insuperabile fatum Nata movere pavas Intres licet ipsa sororum Tecta trium cernes illic molimine vasto Ex aere solido rerum tabularia ferro Quae neque concursum coeli neque fulminis iram Nec metuunt ullas tuta atque aeterna ruinas Invenies illic incisa adamante perenni Fata tui generis legi ipse animoque notavi Lib. xv Metam But this Poet and all others have plainly expressed that the will of Jupiter is Fate For we must distinguish the fable of the three old Sisters called the Parcae which was but a Poetical fancy from the universal opinion of all Poets Tully rejects the Fate of the three Sisters which is a fate of Superstition and tells us that Fate is the etetnal truth and the first predominant cause of all Beings Wherefore the Idolaters represented the Hours and the Parcae placed upon the head of Jupiter to shew that the Destinies obey God and that both hours and time are at the disposol of his will Pausanias says to this purpose In Jevis capite Horae Parcae consistunt Fata enim Jovi parere ejus nutu temporum necessitudines describi nemo est qui nesciat And he speaks thus somewhere else of Jupiter sirnamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Parcarum Dux not only as knowing the resolutions of the Parcae but also as being their Master Plutarch tells us that these three Goddesses called Parcae are the three parts of the World viz. the firmament of the fixed Stars the firmament of the wandering Stars and that great space of the Air from the Moon to the Earth the concatenation of all the bodies and causes contained in these three parts of the world makes this Fate in a manner bodily producing natural effects according to the common course of Nature but this is not perform'd without some Divinity who is like the foul of the world and moves it by himself and the Intelligences whom he has set therein and to whom he has given his order and are the intellectual Fate Diogenes Laertius affirms that Zeno said that Jupiter God Fate and Intelligence were all the same thing 'T is also the opinion of Epictetus and many other ancient Philosophers FAVISSAE Festus by this word understands Cisterns to keep water in But the Favissae in the Capitol were Cellars under ground or dry Cisterns where they laid up old decay'd Statues and other things that were grown out of use Favissae locum sic appellabant in quo erat aqua inclusa circa templa sunt autem qui putant Favissas esse in Capitolio cellis cisternisque similes ubi reponi erant solita ea qua in templo vetustate erant facta inutilia Aulus Gel. l. 2. c. 10. tells us that Servius Sulpitius a Lawyer wrote to Marcus Varro to inquire of him what was the meaning of these words Favissae Capitolinae which he had observed in the Books of Censors but was not able to understand them Varro sent him word that he remembred that Q. Catulus to whom the care of repairing the Capitol was committed having a mind to lower the ground that was about the place could not perform it because of the Favissae which were like dry Cisterns where they laid up old Statues and broken Vessels and other things appointed for the service of the Temple Id esse cellas quasdam essternas quae in areâ sub terrâ essent ubi reponi solerent signa vetcra quae in eo Templo collapsa essent FAUNA FATUA Sister and Wife to Faunus and a Deity of the Romans Lactantius speaking of her says l. 1. c. 22. Faunus instituted infamous Sacrifices to Saturn his Grand-father in the Latin Country and rendered divine honours to his Father Picus and his Sister and Wife Fatua Fauna And C. Bassus tell us that she was called Fatua because she foretold Women their destinies as Faunus did to Men. Varro tells us that this Fatua was so chast that no Man saw her nor heard of her but her own Husband Wherefore Women Sacrifice to her in private and call her the good Goddess Faunus in Latio Saturno suo avo nefaria sacra constituit Picum patrem inter Deos honoravit sororem suam Fatuam Faunam eamque conjugem consecravit quam C. Bassus Fatuam nominatam tradit quod mulieribus fata canere consuevisset ut Faunus viris Eandem Varro tradit tantae pudicitiae suisse ut nemo eam quoad vixerit praeter virum suum mas viderit nec nomen ejus audiverit Ideirco mulieres illi in operto sacrificant bonam Deam nemenant If Fatua never saw any other Man but her Husband as Lactantius relates after Varro this certainly must be the reason why the Romans gave her the Name of the good Goddess Justin says that Fools were called Fatui because they behave themselves like Fatua when she was transported with prophetick fury The good Character that Lanctantius and Varro give of