Chapter XXII
“Do not be uneasy, Quintus,” Aurelius whispered, as Cneius Afranius dismounted and threw the bridle to his slave. “By all the gods, this man is as trustworthy as you and I are! It would be perfect madness, not to give him an opportunity for an interview with Eurymachus. His fight with Stephanus is in the interest of common humanity, and particularly in that of our protégé.”
“It is all the same; I do not like the business at all.”
“Then, so far as you personally are concerned, you can keep altogether aloof.”
Quintus looked enquiringly at him.
“Why are you so surprised?” Aurelius continued. “It seems to me a very simple matter. I will put myself forward as his protector, and you can play the part of entire innocence. You need not frown, as if I had suggested some cowardly action; if the whole matter ever comes to be known, it will make wonderfully little difference, whether Afranius is in possession of the whole or only of half the truth. You will save yourself nothing but immediate embarrassment. I, for my part, am so perfectly intimate with Afranius, so completely his friend....”
“If you suppose....”
“Only explain the case to your slave, Blepyrus. He must not be implicated. Your best way to avoid difficulties will be not to come on board. I could not even have invited you to come on with me, if I had not felt it a duty to inform you of my intentions.”
Quintus nodded.
“Very good,” he said thoughtfully. “Then tell our friend, Eurymachus, not to mention my name. I, meanwhile, will part from Afranius as though I had business to attend to, and I will wait for you on shore. How long will you remain on board?”
“Twenty minutes. Afranius must get through his examination as quickly as possible.”
This brief dialogue had been carried on in haste and in a whisper. Afranius had been giving instructions to his slave, as to how to treat his hired nag, which was somewhat overtired, and he now joined Quintus, while Aurelius hurried off to the two slaves, who carried, rather than led, Eurymachus. Three words sufficed to explain the situation. The wounded man cast a look of mournful gratitude at his preserver, Quintus, who bowed to him with feigned indifference; then he released Blepyrus, and rested his arm on the Batavian’s shoulder. Blepyrus turned to follow his master, who went off with long strides landwards along the high-street.
By every human calculation the perilous work was now happily finished; all the rest might be considered and carried out at leisure. If Stephanus could be really unmasked in all his villany, they might yet succeed in bending the severity of the law in procuring the fugitive’s return, and in securing him the happiness of a free and independent existence. Quintus drew a deep breath; that would be a worthy end to his bold beginning. He felt that Eurymachus, now that he had seen him again, was far more to him than a high-souled slave. He felt a spiritual sympathy, a sort of ideal friendship for him, like that of a disciple for his master. His last struggle to resist the overpowering urgency of this sentiment had died effete.
After walking about ten minutes, Quintus turned back again, and just as he reached the strand the boat came to shore with Afranius, Aurelius, and the Goth. Eurymachus, then, was safe on board, and if the lawyer’s radiant expression did not belie him, his interview with the fugitive had yielded a rich harvest. As the men stepped on land, he turned eagerly to Aurelius and asked him when the trireme was to start.
“Everything was made ready yesterday,” replied Aurelius. “In five minutes they will be off with all the oars plied.”
He looked across the waters, and raised his right hand to wave a farewell.
“Good-luck go with you!” he said in a low voice, but loud enough for Quintus to hear him. “Greet Trajectum fondly from me.”
In a few minutes the trireme began to move. Slowly at first she made her way through the crowd of merchant and fishing-vessels, which lay at anchor. But the captain’s hammer-strokes beat faster and faster, and the oars dipped deeper and more strongly in the dashing waves. Now, gliding past the jetty at the end of the quay, the trireme was afloat on the open sea, and rode the broad blue waters like a swan. The men still stood gazing after the proud and beautiful vessel—Aurelius, for his part, not altogether without a vague and melancholy homesick feeling. Although he knew, that within a few hours the trireme would turn aside from her course and steer for the roads of Antium, still, the dear north-country and the image of the mother he had left behind him, suddenly seemed brought nearer to him. He had but spoken the name of his home—but it had filled his soul with yearning. He thought of the immediate future.—Ere long he too might be a fugitive, weary and persecuted like Eurymachus, escaping on board that very ship, and thanking the gods if he might only flee unrecognized. And then Rome, and all that it contained of dear and fair, would be closed against him forever. All—Claudia? the thought sank down on his soul like lead. Claudia in Rome, and he hundreds of miles away, with the fearful certainty of never seeing her again! But if she loved him—then indeed...! If she would follow him, as Peponilla377 had followed her banished husband, amid the ice-hills of Scandia, or on the barren shores of Thule,378 spring would blossom for him more exquisite than the rose-gardens of Paestum! But what was there to justify his hopes of such immeasurable happiness? She had given him proofs of her friendship, no doubt, and when he was reading the Thebais, or when he spoke to her of his northern home, she had a way of listening—it had often brought light and warmth to his soul like a ray of promise—but then the revulsion had been all the more violent; her greeting would sound distant and measured, her smile would seem cold and haughty. Oh! if only he might have time to conquer this indifference.
But a voice was now calling him to the scene of action, and if that action were to result in failure!—He almost regretted having so unresistingly yielded to the eloquence of Cinna and to his own passionate patriotism—though indeed, as he told himself, his eager passion for Claudia was not the least of the motives that urged him to action, nay, but for that passion he might still have been hesitating. As it was, it had dragged him with the force of a possession into the whirlpool of conspiracy. He longed to stand before her—his chosen love—as a victor over tyranny, as a liberator of the empire, and say to her: “Now, noble heart, I may sue for thy love, for I have a grand advocate in the gratitude of my country.”
All this swept through his mind like a waking dream, as he gazed in silence at the immeasurable sea. Then, coming to himself, and turning round, his eyes met those of Quintus. They were the very eyes—those dear, beautiful, unforgettable eyes—of his loved Claudia, only less sweetly thoughtful, less tenderly dreamy. Suddenly his resolve was taken. As soon as it should be possible, this very day if it might be, he would learn his fate from the woman he loved, and make an end of this miserable uncertainty.
“Was all prepared?” asked Quintus, as Cneius Afranius withdrew to one side and wrote some notes on his tablets.
“All quite ready,” replied Aurelius. “He will be cared for, as if he were my own brother.”
“And what did he tell Afranius?”
“I do not know; they were alone together. Afranius begged to keep it secret, until he had everything ready to complete his case against Stephanus.”
Afranius seemed to be entirely absorbed in thinking over what he had learnt on board the trireme, and Aurelius had to call him twice by name, before he roused him from his reverie.
They were now walking along the quay in the direction previously taken by the chariot The two-wheeled cisium, which had been waiting on the opposite side of the market-place in front of a tavern, followed them with Magus and Blepyrus, while Afranius’ slave led the grey hack and his own mule.
“What a tremendous crowd and bustle!” exclaimed the lawyer. “Not such an emporium as Puteoli, to be sure, but busy enough and not less noisy! Look at that barge with those gigantic blocks of marble—each big enough to fill an average store-room! And there—that is really stupendous!”
He pointed to a spot on the quay, where the crowd was thickest. A crane there stood up, from which a gigantic rhinoceros was hanging in mid-air, supported by broad bands and girths.
“A cargo of beasts for the centennial games,”379 said Quintus. “There, to the left, are a dozen of iron cages ready to receive them. Half Asia and Africa have been plundered for the amphitheatres.”
They went nearer, for an interest in wild beasts was a natural instinct, in all who had ever breathed the air of Rome. The hum and clatter of the seaport were dully drowned now and again by a hoarse roar—the growl of one of the lions from Gaetulia, restlessly pacing up and down behind the bars of their prison, which had just been landed.
“That is something like a cageful!” said the Batavian.
“The freight of two vessels,” remarked Quintus, glancing at the two large ships, one of which had already unloaded and gone to its moorings. “Our gladiators may pray for good-luck.”
Another deep roar, as wild and hungry as ever resounded through the midnight desert, drowned his voice. They were now within a few paces of the landing-place, and from hence they could command a complete view of the enormous array of cages, loaded on low trucks, which were waiting to be transported to their destination by road. Hyrcanian tigers pressed their glossy striped coats against the iron bars; Cantabrian bears, standing on their hind legs, poked their sharp muzzles between the railings; leopards from Mauritania, hyænas, panthers and lynxes gnashed their blood-thirsty jaws; aurochs and buffaloes whetted their sheathless horns, or stared in lazy indifference on the strange surroundings. There were a few rhinoceroses too, a great rarity at Rome; and some enormous crocodiles, which excited the astonishment and curiosity of the maritime populace. Farther off, fastened together in long rows, were numbers of wild asses from the hills of Numidia, wild horses, giraffes and zebras; for even such beasts as these had their part in the mighty fights in the Flavian amphitheatre.
Quintus and Aurelius lounged idly towards the cages, while Afranius studied the movements of the crane, which was now beginning to lower the grotesque monster. The two young men came to a stand in front of a lion of unusual size, which was snorting at the bars of its cage, and standing in a haughty and threatening attitude, its head and tangled mane held high in the air. It was, in fact, the same beast as had just now sent out that terrific roar. His keeper, leaning against the corner of the cage at a respectful distance, had tried to coax and pacify the brute, and as the two gentlemen approached the cage he respectfully withdrew to one side. The lion watched him as he moved, and then, as he turned his head and perceived the two strangers so close to the bars, he drew back a pace as if startled, bellowed out for the third time his thundering and appalling roar; and blind with fury, rushed at the iron railing.
Quintus and Aurelius smiled and looked at each other—but they had both turned pale at the brute’s unexpected onslaught.
“He seems to have some personal objection to me,” said Quintus. “His fiery glare is steadily fixed on me. My word! but it increases my respect for our gladiators; to stand face to face with such a beast in the arena, must have an unpleasant effect on the nerves. Here we see nature in all its unmitigated ferocity.”
The lion was, in fact, standing with a burning eye fixed on Quintus, as though in him he recognized an old enemy.
“Let us go,” said the young man, frowning. “It is only a dumb, unconscious brute, and I am ashamed to have been so shaken by his mere roar. Aye, blink away, you hairy old villain. Thirty inches of steel between your ribs will reduce even you to silence, and that must be your fate at last, however wildly you may rage and foam over bleeding men first.”
“That is a thorough bad one,” said the negro keeper, who spoke Latin with difficulty. “I have tamed more than fifty; but all trouble is thrown away on this one. He is one of the mountain lions, and his father was a magician. I saw that at once, when the hunters brought him, that black tuft on his forehead shows it plainly.”
And, in fact, a tangled lock of black hair hung from the brute’s mane between his eyes.
“Is it your business to tame lions?” asked Quintus.
“I tame the mildest, and the fierce ones are kept for the fights. I have brought up three tame ones for the centennial games—as high as this—and they do the most wonderful things that have ever been shown in Rome. They take live hares380 in their jaws and carry them three times round the arena, without even squeezing them.”
But Quintus was not listening; he had turned away. The brute’s scowl, as he kept his glaring eyes fixed on him, filled him with an uneasy feeling. Cneius Afranius appealed to him, too—with a pressing reminder, that a welcome was awaiting him—not to forget the young ladies and his mother in favor of rhinoceroses and giraffes; so they got away from the crowd and back to the high-road, where the chariot was waiting with the slaves.
The venerable Fabulla had received her guests at the garden gate, and had conducted them with repeated effusions of delight and gratitude to her pretty little house, almost hidden among olives and holm oaks, and bowered in ivy and vines. Here the young girls were seated under an autumn-tinted arbor-porch, and helped themselves to the grapes which hung within reach overhead. In front of them, on a round-table of pine-wood, stood a wicker basket of sweet-smelling wheat-bread, a half-emptied bowl of milk, and a dish of apples and pears. Near them lay a distaff, tied round with scarlet ribbons, and a spindle, for Fabulla was never for an instant idle, and spun her yarn even in the presence of such illustrious strangers.
“Children,” said Cneius Afranius, “this is the true Elysium.... The shade, the dull green of the olives, the vine-garlands, the delicious air, the fresh milk—it is superb! But to feel fully equipped for the enjoyment of it all, I must first get rid of all my business; for the present, then, I leave you to your fate. I must drink a cup of this milk—and then farewell. We shall live to meet again! Within an hour I shall be here again.” And with the tragic air of an actor playing the dying Socrates, he took up one of the red clay cups and solemnly lifted it to his lips.
“Stop, stop!” cried the good mistress. “You are taking mistress Lucilia’s cup.”
“Ah!” cried Afranius, replacing the cup he had drained on the table with mock penitence. “Mistress Lucilia will not be too severe, I hope, to forgive the mistake on the ground of my thirst and absence of mind.... Mother, your cows are improving, decidedly improving. Never did this nectar taste so truly Olympian as to-day. Great Pan himself must bless them.”381
And with these words he quitted them.
When Quintus and Aurelius had also refreshed themselves, they all rose to wander through the garden under Fabulla’s guidance. Quintus and Cornelia led the way, followed by Aurelius and Claudia. The mistress of the house came last with Lucilia, who was in the highest spirits, and never tired of praising the beautiful curly kale and the splendid heads of lettuce, or of singing fantastical rhapsodies in praise of the autumn pears and late figs. She had at once detected the happy pride, with which Fabulla regarded the pretty little estate, a pride which found an unmistakable echo in Afranius’ jesting praises. A strange impulse prompted her to humor this natural vanity, and give the worthy lady, whom she found particularly attractive, a simple and genuine pleasure. At the bottom of her heart agriculture and horticulture were as absolutely indifferent to her as any other form of human industry; but she had a happy gift of throwing herself into sympathy with every sphere of feeling. She spoke with delight of the charms of a country-life, and declared quite seriously, that the noise of the city was irritating and exhausting—an assertion to which her blooming appearance emphatically gave the lie.
Fabulla was perfectly enchanted with the girl’s ways and manners; she had never thought it possible, that so fresh, sweet, and unpretending a creature could come out of Rome—that den of wickedness and perversion—still less out of the house of a Senator, and under the very thunder-bolts, so to speak, of the Capitoline Jupiter. She took the bright, young creature to her heart with all the fervor of a convert; all the more eagerly because Claudia, though beautiful, was somewhat taciturn, and Cornelia, with all her graciousness, was still the unapproachable great lady, mysteriously shut up within an invisible wall against the advances of strangers.
