CHAPTER LVI

_IMPORTANCE OF THE INSCRIPTIONS.--MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS AND PUBLIC NOTICES_

The inscriptions discovered at Pompeii number more than six thousand. They cover a wide field, ranging from commemorative tablets put up at public expense to the scribblings of idlers upon the plastered walls. It would be an exaggeration to say that they contribute to our knowledge of antiquity much that is new; their value lies rather in the insight which they give into the life of the city and its people.

In one respect the evidence derived from inscriptions, though often of the most fragmentary character, is especially satisfactory. We feel that we are handling original documents, without the intervention of that succession of copyists which stands between the author of a Greek or Roman masterpiece and the modern reader. The shapes of the letters and the spelling are just as they were left by the stonecutter or the scribbler; the various handwritings can still be as plainly distinguished on the charred tablets of Caecilius Jucundus as though the signatures were witnessed only yesterday. Through the inscriptions we are brought into contact with the personality of the Pompeians as in no other way.

The inscriptions may be classified either according to the subject matter or according to the form in which they appear, whether cut in stone, or painted, or scratched upon a smooth surface with a stylus. No detailed classification need be given here; it will be sufficient for our purposes to discuss the main divisions briefly under four heads,--monumental inscriptions and public notices, graffiti, and inscriptions relating to business affairs.

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Monumental inscriptions include those which are cut in hard material and are intended to be read by all who see them. They are found at Pompeii chiefly in or upon public buildings, on pedestals of statues and on sepulchral monuments. They are characterized by extreme brevity. A few are in the Oscan language, the rest are in Latin. The more important examples have been presented in the preceding pages in connection with the monuments to which they belong. A list of them is given in the Index under "Inscriptions."

The public notices are painted upon the walls along the sides of the streets, ordinarily in a bright red color; a few are in black. The most important are the election notices, in which a candidate is recommended for a public office. These are about sixteen hundred in number, and the names of more than a hundred different candidates appear in them.

The election notices fall into two classes, distinguished both by the style of writing and by the manner of expression,--earlier, from the time of the Republic, and later, belonging to the Imperial period. The shapes of the letters in those of the former class are irregular, and bear the mark of an unpractised hand. The later notices, on the contrary, have a more finished appearance; they are executed in a kind of calligraphic style that suggests the employment of skilled clerks who made the painting of electoral recommendations a part of their business. We have already met with the name of one painter of notices who signed his work, Aemilius Celer (p. 223). His house has been discovered, near the northeast corner of the ninth Region; it was identified by means of an inscription painted on the outside: _Aemilius Celer hic habitat_,--'Aemilius Celer lives here.'

The language of the earlier recommendations is of the simplest. We find the name of the candidate with no suggestion of praise excepting occasionally the letters _v. b._, for _virum bonum_, 'good man.' The name of the office is given in an abbreviated form, but that of the person who makes the recommendation nowhere appears. In one example the elements of the common formula _o. v. f._, for _oro vos, facite_, are given almost in full: _M. Marium aed. faci., oro vos_,--'Make Marcus Marius aedile, I beg of you.' The following notice appears on Stabian Street in letters nearly 8 inches high: P . FVR . II . V . \B . O . \F, that is _Publium Furium duumvirum, virum bonum, oro vos, facite_,--'Make Publius Furius duumvir, I beg of you; he's a good man.'

Some of the later election notices are almost equally brief, presenting merely the name of the candidate, the office for which he is recommended, and the formula _o. v. f._, as in this instance: _Herennium Celsum aed[ilem] o. v. f._,--'Make Herennius Celsus aedile, I beg of you.' Occasionally even the formula is omitted, and we have simply the name of the candidate and of the office, both invariably in the accusative case, as _Casellium aed._, which appears in several places, and _M. Holconium Priscum II. vir. i. d._

More frequently the recommendation includes a reference to the good qualities of the candidate. Sometimes he is simply styled 'a good man,' as in the earlier notices; but the most common formula in this connection is _d. r. p._, for _dignum re publica_, 'worthy of public office.' In some instances the characterization is more definite. More than one candidate is affirmed to be 'an upright young man' (_iuvenem probum_), or 'a youth of singular modesty' (_verecundissimum iuvenem_). In regard to one aspirant for office we are informed that 'he will be the watch-dog of the treasury'--_hic aerarium conservabit_.

The names of those who make the recommendations often appear in the later notices. Now and then individuals assume the responsibility, as Vesonius Primus (p. 396), and Acceptus and Euhodia (p. 341), who were undoubtedly owners of the property on which the notices appear. Thus the candidate's neighbors are sometimes represented as favoring his election, as in the case of Claudius Verus: _Ti. Claudium Verum II. vir. vicini rogant_,--'His neighbors request the election of Tiberius Claudius Verus as duumvir.' Electoral recommendations are painted on all sides of the house of Verus--the extensive establishment in the ninth Region known as the house of the Centenary.

The class of election notices in which we find the members of a craft united in the support of a candidate has been sufficiently illustrated in another connection (p. 384). To these we may add a recommendation found on a wall facing the temple of Isis: _Cn. Helvium Sabinum aed. Isiaci universi rog[ant]_,--'The worshippers of Isis, as a body, request the election of Gnaeus Helvius Sabinus as aedile.' A suburb also might have a candidate, as in the following instance: _M. Epidium Sabinum aed. Campanienses rog._,--'The inhabitants of the Pagus Campanus ask for the election of Marcus Epidius Sabinus as aedile.'