Fatua's Chastity doth not agree with what Plutarch relates in his Roman Questions when he says that she was given to drinking Arnobius relates the same of her in his sixth Book upon the report of Sextus Claudius FAUNALIA SACRA Feasts kept the 5th of December in honour of Faunus where the Country People leaving off work danced and were merry FAUNUS The Son of Picus the first King of the Latins This Faunus is sometimes confounded with Pan and it seems that Ovid himself makes no distinction of them however Dionysius Hallicarnasseus says that Faunus the Son of Mars reigned in Italy when Evander landed there and that the Romans made him afterwards one of the Tutelar Gods of the Country The same Historian says somewhere else that in progress of time the common opinion was that Faunus was that wild God whose voice was heard by night in the Forests and frighted the People Whereby it doth appear that he ascribes pannick fears to Faunus and makes but one God both of Faunus and Pan. Eusebius reckons up Faunus among the Kings of the Aborigines an ancient People in Italy for he accounts the number of them thus Janus Saturnus Faunus Latinus Notwithstanding the Latins made him a Genius and a God uttering Predictions and this agrees with his proper name For Faunus is derived from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fari loqui and his Wife was named Fatua from the same origine a fatu as vates comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pan and Faunus were likely but one and the same seeing that the name of Pan is the same with that of Faunus in the Hebrew Tongue for Pan in Hebrew signifies Fear and Fan foun is the same thing Aurelius Victor is of the same opinion Virgil make Faunus a God of Oracles and Predictions At Rex solicitus monstris Oracula Fauni Fatidici genitoris adit c. FAUNI Called also Satyrs Pans and Silvans were formerly taken for Genij and Demi-Gods inhabiting Woods and Mountains according to the common
is most concerned with Fortune Clemens Alexandrinus say there were some who confined Destiny so much to the Moon that they said if there were Three of them it was because of the Three most remarkable Days of the Moon Parcas allegorice dici partes Lunae trigesimam quintam decimam novam lunam ideo candidatas dici ab Orpheo qua fuit partes lucis Varro says and we ought to believe him that formerly they used Parta instead of Parca This Word answers the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and comes a Partiendo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to divide because 't is Fate that makes a Division and Lot for every Body But in respect to that Universal Chain of all natural Causes which produce all sensible Effects and form as I may say the Fate of our Bodies the Moon without doubt is one of the most considerable and efficatiousof any as she is also nearest to the Earth The Moon was one of the Destinies in the Opinion of those who gave this Quality to Ilithyia which is known to be the Moon and to preside over Nativities Pausanias tells us that Venus Vrania was also accounted one of the Destinies and that she was even the Eldest of the Three Sisters Epigramma verò indicat Venerem Caelestem earum quae Parcae vocantur natu maximam PARENTALIA they were Solemnities and Banquets made by the Ancients at the Obsequies of their Relations and Friends PARIS the Son of Priamus King of Troy and of Hecuba His Mother being with Child of him saw in her Dream that she was brought to Bed of a Burning-torch which would set all Asia on fire And having consulted the Augurs thereupon they made answer That that Child one Day should be the Cause of the Ruine of his Country Priamus being informed of it exposed him to be destroy'd but his Wife Hecuba being touch'd with Compassion delivered him privately to the King's Shepherds to bring him up on Mount Ida in Phrygia where he grew up and became Valiant and expert at all bodily Exercises wherein he exceeded Hector whom he threw in Wrestling Dares the Phrygian who had seen Paris gives us an Account of his Person in his Book concerning the Destruction of Troy where he says He was tall and well proportioned of a fair Complexion had very good Eyes and a sweet Voice that he was Bold Couragious Forward and Ambitious And this is confirmed by Dion Chrysostom and Cornelius Nepos in their Translation of Dares into Verse Hector upbraids him for his very Beauty as if he were fitter for Love than War Homer gives him the Title of being Valiant and among others names Diomedes and Machaon's being wounded by him to which Dares adds Menelaus and Palamedes Antilochus