QUAESTINS: For what three items involved in memorializing Scaurus were public funds expended? What does this suggest about his status in the Pompeian community?
Epitaph from the tomb of Aulus Umbricius Scaurus, Pompeii, Italy (CIL 10.1024)
Robert I. Curtis
To a Wife and Physician
D • M • S
IVLIAE SATVRNINAE
ANN • XXXXV
VXORI INCOMPARABILI
MEDICAE OPTIMAE
MVLIERI SANCTISSIMAE
CASSIVS PHILIPPVS
MARITVS OB MERITIS
H•S•E•S•T•T•L D(s) m(nibus) s(acrum). Iliae Saturnnae, ann(rum) XXXXV, uxr incomparbil, medicae optimae, mulier snctissimae, Cassius Philippus martus, ob merits. H(c) s(ita) e(st); s(it) t(ibi) t(erra) l(evis).
ILS 7802: Cassius Philippus dedicated this funerary inscription to his wife, Julia Saturnina, a doctor; from Augusta Emerita (Merida, Portugal).
ds mnibus: you have seen the phrase frequently, e.g., in “Epitaph for Clodia Charis,” Capvt XXXIII.—sacer, -cra, -crum, consecrated to a deity, sacred.—incomparbilis, -e, beyond comparison, unequalled, matchless; “incomparable.”—snctus, -a, -um, sacrosanct, inviolate; sacred, holy; upright, virtuous; “sanctuary,” “sanctify.”—martus, -, m., husband; “marital.”—ob, prep. + acc. (rarely abl.), in front of, in the way of; on account of; “obstacle,” “off er.”—meritum, -, n., reward; worthiness; service; “meritorious.”—hc sita est: if you don’t recall the meaning, see “Forever in My Eyes and in My Heart,” Capvt XXXVIII.
PRVERBIA ET DICTA
heu, quam miserum est fier metuend senem. (Publilius Sent.: heu = heu.)
Ntrtur vent vent restinguitur ignis. (Ovid Rem. Am. 807: ntri, ntrre, ntrv, ntrtum, to nourish, rear; “nutriment,” “nourish.”—restingu, restinguere, restnx, restnctum, to extinguish, put out again; “extinct.”—Note the effect of the CHIASMUS.)
Avidum esse oportet nminem, minim senem. (Publilius Sent.: avidus, -a, -um, greedy, covetous; “avid.”)
Hominem experr multa pauperts iubet. (Publilius Sent.)
Inirirum remedium est oblvi. (Publilius Sent.: oblvi, oblvinis, f., forgetfulness, forgetting; “oblivion,” “oblivious.”)
Audend virts crscit, tardand timor. (Publilius Sent.: tard [1], to slow down; delay; “tardy,” “retard.”)
Dlberand discitur sapientia. (Publilius Sent.: dlber [1], to consider, deliberate.)
Dlberand saepe perit occsi. (Publilius Sent.: based on this dictum and the one preceding, it seems we should think twice before, er, thinking twice!)
Iniriam aurs quam ocul facilius ferunt. (Publilius Sent.)
Mults mintur, qun facit iniriam. (Publilius Sent.: minor, minr, mintus sum, + dat., to speak menacingly to, threaten; “minatory,” “menace.”)
Male imperand summum imperium mittitur. (Publilius Sent.)
Negand causa avr numquam dficit. (Publilius Sent.: dfici, dficere, dfc, dfectum, to fail; be lacking; “deficient,” “defect.”)
Necesse est minima maximrum esse initia. (Publilius Sent.)
Nm timend ad summum pervnit locum. (Publilius Sent.: perveni, pervenre, pervn, perventum, to come through to, arrive at, reach; “parvenu.”)
Vulg dcitur mendcem memorem esse oportre. (Quintilian Inst. 4.2.91: vulg, adv., commonly, widely; “vulgar,” “divulge.”—mendx, gen. mendcis, prone to lying, untruthful; “mendacity,” “mendacious.”—memor, gen. memoris, mindful [of]; having a good memory, unforgetting; “memorial.”)
LITTER TRA
Two More Apophorta:
Umbella
Accipe quae nimis vincant umbrcula sls:
sit licet et ventus, t tua vla tegent.
Martial Epig. 14.28: A little note to accompany a gift umbrella (synonyms for which were umbella, -ae, f., and umbrculum, -, n.); the meter of this epigram and the next is elegiac couplet.
nimius, -a, -um, too much, excessive; “nimiety.”—licet, conj. + subjunct., although, even if; “license,” “illicit.”—vlum, -, n., awning; “velum,” “velar” i.e., this new umbrella, a personal “awning.”—teg, tegere, tx, tctum, to cover, hide, protect; “protection.”
