Notes to Geminia Agathe Inscription

Di Manes, m. pl.
the spirits of the dead, the divine spirits; the abbreviation DM or the full phrase in the dative is regularly found at the head of tombstone inscriptions from the end of the first century BCE to the end of the second century CE.
Agathe, -es, f. (a Greek name)
good, excellent, admirable, here with the ending -e for the dative (although -ae would be regular).
dulcis, -e
sweet, dear; superlative form in the dative, very commonly used in epitaphs for children.
nomen, -inis, n.
name, in apposition with mater; mihi erat (dative of possession) is understood here.
eram: active periphrastic construction with futura, expressing what is likely to happen.
lex, -is, f.
law; decree of fate, destiny.
solus, -a, -um
only; alone.
etenim, conjunction
in fact, as a matter of fact (explanatory).
vivo, -ere, vixi, victum
live; understand me as the subject of this infinitive in indirect statement after fatebor.
fateor, -eri, fassum (deponent)
confess, acknowledge.
vinti = viginti, indeclinable numeral
twenty; translate with duobus, which does decline. The speaker switches from accusative of duration of time (annos, menses) to ablative of accompaniment with cum.
ludo, -ere, lusi, lusum
play, play games.
cunctus, -a, -um
the whole; all together, all (pl.); dative of agent, which is sometime used with perfect passive tenses.
nam, conjunction
for
vultus, -us, m.
look; face; appearance. voltus is an alternate spelling.
femine = feminae: genitive case, parallel with pueri.
credo, -ere, -idi, -itum
believe; trust (+ dative). Understand mihi in a parenthetical exclamation; the poem is written in the voice of Agathe, and she is emphasizing the truth of this statement.
gero, -ere, gessi, gestum
bear; have (a physical or mental characteristic).
qui, quae, quod, relative pronoun
who; what: direct object of norant. The antecedent is mihi (understood in the previous line).
nosco, -ere, novi, notum
know; know the character of. The perfect forms of this verb are often contracted; thus norant = noverant. Also, the perfect is used with present force, so the pluperfect should be translated as a simple past. The subject is soli, explained by the relative clause qui me genuerunt.
Agathen: Greek accusative. Verbs of regarding or knowing often take a second direct object explaining the first (i.e., a girl rather than a boy).
gigno, -ere, genui, genitum
give birth to; produce.
ingenium, -ii, n.
temperament; character; nature. The next two lines give a series of phrases in the ablative of description or quality, all referring back to Agathen.
docilis, -e
easily taught; attentive.
forma, -ae, f.
appearance, features; form.
veneror, -ari, -atum (deponent)
honor, respect; adore, worship. Veneranda is a future passive participle, the only form in deponent verbs that is translated as passive. This is an unusually strong word to describe a little girl.
rufus, -a, -um
red.
coma, -ae, f.
hair: ablative of description.
tondeo, -ere, totondi, tonsum
clip; cut.
caput, -itis, n.
head, modified by the perfect passive participle tonso in another ablative of description. Here capite seems to refer to the hair on the top of her head.
postremus, -a, -um
last; rear. Posttrema is both misspelled and ungrammatical. The meter requires that it be neuter plural, but it seems to stand in for ad postremum, “in the back.”
remissus, -a, -um
arranged loosely; relaxed: another ablative of description, modifying capite with an implied “but,” now referring to the hair on the back of her neck (ad postremum). The numerous grammatical and metrical problems with this line suggest that the author of the poem struggled mightily with it but thought it very important to include this vivid picture of Agathe with her boyish haircut.
conviva, -ae, m./f.
guest; vocative, modified by cuncti. The speaker now imagines a banquet for the deceased child and addresses the banqueters.
mi = mihi: this older form of the personal pronoun was often used in poetry.
poculum, -i, n.
cup; drink. It was common practice to pour liquids (e.g., wine, water, honey) on the ground for the dead; click on the SPQR for a vase painting showing a priestess pouring a libation from a patera.
fero, ferre, tuli, latum
give, bestow; bring; ferte is present imperative plural.
corpus, -oris, n.
body; corpse.
levis, -e
light; easy, gentle.
sit: here dicite is equivalent to a verb of wishing or praying, so it governs a sunjunctive clause. The phrase tibi terra levis sit was so common on funerary inscriptions that it was usually abbreviated TTLS, as on the right of the inscription in the SPQR for this line.
parvus, -a, -um
small, little; modifies the personal pronoun mei, genitive with requiem.
