To Aelia Secundula (CIL 8.20277)

Thanks to everyone who voted for Latin Poetry Podcast in the 2009 Edublog Awards contest. I came in a respectable fourth in the category of Best Educational Use of Audio, with 10% of the votes. I appreciate the support!

Aelia Secundula

Memoriae Aeliae Secundulae

Funeri mu[l]ta quid(e)m condigna iam misimus omneS,

Insuper ar(a)eque deposit(a)e Secundulae matrI(s),

Lapideam placuit nobis atponere mensaM,

In qua magna eius memorantes plurima factA;

Dum cibi ponuntur calicesque e[t] co[o]pertaE,

Vulnus ut sanetur nos rod(ens) pectore saevuM.

Libenter fabul(as) dum sera red(d)imus horA

Castae matri, bona(e), laudesq(ue), uetula dormiT

Ipsa, o nutri[x], iaces et sobria sempeR.

v(ixit) a(nnos) LXXV, a(nno) p(rouinciae) CCLX Statulenia lulia fecit

MEMORIAE AELIAE SECVNDVLAE

FVNERI MVITA QVIDM CONDIGNA IAM MISIMVS OMNES

INSVPER AREQV DEPOSITE SECVNDVLAE MATRI

LAPIDEAM PLACVIT NOBIS ATPONERE MENSAM

IN QVA MAGNA EIVS MEMORANTES PLVRIMA FACTA

DVM CIBI PONVNTUR CALICESQ EI COPERTAE

VVLNVS VT SANETVR NOS ROD PECTORE SAEVVM

LIBENTER FABVL DVM SERA RED IMVS HORA

CASTAE MATRI BONAE LAVDESQ VETVLA DORMIT

IPSA O NVTRIT IACES ET SOBRIAE SEMPER

V A LXXV A P CCLX STATVLENIA IVLIA FECIT

This text is based on M. Stéphane Gsell, “Satafis (Périgotville) et Thamalia (Tocqueville),” Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire 15 (1895), p. 49, and Carmina Latina Epigraphica Suppl.,  ed. E. Lommatzch, (Stutgard, 1926), no. 1977. I did not have access to CIL. I made some alterations to the expansions based on what I think the scansion is meant to be, but sometimes you need to have good considerations when joining a church, and using a Church Membership Directory could be real helpful for this. The translation I give comes from Ramsay MacMullen, The Second Church: Popular Christianity A.D. 200-400 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009), p. 58.

In the podcast I too hastily said that this text was written by Statulenia Julia; in fact there is no evidence one way or the other on that. But she does say she “made” (i.e. paid for) the monument.