28 KATHLEEN M. COLEMAN
Sometimes epigraphic terminology is combined with an emphasis on
the inscribed register, as in the instructions that Horace’s character
Staberius enjoined upon his heirs, to carve on his tomb the amount he
was worth or else celebrate his demise with a gladiatorial display.^26
Epigraphic conventions provide a standard by which to judge those
who do, or do not, observe them; the formality of the legal and epi-
graphic terminology underlines Staberius’ perverted philosophy:
heredes Staberi summam incidere sepulcro,
ni sic fecissent, gladiatorum dare centum
damnati populo paria atque epulum arbitrio Arri,
frumenti quantum metit Africa ...
... quid ergo
sensit cum summam patrimoni insculpere saxo
heredes uoluit? ...
... hoc ueluti uirtute paratum
sperauit magnae laudi fore.
(Sat. 2.3.84–7, 89–91, 98–9)
Staberius’ heirs engraved on his tomb the sum total of his estate; if they
hadn’t done so (ni sic fecissent) they would have been obliged (dam-
nati) to entertain the people with 100 pairs of gladiators and a public
banquet at Arrius’ discretion (arbitrio), as lavish as the corn harvest in
Africa ... What did he have in mind, when he wanted his heirs to en-
grave the sum total of his estate on the stone? ... He hoped that this
would bring him great renown, as though he had achieved it by merit.^27Horace draws the moral lesson: Staberius confuses riches and virtue;
li sting wealth is no substitute for having virtues to list instead. But
Horace’s commentary (incidere sepulcro / insculpere saxo) also dem-
onstrates that epigraphic commemoration represents the ultimate am-
bition: immortality.
- Epigraphic traces in the Silvae
I shall now turn to the Silvae, fertile thickets, one might expect, in
which to hunt for epigraphic quarry, since, to change the metaphor,
they hold up a magnifying mirror to the everyday details of contempo-
rary life. As one might expect from verse that is “commissioned” for
26 For an announcement of the value of the estate on the tombstone compare Tri-
malchio’s epitaph (cit. above), where, furthermore, instead of conceiving of a gladia-
torial display as an alternative, one is represented on the tomb itself.
27 On the legal terminology, see Muecke 1993, 142.