Little is known of Censorinus, although he lived during the 3rd century and apparently dedicated to his patron Quintus Caerellius as a birthday gift. ==Works== Censorinus was the author of a lost work as well as the surviving . (
Latin for "On the Natal Day" or "On the Birthday") or ("Little Work on the Birthday") was apparently written in 238 for the birthday of Censorinus's patron Quintus Caerellius. The contents are of a varied character: the natural history of man, the influence of the stars and
genii, music,
religious rites,
astronomy, the doctrines of the
Greek philosophers, and
antiquarian subjects. The second part deals with chronological and mathematical questions, and has been of great service in determining the principal epochs of ancient history. The whole is full of curious and interesting information. The style is clear and concise, although somewhat
rhetorical, and the —for the period—good. The chief authorities used were
Varro and
Suetonius. Some scholars, indeed, hold that the entire work is practically an adaptation of the lost
Pratum of Suetonius. The fragments of a work
De Naturali Institutione, dealing with astronomy,
geometry,
music, and
versification, and usually printed with the
De Die Natali of Censorinus, are not by him. Part of the original manuscript, containing the end of the genuine work, and the title and name of the author of the fragment are lost. ==Legacy==