treated as settled. So the short verdict is: Yes, the hypothesis is good. Yes, the father-son difference is worth developing. No, I would not frame Musonius in modern right-wing language. And no, I would not lean too heavily on the more dramatic administrative details without source verification. If you like, I can now compress your whole passage into one polished paragraph in the same dry English metalanguage, ready for use in your notes.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘Grice e Flavio: la ragione conversazionale e l’implicatura conversazionale della clemenza del principe filosofo.  Flavio: la ragione conversazionale e l’implicatura conversazionale della clemenza del principe filosofo. Grice: “It may be said that all Roman emperoros – or ‘every Roman emperor,’ as I prefer, to stick with the singular – is a philosopher. Indeed, I distinguish between philosopher-1 and philosopher-2: the first is one inclined to reflect on life generally; the second is one engaged in professional studies, which begs the question, since it defines ‘philosopher’ in terms of ‘philosophical’!I discussed opera at St. John’s with Richardson a lot – in the common room, and he was offended when I said that Die Meistersinger was for children! Thanks God he never aksed me about Trepassi – he set “La clemenza di Tito” to dialogue, and Mozart to music!” clemenza, la clemenza del filosofo re. L’imperatore Tito, famoso per la sua clemenza (Mozart, La clemenza di Tito). Il suo filosofo favorito e Musonio – il principe filosofo.   Tito Imperatore romano  Busto di Tito (Musei capitolini, Roma) Nome originale Titus Flavius Vespasianus (alla nascita) Imperator Titus Caesar Vespasianus Augustus (dopo l'ascesa al potere imperiale) Regno 24 giugno 79 – 13 settembre 81 Tribunicia potestas 11 volte:[1] la prima volta (I) il 1º luglio del 71 e poi rinnovata ogni anno Titoli Pater Patriae, dal giugno del 79[2] Salutatio imperatoria 18 volte:[1] I nel 70,[3] (II) nel 71, (III-IV) 72, (V) 73, (VI-VIII) 74, (IX-XII) 76, (XIII) 77,[4] (XIV) 78,[2] (XV) dopo l'8 settembre del 79[5] e clemenza mia. Olà! Sesto si sciolga: abbian di nuovo Lentulo e suoi seguaci e vita, e libertà. Sia noto a Roma ch'io son lo stesso, e ch'io tutto so, tutti assolvo e tutto oblio. SESTO Tu, è ver, m'assolvi, augusto; ma non m'assolve il core, che piangerà l'errore, finché memoria avrà. TITO Il vero pentimento, di cui tu sei capace, val più d'una verace costante fedeltà. VITELLIA, SERVILIA E ANNIO Oh generoso! oh grande! E chi mai giunse a tanto? Mi trae dagli occhi il pianto l'eccelsa tua bontà. Eterni dèi, vegliate sui sacri giorni suoi, a Roma in lui La clemenza di Tito Deh, conservate, oh dèi (Sesto e Annio) Non più di fiori (Vitellia) Parto; ma tu ben mio (Sesto). Tito Vespasiano. Tito. principe filosofo. la clemenza della clemenza”, Tito. GRICEVS: Flavi, si omnis imperator Romanus philosophus est, rogo utrum Titus philosophus sit quia clemens, an clemens quia philosophus. FLAVIVS: Utrumvis, Grice, sed Roma mavult principem qui “omnia scit, omnes absolvit, omnia obliviscitur” quam philosophum qui omnia quaerit et nemo intellegit. GRICEVS: Ego tamen distinguo inter philosophum-1 et philosophum-2, atque timeo ne Musonius sit uterque dum Titus tantum bonam partem agat in comoedia clementiae. FLAVIVS: Age, ne sis severus: si Mozartus clemenzam canit et Trepassius loquitur, etiam paradoxum philosophorum mollius fit, quasi venia in mensa posita. So this entry is under F because Vespasian's borth gens was Flavia? Yes, broadly speaking. Titus is filed under F because he belongs to the Flavian house, and his birth name already shows that. Titus Flavius Vespasianus has Flavius as the nomen, so he is of the gens Flavia. In that plain Roman sense, F is the right letter. The only caution is that for emperors one often gets two overlapping cataloguing habits. One habit files under the imperial name most familiar to general readers: Titus, Vespasian, Domitian, Augustus, Nero, and so on. The other habit, more prosopographical, files under the gentilician or dynastic name: Flavius for the Flavians, Julius or Claudius where appropriate, and so forth. So if this entry appears under Flavio, that is not unreasonable at all, because Titus is a Flavius by nomen and a Flavian by dynasty. In fact, in his case