CRAWFORD, Laudatio Funebris

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Laudatio FunebrisAuthor(s): O. C. CrawfordReviewed work(s):Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Oct., 1941), pp. 17-27Published by: The Classical Association of the Middle West and SouthStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3292287 .

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LAUDATIOFUNEBRIS'

BY 0. C. CRAWFORDSantaBarbaraSchoolCarpinteria,California

I first collected he material or this study to supplementhearticlesonfgnera n theEnglishhandbooksf classical ntiquitiesin whichthe laudatiounebrishasreceived cantnotice.2Forthatmatter,the familiarFrenchand German ncyclopedias evoteatbestonlya fewcolumns rpages o thelaudatio.3Monographsnddissertationsn the subject, omeof whichareof a prettyancientvintage,arenot accessibleo mostof us. I thereforeubmitwhatI havegatheredorthe benefitof thosewhoareinterestedn thefunereal

ideof Romanprivate ife;nordo I makeany claimsoforiginality, or I am awarethat what I presentbelowcontainsnothingthat isn't familiarto some readers,and much that isfamiliar o most.

I takemy text fromLucian, orwhenwritingonsolugubrioussubjectone shouldnot overlook he comicreliefafiordedby theDeL?sstu:

Truly,it is wellworthwhileto observewhatpeopledoandsay at funerals.4Some people even hold competitionsand deliver funeral orations at the

1Read at the springmeetingof the ClassicalAssociation f thePacificStates,South-ernSection,PomonaCollege,May 7, 1938.

2 Cf. Harper'sDictionaryof ClassicalLiterature nd Antiquities, dited by H. T.Peck: New York (1897),s. v.funus, Roman; . E. Sandys,A Companiono LatinStudies: Cambridge,at the University Press (Third Edition 1935), 181; Smith,Wayte,Marindin,ADictionary fGreek ndRomanAntiquities: ondon ThirdEdition1890),s. v.funus, Roman.

3 Cf. Daremberg-Saglio, ictionnaire es antiquitesI, col. 1399,s. v.funus, Romc,oraisonunebre;J. Marquardt,Das PrivatlebenerRomer,SecondEditionby Mau, I,

357-360;Pauly-Wissowa,Real-EncycZopadseII, cols. 992-994, s. v. Iaudatiounebris.4 Lucian,DeLuctls1. (Translation f A. M. Harmonn "LoebClassicalLibrary").

17



18 THE CLASSICALJOURNAL

monuments, s if they werepleadingor testifying on behalf of the dead man

beforethe judges down below.5

In the closing chapters of his digression on the Roman consti-tution Polybius gives as an important reason for the superiorityof the Romans their funeral ceremony, singling out two of theircustoms for special emphasis the practice of wearing ancestralmasks and the delivery of a speech concerning the virtues of thedeparted, the notable achievements of his life-time, and his illus-trious ancestors. By these means, he says, young men were inspiredto emulate the lives of their glorious dead, the memories of those

who had shared in their exploits were thoroughly stirred, and thesympathies of those who had not were so deeply affected that itwas a question whether the actual mourners or the people as awhole had sustained the greater loss.6

The laudatio urebriscame as an interruption in the funeralprocessionfrom the home of the deceased to the place of burial orincineration. The cortege turned into the Forum7 and came to ahalt before the rostra, from which place the speech was delivered.8

We are told that the dead were praised from the rostra because

Romulus was buried there9 which may surprise those who havealways supposed that he had been spirited away in a storm-cloud.l° That the delivery of the eulogy from this place was thegeneral practice seems well established, whether the funeral waspublic or private.ll As a special distinction, in the case of the verygreat, a second laxdatiomight be given in the senate; in a slightlydifferent way Augustus was twice eulogized, once by Tiberiusbefore the temple of the deified Julius, and again by Drusus fromthe ancient rostra.l2 Sometimes, perhaps, the encomium was de-livered at the tomb before the immediate family and friends, in

which case it could be of a more intimate nature than one spoken

5 Ibid.,23. 6 PolybiusI, 52, 10;53,4; 6; 54, 4-7 Apuleius,Met.II, 21; DionysiusHalicarnassensis,ntiq.Rom.v, 17, 2;XI, 39, 5;

Horace,erxn., 6, 43; Plutarch,ucul.XLIII; Polybius I, 53, 1.8 Cicero, e Orat. I, 84, 341;Polybius,oc. cit.9H. J. Botschnyver,chol. n Hor.:Amsterdam,ottenburg1935),Epod.XVI,3.0As, or nstance, e read n Livy , 16,1.F. Vollmer,e FunerePublicoRomanorum: eipzig1892), 23,5.

