Exploring Early Latin Fragments

Some of the earliest Latin that has survived did so in the form of fragments. Basically, a later author, like Cicero, would quote an early source and so we would have access to bits and pieces of these very ancient works. Quotation is not the only form of surviving early Latin - we also have physical remains that contain writing, like pots. These inscriptions are another way to get a glimpse of early Latin.

Image note: the image shows a pot (called a kernos) with a Latin inscription from the 7th to 5th century BCE. More on this inscription below.

Of those fragments, many that survived were from early Roman plays. The Latin contained in these fragments will appear familiar, and yet not - it's a bit like reading Shakespeare for a modern student. Language changes over time and these early examples of Latin can be difficult to navigate. And yet, these fragments are an incredible testament to how important the original works were. The Romans who saved these pieces of history found value in their preservation.

The Duenos Inscription

In the image of the kernos above, you can hopefully see the writing around the pot. Here's an image showing a transcription of the writing:

The Duenos Inscription as transcribed on a piece of paper.

I can predict your reaction: that's Latin?!? The answer is: yes! Fortunately, experts in these ancient fragments have been able to interpret most of the text on the pot, so that we can get a basic understanding. For starters, the writing goes from right to left and there are no spaces between words. While we can recognize some of the alphabet, it can be a little tricky. Let's take a look at what the experts have deduced.

For each line, you will see:

The direct unicase transcription
Direct transcription, in lowercase, with possible macrons and word breaks
A possible interpretation and translation into Classical Latin
An English gloss (approximate translation/interpretation) of the Classical Latin rendering

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3

IOVESATDEIVOSQOIMEDMITATNEITEDENDOCOSMISVIRCOSIED
iouesāt deivos qoi mēd mitāt, nei tēd endō cosmis vircō siēd
Iūrat deōs quī mē mittit, nī [ergā tē] comis virgō sit
'The person who sends me prays to the gods, lest the girl be not kind towards thee'

ASTEDNOISIOPETOITESIAIPAKARIVOIS
as(t) tēd noisi o(p)petoit esiāi pākā riuois
at tē [... uncertain ...] pācā rīvīs
'without thee [...] calm with [these] rivers'

DVENOSMEDFECEDENMANOMEINOMDVENOINEMEDMALOSTATOD
duenos mēd fēced en mānōm (m)einom duenōi nē mēd malo(s) statōd
Bonus mē fēcit in manum [...] bonō, nē mē malus [clepitō]
'A good man made me (in good intention?) for a good man; may I not be stolen by an evil man.'

Livius Andronicus

Lucius Livius Andronicus lived in the 3rd century BCE (284-204 BCE - these dates are guesses). He is credited as being one of the first Romans to translate Greek into Latin with his translation of works like the Odyssey intended for education. More importantly, he is the first to write plays in Latin, though his plays borrowed heavily from Greek originals. These were then performed, giving Romans their first Latin-language plays. Livius Andronicus inspired future thespians to follow in his footsteps and laid out the foundations for the Roman dramatic tradition.

Very little survives. Let's look at a couple of fragments, so you can get an idea of just how much survives from Andronicus' works:

**GLADIOLVS (The Dagger - Comedy)**

. . . . . . . . pulicesne an cimices
An pedes? responde mihi.

Translation:

. . . . . . . . fleas or bugs
Or lice? Answer me.

**LVDIVS (The Lydian - Comedy)**

Corruit quasi ictus scena, haut multo secus

Translation:

he fell to the ground as if struck by an ax, not much different from that

Those few lines are all that remains of these two plays. If you're saying to yourself, "That's not much to go on." - you're right! Scholars of Latin, and especially those that specialize in fragmentary Latin do not all agree about the nature of these plays, if they are even comedies, and whether these lines truly come from them. It's like a big puzzle, and if that sounds like fun to you, please feel free to explore more about fragmentary Latin!

Naevius

Much like Livius Andronicus, Gnaeus Naevius lived in the 3rd century BCE (270-201 BCE - these dates are guesses). While he also found fame by writing poems and plays, he is most notable for creating a new genre called Praetextae Fabulae, in which tales of Rome and its heroes were used as a backdrop for tragedy. This marked the first time that a drama centered not on Greek history, but Roman. The downside of that was that it became politically dangerous: Naevius ended up offending a powerful family, which led to his exile and death.

As with Andronicus, very little survives. Let's look at a couple of fragments, so you can get an idea of just how much survives from Gnaeus' works:

**APELLA (The Girl from Apulia - Comedy)**

ut illum di perdant, qui primum holitor protulit
cepam

Translation:

may the gods confound the vegetable grower who first brought forth
the onion

**ROMVLVS sive LVPVS (Romulus or The Wolf - Praetexta Fabula)**

rex Veiens regem salutat Viba Albanum Amulium
comiter senem sapientem: contra redhostis? min salust?

Translation:

Viba, king of Veii, salutes Alban Amulius,
a wise old man, in kindly fashion. Do you repay my favor? Do you wish me well?

Hopefully, in that last fragment, you can start to almost make out some familiar Latin. The word order is not one we would prefer in Classical prose, but a lot of the grammar we know (Viba = nominative, subject; salutat = 3rd person singular, present tense; rex is an appositive nominative form, describing Viba, etc.). In the second line, we return to some of the marks of old Latin: redhostis? min salust? These are not forms you have seen before, most likely.

But in looking at the word "redhostis" - we do see "red" which we have seen in reddere (deliver, hand over, etc.) and "hostis" (3rd declension noun meaning host or guest) and it does make sense to come up with "repay my favor."

Reflection

This was but a small sample of the many fragments that remain from the oldest periods of Latin literature. Outside of dedicated specialists, these fragments serve as templates for what was to come and objects of fascination and value. As we still revere Shakespeare in our modern English classes, you can imagine that Roman students read copies of these plays to understand the origins of Latin literature and drama. Certainly, as we read Plautus, who lived only a short time after Livius Andronicus and Naevius, echoes of these pioneers survive in his works.

[CC BY-NC-SA 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION - INTENDED ONLY FOR USE WITHIN LESSON.
Latin passages and translations for Livius Andronics and Gnaeus Naevius drawn from the work of Robert Maltby and Niall W. Slater from the Loeb Classical Edition Fragmentary Republican Latin.