Fronto, Papirius
a jurist, who probably lived about the time of Antoninus Pius, or rather earlier, for he is cited by Marcianus (who lived under Antoninus and several succeeding emperors), as if he were an elder contemporary: "Peculium nascitur, crescit, decrescit, moritur, et ideo eleganter Papirius Fronto dicebat, peculium simile esse homini." (Dig. 15. tit. 1. s. 40. pr.)
Works
Responsa
He published Responsa (Dig. 14. tit. 2. s. 4.2. fin.); and a third book of this work is cited by Callistratus. (Dig. 50. tit. 16. s. 220.1.)
Probably not the Front who wrote the Decreta Frontiana
In Dig. 30. s. 114.7, an opinion in which Fronto agrees with Scaevola is approved of by Marcianus. It is not likely that the Decreta Frontiana upon which Aristo wrote, or on which Aristo was cited (Dig. 29. tit. 2. s. ult.), had any connection with the jurist Fronto.
Jurist Fronto not to be confused with the Frontones from the age of the Antonines
There are no sufficient grounds for the identification of the jurist, or the establishment of his relationship, with any of the Frontones who are known to have lived about the age of the Antonines.
Further Information
Maiansius, ad XXX. Ictorum Frag. Com. vol. ii. p. 256-263.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.