Delphi Complete Works of Varro

by Marcus Terentius Varro

  131. Next I shall first touch upon those things which are for putting on, then those which are for wrapping about the person. Capitium ‘vest,’ from the fact that it capit ‘holds’ the chest, that is, as the ancients said, it comprehendit ‘includes’ it. One kind of put-on goes subtus ‘below,’ from which it is called subucula ‘underskirt’; a second kind goes supra ‘above,’ from which it is called supparus ‘dress,’ unless this is so called because they say it in the same way in Oscan. Of the second sort there are likewise two varieties, one called palla ‘outer dress,’ because it is outside and palam ‘openly’ visible; the other is intus ‘inside,’ from which it is called indusium ‘under-dress,’ as though intusium, of which Plautus speaks:

  Under-dress, a bordered dress, of marigold and saffron hue.

  There are many garments which extravagance brought at later times, whose names are clearly Greek, such as asbestinon ‘fire-proof.’

  132. Amictui ‘wrap’ is thus named because it is ambiectum ‘thrown about,’ that is, circumiectum ‘thrown around,’ from which moreover they gave the name of circumiectui ‘throw-around’ to that with which women envelop themselves after they are dressed; and any wrap that has a purple edge around it, they call circumtextum ‘edge-weave.’ Those of very long ago called a wrap a ricinium ‘mantilla’; it was called ricinium from reicere ‘to throw back,’ because they wore it doubled, throwing back one half of it over the other.

  133. Pallia ‘cloaks’ from this, that they consisted of two single paria ‘equal’ pieces of cloth, called parilia at first, from which R was eliminated for smoothness of sound. Parapechia ‘elbow-stripes,’ chlamydes ‘mantles,’ and many others, are Greek. Laena ‘overcoat,’ because they contained much lana ‘wool,’ even like two togas: as the ricinium was the most ancient garment of the women, so this double garment is the most ancient garment of the men.

  134. Farming tools which were made for planting or cultivating the crops. Sarculum ‘hoe,’ from serere ‘to plant’ and sarire ‘to weed.’ Ligo ‘mattock,’ because with this, on account of its width, what is under the ground legitur ’is gathered’ more easily. Pala ‘spade’ from pangere ‘to fix in the earth’; the L was originally GL. Rutrum ‘shovel,’ previously ruitrum, from ruere ‘to drop in a heap.’

  135. Aratrum ‘plough,’ because it arruit ‘piles up’ the earth. Its iron part is called vomer ‘ploughshare,’ because with its help it the more vomit ‘spews up’ the earth. The dens ‘colter,’ because by this the earth is bit; the straight piece of wood which stands above this is called the stiva ‘handle,’ from stare ‘to stand,’ and the wooden cross-piece on it is the mani-cula ‘hand-grip,’ because it is held by the manus ‘hand’ of the ploughman. That which is so to speak a wagon-tongue between the oxen, is called a bura ‘beam,’ from boves ‘oxen’; others call this an urvum, from the curvum ‘curve.’ The hole under the middle of the yoke, which is stopped up by inserting the end of the beam, is called coum, from cavum ‘hole.’ Iugum ‘yoke’ and iumentum ‘yoke-animal,’ from iunctus ‘joining or yoking.’

  136. Irpices ‘harrows’ are a straight piece of wood with many teeth, which oxen draw just like a wagon, that they may pull up the things that serpunt ‘creep’ in the earth; they were called sir-pices and afterwards, by some persons, irpices, with the S worn off. Rastelli ‘hay-rakes,’ like harrows, are saw-toothed instruments, but light in weight; therefore a man in the meadows at haying time corradit ‘scrapes together’ with this the stalks, from which rasus ‘scraping’ they are called rastelli. Rastri ‘rakes’ are sharp-toothed instruments by which they scratch the earth deep, and eruunt ‘dig it up,’ from which rutus ‘digging’ they are called ruastri.

  137. Falces ‘sickles,’ from far ‘emmer,’ with the change of a letter; in Campania, these are called seculae, from secare ‘to cut’; from a certain likeness to these are named others, the falces fenariae ‘hay scythes’ and arbor ariae ‘tree pruning-hooks,’ of obvious origin, and falces lumariae and sirpiculae, whose source is obscure. Lumariae are those with which lumecta are cut, that is when thorns grow up in the fields; because the farmers solvunt ‘loosen,’ that is, luunt ‘loose,’ them from the earth, they are called lumecta ‘thorn-thickets.’ Falces sirpiculae are named from sirpare ‘to plait of rushes,’ that is, alligare ‘to fasten’; thus broken jars are said to have been sirpata ‘rush-covered,’ when they are fastened together with rushes. They use rushes in the vineyard for tying up bundles of fuel, cut stakes, and kindling. These sickles they call zanclae in the peninsular dialect.

