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In 400 CE, the Senate and emperors erected a bronze statue in the Forum of Trajan
in honor of Claudian, an honor Claudian himself mentions
in the preface to his De Bello Getico 7f.:
sed prior effigiem tribuit successus aenam, / oraque patricius nostra dicavit
honos; / annuit hunc princeps titulum poscente senatu
/ ... legimur conscipimurque foro
While the statue is
lost, the inscription survives and was discovered
in the
house
of Pomponius
Leto
in Rome in 1493. The inscription is currently housed
in the
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli.
CIL VI.1710 = Dessau 2949 = Moretti, Fasc. I, Rom 1968, n. 63; see also Mommsen, Inscr. Regni Neapol., 6794; Fiorelli, Catalogo..., p.32;
Kaibel, Epigrammata 879, CIG 6246, and IG XIV 1074.
[Cl.] Claudiani v(iri) c(larissimi)
[Cla]udio Claudiano v. c. tri-
[bu]no et notario inter ceteras
[..] centes artes praeglorissimo
[po]etarum, licet ad memoriam sem-
piternam carmina ab eodem
scripta sufficiant, adtamen
testimonii gratia ob iudicii sui
<
f>idem dd. nn. Arcadius et Honorius
<
f>elicissimi ac doctissimi
imperatores senatu petente
statuam in foro divi Traiani
erigi collocarique iusserunt.
Efin •n‹ Biril€oio nÒon ka‹ moËsan ÑOmÆrou
KlaudianÚn ÑR≈mh ka‹ basil∞w •yesan.
To Claudian Claudianus, a vir clarissimus, tribune, and notarius, [among]
other elegant arts, the most famed
of poets, although the songs written by him are
sufficient for his eternal memory, nevertheless for the sake
of proof and because of their faith in theirown judgment,
our lords, the most blessed and learned emperors Arcadius
and Honorius, in accordance with the wish of the Senate,
order a statue to be erected and located in the Forum of
the divine Trajan.
Rome and its emperors recognize that Claudian combines in one the intellect
of Virgil and the inspiration of Homer.
N.B. The first line "[Cl.] Claudiani v(iri) c(larissimi)" is simply a title and
not a mark of filiation; cf. CIL VI.1725, 1735, 1749, etc; Cameron 1970, p. 2.
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[click image for 600dpi PDF of inscription - 2.2MB]
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| Although generally accepted as genuine, the inscription's authenticity was
questioned (Giornale de' Letterati d'Italia, T. XII, p. 400). See also Mazoch. pag. 8, Gruteri Inscript. pag. 391, 5, Apostolus Zeno dissertazioni Vossiane 2 p. 250, and Tiraboschi storia
della lett. Ital. II p. 392 ed. Rom. 1782. |
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The inscription stone is 1.17m high, 0.595m wide, 0.045m thick.The Latin letters
are incised to a depth of between 0.05 and 0.02, the
Greek between 0.025 and 0.03cm. |
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Bormann-Henzen, CIL VI.1710: tabula ex marmore rubro sine dubio desecta de basi. In foro Traiani
MARVL. ALC. (qui add. sub statua), idem praecedit apud SAB.
Visebatur in foro Traiani proximis his annis VALER., in foro
Traiani fuit MAZ. LIG. (Taur.) VRS. - In domo Pomponii Laeti
in monte Caballo IVC. MAZ. ACCVRS. METELL. SMET. PIGH. LIG.
VRS. ALII, in humili quadam domo in Constantini thermis MARL.
et similiter PING. - In palatio Farnesiorum, die 3 Iunii a.
1704 BIANCH. - Nunc in museo Neapolitano. - Reperta a. 1493
GRVT. ed. 2, auctore non indicato, perperam; nel perstilio
del card. di Cesis LIGOR. (Neap. 37) fraude.
Descripsit Mommsen I.N. 6794; contulit Bormann. Exhibent Iucundus Veron. f. G,
Magl. f. 13, P. Sabinus Marc. f.56; Alciatus Feae f. 81; Marulus
34; Pierius Valerianus ad Georg. IV p. LXX qui sola Graeca
refert; Mazochius f. 8, in emendationibus corrigitur accuratissime; Apianus 228, 2 (inde Lazius c. r. R. p. 176) Graecis omissis, nescio unde; emendationes ms. in exemplis Mazochii Pogadri et Angelicano; Accursius ad Apianum bibl. Ambrosianae; Marlianus topogr. 5, 1; Metellus ad Maz. suum nunc. Vatic. 'A(lphonsus) C(astro) exscripsit. Exscr. Ben. Hegius. M(etellus) vidi et legi', Vatic. 6040 f. 30 'descr. Gaspar castri Bletisani; dedit Iac. Tavera'; Smetius ms. Neap. p. 141, alia manu, ed. 70, 3 (inde Grut. 391, 5, ex eoque Orelli 1182) qui vidit; Pighius Berol. f. 144; Manutius Vatic. 5241 p. 69 fortasse ex libro Ursini, Graeca citat orthogr. 1561 f. 50; Ligorius Neap. lib. 37 p. 452 et lib. 39, Taur. vol. 15 f. 118, et 26; ingonius f. 29; Panvinius Vatic. 6035 f. 96 omissis Graecis; Ursinus imag. 48; Ach. Statius Vallicell. f. 6; Bianchini Veron. 362 in scheda solitaria fasc. 13; Fiorelli catal. iscr. lat. 90. E prioribus C.L. Gr. 6246 - Pluribus illustravit Hagenbuch epis. 1 p. 61 seqq. De sinceritate temere dubitarunt Apostolus Zeno dissertazioni Vossiane 2 p. 250 et Tiraboschi storia della lett. Ital. II p. 392 ed. Rom. 1782.
Inscriptionem aeque mutilam atque nunc est exhibent apographa ad exempla Maz. Podagrianum, Metellianum, Angelicanum adscripta; plerique expletam exhibent. - Habent autem INGENTES Iuc. cum habent emendator Mazochii et Metellus, confirmat Bormannus, qui reliquias letterae ab initio v. 4 superstities ad c pertinusse dicit, quamquam similis sit forma litterae G in eodem versu. LuCENTES adnotatio ad Marlianum in thesauro Graeviano III p. 164 Venet.; deCENTES probabiliter Mommsenus. |
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