FESTUS, SEXTUS POMPE'IUS, a celebrated Latin grammarian, whose age is not clearly ascertained, though there seems reason to believe that be lived in the third century of our era. He compiled an epitome of the voluminous work De Verborum Significatione' of Marcus Verrius Flaccus, a grammarian of the Augustan age, men tioned by Suetonius. The work of Verrius is lost, and that of Festua being afterwards abridged in ninth century by Paulus Diaconus, who spoiled it, the text of the epitome became lost also for several centuries, until a mutilated copy, found in Dalmatia, came into the hands of Aldo Manuzio, who published it, together with the abridg ment by Paulus Diaconus. Other fragments were found in the Farnesian Library, and Antoniva Auguatinus, Joseph Scaliger, and Fulvius Urainua published improved editions of Festus' De Verborum Significatione.' Lastly, A. Dacier published a new edition, 4to, Paris, 1631, adding to it the notes of Scaliger, Auguatinus, and Ursinus.
Dacier's edition was reprinted at Amsterdam in 1699. In 1832 Linde mann in the second volume of his ` Corpus Grammaticorum Latinorum,' has made a complete separation of the texts of Fcatus and Paulus, and carefully revised each, as well as added a body of valuable notes ; but the most useful end complete edition is that of K. O. Muller, 4to, Lips., 1839. Festus, in a passage of his work under the head Profanum,' refers to another vocabulary which he had written explanatory of ancient Latin words which had become obsolete, 'Priscorum Verborum Libri cum Exemplis,' which words he left out in his epitome of Marcus Verriva. This work, Priscorum Verborum,' Is lost. Festus gives not only the meaning, but also in most instances the etymology, of words, with reference to Verrius, Cato, and others of his and his book, though incomplete, is justly classed by Scaliger amongst the most useful for understanding the language of ancient Rome.