12Dio CassiusVI, 34; Suetonius, ug.c, 3.



LAUDATIO FUNEBRIS 19

from the rostra, since the burial places were outside the city and

the convoy always stopped at the city gates.l3When the funeralprocession had arrived in the Forum, the bier

was placed either upon the rostra itself or directly in front of it,and the corpse, clothed in splendid raiment,l4was proppedinto asitting or standing posture facing the people, in order to make itconspicuous.15 he orator and those who were wearing the ances-tral masks mounted the rostral6and took their places in ivorychairs facing the assembled people.l7

Polybius says that if the dead man had left a son of suitable age

(eP XFKl0) and he happened to be present, the Zaxdatioxnebris wasdeliveredby him; but if not, by some other relative.l8 While thisrule as to age might have obtained in Polybius'sday, we know thatit was not always the case, for Augustus gave the funeral orationover his grandmotherJulia when he was only twelve years old;l9Tiberius at the age of nine eulogized his father, Claudius Nero;20Caligula at the age of sixteen spoke at the funeral of his great-grandmotherLivia Augusta.2l

At public funerals, in accordancewith a senatvs consXlt8S,22 adead emperor was generally eulogized by his successor, a consulby his colleague.23A magistrate was sometimes appointed to de-liver the oration over a private citizen of note.24Antony was chosento deliver Caesar's funeral oration "as a consul for a consul, a

3 Propertius , 7, 29.14Cf. Lucian,De Luctu11,wherehe adds thatthis was done sothat the corpsewould

not catch coldon his long tripbelow,or be seenundressed y Cerberus15 PolybiusVI,53,1.Occasionally he body was laid upon the bier (ibid.), ts head

proppedup with a tile. (H. E. Butler ad Prop. V, 7,note orl25 . in "LoebClassicalLibrary"). 16 PolybiusVI,53,2;Tacitus,Ann. III, 76.

17 I.e., thefunebriscontio PolybiusVI, 53,s9). A funebriscontio or the purposeof

hearinga laudatiobringsup anobscurepoint that has not beensatisfactorily nswered.In principle privatepersondidnot haveauthority o assemble nd address he people(Festus, p. 34,ed. Lindsay,contio).Under the Empirepermission o hold afunebriscontiohad to be obtained rom a highmagistrate-even from the emperorhimself(asin the case of Junia,wife of G. Cassius cf.Tacitus,Voc.it.]);thepractice n republicantime is not clear (cf. Mommsen,Rom.Staatsrecht, 442).

VI, 53,2. 19Suetonius,Aug. VIII, 1. 20Id., Tib.VI, 4-21Id., GaXus, 1. 22 Quinti]ian, nst. III, 7, 2.

23 F. Vollmer, "LaudationumFunebriumRomanorumHistoria et ReliquiarumEditio,"Jahrbucherur classischePhilologie,SupplementbandVIII (1892),454A57.