and Achilles whom he slew Hyginus relates the Fight he had with his Brethren whom he overcame while he was a Shepherd As to the Contest between the Three Goddesses viz. Juno Venus and Pallas to know which was the fairest of them Dares in his Poem concerning the Destruction of Troy recites the Words which they spoke to Paris in order to engage him to give Sentence in their Favour as well as Lucian does in his Dialogue concerning the Judgment of Paris Venus wanted not Reasons to gain the Opinion of amorous Paris and to oblige him to declare in her Favour for as his Reward she promised him one of the finest Women in the World which was Helen Menelaus his Wife and she was so constant to her Word that she favoured him to carry her off which occasioned the fatal War made by the Grecians against the Trojans Some Commentators upon Homer and Spondanus among others believe this pretended Sentence of Paris was not known to Homer Plutarch himself favours this Conjecture when he maintains that the 3 Verses of the 24th Iliad where he speaks of it are Supposititious and inserted by some other and that 't is an unbecoming thing to believe the Gods were judged by Men and that Homer making no mention thereof any other where there was Reason to believe these Lines were foisted in But a Medal of Antoninus Pius gives us to understand that this Action was believed to be true by the Ancients and we may farther oppose against Plutarch the ancient Statue of Paris done by Eupbranor whereby as Pliny says it might be known that he was a Judge between the Goddesses the Lover of Helen and the Person that killed Aahilles Other Authors have thought that Paris himself feigned his having been a Judge between the Goddesses and that he did this in Opposition to Hercules who renounced Vice in favour of Vertue how difficult soever it appeared since Paris despised the Riches and Honours promised him by Juno and the Knowledge profferred him by Pallas and abandoned himself to his Pleasures Eusebius treats of the History and not the Fabulous part for he writes that the City of Troy was destroy'd for the Rape of Helen one of the Three Grecian Ladies that contended for Beauty PARNASSUS a Mountain in Phocis consecrated to Apollo and the Muses whence arise the Fountains of Custalins Hippocrene and Aganippe so famous in the Poets At the Foot of this Mountain stood the City of Cyrrha and the Temple of Apollo of Delphos The Muses took their Epithers from these Places for in the Poets they are called Parnassides and Castalides PARRICIDA a Parricide the Murderer of his Father or Mother The Romans made no Law against Parricides because they did not think there could be a Man so wicked as to kill his Parents L. Ostius was the first that killed his Father 500 Years after Numa's Death even after the Time of Hannibal And then the Pompeian Law was made which ordained that the Person who was convicted of this Crime after he had been first whipped till the Blood came should be tied up in a Leathern Sack together with a Dog an Ape a Cock and a Viper and so thrown into the Sea or next River PARTUNDA a Goddess that assisted at Child-bearing PASIPHAE the Daughter of the Sun and Wife to Minos King of Creet The Fable tells us she fell in Love with a Bull whom she enjoy'd by Daedalus his Contrivance who by his Skill made a Cow wherein Pasiphae being inclosed she conceived by this Bull a Creature that was half Man half Bull which was shut up in the Labyrinth and with the Assistance of Ariadne killed by Theseus Servius informs us that this Taurus was one of Minos his Captains who by the Procurement of Daedalus enjoy'd Pasiphae and because the Child she bore was like unto Taurus and Minos he was called Minotaurus Lucian says that Pasiphae hearing Daedalus discoursing of the Coelestial Sign Taurus she became in Love with his Doctrine which she learnt from him and this gave the Poets occasion to feign that she fell in Love with a Bull. PASSUS a Pace a Measure taken from the Space that is between the two Feet of an Animal the common Pace is that Space we
