LATIN INSCRIPTIONS Latin inscriptions may be classified on much the same lines as Greek; but certain broad distinctions may be drawn at the outset. They are generally more standardized as to form and as to content, not only in Rome and Italy, but also throughout the provinces of the Roman empire. One of the chief difficulties in deciphering Latin inscriptions lies in the very extensive use of initials and abbreviations. These are of great number and variety, and while some of them can be easily interpreted as belonging to well-known formulae, ,others offer considerable difficulty, espe cially to the inexperienced student. A mere list of such initials and abbreviations occupies 68 pages in R. Cagnat's Cours d'Epi graphie Latine: a selection is given in this work in the article ABBREVIATION. Often the same initial may have many different meanings according to the context. Some common formulae such as V.S.L.M. (votum solvit libens merito), or H.M.H.N.S. (hoc monumentum heredem non sequ'etur) offer little difficulty, but there are many which are not so obvious and leave room for con jecture. Often the only way to determine the meaning is to search through a list of initials, such as those given by Cagnat, until a formula is found which fits the context.
Most of what has been said about Greek inscriptions applies to Roman also. The commonest materials in this case also are stone, marble and bronze; but a more extensive use is made of stamped bricks and tiles, which are often of historical value as identifying and dating a building or other construction. The same applies to leaden water pipes which frequently bear dates and names of officials. Terra-cotta lamps also frequently have their makers' names and other information stamped upon them. Arms, and especially shields, sometimes bear the name and corps of their owners. Leaden discs were also used, to serve the same purpose as modern identification discs. Inscriptions are also found on sling bullets—Roman as well as Greek; there are also numerous classes of tesserae or tickets of admission to theatres or other shows.
As regards the contents of inscriptions, there must evidently be a considerable difference between the records of a number of independent city states and an empire including almost all the civilized world ; but municipalities maintained much of their independent traditions in Roman times, and consequently their inscriptions often follow the old formulae.
The classification of Roman inscriptions may, therefore, follow the same lines as the Greek, except that certain categories are absent, and that some others, not found in Greek, are of con siderable importance.
(a) Religious.—I. Dedications and Foundations of Temples, etc.—These are very numerous ; and the custom of placing the name of the dedicator in a conspicuous place on the building was prevalent, especially in the case of dedications by emperors or officials, or by public bodies. Restoration or repair was often recorded in the same manner. In the case of small objects the dedication is usually simple in form ; it usually contains the name of the god or other recipient and of the donor, and a common formula is D.D. (dedit, donavit), often with additions such as L.M. (libens merito). Such dedications are often the result of a vow, and V.S. (votum solvit) is therefore often added. Be quests made under the wills of rich citizens are frequently recorded by inscriptions ; these might either be for religious or for social purposes.
2. Priests and O fficials.—A priesthood was frequently a political office, and consequently is mentioned along with political honours in the list of a man's distinctions. The priesthoods that a man had held are usually mentioned first in inscriptions, before his civil offices and distinctions. Religious offices, as well as civil, were restricted to certain classes, the highest to those of senatorial rank, the next to those of equestrian status; many minor offices, both in Rome and in the provinces, are enumerated in their due order.
3. Regulations as to Religion and Cult.—Among the most inter esting of these is the ancient song and accompanying dance per formed by the priests known as the Arval Brothers. This is, however, not in the form of a ritual prescription, but a detailed record of the due performance of the rite. An important class of documents is the series of calendars that have been found in Rome and in various Italian towns. These give notice of religious festivals and anniversaries, and also of the days available for various purposes.
4. Colleges.—The various colleges for religious purposes were very numerous. Many of them, both in Rome and Italy, and in provincial municipalities, were of the nature of priesthoods. Some were regarded as offices of high distinction, and were open only to men of senatorial rank ; among these were the Augurs, the Fetiales, the Salii; also the Sodales Divorum Augustorum in imperial times. The records of these colleges sometimes give no informa tion beyond the names of members, but these are often of con siderable interest. Haruspices and Luperci were of equestrian rank.
(b) Political and Social.—I. Codes of Law and Regulations. —Our information as to these is not mainly drawn from inscrip tions and, therefore, they need not here be considered. On the other hand the word lex (law) is usually applied to all decrees of the Senate or other bodies, whether of legislative or of adminis trative character. It is, therefore, best to consider all together under the heading of public decrees.
2. Laws and Plebiscites, Senatus Consulta, Decrees of Magis trates or later of Emperors.—A certain number of these dating from republican times, are of considerable interest. One of the earliest relates to the prohibition of Bacchanalian orgies in Italy; it takes the form of a message from the magistrates, stating the authority on which they acted. Laws all follow a fixed formula, according to the body which has passed them. First there is a statement that the legislative body was consulted by the appropriate magistrate in due form; then follows the text of the law ; and finally the sanction, the statement that the law was passed. In decrees of the Senate the formula differed somewhat. They began with a preamble giving the names of the consulting magistrates, the place and conditions of the meeting; then came the subject submitted for decision, ending with the formula QDERFP (quid de ea re fieri placeret) ; then came the decision of the Senate, opening with DERIC (de ea re ita censuerunt). C. is added at the end, to indicate that the decree was passed. In imperial times, the emperor sometimes addressed a speech to the Senate, advising them to pass certain resolutions, or else, especially in later times, gave orders or instructions directly, either on his own initiative or in response to questions or refer ences. The number and variety of such orders is such that no classification of them can be given here. One of the most famous is the edict of Diocletian, fixing the prices of all commodities. Copies of this in Greek as well as in Latin, have been found in various parts of the Roman empire.
