The public notices are painted upon the walls along the sides of the streets, ordinarily in a bright red color; a few are in black. The most important are the election notices, in which a candidate is recommended for a public office. These are about sixteen hundred in number, and the names of more than a hundred different candidates appear in them.
The election notices fall into two classes, distinguished both by the style of writing and by the manner of expression,—earlier, from the time of the Republic, and later, belonging to the Imperial period. The shapes of the letters in those of the former class are irregular, and bear the mark of an unpractised hand. The later notices, on the contrary, have a more finished appearance; they are executed in a kind of calligraphic style that suggests the employment of skilled clerks who made the painting of electoral recommendations a part of their business. We have already met with the name of one painter of notices who signed his work, Aemilius Celer ([p. 223]). His house has been discovered, near the northeast corner of the ninth Region; it was identified by means of an inscription painted on the outside: Aemilius Celer hic habitat,—'Aemilius Celer lives here.'
The language of the earlier recommendations is of the simplest. We find the name of the candidate with no suggestion of praise excepting occasionally the letters v. b., for virum bonum, 'good man.' The name of the office is given in an abbreviated form, but that of the person who makes the recommendation nowhere appears. In one example the elements of the common formula o. v. f., for oro vos, facite, are given almost in full: M. Marium aed. faci., oro vos,—'Make Marcus Marius aedile, I beg of you.' The following notice appears on Stabian Street in letters nearly 8 inches high: P · FVR · II · V · \B · O · \F, that is Publium Furium duumvirum, virum bonum, oro vos, facite,—'Make Publius Furius duumvir, I beg of you; he's a good man.'
Some of the later election notices are almost equally brief, presenting merely the name of the candidate, the office for which he is recommended, and the formula o. v. f., as in this instance: Herennium Celsum aed[ilem] o. v. f.,—'Make Herennius Celsus aedile, I beg of you.' Occasionally even the formula is omitted, and we have simply the name of the candidate and of the office, both invariably in the accusative case, as Casellium aed., which appears in several places, and M. Holconium Priscum II. vir. i. d.
More frequently the recommendation includes a reference to the good qualities of the candidate. Sometimes he is simply styled 'a good man,' as in the earlier notices; but the most common formula in this connection is d. r. p., for dignum re publica, 'worthy of public office.' In some instances the characterization is more definite. More than one candidate is affirmed to be 'an upright young man' (iuvenem probum), or 'a youth of singular modesty' (verecundissimum iuvenem). In regard to one aspirant for office we are informed that 'he will be the watch-dog of the treasury'—hic aerarium conservabit.
The names of those who make the recommendations often appear in the later notices. Now and then individuals assume the responsibility, as Vesonius Primus ([p. 396]), and Acceptus and Euhodia ([p. 341]), who were undoubtedly owners of the property on which the notices appear. Thus the candidate's neighbors are sometimes represented as favoring his election, as in the case of Claudius Verus: Ti. Claudium Verum II. vir. vicini rogant,—'His neighbors request the election of Tiberius Claudius Verus as duumvir.' Electoral recommendations are painted on all sides of the house of Verus—the extensive establishment in the ninth Region known as the house of the Centenary.
The class of election notices in which we find the members of a craft united in the support of a candidate has been sufficiently illustrated in another connection ([p. 384]). To these we may add a recommendation found on a wall facing the temple of Isis: Cn. Helvium Sabinum aed. Isiaci universi rog[ant],—'The worshippers of Isis, as a body, request the election of Gnaeus Helvius Sabinus as aedile.' A suburb also might have a candidate, as in the following instance: M. Epidium Sabinum aed. Campanienses rog.,—'The inhabitants of the Pagus Campanus ask for the election of Marcus Epidius Sabinus as aedile.'
Sometimes all those who are engaged in an occupation are urged to support a candidate. 'Innkeepers, make Sallustius Capito aedile,' we read in one notice. In others, various classes of citizens having a common bond, as the ballplayers, and the dealers in perfumes, are exhorted to work for the election of a candidate presumably favorable to their interests. In one instance there is a direct appeal to an individual, involving a pledge of future support: Sabinum aed[ilem], Procule, fac, et ille te faciet,—'Proculus, make Sabinus aedile, and he will do as much for you.'
In view of the deep interest in the municipal elections, revealed by these notices, it is not surprising to find that the support of a candidate by a man of unusual prominence was extensively advertised. In three different parts of the city the attention of voters was directed to the fact that Suedius Clemens, the commissioner sent by Vespasian to decide the ownership of certain plots of ground ([p. 407]), favored the election of Epidius Sabinus as duumvir. One of the notices reads: M. Epidium Sabinum II. vir. iur. dic. o. v. f., dignum iuvenem, Suedius Clemens sanctissimus iudex facit vicinis rogantibus,—'At the request of the neighbors, Suedius Clemens, most upright judge, is working for the election of Marcus Epidius Sabinus, a worthy young man, as duumvir with judiciary authority. He begs of you to elect this candidate.'
So public a method of pressing a candidacy put a formidable weapon into the hands of the candidate's enemies, and the form of a recommendation was sometimes used against an office seeker with telling effect. Vatiam aed. furunculi rog.,—'The sneak thieves request the election of Vatia as aedile,' we find conspicuously painted on a wall on Augustales Street. According to other notices near by, 'The whole company of late drinkers' (seribibi universi) and 'all the people who are asleep' (dormientes universi) favored the candidacy of the same unhappy Vatia. The last notice which we shall present in this connection may have been painted on the order of the girl who appears in it: Claudium II. vir. animula facit,—'His little sweetheart is working for the election of Claudius as duumvir.' The reference is probably to the Tiberius Claudius Verus mentioned above.