Lucilia was, in fact, absolutely overflowing with amiability and graciousness. When, after a quarter of an hour of wandering, Fabulla explained that she must now go indoors to make some arrangements for their mid-day meal, Lucilia begged to be allowed to make herself of use, and to take the opportunity for seeing the kitchen, the store-rooms, and the slaves’ apartments. Fabulla was enchanted; she pressed a kiss on her new friend’s brow, and said in a tone of melancholy:
“You are just like-my sweet Erotion!382 She was not so pretty as you are, to be sure, nor so elegant, but her eyes were like yours, and she was just as bright, and had the same love for the garden and for house-keeping.—Ah! and such a good heart! How often have I dreamed of future happiness for her when she has come, tired out with play, and sat on my lap and laid her head on my breast. Then she would go to sleep, and I would sing some old song, and sit dreaming and hoping till darkness fell. But the gods would not have it so! A handful of ashes in a marble urn is all that is left me of my sweet little girl.”
She ceased speaking, and wiped her kind, honest eyes with the back of her hand. Lucilia gazed thoughtfully at the ground.
“It is a long time since,” Fabulla added presently. “Twenty-two years next March; but every now and then a feeling comes over me, as if I had lost the dear child only yesterday.”
“Poor mother!” sighed Lucilia.
Fabulla affectionately stroked her thick, waving hair.
“Do not mind me!” she said; “such dismal reflections do not suit well with the gaiety of youth.”
“Mirth and sadness dwell side by side,” replied Lucilia, “and to enjoy what is pleasant and endure what is sorrowful is the only sensible way.”
Then they went on between the box-hedged garden-beds.
The two couples meanwhile had wandered apart. Quintus and Cornelia were sitting at the farthest side of the orchard, on a rough stone bench in the deepest shade of the fruit trees, while Aurelius and Claudia remained meditatively pacing up and down the main walk.
“How happy I feel!” said Cornelia. “Quintus, my dear love, what more has the world to offer us? If it will only leave us undisturbed, so that we may enjoy the gifts of the gods in peace! But you are very silent, my dearest; must I wake you from your dreams with a kiss? Has happiness struck you dumb? Only think—before the year is out I shall be your wife! Yes, your wife; and I may call you my own forever. I need never give you up again, as I must now, when every hour of happiness ends in a parting.”
She clung fondly to him, and looked into his face with radiant devotion. Her eyes glowed with feeling, and the fair marble of her throat and arms gleamed so softly bright, that Quintus, overcome by the inspiration of the moment, clasped her passionately in his arms, and their lips met in a long and eager kiss.
“Cornelia—fairest and dearest of mortal creatures!” he whispered tenderly, as she released herself, “you draw the very soul out of my body with your perfect, heaven-sent love! Oh! my sweetheart, I too can picture no purer or more noble delight, than that of living one in spirit and hope with you. Aye, Cornelia, I am weary of the bustle of this fevered world, of the vacuous comedy of ambition, of dominion, of all this parcel-gilt vulgarity. I long for rest and solitude in a peaceful home. I ask no splendor, no pomp of triumphs, nor lictors with their fasces. I only want to be at peace with myself—I only seek that glorious harmony, which reconciles all the discords of life. And that peace, that respite and rest, I hope to find with you, my sweetest Cornelia.”
“My whole being, body and soul, are yours,” replied Cornelia. “Do what you will with me. If love can bring peace, your hopes must certainly be fulfilled. But tell me, my dearest, do you really so utterly contemn fame and glory? Will you never make any effort to attain what, merely as a Claudian, you must desire: the triumph of an immortal name? Are peace and the joys of love so absolutely antagonistic to the winning of laurels? Do not yet abandon the post, where the gods have placed you. Be all they have created you to be: a son of that glorious race, which, not so long ago, gave us an Emperor! You know me well, my dearest; you know I would worship you still, even if the Fates deprived you of all—everything; if you were a fugitive, a beggar, scorned, hated, I am still and forever yours. But, as it is, you are rich and noble, and why should I deny, that fame and pomp and splendor have a charm for me? Even the outward gifts of fortune are bestowed by the gods, and the best thanks we can offer is to enjoy.”
“Nay, do not misunderstand me, sweet soul! I do not wish to retire into the desert like an eastern penitent, nor to fling away the last drinking-cup like the philosopher of Sinope.383 It is only empty and fruitless activity that I long to escape, the mad whirl of a life which swallows men up to the very last fibre, and leaves them not a second for reflection. It is only from afar, that you know that heart and brain-consuming turmoil. Cinna is one of those who contemn it, and you have grown up under his roof. But I see it close, and I shudder at the sight. Is it worth while to have lived at all, when our last hour only cuts the thread of a tissue of follies? To what end this hollow, noisy and bewildering drama? There would be more consolation and refreshment in studying the inside of an ant-hill.”
“You are so serious,” said Cornelia. “What can be the matter with you? You used to say things like this, but only as a man out of conceit with his surroundings. And now you look so strange, so mysterious....”
“You are right, dear heart; I am too grave for so sweet an-hour. Forgive me, my darling. In time you will know better what it is, that I... I cannot explain to you at present.”
And he drew her once more to his breast, and kissed her passionately.
Aurelius and Claudia had behaved with far greater coolness and propriety. Behind this moderation, it is true, lurked an unrest which now and again betrayed itself in small details. As the Batavian, by way of opening the conversation, tried to paint the particular beauties of the autumn season, a faint flush mounted to his brow, and Claudia made some observations on the noble dimensions of three pumpkins in a voice that trembled, as though she were craving some favor from Caesar. Both were in that mood of self-conscious confusion, which is peculiar to lovers in anticipation of an important explanation. And Claudia was still more obviously embarrassed, when Caius Aurelius observed that such gourds grew at Trajectum too.
“It might happen,” he went on after a pause, “that circumstances might require me to return home sooner, than I at first intended....”
Claudia pulled the leaves off an olive-branch.
“That would be a pity,” she said in a constrained tone. Then she colored, and went on eagerly: “For, in fact, many interesting features of our metropolis are still unknown to you.”
“Oh,” replied Aurelius, “I am not particularly devoted to seeing features of interest. What I far more regret, is taking leave of so many excellent friends, so many hospitable houses where I have passed hours of delightful intercourse, and heard so many noble ideas....”
“Ah, yes, of course,” said Claudia, breaking the olive-twig into little pieces. The Batavian sighed.
“Above all,” he went on, “I can never forget how kindly your illustrious father received me....”
“Oh!” exclaimed Claudia.
“And your mother.... You cannot imagine how deeply I reverence that noble matron, how grateful I am to her for allowing me daily admission and intimacy in her house. Ah! sweet mistress, how happy I have been in that family circle! Your brother, I may venture to believe, has become my best and truest friend; even Lucilia, who generally is so severely critical, has not been unkind to me.... You may laugh at me, but I swear to you, that when I am forced to leave I shall leave a piece of my heart behind!”
Claudia looked down and walked on in silence, her hand shook.
“Madam,” the young man went on, and his voice trembled with agitation, “when I am gone—forever, when miles of land and sea divide us—will you sometimes think with kindness of the stranger....? Will you recall the hour in which we met, our happy days at Baiae, and this blissful time in Rome...?”
“Indeed I shall,” Claudia murmured almost inaudibly.
They had now reached the southern end of the broad walk, where a brick wall was visible through a screen of shrubs; the patches of light, which the sun cast on the gravel through the leaves, were visibly aslant to the left, and the observation struck Aurelius to the heart; from the register afforded by this natural time-keeper, he perceived that the best of the day had slipped by unused. He was suddenly seized with a kind of panic: these rays of light symbolized his happiness. It was escaping him, vanishing fast—he must lose it, if he did not then and there find some spell to command and keep it.
He stood still.
“Listen!” he said with an effort. “I cannot help it.... Before I go, I must ask you a question. I almost feel as though I could foresee the answer.—It is all the same, I must speak. Only one thing I would beg beforehand: Do not laugh at my blind self-deceit. You know me—I am neither highly gifted nor of noble birth, but I have a faithful nature and a heart full of never-failing devotion—and you are the object of that devotion. Therefore I must ask: could you bear to make up your mind to be my wife? I ask no promise, Claudia, no binding vows—only a word to give me hope, a single word of comfort and encouragement. If you can, oh Claudia, speak it! If you cannot, at any rate I shall be free from the anguish of uncertainty.”
Claudia had listened to him in rigid silence, but as he ended, she gave him her hand—looked up in his face—and smiled through her tears. Aurelius stood in speechless surprise; he tried to speak, but in vain. This transcendent happiness seemed to have paralyzed his powers.
“You dear, foolish man,” said Claudia with glowing cheeks. “What have I done, that you should put a poor girl like me to the blush? I, who have looked up to you in all humility....”
“Claudia!” cried the Batavian, trembling with rapture. “Am I not cheated by a dream? You—mine? I am delirious—raving.”
“Nay, it is the truth. I am yours now and till death.”
“Quintus, Claudia, Cornelia,” shouted a clear, girlish voice, “are you playing at hide-and-seek? or has some tricky god turned you all into trees? Come forth, Fauns384 and Dryads!385 The couches are ready in the triclinium, and a banquet is prepared, that is worthy of Olympus.”
Aurelius did not seem particularly interested in the information. How gladly would he have dreamed away the remainder of the day out here under the verdurous shade! But society asserts its rights, and love, particularly when it is a secret, must early learn to take patience.
“Let us be prudent and say nothing of this,” said Claudia as they went in. “My father has certain schemes in his head, as perhaps you know—he has not spoken out about them as yet, but Lucilia told me she was sure of it, and Lucilia has eyes like a Pannonian lynx.386 Sextus Furius, the senator—you know him—wants, they say, to make me his wife, and my father is not averse to it. We shall have a fight for it, dear Caius....”
“And you say it as calmly....”
“Shall I worry beforehand over things I cannot prevent? But I will do my utmost to win my father over. He is stern, but he loves me, and for his daughter’s happiness he would make a sacrifice—a sacrifice I say advisedly, for you know how strictly he adheres to his principles, and one of his principles is a prejudice against the class of knights....”
“And if your hopes deceive you—if all is in vain?”
“Then I remember that the old saying: ‘Where you, Caius, are, there will I, Caia, be’387 is a pledge no less sacred than obedience to parents; and I too am of the race of Claudius!”
They had reached the open plot in front of the house, where Cneius Afranius was standing with Lucilia and his mother, cutting ripe grapes into a basket with a sharp knife. Dressed in a flowered tunic, the city lawyer was humming the air of a Gaulish popular song; every now and then he interrupted himself with a cry of surprise at the huge size of the grapes, or a jesting word to the young girl, and all the time his jolly pleasant face, ruddy with the exertion and with the October sun, shone like a living tribute to Bacchus.
“There!” he exclaimed, as Quintus and Cornelia also appeared upon the scene, “now, a few leaves, and men Zeuxis388 himself could not paint a prettier picture! Aha! here are our peripatetic389 philosophers! Come along, our country dining-room is quite ready! Come, Quintus, and see if Fabulla’s spelt porridge and cabbage sprouts390 are to your liking; I am credibly informed too, that there is a fish salad with chopped eggs and leeks. Such a cybium391 as my mother makes, you have never tasted. Even the great Euphemus, with all his art, must yield to that triumph of culinary skill. Walk in, most worshipful company, walk in, for here too the gods abide!”
Footnotes
1 Trireme. “Three-oared;” a vessel with three ranks of rowers, one above another. The time was given by the beats of a hammer or by word of command; not unfrequently by an air played on a flute or a sailor’s chant (cantus nauticus).
2 Posidium, now called the Punta della Licosa, south of the Gulf of Salerno.
3 Capreae, (Isle of goats) now Capri.
4 Puteoli. An important port in Campania, now Pozzuoli. Concerning Puteoli’s commerce, see Stat. Silv. III, 5, 75.
5 Apollonius of Tyana in Cappadocia. An ascetic and ecstatic philosopher and miracle-worker (A.D. 50) often compared with Christ by heathen writers. (Philostratus wrote his life.)
6 Ivory map. Sketch-maps of various routes were common in ancient times, and were often engraved on wine-jars, cups, etc.
7 Tunic. The short-sleeved under-garment worn by both sexes, the house costume, over which men, when they went out, threw the toga, women the stola or palla. During the period of the empire a second garment, the tunica interior, corresponding to the shirt of modern times, was worn under the tunic.
8 The palace of Tiberius. For an account of the cruel and extravagant proceedings of Tiberius at Capri, see Tacitus Ann. I, 67, Suet. Tib. 40, Juv. Sat. X, 72 and 93. Insignificant remains of this palace are visible at the present day: Villa di Timberio; the perpendicular cliff 700 feet high is called il salto (the leap.)
9 Castor and Pollux. Leda’s twins, the Dioscuri, were the patrons of sea-faring men.
10 Wax-tablet (tabula cerata). A little tablet covered with wax, on which memoranda were written with the stylus. In the schools the wax-tablet supplied the place of the slate, and in daily life was a substitute for our note-book.
11 Freedman. The institution of slavery (servitium) which existed from ancient times, was an extremely important factor in the organization of Roman society. The slaves (servi) were the absolute property of their masters, who had unlimited control over their destinies and lives. (This right was not withdrawn until A.D. 61, when the law of Petronius prohibited the arbitrary condemnation of slaves to combats with wild beasts, etc.) The slave could then be released by the so-called manumissio, and was styled libertus or libertinus. His position depended upon the greater or less degree of formality with which the manumissio was granted. The most solemn manner bestowed all the rights of the free-born citizen, but even in this case he was socially burdened with the same stigma that rests upon the emancipated slaves in the United States. If a freedman attained power and influence—which under the emperors was very common—the haughty representatives of the ancient noble families paid him external respect, it is true, but the man’s origin was never forgotten.
12 Trajectum. A Batavian city in the Roman province Germania, now Utrecht.
13 Gades. A city in southern Spain, the modern Cadiz.
14 Panormus. A city on the north coast of Sicily, the modern Palermo.
15 Corybas. In the plural Corybantes; priests of Cybele. Their worship was a wild orgy with war-dances and noisy music. (Horace, Od. I, 16, 8: non acuta si geminant Corybantes aera, etc.)
16 Ostia. The port of Rome, situated at the mouth of the Tiber.
17 Massilia. An important city founded by the Greeks on the southern coast of Gaul, now called Marseilles.
18 Rugii. A German race occupying a considerable part of the coast of the Baltic—the present Pomerania and island of Rügen.
19 Frisii. A German race settled in the northern part of what is now Holland and farther east beyond Ems (Amisia).
20 Breakfast. The first meal after rising was called jentaculum. In the time of the republic (and still later among the poorer classes) it consisted principally of pulse. Among the wealthy luxury intruded even here; but in comparison with the second breakfast (prandium) and especially with the principal repast (coena) the jentaculum always remained frugal.
