Commentary on the Dream of Scipio

which send their dative plural ending in -bus, never allow the genitive of the same number to increase by a syllable. Instead, they either have the same number of syllables, as monilibus original: "monilibus" (necklaces) becomes monilium original: "monilium" or sedilibus original: "sedilibus" (seats) becomes sedilium original: "sedilium", or they have one syllable fewer, as carminibus original: "carminibus" (songs) becomes carminum original: "carminum" and liminibus original: "liminibus" (thresholds) becomes liminum original: "liminum". Thus, Saturnalibus original: "Saturnalibus" should more correctly produce Saturnalium original: "Saturnalium" than Saturnaliorum original: "Saturnaliorum". But those who say Saturnaliorum are defended by the authority of great men. For SALLVSTIVS, in the third book of his Bacchanaliorum of the Bacchanalia, and MASVRIVS, in the second book of his Fastorum Records/Calendar, says that the day of the Vinaliorum of the Vinalia festival is sacred to Jupiter, not, as some think, to Venus. And to cite even the grammarians themselves as witnesses, VERRIVS FLACCVS, in that book which is titled Saturnus Saturn, says that the days of the Saturnaliorum are considered festive among the Greeks as well; and in the same book, he says, "I believe I have written clearly regarding the establishment of the Saturnaliorum." Likewise, IVLIVS MODESTVS, in his work De Feriis On Holidays, mentions the holidays of the Saturnaliorum, and in the same book he says that Antias reports Numa Pompilius as the discoverer of the Agonaliorum of the Agonalia. Yet you will ask, I suppose, if this authority can be defended by any reason. Clearly, as long as it is not inappropriate for a grammarian to be reconciled with his own analogy, I will attempt to elicit through conjectures why they were led away from the usual utterance, so that they preferred to say Saturnaliorum rather than Saturnalium. And first, I estimate that these nouns, which are names of festive days and are neuter and lack a singular number, were intended by them to have a different condition from those nouns which are formed in both numbers. For Compitalia festival of the crossroads, Bacchanalia festival of Bacchus, and Agonalia festival of Janus/Mars, Vinalia wine festival, and other names of festive days similar to these, are not named in the singular. Or, if you use the singular number, you will not signify the same thing unless you add "festival," as in "Bacchanale festival" or "Agonale festival" and the rest; so that it is no longer a positive noun, but an adjective, which the Greeks call ἐπίθετον epithet. They were thus animated to make a distinction in the genitive case, so that from this declension they might express the name of the solemn day, knowing that in some nouns ending in -bus in the dative, the genitive nonetheless ends in -rum, such as domibus original: "domibus" (houses) and domorum original: "domorum", duobus original: "duobus" (two) and duorum original: "duorum", ambobus original: "ambobus" (both) and amborum original: "amborum".