r […]s[…Sevrus
QUAESTINS: What rhetorical devices does Catullus employ to emphasize the great distance he has traveled? Notice the final word in each of lines 2–4: what effect did the poet likely intend by so positioning these particular words? What poetic device contributes to the musicality of line 9? Addressing a person not present is a figure of speech known as APOSTROPHE; what is the effect of its use in this poem? Comment on Catullus’ use, and positioning, of the word frter in the poem—what is the cumulative effect?
On the Death of a Friend’s Daughter
C. Plnius Aefuln Marcelln su s.
Trstissimus haec tibi scrb, Fundn nostr fli minre dfnct. Qu puell nihil umquam fstvius, ambilius, nec modo longire vt sed prope immortlitte dignius vd. Nndum anns XIIII implverat, et iam ill anlis prdentia, mtrnlis gravits erat et tamen suvits puellris cum virginl vercundi. Ut illa patris cervcibus inhaerbat! Ut ns amcs paterns et amanter et modest complectbtur! Ut ntrcs, ut paedaggs, ut praeceptrs, pr su quemque offici, dligbat! Quam studis, quam intellegenter lctitbat! Ut parc custdtque ldbat! Qu illa temperanti, qu patienti, qu etiam cnstanti novissimam valetdinem tulit! Medics obsequbtur, sorrem patrem adhortbtur ipsamque s dstittam corporis vribus vigre anim sustinbat. Drvit hic ill usque ad extrmum, nec aut spati valetdinis aut met mortis nfrctus est, qu plrs gravirsque nbs causs relinqueret et dsderi et dolris. trste pln acerbumque fnus! morte ips mortis tempus indignius! Iam dstinta erat gregi iuven, iam lctus nptirum dis, iam ns voct. Quod gaudium qu maerre muttum est!
Pliny Ep. 5.16.1–6: Opening section of a letter from Pliny to Aefulanus Marcellinus, regarding the death of Minicia Marcella, daughter of their mutual friend Gaius Minicius Fundanus, a respected Roman senator and consular. Later in the letter Pliny describes his own distress at hearing Fundanus order that the money he had put aside for Minicia’s wedding be spent instead on her funeral. In the late 19th cent. the family’s tomb was unearthed in Rome and found to contain a grave altar with the young girl’s epitaph, as well as the epitaph and funerary urn of her mother, Statoria Marcella (who likely predeceased Minicia, as she is not mentioned in Pliny’s letter); the girl’s epitaph (CIL 6.16631) reads: D(s) m(nibus) Miniciae Mrcellae Fundn f(liae); v(xit) a(nns) XII, m(nsibus) XI, d(ibus) VII.
s.: = saltem; for this conventional form of salutation, see the letters of Seneca and Pliny in Capvt XXX.—minre: i.e., the younger; Minicia had a surviving older sister.—dfungor, dfung, dfnctus sum, to bring to an end; come to an end; die; “defunct.”—qu: = hc; as we have seen before, Lat. often employs a rel. where Eng. would use a demonstrative or pers. pronoun.—fstvus, -a, -um, festal; jovial, genial; “festive.”—ambilis, -e, loveable, endearing; “amiable.”—prope, adv., nearly, practically; “propinquity.”—immortlits, immortlittis, f., deathlessness, immortality.—nndum, adv., not yet.—imple, implre, implv, impltum, to fill up/ out, complete; “deplete,” “expletive.”—ill: DAT. OF POSSESSION, with erat, there was to her = she had.—anlis, -e, (characteristic) of an old woman.—prdentia, -ae, f., foresight, wisdom; “prudence.”—mtrnlis, -e, of a married woman; “matron,” “matrimony.”—gravits, gravittis, f., weight; seriousness, dignity, one of the cardinal Roman virtues; “gravity.”—suvits, suvittis, f., pleasantness, sweetness; charm; “suave,” “suavity.”—puellris, -e, of a girl, girlish.—virginlis, -e, of a maiden; “virginal.”—vercundia, -ae, f., restraint, modesty; “revere,” “reverent.”—ut, adv., how.—cervx, cervcis, f., often pl. for sg., neck; “cervical.”—inhaere, inhaerre, inhaes, inhaesum, to cling to, embrace; “inhere,” “inherent.”—amanter, adv., lovingly; “amatory.”—modest, adv., properly, modestly.—ntrx, ntrcis, f., child’s nurse, wet-nurse; “nutrient,” “nutrition.”—paedaggus, -, m., paedagogus, a slave who escorted young children to school and generally supervised their behavior; “pedagogy.”—praeceptor, praeceptris, m., teacher, tutor; “precept.”—studis, adv., eagerly, zealously, studiously.—intellegenter, adv., intelligently, smartly.—lctit (1), to read repeatedly, be in the habit of reading; “lectern.”—parc, adv., sparingly; moderately, calmly; “parsimony.”—custdt, adv., guardedly, cautiously, carefully; “custodian.”—ld, ldere, ls, lsum, to play (games); “allude,” “elude,” “illusion.”—temperantia, -ae, f., moderation, self-control; “temperance.”