  138. The pilum ‘pestle’ is so named because with it they pisunt ‘pound’ the spelt, from which the place where this is done is called a pistrinum ‘mill’ — L and S often change places with each other — and from that afterwards pistrina ‘bakery’ and pistrix ‘woman baker,’ words used in Lucilius’s City. Trapetes are the mill-stones of the olive-mill: they call them trapetes from terere ‘to rub to pieces,’ unless the word is Greek; and molae from mollire ‘to soften,’ for what is thrown in there is softened by their motion. Vallum ‘small winnowing-fan,’ from volatus ‘flight,’ because when they swing this to and fro the light particles volant ‘fly’ away from there. Ventilabrum ‘winnowing-fork,’ because with this the grain ventilatur ’is tossed’ in the air.

  139. Those means with which field produce and necessary things are transported. Of these, fiscina ‘rush-basket’ was named from ferre ‘to carry’; corbes ‘baskets,’ from the fact that into them they corruebant ‘piled up’ corn-ears or something else; from this the smaller ones were called corbulae. Of those which animals draw, the tragula ‘sledge,’ because it trahitur ’is dragged’ along the ground by the animal; sirpea ‘wicker wagon,’ which sirpatur ’is plaited’ of osiers, that is, is woven by binding them together, in which dung or something else is conveyed.

  140. Vehiculum ‘wagon,’ in which beans or something else is conveyed, because it vietur ’is plaited’ or because vehitur ‘carrying is done’ by it. A shorter kind of wagon is called by others, as it were, an arcera ‘covered wagon,’ which is named even in the Twelve Tables; because the wagon was made of boards like an arca ‘strong box,’ it was called an arcera. Plaustrum ‘cart,’ from the fact that unlike those which I have mentioned above it is palam ‘open’ not to a certain degree but everywhere, for the objects which are conveyed in it perlucent ‘shine forth to view,’ such as stone slabs, wooden beams, and building material.

  141. Aedificia ‘buildings’ are, like many things, named from a part: from aedes ‘hearths’ and facere ‘to make’ comes certainly aedificium. Op-pidum ‘town’ also is named from ops ‘strength,’ because it is fortified for ops ‘strength,’ as a place where the people may be, and because for spending their lives there is opus ‘need’ of place where they may be in safety. Moenia ‘walls’ were so named because they muniebant ‘fortified’ the towns with opus ‘work.’ What they exaggerabant ‘heaped up’ that it might be moenitius ‘better fortified,’ was called aggeres ‘dikes,’ and that which was to support the dike was called a moerus ‘wall.’ Because carrying was done for the sake of muniendi ‘fortifying,’ the work was a munus ‘duty’; because they enclosed the town by this moenus, it was a moerus ‘wall.’

  142. Its top was called pinnae ‘pinnacles,’ from those feathers which distinguished soldiers are accustomed to wear on their helmets, and among the gladiators the Samnites wear. Turres ‘towers,’ from torvi ‘fiercely staring eyes,’ because they stand out in front of the rest. Where they left a way in the wall, by which they might portare ‘carry’ goods into the town, these they called portae ‘gates.’

  143. Many founded towns in Latium by the Etruscan ritual; that is, with a team of cattle, a bull and a cow on the inside, they ran a furrow around with a plough (for reasons of religion they did this on an auspicious day), that they might be fortified by a ditch and a wall. The place whence they had ploughed up the earth, they called a fossa ‘ditch,’ and the earth thrown inside it they called the mu
rus ‘wall.’ The orbis ‘circle’ which was made back of this, was the beginning of the urbs ‘city’; because the circle was post murum ‘back of the wall,’ it was called a post-moerium; it sets the limits for the taking of the auspices for the city. Stone markers of the pomerium stand both around Aricia and around Rome. Therefore towns also which had earlier had the plough drawn around them, were termed urbes ‘cities,’ from orbis ‘circle’ and urvum ‘curved’; therefore also all our colonies are mentioned as urbes in the old writings, because they had been founded in just the same way as Rome; therefore also colonies and cities conduntur ‘are founded,’ because they are placed inside the pomerium.

