DB – Page 112 – Crambe Repetita

Apōleia

Ταύτας, ἔφην, ἐγὼ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς λαβὼν τὰς ἐντολὰς ἄχρι δεῦρο διαφυλάττω, μήτ’ ἀφ’ αἱρέσεώς τινος ἐμαυτὸν ἀναγορεύσας, ὧν σπουδῇ πάσῃ ἀκριβῆ τὴν ἐξέτασιν ἔχω, ἀνέκπληκτός τε πρὸς τὰ κατὰ τὸν βίον ὁσημέραι συμπίπτοντα διαμένων, ὥσπερ ἑώρων τὸν πατέρα. οὔτ’ οὖν ἀπώλειά τινος ἱκανὴ λυπῆσαί με, πλὴν εἰ παντελῶς ἀπολέσαιμι τὰ κτήματα (τοῦτο γὰρ οὐδέπω πεπείραμαι), δόξης τε καὶ τιμῆς ὁ πατὴρ εἴθισέ με καταφρονεῖν ἀλήθειαν μόνην τιμῶντα. λυπουμένους δ’ ὁρῶ τοὺς πολλούς, ὅταν ἠτιμάσθαι δοκῶσιν ὑπό τινος, ἢ χρημάτων ἀπωλείᾳ. κατὰ τοῦτ’ οὖν, ἔφην, οὐδὲ λυπούμενον εἰδές μέ ποτε, <εἴ γε> μήτε χρημάτων ἀπώλεια συνέπεσέ μοι μέχρι δεῦρο τηλικαύτη τὸ μέγεθος, ὡς μηκέτ’ ἔχειν ἐκ τῶν ὑπολοίπων ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τοῦ σώματος ὑγιεινῶς, μήτ’ ἀτιμία τις, <ὡς> ὁρῶ <τοὺς> τοῦ συνεδρίου τῆς τιμῆς ἀφαιρεθέντας. εἰ δέ τινας ἀκούσαιμι ψέγειν με, τούς μ’ ἐπαινοῦντας αὐτοῖς ἀντιτίθημι καὶ νομίζω τὸ πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἐπαινοῦντας ἐπιθυμεῖν ἔχειν ἐοικέναι τῷ τὰ πάντα ἔχειν ἐθέλειν κτήματα.
(Galen, De Propriorum Animi Cuiuslibet Affectuum Dignotione et Curatione 8.8-9)

These, I said, were the injunctions I received from my father, and I have observed them up to the present day. I did not proclaim myself a member of any of those sects of which, with all earnestness, I made a careful examination, but I continued undaunted in the face of day by day occurrences throughout my life, just as I had seen my father do. No loss was enough to cause me grief. I do not know if I would grieve if I should lose all my possessions, for I have never yet experienced such a large loss. My father also accustomed me to look with scorn on glory and honor and to hold only the truth in esteem. But I see many men grieving when they think that someone has dishonored them or because of the loss of money. In a matter of this sort, you would never see me grieving, unless I incurred a loss of money so great that I was no longer able with what was left to take care of my bodily health, or unless I incurred some dishonor such as I see in the case of those who have been deprived of the honor of their seats in the Council. If I should hear that some men find fault with me, I oppose to them those who praise me, and I consider that the desire to have all men praise me is like the desire to possess all things. (tr. Paul W. Harkins)

Phoenicopterum

flamingo_head_reference_by_zoetaylor11-d5yueqz

Phoenicopterum eliberas, lavas, ornas, includis in caccabum, adicies aquam, salem, anethum et aceti modicum. dimidia coctura alligas fasciculum porri et coriandri, ut coquatur. prope cocturam defritum mittis, coloras. adicies in mortarium piper, cuminum, coriandrum, laseris radicem, mentam, rutam, fricabis, suffundis acetum, adicies caryotam, ius de suo sibi perfundis. reexinanies in eundem caccabum, amulo obligas, ius perfundis et inferes. idem facies et in psittaco.
(Apicius, De Re Coquinaria 6.6.1)

