12-01-2012, 04:23 PM
I am currently reading David Foster Wallace’s magnificent novel Infinite Jest. In it, the names of years have been sold to corporate sponsors, so you have things like “Year of the Whopper”, “Year of the Trial-Size Dove Bar” and “Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment.”
This got me to thinking about the naming of years in Rome. (Who knows? Perhaps this also influenced Wallace.) We know consuls were expected to spend a great deal of money on the public when they ascended to the office and had the honour of giving their names to years. Do we have any evidence that the naming of consuls, or any particular consul, was primarily driven by monetary considerations?
This got me to thinking about the naming of years in Rome. (Who knows? Perhaps this also influenced Wallace.) We know consuls were expected to spend a great deal of money on the public when they ascended to the office and had the honour of giving their names to years. Do we have any evidence that the naming of consuls, or any particular consul, was primarily driven by monetary considerations?
David J. Cord
www.davidcord.com
www.davidcord.com