21 Ram’s-head at the prow. These ornaments were usually carved in wood on the prow. They must not be confounded with the ship’s beaks (rostra, ἕμβολα). These beaks—two strong iron-cased beams—were on the fore-part of the ships of war and also on vessels intended for long voyages, where they would be exposed to danger from pirates. They were beneath the surface of the water, and were destined to bore holes in the enemy’s ships. See vol. 2, Chap IX.
22 Magus. A Gothic word—(not the Latin Magus, Greek μάγος—magician, sorcerer,)—means a boy, or knave in the old sense of servant.
23 Parthenope. The ancient name of Naples, from the siren Parthenope, who is said to be buried there.
24 Vesuvius. The famous eruption, which buried the three cities mentioned, took place A.D. 79, that is, sixteen years before the commencement of this story.
25 Baiae, now Baja, the most famous watering-place of ancient times. See Horace, Ep. I, 1, 83.
26 Aenaria and Prochyta, now Ischia and Procida.
27 Alexandria in Egypt was, in point of commerce, the London of ancient times.
28 Tarentine travelling-cloak. The woollen stuffs from Tarentum, now called Taranto, were famous.
29 “Hva gasaihvis?“—”Gasaihva leitil skip.” Literally: What do you see? (I) see (a) little ship. The earliest existing specimens of Gothic date from several centuries later than the time of this story, namely the period when the Goths left their original settlements on the lower Vistula and settled farther to the southeast on the Black Sea. I thought it permissible, however, to make a Goth of the first century speak the language of Ulfilas, since there is nothing against it in the general analogies of language, and Gothic, in the form in which it remains to us, is so concrete and logical in its structure, that it is hardly credible that it should have varied to any great extent within a period of two or three centuries.
30 Batavia. It was the custom at a very early date to name vessels after towns, persons, or countries, etc.
31 Amulet. A faith in the protecting power of charms and amulets was universal among Roman women, and children were always provided with amulets against the evil eye.
32 Isis. The Egyptian goddess Isis was originally a personification of the Nile country, and as such was the wife of Osiris, the god of the Nile, who is slain by Typhon and longingly sought by the deserted goddess. She was afterwards confounded with every conceivable form of Greek (See Appuleius. Met. XI, 5.) and Roman Mythology and thus in the first century after Christ became the principal goddess. Her worship was chiefly by women.
33 Waxen Ship. Such votive offerings are commonly mentioned. They were generally painted pictures, but models in wax or metal were also given.
34 Nile-Water. The worshippers of Isis ascribed a special power to the waters of the Nile.
35 Sesterces. A Roman silver coin worth about 4 or 5 cents.
36 Roman Knight. During the reign of the emperors the free population of Rome was divided into three orders: senators, knights, and people (third order). The order of senators was limited to Rome, and in its hands lay the real political power, which in the time of the republic had been exercised by the assembled populace. To the senate belonged the right of conferring and recalling sovereign power, that is, by appointing and deposing the emperors, a right rarely exercised, it is true, but which the emperors formally recognized by allowing themselves to be confirmed by the senate. In their relation to this body, the emperors were only first among their peers, the members of this order being really their equals; a relation which, with the exception of Caligula, Nero, Domitian, and Commodus, the emperors during the first two centuries, more or less earnestly endeavored to maintain. (Friedlander. Rom. Sittengesch. I, 3.) The number of the old senatorial families was comparatively small.
The second order, the knights (equites), was scattered over the whole empire. A class specially designated for military service, it became in the time of the Gracchi, a body of rich men, each of whom possessed a fortune of 400,000 sesterces, and also fulfilled the conditions of being of free birth and descent, blameless reputation, and refraining from dishonorable or indecorous methods of making money. Loss of this fortune, whether by their own fault or otherwise, entailed loss of rank. In consequence of the confusion and dissolution of all legal regulations through the civil war, these conditions were largely abrogated. While many who had formerly been entitled to belong to the order of knights, lost their rank through loss of fortune, others, who though possessing the needful property, had none of the other requisites, assumed without opposition the external distinctions of the knights, especially the gold ring and the seat of honor in the theatre. (Friedlander.) There were various degrees of rank in the order of knights, and also great diversity of fortune. Besides the poor titular knights, there were bankers, wholesale merchants, and the directors and members of great commercial companies and societies for mercantile enterprises of every kind.
The third order comprised mechanics, small tradesmen, tavern-keepers, learned men, artists, etc., etc.,—except in cases where those who followed these pursuits were slaves,—and also the immense body of proletarians, who subsisted almost exclusively on public alms.
37 My Lord Said the Matron. Concerning the address “lord” (domine), see the minute discussions in Friedlander’s Sittengeschichte, I, appendix. It was not so common as the modern “sir,” but was used as an expression of special courtesy in the most varied relations of life. The emperors themselves used it in intercourse with persons to whom they wished to show attention. Thus Marcus Antoninus writes to Fronto: “Have, mi domine magister.” According to Seneca (Ep. III, 1.) it was already customary under Nero to greet persons, whose names could not be instantly remembered, by this title, in order not to appear uncourteous under any circumstances. The Fronto just mentioned calls a son-in-law “domine,” and when Nero once played the cithara in public, he addressed the spectators as “mei domini.”
Nay, the association of domine with the name, which to our ears has a very modern sound, is often found. Thus in Appuleius (Met. II,) we read: “Luci domine,”—“Lord Lucius.” In this story, however, this association is avoided, as it might have produced the semblance of an anachronism. In accosting women domina (lady) corresponds with domine. The French, when referring to subjects connected with ancient Rome, reproduce the sound as well as the meaning of the word correctly by their madame (meam dominam).
38 Titus Claudius Mucianus. The Romans usually had three names. Titus is here the first name (praenomen) which was given sons on the ninth day after their birth. Claudius is the name of the gens, the family in the wider sense of the word (nomen gentilicium). Mucianus is the cognomen, the surname, the name of the immediate family (stirps or familia). Thus several stirpes belonged to a single gens. Daughters bore only the name of the gens; for instance the daughter of Titus Claudius Mucianus was called Claudia. If there were two of them, they were distinguished by the words major (the elder) and minor (the younger); if there were several, by numbers. The Claudia Gens was a very ancient and famous one. The principal characters of the story, belonging to the stirps Muciana, are purely imaginary.
39 Gavius Apicius, the famous Roman gourmand (Tac. Ann. IV, 1) who finding that he had only two million and a half denari left in the world (about 400,000 dollars) killed himself, thinking it impossible to live on so little.
40 Hymettus. A mountain in Attica, famed for its delicious honey. (Horace, Od. II, 6, 14).
41 Polished emerald. (Plin. Hist. Nat. XXXVII, 64) where it is stated that the emperor Nero used such an eye-glass at the public games.
42 The lobster, (cammarus), was less highly esteemed by the Romans than among ourselves. See Plin. Ep. II, 17. “The sea, it is true, has no superabundance of delicious fish; yet it gives us excellent soles and lobsters”—a passage in which lobsters are contrasted with delicious fish.
43 Cut Crystal. Window panes of glass (vitrum) mica plates (lapis specularis) and similar materials were by no means rare in ancient times.
44 Menander, son of the general Diopeithes, B.C. 342. The most distinguished poet of the New Comedy; fragments of his comedies have come down to us.
45 Tibur. A favorite summer resort of the Roman aristocracy, now Tivoli.
46 Cappadocian horses. The province of Cappadocia in Asia Minor was famed for its horses.
47 Litters (lectica). The usual conveyance, somewhat resembling the Oriental palanquin, were supplied with rich curtains (vela) and in other respects became the object of luxurious decorations. The number of litter-bearers (lecticarii, calones) varied from two to eight. In the city of Rome itself, where riding in carriages was not allowed during the day-time, the lecticae took the place of our carriages and hacks, for they could also be hired by the hour, and there were stands of them (castra lecticariorum) in several frequented quarters.
48 Lava Blocks. The usual material for pavements in central and southern Italy.
49 Sicambri. A powerful German tribe, occupying in the time of Caesar the eastern bank of the Rhine, and extending from the Sieg to the Lippe.
50 Red Livery. The usual costume of the litter-bearers in the time of the emperors.
51 Woolly-headed Ethiopians. The name Ethiopian Αἰθίοπες in its more restricted sense, applies to the inhabitants of Upper Egypt; in a more general meaning to the whole population of North-eastern Africa, and South-western Asia. According to Herodotus (VII, 70) the Ethiopians dwelling in the East had smooth, those in the West woolly hair.
52 Baths (thermae, θέρμαι, that is “warm baths”) were public bathing-establishments on the grandest scale, modelled after the Greek wrestling-schools. See Becker, Gallus III, p. 68 and following.
53 Cumae (Κύμη) now Cuma, the oldest of the Greek colonies in Italy, beyond the mountain range that bounds the bay of Baja on the west; it is only a few thousand paces from Baja.
54 In front walked eight or ten slaves. Such a vanguard was customary among people of distinction, even when they went on foot.
55 Lusitanians. A people living in the region now known as Portugal, between the Tagus (Tajo, Tejo) and Durius, (Duero, Douro.)
56 Caecubum. A district on the shores of the bay of Gaeta, famous for its wine. See (Horace Od. I, 20, 9 and I, 37, 5) where it is said, that it would be positively sinful to bring Caecubian wine from the cellar with other kinds on ordinary occasions (antehac nefas depromere Caecubum cellis avitis, etc.).
57 Erymanthian boar. So called from Mt. Erymanthus in Arcadia, where the animal lived until slain by Hercules.
58 Dionysus. A surname of Bacchus.
59 Libation. Wine poured as an offering to the gods.
60 Vestibulum. The space in front of the house-door (fores) which in the time of the imperial government was frequently covered with a portico.
61 Adopted Daughter. The adoption of a child in ancient Rome was regulated by very strict laws. Adoption in its narrower sense (adoptio) extended to persons who were still under paternal authority; with self-dependent persons the so-called arrogatio took place. With women this last form was entirely excluded.
62 Atrium. From the door of the house a narrow passage (ostium) led to the first inner court, the atrium, so-called because this space, where the hearth originally was, was blackened by the smoke (ater). The atrium, which in the more ancient Roman houses possessed the character of a room with a comparatively small opening in the roof, and afterwards resembled a court-yard, was at first the central point of family life, the sitting-room, where the industrious house-keeper sat enthroned among her slaves. When republican simplicity gave way to luxury, the atrium became the hall devoted to the reception of guests, and domestic life was confined to the more retired apartments.
63 Triclinium, (triple couch) really the sofa on which three, and sometimes even more persons reclined at table; the name was also given to the dining-room itself, which comprised the second inner court-yard, the so-called peristyle or cavaedium.
64 Cimbrian Peninsula, now called Jutland.
65 Guttoni. A German race on the lower Vistula.
66 Aestui. A German race living on the coast of Revel.
67 Scandii. Inhabitants of southern Sweden.
68 The Sense of Contrast was a conspicuous trait in Roman character. They were wont to heighten their appreciation of the joys of life by images of death, and the dining-room was intentionally placed so as to afford a view of tombs.
69 The Golden House (domus aurea). The name given to the magnificent palace of Nero, which extended from the Palatine Hill across the valley and up again as far as the gardens of Macaenas on the Esquiline. It contained an enormous number of the choicest works in statuary. Vespasian had a large part of this building pulled down.
70 The Seven Hills. Contempt for all who lived in the provinces was peculiar to all Romans, even the lowest classes of the populace. Thus Cicero says: “Cum infimo cive romano quisquam amplissimus Galliae comparandus est?” (Can even the most distinguished Gaul be compared with the humblest Roman citizen?) This prejudice extended to later centuries, though under the first emperors numerous inhabitants of the provinces attained the rank of senator and reached the highest offices. It is very comical, when Juvenal, a freedman’s son, treats the “knights from Asia Minor,” (Equites Asiani) condescendingly, as if they were intruders, unworthy to unfasten the straps of his sandals. Inhabitants of the other provinces were held in higher esteem than the Greeks and Orientals. But even Tacitus (Ann. IV, 3.) regards it as an aggravation of the crime committed by the wife of Drusus, that Sejanus, for whom she broke her marriage-vow, was not a full-blooded Roman, but merely a knight from Volsinii.
71 The Formal Gardens of Rome. The taste of the Romans in regard to the art of gardening resembled that shown at Versailles. The eloquence with which individual authors urge a return to nature (Hor. Epist. I, 10, Prop. I, 2, Juv. Sat. III, etc.,) only proves that the opposite course was universal. Clipping bushes and trees into artificial forms was considered specially fashionable. Thus Pliny the younger, in his description of the Tuscan villa (Ep. V, 6,) writes: “Before the colonnade is an open terrace, surrounded with box, the trees clipped into various shapes; below it a steep slope of lawn, at whose foot, on both sides of the path, stand bushes of box, shaped into the forms of various animals. On the level ground the acanthus grows delicately, I might almost say transparently. Around it is a hedge of thick closely-clipped bushes, and around this hedge runs an avenue of circular form, adorned with box clipped into various shapes, and small trees artistically trimmed. The whole is surrounded by a wall, concealed by box.” Then towards the end of the letter: “The box is clipped into a thousand shapes, sometimes into letters, that form the name of the owner or gardener.”
72 Jupiter Capitolinus. The priests of certain divinities were called Flamines and the chief of these was the Flamen Dialis or priest of Jupiter—called Capitolinus from the hill on which the temple stood. Tacitus (Ann. III, 71,) tells us of the prohibition here spoken of.
73 The Praetorship and Consulship were still, under the emperors, an object of ardent desire, in spite of the fact that these offices had been stripped of all power.
74 Gades, now Cadiz, was famous for its dancers of easy morality. (See Juv. Sat. XI, 162.)
75 Thyrsus, (θύρσος) a pole or wand wreathed with vine and ivy leaves, and borne by Bacchus and by Bacchantes.
76 Bridge of Nero. One of this emperor’s mad undertakings was the construction, at an enormous expense, of a perfectly useless bridge aslant across the bay of Baiae.
77 Surrentum, now Sorrento.
78 Caieta, now Gaëta.
79 Urbanitas. Literally: city training.
80 A Pale, Bearded Man. Wearing beards first became general under the Emperor Hadrian. At the time of this story it was still the custom among the higher classes (but not among the lower ones and the slaves) to shave off the beard after the twenty-first year.
81 Stoa. The school of the stoics; so named from the pillared hall (ποικίλη στοά) at Athens, where Zeno, the founder, taught. The doctrine inculcated was the subjugation of physical and moral evil by individual heroism.
82 Coena. The second and last principal meal after the day’s work was over. Under the emperors the coena began about half-past two o’clock in the afternoon, in winter probably somewhat later. It corresponded in its relation to the other hours of the day, to the “dîner” of the French, for the Romans were early risers, and even among the aristocratic classes day began at sunrise.
