Shakespeare's funerary monument Socrates in genius, a Maro in art," comparing Shakespeare to Nestor the wise King of Pylus, to the Greek philosopher Socrates, and to the Roman poet Virgil (whose last name, or "cognomen" was Maro). The second reads "The earth buries him, the people mourn him, Olympus possesses him," referring to Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods. The English poem reads: As modernized by Katherine Duncan-Jones: Stanley Wells is one of the few biographers to comment on the poem, saying that it "somewhat cryptically calls on the passer-by to pay tribute to his greatness as a writer", and admitting
Nomen (Roman name) the non-Roman peoples of Italy disappeared as various communities were granted the Roman franchise, and following the Social War (91–88 BC), when this was extended to most of Italy. Once this occurred, the possession of the "nomen gentilicium" identified a man as a Roman citizen. The nomen was an essential element of Roman nomenclature throughout Roman history, although its usefulness as a distinguishing element declined precipitously following the "Constitutio Antoniniana", which effectively granted the nomen "Aurelius" to vast numbers of newly enfranchised citizens. Countless other "new Romans" acquired the nomina of important families in this manner during imperial times; in