Lucius Caecilius Iucundus
Template:Cleanupdate Lucius Caecilius Iucundus lived in the Roman town of Pompeii in the 1st century AD. He had a wife - Metella (which means "little basket of stones")and a son- Quintus. His house still stands, and can be seen in the ruins of Pompeii. It was partially destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. This house is known for its beauty, along with some material found about bank book-keeping, and also some wax tablets, which were receipts.
Here is an example of tablet found in this house, recording a transaction.
The latin text reads : HS n DXX ob mulum venditum Marco Pomponio, Marci liberto, Niconi. Quam pequniam in stipulatum Lucii Caecilii Felicis redegisse dicitur Marcus Cerrinius Euprates. Eam pecuniam omnem, quae supra scripta est, numeratam dixit se accepisse Marcus Cerrinius, Marci libertus, Euphrates ab Philadelpho, Caecilii Felicis servo. Actum Pompeis, V kalendas Iunias, Druso Caesare Gaio Norbano Flacco consulibus.
Which means something like:
520 sesterces for a mule sold to Marcus Pomponius Nico, a freedman of Marcus. Money which Marcus Cerrinius Eup[h]rates is said to have paid back according to the terms of Lucius Caecilius Felix. Marcus Cerrinius Euphrates, a freedman of Marcus, said that he had received (and counted) the entire sum stated above from Philadelphus, a slave of Caecilius Felix. Transacted in Pompeii, 5 days before the Kalends of June, in the year when Drusus Caesar and Gaius Norbanus Flaccus were consuls.
Caecilius himself is not mentioned in the text above; his freedman, Lucius Caecilius Felix, seems to have provided a loan in connection with the sale of a mule.
(Copyrighted work: free non commercial use granted by author Alain Canu).
Book One of the Cambridge Latin Course is based on the story of Caecilius.
Some pictures:
