Wczesna kariera Aureliusza Wiktora i świadectwo Ammianusa Marcellinusa (Amm. 21.10.6)

Our knowledge on Aurelius Victor’s career is very limited. In the year 360, Julian appointed him as governor of Pannonia. According to H.W. Bird’s hypothesis, Aurelius Victor may have been employed in the imperial administration some time earlier and served as a notary. Although it has no verifiable foundation in ancient sources, this hypothesis has been widely accepted. I would like to call attention to the clues that could serve as arguments against the hypothetical notarial office held by Aurelius Victor. The present text is based on an analysis of how Ammianus Marcellinus portrays his characters. The analysis has demonstrated that Aurelius Victor was not very likely to have served as an imperial notary. If someone was employed in the echelons of the imperial administration, Ammianus Marcellinus would reference that fact. Holding the office of imperial notary is something that is mentioned in his work on many occasions, regardless of whether it was justified by the narrative’s demands or not. The phrase scriptorem historicum is such an unusual manner of describing a person that, as could be concluded, it is quite likely that Ammianus Marcellinus had no other idea how to define Aurelius Victor, and therefore I reject H.W. Bird’s hypothesis.O karierze Aureliusza Wiktora nie wiadomo zbyt dużo. Sam twierdził, że pochodził z ubogiej rodziny, a mimo to Julian mianował go namiestnikiem Panonii II. O tym ostatnim informuje nas Ammianus Marcellinus. Stąd zaproponowano hipotezę, że Aureliusz Wiktor, podobnie jak Eutropius, pracował w cesarskiej kancelarii, był notariuszem. W artykule zanalizowano sposób przedstawiania postaci przez Ammianusa Marcellinusa. Historyk ów prawie zawsze wspominając po raz pierwszy postacie, opisywał je sprawowanymi funkcjami. Tymczasem ze sposobu opisania Aureliusza Wiktora jako autora historii nie wynika, aby pracował on w cesarskiej kancelarii. A przynajmniej Ammianus Marcellinus nie miał takiej wiedzy