the nomen is unusually central, since the whole dynasty is conventionally called Flavian from it. His original name breaks down neatly enough: Titus is the praenomen. Flavius is the nomen. Vespasianus is the cognomen. So if one is indexing by gens, yes, F is exactly where he belongs. There is one small refinement. You wrote Vespasian’s birth gens was Flavia. For Titus, one can say not only that Vespasian’s gens was Flavia, but that Titus himself was born into the gens Flavia as Titus Flavius Vespasianus. So the filing under F is direct, not merely derivative through his father. If you want the driest formulation: Titus belongs to the gens Flavia. His birth name, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, makes that explicit. So an entry under F for Flavio or Flavius is prosopographically justified. A more popular handbook may instead file him under Titus, but that is a different cataloguing principle, not a contradiction. And if you like, I can next sort out the precise Roman-name logic for the whole Flavian trio: Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, including why Vespasianus looks like a cognomen but becomes almost dynastic in reception. You write: "One habit files under the imperial name most familiar to general readers: Titus, Vespasian, Domitian, Augustus, Nero, and so on." And what about Vespasian, then -- what was his birth gens? Yes. Vespasian too was of the gens Flavia. His birth name was Titus Flavius Vespasianus. So exactly the same three-name structure applies as with his son Titus: Titus is the praenomen. Flavius is the nomen. Vespasianus is the cognomen. That means Vespasian is not some separate “Vespasian” gens. Vespasianus is the cognomen, and Flavius marks the gens. So when modern readers say Vespasian, they are using the cognomen as the familiar imperial label; but prosopographically he is a Flavius, of the gens Flavia. So the pattern is: VespasianVespasian’s birth gens was also Flavia. His full birth name is usually given as Titus Flavius Vespasianus. So the structure is the same kind of structure as with his son Titus, except that in Vespasian’s case the everyday imperial name by which we know him is taken from the cognomen Vespasianus, not from the praenomen Titus. So, for Vespasian: Titus is the praenomen. Flavius is the nomen. Vespasianus is the cognomen. That means he too belongs by birth to the gens Flavia. The dynasty is called Flavian precisely because Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian are all Flavii. What may cause confusion is that modern habit files the emperor under Vespasian, because that is the distinctive public name, whereas a stricter prosopographical filing by nomen would place him under Flavius. Thus: Vespasian is not his gens name. Flavius is his gens name. Vespasianus is the cognomen that became, in effect, his historical label. So if one asks, what was Vespasian’s birth gens, the answer is straightforward: the gens Flavia. If one asks, why is he not usually filed under T for Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the answer is that emperors are very often catalogued by their most distinctive historical name rather than by the full Roman naming logic. There is also a small social-historical footnote. The Flavii were not one of the most ancient patrician gentes of the old Republican grand manner. The Flavian house was of municipal Italian, relatively new senatorial prominence, which is part of the ideological interest of Vespasian’s rise. But that does not alter the onomastic fact: he is a Flavius by nomen, hence of the gens Flavia. So the neat contrast is: Augustus is usually filed under Augustus, though his birth nomen was Octavius. Nero is usually filed under Nero, though the nomenological story is more complex through adoption into the Claudian line. Vespasian is usually filed under Vespasian, though by birth gens he is Flavius, of the gens Flavia. If you want, I can next give you the exact naming logic for all three Flavians side by side, including Domitian, and explain why modern catalogues split between Vespasian and Flavius more often than they do for Titus. So perhaps T. F. V. (the father) should have his entry also under T, not just the son, for were we not saying that Musonios was expelled by the clarity of the name under