Page 133 - Manual of Roman Everyday Writing Volume 2: Writing Equipment

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offence? Only when great and repeated wrong-doing has diverso titulo, alteri “Gladius,” alteri “Pugio” index erat; ambo nomina
overcome his patience, only when what he fears outweighs what et notas continebant morti destinatorum.
he reprimands, does he resort to the decisive pen. That no one may doubt this, let me say that among his private
(Transl. J. W. Basore, Loeb) papers two notebooks were found with different titles, one called
“The Sword” and the other “The Dagger,” and both containing
Seneca, De brevitate vitae 13.4: the names and marks of identification of those whom he had
Hoc quoque quaerentibus remittamus, quis Romanis primus persuaserit doomed to death.
navem conscendere. Claudius is fuit, Caudex ob hoc ipsum appellatus, (Transl. J. C. Rolfe, Loeb)
quia plurium tabularum contextus caudex apud antiquos vocatur, unde
publicae tabulae codices dicuntur et naves nunc quoque ex antiqua Suetonius, Claudius 35:
consuetudine, quae commeatus per Tiberim subvehunt, codicariae Sero enim ac vix remisit, ne feminae praetextatique pueri et puellae
vocantur. contrectarentur et ne cuius comiti aut librario calamariae et
We may excuse also those who inquire into this—who first graphiariae thecae adimerentur.
induced the Romans to go on board ship. It was Claudius, and Indeed, it was not until late, and then reluctantly, that he gave
this was the very reason he was surnamed Caudex, because up having women and young boys and girls grossly mishandled,
among the ancients a structure formed by joining together and the cases for pens and styles taken from every man’s
several boards was called a caudex, whence also the Tables of the attendant or scribe.
Law are called codices, and, in the ancient fashion, boats that (Transl. J. C. Rolfe, Loeb)
carry provisions up the Tiber are even to-day called codicariae. Suetonius, Julius Caesar 83:
(Transl. J. W. Basore, Loeb)
In ima cera Gaium Octavium etiam in familiam nomenque adoptavit.
Servius, Aeneid 8.361 (quoting Ennius): At the end of the will, too, he adopted Gaius Octavius into his
‘Nec me decet hanc carinantibus edere chartis’. family and gave him his name.
‘Nor does it befit me to publish this on foul-mouthed pages’. (Transl. J. C. Rolfe, Loeb)
(Transl. E. H. Warmington, Loeb)
Suetonius, Vitellius 2:
Suetonius, Augustus 85.2 Publius, Germanici comes, Cn. Pisonem inimicum et interfectorem eius
Nam tragoediam magno impetu exorsus, non succedenti stilo, abolevit accusavit condemnavitque, ac post praeturae honorem inter Seiani
quaerentibusque amicis, quidnam Aiax ageret, respondit Aiacem suum conscios arreptus et in custodiam fratri datus scalpro librario venas sibi
in spongiam incubuisse. incidit, nec tam mortis paenitentia quam suorum obtestatione obligari
Though he began a tragedy with much enthusiasm, he destroyed curarique se passus in eadem custodia morbo periit.
it because his style did not satisfy him, and when some of his Publius, a member of Germanicus’ staff, arraigned Gnaeus Piso,
friends asked him what in the world had become of Ajax, he the enemy and murderer of his commander, and secured his
answered that “his Ajax had fallen on his sponge.” condemnation. Arrested among the accomplices of Sejanus, after
(Transl. J. C. Rolfe, Loeb) holding the praetorship, and handed over to his own brother to
be kept in confinement, he opened his veins with a penknife, but
Suetonius, Caligula 49.3: allowed himself to be bandaged and restored, not so much from
Quod ne cui dubium videatur, in secretis eius reperti sunt duo libelli