Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus


The senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus is a notable Old Latin inscription dating to 186 BC. It was discovered in 1640 at Tiriolo, southern Italy. Published by the presiding praetor, it conveys the substance of a decree of the Roman Senate prohibiting the Bacchanalia throughout all Italy, except in certain special cases which must be approved specifically by the Senate.
When members of the elite began to participate, information was put before the Senate by Publius Aebutius and his lover and neighbour Hispala Faecenia, who was also a well-known prostitute, as told in the Ab Urbe Condita Libri of Livy. The cult was held to be a threat to the security of the state, investigators were appointed, rewards were offered to informants, legal processes were put in place and the Senate began the official suppression of the cult throughout Italy. According to the Augustan historian Livy, the chief historical source, many committed suicide to avoid indictment. The stated penalty for leadership was death. Livy stated that there were more executions than imprisonments. After the conspiracy had been quelled the Bacchanalia survived in southern Italy.
The Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus can be seen as an example of realpolitik, a display of the Roman senate's authority to its Italian allies after the Second Punic War, and a reminder to any Roman politician, populist and would-be generalissimo that the Senate's collective authority trumped all personal ambition. Nevertheless, the extent and ferocity of the official response to the Bacchanalia was probably unprecedented, and betrays some form of moral panic on the part of Roman authorities; Burkert finds "nothing comparable in religious history before the persecutions of Christians".

Text

The surviving copy is inscribed on a bronze tablet discovered in Calabria in Southern Italy, now at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The text as copied from the inscription is as follows.
  1. MARCIVS L F S POSTVMIVS L F COS SENATVM CONSOLVERVNT N OCTOB APVD AEDEM
  2. DVELONAI SC ARF M CLAVDI M F L VALERI P F Q MINVCI C F DE BACANALIBVS QVEI FOIDERATEI
  3. ESENT ITA EXDEICENDVM CENSVERE NEIQVIS EORVM BACANAL HABVISE VELET SEI QVES
  4. ESENT QVEI SIBEI DEICERENT NECESVS ESE BACANAL HABERE EEIS VTEI AD PR VRBANVM
  5. ROMAM VENIRENT DEQVE EEIS REBVS VBEI EORVM VERA AVDITA ESENT VTEI SENATVS
  6. NOSTER DECERNERET DVM NE MINVS SENATORBVS C ADESENT A RES COSOLORETVR
  7. BACAS VIR NEQVIS ADIESE VELET CEIVIS ROMANVS NEVE NOMINVS LATINI NEVE SOCIVM
  8. QVISQVAM NISEI PR VRBANVM ADIESENT ISQVE E SENATVOS SENTENTIAD DVM NE
  9. MINVS SENATORIBVS C ADESENT QVOM EA RES COSOLERETVR IOVSISENT CESVERE
  10. SACERDOS NEQVIS VIR ESET MAGISTER NEQVE VIR NEQVE MVLIER QVISQVAM ESET
  11. NEVE PECVNIAM QVISQVAM EORVM COMOINEABVISE VEET NEVE MAGISTRATVM
  12. NEVE PRO MAGISTRATVD NEQVE VIRVM IEREM QVISQVAM FECISE VELET
  13. NEVE POST HAC INTER SED CONIOVRAE COMVOVISE NEVE CONSPONDISE
  14. NEVE CONPROMESISE VELET NEVE QVISQVAM FIDEM INTER SED DEDISE VELET
  15. SACRA IN OQVOLTOD NE QVISQVAM FECISE VELET NEVE IN POPLICOD NEVE IN
  16. PREIVATOD NEVE EXSTRAD VRBEM SACRA QVISQVAM FECISE VELET NISEI
  17. PR VRBANVM ADIESET ISQVE DE SENATVOS SENTENTIAD DVM NE MINVS
  18. SENATORIBVS C ADESENT QVOM EA RES COSOLERETVR IOVSISENT CENSVERE
  19. HOMINES PLOVS V OINVORSEI VIREI ATQVE MVLIERES SACRA NE QVISQVAM
  20. FECISE VELET NEVE INTER IBEI VIREI PLOVS DVOBVS MVLIERIBVS PLOVS TRIBVS
  21. ARFVISE VELENT NISEI DE PR VRBANI SENATVOSQVE SENTENTIAD VTEI SVPRAD
  22. SCRIPTVM EST HAICE VTEI IN COVENTIONID EXDEICATIS NE MINVS TRINVM
  23. NOVNDINVM SENATVOSQVE SENTENTIAM VTEI SCIENTES ESETIS EORVM
  24. SENTENTIA ITA FVIT SEI QVES ESENT QVEI ARVORSVM EAD FECISENT QVAM SVPRAD
  25. SCRIPTVM EST EEIS REM CAPVTALEM FACIENDAM CENSVERE ATQVE VTEI
  26. HOCE IN TABOLAM AHENAM INCEIDERETIS ITA SENATVS AIQVOM CENSVIT
  27. VTEIQVE EAM FIGIER IOVBEATIS VBI FACILVMED GNOSCIER POTISIT ATQVE
  28. VTEI EA BACANALIA SEI QVA SVNT EXSTRAD QVAM SEI QVID IBEI SACRI EST
  29. ITA VTEI SVPRAD SCRIPTVM EST IN DIEBVS X QVIBVS VOBEIS TABELAI DATAI
  30. ERVNT FACIATIS VTEI DISMOTA SIENT IN AGRO TEVRANO

