Scribblers, Sculptors and Scribes

by Richard A LaFleur

  M HOLCONIVM

  PRISCVM • II VIR • I • D • POMARI • VNIVERSI

  CVM • HELVIO • VESTALE • ROG

  M(rcum) Holcnium Prscum ((duum))vir(um) i(re) d(cund) pmrnivers cum Helvi Vestle rog(ant).

  CIL 4.202: Another Pompeian programma for the same Holconius, this one from the Via di Mercurio. Roman interest groups would often collectively advertise their support for a political candidate; 20 or so such organizations are known from Pompeii, including muleteers, goldsmiths, and garlic-sellers.

  ire dcund: a legal phrase, lit. = for speaking about/ interpreting the law, referring to the judicial authority of the duumvirs.—pmrius, -, m., fruit-seller; “pomegranate” pmr = pmri m. nouns with a base ending in -i- commonly dropped that vowel before the long - gen. sg. and nom. and voc. pl. endings.—niversus, -a, -um, whole, entire; altogether, as a group; “universe,” “university.”—Helvi Vestle: Helvius Vestalis was perhaps leader or patron of this group of merchants.

  Programma for Holconius Priscus, Via di Mercurio, Pompeii, Italy (CIL 4.202)

  Mathew Olkovikas (from CIL)

  Magic Squares

  ROMA Rma, lim, Mil, amor.

  OLIM

  MILO

  AMOR

  CIL 4.8297: One of the two most famous ancient Roman “word squares,” specimens of which are found at Pompeii (like this graffito from the Domus Poppaeorum, known also as the House of the Menander) and elsewhere in the empire; both squares are “quadrate palindromes,” reading the same up and down, left to right, and right to left. This one makes very little sense to us (other than recalling the emperor Hadrian’s temple in the Forum, which had back-to-back, mirror-image sanctuaries to Roma and Amor/ Venus) and was doubtless invented for the sheer fun of the wordplay, but over the centuries both “magical squares” have been viewed as having mystical qualities of one sort or another. The ROMA-AMOR square doubtless inspired the medieval palindromes Rma summus amor (summus, -a, -um, highest, greatest) and Rm tibi subit mtibus bit amor (Love will come to you from Rome suddenly in its movements).

  Mil, Milnis, m., Milo, Roman cognomen. One of the two best known persons who bore the name was the 6th-cent. B.C. athlete, Milo of Croton; the proverbial “Arnold Schwarzenegger” of antiquity, Milo was reputedly so strong that he could carry a full-grown ox on his shoulders. The other famous, or rather infamous, Milo was Titus Annius Papianus Milo, tribune in 57 B.C., whom Cicero defended, unsuccessfully, for his murder of the popularist politician and Cicero’s nemesis, Publius Clodius Pulcher (“Pretty Boy Clodius”).—lim: whether intended by the anonymous inventor of this word square or not, the adv. lim is curiously appropriate to the “forward-backwardness” of the square, as it can mean both “once upon a time long ago” and “at some distant point in the faraway future.”

  Temple of Venus and Rome, Rome, Italy, second century A.D..

  James C. Anderson, jr.

  ROTAS Rots oper tenet Arep sator.

  OPERA

  TENET

  AREPO

  SATOR

  RIB 2.4.2447.20: Graffito from Corinium (modern Cirencester), Great Britain; some of the oldest examples are at Pompeii (CIL 4.8123, 8623), and others are known from Portugal, France, and Syria. This square at least construes syntactically, as a complete sentence, but, like the ROMA-AMOR square, ROTAS-SATOR likely originated as nothing more than a word game—and was a bit of a stretch at that, as Arep is not elsewhere attested in ancient Rome and was apparently invented by the ancient wordsmith to make his “magic” work! Both word squares are examples of the Romans’ well-attested fondness for palindromes, anagrams, name-play, and other sorts of word games. Early Christians reoriented the letters of the square into a cross reading PATERNOSTER down and across, leaving two A’s and O’s which were construed as standing for Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.

  rota, -ae, f., wheel; “rotate,” “rotor.” As sator clearly suggests an agricultural context, then we are perhaps to think, by METONYMY, of some sort of cart or wagon used on a farm.—opera, -ae, f., work, effort; attention, care; “operation” one might expect the prep. cum here, if this is an ABL. OF MANNER construction, but that, of course, would spoil the square!—Arep: the word is not otherwise attested; with most other editors, I assume this was intended to be a man’s name, 3rd decl., nom. case, but there have been numerous other ingenious suggestions for the word’s meaning.—sator, satris, m., sower, planter; begetter, father.