83 Cavaedium or peristyle was the name given to the second court-yard of the Roman house, which was connected with the first or atrium by one or two corridors. The dining-room, as well as the study of the master of the house, were in the cavaedium. The space between the latter and the atrium, called the tablinum, contained the family papers; it was the business office.
84 Typhon. The evil genius who killed Osiris. (See note 32, vol. 1.) The Greeks regarded him as a monster of original evil, the personification of the Simoom and other destructive hot winds, or of the primeval force of volcanoes.
85 Cithara (κιθάρα). A favorite musical instrument. The strings, usually of gut, were sounded by means of a plectrum (πλῆκτρον) of wood, ivory, or metal. Music was as common an accomplishment among ladies of rank then as now, and they often composed both the words and airs of their songs. Statius tells us that his step-daughter did so, and Pliny the younger says the same of his third wife.
86 Ibycus of Rhegion in Lower Italy (B.C. 528). A distinguished lyric poet, who is the hero of a well-known poem by Schiller. Few of his numerous lyric compositions remain to us. We here give a translation of Emanuel Geibel’s admirable German version of his Spring-greeting. (Classisches Liederbuch, p. 44.)
87 Quince. Cydonia is the modern botanical name of the quince, called by the Greeks and Romans the Cydonian apple, after Cydonia, in the island of Crete.
88 Water-organ (Hydraulus, ὕδραυλος). A musical instrument mentioned by Cicero, Seneca and others. Ammianus observes: “Water-organs and lyres are made so large, that they might be mistaken for coaches.”
89 Baiae was considered from ancient times friendly to Bacchus. (Sen. Ep. 51).
90 Statius.—P. Papinius Statius, born in Naples, A.D. 45, and died A.D. 96, was a lyric and epic poet, often artificial in style, but possessed of a brilliant imagination. His principal works are the epic poem “Thebais,” in which he treats of the battle of the sons of Oedipus before Thebes, and the Silvae (woods), a collection of short poems. He also commenced an epic poem “Achilleis.”
91 Martial. (See note 100, vol. 1.)
92 Cubiculum. A sleeping-room. The cubicula were located in the atrium, peristyle, and upper stories.
93 Note. The Romans wrote their letters either on wax-tablets, (See note 10, vol. 1.) or on paper (papyrus, carta), using in the former case the stylus, in the latter a reed-pen and Indian ink. When the letter was finished, the wax-tablets were laid one above the other, and the papyrus folded several times. A string was then wound around the whole and the ends sealed.
94 The Empress Domitia. The emperor’s wife was Domitia Longina, the daughter of Corbulo, and formerly the wife of Aelius Lamia, (Suet. Dom. 1).
95 Caesar’s friends. Among the “friends (amici) of the emperor,” were included those persons, who not only regularly shared the social pleasures of the sovereign, but were invited to consult with him on all important government business. Within this group of friends there were of course inner, outer, and outermost circles. Quintus, who had little intercourse with the court, can only be included in the outermost circle of all, and even there more on account of his father, who was one of the emperor’s most intimate “friends,” than by virtue of his own relations with the palace. He of course had a right to appear at court, like all persons of his rank, even without a special “relation of friendship” to the emperor. When inner and outer circles of friends are mentioned, this must not be confounded with the different classes of friends. Belonging to the first or second class implied a distinction of rank. Of course, in this sense, Quintus could only be numbered among the first class (primi amici).
96 Cypris. A name given to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, from the island of Cyprus, the principal seat of her worship.
97 A Slave. Domitia had been the mistress of Paris, a slave and actor. When Domitian discovered it, he wished to sentence the empress to death, but at the intercession of Ursus, changed the decree to exile. Paris was massacred in the open street. (See Dio Cass. LXVII 3; Suet. Dom. 3.) Quintus calls Paris a buffoon out of contempt, for the profession of “player” was regarded by the ancient Romans as degrading.
98 Muraenae (μύραινα). Lampreys were esteemed a delicacy (Cic., Plin., Hist. Nat. etc.) The best came from the Lucrine lake, near Cumae.
99 A client in his patron’s house. The clients were originally protégées, faithful followers of their lords (patroni) who on their part were obliged to aid them by word and deed. They represented in a certain degree an enlargement of the family circle. Afterwards this relation degenerated into a mercenary connection of the most pitiful kind. Under the emperors the clients usually became only poor parasites, in comparison with their rich masters. They formed their court, paid them the usual morning-visit at a very early hour, accompanied them wherever they went in public, and received in return a ridiculously small compensation in money or goods.
100 Martial. M. Valerius Martialis, born at Bilbilis in Spain, about 43 A.D. was famous for his witty and clever epigrams. The 1,200 which have been preserved are the principal source of the history of manners and customs of the period in which the scene of this story is laid. He died about the year 102.
101 L. Nonius Asprenas held the office of consul with M. Arricinius Clemens in the 14th year of Domitian’s reign, (94 A.D.) and therefore was still in office “last autumn.”
102 Appian way. The Via Appia, built by one of the Claudia gens (the Censor Appius Claudius Caecus, 312 B.C.) led from Rome across Capua to Brundisium (the modern Brindisi). Statius (Silv. II, 12), calls it the queen of roads (regina viarum). A large portion of its admirable pavement, as well as the ruins of the tombs on its sides, exist at the present day.
103 Health and Blessings! The Romans always began their letters by mentioning the writer’s name, who wishes health and blessings to the person addressed. Thus the commencement of the letter given here, literally interpreted, should have run as follows: Titus Claudius Mucianus wishes his Lucilia, Health and Blessings. T. Claudius Mucianus Luciliae suae, S.P. D.
104 Centennial festival. A brilliant spectacle in the arena, the amphitheatre, etc., which, as its name implies, was celebrated every hundred years. Domitian, however, disregarded the necessity of an interval of a hundred years, by reckoning, as Suetonius (Dom. 4) relates, from the one before the last, which took place under Augustus, instead of from the very last, that was celebrated in the reign of Claudius. In this romance the time of the Domitian centennial festivities is placed somewhat later than they really occurred.
105 Albanum. Domitian (Suet. Dom. 4) had an estate at the foot of the Albanian Hills, and many rich Romans had summer villas near, forming at last the town now called Albano.
106 Palatine. Palatium, the imperial palace on the Palatine Hill. The word “palace” is derived from “Palatium,” as “Kaiser” comes from “Caesar.”
107 Nazarenes. The name usually given to Christians, who, for a long time were regarded by the Romans as a Jewish sect. See the words of Dio Cassius (LXVII, 16): “who inclined to Judaism,” where he refers to the Christians, who were persecuted under Domitian.
108 M. Cocceius Nerva from Narnia in Umbria, born 32 A.D., a senator.
109 Lucius Norbanus. See Dio Cass., LXVII, 15.
110 Praetorian guard. The commander-in-chief’s tent in the Roman camp, was called the praetorium; and from this the general’s body-guard received the name of cohors praetoria. Augustus transferred this title to the imperial guard, and established nine Praetorian cohorts, (each consisting of a thousand men) which were stationed, some in Rome and some in the rest of Italy. The cohorts in Rome were at first quartered among the citizens; afterwards they had barracks of their own (castra praetoria) on the opposite side of the Quirinal Hill. They, with the Praetorian cavalry, formed the imperial guard and body-guard. Compared with the other soldiers, they had many privileges, for instance a shorter time of service, higher pay, higher rank, etc.
111 Clodianus. See Suet, Dom. 17.
112 Recitation. The custom universally prevailed of poets reciting their verses to a select circle, before they were published.
113 The second hour after sunrise. The Romans divided the day, from sunrise to sunset, into twelve hours. These were of course shorter in winter than in summer. The events spoken of in this chapter are supposed to have taken place about the time of the equinox, so ‘the second hour’ would be between seven and eight. The night, between sunset and sunrise, was likewise divided into four vigils or watches of three hours each.
114 The gadfly of Juno. The jealous queen of heaven, Hera, (called by the Romans Juno) transformed the beautiful daughter of Inachus, Io, who was beloved by Jupiter, into a cow, and ordered her to be persecuted by a gadfly.
115 The great city. The population of Rome, under the emperors, was a little less than two millions, but largely exceeded one million. There are no exact statements; but calculations have been made from different standpoints, which give about the same result. The most important points to be considered here, are first the extent of surface occupied by imperial Rome, and secondly the estimates of ancient writers concerning the consumption of grain, which in the time of Josephus amounted to 60.000,000 bushels yearly. Here too, may be mentioned the somewhat hyperbolical passage, Arist. Encom. Rom. p. 199, where it is asserted that Rome would fill the whole width of Italy to the Adriatic Sea, if the stories of the houses, instead of being piled one above another, had been built on the ground.
116 Lacerna. A light woollen cloak, worn either in place of the toga or tunic, or, which was more customary, as an outside wrap over the toga. White lacernae were the most elegant.
117 He raved about the sea. The Romans’ love for the sea is proved by many passages in their literature, but still more by the ruins of their villas and palaces, which bordered its most beautiful shores, and were praised by contemporaries for their views, (Friedlander, Sittengesch., II, p. 129).
118 Pliny the Younger. C. Plinius Caecilius Secundus, a nephew and adopted son of the older Pliny, was born A.D. 62, at Novum Comum, now Como, on the Lake Larius, Lake of Como, on the banks of which he had several villas. (Ep. IX. 7.) He died about the year 114. A clever writer, a skilful statesman, an enthusiast for everything good and beautiful, he possessed an amiable character, but cannot be wholly absolved from the reproach of self-sufficiency. His writings, especially his letters, are an important source of information concerning the social conditions of that period. The passage in Pliny to which allusion is here made, runs: “Oh, sea! Oh, strand! Thou beloved Museion! How much ye compose and create for me!“
119 On its pivot. Doors were not usually hung on hinges, as with us, but had on their upper and lower edges wedge-shaped pivots (cardines) which fitted into corresponding depressions in the threshold and upper part of the frame.
120 Friend. Quintus would speak of Eurymachus as the ‘friend’ of Euterpe with intentional double meaning, half in the usual honest sense, but partly too in the sense which the feminine form, amica, had acquired in the course of time; a signification so ambiguous, that the bluntest frankness was better.
121 Sesame cake. Sesamum σήσαμον was a plant with pods, from whose fruit was obtained a savory meal or oil.
122 The use of spoons was not so general in Rome as with us, but was certainly customary for eating eggs in good society.
123 Hymenaeus. A well-known poem by Catullus; the burden is:”O Hymen, Hymenae!” (Carmen 61, Collis o Heliconis.)
124 Caius (or Quintus) Valerius Catullus was a native of Verona (B.C. 77) and died at the age of thirty. His works were most popular at the period of our story. Martial frequently compares himself with Catullus as a recognized classic, and in one passage hopes that he may one day be esteemed as second only to Catullus. Herodianus takes one of Catullus’s poems as a model, just as a worthy citizen of Germany, who wished to essay lyric poetry, might copy Schiller.
125 The capitoline hill. Mons Capitolinus, north of the Palatine and southwest of the Quirinal. Tarquinius Priscus erected on its summit the Capitolium, that is the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Juno and Minerva.
126 Forum Romanum. The Roman forum par excellence, at the foot of the Capitoline and Palatine Hills, was the centre of public life even in the days of the republic.
127 The sacred way (Sacra Via) divided the real Sacra Via, which led from the Capitol to the Arch of Titus, and the Summa Sacra Via (the upper sacred street) that extended from the Arch of Titus to the Flavian Amphitheatre. Hor. Sat. I, 9 (Ibam forte Via Sacra, sicut meus est mos.) It was the most frequented street in Rome. The ancient pavement exists at the present day. “Via” was the name of the large principal streets, as it still is at the present time in Italy.
128 Clients and protégés. These were the clients mentioned in note 99. Juvenal (Sat. 5) and especially Martial, in various passages, speak of their pitiable situation, the contempt in which they were held and the ill-treatment they had to endure even from their patrons’ slaves. (See Friedlander I, 247 to 252.) The usual visiting-hour was just after sunrise.
129 Tribune of a legion. Augustus appointed the so-called legati or praefecti legionum commanders of the legions. The legatus thus corresponded with our colonel. The next in rank to the legati were the tribunes (corresponding to our majors) who, however, with special qualifications, might undertake the command of a legion. Usually the tribunes did not have the reputation of possessing remarkable military ability, as the sons of the knights and senators began their military career with this dignity. According to their age and experience, the tribunes were second lieutenants. The men next in rank to the tribunes were the centurions, the really experienced officers, who were held in high esteem on account of their superior knowledge. At the time of our story the pressure of the young men for tribuneships was so extraordinary, that the places actually at disposal were not nearly sufficient to supply the demand. The Emperor Claudius had therefore created supernumerary tribuneships (supra numerum, imaginariae militiae genus. Suet. Claud. 25) a brevet-rank, which without claiming the performance of any duty, flattered the vanity.
130 Ancestral Images. Statues of ancestors, modelled in wax (imagines majorum) formed one of the principal ornaments of the atrium in the houses of aristocratic Romans. The ancestors here mentioned of our (imaginary) Titus Claudius Mucianus are all historical characters.
131 Tattooed native of Britain. The original Celtic inhabitants of England. For the impression made by Roman magnificence on the British chieftain Caractacus, see Dio Cass. LX, 33.
132 Amber chains. Amber (Electrum) was greatly admired by the Romans for necklaces, rings and bracelets, until its value decreased by over-importation. It was chiefly brought from the shores of the Baltic.
133 Broken rings of gold. The priest of Jupiter was only permitted to wear broken rings of gold, as closed ones were the symbols of captivity.
134 Robes of dazzling whiteness. The white toga was the invariable gala dress worn at all ceremonious receptions, even by the emperors. Great indignation was felt against Nero, because once, when the senate paid him a visit, he wore only a flowered toga.
135 Priestly head-gear. The Flamines were forbidden to go bare-headed. They always wore a hat (apex) or a sort of fillet.
136 Parthenius. This historical personage was a man of conspicuous importance at the court of Domitian, and mentioned by many authors, particularly in Martial’s epigrams. He was cubiculo praepositus, (πρόκεντος in Dio Cass.) groom of the bed-chamber or high chamberlain, and a particular favorite with Caesar. His companion in office Sigerus or Sigerius, his inferior in rank, power and influence, will not be again mentioned in this story.
137 Titus Flavius Clemens. A cousin of the emperor, was consul A.D. 95 with Domitian, (who conferred this dignity upon him seventeen times). Concerning his conversion to Christianity see Dio Cass. LXVII, 14, as well as Suet. Dom. 15.
138 In the circus. The Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine Hills, was the principal place for the horse and chariot races, and in Domitian’s time accommodated about a quarter of a million spectators.