24Plutarch,Pub. rx.






andBrutusdiedsixteenyearsbeforeMarathonwasfought.34ven

afterits adoption n Athens,the funeralorationwasreservedorthepublic uneralsof thosewhohadfalleninbattle;fortheAthe-nians hought hat nooneexceptsoldiers houldbe conspicuousndeath.3tThe Romans,on the otherhand,believed hat this honorshouldbe accordedall distinguished itizens,whetherthey hadbeencommanders f campaigns r hadotherwiseaidedthe stateeither n a magistracy rby givingwisecounsel;not only to menwhohaddied ntheirboots,butalso to thosewhohaddied ntheirbeds,"thinkinghat praiseswereduegoodmenfor a completely

virtuousifeaswell as forthosewhohadfounda naturaldeath."36In 390B.C., whenthe Romans acedthe embarrassingituationof havingto meetfroman emptytreasury he tributeexactedbythe Gauls,andthe matronsof theirownaccordhadcometo therescueby givingup theirgoldornaments ndjewelryso that thesacredgoldwouldnothave to be touched, he Senate, n apprecia-tion of theirgenerosity,grantedto the women,as heretoforeomen,the honorof havingeulogiespronouncedt theirfunerals.37But the newprivilege eemsnot to havebecome he generalprac-ticeuntil ongafterthattime;such,at least,wouldbe our nferencefrom hefollowing assagen Cicero:

. . . scio et me et omnis,quiadfuerunt,delectatosessevehementer, um a teest Popilia, mater vestra, laudata, cui primummulieri hunc honoreminnostra civitate tributumputo.38

Popilia's on,herereferredo, wasQuintusLutatiusCatulus,con-sulin 102B.C. From henonthishonor orwomenwasnot uncom-mon-at leastforwomenwhosehusbands rsonshadrisen o highpositions. t mustalsohavebeenbestowedat timeswithpolitical

significance, s whenPompey'swifewas eulogized n the Forumeitherat the suggestion f thepartisansof CaesarandPompeyorbecause hereweresomewhothoughtthat it wouldbe a friendlygesture.39 necanfind n the authorsmanynoticesof funeralora-tionsdeliverednhonorofsuchgrandes atnes sCornelia,Drusilla,

34Ibid., 4. 36 Ibid., 5. 36 Ibid.,6. 37 Livy v, 50, 7; Plutarch,Cam.VIII, 3 f.38 De Orat. I, 44. This wasprobably private uneral.Vollmer op. cit.,340f.) Ends

with regardto publicfunerals,"Feminisvideturhic honornon ante Caesarem on-tigisse." 39 Dio Cassiusxxx=, 64.



22 TBE CLASSICALJOURNAL

Julia, Junia, Livia, Octavia, Poppaea; but death, "the great

leveler,"has allowed o come down to us in actual text only theorationspronounced ver three comparatively bscurewomen-but of these later.40

We turn now to the laudatiofunebrisas a branchof rhetoric.

Licet enimvir bonustaceat,sed aliquem udicetdignum audeesse, audatusest. Praeterea liud est laus, aliud audatio,haec et vocem exigit. Itaque nemodicit laudem unebrem ed laudationem, uiusoflicium rationeconstat.4l

The few occasions n whicha funeralorationcouldbe deliveredin Greecewereprescribed y law;42n Rome he lawsof the Twelve

Tables limited extravagance t funerals,but the other rules forthe conductof obsequies estedon custom,and the laudatiofune-briswas no exception.43Theysimplycommit heir grief nto thechargeof customand habit,"observedLucian.44 y the last daysof the Republic custom rigidly regulatedthe structureof thelaudatio,a few of the rulesfor which I have attempted o recon-struct below.

According o Aristotle hat branchof rhetoricwhich concernslaus does not pertain o the practical ideof oratory v,u,Bov\evr-

K6V, 6LKaVtKOV) but solely to the delectationeTt6ftKTtKdV) of audi-ences.45 ot so in Rome,wherethe frequentnecessityof prepar-ing and delivering uneralorationsgave it somepracticalvalue.46Cicero emarks hat this department f oratorywas attendedwithlittle difficulty,47 hich was perhaps he reasonwhy training npanegyricwasput early n the education f the youngorator.48Wehave already een that it was not unusual or the laudatiofunebristo be delivered y youths.It wasthe rule hat suchspeeches houldhave the "brevityof testimony, impleand unadorned";49nd itis this quality n the well-knownaudatio Turiaethat so impresses

40 See nfra, p. 27; and notes0-82.

41 Seneca, pist.CII, 15. Graffop. cit., 8) places he uneral rationn thatdivisionof oratory alledZaudatios follow$: )Zaudationesudiciales, ) Zaudationesn senat4,3) Zaudationesrocontione: )miZitum,)civium, ) funebrs.