Abire a Term of Imprecation as may appear from these Passages of the Comic Poets Abi in malam rem Abi in crucem or in maximum magnum malum Go in an ill hour Go hang your self Go to the Devil The Word Abire is also us'd in the Form of granting Liberty to Slaves as Abito quo voles quo lubet nihil te moror or Liber esto atque abito quo voles or Tu vero abeas neque te quisquam moratur I make you free go now whither you will no body detains you you may go where you please It is also used in the Law after this manner Abiit dies actionis the Time of Prosecution in this Cause is over or according to the common Phrase of the Court There 's an end of this Suit it is quite out of doors and cannot be brought on again ABJUDICARE a Term of Law to take away something from a Person by a Sentence to declare that it does not belong to him ABJURARE Creditum or Si quid creditum est to deny a Depositum or Pledge in a Court of Justice to make oath that there was no such thing left with me Plautus says Quique in jure abjurant pecuniam who deny in Court that the Money was left in their hands ABLUERE se a Term of Religion us'd in the ancient Sacrifices to wash and purifie our selves before we offer Sacrifice The Romans look'd upon it as a part of Religious Worship to wash their Hands and Feet sometimes the Head and oftentimes the whole Body when they were to sacrifice to their Gods And therefore Virgil brings in Aeneas telling Anchises that he could not discharge his Duty to his Houshold-Gods till he was purified in some running Water because he was defiled with Blood and Slaughter at the Sacking of Troy Donec me flumine vivo abluero We read also in the same Poet that Dido having a mind to sacrifice to the Infernal-Gods told her Sister that she must first wash and purifie her self in running Water Dic corpus properet fluviali spargere lympha The People and Assistants were also purified with a Water which was called Lustral according to the Practice of Aeneas at the Funerals of Misenus in Virgil for he tells us that he sprinkl'd Lustral Water three times upon his Companions with an Olive-branch Idem ter socios pura circumtulit unda Spargens rore levi ramo felicis oliva They us'd sometimes a sprinkling Instrument to throw that Lustral Water which they esteemed holy because the Link or Torch which had been used at a Sacrifice was extinguished in it It was their Custom also to place at the Entrance into their Temples Vessels made of Marble triumphant as Du Choul calls it fill'd with Water wherewith they wash'd themselves A Custom which without doubt they learn'd from the Jews since we read in Scripture that Solomon plac'd at the Entry into the Temple which he erected to the true God a great Laver which the Holy Text calls a Sea of Brass where the Priests wash'd themselves before they offer'd Sacrifice having before-hand sanctified the Water by throwing into it the Ashes of the Victim that was slain in Sacrifice ABOLERE a Term of the Roman Law to abolish to annihilate to reduce to nothing to destroy a thing after such a manner that nothing remains not so much as the Remembrance of it And according to this Notion of the Word is the Phrase Abolere crimen to abolish a Crime and Abolere nomina reorum to rase or expunge the Names of the accused out of the Table or Register to strike them out of the List of the Prisoners ABOLITIO Abolition the Remission of a Crime Amnesty is a general Abolition of all that has been committed during a Civil War or in any popular Commotion This Abolition was granted after three different manners Either by the Prince on a day of Triumph and for some remarkable Victory obtained by the Commonwealth or else it was granted by the Magistrate when the Accuser desisted from his Prosecution before him or lastly it was granted to the Accused after the Death of the Accuser ABOLLA a kind of Purple Garment doubled which was very large had many Plaits and was adorned with great Buttons which the Romans wore to defend themselves from Cold and the Injuries of the Weather This Garment was used by Military Men Persons of Quality and even by Philosophers as the Verses of Martial and Juvenal do plainly prove We read in Suetonius That the Emperour Caligula was much offended with King Ptolomy for appearing at the Theatre with this double Garment of Purple which attracted the Eyes of all the Spectators towards him ABOMINANTES a Term of Execration Those who abhor any bad Presage and pray the Gods to prevent its falling upon their Heads They made use of certain Latin Expressions frequent in the Comic-Poets and others Quod Dii omen avertant quod ego abominor procul omen abesto procul sit omen procul haec avertant fata Quod Dii prohibeant Dii meliora Dii melius Dii melius duint for dent Which God forbid which I pray the Gods to remove far from us and to turn away from falling upon our Heads which Mischief may it never come upon us which may the Gods preserve us from ABORIGINES a very antient People of Italy about whose Original there are four principal Opinions the first is that of Aurelius Victor who calls them Aborigines as who should say Aberrigines i. e. Vagabonds wherein he