—cnstantia, -ae, f., steadiness, steadfastness; “constancy.”—valetd, valetdinis, f., (good/ bad) health; “valid,” “invalid.”—obsequor, obsequ, obsectus sum, to follow; comply with, obey; “obsequious.”—adhortor, adhortr, adhorttus sum, to encourage, cheer up; “exhortation.”—dstittus, -a, -um, devoid of, deprived of, lacking; “destitute.”—vigor, vigris, m., vigor, liveliness; “vigorous.”—sustine, sustinre, sustinu, to hold up, support; endure, bear, tolerate; “sustainability.”—dr (1), to harden; last, endure; “durable.”—extrmus, -a, -um, outermost, last, final; “extremity,” “in extremis.”—spatium, -, n., course; area, space; extent, length; (period of) time; “spatial.”—nfring, nfringere, nfrg, nfrctum, to break, crush; weaken, subdue; “infringe,” “infraction.”—qu, conj. and adv., from which circumstance, as a result of which; here introducing a RESULT CLAUSE.—dsderium, -, n., desire, longing (for someone or something absent); regret; “desideratum.”—dolor, dolris, m., pain; grief, sorrow; “doleful,” “condolences.”—pln, adv., plainly, clearly; truly.—fnus, fneris, n., funeral rites, funeral; death.—indignus, -a, -um, + abl., not worthy, unworthy; not deserved, unmerited; “indignation.”—dstin (1), to fix in place; settle on; engage; “destination.”—gregius, -a, -um, outstanding, excellent; “egregious.”—iuvenis, iuvenis, m./ f., youth, young person; “juvenile.”—lig, ligere, lg, lctum, to pick out, choose, select; “elect.”—nptiae, -rum, f. pl., marriage, wedding; “nuptials.”—maeror, maerris, m., sorrow, sadness.
QUAESTINS: Pliny’s letter reports one age for Minicia, her epitaph another: what are some reasons that might account for the discrepancy? Comment on two aspects of wordplay, and their effect, in the phrase corporis vribus vigre anim. Identify and comment on the effect of the ANAPHORA in the next to last sentence. What several things can be learned from this letter about the life of a young woman in a Roman senatorial family of the early empire?
Page from a six-leaf fragmentary uncial manuscript of the younger Pliny’s Epistulae, Italian, sixth century A.D..; this page contains Ep. 3.4.8–9 and 3.5.1–3. Ms. M. 462, The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York
The Pierpont Morgan Library / Art Resource, NY
GRAMMATICA
Nmina et Prnmina: List all the dative nouns and pronouns in the chapter’s readings, and identify the specific use of each.
CAPVT XXXVI
Romance, Rivalries, and Creating the World
This chapter’s inscriptions include two sets of graffiti containing a series of exchanges, in multiple hands, on the sweetness of romance and the bitterness of rivalry, another in which a scribbler addresses his girlfriend and implores her love, an election campaign ad endorsed by a Lady of the Night, and a notice scrawled near a homeowner’s door warning any prospective cactor to keep away or bear the wrath of Jove! Among the chapter’s proverbs and maxims is the satirist Persius’ grim pronouncement on what survives us after death. The chapter’s literary selections include three more of Martial’s 1500 Epigrams—one targeting a trifler who was Jack of All Trades and master of none, another carping at a talentless poetry critic, and a third with an ironic wish for a woman who murdered all her friends—as well as an elegy despairingly addressed by Catullus to the woman who has destroyed his heart and soul, and finally the opening verses of the Old Testament account of the creation of the world.
Grammatica nova: Jussive noun clauses; the irregular verb f.
NSCRPTINS
SOME LOVING, AND UNLOVELY, SCRIBBLINGS FROM POMPEII
Love Me, Do!
SECVNDVS
PRIME SVAE VBI
QVE ISSE SALVTE
ROGO DOMINA
VT ME AMES Secundus Prme suae ubique isse
salte
Graffito from the House of Volusius Iuvencus, Pompeii, Italy (CIL 4.8364)
Kay Stanton (from CIL)
CIL 4.8364: Graffito from the House of Volusius Iuvencus, at Pompeii, scribbled by Secundus to his sweetheart Prima; Secundus was feeling artistic, inscribing his “love letter” with a broad stilus and drawing a box around it, about 5” x 7”, perhaps so it would resemble a page of a tabella (writing tablet).
ubique, adv., anywhere; everywhere; “ubiquitous” here Secundus doubtless means both!—isse: a common variant for ipse.—saltem: sc. dcit, a form of greeting we have seen earlier in letters (e.g., “On the Death of a Friend’s Daughter,” in the previous chapter).—domina, -ae, f., female head of a household, mistress; “dominate,” “madonna” often used as a term of aff ection.