Scald the flamingo, wash and dress it, put it in a pot, add water, salt, dill, and a little vinegar, to be parboiled. Finish cooking with a bunch of leeks and coriander, and add some reduced must to give it color. In the mortar crush pepper, cumin, coriander, laser root, mint, rue, moisten with vinegar, add dates, and the fond of the braised bird, thicken, [strain,] cover the bird with the sauce and serve. Parrot is prepared in the same manner (tr. Joseph Dommers Vehling)

Iubatorum

Leonum simul plurium pugnam Romae princeps dedit Q. Scaevola P. f. in curuli aedilitate, centum autem iubatorum primus omnium L. Sulla, qui postea dictator fuit, in praetura; post eum Pompeius Magnus in circo DC, in iis iubatorum CCCXV, Caesar dictator CCCC. capere eos ardui erat quondam operis, foveisque maxime. principatu Claudii casus rationem docuit pudendam paene talis ferae nomine pastorem Gaetuliae, sago contra ingruentis impetum obiecto, quod spectaculum in harenam protinus translatum est, vix credibili modo torpescente tanta illa feritate quamvis levi iniectu operto capite, ita ut devinciatur non repugnans. videlicet omnis vis constat in oculis, quo minus mirum fit a Lysimacho Alexandri iussu simul incluso strangulatum leonem.
(Pliny the Elder, Nat. Hist. 8.53-54)

A fight with several lions at once was first bestowed on Rome by Quintus Scaevola, son of Publius, when consular aedile, but the first of all who exhibited a combat of 100 maned lions was Lucius Sulla, later dictator, in his praetorship. After Sulla Pompey the Great showed in the Circus 600, including 315 with manes, and Caesar when dictator 400. Capturing lions was once a difficult task, chiefly effected by means of pitfalls. In the principate of Claudius accident taught a Gaetulian shepherd a method that was almost one to be ashamed of in the case of a wild animal of this nature: when it charged he flung a cloak against its onset – a feat that was immediately transferred to the arena as a show, – the creature’s great ferocity abating in an almost incredible manner when its head is covered with even a light wrap, with the result that it is vanquished without showing fight. The fact is that all its strength is concentrated in its eyes, which makes it less remarkable that when Lysimachus by order of Alexander was shut up in a lion’s cage he succeeded in strangling it. (tr. Harris Rackham)

Ebulliat

“Mens bona, fama, fides,” haec clare et ut audiat hospes;
illa sibi introrsum et sub lingua murmurat: “o si
ebulliat patruus, praeclarum funus!” et “o si
sub rastro crepet argenti mihi seria dextro
Hercule! pupillumve utinam, quem proximus heres
impello, expungam! nam et est scabiosus et acri
bile tumet. Nerio iam tertia conditur uxor.”
haec sancte ut poscas, Tiberino in gurgite mergis
mane caput bis terque et noctem flumine purgas.
heus age, responde (minimum est quod scire laboro)
de Iove quid sentis?
(Persius, Sat. 2.8-17)

“Good sense, reputation, credit” – that’s what he says out loud, even for strangers to hear, but this is what he mutters to himself under his tongue: “Oh, if only uncle would pop off, I’d give him a splendid funeral!” and “If only Hercules would favour me and make a pot of silver chink beneath my hoe!”* Or “I wish I could wipe out my ward – I’m right behind him, the next to inherit. After all, he suffers from eczema and is swollen with jaundice. Nerius is already burying his third wife.” To make these requests piously, you plunge your head twice and three times in the morning in Tiber’s flow and clean away the night’s thoughts in river water. Hey then, tell me (it’s a tiny thing I strive to know), what is your view of God?”

* Hercules was the god associated with hidden treasure.

