Latin Epigraphy. By Sir J. E. Sandys. (Cambridge Univer- sity
Press. 12e. 6d. net.)—A famous inscribed tablet now at Edinburgh—a cast is in the British Museum near the entrance— records the fact that the Second Legion constructed a section, 4,052 paces long, of the Wall from Forth to Clyde. Before the days of high explosives soldiers could take a pride in their field-works, and the Second Legion's tablet reminds us still of the legionaries who toiled near Linlithgow in the second century of our era. This is one small example of the value and interest of Latin inscriptions, on which Sir John Sandys has written the first English handbook. It is a model treatise, clear, concise, and well illustrated. It begins with a survey of the references made by classical authors to inscriptions. An excellent chapter on the Latin alphabet, in its successive stages, is followed by chapters on epitaphs, dedications, inscriptions on public works and portable objects like pigs of lead and tiles, and on documents such as the record at Afigora of the deeds of Augustus, which, with Diocletian's edict fixing prices and four other important historical records, is given at length in an appendix. Sir John Sandyshas supplied the atudent alao with notes on Roman names and dignitaries, and with a very full list of abbreviations, a knowledge of which is essential. Apart from their historical interest, which is great, Roman inscriptions of the best period deserve attention for the beauty of the lettering. Those who have to design war memorials would find inspiration in Sir John Sandys's excellent book.
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