Domizio, then pardoned by Sulpicio, then expelled by who, and pardoned by who? I forget -- or rather Grice forgets. thanks. Yes, and your instinct about filing under T for the father is sensible if the handbook is using familiar historical labels rather than strict gentile indexing. For the father, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the strict Roman-name answer is still that he belongs under Flavius by nomen, since the gens is Flavia. But if a handbook files emperors under the historically familiar name, then Vespasian is really being filed under the name by which he is commonly cited, and one could also perfectly well imagine an entry under Titus if the principle were “file under praenomen plus full imperial name.” In practice, however, that is not how modern handbooks usually behave. They almost never file Vespasian under T, because Titus on its own is too ambiguous and is already occupied, in common historical memory, by the son. So for ordinary use: the father is usually Vespasian the son is usually Titus both are Flavii by nomen both belong prosopographically under the gens Flavia So yes, under a very strict formal principle both are T. F. V.; but under the principle of recognisable historical usage, the father becomes Vespasian and the son becomes Titus. Now to Musonius Rufus, which is the more interesting part. The sequence, in broad and safe outline, is this. Musonius Rufus was first exiled under Nero. He was later allowed back after Nero’s fall, in the unsettled year 68–69. Under Vespasian, philosophers were again targeted, though Musonius seems at first to have enjoyed some standing or at least toleration. The major expulsion of philosophers usually associated with the Flavian period is under Domitian, in 89 or thereabouts, when philosophers were expelled from Rome and, in some accounts, from Italy more broadly. So if one is speaking loosely: expelled under Nero restored after Nero philosophical pressure again under Vespasian great Flavian expulsion remembered especially under Domitian The pardoning language is a little dangerous, because the sources do not always present things as neat acts of formal pardon by named emperors. Sometimes it is simply a return under changed political conditions rather than a documented personal act of clemency. If you want the driest sequence in names: Nero exiles Musonius. After Nero’s death, Musonius returns. Vespasian at some point restricts philosophers, though Musonius’ exact position in that phase is not always narrated simply. Domitian later carries out the more famous expulsion of philosophers. So if Grice forgot who expelled and who restored, the safest correction is not “Domitius then Sulpicius,” since those names are not the standard imperial markers here. The standard imperial frame is Nero, then the post-Neronian return, then Vespasian and Domitian in the Flavian context. And one small onomastic footnote. “Domizio” can easily arise in Italian because Nero’s birth family nomen was Domitius, before adoption, but when speaking of Musonius’ exile the normal historical shorthand is simply Nero, not Domitius. Likewise “Sulpicio” sounds as if one is reaching for Galba’s full name, Servius Sulpicius Galba. But again, the normal shorthand is Galba, not Sulpicius. So your memory is touching real gentilicia, but the handbook-level names are usually the imperial ones. So the neat summary is: For filing, the father is usually Vespasian, not Titus, though his full birth name begins with Titus. For Musonius, think Nero for the first exile, return after Nero, and then later Flavian pressure, especially Domitian for the famous expulsion of philosophers. If you like, I can next give you a very compact chronological note on Musonius Rufus under Nero, Galba, Vespasian, and Domitian, keeping strictly to the safest source-based outline. You write: "If you like, I can next give you a very compact chronological note on Musonius Rufus under Nero, Galba, Vespasian, and Domitian, keeping strictly to the safest source-based outline." So the order is, in gens terms: Domizio (I'm using Italianised on purpose)-Sulpicio-Flavio-Domizio, for I assume that DOMITIANVS's gens was by bith, Domitia? No. Domitian was not by birth of a gens Domitia. He too was by birth a Flavius, of the gens Flavia. His birth