person
Marcus Licinius Crassus Agelastus
M. Crassus (Agelastus)
also: M. Crasso, M. Crassus, Agelastos Crassus, the man who laughed but once
A Roman of the early first century BC, grandfather of the triumvir Crassus, proverbially said by Lucilius to have laughed only once in his life, earning the nickname 'agelastos' (never-laughing). Cicero cites him in De Finibus 5.92 to argue that one lapse from cheerfulness does not destroy a cheerful life.
Reading notes
- On the Ends of Good and Evil §5.92 that M. Crassus, who, Lucilius says, laughed but once in his life
M. Crassus, grandfather of the triumvir, was proverbially said by the satirist Lucilius to have laughed only once, earning the nickname agelastos (never-laughing). Cicero uses him to argue a single lapse does not destroy a cheerful life.
- Tusculan Disputations §5.116 Marcus Crassus was rather hard of hearing
A Marcus Licinius Crassus (the grandfather of the triumvir, the "Agelastus" who laughed but once) noted for partial deafness. Cicero observes that what truly vexed him was hearing ill spoken of, not the deafness itself.