disowns that Division made by Berosus of Janigenes and Aborigines and affirms on the contrary that these Aborigines were wandring and vagabond Scythians who came and settled in that part of Italy Nevertheless against this first Opinion it may be said that if these Aborigines had been Scythians they would never have employed the Greeks against the Scythians but on the contrary would have made use of them as safe Auxiliaries to aid them against the Natives of the Country and against the Greeks who were lately come thither S. Jerom and Denis of Halicarnassus think that they were call'd Aborigines as who should say absque origine without beginning or rather as being the first Natives of the Mountains from these Tuscan and Armenian words according to the Talmuds for Ab signifies a Father ori a Cavern or hollow place and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies a Race or Posterity as who should say Men born in Caverns Some think that Chamasenus aliàs Cham the Son of Noah who was the Saturn of the Egyptians having gather'd together divers wandring and vagabond People conducted them into that part of Italy which at present is call'd Romania and at that time was call'd Latium Titus Livius and Dionysius Halicarnasseus assert that the first Aborigines came from Arcadia into Italy under the conduct of Oenotrus the Son of Lycam and that they learn'd the Letters of the Alphabet from Evander who was then King of it
Sigillatorii which they used to seal their Letters with The Rings which the Romans used to give the Women betrothed to them were ordinarily of Iron and they put them upon the 4th Finger of the hand I have seen some also of Copper and Brass with little Knobs in the fashion of a Key to signifie that the Husband by giving this Nuptial-Ring to his Wife puts her in possession of the Keys of his House of which she ought to have the care Some of them are found with these Inscriptions Bonam Vitam Amo te â—na me Rings of Honour were Marks of Merit in the Persons who wore them The first Romans wore only Rings of Iron as fittest for a warlike Nation and they prefer'd 'em before Rings of value Tarquinius Priscus was the first that wore one of Gold but for a long time the Senators durst not wear ' em Afterwards a Custom prevail'd of giving Gold Rings to them that went on an Embassy into strange Countries about the Affairs of the Common-wealth but yet they wore them only upon the days of their Entries or Audiences as a Badg of their Dignity But afterwards the Senators wore them of Gold as also the Knights to distinguish themselves from the common People as they were known from Senators by a Robe woven with Gold and by their large Buttons This happen'd about the Second Punick or Carthaginian-War We read in Appian of Alexandria that only Colonels in an Army had a Right to wear Gold Rings which they used as a Mark of Nobility It is true that in the Disorder and Confusion of Civil-Wars the People and Soldiers took the liberty to wear 'em as also Women-Slaves and those who were made free which obliged the Consuls C. Asinius Pollio and C. Antistius under the Emperor Tiberius to make an Order forbidding the Common-People to wear Gold Rings at least those whose Father or Grand-father by the Fathers side had not a Revenue of 400 great Sesterces with a right to take place in the Fourteenth Ascent of the Theatre which was granted to the Roman Knights when they were present at those Shows It is also true that from the time of the Emperor Commodus the Slaves made free were honoured with a Gold Ring Aurelius Victor says That the infamous Macrinus the Son of an enfranchis'd Slave receiv'd a Gold Ring and was thereby equall'd to the Knights as these Verses of the Poet Statius shew Mutavitque genus laevâque ignobile ferrum Exuit celso natorum aequavit honori They affected to wear 'em of an extraordinary weight I have seen some that weighed Four Pistoles and a half of Gold which puts me in mind of what Juvenal says wittily in his Seventh Satyr That no body will give 200 Pieces to an Orator to plead his Cause although he be as eloquent as Cicero unless they see an extraordinary great Ring shining on his Finger Ciceroni nemo ducentos Nunc dederit nummos nisi fulserit annulus ingens Satyr VII v. 139. Pliny tells us That in his time the Excess was so great that it seem'd to him as though every one would be valu'd only by the Number and Weight of his Gold Rings with which they loaded rather than adorned their Fingers This is the same that Seneca the Philosopher says Oneramus annulis digitos m omni articulo gemma disponitur These Rings were often