1. Cicero, Republic, 5.1-5.2 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 5.1. August. C.D. 2.21,Non. 417M Ennius Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque, quem quidem ille versum vel brevitate vel veritate tamquam ex oraculo mihi quodam esse effatus videtur. Nam neque viri, nisi ita morata civitas fuisset, neque mores, nisi hi viri praefuissent, aut fundare aut tam diu tenere potuissent tantam et tam fuse lateque imperantem rem publicam. Itaque ante nostram memoriam et mos ipse patrius praestantes viros adhibebat, et veterem morem ac maiorum instituta retinebant excellentes viri. Nostra vero aetas cum rem publicam sicut picturam accepisset egregiam, sed iam evanescentem vetustate, non modo eam coloribus eisdem, quibus fuerat, renovare neglexit, sed August. C.D. 2.21, Non. 417M ne id quidem curavit, ut formam saltem eius et extrema tamquam liniamenta servaret. Quid enim manet ex antiquis moribus, quibus ille dixit rem stare Romanam? quos ita oblivione obsoletos videmus, ut non modo non colantur, sed iam ignorentur. Nam de viris quid dicam? Mores enim ipsi interierunt virorum penuria, cuius tanti mali non modo reddenda ratio nobis, sed etiam tamquam reis capitis quodam modo dicenda causa est. Nostris enim vitiis, non casu aliquo, rem publicam verbo retinemus, re ipsa vero iam pridem amisimus. | |
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2. Cicero, Philippicae, 9.14 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
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3. Livy, History, 30.26.5 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
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4. Ovid, Fasti, 1.607-1.616, 4.951-4.952, 4.954 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
| 1.607. Augustus alone has a name that ranks with great Jove. 1.608. Sacred things are called august by the senators 1.609. And so are temples duly dedicated by priestly hands. 1.610. From the same root comes the word augury 1.611. And Jupiter augments things by his power. 1.612. May he augment our leader’s empire and his years 1.613. And may the oak-leaf crown protect his doors. 1.614. By the god’s auspices, may the father’s omen 1.615. Attend the heir of so great a name, when he rules the world. 1.616. When the third sun looks back on the past Ides 4.951. For Vesta, and the third part that’s left, Caesar occupies. 4.952. Long live the laurels of the Palatine: long live that house |
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5. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 15.862-15.865 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
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6. Vitruvius Pollio, On Architecture, 2.9.14, 2.9.16 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
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7. Suetonius, Claudius, 25.2 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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8. Suetonius, Domitianus, 5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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9. Suetonius, Nero, 10 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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10. Suetonius, Vespasianus, 8 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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11. Tacitus, Annals, 13.57.3 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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12. Cassius Dio, Roman History, 66.24 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 66.24. 1. However, a second conflagration, above ground, in the following year spread over very large sections of Rome while Titus was absent in Campania attending to the catastrophe that had befallen that region.,2. It consumed the temple of Serapis, the temple of Isis, the Saepta, the temple of Neptune, the Baths of Agrippa, the (Opens in another window)')" onMouseOut="nd();" Pantheon, the Diribitorium, the theatre of Balbus, the stage building of (Opens in another window)')" onMouseOut="nd();" Pompey's theatre, the Octavian buildings together with their books, and the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus with their surrounding temples. Hence the disaster seemed to be not of human but of divine origin;,3. for anyone can estimate, from the list of buildings that I have given, how many others must have been destroyed. Titus accordingly sent two ex-consuls to the Campanians to supervise the restoration of the region, and bestowed upon the inhabitants not only general gifts of money, but also the property of such as had lost their lives and left no heirs.,4. As for himself, he accepted nothing from any private citizen or city or king, although many kept offering and promising him large sums; but he restored all the damaged regions from funds already on hand. |
