Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Album

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

ALBUM (λεύκωμα). A space or patch covered with white plaster against the walls of a building, upon which public announcements or advertisements to the public were written; and thence the name is given to any sort of white tablet bearing an inscription, such as a list of the senators, the praetor's edicts, or things of a like nature. (Paul. Sentent. l. i. t. 14. Seneca. Ep. 48. Cic. Orat. ii. 12.) The illustration (Album/1.1) is a facsimile, upon a reduced scale, of an album written against one of the houses in Pompeii, which appears to have been equivalent to a modern announcement, such as: "Patronized by the Royal Family," or "By appointment." The words of it are MARCUM . CERRINIUM . VATIAM . AEDILEM . ORAT . UT . FAVEAT . SCRIBA . ISSUS . DIGNUS . EST. i. e. Issus, the scribe, solicits the patronage of M. Cerrinius Vatia, the aedile; he is a fit person.

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  Album/1.1