adorned with Beazels made of the same Matter or precious Stones graved several ways Under the Emperor Claudius Seals were ordered to be made of the same Metals and not of precious Stones The several sorts of Engravings which were set in the Beazels of Rings made the Seals which we name Annuli Signatorii or Sigillatorii with which they seal'd their Letters which they impress'd upon their Records as also in their Houses upon their Cellars where they kept their Provisions They seal'd their Letters as we do at this day saving that instead of Silk they used Thread or Flax with which they wrapt about the Letter on the outside and then laying upon it a sort of soft Clay or Wax they stampt the figure of their Seal upon it after they had a little softened it with Spittle Cicero has describ'd the manner of it to us in his Third Oration against Catiline Tabellas proferri jussimus quae à quoque dicebantur datae primùm oftendimus Cethege signum cognovit nos linum incidimus legimus We caused the Letters to be brough shew'd 'em to Cethegus who acknowledg'd the Seal we cut the Thread and read them Plautus has describ'd the same thing to us more elegantly in his Bacchides Cedo tu ceram linum actutum age obliga ob signa citò Give me the Wax and Thred quickly bind up the Letter and seal it This Flax was call'd Vinculum Epistolae and Juvenal calls the Impression of the Seal upon the Wax that was softened with Spittle Gemma Uda They seal'd their Contracts in the same manner as also their Wills for as soon as the Witnesses had heard the Will read it was seal'd in their presence and they fix'd Three Labels to it upon which they put Wax and set their Seals This was decreed by the Senate in the time of Nero as Suetonius relates It was likewise necessary when a Will was opened that either all the Witnesses or at least most of 'em should be present to own their Seals Tabellae testamenti aperiuntur hoc modo ut testes vel maxima pars eorum adhibeantur qui signaverint testamentum ut ita agnitis signis rupto lino aperiatur recitetur Jul. Paul These Seals were also made use of to seal their Cellars and Pantries where they kept Provisions for their Families for Plautus brings in a Mistris of a House who was going to visit her Neighbour thus speaking in his Comedy entituled Casina Obsignate cellas referte annulum ad me And the same Poet brings in a Slave complaining of his Master for sealing the Salt-Box for fear he should take any Salt Isti parci promi qui salinum servis obsignant cum sale ANNULI Samothracii ferrei Rings call'd Samothracian They had something in them which secured from Envy and from other Evils as Varro says These Rings as Artemidorus says which were Iron on the out-side and to which Art had imparted some salutary Virtue were fortunate in Dreams Petronius speaking of the Rings which Tremalcion wore tells us That that which was upon his Little Finger was of Gold set thick with small Stars of Iron Isidore after Pliny teaches That the Slaves cover'd their Iron Rings with Gold These Samothracian Rings may be said to be Talismans of which the Iron was wrought under some Constellation Such also were those Rings which Solomon taught Men to make as Josephus says which would drive away Devils and those hollow Rings of Artemidorus which inclos'd in 'em some supernatural and divine Virtue The People of the Isle of Samothrace much addicted themselves to the study of
φʹ Η 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 D or IↃ quingenta 600 six hundred χʹ Η Η 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 DC sexcenta 700 seven hundred ψʹ Η ΗΗ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 DCC septingenta 800 eight hundred ωʹ Η ΗΗΗ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 DCCC octingenta 900 nine hundred ϡʹ Η ΗΗΗΗ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 DCCCC noningenta 1000 a thousand â—͵ Χ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 M or CIↃ mille 2000 two thousand β͵ ΧΧ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 MM bismille 3000 three thousand γ͵ ΧΧΧ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 MMM ter mille 4000 four thousand δ͵ ΧΧΧΧ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 MMMM quater mille 5000 five thousand ε͵ Χ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 VM or IↃↃ quinquiesmille 6000 six thousand ϛ͵ Χ Χ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 VIM sexies mille 7000 seven thousand ζ͵ Χ ΧΧ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 VIIM septies mille 8000 eight thousand η͵ Χ ΧΧΧ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 VIIIM octies mille 9000 nine thousand θ͵ Χ ΧΧΧΧ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IXM novies mille 10000 ten thousand â—͵ Îœ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 XM or CCIↃↃ decies mille The year 1696. one thousand six hundred ninety six 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Annus M DC XC VI millesimus sexcentesimus nonagesimus sextus ARISTOTELES the Son of Nichomachus a Physician and Phestia He was very deformed but he was one of the greatest Genius's of his Age. He studied 20 Years under Plato the Philosopher and was Praeceptor to Alexander the Great by whom he was very much esteem'd He was the Author of the Sect of Philosophers called Peripateticks He died at 63 Years of Age and some think that he threw himself into the Straits of Eurippus out of Vexation because he could not comprehend the Cause of its Flux and Reflux He is call'd the Genius of Nature and Plato nam'd him the Philosopher indeed His Books lay a long while conceal'd at Athens and were not transported to Rome till after the taking of that City by Sylla this Treasure was preserv'd and brought to Light by the means of Tyrannion the Grammarian and Andronicus the Rhodian Lucian rails at him in his Dialogue of the Dead and introduces Alexander speaking thus to Diogenes Why dost thou weep poor Fool says Diogenes did not Aristotle teach thee that all this is but Vanity Alexander answers him what dost thou say Diogenes of him who was the basest of all my Flatterers pray do not force me to publish his Faults and to tell thee how he hath abused my good Nature and the extreme Passion I had for Learning Sometimes he cajol'd me for my Beauty sometimes for my Riches which he was so hardy as to rank in the Number of good things that he might neither be ashamed to ask nor receive them This is what I learn'd by his Instructions To take these things for good which are not so the Loss of which does now afflict me The same Author tells us also that Aristotle did only give a rude Draught of the Art of Parasites His Doctrine which is now in the Schools has met with various Entertainment sometimes good and sometimes bad On this Subject the Reader may consult Mr. de Lannoy de varia Aristotelis Fortuna Arithmetica see before Aristoteles Arma Arms which Men made use of either for attacking others or defending themselves 'T is certain that the Arms of the ancient Heroes as well Defensive as Offensive were of Copper or Brass This is what the Poet Lucretius tells us The first Arms says this Poet were Hands Nails Teeth Stones and Sticks Afterwards some invented Arms of Iron or Brass but those of Brass were 1st us'd Arma antiqua manus ungues denâ—esque fuere Et Lapides item silvarum fragmina rami Postâ—riut ferri vis est aerisque reperta Sed prior aeris erat quam ferri cognitus tisus Lucr. l. 5. v. 1282. Tubal-Cain one of the Posterity of Cain according to the Scripture was the Master and Father of the Smiths and of all those who work'd in Iron and Steel Tubal-Cain fuit Malleator Faber in cuncta opera area ferri Gen. 4. 8 22. Now this Tubal-Cain was the Vulcan of the Pagans as Diodorus Siculus tells us A Vulcano fabricationem aeris auri ferri argenti caeterorum omnium quae ignis operationem rejiciunt inventam lib. 5. p. 341. Josephus says that Moses was the first who arm'd any Troops with Iron and that he gave them in Aegypt the Buckler and the Head-piece Plutarch relates in the Life of Theseus that Cinon the Son of Miltiades having a mind to carry the Bones of this Hero from the Isle of Scyros to Athens found the Point of a Lance which was of Brass together with a Sword of the same Metal 'T is certain also from the former Passage of Lucretius that Arms of Iron and Steel were used among the Greeks and Romans both for their Cavalry and Infantry They divided their Infantry into those that were heavy arm'd and those that were light arm'd whom they call'd Velites and who had casting Weapons Such were the Slingers who threw Stones the Darters who cast the Javelin and the Archers who shot with Bows these had their Head covered with a Murion carried a little round Buckler upon their Arm and a short dagger by their side Under the Emperors Trajan Adrian and Antoninus Pius these Velites or Skirmishers wore a Corslet of Iron or a Curiass adorn'd with Scales resembling Fishes like that of the Archers But the Slingers were clad in nothing but their usual Habit having the lappet of their Coat tuck'd up to put Stones in it The Archers or such as drew the Bow were armed with a Helmet upon their Head and Armour adorn'd with Scales having on their