  144.The first town of the Roman line which was founded in Latium, was Lavinium; for there are our Penates. This was named from the daughter of Latinus who was wedded to Aeneas, Lavinia. Thirty years after this, a second town was founded, named Alba; it was named from the alba ‘white’ sow. This sow, when she had escaped from Aeneas’s ship to Lavinium, gave birth to a litter of thirty young; from this prodigy, thirty years after the founding of Lavinium, this second city was established, called Alba Longa ‘the Long White City,’ on account of the colour of the sow and the nature of the place. From here came Rhea, mother of Romulus; from her, Romulus; from him, Rome.

  145. In a town there are vici ‘rows,’ from via ‘street,’ because there are buildings on each side of the via. Fundulae ‘blind streets,’ from fundus ‘bottom,’ because they have no way out and there is no passage through. Angiportum ‘alley,’ either because it is angustum ‘narrow,’ or from agere ‘to drive’ and portus ‘entrance.’ The place to which they might conferre ‘bring’ their contentions and might ferre ‘carry’ articles which they wished to sell, they called a forum.

  146. Where things of one class were brought, a denomination was added from that class, as the Forum Boarium ‘Cattle Market,’ the Forum Holitorium ‘Vegetable Market’: this was the old Macellum, where holera ‘vegetables’ in quantity were brought; such places even now the Spartans call a macellum, but the Ionians call the entrances to gardens “the macellotae of gardens,” and speak of the macella ‘entrances’ to small fortified villages. Along the Tiber, at the sanctuary of Portunus, they call it the Forum Piscarium ‘Fish Market’; therefore Plautus says:

  Down at the Market that sells the fish.

  Where things of various kinds are sold, at the Cornel-Cherry Groves, is the Forum Cuppedinis ‘Luxury Market,’ from cuppedium ‘delicacy,’ that is, from fastidium ‘fastidiousness’; many call it the Forum Cupidinis ‘Greed Market,’ from cupiditas ‘greed.’

  147. After all these things which pertain to human sustenance had been brought into one place, and the place had been built upon, it was called a Macellum, as certain writers say, because there was a garden there; others say that it was because there had been there a house of a thief with the cognomen Macellus, which had been demolished by the state, and from which this building has been constructed which is called from him a Macellum.

  148. In the Forum is the Lacus Curtius ‘Pool of Curtius’; it is quite certain that it is named from Curtius, but the story about it has three versions: for Procilius does not tell the same story as Piso, nor did Cornelius follow the story given by Procilius. Procilius states that in this place the earth yawned open, and the matter was by decree of the senate referred to the haruspices; they gave the answer that the God of the Dead demanded the fulfilment of a forgotten vow, namely that the bravest citizen be sent down to him. Then a certain Curtius, a brave man, put on his war-gear, mounted his horse, and turning away from the Temple of Concord, plunged into the gap, horse and all; upon which the place closed up and gave his body a burial divinely approved, and left to his clan a lasting memorial.

  149. Piso in his Annals writes that in the Sabine War between Romulus and Tatius, a Sabine hero named Mettius Curtius, when Romulus with his men had charged down from higher ground and driven in the Sabines, got away into a swampy spot which at that time was in the Forum, before the sewers had been made, and escaped from there to his own men on the Capitoline; and from this the pool found its name.

  150. Cornelius and Lutatius write that this place was struck by lightning, and by decree of the senate was fenced in: because this was done by the consul Curtius, who had M. Genucius as his colleague, it was called the Lacus Curtius.

  151. The arx ‘citadel,’ from arcere ‘to keep off,’ because this is the most strongly fortified place in the City, from which the enemy can most easily be kept away. The carcer ‘prison,’ from coercere ‘to confine,’ because those who are in it are prevented from going out. In this prison, the part which is under the ground is called the Tullianum, because it was added by King Tullius. Because at Syracuse the place where men are kept under guard on account of transgressions is called the Latomiae ‘quarries,’ from that the word was taken over as lautumia, because here also in this place there were formerly stone-quarries.

