PROLEGOMENA Introduction.

There can be no doubt as to the time when Censorinus lived, since he himself reports that the book On the Birthday was written in the second year of the 254th Olympiad (p. 56, 6), or in the consulship of Ulpius and Pontianus (p. 63, 16), that is, in the year 991 from the founding of the city original: "ab u. c." referring to ab urbe condita, or 238 AD. Apart from this, nothing is known about his life. He is called a most learned grammarian by Priscian (I, 4, 17, p. 545), and is numbered by Cassiodorus (On Grammar, 1) among the most noble grammarians who held a place of honor in their centuries, along with Palaemon, Phocas, and Probus. He wrote a book on accents, regarding which Cassiodorus reports as follows (On Music, at the end, p. 576):

"Censorinus also discussed with subtlety the accents necessary for our speech, saying that they pertain to the discipline of music; I have left this transcribed for you among other works."

Priscian made use of this book, attesting that Censorinus teaches very clearly about the accent of prepositions in the book he wrote on accents (XIV, 1, 6, p. 978), and indeed in another place (XIV, 4, 40, p. 993) he cites the following:

"Which Censorinus also approves regarding accents, saying thus: 'The preposition super is at...'"