SET

 

Catalogue Raisonné of J. L. Speranza’s Publications – H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Set

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settala – Ossia: Grice e Settala: la ragione conversazionale dei problemi sessuali d’Aristotele -- desiderio e piacere. Note su De peste et pestiferis affectibus. Il Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice Ludovico Settala (Milano, Lombardia): Grice: la ragione conversazionale dei problemi sessuali d’Aristotele -- desiderio e piacere. The comparison between Ludovico Settala and H. P. Grice brings into focus two very different but unexpectedly convergent ways of understanding reason-governed meaning: Settala, formed within the Italian Aristotelian-medical tradition centered in Milan and Bologna, treats desire and pleasure as phenomena whose intelligibility depends on empirical observation of the body and its temperaments, reading Aristotle’s Problemata as a bridge between physiological facts and practical reasoning about human conduct, including sex and reproduction; Grice, by contrast, relocates rational governance from nature to interaction itself, arguing that conversational meaning is structured by shared norms of rational cooperation, so that what is meant exceeds what is said through implicature, inference, and a tacit appeal to reasonableness rather than biology. Where Settala grounds explanation in an empiricism shaped by medicine—desire as diagnosable, pleasure as observable, and their mismatch as a clinical puzzle—Grice treats mismatch as pragmatically productive, since the gap between expression and intention is precisely what allows speakers to communicate more than they state. The playful Milanese exchange attributed to Settala and Grice dramatizes this contrast: Settala’s Aristotelian humor insists that not every desire yields pleasure and not every pleasure satisfies desire, while Grice responds by redescribing this very asymmetry as a rational implicature, a structured “vice versa” that complicates diagnosis but enables meaning. In this sense, Settala exemplifies a tradition in which reason governs explanation by anchoring it in embodied facts, whereas Grice exemplifies a modern turn in which reason governs conversation itself, transforming the instability between desire and pleasure into a systematic feature of how humans make sense of one another through language rather than through physiology. The Italian philosophical tradition remains distinguished by its historical leanings toward an Aristotelian empiricism that emerges through a unique fusion of medical education and the humanities. This synthesis is most visible in the works of S., who leverages the pedagogical structures of centres like Bologna to ground humanistic inquiry in clinical observation. Medical Education as a Catalyst for Empiricism  At Bologna, the world’s oldest university, the study of medicine and the "arts" -- philosophy, logic, rhetoric -- were inextricably linked within the same faculty.  Integrated Curriculum: Graduation required attendance in both medicine and philosophy, fostering a cultural environment where philosophical abstracting is constantly checked by medical "facts" and clinical cases. Empirical Epistemology: This proximity births a "medical empiricism" that prioritised sensory experience and the observation of the body over pure metaphysical speculation.  S.’s Aristotelian Framework S. exemplifies this tradition through his extensive 1,200-page commentary on the Aristotelian Problemata. Authority Through Observation: S. uses the Problemata to bridge the gap between natural philosophy and medical practice, blurring the lines between these authorities. Basic Human Needs and Desires: He applies Aristotle’s theories of temperament to the human soul, viewing desires and psychological states as physiological manifestations. Reproduction and Generation: Following Aristotle’s Generation of Animals, S. views reproduction not just as a biological necessity but as a philosophical act where the individual seeks a form of "formal eternity" through their offspring. ragion di stato, lizio, sesso. Settala: Caro Grice, se Aristotele avesse avuto a disposizione i nostri milanesi, avrebbe scritto i Problemata con più gusto: qui il desiderio incontra sempre il piacere, almeno finché non finisce il risotto! Grice: Ah, Ludovico, ma a Milano il piacere è materia di empirismo: lo si osserva, lo si misura... e poi si cerca di prescriverlo come se fosse una ricetta medica. Eppure, tra desiderio e piacere, c’è sempre qualche “vice versa” che ci complica la diagnosi! Settala: Ecco, Grice, tu mi implici che non tutto ciò che desidero è fonte di piacere, o viceversa... e mi sa che il paziente rimane sempre un po' insoddisfatto, anche dopo aver letto mille pagine di Aristotele. Settala: La tua implicatura è paradossale, e comica allo stesso tempo – congratulazioni, Grice! Non so se è paradossale perché è comica o viceversa – in ogni caso, vice versa, la filosofia milanese ti accoglie: qui tra desiderio e piacere c’è sempre spazio per un sorriso... e per una diagnosi che non tenga mai troppo sul serio il “ragion di stato” del sesso! Settala, Ludovico (1622). De peste et pestiferis affectibus. Milano: Tini

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settimio – Ossia: Grice e Settimio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settimio The gens Septimia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. The gens first appears in history towards the close of the Republic, and they did not achieve much importance until the latter half of the second century, when Lucius Septimius Severus obtained the imperial dignity.[1]  Origin The nomen Septimius is a patronymic surname, derived from the rare Latin praenomen Septimus, originally given to a seventh child or seventh son, or to a child born in September, originally the seventh month of the Roman calendar.[2][3] Several other gentes obtained their nomina in this way, including the Quinctii from Quintus, the Sextii from Sextus, and the Octavii from Octavius.[2]  Praenomina The chief praenomina of the Septimii were Publius, Lucius, Gaius, and Titus. There are a few instances of other names, including Aulus, Marcus, and Quintus. The ancestor of the family must have been named Septimus, although none of the members who are known to history bore this praenomen.  Branches and cognomina The Septimii of the Republic were not clearly divided into separate families. A number of surnames are found at various periods, of which the most notable are Severus, meaning "stern, serious, severe," Aper, a wild boar, and Geta, referring to one of the Getae, a Thracian people.[4][5] All three cognomina were associated with the imperial family. They were of equestrian rank, and had probably lived in Leptis Magna for some time, for Statius addressed one of his poems to a certain Septimius Severus of that city.[6][7]  Members This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation. Titus Septimius Sabinus, curule aedile at some point following the consulship of Lucullus in 74 BC.[8] Publius Septimius Scaevola, a senator, who was one of the judges allegedly bribed by Aulus Cluentius Habitus in order to obtain the condemnation of Statius Albius Oppianicus in 74 BC. Septimius was condemned two years later, ostensibly on a charge of repetundae, or extortion, but probably due instead to his actions during the trial of Oppianicus.[9] Septimius, a participant in the conspiracy of Catiline, who was sent into the ager Picenus in 63 BC.[10] Lucius Septimius, a centurion in the command of Pompeius in 67 BC, during the war against the pirates. He then went to Egypt, where he served under Aulus Gabinius, and remained as part of a garrison supporting Ptolemy XII Auletes and his successors. When Pompeius fled to Egypt after the Battle of Pharsalia, in 48 BC, Septimius slew his old commander.[11][12][13][14] Gaius Septimius, a secretary of the consul Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, in 59 BC.[15] Publius Septimius, gave evidence against Lucius Valerius Flaccus in 59 BC.[16] Gaius Septimius, as praetor in 57 BC, supported recalling Cicero from exile. He was an augur in 45 BC.[17] Publius Septimius, had served as quaestor under Marcus Terentius Varro, who sent him three volumes of his treatise De Lingua Latina. Vitruvius speaks of him in connection with Varro, indicating that this Septimius is probably the author of two books on architecture.[18][19] Septimia, the wife of Sicca, a friend of Cicero.