Ferrmenta Tnsria
Tondends haec arma tib sunt apta capills;
unguibus hic longs tilis, illa gens.
Martial Epig. 14.36: This couplet went along with a set of barber’s tools, doubtless including scissors (forfex, forficis, f./ m.) and a razor (novcula, -ae, f.). In ancient barber shops one could get, besides a shave and a haircut, manicures and minor surgery!
Roman scissors. Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Courtesy of Historical Collections and Services, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia
Engraved bronze razor, Roman North Africa. Louvre, Paris, France
Réunion des Musées Nationaux / Art Res., NY
ferrmentum, -, n., iron tool; “ferrous.”—tnsrius, -a, -um, of/ relating to a barber, barber’s; “tonsorial.”—tonde, tondre, totond, tnsum, to shear, clip.—aptus, -a, -um, fit (for), suitable (to/ for); “apt,” “aptitude.”—capillus, -, m., hair; “capillary.”—unguis, unguis, m., fingernail.—gena, -ae, f., cheek; “gena.”
Bringing Water to Rome
Ab urbe condit per anns quadringents quadrgintnum content furunt Rmns aqurum qus aut ex Tiber aut ex putes aut ex fontibus hauribant. Fontium memoria cum sanctitte adhc exstat et colitur; salubrittem aegrs corporibus adferre crduntur, scut Camnrum et Apollinis et Iturnae. Nunc autem in urbem nfluunt aqua Appia, Ani Vetus, Mrcia, Tepula, Ilia, Virg, Alsietna quae eadem voctur Augusta, Claudia, Ani Novus. M. Valeri Maxim P. Deci Mre cnsulibus, ann post initium Samnitic bell tricsim, aqua Appia in urbem inducta est ab Appi Claudi Crass cnsre, cui poste Caec fuit cognmen, qu et Viam Appiam Port Capn usque ad urbem Capuam mniendam crvit.
Frontinus Aq. 1.4–5: Sextus Julius Frontinus, consul in A.D.. 70 and governor of Britain in the mid-70s, is best known for his two-volume work De Aquis Urbis Romae, a careful examination of the history, engineering, and management of Rome’s aqueducts and elaborate water-supply system. Though at times highly technical, the work is clearly written and remains an invaluable source for the study of public works projects in the Roman empire generally. Rome ultimately had 11 aqueducts, extending collectively over 200 miles, that brought millions of gallons of water into the city daily.
ab…condit: lit., from the founded…, but more idiomatically from the founding of…, a conventional form employed for dating years in the Roman calendar.—quadringent, -ae, -a, 400.—quadrgint, indecl., 40.—contentus, -a, -um, content, satisfied (with).—sus, -s, m., use; utility, usefulness; need.—Tiberis, Tiberis, m., Tiber river.—puteus, -, m., well.—fns, fontis, m., spring; “font,” “fountain.”—hauri, haurre, haus, haustum, to draw out; drink; “exhaust.”—sanctits, sanctittis, f., inviolability; sanctity, holiness; “sacrosanct.”—adhc, adv., yet, still.—exst, exstre, exstit, to stand out; exist, be found; “extant.”—col, colere, colu, cultum, to live in, inhabit; cultivate, tend; “culture.”—salubrits, salubrittis, f., good health; “salubrious.”—aeger, -gra, -grum, sick, unhealthy.—scut, adv. and conj., as, just as, as it were.—Camna, -ae, f., Camena, one of a group of water deities associated with a sacred grove outside Rome’s Porta Capena (a gate in the old Servian wall leading south from Rome on the Via Appia); the Camenae were sometimes identifed with the Muses; with Camnrum (as well as Apollinis and Iuturnae), sc. fonts.—Apoll,
Aqua Claudia, first century A.D..; begun by the emperor Caligula and completed by Claudius, this major aqueduct is described in detail by Frontinus. The segment shown is about three miles southeast of Rome’s city center.
