Please, o heavenly gods, give me leave to say that a mortal seemed to me more handsome than a god.—Quintus Lutatius Catulus[2]Roscius was born a slave in Lanuvium, about 3 miles (4.8 km) from Rome.
[4] For many years he received no remuneration as it was the custom for slave-owners to take most or all of their slaves' salaries but eventually his master permitted him to keep part of his earnings and in time he bought his freedom.
The refined Greek method of acting was currently out of vogue in favor of coarser fodder, but Roscius overturned this view, demonstrating that the highest art lies in moderation, not clown-like antics.
The two often engaged in friendly rivalry to try whether the orator or the actor could express a thought or emotion with the greater effect, and Roscius wrote a treatise in which he compared acting and oratory.
Catulus composed a quatrain in his honour, and the dictator Sulla presented him with a gold ring, the badge of the equestrian order, a remarkable distinction for an actor in Rome, where the profession was held in contempt.