Love Is Sweet as Honey—You Wish!
AMANTES • VT • APES VITA MELLITA EXIGVNT VELLE AMANTES AMANTES CVREGES
1st hand:
Amants, ut aps, vta
2nd hand:
Velle
3rd hand:
Amants, amants, cregs!
CIL 4.8408: This series of three graffiti from the Casa degli Amanti (“House of the Lovers”), an exchange in which each line was written in a different hand, was inscribed on the purple background of a small painting of two ducks—not bees!
apis, apis, f., bee; “apiary.”—melltus, -a, -um, containing honey, honeyed; sweet as honey; “mellifluous.”—vellem: as we have seen before, and twice in the first graffito in this series, final -m was often dropped in spelling, a reflection of actual pronunciation, in which the letter often indicated nothing more than a nasalization of the preceding vowel; vellem here would be POTENTIAL SUBJUNCT., I would… cf. the sarcastic Eng. colloquialism, responding to someone’s hopeful characterization of a situation, “You wish!”—cregs: the word is unintelligible and the entire line poorly scribbled out; the editors of CIL suggest it may be a contraction of sorts for crae egents, and if that conjecture is right then the Pompeian who had the last word in this exchange shared the romantic outlook of the person who wrote the opening line.
Please Do NOT!
CACATOR • CAVE • MALVM
AVT • SI • CONTEMPSERIS • HABEAS
IOVE • IRATVM Cactor, cav malum, aut, s contempseris,
habes Iove
CIL 4.7716: Written to the left of a doorway in the house of Pascius Hermes; the admonition, perhaps understandably, was a common one (compare “And Other Villains,” Capvt IV).
cactor, cactris, m., defecator.—cave, cavre, cv, cautum, to beware of, avoid; “caveat,” “cautious.”—Iuppiter, Iovis, m., Jupiter, Jove; “jovial” (Jupiter doubtless would not be “jovial” in this sordid situation!).
“She Loves Me.”—“She Loves You NOT!”
1st hand:
SVCCESSVS TEXTOR AMAT COPONIAES ANCILLA NOMINE HIREDEM QVAE QVIDEM ILLVM NON CVRAT SED ILLE ROGAT ILLA COMISERETVR SCRIBIT RIVALIS VALE
2nd hand:
INVIDIOSE QVIA RVMPERES SEDARE NOLI FORMONSIOREM ET QVI EST HOMO PRAVESSIMVS ET BELLVS
1st hand:
DIXI SCRIPSI AMAS HIREDEM QVA TE NON CVRAT SIX SVCCESSO VT SVRA […]S[…SEVERVS
Severus:
Successus textor amat cpniaes ancilla
Scrbit rvlis; val!
Successus responds:
Invidise, quia rumperes, sedre nl frmnsirem—et qu est hom prvessimus et bellus.
Severus retorts:
Dx scrps: ams Hredem, qua
CIL 4.8259 and (the third segment above) 8258: A heated exchange of insults and threats between Severus and Successus, rivals for the aff ections of the slave-girl Iris. The initial volley and response were inscribed to the right of the entrance to the inn or tavern where she worked, on the Via del Tempio d’Iside, and the final retort, signed by Severus, was scribbled nearby.