[20] Septimius, proscribed by the Second Triumvirate in 43 BC, as his wife was carrying on an affair with one of Antonius' friends. Not realizing his wife's treachery, Septimius fled to her house, where she detained him until his murderers arrived.[21] Septimius, a friend of Augustus, and of the poet Horace, who dedicated one of his odes to Septimius.[22][23] Septimius, one of a number of centurions slain in a soldiers' revolt in Germania, following the death of Augustus. He appealed to the legate, Aulus Caecina, for protection, but the soldiers were so insistent on Septimius' fate that the legate eventually yielded to their demands.[24] Septimius, a soldier in the Praetorian Guard who attempted to protect the praetorian prefect Nymphidius Sabinus from harm when his men deserted him, and declared their allegiance to Galba in AD 68. Septimius deflected a lance aimed at Nymphidius with his shield, but when other soldiers attacked, the prefect fled for his life, until he was cut down by his pursuers.[25] Aulus Septimius Serenus, a lyric poet, of whom only brief fragments are preserved. His subject matter appears to have consisted largely of rural topics.[26][27][28][29][30][31] Gaius Septimius Vegetus, governor of Egypt from AD 85 to 88.[32] Quintus Septimius Romanus, the author of a Latin translation of the Dictys Cretensis, a history of the Trojan War, ostensibly written either in Phoenician, or in Greek using the Phoenician alphabet, and translated into ordinary Greek during the reign of Nero.[33] Lucius Septimius Flaccus, consul suffectus in AD 183.[34] Septimius, said by Aelius Lampridius to have written a life of Alexander Severus, which he treated as an authority for his own biography of the emperor.[35] Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, an early Christian writer, who exposited the doctrine of the Trinity.[36] Septimius Haddudan, a Palmyrene official during the third century. Septimius Zabbai, a Palmyrene official during the third century. Septimius Worod, a Palmyrene official during the third century. Septimius Acindynus, consul in AD 340. Septimii Apri, Severi et Getae Marcus Septimius Aper, probably the great-grandfather of Lucius Septimius Severus, the emperor.[37][38] Septimius Severus, a wealthy eques at Leptis Magna in Africa Proconsularis, to whom Statius addressed one of his poems. He is probably the Lucius Septimius Severus who was sufet and duumvir at Leptis Magna.[6][7] Lucius Septimius (M. f.) Severus, grandfather of the emperor Septimius Severus, sufet and subsequently duumvir of Leptis Magna during the reign of Trajan.[39][40] Gaius Claudius Septimius Aper or Afer, probably the brother of the duumvir Lucius Septimius Severus.[41] Publius Septimius L. f. M. n. Geta, father of the emperor Septimius Severus.[42][43][44][45] Septimia L. f. M. n. Polla, a sister of Publius Septimius Geta, and aunt of the emperor Septimius Severus. She never married, but her brother set up a silver statue in her honour.[46] Publius Septimius Aper, probably a cousin of the emperor Septimius Severus,[i] was consul suffectus in July of AD 153.[47][48][49] Gaius Septimius C. f. Severus, a cousin of the emperor Septimius Severus, and perhaps the son of Gaius Claudius Septimius Aper, was consul suffectus in AD 160.[50] Lucius Septimius P. f. L. n. Severus, emperor from AD 193 to 211.[51][52][53][54][55][56] Publius Septimius P. f. L. n. Geta, brother of the emperor Septimius Severus, was consul suffectus about AD 191, and ordinarius in 203. He seems to have died during or shortly after the end of his consulship. On his deathbed, he warned his brother of the treachery of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, the praetorian prefect.[57][58] Septimia P. f. L. n. Octavilla, sister of the emperor Septimius Severus. She may have been the mother of Lucius Flavius Septimius Aper Octavianus, whose career is detailed in an early third-century inscription from Rome, on a monument set up by his daughter, Flavia Neratia Septimia Octavilla.[59][60] Lucius or Gaius Septimius Severus Aper, a native of Leptis Magna, and probably the grandson of Publius Septimius Aper, consul in AD 153, was consul in 207. He is probably same person known as Afer in the Historia Augusta, described as a cousin of the emperor Caracalla, who abruptly ordered his execution at the end of 211 or 212.[61][46][62] (Lucius) Septimius L. f. P. n. Bassianus, better known as Caracalla, was emperor with his father Septimius Severus from AD 198 to 211, with his brother Geta from 209 to 212, and sole emperor from 212 to 217.[63] Publius Septimius L. f. P. n. Geta, the emperor's younger son, was elevated to the rank of Augustus emperor alongside his father, from AD 209 to 211, and then his brother Caracalla from 211 to 212, when he was murdered on his brother's orders.[64] Lucius Septimius (Severus), probably the son of Aper or Afer, the ex-consul put to death by Caracalla, and the grandfather of Septimius Bassus. Lucius Septimius L. f. Severus, the father of Septimius Bassus, the praefectus urbi. Septimius L. f. L. n. Bassus, praefectus urbi from at least 317 to 319.[65] Royal family of Palmyra Septimius Odaenathus, founder of the Palmyrene kingdom. Septimius Herodianus, eldest son of Odaenathus and his first wife, was murdered alongside his father. Septimia Zenobia, second wife of Odaenathus, and later queen of the Palmyrene Empire. Septimius Vaballathus, younger son of Odaenathus, ruled the Palmyrene Empire with his mother. Septimius Antiochus, perhaps a son of Zenobia, he tried to usurp the Palmyrene Empire after it was defeated by Aurelian. See also List of Roman gentes Notes  The Historia Augusta calls him the emperor's patruus, his paternal uncle. References  Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, p. 784 ("Septimia Gens").  Chase, pp. 150, 151.  Petersen, pp. 347, 348.  Chase, pp. 111, 114.  Cassell's Latin and English Dictionary, s.v. severus.  Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, p. 806 ("L. Septimius Severus").  Statius, Silvae, iv. 5, praefatio.  Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis, xxxiv. 8. s. 19. § 35.  Cicero, In Verrem, Act. i. 13, Pro Cluentio, 41.  Sallust, The Conspiracy of Catiline, 27.  Cassius Dio, xlii. 3, 4, 38.  Caesar, De Bello Civili, iii. 104.  Plutarch, "The Life of Pompeius", 78.  Appian, Bellum Civile, ii. 84.  Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, ii. 24.  Cicero, Pro Flacco, 4, 35.  Cicero, Post Reditum in Senatu, 9, Epistulae ad Atticum, xii. 13, 14.  Varro, De Lingua Latina, v. 1, vii. 109, ed. Müller.  Vitruvius, De Architectura, vii. praefatio, p. 194, ed. Bipontina.  Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, xiv. 11.  Appian, Bellum Civile, iv. 23.  Horace, Carmen Saeculare, ii. 6, Epistulae, i. 9.  Suetonius, "The Life of Horatius".  Tacitus, Annales, i. 32.  Plutarch, "The Life of Galba", 14.  Terentianus, p. 2427 (ed. Putschius).  Servius, Ad Virgilii Aeneidem, ii. 15.  Jerome, "Epistula ad Paulinum", 7.  Sidonius Apollinaris, "Epistula ad Polem. Carm. ix. ad Fel."  Wernsdorf, Poëtae Latini Minores, vol. ii, pp. 247, 279.  Anthologia Latina, i. 27, iii. 57, 191, 192 (ed. Meyer).  Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto", p. 277.  Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, pp. 1002–1004 ("Dictys Cretensis").  CIL VI, 2099.  Lampridius, "The Life of Alexander Severus", 17, 48.  Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, pp. 1006–1012 ("Tertullianus").  Birley, Septimius Severus, pp. 218 ff.  Birley, Septimius Severus, Appendix B, No. 23.  Reynolds & Ward-Perkins, Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania, 412.  Birley, Septimius Severus, Appendix B, No. 26.  Birley, Septimius Severus, Appendix B, No. 16.  Aelius Spartianus, Septimius Severus, 1.  Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, viii. 19493.  Birley, Septimius Severus, Appendix B, No. 20.  PIR, S. 328.  Birley, p. 214.  CIL II, 2008.  Birley, Septimius Severus, Appendix B, No. 15.  PIR, S. 319.  Birley, Septimius Severus, Appendix B, No. 25.  Cassius Dio, lxxiv–lxxvi.  Herodian, ii–iii.  Spartianus, "The Life of Septimius Severus".  Eutropius, viii.  Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus, xx.  Orosius, vii. 17.  Birley, Septimius Severus, Appendix B, No. 21.  PIR, S. 326.  CIL VI, 31648.  Birley, Septimius Severus, Appendix B, Nos. 8, 9, 17.  Spartianus, "The Life of Caracalla", 3.  PIR, S. 311.  Spartianus, "The Life of Caracalla".  Spartianus, "The Life of Geta".  PLRE, vol. I, p. 157. Bibliography Gaius Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Civili (Commentaries on the Civil War). Marcus Tullius Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, In Verrem, Post Reditum in Senatu, Pro Cluentio, Pro Flacco. Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust), Bellum Catilinae (The Conspiracy of Catiline). Marcus Terentius Varro, De Lingua Latina (On the Latin Language). Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, De Architectura (On Architecture). Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace), Carmen Saeculare, Epistulae. Gaius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Elder), Historia Naturalis (Natural History). Publius Papinius Statius, Silvae. Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Annales. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (Plutarch), Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, De Poetis (Lives of the Poets). Appianus Alexandrinus (Appian), Bellum Civile (The Civil War). Terentianus Maurus, De Litteris, Syllabis, Pedibus, et Metris. Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (Cassius Dio), Roman History. Herodianus, Tes Meta Marcon Basileas Istoria (History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus Aurelius). Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, Historia Augusta (Lives of the Emperors). Eutropius, Breviarium Historiae Romanae (Abridgement of the History of Rome). Sextus Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus (On the Caesars). Maurus Servius Honoratus (Servius), Ad Virgilii Aeneidem Commentarii (Commentary on Vergil's Aeneid). Paulus Orosius, Historiarum Adversum Paganos (History Against the Pagans). Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (St. Jerome), Epistulae. Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, Epistulae. Pieter Burmann, Anthologia Latina (Latin Anthology), ed. Wernsdorf, (1759–1778). Johann Christian Wernsdorf, Poëtae Latini Minores (Minor Latin Poets), Altenburg, Helmstedt (1780–1799). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). Theodor Mommsen et alii, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated CIL), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). Paul von Rohden, Elimar Klebs, & Hermann Dessau, Prosopographia Imperii Romani (The Prosopography of the Roman Empire, abbreviated PIR), Berlin (1898). Joyce M. Reynolds, J. B. Ward-Perkins, The Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania, British School at Rome (1952). Hans Petersen, "The Numeral Praenomina of the Romans", in Transactions of the American Philological Association, vol. xciii, pp. 347–354 (1962). D.P. Simpson, Cassell's Latin and English Dictionary, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York (1963). A. H. M. Jones & J. R. Martindale, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (abbreviated PLRE), Cambridge University Press (1971–1992). Guido Bastianini, "Lista dei prefetti d'Egitto dal 30a al 299p" (List of the Prefects of Egypt from 30 BC to AD 299), in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, vol. 17 (1975). Anthony R. Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor (revised ed.), Yale University Press, New Haven (1988). Categories: Roman gentesSeptimii And from THIS gens? Thanks

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settimio – Ossia: Grice e Settimio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settimio For the Septimii, there are three extraordinarily tempting candidates:  Septimius Severus himself, on legitimacy and dynasty. Lucius Septimius, the former Pompeian centurion who murdered his old commander Pompey in Egypt. Quintus Septimius, friend of Varro and recipient of books, perhaps author on architecture.  For a genuinely Grice-Speranza vignette, I would choose Lucius Septimius, the killer of Pompey. Why? Because the whole episode turns on a devastating pragmatic question:  What does loyalty mean when circumstances change?  Pompey sees Septimius approaching the Egyptian boat. He recognizes him as an old comrade. Recognition itself becomes communicative. Plutarch's account is famous precisely because Pompey infers safety from a shared past. Septimius supplies the contrary.  Grice e Settimio: Veteris Amicitiae POMPEIVS. Septimium agnosco. (I recognize Septimius.) +> Shared military history licenses trust. COMES. Ergo tutus es? (Then you are safe?) +> Recognition is being treated as evidence of goodwill. POMPEIVS. Olim sub me militavit. (He once served under me.) +> Former loyalty provides grounds for favorable expectations. SEPTIMIVS. Olim. (Once.) +> Past allegiance need not determine present action. POMPEIVS. Nonne idem manet? (Does it not remain the same?) +> Loyalty is assumed to persist through time. SEPTIMIVS. Fortuna mutavit vocabula. (Fortune has changed the names.) +> Political reversals transform relationships. POMPEIVS. Ergo miles hostis factus est? (Then a soldier has become an enemy?) +> The old description is no longer operative. SEPTIMIVS. Non ego mutavi rem; rem secutus sum. (I did not change the reality; I followed it.) +> Expediency is presented as realism rather than betrayal.  This is pure Grice. Pompey's inference is not deductive:  Septimius once served me.  Therefore:  Septimius will protect me.  The second proposition is an implicature generated by common Roman assumptions about fides, military loyalty, patronage, and memory. The tragedy is that the implicature fails. Septimius' action tells Pompey that he and Pompey are operating under different background assumptions. But the Pompey episode is uniquely powerful because it concerns not words but their social presuppositions. Pompey dies because he interprets correctly under an old conversational framework and incorrectly under a new political one.  A tiny Speranzian epigram: POMPEIVS. Cognovi hominem. (I knew the man.) SEPTIMIVS. Non tempus. (Not the times.) +> Personal knowledge failed because the background conditions had changed. Dry Speranzian formula:  The Severi ruled the Empire, but Lucius Septimius exposes a deeper Roman problem. Meaning depends not only on who speaks, but on what remains common ground. Pompey recognized the face; he misidentified the occasion.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settimio – Ossia: Grice e Settimio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settimio A close second choice would actually be Septimius, Horace's friend:  Septimi, Gades aditure mecum...  because friendship and invitation are always fertile Gricean territory.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settimio – Ossia: Grice e Settimio: la ragione conversazionale del’amico lizio d’Antonino – Roma – Note su Dicta. Il Gruppo di Gioco di H. P. Grice Lucio Settimio Severo (Roma, Lazio): la ragione conversazionale del principe filosofo. The comparison between Grice and Lucius Septimius Severus, as staged in the passage, turns on a shared ideal of rational governance grounded in conversation rather than mere authority, though each embodies it in a different register: Severus represents the ancient model of the princeps philosophus, according to which imperial power is legitimized and humanized through cultivated discourse, amicitia, and the public display of ratio as a lived virtue rather than as coercive command, so that rule without doctrina is blind and friendship without sermo barren. Grice’s theory of reason‑governed conversational meaning, by contrast, abstracts this ethical–political intuition into a general account of how rationality operates in language itself: meaning arises not from status, power, or formal utterance, but from cooperative participation in conversation, where intentions are recognized, implicatures grasped, and reason silently governs exchange. The dialogue’s conceit brings these together by having Severus acknowledge that Grice’s “unheard‑of implicature” is less a criticism than a reminder: even philosophical talk at a banquet risks degenerating into self‑celebration unless conversational reason restrains vanity and redirects attention toward mutual understanding. In this sense, Severus exemplifies in political life what Grice theorizes at the level of linguistic practice: authority, whether imperial or semantic, is sustained only when exercised through shared rational norms that allow others to understand, respond, and sometimes simply smile. Grice supplies the analytic grammar of this insight, while Severus embodies its ethical and civic aspiration, showing that the philosopher‑prince and the philosopher of language converge on the same principle: rationality governs not by domination, but by intelligible, proportionate, and recognizably human conversation. Severo rules the Roman empire and it is said that he is well-versed in philosophy. GRICEVS: Salvē, Severe. Audīvī tē, principem philosophum, inter convīvās nōn minus de ratiōne quam de vīnō disserere—quod est (ut putō) rarius quam Falernum vetus. SEVERVS: Salvē, Grice. Ita est: philosophiam inter convīvās praetulī; nam et imperium sine doctrinā caecum est, et amīcitia sine sermone ieiūna. GRICEVS: Bene dicis; sed saepe animadvertō, dum “amīcitiam” laudāmus, ipsī nos laudāre incipimus—quasi convivium sī sit sapientius, id statim probet convīvās sapientēs esse; atque ita, dum de ratiōne colloquimur, ratiō ipsa quasi sella curūlis in mediō tricliniī ponitur. SEVERVS: Inaudīta est inplicātūra tua—et eam amō, Grice! Nam, dum de Antonīnō et amīcitiā loquī vidēris, admonēs nē sermō noster in pompam vertātur: interdum enim optima philosophia est, cum princeps rīdet et amīcus intellegit. Weekley essay assignment. Lucio Settimio Severo. There are, unfortunately for the inattentive, at least three Severi. Discuss why Lucius Septimius Severus is the least likely to be confused with the others, despite sharing the same surname, and assess whether his claim to be a principe filosofo rests on philosophical cultivation, imperial self-presentation, or the later weakness of his namesakes. You may, if necessary, compare him unfavourably with the two other Severi, but only after pretending not to.  Typewriting disallowed. Handwriting counts. [degruyterbrill.com], [archive.org] Grice orders philosophers etc alphabetically by gens -- "if I can" -- so this one goes under "S" for "Settimio" (Grice uses italianised forms)? Yes, if Grice is sorting by gens and is willing to use Italianised forms, Lucius Septimius Severus belongs under S for Settimio, not under Severo. That is because Severus is the cognomen, not the nomen gentilicium. The gens is Septimia, so in Latin the man is a Septimius, and in an Italianising catalogue he naturally falls under Settimio. Severus or Severo is the personal tail by which posterity usually remembers him, but it is not the right alphabetising principle if the rule really is “by gens, if I can.” So the clean scheme would be this. Lucio Settimio Severo under S for Settimio. If Grice is being severe with himself, he should do the same for Silius and put him under S for Silio because the gens is Silia; but there the result is less visibly different because both nomen and conventional literary name begin with S anyway. With Septimius Severus the distinction is clearer, because “Severo” tempts one to file by the better-known cognomen, whereas the gentilicial principle points back to Septimius. There is also a Roman historical reason why the temptation is strong. Septimius Severus became so famous under the label Severus that the cognomen begins to feel almost dynastic in retrospect. But that is precisely why Grice’s rule is useful: it resists retrospective nickname-history and restores the older Roman logic of naming. So if he asks, “where do I file him?”, the answer is: under Settimio, because the gens is Septimia. Severo is how he is remembered; Settimio is how he is classed. And Grice has this suspicion that this gens was 'seventh' in rank -- "Why else would you call yourself and all your offspring, 'the seventh'?" That is a charming suspicion, but no, Septimius does not mean “seventh in rank,” nor would a Roman have heard it that way in ordinary naming. The safest answer is that Septimius is simply the nomen of the gens Septimia, and like many Roman gentilicia it may once, at some remote point, have had an origin connected with a personal name, a numeral, or some family ancestor’s designation. But by the historical period in which we meet Septimius Severus, it is no longer functioning semantically as “the seventh” in the live way Grice is imagining. It is functioning as a family name. That is the crucial distinction. Etymology is one thing; social meaning is another. A Roman called Septimius was not thereby announcing, “I belong to the seventh-ranked gens,” any more than a modern Mr. Carpenter must be a woodworker or a modern Mr. King a monarch. The name may have had a numerical ancestry, but in use it had hardened into a nomen. It marked belonging, not arithmetic. There is, however, a reason Grice’s suspicion feels plausible. Roman names often do preserve old ordinals and numerals in personal and family forms: Quintus, Sextus, Septimus, Decimus, and so on. So one can imagine a line in which a name ultimately related to septimus, “seventh,” became a family designation. But once that happens, the live ordinal force fades. Septimius is not simply septimus with a social flourish added on. It is a gentilicial form, a nomen belonging to a gens. So the point would be this. If one were tracing the deep ancestry of the name, one might well ask whether the gens Septimia originally took shape around an ancestor whose name or designation had some connection with septimus. That is entirely possible. But that would not imply any ranking of the gens itself. Roman gentes were not numbered in that way for status, and no one hearing Septimius Severus would infer “ah yes, the seventh house in precedence.” In Gricean terms, the numeral etymon, if it was there, had ceased to implicate rank. It had become lexically absorbed. The Roman ear heard family identity, not ordinal boasting. So the short dry answer is this. Septimius may very well be etymologically connected, at some distant stage, with septimus, but in historical Roman usage it is a nomen gentilicium, not a statement that the family stood seventh in rank. The gens is Septimia because that is the family name-form, not because the family publicly styled itself “the seventh.” If you like, I can next give you a very compact note on how Roman nomina often arise from older praenomina or numerically marked personal names without preserving their original semantic force in live social use. Settimio Severo, Lucio (a. u. c. CMXLVI). Dicta. Roma

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settimuleio – Ossia: Grice e Settimuleio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settimuleio The gens Septimuleia or Septumuleia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but others are known from inscriptions.[1] The nomen might be confused with, and may be identical to that of Septimulenus or Septumulenus.  Origin The nomen Septimuleius belongs to a large class of gentilicia, typically of Oscan origin, ending in the gentile-forming suffix -eius. This may mean that the Septimuleii were of Sabine or Samnite origin.[2] The root resembles that of the rare Latin praenomen Septimus, from the Latin numeral for "seven", referring to a seventh son, seventh child, or a child born in September, the seventh month of the old Roman calendar. In this case, Septimuleius might be cognate with the patronymic nomen Septimius.[3] The suffix -enus was typically associated with gentes from Picenum and neighboring regions, which would be consistent with an Oscan or Umbrian origin.[4]  Members This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation. Lucius Septimuleius, a native of Anagnia in Latium, and a friend of Gaius Gracchus, nonetheless claimed the reward for his friend's head, which he presented to the consul Lucius Opimius after Gracchus' murder in 121 BC. According to different versions of the story, the reward was the weight of the head in gold, and Septimuleius either filled Gracchus' mouth with lead, or replaced his brain with lead; but he was denied his bounty when the head was found to weigh seventeen and two thirds pounds.[5][6][7][8] Gaius Septumuleius C. f. Obola, one of the quattuorviri at Aesernia in Samnium, where he was buried at some point between the late first century BC, and the middle of the first century AD.[9] Septimuleia, the mother of Juvenal, according to the Vita Juvenalis.[10] Septimuleia, the sister of Juvenal, married a man named "Fuscinus".[11] Septimuleius Apella, buried at Rome, with a monument from his son, Septimuleius Restitutus.[12] Decimus Septumuleius D. l. Athenio, a freedman and priest of the Imperial cult at Nola in Campania between AD 1 and 70, mentioned in an inscription along with Decimus Septumuleius Atticus and Septumuleia Daphne.[13] Decimus Septumuleius D. l. Atticus, a freedman and priest of the Imperial Cult at Nola during the early or middle part of the first century, mentioned in an inscription along with Decimus Septumuleius Athenio and Septumuleia Daphne.[13] Septumuleia D. l. Daphne, a freedwoman at Nola during the early or middle part of the first century, mentioned in an inscription along with the priests Decimus Septumuleius Athenio and Decimus Septumuleius Atticus.