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13. Pliny The Younger, Letters, 8.24, 9.39, 10.49-10.50 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 9.39. To Mustius. I have been warned by the haruspices to put into better repair and enlarge the temple of Ceres, which stands on my estate, as it is very old and cramped for room, and on one day in the year attracts great crowds of people. For on the Ides of September all the population of the country-side flocks thither; much business is transacted, many vows are registered and paid, but there is no place near where people can take refuge either from storm or heat. I think, therefore, that I shall be showing my generosity, and at the same time display my piety, if I rebuild the temple as handsomely as possible and add to it a portico, the former for the use of the goddess, the latter for the people who attend there. So I should like you to buy me four columns of any kind of marble you think fit, as well as sufficient marble for the pavement and walls. I shall also have to get made or buy a statue of the goddess, for the old one, which was made of wood, has lost some of its limbs through age. As for the portico, I don't think there is anything that I need ask you for at present, unless it be that you should sketch me a plan to suit the situation of the place. The portico cannot be carried all round the temple, inasmuch as on one side of the floor of the building there is a river with very steep banks, and on the other there runs a road. Beyond the road, there is a spacious meadow which would be a very suitable place to build the portico, as it is right opposite the temple, unless you can think of a better plan - you who make a practice of overcoming natural difficulties by your professional skill. Farewell. 10.49. To Trajan. Before my arrival, Sir, the people of Nicomedia had commenced to make certain additions to their old forum, in one corner of which stands a very ancient shrine of the Great Mother, * which should either be restored or removed to another site, principally for this reason, that it is much less lofty than the new buildings, which are being run up to a good height. When I inquired whether the temple was protected by any legal enactments, I discovered that the form of dedication is different here from what it is with us in Rome. Consider therefore. Sir, whether you think that a temple can be removed without desecration when there has been no legal consecration of the site, for, if there are no religious objections, the removal would be a great convenience. 10.50. Trajan to Pliny. You may, my dear Pliny, without any religious scruples, if the site seems to require the change, remove the temple of the Mother of the Gods to a more suitable spot, nor need the fact that there is no record of legal consecration trouble you, for the soil of a foreign city may not be suitable for the consecration which our laws enjoin. |
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14. Pliny The Younger, Letters, 8.24, 9.39, 10.49-10.50 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 9.39. To Mustius. I have been warned by the haruspices to put into better repair and enlarge the temple of Ceres, which stands on my estate, as it is very old and cramped for room, and on one day in the year attracts great crowds of people. For on the Ides of September all the population of the country-side flocks thither; much business is transacted, many vows are registered and paid, but there is no place near where people can take refuge either from storm or heat. I think, therefore, that I shall be showing my generosity, and at the same time display my piety, if I rebuild the temple as handsomely as possible and add to it a portico, the former for the use of the goddess, the latter for the people who attend there. So I should like you to buy me four columns of any kind of marble you think fit, as well as sufficient marble for the pavement and walls. I shall also have to get made or buy a statue of the goddess, for the old one, which was made of wood, has lost some of its limbs through age. As for the portico, I don't think there is anything that I need ask you for at present, unless it be that you should sketch me a plan to suit the situation of the place. The portico cannot be carried all round the temple, inasmuch as on one side of the floor of the building there is a river with very steep banks, and on the other there runs a road. Beyond the road, there is a spacious meadow which would be a very suitable place to build the portico, as it is right opposite the temple, unless you can think of a better plan - you who make a practice of overcoming natural difficulties by your professional skill. Farewell. 10.49. To Trajan. Before my arrival, Sir, the people of Nicomedia had commenced to make certain additions to their old forum, in one corner of which stands a very ancient shrine of the Great Mother, * which should either be restored or removed to another site, principally for this reason, that it is much less lofty than the new buildings, which are being run up to a good height. When I inquired whether the temple was protected by any legal enactments, I discovered that the form of dedication is different here from what it is with us in Rome. Consider therefore. Sir, whether you think that a temple can be removed without desecration when there has been no legal consecration of the site, for, if there are no religious objections, the removal would be a great convenience. 10.50. Trajan to Pliny. You may, my dear Pliny, without any religious scruples, if the site seems to require the change, remove the temple of the Mother of the Gods to a more suitable spot, nor need the fact that there is no record of legal consecration trouble you, for the soil of a foreign city may not be suitable for the consecration which our laws enjoin. |
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15. Vergil, Georgics, 1.498-1.499
| 1.498. So too, after rain 1.499. Sunshine and open skies thou mayst forecast |
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