Servius Cornelius Dolabella Metilianus Pompeius Marcellus

The Corfinio inscription provides a cursus honorum for Marcellus. The offices it records attests that Marcellus was a member of the Patrician order, as if his ancestry as a member of the gens Cornelii left any doubt. Marcellus began his public career in the tresviri monetalis, the most prestigious of the four boards that comprise the vigintiviri; assignment to this board was usually allocated to patricians or individuals favored by the emperor.^[4] His next documented office was as a member of one of the junior priesthoods, the salii Palatini, which was one of the last Roman priesthoods still populated solely by patricians. Next Marcellus was quaestor to Emperor Trajan, another honor usually allocated to patricians or individuals favored by the emperor. Upon completion of this traditional Republican magistracy Marcellus would be enrolled in the Senate.^[5] Here the inscription mentions Marcellus was sevir equitum Romanorum at the annual review of the equites at Rome.

Marcellus is recorded as holding the Republican magistracy of praetor, after which his next documented office was consul. One of the privileges of the patrician order under the Empire was accession to the consulship within a few years after stepping down as praetor, freed of serving as governor of any provinces, public or imperial, or accepting a commission from the emperor as military tribune or legatus. The only office after the consulate recorded for Marcellus on this inscription is another Roman priesthood, Flamen Quirinalis.

His later life is almost a blank. Because the Corfinio inscription refers to Trajan as divi Trajani Parthici, it was erected after the death of Trajan in 117, and attests Marcellus was alive at least as late as that year. Since no Cornelius Dolabella is recorded as living after Marcellus, it is likely he was the last of his family.