[13] Lucius Septumuleius Sp. f., a little boy buried at Rome, aged three, at some point in the first century.[14] Septimuleia Primigenia, a woman buried at Rusicade in Numidia, aged fifty-five.[15] Septimuleius Restitutus, dedicated a tomb at Rome for his father, Septimuleius Apella.[12] Septimuleni Titus Septumulenus T. f., made an offering to Hercules at Tarentum in Calabria, between 110 and 90 BC.[16] Lucius Septimulenus Vitalis, one of the Seviri Augustales at Narona in Dalmatia, at some point between the death of Augustus and the middle of the second century.[17] See also List of Roman gentes References  Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. III, p. 784 ("L. Septimuleius").  Chase, p. 120.  Chase, pp. 131, 150, 151.  Chase, p. 118.  Plutarch, "The Life of Gaius Gracchus", 17.  Valerius Maximus, ix. 4. § 3.  Pliny the Elder, xxxiii. 14.  Cicero, De Oratore, ii. 67.  CIL IX, 2668.  PIR, S. 358.  PIR, S. 359.  CIL VI, 26288.  AE 1971, 83.  CIL VI, 26287.  CIL VIII, 8147.  CIL IX, 6153.  CIL III, 1775. Bibliography Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Oratore. Valerius Maximus, Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium (Memorable Facts and Sayings). Gaius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Elder), Historia Naturalis (Natural History). Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (Plutarch), Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). Theodor Mommsen et alii, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated CIL), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). René Cagnat et alii, L'Année épigraphique (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated AE), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897). Paul von Rohden, Elimar Klebs, & Hermann Dessau, Prosopographia Imperii Romani (The Prosopography of the Roman Empire, abbreviated PIR), Berlin (1898). Category: Roman gentes And from THIS gens? Thanks

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settimuleio – Ossia: Grice e Settimuleio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settimuleio For the Septimuleii, there is really one overwhelming candidate: Lucius Septimuleius, the man who delivered the head of Gaius Gracchus and then allegedly attempted to increase its weight with lead in order to collect a larger reward. It is almost indecently Gricean, because the entire story turns on a question of what counts as evidence, what counts as a sign, and whether one can manipulate the vehicle without changing the meaning. A title suggests itself: Grice e Settimuleio: Caput et Plumbum OPIMIVS. Auro pendetur caput Gracchi. (Gracchus' head shall be paid for in gold by weight.) +> The head is to function as proof of identity and death. SEPTIMVLEIVS. Caput adfero. (I bring the head.) +> The evidential condition appears to have been satisfied. SPECTATOR. Cur tam grave est? (Why is it so heavy?) +> The sign exceeds normal expectations. SEPTIMVLEIVS. Gracchus magnus vir fuit. (Gracchus was a great man.) +> The speaker seeks to naturalize the anomaly. SPECTATOR. Plumbum intus latet. (Lead is hidden inside.) +> The physical vehicle has been altered. SEPTIMVLEIVS. Caput tamen idem est. (The head is still the same head.) +> Identity is distinguished from accidental additions. GRICE. Signum idem est; probatio non. (The sign is the same; the proof is not.) +> Tampering with the evidential measure alters its communicative force. This is remarkably close to a Gricean distinction between:  what something is, what something is being used to signify.  The head remains Gracchus' head. But once the reward depends on weight, weight itself acquires communicative significance. Septimuleius' fraud consists in exploiting that transfer from identity-sign to quantitative-sign. One might even imagine: SEPTIMVLEIVS. Non mutavi caput. (I did not alter the head.) +> Literal truth is being invoked. GRICE. Sed mutavisti rationem qua caput significat. (But you altered the way the head signifies.) +> The communicative procedure has been corrupted. That is why Septimuleius is more interesting than Juvenal's mother or sister, and more interesting than the local magistrates and freedmen. The story became famous precisely because it is a miniature lesson in evidentiality. There is also a darker layer. Septimuleius was reportedly a friend of Gracchus before presenting the head. Plutarch, Valerius Maximus, Cicero, and Pliny preserve the tradition of the reward and the lead. The pragmatics are therefore doubled:  betrayal of friendship, manipulation of evidence.  Dry Speranzian formula:  Brutus killed Caesar; Septimuleius weighed Gracchus. The irony is that Rome remembered the second not merely as a killer but as a falsifier. He brought the required sign, but could not resist improving it. The head identified Gracchus; the lead identified Septimuleius.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settizio – Ossia: Grice e Settizio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settizio. The gens Septicia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. Hardly any members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but a number are known from inscriptions. The most famous of the Septicii was Gaius Septicius Clarus, Prefect of the Praetorian Guard under the emperor Hadrian.[1]  Origin The nomen Septicius belongs to a class of gentilicia originally formed from cognomina ending in -ex or -icis. As with other gentile-forming suffixes, -icius was later extended to form nomina from other names, including existing gentilicia.[2] The root of the name must have resembled the rare Latin praenomen Septimus, "seventh", in which case Septicius may be cognate with the more typical patronymic Septimius.  Praenomina The main praenomina of the Septicii were Aulus, Gaius, and Marcus, followed by Publius, Quintus, and Titus, all of which were common throughout all periods of Roman history. Other names occur infrequently. From a filiation, it seems that at least one of the Septicii bore the Oscan praenomen Salvius. In Etruria, where women's praenomina were common, one of the women of the Salvii bore the feminine praenomen Rufa, which another of the gens bore as a cognomen.  Members This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation. Septicia M. l. Sotica, a freedwoman buried at Altinum in Venetia and Histria during the latter half of the first century BC, along with Septicia Tuetien.[3] Septicia L. l. Tuetien (?), a freedwoman buried at Altinum during the latter half of the first century BC, along with Septicia Sotica.[3] Septicius, a friend of Horace, who mentions him among the guests he planned to invite to dinner in a letter to Aulus Manlius Torquatus.[4] Quintus Septicius C. Q. l. Verna, a freedman named in an inscription from Lanuvium in Latium, dating to the late first century BC, or early first century AD.[5] Gaius Septicius C. l. Myro, a freedman named in an inscription from Rome, dating to the late first century BC, or early first century AD.[6] Aulus Septicius Sal. l. Alexander, a freedman and coronarius, or wreath-maker, on the Sacra Via in Rome, named in a sepulchral inscription dating to the last quarter of the first century BC, or the first quarter of the first century AD, along with Septicia Chreste and Aulus Septicius Hermia.[7] Septicia A. l. Chreste, a freedwoman named in a funerary inscription from Rome, dating between 25 BC and AD 25, along with Aulus Septicius Alexander and Aulus Septicius Hermia.[7] Aulus Septicius A. l. Hermia, a freedman named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome, dating between 25 BC and AD 25, along with Aulus Septicius Alexander and Septicia Chreste.[7] Septicia Ɔ. l. Paladio, a freedwoman buried at Rome in the early part of the first century; Septicius Salvius, freed along with her, donated a pot in her memory.[8] Septicius Salvius, a freedman, donated a pot in memory of Septicia Paladio, a woman who had been freed along with him, during the early part of the first century.[8] Aulus Septicius A. Ɔ. l. Salvius, a freedman, and auri acceptor, or dealer in gold, on the Sacra Via during the early part of the first century.[9] Septicia, a widow from Ariminum, whose second marriage caused some consternation amongst her sons.[10] Marcus Septicius Q. f. C. n. Sura, mentioned in an inscription from Rome dating to the reign of Caligula.[11] Septicia Anthis, named in an inscription from Rome, dating to the first half of the first century, along with Publius Septicius Dionysius and Publius Septicius Nua.[12] Gnaeus Septicius Cn. l. Laus, a freedman buried at Rome, aged ninety, along with his wife, Septicia Celido, in a tomb dating to the first half of the first century, dedicated by their client, Septicia Meritoria.