139 Charioteers. As the givers of entertainments could rarely furnish men and horses enough of their own for the games in the circus, companies of capitalists and owners of larger families of slaves and studs, undertook to supply them. As there were usually four chariots in each race, there were four such companies, each of which furnished a chariot for each race, and as the chariots and drivers had colors to distinguish them, each adopted one of these colors, hence they were called factions or parties. (Friedlander, II, 192.) The colors of these four parties were white, red, green and blue. Domitian added two new ones, gold and purple. Like so many of Domitian’s institutions, this circus innovation passed without leaving any trace, but the original parties, especially the green and the blue, lasted for centuries. The whole population of Rome, and afterwards that of Constantinople, divided into different parties, each of which sided with one of these circus factions. The eager, even passionate interest with which this was done, finds a feeble analogy at the present day in some phases of English and American popular life.
140 By Epona, the tutelary goddess of horses! Epona (from epus-equus, the horse) was the protecting deity of the horse, mule and donkey. (Juv. Sat. VIII, 157.) Stables, etc., were adorned with her statue. Roman sportsmen swore by the goddess of horses. (See Juv. Sat. VIII, 156: jurat solam Eponam.)
141 Incitatus, the swift—equo incitato—in a stretching gallop—a famous favorite horse of the emperor Caligula. (Suet. Cal. 55.) The emperor built this animal a palace, gave orders that it should feed from an ivory manger, and be attended by slaves clad in rich garments. When it was to appear in the circus, all noise in its neighborhood was prohibited during the whole of the preceding day, that the noble creature’s rest should not be disturbed. Caligula is said to have intended to make his Incitatus consul.
142 Andraemon, Adsertor, Vastator and Passerinus. Names of horses frequently mentioned during the reign of the Roman emperors. Andraemon often won the race in Domitian’s time. Monuments with the portrait of this racer have come down to us.
143 Quadriga. A carriage in front of which four horses were fastened abreast. The racing quadrigae were exactly like the old Homeric chariot—being provided with a breast-work in front while open in the rear.
144 Scorpus. A famous chariot-driver in Domitian’s time, see the epitaph Martial composed for him. (Martial Ep. X, 53.)
“I am that Scorpus, glory of the race
Rome’s admired joy, but joy for a short space,
Among the dead Fates early me enroll’d,
Numb’ring my conquests, they did think me old.”
Anon, 1695.
That the name of Scorpus was on every lip appears from another passage in Martial Ep. XI, 1, which runs as follows:
“Nor will your follies by those few
Be told; but when their stories flag
Of some new bet or running nag.”
Hay.
where the Incitatus to whom reference is made is not Caligula’s horse, already mentioned, but a racer named for it.
145 Sarmatians. A people in what is now Poland and Tartary. (See Mart. Spect. 3.)
146 Hyperboreans. People who lived above Boreas, fabulous folk dwelling in the extreme north; also Northmen in general. For instance Martial includes among the Hyperboreans, the Chatti (Hessen) and Dacians, inhabitants of eastern Hungary.
147 Julia. The daughter of the Emperor Titus, with whom Domitian for a long time had unlawful relations. Dio Cass. LXVII, 3. Suet Dom. 22.
148 A tumult. Many things are related about such tumults. They were partly impromptu, partly carefully prepared. A striking instance of the latter style is told by Dio Cassius (LXXII, 13) where a cunningly-planned circus-riot causes the fall of the hated lord high-chamberlain Cleander. This omnipotent favorite of the Emperor Commodus had enraged the people by a series of the boldest frauds, during a period of great scarcity. Just as the horses were starting for the seventh race a throng of boys, led by a tall, formidable looking woman, rushed into the arena. The children loaded Cleander with the fiercest curses, the people joined them, all rose and rushed furiously towards the emperor’s Quintilian villa. Commodus, a very cowardly man, was so terrified, that after a short struggle he commanded Cleander and his little son to be slain. The mob dragged the corpse of the chamberlain about in triumph, mutilated it, and stuck the head on a pole as a sign of victory.
149 Secretary. The modern equivalent for the office of “ab epistulis,” held under Domitian by the freedman Abascantus. (Stat. Silv. V, 1.) At a later period—under Hadrian and afterwards—such offices were held only by men of knightly rank.
150 Calling upon Domitia. We here follow a passage (somewhat doubtful, it is true) of Dio Cassius (LXVII, 3) which states that the emperor “at the entreaties of the people,” became reconciled to his wife. Suetonius (Dom. 3) says, he only alleged such a desire on the part of the people, but really received the empress again “because the separation from her became unendurable.” For special reasons our story fixes the time of this reconciliation in the year 95, while it actually occurred some time earlier.
151 With regard to Julia, Caesar made no promises. See Dio Cass. LXVII 3. He became reconciled, “but without giving up Julia.”
152 Vestal maiden. Priestess of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. At first they were four, afterwards six. They were chosen between the ages of six and ten, and were obliged to remain in the service of the goddess thirty years, ten as novices, ten as acting priestesses, and ten to instruct novices. Their principal task was to keep the sacred fire alive. They were vowed to chastity, and if they broke their vows were buried alive in the campus sceleratus, while the seducer was publicly flogged to death.
153 Transparent gauze. The island of Cos (Κῶς) belonging to the Sporades, furnished garments made from a half-transparent silk gauze called coa. (See Hor. Sat. I. 2, 101.)
154 Gold plates. A room has been discovered on the Aventine, whose walls were concealed by gilded bronze plates encrusted with medals; on the Palatine there was an apartment lined with plates of silver, set with precious stones. The halls and chambers in Nero’s domus aurea were covered with golden plates.
[155] Stephanus. I have taken considerable liberties in dealing with this personage in his relation to the Empress Domitia. He is, however, historical.
156 The oyster, (ostrea or ostreum) was considered a great dainty in ancient times. (See note, 42, Vol. 1, “lobster.”)
157 There is not in all Rome one faithful wife, or one innocent girl. See Martial Ep. IV, 71.
“Long have I search’d, my Soph, the town,
To find a damsel that would frown,
But not a damsel will deny,
As if a shame ’t were to be shy;
As if a sin, will no one dare:
I see not one denying fair.
‘Then of the fair is no one chaste?’
A thousand, Soph, you urge in haste.
‘What does the chaste? Enlarge my views.’
She does not grant, nor yet refuse.”
Elphinston.
In contrast to the hyperbolical expressions of the satirical writers, we are made acquainted in the letters of the younger Pliny, with a number of women of noble character; the historians too, especially Tacitus, as well as inscriptions on the monuments prove—if proof were required—that even in this corrupt age feminine virtue and loftiness of character were not rare. It is natural, that a satirical author should have special keenness of vision for errors and weaknesses.
158 What Ravidus?. The poem to which Martial here alludes is found Cat. Carm. XL.
“Quaenam te mala mens, miselle Ravide
Agit praecipitem in meos iambos?”
159 Tryphon, (Lupercus). The episode described here, which seems almost like a satirical allusion to the present time, is only one of Martial’s epigrams transposed into action. (Mart. Ep. I, 117.)
“As oft, Sir Tradewell, as we meet,
You’re sure to ask me in the street,
When you shall send your boy to me,
To fetch my book of poetry? etc.”
Oldham.
The bookseller Atrectus, who had a shop on the Argiletum, a public square not far from the Forum Caesaris, is also mentioned.—Traces of a well-organized book-trade are found towards the end of the republic. The first publisher on a larger scale is Pomponius Atticus, a friend of Cicero, who formally issued a series of Cicero’s works, for instance the Orator, Quaestiones Academicae, etc., and not only distributed them to the different bookstores in Rome, but supplied the numerous shops in Greece and Asia Minor. (See Cic. ad. Att. XII, 6, XV, 13, XVI, 5.) Yet Atticus was a patron of literature and an aesthetic, rather than a business man. The best-known booksellers and publishers under the emperors were: the Brothers Sosii, who issued the works of Horatius Flaccus (Hor. Ep. I, 20, 2, Ars. poet. 345); Dorus, the Phillip Reclam junior of ancient times, who in the reign of Nero introduced cheap popular editions of Livy and Cicero, (Sen. Benef. VII, 61) and Martial’s publisher, the Tryphon mentioned in this story. (Mart. Ep. IV, 72, XIII, 13.) The editions were provided by slaves, who wrote from dictation. The books were delivered in covers, the backs, glued together, being fastened in the hollow of a cylinder, through which ran a revolving stick. The volumes were cut, the edges were dyed sometimes black and sometimes purple. (See Göll: “Book-trade of the Greeks and Romans,” Schleiz., 1865.) Pollio Valerianus published Martial’s early poems. (Mart. Ep. I, 113, 5.)
160 Quirinal. Martial’s house was near the temple on the Quirinal. (Mart. Ep. X, 58.)
161 Denarii. At the time of Domitian, the denarius (10 as,) was worth about 15 cents.
162 Street-corners. Large square tablets, whitened, for the display of public notices, stood at the corners of the streets. A tablet of this description was called album, (albus-white).
163 Costermonger. Boiled chick-peas were publicly carried about for sale. (Martial Ep. I, 41, I, 103.)
164 Massive bowls. The crater (crater or cratera) was a large vase or bowl, in which strong wine was mixed with water. A ladle was used to fill the drinking-cups.
165 Murrhine vases, (murrhina vasa). Vases made of murrha, a material with a pale sheen in it, highly valued by the ancients; probably fluor-spar.
166 Guinea-fowls from Numidia, (aves Numidicae or merely Numidicae) were a favorite dish. (Plin., Hist. Nat. Mart. etc.)
167 The province of Thesprotis in Epirus, extended from Chaonia to the Ambracian Gulf. The goats raised there were considered exceptionally good.
168 Pheasants from the Caspian Sea. At the time of our story, these birds were a newly-introduced delicacy. Phasis was the name of the boundary river between Asia-Minor and Colchis; hence their name phasianus; (avis Phasiana, or merely Phasiana, or Phasianus—the pheasant.) Martial also calls them volucres Phasides.
169 Dates. The best quality were imported into Rome from Egypt.
170 Dainty Cakes. Bread from Picenum is mentioned in the menu of a banquet given in the latter half of the century B. C., (Marquardt Handbuch, IV, 1.)
171 Figs from Chios. Varro, (R. Rust. I, 41) speaks of Chian, Lydian, Chalcedonian and African figs.
[172] Pistachio nuts. The best pistachio nuts came from Palestine and Syria, whence Lucius Vitellius introduced them into his garden at Albanum.
173 Euphemus. Caesar’s head-cook or butler. (See Martial Ep. IV. 8.)
“The tenth hour’s proper for my book and me,
And Euphem, thou who dost the board o’ersee.”
Anon, 1695.
174 The long flowing hair of a female slave. This fancy was not at all unusual. (See Petron., 27.)
175 Hispalis. A city in southern Spain, now Seville.
176 Castanets. Castanet dances are often represented in pictures. (See O. Jahn, Fresco-paintings on the walls of the columbarium, in the Villa Pamfili.)
177 Jester. Jesters, especially dwarfs, were very popular in ancient Rome. The scene that follows here is based upon various incidents in a description by Lucian, which has come down to modern times: “The Banquet, or The Lapithae” 18, 19. In this a hideous little fellow, who gives utterance to all sorts of jests and witticisms, appears at Aristaenetus’ banquet. “Finally he addressed each person with some mischievous joke—and each laughed as his turn came. But when he accosted Alcidamas, calling him a Maltese puppy, the latter, especially as he had long been jealous of the applause and attention bestowed on the jester by the whole company, grew angry, threw off his cloak and challenged the dwarf to a boxing-match. What could the poor jester do? It was infinitely comical to see a philosopher fight with a clown. Many of the spectators were ashamed of the scene, but others laughed merrily, until Alcidamas was at last beaten black and blue.”
178 Velarium. The cloth hung across the amphitheatre, to screen it from the sun.
179 The baths of Titus were located near the Cyprius Street, on the site of Nero’s domus aurea, which had been destroyed after its builder’s death.
180 Curtain. The drop-scene (as we should call it) raised between the acts of a play. The curtain, properly so-called, was the aulaeum. These were not drawn up, as in modern theatres, but lowered.
181 A tall cross. Crucifixion was the common punishment of great crimes.
182 Trimeter. A verse of three double feet—the usual metre in dramatic verse.
183 The capital punishment of a criminal slave. Such executions in theatrical form, especially pantomimic representations of them, were no rarity in the arena. Condemned criminals were specially trained for such performances. “They entered, clad in costly, gold-broidered tunics and purple mantles, and adorned with golden wreaths; suddenly, like the death-dealing robes of Medea, flames burst from these magnificent garments, in which the miserable creatures died a cruel death. There was scarcely a torture or terrible end known in history or literature, with whose representation the populace had not been entertained in the amphitheatre. Hercules was seen burning to death on Mt. Oeta, Mucius Scaevola holding his hand over the brazier of coals till it was consumed, the robber, Laureolus, the hero of a well-known farce, fastened to a cross and torn by wild beasts. At the same spectacle, another condemned criminal, in the character of Orpheus, ascended from the ground as if returning from the nether-world. Nature seemed enchanted by his playing, the rocks and trees moved towards him, birds hovered over him, countless animals surrounded him; when the scene had lasted long enough, he was torn to pieces by a bear.” (Friedlaender II, 268, etc.) It can scarcely be termed an unwarrantable license, that Lycoris presents a similar spectacle for the amusement of her guests. The masters’ right to dispose of the lives and persons of their slaves had been restricted in the first century, it is true; but the omnipotent Parthenius was doubtless superior to such legal edicts.
184 Daci. A people living in the region now called Hungary, east of the Danube.
185 Blood-hounds. (Molossi.) The dogs from Molossis in eastern Epirus were famous sleuth-hounds. (Hor. Virg. etc.)
186 Patrician way. (vicus Patricius) ran between the Esquiline and Viminal hills.
187 This is violence! Julius Caesar’s famous exclamation just before his murder, when Cimber Tullius, having approached him with a petition, after a refusal, seized him by the toga. (Suet. Jul. Caes. 82.)
188 I should advise you, freedman. Their former condition of slavery affixed an ineffaceable stigma upon all freedmen, especially in the eyes of the old senatorial nobility. Even the vast power attained by some of the emperor’s freedmen, for instance the high chamberlain Parthenius, was of no avail in this respect; they too were at heart despised by all free-born citizens, much as they strove, from motives of prudence, to conceal this contempt beneath protestations of sycophantic devotion. Quintus addressing Stephanus as “freedman,” could not fail to be taken by the latter as a mortal insult.
