Rest Lightly: An Anthology of Latin and Greek Tomb Inscriptions

by Paul J. Shore

Touching tomb inscriptions from the ancients, in Greek and Latin, with English tranlsations. The universal sentiments expressed in this anthology of inscriptions and epitaphs portray a poignant slice of ancient their joy in the temporal life, their grief at its passing, and their faith in an eternal life of bliss. Rest Lightly includes 29 tomb inscriptions and an additional 13 plates/illustrations from the 1st through the 7th centuries with transcriptions, annotations and verse translations into English. Join hearts with our ancient family as they celebrate the lives and mourn the deaths of their beloved children and friends, sisters and brothers, wives and lovers. Special Features * Introduction with chapters on the Value of Tomb Inscriptions, the Underworld, the Study of Tomb Inscriptions, and Women and Children
* Edited text of thirty inscriptions
* Line drawings
* Notes and English translations
* Thirteen plates For over 30 years Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers has produced the highest quality Latin and ancient Greek books. From Dr. Seuss books in Latin to Plato's Apology , Bolchazy-Carducci's titles help readers learn about ancient Rome and Greece; the Latin and ancient Greek languages are alive and well with titles like Cicero's De Amicitia and Kaegi's Greek Grammar . We also feature a line of contemporary eastern European and WWII books. Some of the areas we publish in Selections From The Aeneid
Latin Grammar & Pronunciation
Greek Grammar & Pronunciation
Texts Supporting Wheelock's Latin
Classical author Vergil, Ovid, Horace, Catullus, Cicero
Vocabulary Cards For AP Vergil, Ovid, Catullus, Horace
Greek Mythology
Greek Lexicon
Slovak Culture And History

74 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[Drianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't accord with my expectations in a couple of ways: first, every selection is a poem, not just ordinary tomb inscriptions. That's fine, but not what I'd expected (I was thinking more interesting inscriptions from a social history point of view, but not all poetic ones). Second, there's several Martial poems in here, which are, obviously, not actual tomb inscriptions (and Ovid, and Ennius). Why are they here? There's so many poetic epitaphs that there's no need to resort to Martial. Third, there's only two Greek inscriptions, and one of those is actually partially in Latin. Why? The notes on features of the Latin seem superfluous, given who's probably using the book (with the translations and all); there's no real way for students to read the Latin without much more help than this. I'm not really sure who this book is actually aimed at. Better collections of inscriptions for students exist; I was disappointed this one wasn't really that.

There's a few errors as well, such as the misidentification of Ennius' epitaph as dactylic hexameter. It's not; it's elegiac couplets.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just Gothy enough to love the idea of a collection of ancient tomb inscriptions. Besides, my Master's project/thesis thing was on ancient inscriptions. It's sort of a hobby/specialty.