A Deeper Look at SPQR
This blog is in honor of Tegan and Chris, who helped me take an even deeper look at SPQR.
Tegan, Chris, and I were in the Forum several weeks ago. I believe they had seen my video on SPQR — or read one of my several blogs on it. Or maybe one of them had studied Latin at school. In other words, I don’t remember. But I do know that when we translated the inscription on the Temple of Saturn (SENATVS POPVLUVS ROMANVS), they knew the Vs were an ancient convention for U; they translated the Latin with great ease and satisfaction; and they knew that the words in the inscription formed the acronym SPQR.
Analyzing the famous slogan, I made my usual point, namely that modern translators opt for “the Senate and People of Rome,” instead of “the Roman Senate and the Roman People.” I underlined that the conventional translation was indeed pithier. But it was also inferior, as it bent the laws of grammar for no justifiable reason. So, Tegan or Chris asked why translators would do such a thing. I replied, “Well, you see, it’s because… well, because… I don’t know!” After all, what justification could there be for a translation that massacres the Latin grammar and sounds only insignificantly better than “the Roman Senate and the Roman People”?
As we focused deeper on the nuts and bolts of SPQR, Chris said something like, “Oh, that’s interesting. If you think about the conventional translation, ‘of Rome’ denotes possession. Meanwhile the adjective ‘Roman’ tells you that that’s just how it is. That’s who you’re dealing with. It’s an identity.”
I liked that observation. No. I loved that observation. If you follow Chris’s logic, skip this and the next paragraph. But if you need a hand unpacking it, read on! As I point out in my initial blog (which was then followed by a flurry of SPQR blogs), ROMANVS is an adjective. So, it defines the two nouns in the slogan: the senate and the people. And that explains my preference for “the Roman Senate and the Roman People.”
As I mentioned, the conventional translation states “the Senate and People of Rome.” But if this were truly the case, you would see the Latin word ROMAE. That’s a noun (Roma) in the genitive, denoting possession. In other words, Rome’s Senate and People. But ancient Romans wrote ROMANVS, not ROMAE. In the slogan, everyone is Roman. They are not of Rome. The difference is as tangible as “being” on one hand and “seeming” (or “participating in”) on the other.
Running with Chris’s idea, let’s try this experiment. I’m going to write down two phrases. The first is based on the structure of “the Senate and People of Rome.” So, it will use the genitive or possessive case. The second is based on the structure of “the Roman Senate and the Roman People.” So, it will use an adjective – or, in this experiment – a predicative noun (which is a part of speech that, I swear, I will never mention again).
- “Rome’s soccer hero Totti…”
- “Rome is the soccer hero Totti…”
Is there a difference between the two phrases? You bet! “Rome’s soccer hero Totti” is possession. Totti belongs to the city’s soccer team. The second phrase is an identity, something that Rome IS, not something that Rome HAS. It’s like saying, “without Totti, Rome’s soccer team is nothing.” And back in Totti’s day, that was a viable affirmation.
Kudos if you have read to this point. We have definitely taken a deeper look at SPQR. And kudos to Chris and Tegan who helped me understand why “the Senate and People of Rome” irks me, when “the Roman Senate and Roman People” works equally as well, if not better!