  PRVERBIA ET DICTA

  Mitte in aquam. (Erasmus Ad. 2.1.97: sc. as dir. obj. id or eum, i.e., any person or thing you want to be rid of.)

  Cvis Rmnus sum! (Cicero Verr. 2.5.162: The claim was supposed to insure a citizen would be tried before being punished, a convention the notorious Sicilian governor Verres violated, leading to his prosecution by Cicero.)

  capite ad peds. (Augustine Civ. D. 15.26: ps, pedis, m., foot; “pedal,” “pedestrian,” “centipede.”)

  Laus alit arts. (Seneca Ep. 102.16.)

  mals igitur mors abdcit, nn bons. (Cicero Tusc. 1.83: abdc, abdcere, abdx, abductum, = ab + dc, to lead away, remove; “abduct,” “abduction.”)

  Nec mortem effugere quisquam nec amrem potest. (Publilius Sent.: effugi, effugere, effg, effugitrum, = ex + fugi, to flee from, escape from, avoid; “refuge,” “fugitive.”—quisquam, quidquam, indef. adj. or pron., any; anyone, anything. A better motto than “death and taxes”!)

  grti excidistis. (Galatians 5.4: excid, excidere, excid, = ex + cad, to fall from, fall out; “accident,” “incident.”)

  Magna vs est cnscientiae. (Cicero Mil. 23.61: cnscientia, -ae, f., consciousness, knowledge; conscience; “conscientious.”)

  tium sine litters mors est et hominis vv sepultra. (Seneca Ep. 82.3: vvus, -a, -um, alive, living; “vivacious,” “vivid,” “revive.”—sepultra, -ae, f., burial; “sepulchre.”)

  Dum vtant stult vitia, in contrria currunt. (Horace Sat. 1.2.24: contrrius, -a, -um, opposite, reverse; contrary.)

  In fug foeda mors est, in victri glrisa. (Cicero Phil. 14.12.32: fuga, -ae, f., flight; “fugacious,” “fugue” cf. fugi, fugere.—foedus, -a, -um, offensive, foul; shameful, disgraceful.—glrisus, -a, -um, boastful, proud; glorious, illustrious, from glria, -ae.)

  Habit tcum. (Erasmus Ad. 1.6.87: habit [1], to live (in), dwell; “uninhabitable,” “habit.”)

  Nn parvs anim dat glria vrs. (Ovid Tr. 5.12.37.)

  Tacit clam venit illa pede. (Tibullus El. 1.10.33: tacitus, -a, -um, silent; unspoken; secret, hidden; “tacit,” “taciturn.”—clam, adv., secretly, stealthily.—illa: i.e., mors.)

  Bet vvere, honest, id est cum virtte, vvere. (Cicero Fin. 3.29: bet, adv. from betus, happily, blessedly; “beatific,” “beatitude.”—honest, adv., honorably; “honesty” honest…vvere: sc. est; i.e., bet vvere est honest vvere.)

  LITTERTRA

  Something Fishy?

  Salsum sine sals:

  Iecur coqus, ters, et mitts piper aut liqumen aut salem. Adds oleum. Iecur leporis aut haed aut agn aut pull et s volueris in frmell piscem frmbis. Oleum viridem supr adicis.

  Apicius Coq. 9, Thalassa-Mare (“Seafood”), 10.10: Our one surviving cookbook from ancient Rome is the De Re Coquinaria (“On the Subject of Cooking” or, freely, “The Art of Cooking”), often attributed to

  M. Gavius Apicius, a connoisseur of fine dining during the reign of Tiberius, but actually dating to the fourth century A.D.. Like many modern cookbooks, the volume is organized into titled “chapters” by type of food (meats, vegetables, seafood, etc.), and most of the recipes, like this one, have their own individual titles. Because of the cooking terms and names of food items, you need the numerous vocabulary glosses below—but this glimpse into the chef’s “creative genius” at work in preparing salsum SINE sals (!) will make the effort of translation worthwhile.