doleo, -ere, -ui, itum
grieve for; feel sorrow for; lament; jussive subjunctive with Faventius as subject, introduced by the negative particle ne.
requies, -etis, f.
rest, repose. Using this term gives a less negative picture of death; requiem is the regular accusative form.
perqua = perquam, adverb
exceedingly, extremely. The author of the poem has omitted the final letter for the sake of the meter.
nutritor, -oris, m.
one who feeds or nourishes; one who brings up a child. A male caregiver is far less common in funerary inscriptions, especially for girls, than a nutrix, a female who starts as a wet nurse and often remains to care for the child when milk is no longer needed.
plus quam
more than; rather than.
genitor, -oris, m.
father, begetter. By contrasting these two similar-sounding words, the speaker emphasizes the role of emotion and choice, rather than biology, in Faventius' care for Agathe.
oui = qui: The stonecutter forgot to add the tail on the Q. The antecedent is Faventius.
amavii = amavit: Another stonecutter error, omitting the bar at the top of the T. The direct object is understood, me, modified by solam.
est mihi: dative of possession. The present tense indicates that Agathe's mother is still alive.
praecedo -ere, praecessi, praecessum
go before. The direct object me is understood; pater is the subject of this verb and also doluit.
olim, adverb
previously; a long time ago.
casus, -us, m.
misfortune; death.
soror, -oris, f.
sister; understand mihi, dative of possession with est. Since this is coupled with the genitive matris, the person referred to would be Agathe's aunt, probably living in the same household, not her sister.
amoenus, -a, -um
delightful; pleasing. Rather than a descriptive adjective, this is likely to be the cognomen of Agathe's mother, indicating that she was a freedwoman.
tristis, -e
sad; mournful. Agrees with ipsa, referring back to soror; meae mortis is objective genitive, giving the reason for this emotion.
quos = hos, modifying parentes.
parens, -entis, m./f.
parent; ancestor; object of retinete. In the plural parentes can include family members who are not direct ancestors, so here it refers back to the people mentioned in the previous lines.
solor, -ari, -atum (deponent)
console, comfort; provide solace. The gerund is an ablative of means; the dative (understand meae with vitae dulci) seems to describe the source of the consolation.
retineo, -ere, -uit, retentum
restrain, hold back. The subject is cuncti in the vocative; the speaker again addresses the imagined banqueting guests, asking that they restrain her family from excessive grief.
precor, -ari, -atum
pray; entreat; present active participle modifying cuncti. As a verb of wishing or desiring, precantes governs two subjunctive clauses, introduced by the negative particle ne.
dolor, -oris, m.
pain; sorrow, grief.
augeo, -ere, auxi, auctum
increase. present subjunctive in a jussive nound clause (indirect command) governed by precantes.
seu = sive, conjunction
or.
maeror, -oris, m.
mourning; sorrow.
abundo, -are, -avi, -atum
overflow; be excessive. present subjunctive in a clause governed by precantes.
lego, -ere, legi, lectum
read. The speaker now addresses passersby reading her epitaph. The antecedent of qui is the second-person plural subject of velitis and noscetis.
totus, -a, -um
whole, entire; modifies nomen, direct object of nosse. This emphasizes that mater was not part of her official name.
nosco, -ere, novi, notum
know. The perfect forms of this verb are often contracted; thus nosse = novisse. Also, the perfect is used with present force, so this complementary infinitive should be translated as present.
volo, velle, volui
wish, want. This is a mixed condition, with the if-clause in the present subjunctive (velitis) and the conclusion in the future indicative (noscetis).
acerbus, -a, -um
bitter; violent.
eripio, -ere, -ui, ereptum
carry off by force; tear away.
Letus, -i, m.
Death (personified); subject of eripuit. Instead of the more common neuter noun letum, this masculine form is used to designate the god of death (emphasized by the repetitive mortis); click on the SPQR for a sarcophagus detail showing Hades carrying off Persephone.
tener, -era, -erum
tender, delicate; young; modifies me (understood).
Tartara, -orum, n. pl.
the underworld; Tartarus. The tone of the poem shifts in the last sentence with the introduction of mythology; click on the SPQR for a vase painting illustrating Tartarus.
aliue = aliud
something different; subject of potest. After the end of the poem, the inscription concludes with a general observation about life and death.
fio, fieri, factum
happen; become.
ad nos: Agathe's fate will eventually befall all of us.