(tr. Susanna Morton Braund, with her note)

Duskinētoi

drinking-man

Ἐζητεῖτο περὶ τῶν γερόντων, διὰ τί μᾶλλον ἀκρατοτέρῳ τῷ ποτῷ χαίρουσιν. οἱ μὲν οὖν κατεψυγμένην τὴν ἕξιν αὐτῶν καὶ δυσεκθέρμαντον οὖσαν οἰόμενοι διὰ τοῦτο τῇ σφοδρότητι τῆς κράσεως ἐναρμόττειν ἐφαίνοντο κοινόν τι καὶ πρόχειρον οὐχ ἱκανὸν δὲ πρὸς τὴν αἰτίαν οὐδ’ ἀληθὲς λέγοντες· καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων αἰσθήσεων τὸ αὐτὸ συμβέβηκεν· δυσκίνητοι γάρ εἰσι καὶ δυσμετάβλητοι πρὸς τὰς ἀντιλήψεις τῶν ποιοτήτων, ἂν μὴ κατάκοροι καὶ σφοδραὶ προσπέσωσιν.
(Plutarch, Sumposiaka 625a)

Under discussion was the question why old men are very fond of drink that is rather strong. Some thought the constitution of old men, being chill and hard to warm, was on this account compatible with a strong mixture of wine and water; obviously their argument was platitudinous and facile, and neither an adequate nor an accurate analysis of the causation. For the same thing occurs in regard to an old man’s perception of other stimuli; in apprehending sensations he is hard to stir and hard to rouse, unless they strike him with excessive strength. (tr. Paul A. Clement & Herbert H. Hoffleit)

Stigmate

Versus et breve vividumque carmen
in te ne faciam times, Ligurra,
et dignus cupis hoc metu videri.
sed frustra metuis cupisque frustra.
in tauros Libyci fremunt leones,
non sunt papilionibus molesti.
quaeras censeo, si legi laboras,
nigri fornicis ebrium poetam,
qui carbone rudi putrique creta
scribit carmina quae legunt cacantes.
frons haec stigmate non meo notanda est.
(Martial 12.61)

You are afraid, Ligurra, of my writing verses against you, a brief, lively poem, and you long to seem worthy of such an apprehension. But idle is your fear and idle your desire. Libyan lions roar at bulls, they do not trouble butterflies. I advise you, if you are anxious to be read of, to look for some boozy poet of the dark archway who writes verses with rough charcoal or crumbling chalk which folk read while they shit. This brow of yours is not for marking with my brand. (tr. David Roy Shackleton Bailey)

Zēteisthō

Ἰουλιανὸς Ἐκδικίῳ ἐπάρχῳ Αἰγύπτου. ἄλλοι μὲν ἵππων, ἄλλοι δ’ ὀρνέων, ἄλλοι δὲ θηρίων ἐρῶσιν· ἐμοὶ δὲ βιβλίων κτήσεως ἐκ παιδαρίου δεινὸς ἐντέτηκε πόθος. ἄτοπον οὖν εἰ ταῦτα περιίδοιμι σφετερισαμένους ἀνθρώπους, οἷς οὐκ ἀρκεῖ τὸ χρυσίον μόνον ἀποπλῆσαι τὸν πολὺν ἔρωτα τοῦ πλούτου, πρὸς δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ὑφαιρεῖσθαι ῥᾳδίως διανοουμένους. ταύτην οὖν ἰδιωτικὴν μοι δὸς τὴν χάριν, ὅπως ἀνευρεθῇ πάντα τὰ Γεωργίου βιβλία. πολλὰ μὲν γὰρ ἦν φιλόσοφα παρ’ αὐτῷ πολλὰ δὲ ῥητορικά, πολλὰ δὲ ἦν καὶ τῆς τῶν δυσσεβῶν Γαλιλαίων διδασκαλίας· ἃ βουλοίμην μὲν ἠφανίσθαι πάντα, τοῦ δὲ μὴ σὺν τούτοις ὑφαιρεθῆναι τὰ χρησιμώτερα, ζητείσθω κἀκεῖνα μετ’ ἀκριβείας ἅπαντα. ἡγεμὼν δὲ τῆς ζητήσεως ἔστω σοι ταύτης ὁ νοτάριος Γεωργίου, ὃς μετὰ πίστεως μὲν ἀνιχνεύσας αὐτὰ γέρως ἴστω τευξόμενος ἐλευθερίας· εἰ δ’ ἁμωσγέπως γένοιτο κακοῦργος περὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα, βασάνων εἰς πεῖραν ἥξων. ἐπίσταμαι δὲ ἐγὼ τὰ Γεωργίου βιβλία, καὶ εἰ μὴ πάντα, πολλὰ μέντοι· μετέδωκέ γάρ μοι περὶ τὴν Καππαδοκίαν ὄντι πρὸς μεταγραφήν τινα, καὶ ταῦτα ἔλαβε πάλιν.
(Julian, Ep. 23 Wright)

