epigraphy

Yesterday at the Sackler Library I made a discovery which truly reminded me why it is a classics library; I was in the bathroom and happened to glance at the walls, only to discover that the graffiti which covers the walls of every Mens Room was here written in Latin. Amused, both by the thought of contemporary Latin graffiti and by the content of said graffiti, I couldn't resist taking pictures, as well as doing a brief literary analysis...of the things written on shit-house walls:

For those who aren't familiar with the phrase, this is a rearrangement of Caesar's famous quote "I came, I saw, I conquered" - it now says "I saw, I conquered, I came," which I believe is cleverly playing on the sexual double-meaning of "to conquer" and "to come." It thus turns Caesar's laconic quip about war into an equally laconic description of a tryst. The other example of Post-Modern Classical Graffiti is far less ambiguous, however.

I apologize for the quality of this picture, but the writing was in pencil. It's far clearer in person. The script reads "Hic caccavit bene..." which roughly translates as "I had a good shit" (literally "this one shat well"). Interesting to note is the irregular spelling of the word "cacavit," a fascinating example of the non-standardization of spelling in the Post-Modern Classical academic world.

These two examples of lavatory artwork give us a stunning insight into the obscene nature of men from this era, for even the highly-educated elite find themselves scribbling obscenities into the walls of the water-closet. Such details of life in the early 21st century give nuance and flavor to even the most prestigious academics and help remind us why we study Post-Modern Classical Academia.