Massimo Rivoltella

Since the end of the 19th century and after Havet’s explanation, Laevius fr. 5 Bl. (lasciviterque ludunt) has been usually related to the poem Protesilaudamia and interpreted as part of a love scene. The earliest meaning of lascivus and its word family (lascivia, lascivio, lascivibundus, lasciviter) are here carefully investigated and it is suggested that the fragment could refer to the dolphins’ behaviour; linguistic and metrical arguments suggest to connect it with the poem Sirenocirca.

In Calp. Sic. VI 71 s’individua la presenza di un cliché figurativo di ascendenza epicurea, quello dell’antitesi fra giaciglio modesto e sontuoso, eletti a simbolo di opposti genera vitae, mutuato da Lucr. II 29-36, forse attraverso la mediazione del finale delle Georgiche, e si analizza lo scarto semantico fra la ripresa calpurniana e i modelli del testo.