  152. On the Aventine is the Lauretum ‘Laurel-Grove,’ called from the fact that King Tatius was buried there, who was killed by the Laurentes ‘Lauren-tines,’ or else from the laurea ‘laurel’ wood, because there was one there which was cut down and a street run through with houses on both sides: just as between the Sacred Way and the higher part of the Macellum are the Corneta ‘Cornel-Cherry Groves,’ from corni ‘cornel-cherry trees,’ which though cut away left their name to the place; just as the Aesculetum ‘Oak-Grove’ is named from aesculus ‘oak-tree,’ and the Fagutal ‘Beech-tree Shrine’ from fagus ‘beech-tree,’ whence also Jupiter Fagutalis ‘of the Beech-tree,’ because his shrine is there.

  153. Armilustrium ‘purification of the arms,’ from the going around of the lustrum ‘purificatory offering’; and the same place is called the Circus Maximus, because, being the place where the games are performed, it is built up circum ‘round about’ for the shows, and because there the procession goes and the horses race circum ‘around’ the turning-posts. Thus in The Story of the Helmet-Horn the following is said at the coming of the soldier, whom they encircle and make fun of:

  Why do we refrain from making sport? See, here’s our circus-ring. In the Circus, the place from which the horses are let go at the start, is now called the Carceres ‘Prison-stalls,’ but Naevius called it the Town. Carceres was said, because the horses coercentur ‘are held in check,’ that they may not go out from there before the official has given the sign. Because the Stalls were formerly adorned with pinnacles and towers like a wall, the poet wrote:

  When the Dictator mounts his car, he rides the whole way to the Town.

  154. The very centre of the Circus is called ad Murciae ‘at Murcia’s,’ as Procilius said, from the urcei ‘pitchers,’ because this spot was in the potters’ quarter; others say that it is derived from murtetum ‘myrtle-grove,’ because that was there: of which a trace remains in that the chapel of Venus Murtea ‘of the Myrtle’ is there even to this day. Likewise for a similar reason the Circus Flaminius ‘Flaminian Circus’ got its name, for it is built circum ‘around’ the Flaminian Plain, and there also the horses race circum ‘around’ the turning-posts at the Taurian Games.

  155. The Comitium ‘Assembly-Place’ was named from this, that to it they coibant ‘came together’ for the comitia curiata ‘curiate meetings’ and for lawsuits. The curiae ‘meeting-houses’ are of two kinds: for there are those where the priests were to attend to affairs of the gods, like the old meeting-houses, and those where the senate should attend to affairs of men, like the Hostilian Meeting-House, so called because King Hostilius was the first to build it. In front of this is the Rostra ‘Speaker’s Stand’: of which this is the name — the rostra ‘beaks’ taken from the enemy’s ships have been fastened to it. A little to the right of it, in the direction of the Comitium, is a lower platform, where the envoys of the nations who had been sent to the senate were to wait; this, like many things, was called from a part of its use, being named the Graecostasis ‘Stand of the Greeks.’

  156. Above the Graec
ostasis was the Senaculum ‘Senate-Stand,’ where the Temple of Concord and the Basilica Opimia are; it was called Senaculum as a place where the senate or the seniores ‘elders’ were to take their places, named like γερουσία ‘assembly of elders’ among the Greeks. Lautolae ‘baths,’ from lavare ‘to wash,’ because there near the Double Janus there once were hot springs. From these there was a pool in the Lesser Velabrum, from which fact it was called velabrum because there they vehebantur ‘were conveyed’ by skiffs, like that greater Velabrum of which mention has been made above.

  157. The Aequimaelium ‘Maelius-Flat,’ because the house of Maelius was aequata ‘laid flat’ by the state since he wished to seize the power and be king. The place Ad Busta Gallica ‘At the Gauls’ Tombs,’ because on the recovery of Rome the bones of the Gauls who had held Rome were heaped up there and fenced in. The place near the Cloaca Maxima which is called Doliola ‘The Jars,’ where spitting is prohibited, from some doliola ‘jars’ that were buried under the earth. Two stories about these are handed down: some say that bones of dead men were in them, others that certain sacred objects belonging to Numa Pompilius were buried in them after his death. The Argiletum, according to some writers, was named from Argus of Larisa, because he came to this place and was buried there; according to others, from the argilla ‘clay,’ because this kind of earth is found at this place.

  158. The Clivus Publicius ‘Publician Incline,’ from the members of the Publician gens who as plebeian aediles constructed it by state authority. For like reasons the Clivus Pullius and the Clivus Cosconius, because they are said to have been constructed by men of these names as Street-Overseers. The Incline that goes up close by the Temple of Flora is Old Capitol, because there is in that place a chapel of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, and this is older than the temple which has been built on the Capitol.