42DionysiusHalicarnassensis,p.cit.,v, 17,4.43Cicero, e Leg. I, 24X 62. 44De Luctu1.46het. 1358B2=IX 3, 2-3; III, 12, 6. SeealsoQuintilian,nstit. III, 7, 1.46Quintilian,nstit.III, 7, . 47De Orat. I, 84, 41.

48Quintilian,nstit. II, 4, 20.

49Cicero, oc. «t.,"testimonirevitatemabent udam tque nornatam."





24 TBE CLASSICALJOURNAL

neque amen lla non ornant,habiti honores,decretavirtutispraemia,

res gestae udiciis hominuns ornprobatae;n quibusetiam elicitatemipsam deorurnfntnortaliurnudicio tribvi laudationis est.S6

It would seem, then, that the purposeof the laudatiofunebriswas to markthe place of the defunct n the long trainof descend-ants froma commonancestor,and to set in reliefhis lofty actionsand honorsas his contribution o the family glory. HenceXhe in-scription o T. ClodiusLuella at Madaura s true to type, for itends in this declaration: ddidit hic decus ac nomen suae Claudiaegenti.57

A significant ointnotedby Quintilianmust be considered ow.AristotleofEershe suggestion hat since there is a certainaffinitybetweenvice and virtuewe shoulddeviatea little fromthe literalmeaningof words (derivationeverborurn) nd call a man braveinstead of rash, liberal instead of prodigal,thrifty rather thanmiserly.58o whichQuintilian dds hat the goodorator,of course,wouldnot do sounlessforte conxnsuni tilitateduceturI59 neshouldtry to preservealiquam speciensprobationis,60 lthough t is thepurposeof paneyric to amplify(anspliJicare) nd embellish or-nare) its themes.6l

Indeed,we have evidence hat "amplification"nd "embellish-ment" were almost as customaryas the deliveryof the orationitself. In the early days of the Republic t was customary or theleadinghousesto keep lists of events important o the individualand the familyfor futurereferencen preparinghe funeral auda-tion; these notes servedas the basis of the family tradition,andwith the passingof time they couldvery easily develop endenciesto glorify certain ndividuals n whose favor the exact historicaltruth was not always adhered o.62Livy, in doubt on a point of

history which he is trying to establish n connectionwith theSamnitewars, complains:

Vitiatammemoriam unebribusaudibus eor alsisque maginum itulis, dum

u op. cit., II, 85, 347-

67F. Bucheler,Car?nina Latina Epigraphica: Leipzig,Teubner(1895-97), 11,9.68 Instit. III, 7, 23-25-

69 Ibid. 60 Ibid., 5- 81bid., 6.62 Th. Mommsen,History of Rome, Dickson's translation:New York, Scribner's

(1908),I, 2, 9;cf. Cicero,Brut. XVI,62.




familiaead se quaeque amamrerumgestarumhonorumqueallentimendacio

trahunt; inde certe et singulorumgesta et publicamonumentarerumcon-fusa.63

Cicero also objects that hislaudationibusistoria eruns ostrarumest actanendosior.64he usual method was for a family of inferiorstation to claim relationship to a noble family of the same name,to pretend to a succession of honors that never existed. Cicerogives us an illustration: . . . ut, sFegonsea M'. Tullioessedicerern,qui patriciuscunsServioSglpicioconsulannodecimopostexactosreges uit.65

For a good example of "embellishment" et us see what Tiberiushad to say when he lauded Augustus. There was nothing, he found,in the careers of Alexanderor Romtllus, "whohave the reputationof having done something quite brilliant when very young," com-parableto the exploits of the young Octavian in avenging the fallenDictator; he could be justified only in comparinghim to Hercules:

but even so I should all shortof my purpose,n so farasHercules nchildhoodonly dealt with serpents,and when a man, with a stag or two and a boarwhichhe killed-oh, yes, anda lion, to be sure, albeitreluctantlyand at somebody'sbehest; whereasAugustus,not among beasts, but among men, of his

own free will, by wagingwarand enacting aws, literalls saved the common-wealth and gained splendidrenown orhimself.66

