Servius Sulpicius Rufus

A pupil of Aquilius Gallus, Servius Sulpicius Rufus (c. 105-43 bce) was the most influential jurist of the generation after Scaevola. In 78 bce, Servius went to Rhodes with Cicero to learn dialectic and philosophy.

Servius held the offices of quaestor in 75 bce, praetor in 65 bce, and consul in 51 bce. In 49 bce he joined Pompey the Great in opposition to Julius caesar, though without enthusiasm. caesar forgave him and, in 46, appointed Servius proconsul of Achaia (in Greece). Servius stayed there until 45 bce. He died while working as an ambassador to Mark Antony in January 43 bce, and he was honored with a public funeral. The Ninth Philippic (February 4, 43), published only a month after Servius’s death, was cicero’s eulogy to him.

We know the content of the two celebrated letters Servius wrote to his friend and rival Cicero (Cicero, Ad familiares 4.5 and 4.12), one on the death of Tullia, Cicero’s daughter, and the other informing Cicero of the assassination of Marcus claudius Marcellus, who was consul the same year as Servius. Servius wrote many works, among them a commentary on the Twelve Tables and the first commentary on the praetorian edict. He left a large collection of responsa and instructed many students, including Alfenus Varus (consul in 39 bce) and Aulus Ofilius, friend of Julius Caesar.