Notes to Abuse of Wives

Restutus, -i m.: Restutus, a proper name derived from the verb restituto, meaning "restored, renewed." It is perhaps a fitting name for a freedperson who has been released from slavery.

Piscenensis, -e: of the fish pond. An adjective modifying Restutus, it is perhaps a double cognomen identifying Restutus by his place of origin or work.

primus, -a, -um: first; foremost; pre-eminent; the adjective is commonly used as a praenomen to mark birth order, which may be the case here.

Florentia, -ae f.: flowering, flourishing; indirect object of fecerunt. A graceful name for a woman, it is based on the present participle of the verb floreo.

carus, -a, -um: dear, beloved; costly; the superlative form of the adjective.

qui: carver's error; the relative pronoun is the subject of decepta est and therefore must be quae, whose antecedent is Florentia.

Orpheus, -ei/-eos m.: Orpheus; the name of Florentia's husband, spelled with an f rather than the Greek ph, and with a 4th declension ablative ending. It is ironic that his namesake Orpheus tried to bring back to life his wife Eurydice from Hades.

maritus, -i m.: husband. The carver gave this ablative a fourth declension ending, influenced either by its pronunciation or the ending of Orfeu.

Tiber, Tiberis m.: Tiber, the main river of Rome which flows into the sea at Ostia, near Portus (click on SPQR). The construction is in with the ablative.

decipio, -cipere, -cepi, -ceptum: deceive (into taking false action), mislead; cheat. Although the locals probably knew what her husband's violent act was, the verb does not make it clear -- perhaps in Tiberim deiecit (Cicero S. Rosc 100) was intended.

cognatus, -i m.: a male relation, kinsman; the relationship is in apposition to December, named perhaps for his birth in this last month of the Roman calendar year.

pono, -ere, posui, positum: place, put; understand hoc monumentum as the direct object. Generally this verb indicates the responsibility (including expense) for the setting up of the monument, while facio indicates its commission and dedication (including expense); here, those duties are shared.

Di Manes, m. pl.: the spirits of the dead, the divine spirits; the abbreviation D M or the full phrase in the dative is regularly found at the head of funerary inscriptions from the end of the first century BCE to the end of the second century CE. Here the words of dedication are separated by two images of an adze, a tool used by masons and carpenters (see hyperlink to sub ascia at the end of the inscription).

quies, quietis f.: repose/sleep of death; rest; together with aeternae, it is parallel with Dis Manibus, in the dative case.

femina, -ae f.: woman (in the capacity of wife); woman; female; in apposition with Iuliae Maianae.

sanctus, , -a, -um: blameless, virtuous, pure; sacred, sacrosanct; the superlative form of the adjective. On epitaphs this is a traditional form of praise for wives and daughters.

crudelis, -e: hard-hearted, cruel; the superlative form of the adjective. The carver omitted the ending of the word, which has been resolved as crudelissimi, perhaps because the next word (interfectae) begins with i. Another possibility is crudelissime, the adverb.

interficio, -ere, -feci- fectum: kill, destroy; perfect passive participle modifying feminae.

antequam conjunction: before. The word is sometimes divided (the rhetorical device tmesis); translate: quae obi[i]t antequam fatum dedit.

obeo, -ire, -ii, -itum: die; meet face to face, come up against; the subject is quae, referring to the dedicatee, Julia Maiana. Following the Greeks, the Romans personified fate as three sisters, the Parcae, who spun the threads of each human life (click on SPQR for an image).

procreo (1): produce, give birth to; the direct objects are liberos duos, and, in apposition, puerum and puellam, each followed by a genitive of description (annorum).

Fides, -ei f.: Fides, the Roman goddess who personified the qualities of faith, trustworthiness, belief, confidence (click on SPQR for an image).

Pietas, -tatis f.: Pietas, the Roman goddess who personified the qualities of dutifulness, piety, love, loyalty (click on SPQR for an image).

maior, -oris: elder; greater; comparative form of the adjective magnus, it modifies Iulius.

soror, -oris f.: sister; dative case, the indirect object of P[osuerunt, curaverunt] et D[edicaverunt].

dulcis, -e: sweet; dear, kind, affectionate; the superlative form of the adjective, modifying sorori.

Ingenuinius, -i m.: Ingenuinius, a proper name, perhaps the name of Julia Maiana's husband inherited as a praenomen by their son. The damaged area in the stone has been alternatively conjectured to have been Genuinius. Both names derive from adjectives with similar meanings but different emphases: ingenuus meaning native to a place; born of a free father, free-born; liberal, gentlemanly; genuinus meaning innate, native, natural; authentic.

Ianuarius, -i m.: Januarius, the cognomen of Julia Maiana's son, who was either named after the two-headed god Janus (click on the SPQR) or was perhaps born in January, the first month of the Roman year.

pono, -ere, posui, positum: set up, erect; place, put. Given the size of the hole in the stone, these final letters must have been abbreviations. Two resolutions of P have been proposed: the perfect indicative posuerunt and the gerund ponendum, the subjects being frater and filius. Generally the verb indicates the responsibility (including the expense) for setting up a memorial. Understand hoc monumentum as the direct object.

curo (1): care for, look after; tend, have charge of, administer. The abbreviation C for curaverunt has been conjectured in the damaged area, indicating that her brother and son would be responsible for maintaining her burial plot.

ascia -ae f.: ax; a mason's trowel. Various conjectures have been advanced for the meaning of sub ascia: the tomb is under construction, the use of the tomb is restricted to its inscribed occupant, the tomb has been consecrated as inviolate, tendance of the tomb is required of the dedicatees.

dedico (1): consecrate, dedicate; the abbreviation stands for dedicaverunt, the subjects being frater and filius.

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