189 Town-watch, (cohortes urbanae). Besides the imperial body-guard, specially devoted to the Caesar’s service, there was a city-guard, which provided for the maintenance of public safety.
190 Sabine Hills. The Sabines, an old Italian people, were the neighbors of the Latins. Their country extended northward to the domains of the Umbrians, southward to the Anio river.
191 Followed by his clients and slaves. Aristocratic people rarely appeared in public without a train of followers.
192 “Getting up early is my greatest torment.” See Martial, Ep. X 74, where the poet, as the sole reward for his verses, begs to be permitted to sleep as long as he likes in the morning.
193 “Well said!” cried the poet. Martial often flattered his superiors, even to servility. See Mart. Ep. XII, 11, where he praises the poetic gifts of Parthenius.
194 Subura. A densely-populated district between the Forum Romanum and the Vicus Patricius, occupied by the poorer classes.
195 Houses. For the height of the houses in ancient Rome see Friedlander I, 5 etc.
196 Taverns. All sorts of booths, stands, work-shops, taverns and barbers’ shops stood in front of the houses in the smaller streets, greatly impeding the passers-by. The confusion at last increased to such an extent, that Domitian found himself compelled to have the most obtrusive structures removed in certain quarters of the city. One of Martial’s epigrams (VII, 61) is founded on this incident.
197 Itinerant bakers. Mart. XIV, 223:
“Arise; the baker is selling the boys their breakfast.”
The breakfast probably consisted of adipata, i.e. pastry or cakes made with fat. Bread was baked at home till the last years of the Republic; afterwards there were public bakehouses for the poorer classes.
198 The pedagogue was a slave, whose duty it was to take children to school.
199 The babble of spelling children. The Romans attached great importance to a distinct and accurate pronunciation; reading was taught twice a day, and children began to learn before the age of seven.
200 The cyprius street (vious Cyprius) led from the Subura to the Flavian amphitheatre.
201 A procession of priests. Solemn processions of priests through the city formed one of the principal features in the worship of Isis.
202 You leeches are always right. Blepyrus, as his master’s constant companion, would watch over his health, if not as a qualified physician, at any rate, as an empirical adviser. The household leech in noble families was almost always a slave or freedman, and those who practised independently were often in the same position.
203 Ostiarius. The porter, who sat in a niche of the entrance-corridor (ostium).
204 Hyrcanian mountains. Hyrcania was the name of a rough mountainous region near the Caspian Sea.
205 The second vigil. The Romans divided the time from sunrise to sunset into four vigils (night-watches) of three hours each.
206 Cubiculum. Sleeping-room.
207 Orbilius. The well-known schoolmaster, nicknamed by his pupils plagosus, (delighting in blows) to whom Horace went. (Suet. Gramm. 9.)
208 I suppose you would like to stick a pin into me. Roman ladies often avenged mistakes committed by their slaves, during the process of making their toilettes, by such abuse. Nay, it sometimes happened that a slave thus stabbed was killed. See Mart. Ep. II, 66, where Lalage knocks down the female slave Plecusa on account of a single curl escaping from her hair.
209 Ah! you naughty girl. With the sovereign contempt with which so many Romans treated their slaves, this tone, addressed to the daughter of the house, might seem strange, but even under the emperors the relation between masters and slaves was in many respects a patriarchial one. The older slaves, especially, were permitted many familiarities in their intercourse with the children of the family, who often called them “little father,” “little mother,” allowed them to reprove them, and according to their personality, frequently permitted them to exercise no little authority. A beautiful example of cordial relations existing between the master, and his slaves and freedmen, is shown us in a letter from the younger Pliny to Paullinus (Ep. V. 19) where he says: “I see how mildly you treat your people, and therefore acknowledge the more frankly how indulgent I am to mine; I always remember the words of Homer:
“‘And was kind as a father....’
and our own ‘father of a family’ (pater familias). But even were I harsher and sterner by nature, I should be moved by the illness of my freedman Zosimus, to whom I must show the greater kindness, now that he needs it more.... My long-standing affection for him, which is only increased by anxiety, affords a guarantee for that. Surely it is natural, that nothing so fans and increases love as the fear of loss, which I have already endured more than once on his account. Some years ago, after reciting a long time with much effort, he raised blood; so I sent him to Egypt, from whence he returned a short time since greatly strengthened by the long journey. But on straining his voice too much for several days, a slight cough served to remind us of the old difficulty, and he again raised blood. Therefore I intend to send him to your estate at Forojulium, having often heard you say that the air there was healthful, and the milk very beneficial in such diseases.“
210 Wedding with offering of corn. The oldest form of the marriage ceremony was the Confarreatio, so-called from the offerings of grain (far). By this form the wife entirely lost her independence. Her property passed into her husband’s possession, and she could neither acquire anything for herself, nor transact any legal business. The desire for emancipation, here jestingly uttered by Lucilia, was in reality very widely diffused throughout Rome at the time of our story, and the form of the Confarreatio was therefore constantly becoming rarer.
211 Citrus-wood. The citrus (tuja cupressoides) a beautiful tree growing on the sides of the Atlas, furnished costly tops for tables, for which the most extravagant prices were paid, as the trunks rarely attained the requisite degree of thickness. Pliny (Hist. Nat. XIII, 15) mentions slabs almost four feet in diameter, and six inches thick. Cicero gave a million sesterces for a citrus-wood table. Seneca is said to have owned five hundred of them. The slab rested on a single base of skilfully-carved ivory, from which they received the name of monopodia (a single foot).
212 Stola. The over-garment worn by women (stola) was trimmed around the bottom with a border (instita) that often lengthened into a train.
213 Metal mirror. At the time of our story mirrors made of a mixture of gold, silver and copper were preferred.
214 Who hire flatterers to praise them. See Quintillian, XI, 3, 131; Juv. Sat. XIII, 29-31, Plin. Ep. II, 14, 4.
215 The Centumvirate. A body of judges whose function it was to decide in civil cases, more particularly in suits concerning inheritance. The Decemvirate presided over them.
216 Lived on the corn given away by the state. The number of Roman paupers, who lived almost exclusively by this means, far surpassed those who need support in civilized countries at the present time.
217 The arch of Titus. The triumphal arch of Titus, at the southeastern corner of the Forum Romanum, designed for the commemoration of the victory over the Jews, A.D. 81, is still standing at the present day. It bears the inscription:”Senatus populusque Romanus divo Tito divi Vespasiani filio Vespasiano Augusto.” Some of its bas-reliefs are admirably preserved.
218 Meta Sudans. One of the Metae (the obelisks at the upper and lower ends of the circus) resembling a fountain, not far from the Flavian amphitheatre. Part of the sub-structure still remains.
219 The Flavian Amphitheatre, now the Coliseum. This edifice, commenced by the emperor Vespasian at the close of the Jewish war, finished under Titus, and dedicated A.D. 80, contained seats for 87,000 spectators, and room for 20,000 more in the open gallery. Even at the present time, no similar structure in the world has equalled, far less surpassed it in extent and magnificence.
220 Caelimontana Gate.. (Porta Caelimontana) near the Lateran. The street here entered by Claudia and Lucilia still exists; it now bears the name of Via di San Giovanni in Laterano.
221 The birthday (dies natalis, sacra natalicia) was celebrated in ancient times.
222 In the middle stood a hearth. The real hearth, originally in the atrium, had long since vanished from the atria of the wealthy and aristocratic. Here a festal hearth erected for the occasion is meant.
223 Lucretius. Titus Lucretius Carus, who was born in the year 98, and died in 55 B.C., composed a philosophical didactic poem “on the nature of things.” (De Rerum Natura.) The view of the world taken in it is a thoroughly material one. The poet constructs the universe out of an infinite multitude of atoms, which exist singly and imperishably in infinite space.
224 Pliny the elder. Caius Plinius Secundus, called to distinguish him from his nephew, so often quoted here, the elder (major) a warrior, statesman, and famous naturalist, was born at Novum Comum, A.D. 23. He met his death, a victim to his thirst for scientific knowledge, at the great eruption of Vesuvius, A.D. 79. (See the famous description in his nephew’s letter to Tacitus, Plin. Ep. VI, 16.) Of his numerous works, nothing has come down to us except the Historia Naturalis, a vast encyclopedia, the material for which was obtained from more than 2,000 volumes. He was an absolute denier of the gods, nay, of transcendentalism altogether. The opinions attributed to Cinna are in part literally copied from the Historia Naturalis.
225 Antium. The modern Porto d’Anzio, an ancient city south of Rome. Many Roman aristocrats owned country-seats there.
226 Tissues mixed with silk. Fabrics made entirely of silk were rare in Rome.
227 Mentor was a famous sculptor, especially celebrated for his cups and goblets in metal (repoussé). Pliny. Hist. Nat. VII, 38, and XIII, 11, 12, also Martial, Ep. III, 41:
The lizard wrought by Mentor’s hand so rare,
Was fear’d i’ the cup, as though it living were.
Wright.
that is, the silver lizard, wrought on the cup, is so true to life, that people might fear it. See Mart. Ep. IV, 39, IX, 59 (cups that Mentor’s hand ennobled), etc.
228 Niceros. See Mart. Ep. VI, 55 (“because you smelt Niceros’s leaden vials...”) Mart. Ep. X, 38, (“the lamps that exhaled Niceros’s sweet perfumes...”) and Mart. Ep. XII, 65, (“a pound of ointment from Cosmus or Niceros.”)
229 Ribbons and trimmings of amethyst-purple. Garments of amethystine-purple, woollen material (amethystina or vestes amethystinae) were among the most magnificent and costly clothes. See Mart. Ep. I, 97, 7, and Juv. Sat. VII, 136. The color was so-called because it glittered in the amethyst, a violet-blue gem.
230 Exquisite roses. Roses and violets were the favorite flowers of the ancients. The use of these blossoms was enormous. For the rose-culture in Rome, see Varro, R. Rust, I, 16, 3.
231 The steward of the tables. The chief slave in the dining-room, the butler, was called Tricliniarcha. (Petr. XXII, 6, Inscr. Orell. No. 794.)
232 Paestum (Παὶστον) in the most ancient times Posidonia, a city on the western coast of Lucania, south of the mouth of the Silarus, (now Sele) was famous for its magnificent roses.
233 Atellanian buffoon. Atellanae (Atellanae fabulae, ludi Atellani) was the name given to a species of dramatic performance, somewhat coarsely comical in character. The material for these plays was taken from the lives of the humble citizens and country people. The language used was that of every-day life, and they were often written in the Oscan dialect. The name comes from the Campanian city Atella, where this style of play first originated. Certain fundamental characteristics of the Atellanae representations are still visible in Italian popular farces.
234 Phoenix. See Tac. Ann. VI, 28, Plin. Hist. Nat. X. 2, Ov. Met. XV, 392.
235 Like crape from Cos. Corduba, now Cordova, on the Baetis, now the Guadalquivir, was one of the most important commercial cities in Spain, the principal place in Hispania Baetica, the seat of the imperial governor. See Strabo III, 141. Materials woven from Spanish flax (carbasus) were considered specially delicate for clothing.
236 Epic from Epos (ἒπος)—word, speech, tale. Afterwards the Greeks distinguished epic poetry from lyric by the ἒπη.
237 M. Ulpius Trajanus, born September 18th, A.D. 53, at Italica in Spain, obtained the consulship in the year 91.
238 Cupid and Psyche. The story of Cupid and Psyche was the primeval prototype of Cinderella and a thousand other gems of primitive poetry, and was familiar in nurseries of every rank long before Appuleius cast it into shape, availing himself no doubt of several traditional versions. “Once upon a time there were a king and queen, who had three beautiful daughters,” (Erant in quadam civitate rex et regina; hi tres numero filias forma conspicuas habuere,) was no doubt as favorite a legend with the children of that age as with ours.
239 In the forum, that is in the basilica situated in the forum.
240 Basilica, (βασιλική scil. domus or porticus—royal house) a magnificent public building, used for holding courts of law, or transacting commercial business, and thus at the same time a court-house and exchange. Above were seats for the spectators. The basilicas consisted of a central nave and two side ones, divided from the former by columns. After Constantine the Great had transformed numerous basilicas into churches, the name and style of architecture became associated with the latter.
241 Theognis. An elegiac poet from Attic Megara, who lived B.C. 520. The lines here quoted by Lucilia may be found Eleg. 1323, and in the original text run:
Κυπρογένη, παῦσόν με πόνων, σκέδασον δὲ μερίμνας
Θυμοβόρους, στρέφου δ’ἁυθις ἐς εὐφροσύνας.
242 Old sinner! Lucilia here speaks in the tone of the old Latin comedies (Plautus, Terence).
243 Mathematician. The usual name of the (principally Chaldean) astrologers.
244 All things flow away! (πάντα ῥεῖ) asserted the philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, (460 B.C.) called on account of his obscurity, “the dark.”
245 Lyaeus (Λυαῖος), the deliverer, the care-dispeller, a name given Bacchus.
246 Barbillus. An astrologer of this name is mentioned. Dio Cass, LXVI, 9.
247 Last night i had a dream. Faith in the prophetic character of dreams was universal in Rome; their interpretation was a regular profession. A surprising example of the seriousness with which the representatives of this “profession” regarded their calling, is furnished in the dream-book of the (undoubtedly sincere) Artemidorus, (Daldianus.) If Lucilia laughs at Cornelia’s fears, it is a piece of free-thinking which did not often happen, and springs rather from a merry, saucy mood, than the deeper source of a philosophical conviction.
248 Our god and master Domitian. The emperor Domitian ordered himself to be called, “God and Master.” Suet, Dom. 13.
249 Funeral banquet. The story of the nocturnal summons to the senators and knights is related by Dio Cassius (LXVII, 9.)
250 The meanest suburb. Butuntum, a little city in Apulia, now Bitonto, is used by Martial (Ep. II, 48 and IV, 55) as a synonym for “quiet provincial town,” as the inhabitants of Berlin say: “Treuenbrietzen” or “Perleberg.”
251 Utter contempt. One of the principal amusements of gay young men was to play pranks in the streets at night, usually on the proletarii. A special favorite was the Sagatio, which consisted in putting some unfortunate wight in a cloak, and tossing him up and down like Sancho Panza.
252 The back door. (Posticum) was the name given to the little door, leading from the back of the cavaedium or peristyle to the street.
253 Perfume of incense. Incense (thus) was generally used not only in the temple of Isis, but at the ceremonies attending the offering of sacrifices in the Roman national worship. It was the resin from an Arabian tree, and the so-called liquid incense was considered the best.
254 First-born of the ages. The invocation to the goddess Isis is partly borrowed from the metamorphoses of Appuleius (XI, 5) where the goddess calls herself: “first-born of all the centuries, highest of the gods, queen of the Manes, princess of the heavenly powers,” etc., repeating the names under which she is revered throughout the world.