To take anotherexample, Julius Caesar traced his paternalaunt'sdescent, on her mother's side, back to Ancus Marcius, and on herfather's to Venus; concluding: "Ourstock, therefore, has at oncethe sanctity of kings, whose power is supremeamong mortal men,and the claim to reverence which attaches to the gods, who holdsway over kings themselves."67The people listened in all serious-ness, we are told, to Nero pronouncing the eulogy of Claudius as

long as he dwelt on the antiquity of his race, and counted up thetriumphsand consulshipsof his ancestors; but when he went on tospeak of his foresight and wisdom, no one could help laughing.68

After the funeral the laudatio ecame a part of the rnonumentaprivata f the family; a copy was laid away in the archives kept in

68 VIII, 40, 4. 64Brgt.XVI, 62. 66Ibid.66 Dio CassiusLVI, 36,4 f. (trans. by E. Caryin "LoebClassicalLibrary").67 Suetonius, ul. VI, 1 (trans.by J. C. Rolfe in "LoebClassicalLibrary").68 Tacitus,Ann.XIII, 3.



26TE2ECLASSICALJOURNAL

the tablinum,and a shortresumewas madeto be engravedbeneath

the waxenimage of the defunct in the atriufn69rpainted upon thewall of the entrance hall.70The not always good poems of tomb-stone inscriptions were frequently such abridgments in metricalform.71Laudationeswere sometimes published as political pam-phlets,72 nd it wasprobablyfromthis practice that the literarybi-ographydeveloped.Forthis reasonit has often beensuggestedthatTacitus' Agricola is closely akin to the funeral oration.73

Cicerospeaksof the pleasureto be derived fromreadingfuneralorations,74hough we have seen that the orator was chosen ratherfor his relationship to the deceased

than for his eloquence, andmust frequently have been immature.75 t is quite possible, how-ever,that they werenot always written by those elected to deliverthem at least we know of one famousoccasionwhen this was thecase, for the oration delivered by Nero in honor of Claudius waswrittenfor him by Seneca.76

Dio Cassiushas reportedin some detail the ratherdigniEedora-tionTiberius delivered in honor of Augustus,77and Appian's ac-countof Antony's discourseat the funeralof Julius Caesar,whichfollows he formula of the laudatio unebris in all essential details,is ami]iarto all.78These are the only reportsof any completenessthat we find in the authors. Livy, Pliny, Plutarch, Suetonius,Tacitus,and others have left many brief notices of laudationesfunebresnd by whom they were deli+rered.79hese may occasion-allycontain isolated sentences taken verbatirnrom such orations.

In addition the CorpusInscriptionuYn atinarunscontains threeinscriptionshat have been identified as funeral orations. One oftheseappears to have been written or delivered by Hadrian in69 Galletier,op. cit., 193. 70 Mommsen,oc.cit.

71H. de la Ville de Mirmont,Et?zdesvr l'ancienne oesie atine:Paris (1903),396.72 Teuffeland Schwabe,Historyof RomanLsterature,ranslatedby Warr:London,Georgeell&Sons(1891), , 44andn. 2. Cf.also43,n. 3.73 J. W. Mackail,LatinLiterature: ew York,Scribner's 1895),211.74 Orator I, 37;Brxt.XVI, 61f. 76 Cf. suprann. 19-21,48.76 Tacitus,Ann. XIII, 3. The laudatioP. ScipionisAemiliana(129 B.C.) had beenwritteny C. Laelius,but deliveredby Q. FabiusMaximus(Schol.Bob.ad Cic.proMiloneII, 2). LVI, 34 ff. 78 B. C. II, 20, 144-79 Fora detailed ist see Graff,op.cit.,76 ff.,andVollmer,"Laud. un. Rom.hist.,"Jahrb.. Phil. Sxppl. XVIII, 480 S.



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CRAWFORD, Laudatio Funebris