Remains of Old Latin, Volume IV: Archaic Inscriptions

by E.H. Warmington (Translator)

The Loeb edition of early Latin writings is in four volumes. The first three contain the extant work of seven poets and surviving portions of the Twelve Tables of Roman law. The fourth volume contains inscriptions on various materials (including coins), all written before 79 BCE.

Volume I. Q. Ennius (239-169) of Rudiae (Rugge), author of a great epic ("Annales"), tragedies and other plays, and satire and other works; Caecilius Statius (ca. 220-ca. 166), a Celt probably of Mediolanum (Milano) in N. Italy, author of comedies.

Volume II. L. Livius Andronicus (ca. 284-204) of Tarentum (Taranto), author of tragedies, comedies, a translation and paraphrase of Homer's "Odyssey, " and hymns; Cn. Naevius (ca. 270-ca. 200), probably of Rome, author of an epic on the 1st Punic War, comedies, tragedies, and historical plays; M. Pacuvius (ca. 220-ca. 131) of Brundisium (Brindisi), a painter and later an author of tragedies, a historical play and satire; L. Accius (170-ca. 85) of Pisaurum (Pisaro), author of tragedies, historical plays, stage history and practice, and some other works; fragments of tragedies by authors unnamed.

Volume III. C. Lucilius (180?-102/1) of Suessa Aurunca (Sessa), writer of satire; The Twelve Tables of Roman law, traditionally of 451-450.

Volume IV. Archaic Inscriptions: Epitaphs, dedicatory and honorary inscriptions, inscriptions on and concerning public works, on movable articles, on coins; laws and other documents.

Genres: History

544 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Eric Herbert Warmington was Professor of Classics at Birkbeck College, London, and General Editor of the Loeb Classical Library (1937–1974).

Reviews

[Paul H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1920s-1960s style of English-language history writing is, I think it's fair to say, painfully and absurdly boring; the interminable lists of military-political events (battles and coronations and battles, etc.) could not possibly be less evocative. At least for me, (1) in-depth biographies, (2) histories of 'daily life', and (3) primary sources are much, much more interesting than -- and convey more information than -- the standard 800-page academic-press military-political slog.

Remains of Old Latin is an endlessly fascinating Latin equivalent to the Greek Anthology (also published by Loeb); these are, simply put, the most interesting primary source material that I've run across . . . faithful reproductions (without manuscript traditions to add errors!) of graffiti, boundary markers, epitaphs, jury duty instructions, coin inscriptions, election notices, reward posters, advertisements, and all the other fascinating minutiae of everyday life. While the constitution of Athens, Virgil's Aeneid, the Homeric Hymns, Livy's histories, etc. etc., give a sense of the poetic and political culture of the elite at the peak of Greek/Roman power, it's only in Remains of Old Latin and the Greek Anthology that you can really get a first-hand sense of ancient Greece and Rome.