FIGULUS

figulus, publius nigidius (c. 98-45 b.c.), roman savant, next to varro the most learned roman of the age. he was a friend of cicero, to whom he gave his support at the time of the catilinarian conspiracy (plutarch, _cicero_, 20; cicero, _pro sulla_, xiv. 42). in 58 he was praetor, sided with pompey in the civil war, and after his defeat was banished by caesar, and died in exile. according to cicero (_timaeus_, 1), figulus endeavoured with some success to revive the doctrines of pythagoreanism. with this was included mathematics, astronomy and astrology, and even the magic arts. according to suetonius (_augustus_, 94) he foretold the greatness of the future emperor on the day of his birth, and apuleius (_apologia_, 42) records that, by the employment of "magic boys" (_magici pueri_), he helped to find a sum of money that had been lost. jerome (the authority for the date of his death) calls him _pythagoricus et magus_. the abstruse nature of his studies, the mystical character of his writings, and the general indifference of the romans to such subjects, caused his works to be soon forgotten. amongst his scientific, theological and grammatical works mention may be made of _de diis_, containing an examination of various cults and ceremonials; treatises on divination and the interpretation of dreams; on the sphere, the winds and animals. his _commentarii grammatici_ in at least 29 books was an ill-arranged collection of linguistic, grammatical and antiquarian notes. in these he expressed the opinion that the meaning of words was natural, not fixed by man. he paid especial attention to orthography, and sought to differentiate the meanings of cases of like ending by distinctive marks (the apex to indicate a long vowel is attributed to him). in etymology he endeavoured to find a roman explanation of words where possible (according to him _frater_ was = _fere alter_). quintilian (_instit. orat._ xi, 3. 143) speaks of a rhetorical treatise _de gestu_ by him. see cicero, _ad fam._ iv. 13; scholiast on lucan i. 639; several references in aulus gellius; teuffel, _hist. of roman literature_, 170; m. hertz, de n.f. _studiis atque operibus_ (1845); _quaestiones nigidianae_ (1890), and edition of the fragments (1889) by a. swoboda.