  salsus, -a, -um, salted; preserved with salt; salty; here SUBSTANTIVE, salted fish; “salsa,” “sauce.”—iecur, iecoris, n., liver.—coqu, coquere, cox, coctum, to prepare food, cook; t
he same root as in the title of Apicius’ book; “concoction.”—ter, terere, trv, trtum, to rub; “detritus.”—mitts: here apply.—piper, piperis, n., pepper.—liqumen, liquminis, n., liquid, fluid, sauce; liquamen (a popular fish sauce used for seasoning).—sl, salis, m., salt; wit; “saline,” “salinity.”—add, addere, addid, additum, = ad + d, to attach (to), add; “additive,” “additional.”—oleum, -, n., olive oil; “petroleum,” “oleomargarine.”—lepus, leporis, m., hare, rabbit; “Lepus,” the constellation.—haedus, -, m., young goat, kid.—agnus, -, m., lamb; “Agnus Dei.”—pullus, -, m., young animal; young bird, chick; young chicken, pullet; “poultry.”—vol, velle, volu, irreg. verb (but regular in perf. system), to wish, want, be willing; “volition,” “volunteer.”—frmella, -ae, f., DIMINUTIVE of frm, small shaped object, small form; “formula.”—piscis, piscis, m., fish; “piscivorous,” “Pisces,” the astrological sign.—frm (1), to form, shape, fashion.—viridis, -e, 3rd-decl. adj., green; “verdant” used to describe a high-quality oil made from olives just beginning to ripen. The acc. sg. ending here is -m., though oleum is generally treated as neuter.—supr, adv., over, above, on top; “supraliminal,” “supranormal.”—adici, adicere, adic, adiectum, to throw at, throw on, add; “adjective.”

  QUAESTINS: What would a chef’s, or host’s, purposes be in serving such a dish? What might your response be as a dinner guest? Can you think of foods you’ve been served that were made in unusual shapes or made to look like something they weren’t? On a grammatical point: note that all the instructions are given using the future indicative; what verb form might you have expected instead?

  Frontispiece and title page from an early, annotated edition of Apicius, De Arte Coquinaria, published in Amsterdam by J. Waesbergios in 1709

  Courtesy of the Morse Department of Special Collections, Hale Library, Kansas State University

  GRAMMATICA

  Nmina: List all the i-stem 3rd-declension nouns found in this chapter’s readings; what would their genitive plural forms be?

  List all the ablative case nouns and pronouns in the chapter’s readings, and identify their specific case uses (e.g., object of preposition, means, manner, accompaniment).

  CAPVT XV

  Princes of Youth, Pricing a Bride, and Pompeii’s Got Talent!

  Those holding power in Rome got plenty of propaganda value from the coinage their moneyers issued; the inscribed silver denarius in this chapter was meant in particular to advance the political ascendancy of Augustus’ two grandsons, Gaius and Lucius, whose premature deaths ended the emperor’s hopes for a direct descendant as his heir to the throne. Among the chapter’s other inscriptions are two graffiti—one insulting the intelligence of a fellow (whose name the scribbler misspelled!), the other announcing a singing contest in which the two rivals’ dream girl is empowered to judge—and epitaphs of both cultural and linguistic interest. From the proverbs and dicta you’ll learn that the Romans too knew that “looks can be deceiving.” The two Martial epigrams concluding the chapter reveal the poet’s modest definition of what constitutes a good book, and the relative worth of politicians, lawyers, poets, and auctioneers to a father with a marriageable daughter.

  Are you remembering always to read each Latin text aloud?—this exercise will help get the language into your head, and you into the Latin “comfort zone.” And be sure to read for comprehension before attempting an English translation.

  Grammatica nova: Numerals; genitive of the whole; genitive and ablative with cardinal numerals; ablative of time.

  NSCRPTINS

  Pompeian Idol?

  HIC DVO RIVALES CAONT VNA PVELLA TENET FASCES Hc duo rvls caont; na puella tenet fascs.

  CIL 4.9848: Painted in red on a wall in the Taberna Euxini; it looks like the lads engaged in a singing contest, with the girl of their dreams serving as judge!

  hc, adv., in this place, here.—rvlis, rvlis, m., one who shares the use of a stream (from rvus, -, m., stream, brook); rival (esp. in a romantic rivalry).—can, canere, cecin, cantum, to sing (about); “chant,” “cantor” canont = canunt.—fascis, fascis, m., bundle (esp. of sticks); usually pl., fasces, a bundle of rods, usually with an axe, carried by a high magistrate’s attendants (lictors) and symbolizing his power to command, punish, etc.; “fascist.”

  The Guy’s an Ignoramus!

  STRONIVS Stronnius nl scit.

  STRONNIVS

  NIL SCIT

  CIL 4.2409a: Graffito from a house on the Via dell’Abbondanza. The angry scribbler first misspelled his victim’s name, then tried again—if you’re calling someone an idiot, you’d better get the name right!