[13] Septicia Celido, the wife of Gnaeus Septicius Laus, with whom she was buried at Rome in the first half of the first century, in a tomb dedicated by their client, Septicia meritoria.[13] Marcus Septicius M. l. Antiochus, a freedman buried at Rome in the first half of the first century, along with his wife, Allia Hilara.[14] Aulus Septicius A. l. Apollonius, a freedman and brattiarius, or gold-leaf beater, named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome, dating to the first half of the first century, along with Septicia Rufa.[15] Marcus Septicius M. f. Bassus, buried at Rome, aged twenty-six, during the first half of the first century.[16] Publius Septicius Dionysius, named in an inscription from Rome, dating to the first half of the first century, along with Publius Septicius Nua and Septicia Anthis.[12] Septicia A. l. Rufa, a freedwoman and brattiaria named in a sepulchral inscription from Rome, dating to the first half of the first century, along with Aulus Septicius Apollonius.[15] Septicia Meritoria, dedicated a tomb at Rome for her brother, Gaius Julius Comes, aged twenty-five, and another for her patrons, Gnaeus Septicius Laus and Septicia Celido, all dating to the first half of the first century.[17][13] Publius Septicius Nua, named in an inscription from Rome, dating to the first half of the first century, along with Publius Septicius Dionysius and Septicia Anthis.[12] Gaius Septicius C. l. Albanus, a freedman at Rome during the early or middle of the first century, who built a tomb for himself, his brother, Gaius Septicius Tarula, and his wife, Septicia Primigenia.[18] Gaius Septicius C. l. Tarula, a freedman buried at Rome in the early or middle of the first century, in a tomb built by his brother, Gaius Septicius Albanus.[18] Septicia C. l. Primigenia, a freedwoman buried at Rome in the early or middle of the first century, in a tomb built by her husband, Gaius Septicius Albanus.[18] Septicia Arecusa, buried at Rome during the first century.[19] Aulus Septicius A. l. Daphinus, a freedman buried at Rome during the first century, aged fifty-five, along with Septicia Secunda and Aulus Septicius Soterichus, in a tomb built by Decimus Publicius Linus.[20] Septicia A. l. Secunda, a freedwoman buried at Rome during the first century, along with Aulus Septicius Daphinus and Aulus Septicius Soterichus, in a tomb built by Decimus Publicius Linus.[20] Aulus Septicius A. l. Soterichus, a freedman buried at Rome during the first century, along with Aulus Septicius Daphinus and Septicia Secunda, in a tomb built by Decimus Publicius Linus.[20] Marcus Septicius C. f., standard-bearer for an unspecified legion, built a first-century sepulchre at Corduba in Hispania Baetica for himself, his wife, Sabina, and son, Marcus Septicius Martialis.[21] Marcus Septicius M. l. Martialis, son and freedman of Marcus Septicius, the standard-bearer, was buried in the family sepulchre built by his father at Corduba, aged ten years and seven months.[21] Gaius Septicius Italicus, a child buried at Rome in the second half of the first century, aged one year, nine months, and five days, with a monument dedicated by his parents.[22] Septicia Fortunata, dedicated a tomb at Rome to her patron, Quintus Septicius Soter, dating from the first or second century.[23] Quintus Septicius Epagathus, buried at Rome in the late first or early second century, in a tomb dedicated by his children.[24] Quintus Septicius Soter, buried at Rome in the first or second century, with a tomb dedicated by his client, Septicia Fortunata.[23] Marcus Septicius Crescens of Beneventum, listed in an accounting from AD 101.[25] Septicius Rufus of Beneventum, listed in an accounting from AD 101.[25] Gaius Septicius Clarus, appointed praetorian prefect by Hadrian, but removed from office soon afterward, as Hadrian had become suspicious of most of those close to him. Septicius was a friend of both Pliny the Younger and Suetonius, who dedicated The Twelve Caesars to him.[26][27] Gaius Septicius Cissus, a little boy buried at Ostia in Latium, during or soon after the reign of Hadrian, with a monument from Diapyrus, the slave of Septicius Clarus. The inscription suggests that Diapyrus, and not Clarus, was the boy's father, although this may have been metaphorical.[28] Marcus Septicius Onesimus, one of the Seviri at Comum in Cisalpine Gaul at some point between the mid-first and early third century, buried in a family sepulchre built by Gaius Catius Bromius.[29] Septicia Sura, probably the wife of Lucius Petronius Melior, was buried at Aquae Statiellae in Liguria during the first half of the second century. Gaius Septicius Dor[...], a priest at Rome in AD 129.[30] Gaius Septicius Crispinus, a soldier in the century of Iedarnus, in the seventh cohort of the Praetorian Guard, in AD 143.[31] Septicius Adjutor, buried in a family sepulchre built by Lucius Antistius Zosimus at Augusta Taurinorum in Cisalpine Gaul during the second century. The inscription seems to identify Septicius as the father of Antistius.[32] Septicia M. f. Marcellina, named in an inscription from Vercellae in Cisalpine Gaul, dating to the second century.[33] Septicia Priscilla, buried at Rome in the second century, with a monument from her husband.[34] Marcus Septicius M. f., a soldier in the century of Dexter, in the seventh cohort of the Praetorian Guard, in AD 155.[35] Publius Septicius Varus, a soldier named in an inscription from Eporedia in Cisalpine Gaul, dating to the latter half of the second century.[36] Septicia Valeriana, together with Optatia Siora, made a dedicatory offering at Lugdunum in Gallia Lugdunensis in AD 197.[37] Septicius Charis, a soldier serving in the century of Quintinus, in the first cohort of the vigiles at Rome in AD 205.[38] Septicia Maura, buried at Mediolanum in Cisalpine Gaul during the third or fourth century, aged thirty-eight years, five months, and fourteen days, with a monument from her husband, Lucius Trebius Divus.[39] Undated Septicii Septicia, a freedwoman who along with her sister, Numisia, dedicated a tomb at Rome for their sister, Chloe Misella, aged eighteen.[40] Septicia, a woman buried at Marinum in Latium.[41] Septicia T. l., a freedwoman buried at Rome, in a sepulchre with Titus Septicius Liccaeus and other freedmen, including another freedwoman named Septicia.[42] Septicia Ɔ. l., a freedwoman buried at Rome, in a sepulchre with Titus Septicius Liccaeus and other freedmen, including another freedwoman named Septicia.[42] Aulus Septicius, named in an inscription from Rome.[43] Gaius Septicius, a manufacturer of small pottery at Rome, along with Publius and Quintus Septicius.[44] Manius Septicius, buried at Ardea in Latium, in a tomb dedicated by his children.[45] Publius Septicius, a manufacturer of small pottery at Rome, along with Gaius and Quintus Septicius.[44] Quintus Septicius, a manufacturer of small pottery at Rome, along with Gaius and Publius Septicius.[44] Quintus Septicius, buried at Ephesus in Asia, aged forty years and five months, along with Mucia.[46] Rufa Septicia, named in an inscription from Caere in Etruria.[47] Titus Septicius Ɔ. l. Alexander, a freedman who built a sepulchre at Rome for himself, Salvilla, possibly his wife, and Septicia Secunda, both freedwomen.[48] Septicia Antiochus, buried at Rome along with her husband, Aulus Septicius Apollonius.[49] Aulus Septicius Apollonius, buried at Rome along with his wife, Septicia Antiochis.[49] Marcus Septicius Cynthius, buried at Altinum.[50] Publius Septicius P. l. Eutychus, a freedman named in an inscription from Ariminum.[51] Septicius Faustus, named in a fragmentary inscription from Rome.[52] Titus Septicius Faustus, named in an inscription from Rome.[53] Marcus Septicius Felicissimus, buried at Beneventum in Samnium, with a monument from Ligeria Semne.[54] Lucius Septicius Firmus, a veteran of the twelfth cohort, buried at Rome, aged forty-three, in a sepulchre dedicated by his wife, Cornelia Veneria, along with their son, Lucius Faonius Firmus, aged nine years, five months, and twenty-two days.[55] Septicia Ɔ. T. l. Flora, a freedwoman, and the wife of Gaius Maclonius Teres, named in an inscription from Forum Novum in Sabinum.[56] Septicia Gemina, buried at Lugdunum in a tomb dedicated by Lucius Modius Annianus, her husband of thirty years.[57] Aulus Septicius Hermogenes, buried in a family sepulchre at Rome.[58] Septicia P. f. La[...], the daughter of Publius Septicius Secundus and Septicia Severa, buried at Rome, aged eleven years, six months, in a tomb dedicated by her parents.