255 White Robe. The priests of Isis wore light robes, usually of linen (linum) from which the goddess is called in Ovid: “Isis in linen garments,” (Isis linigera). Byssus is a kind of cotton.
256 Small tonsure. The ancient Oriental custom of shaving the crown of the head was enjoined upon the priests of Isis. Herodotus, II, 37.
257 Rubies, emeralds and chrysolites. In ancient times the chrysolite ranked next to the diamond among precious stones. The finest came from Scythia. Next to the emerald, the beryl and opal were highly esteemed. (Plin. Hist. Nat. XXXVII, 85.)
258 All three were wrapped in thick cloaks. The lacerna, the outer garment worn over the toga, not infrequently had a hood (cucullus).
259 We must find an adventure yet, Parthenius. Such nocturnal rambles incognito were not at all unusual among aristocratic gentlemen. The incident is not expressly related of Domitian, but is told of Nero, Suet. Ner. 26, where the author says: “As soon as night came, he put on a hat or cap, went to the taverns and roamed about the streets, only in jest, it is true, but not without working mischief.” Domitian’s encounter with the slave Parmenio has its counterpart in an adventure of Nero, who once, assailing a noble lady, was almost beaten to death by her husband. (Suet.)
260 Swarthy negress. See Suet. Dom. 22, where it is stated that the emperor now and then associated with the lowest wenches.
261 The circus flaminius. Located in the ninth district, of the same name, built 221 B.C.
262 Aelian Bridge. (Pons Aelius,) now the Angel Bridge.
263 Aqueducts. The magnificent water-works formed one of the principal ornaments of ancient Rome. “The mountain springs, conveyed for miles in subterranean pipes or over huge arches to the city, poured plashing from artificial grottos, spread out into vast, richly adorned reservoirs, or mounted in the jets of superb fountains, whose cool breath refreshed and purified the summer air.” (Friedländer, I, 14.)
264 Alta Semita corresponds with tolerable accuracy to the modern Via di Porta Pia.
265 Torches. Street lamps were unknown in ancient times, as well as throughout nearly the whole of the middle ages.
266 The old wall. (Agger Servii Tullii) extended from the Porta Collina to the Porta Esquilina. The neighboring region was considered the most corrupt in all Rome. The “wenches of the city wall” were often mentioned. (See for instance, Mart. Ep. III, 82, 2.)
267 The muddy wine of Veii. The wine made in the neighborhood of the little city of Veii, (northwest of Rome) was little prized. (See Mart. I, 103, 9, where the red Veian is called thick and full of lees.)
268 Game of odd and even. This game of chance, which is still very common, was extremely popular under the name ludere par impar. The opponent had to guess whether an odd or even number of gold pieces or other objects was held in the closed hand.
269 Ill-constructed houses. Every well-to-do citizen of ancient Rome had his own house. The great mass of poor people lived in rented dwellings, built by unprincipled speculators with unprecedented carelessness, on the principle “cheap and bad,” yet nevertheless leased at high prices. The fall of such houses was therefore no rare occurrence, as is proved by the constant association of the words “fire and fall” (incendia acruinae)—catastrophes which Strabo (V, 3, 7) characterizes as constant. (See also Senec. Ep. XC, 43, Cat. XXIII, 9; Juv. Sat. III, 7.)
270 Under the tiles, (sub tegulis,) was a common phrase for the upper story. (See Suet. Gramm. 9, where it is said of the poor schoolmaster Orbilius, that in his old age he lived “under the tiles.”)
271 Remember that in Rome every stone has eyes and ears. See Tacit. Ann., XI, 27, where Rome is called a “city that hears everything, and keeps silence about nothing.” Seneca too (De tranq. an. XII) is scandalized at the eaves-dropping which is common in Rome. Juvenal says an aristocratic Roman can have no secrets at all, for: “Servi ut taceant, jumenta loquentur, et canis et postes et marmora.” “Even if the slaves are discreet, the horses talk, and the house-dog, and the posts and marble walls. Close the windows and cover every chink with hangings, yet the next day the people in every tavern will be discussing the master’s doings.” (Juv. Sat. IX, 102-109.)
272 Our pursuers are on our traces already. There were persons in Rome, who made a business of catching runaway slaves.
273 Ground set apart for criminals and outcasts. The usual mode of conducting a funeral under the emperors was to burn the corpse on a pyre (rogus); the original custom of interment had become more rare. Slaves and criminals were buried on the Esquiline Hill.
274 The Via Moneta led from the Flavian amphitheatre to the Porta Querquetulana.
275 The way of Stephanus. See (Suet Dom. 17,) where it is related of Stephanus, that he was accused of embezzling money. That such incredible forgeries of wills really occurred, is frequently explicitly stated by the ancient authors. Pliny (Ep. II, 11,) gives an amazing example of the insolence with which influential persons conducted their bribery.
276 The Vestal Virgins. It was believed, that the vestal virgins possessed the power of detaining runaway slaves, by certain spells, within the city limits.
277 Factories and prisons. Ergastulum was the name given to a kind of prison where slaves, who had been guilty of any fault were kept at specially hard labor. The arrangement, of these ergastula in many respects resembled our modern prisons.
278 Thousands and thousands answer to it. See the passages in the letter of Pliny, who as the Christians’ foe, reports to the emperor: “This superstition has not only spread over the city, but through the villages and surrounding country.” (Pliny, Ep. X, 98.)
279 Nazarene Gracchus. Quintus here perceives, like Thrax Barbatus, in the carpenter’s son of Nazareth a real representative of the people’s rights, and therefore a companion of Tiberius and Caius Sempronius Gracchus, the two tribunes of the people (about the middle of the second century B.C.)
280 Mons Janiculus. Now Monte Gianicolo, on the right bank of the Tiber.
281 Statue of Venus. A statue of the Venus Genitrix (Generator, mother, so called as the ancestress of the race of Julius Caesar, who erected a temple to her under this name) has been found among the ruins of the imperial palace on the Palatine, also an Eros, swinging a jar.
282 Mediolanum, now Milan.
283 The woes of Queen Dido, even at that time a famous episode in Virgil’s Aeneid. That the sorrows of Dido were specially popular is shown in Juv. Sat. VI, 434, which runs:
“Illa tamen gravior, quae, quum discumbere coepit,
Laudat Virgilium, periturae ignoscit Elissae....”
The question whether Dido did right in choosing death, seems to have been discussed by would-be beaux esprits, as in our own day, people argue about the comparative merits of Goethe and Schiller.
284 Sibyl. (Σίβυλλα, from Σιὸς βουλή literally “counsellor of God”) the name given to the prophesying priestesses of Apollo. Their predictions were vague and mysterious.
285 Not only Ares the slayer, but the humble Anchises. Stephanus alludes to the love affair of Aphrodite, who according to the Hellenic myth, bestowed her favors not only on the gods, as the homicidal Ares, but also upon mortals. She showed her love for the young Trojan prince Anchises, as is well known, among the groves of Ida.
286 The craftiness of Ulysses. Ulysses, Ulixes, (Odysseus,) the hero of the Homeric Odyssey, was considered in tradition, after Homer’s day, as the type of craft and cunning, while Homer presents him in a more ideal light.
287 Greek blood flows in your veins. Among the Romans, the Greeks had the reputation of resembling in character the Ulysses described after Homer’s day. Next to the Orientals, they were the most hated of all the dwellers in the provinces.
288 I will climb the capitol like the invading Gauls. The (unsuccessful) attempt to take the beleaguered Capitol by storm, made by the Gauls, as is well known, in the year 389 B.C. after they had defeated the Roman army at the little river Allia.
289 Thetis, daughter of Nereus, lived with her sisters, the Nereids, in the depths of the ocean. She personified the friendly character of the sea, as Poseidon did its destructive and terrible one.
290 You are the kindest master. The epithet “kind” (dulcis) is often used in this application to superiors and those in higher position. Thus Horace in the well-known first ode of the first book addresses Maecenas: O et praesidium et dulce decus meum....
291 The chamberlains on duty. At the emperor’s formal morning reception a large number of court officials was present, to maintain order, announce those who were awaiting admission and accompany them into the hall of audience. These persons were called admissionales (admitters) or people ab admissione, ex officio admissionis etc. (See Suet, Vesp. 14, etc.)
292 Saturnalia. A name given to a festival held for several days in the latter part of the month of December, in honor of the old Italian god of the harvest, Saturnus. It resembled in some respects our Christmas festivities, in others the carnival gayeties. The Saturnalia commemorated the happy age of Saturnus. All work ceased. Our “Happy New Year!” or the cry: “Fool, let the fool out!” had their counterpart in the shouts echoing on all sides: “Io saturnalia! Io bona saturnalia!” People caroused, feasted and gambled; pleased each other with gifts and surprises. The slaves were admitted to table, in token, that under the rule of Saturnus there had been no distinction of rank; all sorts of jests and amusements were practised, and a certain liberty of word and deed everywhere prevailed.
293 Mead (Mulsum, scil. vinum) prepared from cider and honey, a favorite drink, especially at the prandium.
294 He spoke, and the dark-browed Kronion nodded assent. In these words Lucilia quotes a well-known line of the Iliad (Il. I. 528.)
Ἡ, καὶ κυανέησιν ἐπ’ ὀφρύσι νεῦσε Κρονίων.
How customary such quotations were—not only in Latin translations, but in the original language—appears in Pliny’s letters, for instance, I, 24, where in two different passages lines from the Iliad are quoted, among them the one mentioned here, also in I, 18, (farther below in the same letter) I, 20, (several times;) IV, 28; V. 19; V, 96. Elsewhere in Pliny numerous Greek words and phrases are found in the Latin text (see Ep. I, 13, 19, 20; II, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 20; IV, 10; VI, 32, etc.) as in our own times a French, English, or Latin phrase occurs in a German letter. Every cultivated person understood Greek; nay, the preference for this language had become a fashionable mania, just as in the last century there was a craze for French in Germany. (See Juv. Sat., VI, 185: omnia Graece. Everything is Greek!)
295 Reed. A pen made from a reed, cut in the same manner as our goose quills, was often used for writing.
296 Spartacus. The terrible insurrection of the slaves under Spartacus failed only on account of the want of harmony among the rebels. This insurrection, 71 B.C. was conquered with the utmost difficulty. Spartacus, after a famous battle, fell with his ablest comrades.
297 Daughter of Ares. A name given to Rome in consequence of the well-known legend, that Romulus and Remus were sons of the war-god Mars and the vestal virgin Rhea Silvia. Quintus here uses the Hellenic name Ares, as the words Ῥώμη θυγάτηρ Ἄρεος which occur in the first verse of a celebrated ode by the Greek poetess Melinno (600 B.C.) flitted before his mind.
298 Against Christianity. Concerning the persecutions of the Christians under Domitian, see Dio Cass. XLVII, 16.
299 Campus Martius. The name given to the public pleasure grounds in the north-western part of Rome. Strabo describes them minutely. (V, 3.)
300 Colonnade of Agrippa. The most renowned object in the Campus Martius was the hundred-columned portico of Vipsanius Agrippa.
301 Laurel Groves. Within Agrippa’s colonnade were laurel and plane-groves. (Mart. Ep. I, 108, etc.)
302 Virgil. The author of the Aeneid had always been one of the most popular writers. He was even studied in the schools, as Schiller is in Germany at the present day.
303 Battle of the frogs and mice. (βατραχομυομαχία) The Battle of the Frogs, a parody upon the Iliad; falsely attributed to Homer, and probably composed by Pigres of Halicarnassus.
304 Rostra. The name of the orator’s platform, adorned with a ship’s beak (rostrum, the ship’s beak) in the Forum Romanum.
305 Intends his daughter to marry a consul. Roman women married at a very early age, therefore in the nature of things, parents made the choice for the inexperienced girls. Thus Junius Mauricus requested the younger Pliny, to propose a husband for the daughter of his brother Junius Rusticus Arulenus. (See Book II, p. 55.) Pliny (Ep. I, 14) recommends his friend Minucius Acilianus, and in a quiet, business-like manner enumerates his excellent qualities, among which he does not forget to mention a considerable fortune. To be sure, the daughter’s formal consent was necessary. The young girls of our story, by the way, out of respect for our modern ideas, are described as young girls at an age, when Romans were usually married women. For the ordinary marriageable age, see Friedländer’s detailed description in the appendix to the first part of his “Sittengeschichte,” where he gives a number of inscriptions taken from the tombs, where the age of the girl at the time of her marriage is either directly stated, or may be ascertained by deducting the years of marriage from those of life. Twelve of the wives mentioned, married before they were fourteen, four at fourteen, three at sixteen, one at nineteen, and one at twenty-five. We are, however, expressly told that marriages of girls under twelve were by no means rare.
306 Varus. The famous victory of the Germans over Quintilius Varus occurred in the year 9, A.D.
307 Parthians. A people who lived south of the Caspian sea. Their territory afterwards extended to the Euphrates. The Romans had numerous feuds with this nation.
308 Cantabrian bear. Cantabria, the mountainous region in the north of Spain, supplied most of the bears for the Roman wild-beast combats.
309 Ananke (Ανάγκη) personifies, like the Latin Fatum, the idea, that in every event which happens, there is an unalterable necessity, to which not only human beings, but even the gods are subject.
310 By the famous mural paintings. See Mart. Ep. II, 14. Ill, 20, etc.
311 Septa. See Mart. Ep. II, 14; IX, 59.
312 The Centuria. Even under the kings, the Romans were divided into five different classes, since the part taken by each individual in government affairs, especially concerning taxes and military service, depended on the amount of his property. Each of these classes consisted of a certain number of centurias, for instance, the first class contained eighty, the fifth thirty, etc. Centuria was the name originally given to a military division of 100 men, then to a certain number of citizens, from whose midst such a military organization could be formed. These centuries—in a civil sense—voted on public affairs in the comita centuriata (assembly of the centuries) each century having one vote.
313 Gay booths. See Mart, Ep. IX, 59, v. I:
“Mamurra many hours does vagrant tell,
I’ th’ shops, where Rome her richest ware does sell.”
The same epigram describes the goods to be purchased in these booths; slaves, table-covers, ivory for table legs, semicircular dinner-couches (called Sigma from their shape resembling the old Greek C) Corinthian brass (a mixture of gold, silver, and copper, very popular in those days) crystal goblets, vasa murrhina, chased silver dishes, gems, jewels, etc., etc.
