36 Martial 1.93
Fābriciō iūnctus fīdō requiēscit Aquīnus,
quī prior Ēlysiās gaudet adīsse domōs.
Ara duplex primi testatur munera pili:
plus tamen est, titulo quod breviore legis:
‘Iunctus uterque sacro laudatae foedere uitae, 5
famaque quod raro novit, amicus erat.’
Interrogata
- In line 2, why do you think the poem declares one friend happy to have died first?
Commentariolum
Two veterans, Fabricius and Aquinus, have been buried together in a tomb inscribed with two inscriptions. Roman soldiers more frequently dedicated tombs to their friends than other occupational groups. Here Martial commemorates both by describing their joint monument — although the poet gives pride of place to a verse epitaph that adorns their tomb.
1 Fabricius: a common name; Aquinus was uncommon.
iūnctus: “joined” in the tomb.
2 quī prior: is Fabricius or Aquinus the antecedent of this clause? The syntax is ambiguous but make a decision and be prepared to support your conclusion by reference to the evidence of the poem.
3 āra duplex: “double” in the sense that the single tombstone commemorates both soldiers.
mūnera: Look this words up in LS and pay attention to the context here. Elsewhere mūnus often means “(gladiatorial) games because they are a duty owed to the dead or the people. Consider how the meaning of mūnus characterizes the Roman conception to a position compared to English words like “rank” or “position”.
prīmī…pīlī: the lead centurion of a legion; since it was rare for a legion to have two prīmipīlī, one friend must have held the prestigious position, setting up the contrast in line 4.
6 fāma: here in the sense of “report” or “tradition” or “memory”.
rarō: adverbial.