  Remains of houses on the Via dell’Abbondanza, Pompeii, Italy

  Robert I. Curtis

  Two Epitaphs

  VALERIVS • M • L • PHILOLOGVS QVTIA • SILVANA • VCXSOR VIRVM • ECXPECTO • MEVM Valerius, M(rc) l(bertus), Philologus. Qutia Silvna ucxsor. Virum ecxpect meum.

  CIL 12.5193: A funerary inscription from Narbonne, France; inscribed by Cutia Silvana on the tombstone of her husband, Valerius Philologus.

  Mrcus, -, m., regularly abbreviated M., Marcus, a very common praenomen, seen several times already in this text.—lbertus, -, m., freed slave, freedman; “libertine.”—Qutia: i.e., Cutia, a Roman nomen; qu- appears frequently for cu- in inscriptions, a reflection of pronunciation.—ucxsor…ecxpect: like Qutia, these forms reflect local conventions in spelling; the letter x in the classical Roman alphabet represented the “double consonant” sound -ks- (as in Eng. “axis”), so the extra -s- in the usual spelling exspect, though logical from ex + the root verb spect, was phonetically superfluous and eventually dropped, giving us Eng. “expect” the added -c- in the verb’s spelling here, and -cxs- in the noun, though also superfluous, represented the writer’s attempt to represent the sound unambiguously.

  D M

  TERRA TE

  NET CORPVS NO

  MEN LAPIS ATQVE

  ANIMAM AER QV

  AMMERVS SER

  D(s) m(nibus).

  Terra tenet corpus, nmen lapis, atque animam r.

  Qu(ntus) Ammerus, ser(vus).

  CIL 3.3247: From the burial of Quintus Ammerus, at Sirmium in Roman Pannonia (modern Mitrovitz, Croatia); no nomen is given, as the deceased was a servus. The sentence terra…r is a line of dactylic hexameter verse.

  ds mnibus: see “Epitaph of a Young Boy,” Capvt VII, if you do not recall the meaning.—lapis, lapidis, m., stone, pebble, rock; “lapidary.”—atque, conj., and, and also, and even.—anima, -ae, f., air (breathed by an animal), breath; life, soul, spirit; “animal,” “animated,” “animism.”—r, eris, m., air (as a substance, esp. as one of the “four elements” many ancients considered the basic components of the universe); “aerial.”—servus, -, m., slave; “servant,” “servile.”

  QUAESTI: What views of the afterlife seem to be reflected in these two epitaphs? In the second epitaph, think of the relationship between the two elements in each of the three phrases, terra/ corpus, nmen/ lapis, and animam/ r.

  Augustus and His Heirs Apparent

  Obverse:

  CAESAR AVGVSTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE

  Caesar Augustus, dv f(lius), Pater Patriae.

  Reverse:

  C L CAESARES AVGVSTI F COS DESIG PRINC IVVENT G(aius et) L(cius) Caesars, August f(li), C(n)s(uls) Dsig(nt), Prnc(ips) Iuvent(tis).

  Georgia Museum of Art 81.116.3: This silver denarius (a coin originally equivalent to 10 asses, the as being a copper coin of the lowest denomination, comparable to our penny) was minted at Lugdunum (modern Lyon), in Gaul, a major center of Augustan coinage. The obverse bears an image of the reigning emperor, Augustus, wearing a laurel crown, and is inscribed, beginning at the lower right and reading counter clockwise, with his name and honorific titles. The reverse depicts his grandsons Gaius (born in 20 B.C.) and Lucius (born 17 B.C.), the two sons of Agrippa and Augustus’ daughter Julia, who were both adopted by the emperor in 17 and were his potential successors until their premat
ure deaths in A.D.. 4 and 2, respectively; the spears and shields, and above them the ladle (simpulum) and curved staff (lituus) represent their military and priestly authority.

  dvus, -a, -um, divine, deified; Augustus’ adoptive father, Julius Caesar, had been deified by official proclamation in 42 B.C. and given the honorific title Dvus, thus making Augustus himself dv (Ili Caesaris) flius, a title he used to full advantage.—Pater Patriae: Augustus was granted this title by the Roman Senate in 2 B.C.—dsigntus, -a, -um, appointed (but not yet installed), elect, designate; while still only in their teens the brothers were named Cnsuls Dsignt and Prncips Iuventtis, both extraordinary honorific titles that suggested their political ascendancy.—prnceps, prncipis, m., chief, leader; prince, emperor; “principal,” “principate.”—iuvents, iuventtis, f., young men (collectively), the youth; men of military age; “juvenile” Prnceps Iuventtis, a title given during the Republic to leaders of the equestrian class, and subsequently to children of the imperial family.