Giorgio Clementi
Apollinis, m., Apollo, the sun god; the location of this spring is unkown.—Iturna, -ae, f., Juturna, nymph associated with a spring on the south side of Rome’s Forum.—nflu, nfluere, nflx, nflxum, to flow into; “influx,” “influence.”—Appia…Ani Nov
us: all names of aqueducts carrying water into Rome, the Appia or Appian, Anio Vetus (old Anio), the Marcia(n), etc.—M(rc)…cnsulibus: in the Roman dating system years were conventionally identified by the names of the two consuls, usually, as here, in an ABL. ABSOLUTE; freely, in the consulship of Marcus Valerius Maximus and Publius Decius Mus, i.e., 312 B.C.—Samniticus, -a, -um, of/ relating to the Samnites (inhabitants of Samnium, a region in south-central Italy), Samnite; Rome defeated the Samnites in a series of wars fought in the 4th and 3rd cents. B.C. over control of southern Italy.—trc(n)simus, -a, -um, 30th.—indc, indcere, indx, inductum, to lead in; “induct,” “induction.”—Appi Claudi Crass: Appius Claudius Crassus, a leading Roman senator of the late 4th–early 3rd cents., is well known for commissioning during his censorship in 312 Rome’s first aqueduct and the great southern highway, the “Appian Way,” mentioned here.—cnsor, cnsris, m., censor, one of the high-ranking Roman officials appointed every four or five years to update citizen lists and deal with a variety of public works projects.—Caec: dat. by attraction into the case of the rel. pron. cui, itself DAT. OF POSSESSION; in normal Eng. idiom we would say “who had the cognomen Caecus,” but what is the lit. translation? Appius was given the name after losing his sight in his later years (the Romans were never bashful about calling attention to disabilities in their cognomina).—Capua, -ae, f., Capua, an important city in Campania, north of Naples.—mni, mnre, mnv, mntum, to fortify, defend; build; mniendam here with Viam Appiam; “munitions.”
To Everything There Is a Season
Omnia tempus habent et sus spatis trnseunt niversa sub cael: tempus nscend et tempus moriend, tempus plantand et tempus vellend quod planttum est, tempus occdend et tempus snand, tempus dstruend et tempus aedificand, tempus flend et tempus rdend, tempus plangend et tempus saltand, tempus spargend lapids et tempus colligend, tempus amplexand et tempus long fier complexibus, tempus acqurend et tempus perdend, tempus custdiend et tempus abiciend, tempus scindend et tempus cnsuend, tempus tacend et tempus loquend, tempus dlctinis et tempus odi, tempus bell et tempus pcis.
* * *
“A time to love, a time to hate, a time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.”
PETE SEEGER, “TURN, TURN, TURN”
* * *
Ecclesiastes 3.1–8: An often quoted passage from the Old Testament, and an inspiration for songwriter Pete Seeger’s classic anthem for peace, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” which was recorded by the rock group the Byrds in 1965 and covered by countless other bands since then.
spatium, -, n., course; area, space; extent, length; (period of) time; “spatial.”—niversus, -a, -um, the whole of, entire; as a group, united; pl., all without exception; “universal,” “university.”—plant (1), to propagate, plant.—vell, vellere, vuls, vulsum, to tear out by the roots, pluck; “revulsion.”—occd, occdere, occs, occsum, to cut down; kill, slay; “homicide.”—sn (1), to heal; “sanitarium,” “sane.”—dstru, dstruere, dstrx, dstrctum, to demolish, pull down; “destruction.”—aedific (1), to erect (a building), build; “edifice,” “edifying.”—fle, flre, flv, fltum, to weep, cry.—plang, plangere, plnx, plnctum, to beat; beat the breast, mourn; “plangent.”—salt (1), to dance; “desultory.”—sparg, spargere, spars, sparsum, to scatter; scatter seed, sow; “sparse,” “disperse.”—lapis, lapidis, m., stone, pebble, rock; “lapidary.”—collig, colligere, collg, collctum, to gather together, collect; “collection.”—amplexor, amplexr, amplextus sum, to hold lovingly in the arms, embrace.—complexus, -s, m., embrace; “complexity.”—acqur, acqurere, acqusv, acqustum, to add to one’s possessions, acquire, gain; “acquisition,” “acquisitive.”—perd, perdere, perdid, perditum, to destroy, ruin, lose; “perdition.”—custdi, custdre, custdv, custdtum, to keep (safe), protect; to guard, watch over, observe; “custodial.”—abici, abicere, abic, abiectum, to cast away, discard; “abject.”—scind, scindere, scid, scissum, to split, cleave; tear apart, rend; cut, slice; “scissors,” “rescission.”—cnsu, cnsuere, cnsu, cnstum, to sew (together); “suture.”—dlcti, dlctinis, f., love; “predilection.”
Harvesting the Day
T n quaesiers (scre nefs) quem mihi, quem tibi
fnem d dederint, Leucono, nec Babylnis
temptrs numers. Ut melius quidquid erit pat,
seu plrs hiems seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
quae nunc opposits dbilitat pmicibus mare
5
Tyrrhnum. Sapis, vna liqus, et spati brev
spem longam resecs. Dum loquimur, fgerit invida
aets: carpe diem, quam minimum crdula poster.