[59] Septicia A. l. Laudice, a freedwoman buried at Rome.[60] Septicia P. f. Leda, buried at Rome, along with her mother, Septicia Severa, in a family sepulchre dedicated by her father, Publius Septicius Secundus.[61] Titus Septicius T. l. Liccaeus, a freedman buried at Rome, in a sepulchre with other freedmen, including two freedwomen named Septicia.[42] Septicia Cn. l. Musa, a freedwoman buried at Rome.[62] Septicius Primigenius, dedicated a tomb at Beneventum to his daughter, Septicia Primilla.[63] Septicia Primilla, buried at Beneventum, in a tomb dedicated by her father, Septicius Primigenius.[63] Septicia Primitiva, buried at Ostia, aged twenty-one, with a monument dedicated by her husband, Quintus Gargilius Quietus.[64] Titus Septicius Salvius, named in an inscription from Rome.[65] Septicia Secunda, a freedwoman buried at Rome in a tomb built by Titus Septicius Alexander for himself, Septicia, and Salvilla, possibly his wife.[48] Publius Septicius Secundus, together with his wife, Septicia Severa, dedicated a tomb at Rome for their daughter, Septicia La[...]. He later built a family sepulchre, where his wife and their daughter, Septicia Leda, are buried.[59][61] Septicia Severa, along with her husband, Publius Septicius Secundus, dedicated a tomb at Rome for their daughter, Septicia La[...]. She is buried in a family sepulchre built by her husband, along with their daughter, Septicia Leda.[59][61] See also List of Roman gentes References  Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. I, pp. 760, 761 ("Clarus", No. 1).  Chase, p. 126.  Calvelli, "Da Altina a Venezia", p. 196.  Horace, Epistulae, i. 5.  CIL XIV, 2118.  CIL VI, 6975.  CIL VI, 9283.  CIL VI, 26235.  CIL VI, 9212.  Valerius Maximus, vii. 7. § 4.  CIL VI, 41057.  CIL VI, 38888.  CIL VI, 6960.  CIL VI, 6969.  CIL VI, 6939.  CIL VI, 26228.  CIL VI, 6952.  CIL VI, 26225.  BCAR, 1923-123.  CIL VI, 25137.  AE 1987, 505.  CIL VI, 26230.  CIL VI, 26232.  Tuck, Latin Inscriptions in the Kelsey Museum, 333.  CIL IX, 1455.  Pliny the Younger, Epistulae, i. 1, 15, ii. 9, vii. 28, viii. 1.  Spartianus, "The Life of Hadrian", 9, 11, 15.  CIL XIV, 1594.  CIL V, 5285.  CIL VI, 10299.  CIL VI, 2379.  CIL V, 7059.  AE 1986, 264.  Vittucci, La collezione Lanza nella tenuta della Falcognana, p. 85.  CIL VI, 2380.  CIL V, 6785.  CIL XIII, 1754.  CIL VI, 1056.  AE 1995, 665.  CIL VI, 23125.  AE 1979, 128.  CIL VI, 26231.  CIL VI, 36328.  CIL XIV, 4092.  CIL X, 6772.  IK, xvii. 1-3285.  AE 1999, 644.  CIL VI, 26226.  CIL VI, 26227.  AE 2005, 566.  CIL XI, 515.  NSA, 1933-499.  CIL VI, 10325.  CIL IX, 1961.  CIL VI, 3690.  CIL IX, 4823.  CIL XIII, 2216.  CIL VI, 26229.  CIL VI, 26232a.  CIL VI, 26233.  CIL VI, 36329.  CIL VI, 26234.  CIL IX, 1962.  CIL XIV, 5112.  CIL VI, 22893. Bibliography Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace), Epistulae. Valerius Maximus, Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium (Memorable Facts and Sayings). Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (Pliny the Younger), Epistulae (Letters). Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, De Vita Caesarum (Lives of the Caesars, or The Twelve Caesars). Aelius Lampridius, Aelius Spartianus, Flavius Vopiscus, Julius Capitolinus, Trebellius Pollio, and Vulcatius Gallicanus, Historia Augusta (Lives of the Emperors). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). Theodor Mommsen et alii, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated CIL), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale in Roma (Bulletin of the Municipal Archaeological Commission of Rome, abbreviated BCAR), (1872–present). Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità (News of Excavations from Antiquity, abbreviated NSA), Accademia dei Lincei (1876–present). René Cagnat et alii, L'Année épigraphique (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated AE), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). Inschriften Griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien (Inscriptions from the Greek Cities of Asia Minor, abbreviated IK), Bonn (1973–present). Paola Brandizzi Vittucci, La collezione Lanza nella tenuta della Falcognana, Archaeological Commission of Latium, Rome (1983). Steven L. Tuck, Latin Inscriptions in the Kelsey Museum: The Dennison and De Criscio Collections, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor (2005). Lorenzo Calvelli, "Da Altina a Venezia", in Altino antica. Dai Veneti a Venezia, pp. 184–197, Marsilio, Venice (2011). Category: Roman gentes And for THIS gens? Thanks

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settizio – Ossia: Grice e Settizio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settizio. For the Septicii, the obvious historical celebrity is Gaius Septicius Clarus, friend of Pliny, dedicatee of Suetonius' Twelve Caesars, and briefly prefect under Hadrian. But for a Grice-Speranza vignette, there is an even more delicious choice precisely because it is so small: Septicius, the dinner guest in Horace, Epistles 1.5. Why? Because Grice spent a good deal of his life analyzing invitations, acceptance, cooperation, and the background assumptions of social intercourse. Horace's letter to Torquatus contains a guest list, and Septicius appears as someone whom Horace proposes to invite to dinner. The whole thing is practically a proto-Gricean scene. Grice e Settizio: Cena Horatiana HORATIVS. Septicium quoque vocabo. (I shall invite Septicius too.) +> A good dinner requires appropriate company as well as food. TORQVATVS. Quot erunt? (How many will there be?) +> The success of hospitality depends partly on numbers. HORATIVS. Satis ad sermonem, non ad turbam. (Enough for conversation, not for a crowd.) +> The aim is sociability rather than mere attendance. SEPTICIVS. Cur me vocas? (Why do you invite me?) HORATIVS. Ut adsis. (So that you may be present.) SEPTICIVS. Hoc nimis breve est. (That is too brief.) HORATIVS. Ut adsis et intellegas. (So that you may be present and understand.) +> Friendship presupposes shared background and mutual uptake. GRICE. Ergo convivium est conversatio antequam sit cena. (Then a dinner party is a conversation before it is a meal.) +> The social purpose exceeds the literal act of eating.  This is one of those cases where Grice's distinction between:  what is said, what is meant,  becomes almost trivial and therefore illuminating. An invitation says:  "Come to dinner."  What it usually means is:  I value your company.   We share a social world.   Your absence would be noticed.   Let us renew friendship.  The Roman dinner invitation and the Oxford invitation are not so different. So my first choice remains the Horatian Septicius. Dry Speranzian formula:  The Septicii produced a praetorian prefect and the dedicatee of Suetonius. Yet the most Gricean Septicius may be the man invited to dinner by Horace. Empires require prefects; conversations require guests.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settizio – Ossia: Grice e Settizio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settizio. Now, if one insists on a grander Septicius, then Gaius Septicius Clarus is magnificent. He links:  Pliny, Suetonius, Hadrian.  Indeed, the fact that Suetonius dedicated the Twelve Caesars to Clarus is already a miniature Gricean problem: SVETONIVS. Librum tibi dedico. (I dedicate the book to you.) +> Clarus is not merely a reader but an ideal recipient. CLARVS. Cur mihi? (Why to me?) +> The dedication seeks an explanation beyond literal transfer. SVETONIVS. Quia intelleges. (Because you will understand.) +> The chosen addressee supplies the appropriate uptake. That is beautiful, but perhaps almost too easy.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settueio -- Ossia: Grice e Settueio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settueio -- The gens Septueia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens are mentioned in ancient writers, but several are known from inscriptions.  Origin The nomen Septueius belongs to a large class of gentilicia formed using the suffix -eius, which was typical of Oscan-speaking parts of Italy.[1] This suggests that the Septueii may have been of Sabine or Samnite origin. The root of the name might be the Oscan praenomen Seppis or Seppius, equivalent to the rare Latin praenomen Septimus, originally referring to a seventh son or seventh child. In this case, Septueius would be cognate with other gentilicia, including that of the Septimia gens.