314 Wrestling or throwing the discus. Physical exercises of all kinds were highly esteemed by the Romans. Racing, wrestling, and throwing the discus (a flat, circular piece of stone or iron) were specially popular. See Hor. Od. I. 8 (saepe disco, saepe trans finem jaculo nobilis expedito) where the exercises in the Campus Martius are mentioned.
315 Masthlion’s skill. See Mart Ep. V, 12:
“That the haughty Masthlion now,
Wields such weights on perched brow.”
316 Ninus’s strength. See Mart Ep. V, 12:
“Or that Ninus finds his praise,
With each hand eight boys to raise.”
Giants, as well as dwarfs, and monstrosities of every kind were extremely popular in Rome. They were even frequently kept in aristocratic families as slaves and jesters. See Mart Ep. VII, 38, where a gigantic slave of Severus is mentioned. According to Plutarch, Rome ad a special market for monsters (ἡ τὼν τεράτων ἀγορά) where persons crippled in all kinds of ways were offered for sale. As the business was lucrative, certain deformities were artificially produced.
317 Tablets on their knees. See Hor. Epist. ad Pis., 19, etc.
318 Mannie. Such ponies are mentioned by Lucr., Hor., Prop., and Sen. They were distinguished for speed. The word is of Celtic origin.
319 This wild horse of the Sun. Herodianus alludes to the steeds of Helios and the fate of Phaethon, who obtained his father’s permission to guide the chariot of the Sun one day in his stead, but had so little control over the unruly steeds, that to save the earth from burning, Zeus was compelled to slay him with a thunderbolt and hurl him from the chariot into the river Eridanus.
320 Burrhus, the son of Parthenius. See Mart. Ep., IV, 45; V, 6.
321 Wolf’s-tooth bit (lupata frena) a curb furnished with iron points shaped like a wolf’s tooth, used for hard-mouthed horses. See Hor. Od. I, 8, 6; Nec lupatis temperat ora frenis....
322 Soracte. A mountain north of Rome. See Varro R.R. II, 3, 3; Virg. Aen. VI, 696, Hor. Od. I, 9 (alta nive candidum.)
323 Gallia Lugdunensis. Lugdunian Gaul (Gallia Lugdunensis, so called from the principal city Lugdunum, now Lyons) extended from the Seine (Sequana) to the Garonne (Garumna) and westward to the Atlantic Ocean. On the south, it was separated from the Mediterranean by Narbonensian Gaul.
324 Bequeathed to him a small legacy. Legacies bequeathed by childless persons to those not connected by ties of blood, played a very important part in the society under the emperors. Legacy-hunting thrived greatly in consequence of its frequent occurrence.
325 In the midst of a very humble quarter. The right bank of the Tiber, in the (14) district, which bore the name “Trans Tiberim,” was inhabited exclusively by tradesfolk, sailors, etc.
326 Titus. The brother and predecessor of Domitian.
327 The Flavii had come into possession of the government with Vespasian, the father of Titus and Domitian. The latter’s full name was: Titus Flavius Domitianus Augustus.
328 Junius Rusticus. See Suet. Dom. 10; Dio Cass. LXVII. 13.
329 Caepio. Suet. Dom. 9, mentions a man of this name.
330 Caesar was to inherit his fortune. See Suet. Dom. 12: “Estates to which the emperor had no claim were seized, if only some one could be found to declare he had heard the dead man, during his life-time, say that the Caesar was to inherit his property.”
331 The daughters of our noblest families are stolen. That this was really to be expected, is proved by the incredible description Dio Cassius gives us of Nero’s conduct, (LXII, 15.)
332 The suspicious tyrant who has the walls of his sleeping-room lined with mirrors. See Suet, Dom. 14.
333 There are troops enough in Gallia Lugdunensis. True, nothing is expressly stated concerning this fact in the reign of Domitian; but as it was the case under Nero, this extremely probable opposition certainly scarcely involves a license. The liberty I take in the treatment of the conspiracy itself, is much greater. Strictly speaking, it was only a revolution in the palace. Considerations more important to the novelist than strict historical accuracy, compel me here to deviate from the accounts of Suetonius and Dio Cassius.
334 Rodumna on the Liger, (now the Loire). Called at the present day Roanne.
335 Islands of Pontia. Now Isole di Ponza, opposite the Gulf of Gaeta.
336 Messana. Now Messina.
337 Aricia. Now Ariccia.
338 Lanuvium. Now Civita Lavigna.
339 At the foot of the Aventine was a slip arranged by the aediles M. Aemilius Lepidus and L. Aemilius Paulus in the year 193 B.C. Ships still lie at anchor there at the present day.
340 Long-haired woollen cloaks. The paenulae, the travelling and winter garments made of rough woollen material or leather. The lacerna differed from the paenula in being an open garment like the Greek pallium, and fastened on the right shoulder by means of a buckle (fibula), whereas the paenula was what is called a vestimentum clausam with an opening for the head. (Mart. XIV, 132, 133.) See Becker’s Gallus, vol. II, p. 95, etc.
341 Impluvium. The cistern, in the floor of the atrium, intended to receive rain-water.
342 A brazier full of burning charcoal. In ancient Rome, heat was usually supplied by means of movable stoves and iron braziers. Chimneys were also known.
343 Feast of Saturn. The so-called Saturnalia. See note, 292, Vol. I.
344 When I struck Allobrogus in the face. This, according to Roman views, was a mild punishment for such an offence. It sometimes happened in such cases, that slaves were instantly condemned by their angry masters “to the muraenae,” that is, to be thrown into the fish-ponds for food for the muraenae.
345 Pons Milvius. Now Ponte Molle.
346 The Caelian Hill. (Mons Caelius) south and south-east of the Coliseum.
347 The Via Latina branched off to the left, on entering the Via Appia, from the north.
348 Tomb of the Scipios. Portions of this tomb, (discovered in the Vigna Sassi in the year 1780,) still exist at the present day. Here lay buried: among others: L. Cornelius Scipio Barbatus, Consul 298 B.C.; his son. Consul 259 B.C., the poet Ennius etc. The tomb was originally above the ground.
349 Arch of Drusus. This monument, still extant, was erected in 8 B.C. to Claudius Drusus Germanicus.
350 The tombs that stood by the road-side. Abundant traces of these tombs on the Via Appia still exist.
351 Almo. The little river still bears this name; it rises at Bovillae; mentioned by Ovid. (Fast. IV, 337-340.)
352 We swear to each other by the memory of the crucified. See Plin. Ep. X, 97, where in a report about the deeds of the Christians, he says: “But they assert that their guilt or error consisted in meeting before dawn on a certain day, singing hymns in honor of Christ as a god, and binding themselves by a vow, not to commit a crime, but to neither steal, commit adultery, break their promise, nor deny the possession of accumulated property; after which they usually dispersed, only meeting again at an innocent meal, shared by all without distinction of persons.”
353 The Claudian aqueduct (Aqua Claudia.) Built by the Emperor Claudius 50 A.D. was twelve miles and a half long, and reached to Sublaqueum, (now Subiaco.)
354 Aqua Marcia. Built 146 B.C. by the Praetor Q. Marcius Rex, was twelve miles long, and extended to the Sabine Hills. Its water was considered the best in all Rome. Ruins of it, as well as of the Aqua Claudia, exist at the present day.
355 The Labicanian Way. (Via Labicana) led through Toleria, Ferentinum, Frusino and Fregellae to Teanum (north of Capua) where it entered the Via Appia.
356 The Via Praenestina was a road for local intercourse. Just beyond Praeneste (now Palestrina,) it entered (at Toleria) the Via Labicana.
357 Xystus (Συστός—Hall) the name of the luxuriously-adorned garden back of the peristyle. See Cic. Acad. II, 13.
358 Veleda. (Vĕlĕda or Vĕlēda) a German prophetess belonging to the Bructerian people, took part in the war against Rome under Civilis (A.D. 69) and afterwards roused her countrymen to another insurrection, but was captured and dragged to Rome. See Tac. Hist. IV, 61, 65; V, 23, 24, and Tac. Germ. 8.
359 The grove of Nerthus. Nerthus, an ancient German divinity, the personification of mother earth, specially revered in the north of Germany. Her principal grove was at Rügen.
360 A slave had just announced, that it was two hours after sunrise. In aristocratic families the hours of the day were announced by a slave, kept specially for this purpose.
361 Berenice’s Hair. A constellation, so called from the glittering hair of Berenice, daughter of Magas of Cyrene. See Cat. 66.
362 The senatorial purple. From ancient times the privilege of wearing a broad purple stripe upon the edge of the toga was one of the distinctions of the Roman senators. The second class (equites) among other prerogatives, possessed the right to wear a gold ring on the finger. But at a very early period abuse of this privilege crept in, until members of the third class, nay, even freedmen, presumed to assume this badge of honor. The severest punishments, such as confiscation of property, etc., could not prevent the misdemeanor. At the time of my story, the gold ring was actually as common as the use of the “von” in addressing simple citizens in Austria at the present day. See Mart. Ep. XI, 37, where the freedman Zoilus ventures to don a huge gold ring. The ring worn by Caius Aurelius—though legitimately his—must therefore have seemed all the more contemptible, in comparison with the senatorial purple. By the way, it may be said, that in the time of Tiberius the use of the purple was also abused. See Dio Cass. LVII, 13.
363 The Bona Dea. A somewhat mystical divinity, allied with the Ops, the Fauna, and the Hellenic Demeter. Her temple stood on the northeastern slope of the Aventine Hill.
364 The Delphian Way, (Clivus Delphini), led from the Circus Maximus to the Porta Raudusculana.
365 Clear a way through the mass of people. When people of distinction went out, this making a way through the crowd was often done with much ostentation, but it was always the duty of a few slaves to walk before their masters, and thus smooth the way for them.
366 Knight’s portion. 400,000 sesterces.
367 A large four-wheeled chariot. Allusion is here made to the rheda (the travelling-coach) or the carruca (a comfortable, nay, magnificent equipage).
368 Cisium. Such two-wheeled cabriolets were principally used when the greatest speed was desired. (See Cic., Rosc.: cisiis pervolavit)
369 Loaded with provisions. Aristocratic Romans, even on short journeys, carried a large quantity of baggage, principally table furniture and provisions, for the taverns so often mentioned were intended exclusively for the lower classes.
370 Ficana..A small town half-way between Ostia and Rome.
371 Thessalian hat. This was worn principally in travelling. Thessalia was the name given to the eastern part of northern Greece.
372 Utica. A city on the coast of the province of Africa, north of Tunis.
373 Nicopolis. A city of Epirus, at the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf, opposite Actium.
374 Pandataria. An island in the Tyrrhenian sea, opposite to the Gulf of Gaeta.
375 Sinuessa. A city on the Gulf of Gaeta.
376 The water-clock (clepsydra) served as a measure of time, especially in affairs connected with the administration of justice. A water-clock usually ran about twenty minutes.
377 Peponilla, the wife of Julius Sabinus, who had incited an unsuccessful insurrection in Gaul, lived for nine years with her husband in a subterranean cave, always hoping the emperor would pardon the hunted man. But Vespasian was inexorable, and when Julius Sabinus was discovered, condemned not only him, but his faithful wife, to death. See Dio Cass. LXIV, 16. In Tacitus (Hist. IV, 67) she is called Epponina, in Plutarch (Dial. de amicit, 25,) Empona.
378 Thule (Θούλη) an island in the German ocean, was the moat extreme northern point of the earth known in those days. See Tac. Agr. X., Virg. Geog. I. 30. It it supposed to be what is now called Iceland, or a part of Norway.
379 A cargo of beasts for the centennial games. A catalogue of animals, dating from the time of Gordian III, (238 to 244 A.D.) mentions thirty-two elephants, ten tigers, sixty tame lions, three hundred tame leopards—but only one rhinoceros.
380 Live hares. See Mart. Ep. I, 6, (“the captured hare returning often in safety from the kindly tooth”) 14 (“and running at large through the open jaws,”) 22, 104.
381 Great Pan himself must bless them. Pan, son of Hermes and a daughter of Dryops, or of Zeus and the Arcadian nymph Callisto, etc., etc., is a divinity of the fields and forests. Cneius Afranius here uses the adjective “great” in the sense of “powerful,” “influential,”—corresponding with the hyperbolical tone of the rest of his speech. The totally different expression, “the great Pan,” in the sense of a symbolical appellation of the universe, originates in a verbal error, according to which the word Pan is derived from the Greek πᾶς “all” “the whole” while it really comes from πάω (I graze.)
382 My sweet Erotion. A child of this name, who died in early youth, is mentioned by Martial, Ep. V, 34, 37, and X, 61.
Ep. V, 34.
“Ye parents Fronto and Flaccilla here,
To you do I commend my girl, my dear,
Lest pale Erotion tremble at the shades,
And the foul Dog of Hell’s prodigious heads.
Her age fulfilling just six winters was,
Had she but known so many days to pass.
’Mongst you, old patrons, may she sport and play,
And with her lisping tongue my name oft say.
May the smooth turf her soft bones hide, and be
O earth, as light to her, as she to thee!”
Fletcher.
Ep. X, 61.
“Underneath this greedy stone
Lies little sweet Erotion;
Whom the Fates, with hearts as cold,
Nipp’d away at six years old.
Thou, whoever thou mayst be,
That hast this small field after me,
Let the yearly rites be paid
To her little slender shade;
So shall no disease or jar,
Hurt thy house, or chill thy Lar;
But this tomb be here alone
The only melancholy stone.”
Leigh Hunt.
383 Philosopher of Sinope. The well-known Cynic philosopher Diogenes, born at Sinope on the Black Sea, 404. B.C.
384 Faun (from faveo—to be favorable). A god of the fields and woods, akin to the Greek woodland deity, Pan.
385 Dryad. The embodied life-principle of the tree, a tree-nymph.
386 Pannonian lynx. Pannonia, now Hungary. Lynxes were also imported from Gaul.
387 Where you, Caius, are, there will I, Caia, be. An ancient formula, in which the bride vowed faith and obedience to the bridegroom.
388 Zeuxis of Heracleia in Greece, a famous artist, who lived about 397 B.C. His contest with Parrhasius, in which he painted grapes so deceptive, that they lured the birds, is well known.
389 Peripatetics (wanderers.) A name given to Aristotles’ school of philosophers, from its founder’s habit of delivering his lectures, not seated, but walking about.
390 Cabbage Sprouts. In the spring the young cabbage shoots (cimae, prototomi) were eaten, in the summer and autumn the larger stalks (caules cauliculi) see Mart. Ep. V. 78.
391 Cybium (κύβιον). A sort of mayonnaise made of salt tunny-fish, cut into squares. See Mart. Ep. V. 78, where the sliced eggs are not lacking. There were two kinds of leek (porrum:) porrum sectile (chives) and porrum capitatum.