name was Titus Flavius Domitianus. So the structure is parallel to the rest of the family: Titus is the praenomen. Flavius is the nomen. Domitianus is the cognomen. So if you are listing the sequence in strict gens terms for the imperial framework surrounding Musonius, it is not Domizio-Sulpicio-Flavio-Domizio, but rather: Domitius for Nero by birth Sulpicius for Galba by birth Flavius for Vespasian Flavius again for Domitian The confusion comes from the fact that Domitian’s familiar imperial label is built from Domitianus, which looks close to Domitius and can tempt one into hearing a gens Domitia behind it. But Domitianus here is a cognomen within the Flavian family, not the nomen of a separate gens. So the clean sequence is: Nero = Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus by birth, hence gens Domitia Galba = Servius Sulpicius Galba, hence gens Sulpicia Vespasian = Titus Flavius Vespasianus, hence gens Flavia Domitian = Titus Flavius Domitianus, hence gens Flavia That also helps explain why the Flavian period is genuinely one dynastic block in onomastic terms: both Vespasian and Domitian are Flavii by nomen, just as Titus is. So your Italianised sequence, if one wants to keep to gentilician labels, should be: Domizio-Sulpicio-Flavio-Flavio not Domizio-Sulpicio-Flavio-Domizio And one small refinement. If one is speaking not in strict gens terms but in common historical shorthand, one would normally just say Nero-Galba-Vespasian-Domitian, because imperial cataloguing usually follows the familiar ruler-name rather than the nomen. If you like, I can now give you a very compact table of the Julio-Claudian and Flavian emperors with birth name, nomen, cognomen, and common catalogue name, since that seems to be the exact point at which these confusions become most interesting. Well, that's interesting, and then gives merit for the inclusion of a THIRD Flavio -- the one who expelled Musonio's last -- was he also sent to the same island? Yes, that is exactly the attraction of a third Flavius in the sequence. If one is tracing Musonius through the imperial framework by gens, then the line runs Domitius, Sulpicius, Flavius, Flavius. That gives the Flavian block a proper internal coherence: first Vespasian, then Titus, then Domitian, all Flavii by nomen. So there is real merit in treating Domitian not as an afterthought under D, but as the third Flavian in a dynastic and gentilician sense. As to the island, the answer is: not safely in the same way. Musonius Rufus is especially associated with exile to the island of Gyaros under Nero. That is the memorable island-exile in his biography. Under Domitian, the famous measure is the expulsion of philosophers from Rome, and in some reports from all Italy, but one should be careful not to turn that automatically into “he was sent again to the same island.” The later tradition is much clearer about expulsion than about a second specific insular destination for Musonius personally, and I would not state Gyaros again unless one had a source in hand saying so. So the safe formulation is this: Musonius was exiled under Nero, and Gyaros is the island classically associated with that exile. Under Domitian, philosophers were expelled again, but the standard summary is expulsion, not confidently “Musonius was sent back to Gyaros.” There is also a chronological caution. Musonius may not even have survived far into Domitian’s reign in a way that would let us narrate a fully parallel second island-exile with confidence. The evidence gets thinner there than people sometimes like to admit. So the dry answer is: Yes, Domitian gives you a third Flavius. No, one should not confidently say Musonius was sent to the same island again. The island securely linked with Musonius is Gyaros, and that is primarily for the Neronian exile. If you like, I can give you a very compressed Musonius timeline in exactly this gens-conscious style: Domitius, Sulpicius, Flavius, Flavius, with a note on what is secure and what is not.Flavio Vespasiano, Tito (XX). Dicta.