Nicanor, Saevius
is celebrated by Suetonius as the first grammarian who acquired fame and honour among the Romans by teaching. He was the author of commentaries, the greater portion of which was said to have been suppressed (isnerccpta dicitur), and of a satire where he declares himself to have been a freedman, and to have been distinguished by a double cognomen,--
Saevins Nicanor, Marci libertus, negabit Saevius Postumius idem, at Marcus docebit.
Suetonius adds, that, according to some accounts, in consequence of reports affecting his character, he retired to Sardinia and there died. (Sueton. de Illustr. Gratst-z. 5.)
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.