Sometimes all those who are engaged in an occupation are urged to support a candidate. 'Innkeepers, make Sallustius Capito aedile,' we read in one notice. In others, various classes of citizens having a common bond, as the ballplayers, and the dealers in perfumes, are exhorted to work for the election of a candidate presumably favorable to their interests. In one instance there is a direct appeal to an individual, involving a pledge of future support: _Sabinum aed[ilem], Procule, fac, et ille te faciet_,--'Proculus, make Sabinus aedile, and he will do as much for you.'

In view of the deep interest in the municipal elections, revealed by these notices, it is not surprising to find that the support of a candidate by a man of unusual prominence was extensively advertised. In three different parts of the city the attention of voters was directed to the fact that Suedius Clemens, the commissioner sent by Vespasian to decide the ownership of certain plots of ground (p. 407), favored the election of Epidius Sabinus as duumvir. One of the notices reads: _M. Epidium Sabinum II. vir. iur. dic. o. v. f., dignum iuvenem, Suedius Clemens sanctissimus iudex facit vicinis rogantibus_,--'At the request of the neighbors, Suedius Clemens, most upright judge, is working for the election of Marcus Epidius Sabinus, a worthy young man, as duumvir with judiciary authority. He begs of you to elect this candidate.'

So public a method of pressing a candidacy put a formidable weapon into the hands of the candidate's enemies, and the form of a recommendation was sometimes used against an office seeker with telling effect. _Vatiam aed. furunculi rog._,--'The sneak thieves request the election of Vatia as aedile,' we find conspicuously painted on a wall on Augustales Street. According to other notices near by, 'The whole company of late drinkers' (_seribibi universi_) and 'all the people who are asleep' (_dormientes universi_) favored the candidacy of the same unhappy Vatia. The last notice which we shall present in this connection may have been painted on the order of the girl who appears in it: _Claudium II. vir. animula facit_,--'His little sweetheart is working for the election of Claudius as duumvir.' The reference is probably to the Tiberius Claudius Verus mentioned above.

The other kinds of public notices are represented by relatively few examples. Of special interest are the announcements of gladiatorial combats, which were discussed in a previous chapter (p. 221). Next in importance are perhaps the advertisements of buildings to rent. One of these, relating to the Elephant Inn, has already been mentioned (p. 400). We present here two others, which have to do with large properties. The first, which has now disappeared, was painted on a wall in the sixth Region, at the south end of the third Insula. It reads as follows:--

INSULA ARRIANA POLLIANA CN. ALLEI NIGIDI MAI LOCANTUR EX K[alendis] IULIS PRIMIS TABERNAE CUM PERGULIS SUIS ET CENACULA EQUESTRIA ET DOMUS. CONDUCTOR CONVENITO PRIMUM, CN. ALLEI NIGIDI MAI SER[vum].

'To rent, from the first day of next July, shops with the floors over them, fine upper chambers, and a house, in the Arrius Pollio block owned by Gnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius. Prospective lessees may apply to Primus, slave of Gnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius.'

The word _equestria_, translated 'fine,' is used colloquially with _cenacula_, in the sense 'fit for a knight.' The Insula named after Arrius Pollio was thought by Fiorelli to be the so-called house of Pansa, across the street from the block on which the advertisement was found. The identification may be correct, but a notice painted in so prominent a place might refer to a block in any part of the city.

The following inscription was found in the last century near the Amphitheatre, on a wall of the extensive establishment named from it the villa of Julia Felix:--

IN PRAEDIS IULIAE SP. F. FELICIS LOCANTUR BALNEUM VENERIUM ET NONGENTUM, TABERNAE, PERGULAE, CENACULA EX IDIBUS AUG. PRIMIS IN IDUS AUG. SEXTAS, ANNOS CONTINUOS QUINQUE S. Q. D. L. E. N. C.

'To let, for the space of five years, from the thirteenth day of next August to the thirteenth day of the sixth August thereafter, the Venus bath, fitted up for the best people, shops, rooms over shops, and second story apartments in the property owned by Julia Felix, daughter of Spurius.'

The bath may have received its name from Venus Pompeiana. The word _nongentum_ is difficult to understand. The interpretation given is based upon a passage of Pliny the Elder, from which we understand that in colloquial language the knights were known as 'the nine hundred.' A bath 'of the nine hundred' would then be one designed to attract the patronage of the best people. The seven letters at the end of the inscription have not yet been satisfactorily explained.

Advertisements of articles lost or found are also met with. A notice in regard to a stray horse, painted on one of the tombs east of the Amphitheatre, is given on p. 436. On the east side of Insula VIII. v.-vi. we read:--

VRNA AENIA PEREIT . DE . TABERNA SEIQVIS . RETTVLERIT DABVNTVR HS LXV . SEI . FVREM DABIT . VND ...

'A copper pot has been taken from this shop. Whoever brings it back will receive 65 sesterces. If any one shall hand over the thief' ... (the rest of the inscription is illegible).

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