Julianus to Ekdikios, Prefect of Egypt. Some people have a passion for horses, others for birds, others for wild animals; the ‘dread longing’ that has become ingrained in me ever since I was a small child is for the possession of books. So it would be absurd if I were to look on while they are appropriated by individuals whose great passion for wealth cannot be satiated by gold alone, and who plan to filch them too without a second thought. So please, as a personal favour to me, see to it that all of Georgios’ books are sought out. He had many philosophical books in his library and many books on rhetoric, and many besides relating to the doctrines of the impious Galilaeans. These last I should prefer to be destroyed in their entirety, but so as to avoid the more beneficial volumes being done away with alongside them, let all of them too be scrupulously traced. Georgios’ secretary should take charge of this search for you: give him to understand that if he hunts for them faithfully, he will win his freedom as a reward, but that if he should prove dishonest in any way in this matter, he will suffer for it under torture. I know the contents of Georgios’ library, many of them at any rate, even if not all: when I was in Cappadocia he lent me some of them to copy, and got them back from me. (tr. Michael Trapp)

Danunt

[ILIONA]

Di me etsi perdunt, tamen esse adiutam expetunt
quom prius quam intereo spatium ulciscendi danunt.

(Pacuvius, fr. 218-9 W)

Though Gods destroy me, yet they wish that I
Receive their help, since they before I perish
Do grant me time for vengeance.
(tr. Eric Herbert Warmington)

Cacator

cil-4-8899

Hospes, adhuc tumuli ni meias ossa prec[antur,
nam, si vis (h)uic gratior esse, caca.
Urticae monumenta vides; discede, cacator.
non est hic tutum culu(m) aperire tibi.
(CIL IV.8899)

Stranger, the bones ask you not to piss at this tomb, for, if you want to be more agreeable to this man, shit. You see Nettle’s* tomb; away from here, shitter; it is not safe for you to open your bowels here.

* The point is a pun on the name of the hypothetical deceased (for the name Urtica see CIL 5.3637; it is also known as a female name); as the cacator squats, he is in danger of being stung by an urtica, a nettle.

(tr. Edward Courtney, with his note)

Karissima

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I
Cl(audia) · Severá Lepidinae [suae
[sa]l[u]tem
iii Idus Septembr[e]s soror ad diem
sollemnem natalem meum rogó
libenter faciás ut venias
ad nos iucundiorem mihi

II
[diem] interventú tuo facturá si
[.].[c.3]s vacat
Cerial[em t]uum salutá Aelius meus .[
et filiolus salutant vacat
[manu secunda] vacat sperabo te soror
vale soror anima
mea ita valeam
karissima et have

[dorsum]
[manu prima] Sulpiciae Lepidinae
Cerialis
a S[e]vera

(Vindolanda Tablet 291)

Claudia Severa to her Lepidina greetings. On 11 September, sister, for the day of the celebration of my birthday, I give you a warm invitation to make sure that you come to us, to make the day more enjoyable for me by your arrival, if you are present (?). Give my greetings to your Cerialis. My Aelius and my little son send him (?) their greetings. (2nd hand) I shall expect you, sister. Farewell, sister, my dearest soul, as I hope to prosper, and hail. (Back, 1st hand) To Sulpicia Lepidina, wife of Cerialis, from Severa. (tr. Vindolanda Tablets Online)