Horace Carm. 1.11: Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 65–8 B.C.) is one of the most admired of Roman poets, second perhaps only to Vergil. He is best known for two volumes of satires, which he wrote in his late 20s and early 30s and which exerted a major influence on the genre’s later development, and four books of lyric poems titled Carmina or “Odes.” In this ode, one of his best known, Horace urges his (probably fictitious) addressee Leuconoe—and us!—against fruitlessly speculating about the future but instead to reap the benefits of the present day. Meter: greater Asclepiadean.
quaesiers…temptrs: common contracted perf. tense forms, = quaesvers/ temptvers; the perf. was regular in prohibitions (negative JUSSIVE CLAUSES).—nefs, indecl. noun, off ence against divine law, sacrilege; “nefarious” here sc. est.—fnem: sc. vtae.—Babylnius, -a, -um, of Babylon/ Babylonia, country in the south of modern Iraq.—tempt (1), to test, try (out); “attempt.”—numers: a reference to the numerical charts in the system of astrology that the Babylonians are credited with highly systematizing and which was quite popular among many Romans, though at times banned by the state.—ut, adv., how.—seu or sve, conj., or if; whether; seu…seu, whether…or.—plrs: we have seen this alternate acc. pl. ending -s for -s before.—hiems, hiemis, f., winter; “hiemal.”—tribu, tribuere, tribu, tribtum, to share, apportion; grant, bestow; “tribute,” “distribute.”—Iuppiter, Iovis, m., Jupiter, Jove; “jovial,” “Jovian.”—ultimam: what noun must be supplied with this?—oppositus, -a, -um, placed in front of, opposite, facing; hostile; “opposition.”—dbilit (1), to deprive of power, weaken; “debilitate.”—pmex, pmicis, m., pumice, (volcanic) stone; here the rocky cliffs on the shore.—Tyrrhnus, -a, -um, Tuscan, Etruscan, Tyrrhenian; the mare Tyrrhnum lies off the west coast of Italy.—liqu (1), to make liquid; make clear, strain; i.e., with vna, to remove the sediment in preparation for drinking.—longam: i.e., for a long life.—resec, resecre, resecu, resectum., to cut back, prune, trim (esp. trees, vines); “resection.”—invidus, -a, -um, envious, grudging; “invidious.”—crdulus, -a, -um, + dat., trusting (in), believing (in); “credulous.”—posterus, -a, -um, future, later; the next; “posterity” with poster sc. di.
QUAESTINS: Comment in detail on the purposes and effects of the poem’s nature imagery. Why does Horace use winter, and not, say, summer or spring, as the measure of a person’s life? How is the image of the cliffs’ action on the sea in 5–6 the opposite of what one would expect? How are the images evoked by the verbs resecs and carpe especially apt for an ancient Roman audience? Why should we not translate carpe as “seize”? What common poetic figure is employed in the phrase invida aets, and how is its effect intensified by the word order?
GRAMMATICA
Verba: Make separate lists of all the gerunds in the chapter’s readings, and all the gerundives, and then identify the specific syntactical usage of each.
CAPVT XL
The Imperative to Love, Some of Life’s Celebrations, and the Augustan Legacy to Rome
Among this final chapter’s dicta is a question central to the action of Vergil’s Aeneid, whether the gods suffer from the human stain of wrath; on a lighter note you’ll read a wrathy poem by Catullus saluting a woman who lacked all the charms his beloved Lesbia possessed. The chapter’s inscriptions include: a verse graffito wishing all lovers well and cursing any who stand in their way; a dipinto celebrating the landslide victory of a Pompeian politico; and anothe
r Vindolanda tablet, this one an autographed invitation to an army wife’s birthday party—possibly the oldest surviving document in Latin bearing a woman’s handwriting. Even emperors celebrated birthdays, as we see from a greeting sent by the younger Pliny to Trajan, and from the monarch’s terse reply. It was during the same emperor’s reign that the angry satirist Juvenal conceded, fearing retaliation, that he could safely wage his war of words only against the dead. The principate Trajan inherited had been bequeathed to him and his political forbears ultimately by Augustus, Rome’s first prnceps, excerpts from whose chronicle of imperial achievements conclude this chapter and our book.
Grammatica nova: The uses of -ne, num, and nnne in direct questions; fear clauses; genitive and ablative of description.
NSCRPTINS
Love and Let Love
QVIS AMAT VALEAT PEREAT QUI NESCIT AMARE BIS TANTO PEREAT QVISQVIS AMARE VETAT
Graffito from the house of Lucius Caecilius Jucundus, Pompeii, Italy (CIL 4.4091)
Mathew Olkovikas (from CIL)
Scribblers, Sculptors and Scribes Page 32