[2]  Praenomina With the exception of a single individual named Gaius, all of the Septueii known from inscriptions bear the praenomen Quintus, indicating that the family was relatively small, and of late origin; in imperial times it was common for all of the sons in a family to share the same praenomen, and be distinguished by their cognomina. This is especially probable if the Septueii only acquired Roman citizenship under the early Empire, or if a number of them were descended from the freedmen of an earlier Quintus Septueius.[3]  Members This list includes abbreviated praenomina. For an explanation of this practice, see filiation. Quintus Septueius, an infant buried at Casinum in southern Latium, aged two days, in a tomb dedicated by Septueia Ge, perhaps his mother.[4] Quintus Septueius, buried at Aquileia in Venetia and Histria.[5] Quintus Septueius Abscantus, the husband of Vibullia Regilla, and father of Septueia Vera, who dedicated a tomb at Portus in Latium to her parents, dating to the mid-second century.[6] Quintus Septueius Adjectus, dedicated a second-century tomb found at the present site of Weyer, formerly part of Noricum, for himself and his wife, Samicantus, the daughter of Gouto.[7] Quintus Septueius Beryllus, dedicated a tomb at Rome to his son and namesake, Quintus.[8] Quintus Septueius Q. f. Beryllus, buried at Rome, aged twenty years, nine months, and sixteen days, in a tomb dedicated by his father, also named Beryllus.[8] Septueia Calliste, buried at Rome with a monument from her husband, Vagellius Fortunatus.[9] Quintus Septueius Clemens, conductor ferrariarum, an official in charge of iron mining in Noricum, Pannonia, and Dalmatia at some time in the early second century. He was presumably related to Quintus Septueius Valens, mentioned in the same inscription.[10][11] Gaius Septueius Crescens, a soldier named in an inscription from Savaria in Pannonia, dating from the late first or early second century.[12] Septueia Q. l. Dionysias, dedicated a sepulchre at Rome for herself, her husband, Lucius Licinius Epaphroditus, and her patron, Quintus Septueius Salvius.[13] Quintus Septueius Faustus, married Attica, the daughter of Placidus, with whom he dedicated a second-century sepulchre at Bedaium in Noricum for themselves, and their son, Quintus Septueius Marinus, aged thirteen.[14] Septueia Ge, dedicated a tomb at Casinum to Quintus Septueius, an infant aged two days, and possibly her son.[4] Septueius Herma, buried at Rome, aged forty-eight, with a monument from his wife, Successa.[15] Septueia Ias, named in a sepulchral inscription from Ostia in Latium.[16] Septueia Ingenua, erected a monument at Salona in Dalmatia in memory of her good friend, Julia Felicula, dating to the third century, or the latter part of the second.[17] Quintus Septueius Isochrysus, buried at Rome, aged twenty-seven years, thirty-five days, and eight hours, with a monument from his mother, Septueia Tryphaena.[18] Quintus Septueius Q. f. Marinus, the son of Quintus Septueius Faustus and Attica, was buried in the second-century family sepulchre at Bedaium, aged thirteen.[14] Septueia Meletine, made an offering at Aquileia, along with Lucius Publius Eumelus, possibly her husband, according to a second-century inscription.[19] Quintus Septueius Proculus, buried at Rome, along with his mother, Julia Helpis.[20] Quintus Septueius Q. l. Salvius, a freedman buried at Rome, in a tomb built by Septueia Dionysias, his client, and likely his freedwoman.[13] Septueia Tryphaena, dedicated a tomb at Rome for her son, Quintus Septueius Isochrysus.[18] Quintus Septueius Valens, procurator ferrariarum, an official in charge of iron mining, at Virunum in Noricum at some time in the early second century. He was presumably related to Quintus Septueius Clemens, mentioned in the same inscription.[10][11] Septueia Q. f. Vera, dedicated a mid-second century tomb at Portus to her parents, Quintus Septueius Abscantus and Vibullia Regilla.[6] See also List of Roman gentes References  Chase, pp. 120, 121.  Chase, pp. 131, 150, 151.  Salway, "What's in a Name?", pp. 130, 131.  CIL X, 5287.  CIL V, 8459.  IPOstie, A. 226.  CIL III, 5480.  CIL VI, 7747.  CIL VI, 26285.  CIL III, 4809.  PIR, S. No. 356.  AE 2016, 1238.  CIL VI, 26286.  CIL III, 5593.  CIL VI, 26283.  CIL XIV, 5113.  ILJug, iii. 2728.  CIL VI, 7748.  Brusin, Inscriptiones Aquileiae, i. 404.  CIL VI, 26284. Bibliography Theodor Mommsen et alii, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated CIL), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). René Cagnat et alii, L'Année épigraphique (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated AE), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). George Davis Chase, "The Origin of Roman Praenomina", in Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, vol. VIII, pp. 103–184 (1897). Paul von Rohden, Elimar Klebs, & Hermann Dessau, Prosopographia Imperii Romani (The Prosopography of the Roman Empire, abbreviated PIR), Berlin (1898). Hilding Thylander, Inscriptions du port d'Ostie (Inscriptions from the Port of Ostia, abbreviated IPOstie), Acta Instituti Romani Regni Sueciae, Lund (1952). Anna and Jaroslav Šašel, Inscriptiones Latinae quae in Iugoslavia inter annos MCMXL et MCMLX repertae et editae sunt (Inscriptions from Yugoslavia Found and Published between 1940 and 1960, abbreviated ILJug), Ljubljana (1963–1986). Giovanni Battista Brusin, Inscriptiones Aquileiae (Inscriptions of Aquileia), Udine (1991–1993). Benet Salway, "What’s in a Name? A Survey of Roman Onomastic Practice from c. 700 B.C. to A.D. 700", in Journal of Roman Studies, vol. 84, pp. 124–145 (1994). Category: Roman gentes And for THIS gens? Thanks

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settueio -- Ossia: Grice e Settueio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settueio – For the Septueii, I would resist the temptation of the mining officials (Valens and Clemens), attractive though "procurator ferrariarum" sounds to a Gricean ear. My first choice would be Septueia Vera, who erected a tomb for her parents, Quintus Septueius Abscantus and Vibullia Regilla. Why? Because with the Septueii we are almost entirely in the world of inscriptions, and inscriptions are ideal Grice-Speranza territory: they are utterances whose speaker is absent, often dead, yet whose communicative intention survives. Grice e Settueia Vera: Filia Loquitur VERA. Parentibus monumentum posui. (I have set up a monument for my parents.) +> Their memory is to continue publicly. SCEPTICVS. Mortui non legunt. (The dead do not read.) +> The apparent addressees cannot receive the message. VERA. Nec monumenta mortuis tantum fiunt. (Nor are monuments made only for the dead.) +> The living audience is equally important. SCEPTICVS. Ergo cui loqueris? (Then to whom are you speaking?) VERA. Legentibus. (To those who will read.) +> The inscription is directed toward future interpreters. SCEPTICVS. Quid dicis? (What do you say?) VERA. Hos parentes habui; hos honoravi. (I had these parents; I honoured them.) +> The monument expresses filial loyalty as much as factual information. GRICE. Lapis non loquitur; filia per lapidem loquitur. (The stone does not speak; the daughter speaks through the stone.) +> The inscription functions as an intentional communicative vehicle.  This is a favorite Speranzian theme: the epitaph is neither pure information nor mere ornament. The explicit content is:  "Here lie so-and-so."  The intended meaning is often:  "Remember them."   "Respect them."   "Observe my fidelity."   "Recognize this family bond."  The communicative force exceeds the literal wording. That's very elegant, but Vera wins because she leaves us an actual act of communication.  Dry Speranzian formula:  The Septueii achieved no consulship and no empire. Yet Septueia Vera accomplished something more Gricean: she spoke to strangers not yet born. The parents are dead, the daughter is dead, the stone remains. Meaning survives because someone still understands why the monument was raised.

 

Speranza, J. L. (n. d.). ‘H. P. Grice e J. L. Speranza: La Conversazione – I Verbali: Settueio -- Ossia: Grice e Settueio -- Grex griceiana – verbalia: Settueio – A close second choice would be Quintus Septueius Beryllus, who erected a tomb for his son, also named Quintus Septueius Beryllus. There the Gricean topic becomes the transmission of names across generations. PATER. Filius idem nomen habuit. (My son bore the same name.) +> Identity is being continued symbolically. GRICE. Idem nomen, non idem homo. (The same name, not the same person.) +> Naming creates continuity without identity. That's very elegant, but Vera wins because she leaves us an actual act of communication.