Epitaph of Fabatus

Type of verse

• Type of verse: Dactílico (hexámetro)
• Verse/line correspondence: Si
• Prose/verse distinction: No

Epigraphic edition

Text divided into verses and metric signs

Terrenum corpus, caelestis spiritus in me, ll|l/l|l/l|ll|lkk|l~

quo repetente suam sedem nunc vivimus illic, lkk|lkk|l/l|l/l|lkk|l~

et fruitur superis aeterna in luce Fabatus. lkk|l/kk|l/l|l/l|lkk|l~

Translation

"Mortal body, heavenly soul in me; after the soul returned to its dwelling, I am still alive there, and Fabatus enjoys the gods in eternal life."

Bibliography

CARO 1634, f. 216; HÜBNER, EE VIII p. 380 n. 80 cf. EE VIII p. 501. IX p. 56 (= IHC suppl. p. 137 n. 13*); inde omnes: DELGADO 1891, 498–499; FITA 1926, 489; PALOMAR 1951, 21-31; MARINER 1959b, 207-211; DIEHL, ILCV 3443; VIVES, ICERV 547; LUZÓN 1975, 294; CANTO 1982 (AE 1982, 536); GONZÁLEZ FERNÁNDEZ, CILA I, 75, cum im. phot.; VELÁZQUEZ SORIANO 1996, 77-113; FERNÁNDEZ MARTÍNEZ – CARANDE 2005b, 299–312; FERNÁNDEZ MARTÍNEZ – CARANDE 2006; FERNÁNDEZ MARTÍNEZ – CARANDE, CLEB H2, cum im. phot, quae in linguam Hispanicam verterunt; CUGUSI 2012, p. 125. – Cf. BÜCHELER, CLE p. 856; COURTNEY 1995, 14-15; BELÉN 2003, 131 ss.

Apparatus

1 coelestis DELGADO, MARINER. – 3 etervitur FITA; punctum post quodque verbum DELGADO.

Comentary

Epitaph in dactylic hexameters on the theme of the double nature of body and spirit, which after death returns to its original form to enjoy eternal life with the gods. There are many epigraphical parallels, including CLE 98,3; 1206,5, etc.; and in literature by known authors, the presumed self-epitaph by Seneca (Anth., 667). While this body/soul double nature was also found in Christianity, it is not necessary to consider this epigraph Christian as has traditionally been assumed, cf. IHC, ICERV and Mariner 1952. Canto in 1982, 107-117 pointed out the possibility of the deceased being a follower of one of the mystery cults of the 2nd or 3rd c. AD.  From the linguistic point of view, Mariner 1952, 109, pointed out the poetic plural vivimus (l. 2), for metrical reasons.

Caro 1634 stated that these three verses were part of the epitaph dedicated by Iulia Marcella to her husband Clodius Fabatus, an epitaph included in the selection Epigrammata vetera by Pithou; however, it is obvious that the block is conserved intact. The piece reproduced by Pithou is another one, found and conserved in Capena and including a praescriptum in prose. There are various differences between the two pieces: first, the dimensions, as the piece found in Capena is an altar or the base of a statue, 114 x 74 x (45), with an epigraphical field of 70.5 x 63, as well as a different layout. It can therefore be assumed that Pithou changed the form of the text, in both the praescriptum and the carmen. It has been suspected that the block of marble from Niebla may be a forgery, given the absence of dedicant and dedicatee and, especially, the identical layout to the text transmitted by Pithou. Despite this, it seems likely that Fabatus could have died on a journey and received funeral honours in both the place of his death and his original home (Di Stefano in conversations and by letter). The hypothesis that the Fabatus in Niebla was from Italy is supported by the lack of documentation of this cognomen in Hispania, while in Italy it is found frequently (cf. Kajanto 1982, 335), so that the block in Niebla may correspond to the first ceremony.

Images

Photo author: M. Fuentes Aguilar

Link to DB

Author

• Author:R. Carande Herrero, C. Fernández Martínez
• Last Update2024-02-26 22:54:24
• Autopsy date:2002