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| Toynbee "Cincinnato, summarized entry" |
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, one of the heroes
of the old Roman republic; he was regarded as the Roman model of
frugality and integrity; he was born c. 519 B.C. According to several accounts,
he was living on his farm, which he cultivated himself, when, in
458 B.C., he was called from the plough to assume the dictatorship,
in order to deliver the Roman army from the Aequians; having
accomplished this task, and defeated the enemy, he is said to have
returned to his farm after holding the dictatorship only sixteen
days.
The Emperor Justinian (in the Heaven of Mercury) mentions him in
connexion with the exploits of the Roman Eagle,
[Par vi 46-47];
he is mentioned again
by Cacciaguida (in the Heaven of Mars), who,
speaking of the degenerate state of Florence says that in his day
such a person as Lapo Salterello would have been as great a marvel
in that city as Cincinnatus would be now,
[Par. xv. 127-129].
Cincinnato(Long Entry)
©Oxford University Press 1968. From A Dictionary of Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante by Paget Toynbee
(1968) by permission of Oxford University Press