A History of Roman Literature | Page 9

Pompeiii (gen. sing.)
for Pompeii, after the Oscan manner. He also brought the superlative
simus into use. Augustus, following in his steps, paid great attention to
orthography. His inscriptions are a valuable source of evidence for
ascertaining the correctest spelling of the time. During and after the
time of Claudius affected archaisms crept in, and the value both of
inscriptions and MSS. is impaired, on the one hand, by the pedantic
endeavour to bring spelling into accord with archaic use or etymology,
and, on the other, by the increasing frequency of debased and
provincial forms, which find place even in authoritative documents. In
spite of the obscurity of the subject several principles of orthography
have been definitely established, especially with regard to the older
Latin, which will guide future editors. And the labours of Ritschl,

Corssen, and many others, cannot fail to bring to light the most
important laws of variability which have affected the spelling of Latin
words, so far as the variation has not depended on mere caprice. [9]
With these preliminary remarks we may turn to the chief monuments of
the old language, the difficulties and uncertainties of which have been
greatly diminished by recent research. They are partly inscriptions (for
the oldest period exclusively so), and partly public documents,
preserved in the pages of antiquarians. Much may be learnt from the
study of coins, which, though less ancient than some of the written
literature, are often more archaic in their forms. The earliest of the
existing remains is the song of the Arval Brothers, an old rustic
priesthood (_qui sacra publica faciunt propterea ut fruges ferant arva_),
[10] dating from the times of the kings. This fragment was discovered
at Rome in 1778, on a tablet containing the acts of the sacred college,
and was supposed to be as ancient as Romulus. The priesthood was a
highly honourable office, its members were chosen for life, and
emperors are mentioned among them. The yearly festival took place in
May, when the fruits were ripe, and consisted in a kind of blessing of
the first-fruits. The minute and primitive ritual was evidently preserved
from very ancient times, and the hymn, though it has suffered in
transliteration, is a good specimen of early Roman worship, the rubrical
directions to the brethren being inseparably united with the invocation
to the Lares and Mars. According to Mommsen's division of the lines,
the words are--
ENOS, LASES, IUVATE, (_ter_) NEVE LUE RUE, MARMAR, SINS
(V. SERS) INCURRERE IN PLEORES. (_ter_) SATUR FU, FERE
MARS. LIMEN SALI. STA. BERBER. (_ter_) SEMUNIS ALTERNEI
ADVOCAPIT CONCTOS. (_ter_) ENOS, MARMOR, IUVATO.
(_ter_) TRIUMPE. (_Quinquies_)
The great difference between this rude dialect and classical Latin is
easily seen, and we can well imagine that this and the Salian hymn of
Numa were all but unintelligible to those who recited them. [11] The
most probable rendering is as follows:--"Help us, O Lares! and thou,
Marmar, suffer not plague and ruin to attack our folk. Be satiate, O

fierce Mars! Leap over the threshold. Halt! Now beat the ground. Call
in alternate strain upon all the heroes. Help us, Marmor. Bound high in
solemn measure." Each line was repeated thrice, the last word five
times.
As regards the separate words, enos, which should perhaps be written e
nos, contains the interjectional e, which elsewhere coalesces with
vocatives. [12] Lases is the older form of Lares. _Lue rue = luem
ruem_, the last an old word for ruinam, with the case-ending lost, as
frequently, and the copula omitted, as in Patres Conscripti, &c.
_Marmar, Marmor_, or Mamor, is the reduplicated form of Mars, seen
in the Sabine Mamers. Sins is for sines, as advocapit for advocabitis.
[13] Pleores is an ancient form of plures, answering to the Greek
pleionas in form, and to tous pollous, "the mass of the people" in
meaning. Fu is a shortened imperative. [14] Berber is for verbere,
imper. of the old _verbero, is_, as triumpe from triumpere = triumphare.
Semunes from semo (_se-homo_ "apart from man") an inferior deity, as
we see from the Sabine Semo Sancus (= _Dius Fidius_). Much of this
interpretation is conjectural, and other views have been advanced with
regard to nearly every word, but the above given is the most probable.
The next fragment is from the Salian hymn, quoted by Varro. [15] It
appears to be incomplete. The words are:
"Cozeulodoizeso. Omnia vero adpatula coemisse iamcusianes duo
misceruses dun ianusve vet pos melios eum recum...," and a little
further on, "divum empta cante, divum deo supplicante."
The most probable transcription is:
"Chorauloedus ero; Omnia vero adpatula concepere Iani curiones.
Bonus creator es. Bonus Janus vivit, quo meliorem regum [terra
Saturnia vidit nullum]"; and of the second, "Deorum impetu canite,
deorum deum suppliciter canite."
Here we observe the ancient letter z standing