INSCRIPTION DU JOUR

"courtesy"

This is something I hope will be a regular feature ... an inscription dated to the date of entry in the weblog (or even a letter of Cicero). This particular inscription of a judicial decision was found among the legal documents of the Sulpicii at  Pompeii and dates from 38-54 A.D./C.E..

original text:

[ ]ETIVS FIRMVS 
[ ]NTIAVIT L AELIO 
[ ]ENTINO VTI PVERVM 
FELICEM SERVVM IN POTESTA 
TE SVA HABERET 
ACTVM CAPVAE 
VI K SEPT T AXIO T MVSSIDIO 
POLLIANO COS

restored:

[L(ucius) Lucr]etius Firmus
[denu]ntiavit L(ucio) Aelio
[Rep?]entino uti puerum 
Felicem servum in potesta
te sua haberet 
actum Capuae
VI K(alendas) Sept(embres) T(ito) Axio T(ito) Mussidio
Polliano co(n)s(ulibus) 

 translation

Lucius Firmus ordered Lucius Aelius Repentinus to retain the boy Felix as a slave under his authority. Transacted at Capua on August 27 in the consulship of Titus Axius and Titus Mussidius Pollianus.

I have just noted (thanks to Google) that my translation of this document is virtually identical to that of Gregory Rowe, who has a running translation  of the Tabulae Pompeianae Sulpiciorum online as a .pdf document. Rowe has an excellent in-progress site of his research into the so-called Murecine Tablets (the present inscription is taken from that collection) ... definitely worth a look.

further bibliography at the EDH ...

::Wednesday, August 27, 2003 5:44:11 AM::
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HOWLER: Education is a Bitter Pill

Under that headline in a rant to the editor at the Salt Lake Tribune, we read "Education is derived from the ancient Greek word educare which meant "to bring forth out of."" The letter concludes "Want real reform? Ask the students!" Er ... no. But it wouldn't hurt to ask the teachers 
 

::Wednesday, August 27, 2003 5:00:09 AM::
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NUNTII: Classical Influence on Martin Luther King Jr.

With the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech coming up, the rogueclassicist was wondering how he might incorporate it into this space. Turns out others have pondered King's Classical influences as well, including the University of Florida's Lewis Sussman, who has an article (not online) on the subject in the current issue of Classical Bulletin (which I didn't think was still publishing!). There's a nice summary in AScribe, however, in which we are alerted to King's (obvious?) connection to the Antigone and various other Classical influences. Read more (the site was very wonky this a.m.) ...

(noted in passing: Classics is alive and well at UF!!)

::Wednesday, August 27, 2003 4:38:18 AM::
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This Day in Ancient History

ante diem vi kalendas septembres

• Roman festival of Volturnalia (probably to be identified with the river divinity of the Tiber)
• 479 B.C. -- Greek forces defeat Persian forces under Mardonius at Plataea (trad.?)
• 413 B.C. -- lunar eclipse which caused hesitation amongst Athenian forces under Nikias in Sicily; the subsequent delay ultimately led to their destruction

::Wednesday, August 27, 2003 4:16:30 AM::
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