    Translation into classical Latin

The following passage uses classical reflexes of the Old Latin lexical items:
  1. Mārcius L f, S Postumius L f cōs senātum cōnsuluērunt N Octōb, apud aedem
  2. Bellōnae. Sc adf M Claudi M f, L Valeri P f, Q Minuci C f. Dē Bacchānālibus quī foederātī
  3. essent, ita ēdīcendum cēnsuēre: «Nēquis eōrum acchānal habuisse vellet. Sī quī
  4. essent, quī sibī dīcerent necesse esse Bacchānal habēre, eīs utī ad pr urbānum
  5. Rōmam venīrent, dēque eīs rēbus, ubī eōrum vra audīta essent, utī senātus
  6. noster dēcerneret, dum nē minus senatōrbus C adessent, a rēs cōnsulerētur.
  7. Bacchās vir nēquis adiisse vellet cīvis Rōmānus nēve nōminis Latīnī nēve sociōrum
  8. quisquam, nisi pr urbānum adiissent, isque ē senātūs sententiā, dum nē
  9. minus senātōribus C adessent, cum ea rēs cōnsulerētur, iussissent. Cēnsuēre.
  10. Sacerdōs nēquis vir esset; magister neque vir neque mulier quisquam esset.
  11. Nēve pecūniam quisquam eōrum commūneabuisse vellet; nēve magistrātum,
  12. nēve prō magistrātū, neque virum ierem quiquam fecisse vellet,
  13. nēve posthāc inter sē coniūrāse convōvisse nēve cōnspondisse
  14. nēve comprōmīsisse vellet, nēve quisquam fidem inter sē dedisse vellet.
  15. Sacra in occultō nē quisquam fēcisse vellet. Nēve in publicō nēve in
  16. prīvātō nēve extrā urbem sacra quisquam fēcisse vellet, nisi
  17. pr urbānum adiisset, isque dē senātūs sententiā, dum nē minus
  18. senatōribus C adessent, cum ea rēs cōnsulerētur, iussissent. Cēnsuēre.
  19. Hominēs plūs V ūniversī virī atque mulierēs sacra nē quisquam
  20. fēcisse vellet, nēve inter ibī virī plūs duōbus, mulieribus plūs tribus
  21. adfuisse vellent, nisi dē pr urbānī senātūsque sententiā, utī suprā
  22. scrīptum est.» Haec utī in cōntiōne ēdīcātis nē minus trīnum
  23. nūndinum, senātūsque sententiam utī scientēs essētis, eōrum
  24. sententia ita fuit: «Sī quī essent, quī adversum ea fēcissent, quam suprā
  25. scrīptum est, eīs rem capitālem faciendam cēnsuēre». Atque utī
  26. hoc in tabulam ahēnam incīderētis, ita senātus aequum cēnsuit,
  27. utīque eam fīgī iubeātis, ubī facillimē nōscī possit; atque
  28. utī ea Bacchānālia, sī quae sunt, extrā quam sī quid ibī sacrī est,
  29. in diēbus X, quibus vōbīs tabellae datae
  30. erunt, faciātis utī dīmōta sint. In agrō Teurānō.

    Orthography

The spelling of the text of the Senatus consultum differs in many predictable ways from the spelling of Classical Latin. Some of these differences are merely orthographical; others reflect archaic pronunciations or other archaisms in the forms of words.

Geminate consonants

In Classical Latin, geminate consonants are consistently written with a sequence of two letters: e.g., cc, ll, ss for , , . These geminate consonants are not represented in the Senatus consultum:

Diphthongs

AI is usually used for Classical ae in:
EI became Classical ī in:
EI at the end of a word often corresponds to Classical short i or to no vowel at all. However, in many cases such as sibī, utī, archaizing Classical forms ending in ī are also found, especially in poetry.
OV normally became Classical ū in:
OI normally became Classical ū in:
OI exceptionally became Classical oe in:

Short vowels

Archaisms

The archaic ending -ce added to some forms of the pronoun hic is reduced to -c in Classical Latin in most cases:
The ending -d, found on some adverbs and ablative singulars of nouns and pronouns, is lost in Classical Latin:
The last two words AGRO TEVRANO omit the final -d, despite containing the same ablative ending elsewhere written -OD; this fact suggests that at the time of writing, the final -d was no longer pronounced in ordinary speech.
Archaic gn- is found for n- at the beginning of the verb nosco
The archaic passive infinitive ending -ier is used
QVOM appears for Classical cum, also known in the archaic Classical form quum.
In Classical Latin the prefixes ex- and dis- become ē- and dī- before voiced consonants. In the Senatus consultum, they are still written EX and DIS:

Other characteristics

The sequence ve appears as VO in ARVORSVM adversum and in OINVORSEI ūniversī.
The sequence ul appears as OL in COSOLERETVR cōnsulerētur, CONSOLVERVNT cōnsuluērunt, TABOLAM tabulam and OQVOLTOD occultō.
The consonants bl appear as PL in POPLICOD publicō, recalling its origin from populus.
The prefix ad appears as AR in ARVORSVM adversum, ARFVISE adfuisse, and ARF adfuērunt.

Translation into English

The inscription was translated by Nina E. Weston as follows.