Successus…ancillam: notice the SVO (subj.-verb-obj.) word order, the norm in Eng.; Lat. was an SOV language, but exceptions were very common.—textor, textris, m., weaver; “textile.”—cpniaes: alternate gen. sg. from cpnia (caupnia/ caupna), -ae, f., landlady, tavern-keeper, innkeeper.—ancilla, -ae, f., female slave, slave-girl; “ancilla,” “ancillary.”—Hredem: = ridem, reflecting Severus’ aspirated pronunciation; from ris, ridis, f., Iris, goddess of the rainbow, and a common Greek woman’s name; “iris,” “iridescent.”—crat: for this sense of crre, cf. poor Marcellus in “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not,” Capvt XVIII.—rogat illa: = rogat ut illa or rogat illam ut.—commiseror, commiserr, commisertus sum, to feel pity (for), be compassionate; “commiserate” Severus, not a superior speller, dropped one of the double-mm consonants, a comon, er, “common,” sort of spelling error in Eng. too.—rvlis, rvlis, m., one who shares the use of a stream (from rvus, -, m., stream, brook); rival (esp. in a romantic rivalry).—invidisus, -a, -um, envious, jealous; “invidious.”—quia, conj., since, because.—rumperes: Successus’ spelling needed help too; he meant rumperis, from rump, rumpere, rp, ruptum, to (cause to) split open, explode, burst, here “with jealousy” “rupture.”—sedre: to calm, makes little sense here; sectr, from sector, sectr, secttus sum, to pursue, chase, take vengeance upon, has been suggested and is a reasonable conjecture.—frmnsus (frmsus), -a, -um, handsome, beautiful; “formal.”—prvessimus: for prvissimus, from prvus, -a, -um, not straight, crooked; corrupt, wicked, and thus, here, capable of violence; “depraved,” “depravity.”—sx Success ut supr…s: this line is generally regarded as unintelligible; supr, adv., above, suggested in CIL, seems possible, and my own conjecture is that for sx Severus may have meant to write sc, commonly correlative with ut, so the phrase would mean just as (I said) to Successus above (“like I said ALREADY, Buster!”). Severus’ sx/ sc slip is easily understandable, as x had the same “ks” sound heard in the scsuccess collocation.
QUAESTINS: What does val literally mean?—given the hostile tone, what would be a good, lively translation here?
Aegle Votes Sabinus
CN • HELVIVM • SABINVM AED • D•R•P•O•V•F • AEGLE • ROGAT
Gn(aeum) Helvium Sabnum aed(lem), d(ignum) r(e) p(blicae), (r) v(s) f(acitis); Aegl rogat.
CIL 4. 7862: Electoral programma painted in black on a plastered wall of the tavern of Asellina; one wonders if Aegle’s endorsement was all that helpful, as she is generally supposed to have been a prostitute employed at the tavern. In other notices posted at the same location a woman named Maria endorses this same candidate (CIL 4.7866), and Asellina, along with another lady named Zmyrina, advertised their support for a candidate for duumvir (CIL 4.7863); for Asellina’s endorsement of another candidate, Ceius Secundus, see Capvt VI and photo.
Gnaeum: “Gnaeus” was a common cognomen; C in the earliest Roman alphabet represented in some words the hard G sound (as in “get”), and even after G was added to the alphabet, C was retained in abbreviating the names Gius (C.) and Gnaeus (Cn.).—aedlis, aedlis, m., aedile, elected official in charge of public works and entertainments.—r vs (ut) facitis: we’ve seen OVF before, a standard formula in these electoral notices (see, e.g., “Elect the Breadman,” Capvt XXXI); Aegle’s further endorsement in rogat may seem a bit redundant, but makes her point!
PRVERBIA ET DICTA
Brevis ipsa vta, sed mals fit longior. (Publilius Sent.)
Cinis et mns et fbula fs: vve memor lt, fugit hra. (Persius Sat. 5.152–53: cinis, cineris, m./ f., residue from a fire, ashes; “incinerate.”—mns, mnium, m. pl., shades, ghosts, spirits; here, as often, pl. form with sg. meaning.—memor, gen. memoris, + gen., mindful [of]; unforgetting; “memory.”—ltum, -, n., death; “lethal.”)
Mortem ubi contemns, omns vceris mets. (Publilius Sent.)
Ctdi damntur qu semper timet. (Publilius Sent.: damn [1], to condemn; “damnation.”)
Damnt lingua vcem habet, vim nn habet. (Publilius Sent.)
Lucrum sine damn al
terus fier nn potest. (Publilius Sent.: lucrum, -, n., profit, gain; “lucrative.”—damnum, -, n., financial penalty, fine; loss; “condemn.”)
Cito fit quod d volunt. (Petronius Sat. 76.)
Quidquid fit cum virtte, fit cum glri. (Publilius Sent.)
Quod nm nvit, paene nn fit. (Apuleius Met. 10.3: nsc, nscere, nv, ntum, to get to know, learn; “cognition,” “recognize.”—paene, adv., almost, nearly; “peninsula,” “penultimate.”)
Vae, put, deus f! (Suetonius Vesp. 23.4: the dying words of the emperor Vespasian, a jokester to the end, according to his biographer!)
Urbs cnstituit aets, hra dissolvit; moment fit cinis, di silva. (Seneca Q. Nat. 3.27.2: cnstitu, cnstituere, cnstitt, cnstittum, to found, establish; “constitute,” “constitution.”—dissolv, dissolvere, dissolv, dissoltum, to break into parts, dismantle; “dissolve,” “dissolute.”—momentum, -, n., movement, push; instant, moment; “momentum,” “momentous.”—silva, -ae, f., forest, woods; “sylvan,” “Transylvania.”)
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