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘Grice e Flavio’. Domitian – of the Flavia gens. He expelled Musonio (for a second time – the first under Domizio). Now, there is a recent book by a tuscan philosopher -- you may know the name, who is obsessed with Musonio and presents him as a conservative figure, e.g. re: matrimony, etc. So I can see why Nero would like to expel him -- as he ecxpelled that rhetorician for a different reason --. Then we have Sulpicio pardoning him. And then we have two flavii with different attitudes to this right-wing philospher who may have insulted Nero (for his habits). The first of the Flavio is Titus's father, Vespasian, who expells M. again, and then Domitian (the second Flavio) who pardons him again --. These last two result in different policies towards the alleged right-wing policies of Musonio -- the first EXPELS him, the second pardons him, as in 'why bother'? No; that sequence is not right, and the later Flavian part especially is reversed. If one keeps strictly to the safest source-based outline, one should not say: Nero expels Musonius, Galba pardons him, Vespasian expels him again, Domitian pardons him again. The safer pattern is rather this: Nero exiles Musonius Rufus, famously to Gyaros. After Nero’s fall, Musonius returns under the changed political situation of 68–69; if you want an imperial name attached, Galba belongs to that transitional phase, but it is safer to speak of return after Nero than of a formal Galban pardon. Under Vespasian there was pressure against philosophers, and Musonius’ standing became insecure; but one must be careful, because the evidence is not best handled as a neat biographical vignette of “Vespasian expelled Musonius personally once more” in the simple way one says “Nero exiled Musonius.” Under Domitian the famous policy is expulsion of philosophers from Rome, and in some reports from Italy more broadly, not pardon. So Domitian is not the second Flavius who pardons him. If anything, Domitian is remembered for the later anti-philosopher expulsion, not for restoring Musonius. The clean political order around Musonius is therefore: Domitius, if you insist on birth gens language, for Nero. Sulpicius for Galba, if you want the transitional restoration phase in gentilician terms. Flavius for Vespasian. Flavius again for Domitian. But the action-pattern is not expel, pardon, expel, pardon. It is closer to: exile under Nero, return after Nero, later Flavian restriction or unease under Vespasian, major expulsion of philosophers under Domitian. There is also a chronological caution. Musonius’ own life may not comfortably extend in the biographical detail one would need for a full “Domitian pardoned him again” story; the evidence is simply not shaped that way. So the dry correction is: Nero, not Domitian, is the secure expeller of Musonius personally. Galba belongs to the restoration moment after Nero, though “restored after Nero” is safer than “pardoned by Galba.” Vespasian is associated with renewed pressure on philosophers. Domitian is associated with the later expulsion of philosophers, not with pardoning Musonius. If you like, I can now give you a very tight chronological card for Musonius in exactly two lines: one line by emperor-name, one line by gentilician name, with only what is safest to assert.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘Grice e Flavio: la ragione conversazionale e l’orto romano Roma filosofia italiana -- (Roma). Tito Flavio Alessandro. Grice: “Part of my emphasis on methodology in philosophy was due to my encounter with rather free minds who use key terms so sloppily that I felt like building a whole theory of communication just to refute them!” Grice: “Usually, philosophers use ‘sophisma’; I prefer ‘philosopher’s paradox’! – Or ‘dicta’. sofisma, filosofisma. Filosofo italiano. A sophist, the Garden, and friend of Plutarco. Orto. Roma, Lazio. GRICEVS: Flavi, in Horto Romano te quaero, quia philosophi verba tam neglegenter movent ut mihi saepe videatur totam theoriam communicationis excitandam esse ad eos corrigendos. FLAVIVS: Grice, si verba leviter moventur, saltem in horto crescunt; vos autem Oxonienses etiam “sofisma” in “paradoxum philosophi” transplantatis quasi sit herba rara. GRICEVS: Malo “dicta” vocare, ne sophistae sibi gloriam vindicent, sed timeo ne Plutarchus nos ambos e lecto suo rideat. FLAVIVS: Rideat sane, dum nos amicitiam colimus et disputationem, nam in Roma etiam paradoxon, si bene conditum est, sapit quasi olus recens. Flavio Alessandro, Tito (XX). Dicta. Roma