3. Records of Building, etc.—A very large number of inscrip tions record the building or repair of public buildings by private individuals, by magistrates, Roman or provincial, and by em perors. In addition to the dedication of temples, we find inscrip tions recording the construction of aqueducts, roads, especially on milestones, baths, basilicas, porticos and many other works of public utility. In inscriptions of early period, often nothing is given but the name of the person who built or restored the edifice, and a statement that he had done so. But later it was usual to give more detail as to the motive of the building, the name of the emperor or a magistrate giving the date, the authority for the building, and the names and distinctions of the builders; then follows a description of the building, the source of the ex penditure (e.g. S.P., sua petunia), and finally the appropriate verb for the work done, whether building, restoring, enlarging or other wise improving. Other details are sometimes added, such as the name of the man under whose direction the work was done.
4. Military Documents.—These vary greatly in content, and are among the most important documents concerning the ad ministration of the Roman empire. "They are numerous and of all sorts—tombstones of every degree, lists of soldiers' burial clubs, certificates of discharge from service, schedules of time expired men, dedications of altars, records of building or of engi neering works accomplished. The facts directly commemorated are rarely important." But when the information from hundreds of such inscriptions is collected together, "you can trace the whole policy of the imperial Government in the matter of recruiting, to what extent and till what date legionaries were raised in Italy ; what contingents for various branches of the service were drawn from the provinces, and which provinces provided most ; how far provincials garrisoned their own countries, and which of them, like the British recruits, were sent as a measure of precaution to serve elsewhere; or, finally, at what epoch the empire grew weak enough to require the enlistment of barbarians from beyond its frontiers." (F. Haverfield, in Authority and Archaeology, p. 5. Treaties and Agreements.—There were many treaties be tween Rome and other states in republican times; but we do not, as a rule, owe our knowledge of these to inscriptions, which are very rare in this earlier period. In imperial times, to which most Latin inscriptions belong, international relations were subject to the universal domination of Rome, and consequently the docu ments relating to them are concerned with reference to the central authority, and often take the form of orders from the Emperor.
6. The custom of proxeny belonged to Greece. What most nearly corresponded to it in Roman times was the adoption of some distinguished Roman as its patron, by a city or state. The relation was then recorded, usually on a bronze tablet placed in some conspicuous position in the town concerned. The patron probably also kept a copy in his house, or had a portable tablet which would ensure his recognition and reception.
7. Honorary.—Honorary inscriptions are extremely common in all parts of the Roman world. Sometimes they are placed on the bases of statues, sometimes in documents set up to record some particular benefaction or the construction of some public work. The offices held by the person commemorated, and the distinctions conferred upon him are enumerated in a regularly established order (curses honorum), either beginning with the lower and pro ceeding step by step to the higher, or in reverse order with the highest first. Religious and priestly offices are usually mentioned before civil and political ones. These might be exercised either in Rome itself, or in the various municipalities of the empire. There was also a distinction drawn between offices that might be held only by persons of senatorial rank, those that were assigned to persons of equestrian rank, and those of a less distinguished kind. It follows that when only a portion of an inscription has been found, it is often possible to restore the whole in accordance with the accepted order.
8. Signatures of Artists.—When these are attached to statues, it is sometimes doubtful whether the name is that of the man who actually made the statue, or of the master whose work it reproduces. Thus there are two well-known copies of a statue of Hercules by Lysippus, of which one is said to be the work of Lysippus, and the other states that it was made by Glycon. An other kind of artist's or artificer's signature that is commoner in Roman times is to be found in the signatures of potters upon lamps and various kinds of vessels ; they are usually impressed on the mould and stand out in relief on the terra-cotta or other material. These are of interest as giving much information as to the commercial spread of various kinds of handicrafts, and also as to the conditions under which they were manufactured.
9. Historical Records.—Many of these inscriptions might well be assigned to one of the categories already considered. But there are some which were expressly made to commemorate an important event, or to preserve a record. Among the most inter esting is the inscription of the Columna Rostrata in Rome, which records the great naval victory of Duilius over the Carthaginians; this, however, is not the original, but a later and somewhat modified version. A document of high importance is a summary of the life and achievements of Augustus, already mentioned, and known as the Monumentum Ancyranum. The various sets of Fasti constituted a record of the names of consuls, and other magistrates or high officials, and also of the triumphs accorded to conquering generals.
To. Inscriptions on Tombs. These are probably the most numerous of all classes of inscriptions ; and though many of them are of no great individual interest, they convey, when taken col lectively, much valuable information as to the distribution and transference of population, as to trades and professions, as to health and longevity, and as to many other conditions of ancient life. The most interesting early series is that on the tombs of the Scipios at Rome, recording, mostly in Saturnian metre, the ex ploits and distinctions of the various members of that family.
About the end of the republic and the beginning of the empire, it became customary to head a tombstone with the letters D.M. or D.M.S. (Dis Manibus sacrum), thus consecrating the tomb to the deceased as having become members of the body of ghosts or spirits of the dead. These are followed by the name of the deceased, usually with his father's name and his tribe, by his honours and distinctions, sometimes by a record of his age. The inscription often concludes with H.I. (Hic iacet), or some simi lar formula, and also, frequently, with a statement of boundaries and a prohibition of violation or further use—for instance, H.M.H.N.S. (hoc inonumentum heredem non sequetur, this mon ument is not to pass to the heir). The person who has erected the monument and his relation to the deceased are often stated ; or if a man has prepared the tomb in his lifetime, this also may be stated, V.S.F. (vivus sibi fecit). But it is obvious that there is an immense variety in the information that either a man himself or his friends may wish to record.
II. Milestones and Boundaries.—Milestones (miliaria) have already been referred to, and may be regarded as records of the building of roads. Boundary stones (termini) are frequently found, both of public and private property. A well-known instance is offered by those set up by the commissioners called III. viri A.I.A. (agris iudicandis adsignandis) in the time of the Gracchi.