right side a Quiver furnished with Arrows on their left a Dagger or Sword holding a Bow in their Hand with which they shot their Arrows As to the Souldiers which were heavy arm'd their Head was guarded with a Casquet or Helmet of Iron which came down very low before and behind descended as far as their Shoulders Their Body was arm'd with a Coat of Mail together with Knee-Pieces and Bracelets They carried on their Arm a Shield 2 Foot broad and 4 Foot long strengthened with an Iron Plate that went round about it In the middle was an Ironboss jurting out very serviceable to keep off Blows or glance of Darts and Stones They had also a Sword by their left Side and a Dagger which cut with two edges Besides all this they were armed with a Dart and two Spears 4 Foot long having Iron Spikes at the top The Greeks were not so heavy arm'd they carried long Pikes or Sarissa's a peculiar sort of Spear which was used by the Macedonians which were Staves 18 Foot long wherewith they forced their way across the Battalions of their Enemies Dio in the life of Antoninus Caracalla the Son of Severus relates that the Macedonian Phalanx being a Four-square
upon material Beings as the Heaven Stars Earth Sea Woods Rivers and other things of the like Nature which the first Men through Ignorance believed to be the sole Causes of all the Good or Evil that happens in the World But as Opinion can find no stop when once the Bounds of Nature are passed over the religious Respect which they entertained for these Beings extended itself with more Reason to the Persons themselves who had invented this Worship and had perswaded others to it This Adoration increased more and more in following Ages through the Respect which Antiquity begets and great Preeminence it gives to all things and because Men have always had an Inclination to think the Gods like themselves for this Reason which Cicero gives which is that there is nothing that appears so excellent to Man as Man himself they came by Degrees not only to deify the Inventers of these Worships but also to confound them with the Deities which they had found out Hence it came to pass that the same God was worshipped in several Places of the World under different Names as all the Mythologists confess because they bore the Name of those eminent Persons who had each of them settled their Worship in those Countries Wherefore 't is probable that 't was Fauna who first began the Worship of Terra or the Earth at least in Italy since she was after confounded with that Deity there She was called Bona Dâ—a or the Good Goddess by way of Excellency and that for the best Reason in the World because there is no being that does Men more good If the Sex of this Queen were not enough to make us think this Deity rather to be a Female than a Male since they are often not distinguished yet that which bears Fruits as the Earth doth hath so much greater likeness to a Woman than a Man that we need search no farther for a Reason and this is the manifest cause why Women were only to perform her Service and Men totally excluded This Non-admission might also proceed from this Story That this devout Queen was so chast that no Man but her own Husband ever saw her nor knew her proper name for she was called Fauna in after Ages for no other Reason but because her Husband's name was Faunus In Respect therefore to her signal Chastity it was that all Men are forbidden to be present at her Worship the High-Priest himself in whose House it was performed and who was the Chief-Minister in all others not excepted for he was obliged to depart out of his House before they began and carry along with him all the Men which were there of what Quality soever they were All Pictures also which represented any Male were covered the vestal Virgins were summoned to it Of all Plants with which the House was to be adorned only the Myrtle was forbidden because it was consecrated to Venus and her Service began just at Night Velari pictura jubetur Quaecunque alterius Sexus imitata figuram est Juv. BOOTES Charles's Wain a Constellation in the Heavens called by the Greeks Arctophilax which signifies the Keeper of the Bear because he drives a Chariot drawn by Fourteen Stars after the manner of an Ox-head BOREAS the North Wind called also Aquilo it blows between the Oriental and the North Solstice The Poets feign him to be the Son of Astreus and falling in Love with Orythia stole her that he might have the Enjoyment of her Philostratus makes Boreas the King of the Winds who sent his Two Children Zethes that is to say a strong Blast and Calais i. e. a gentle Gale in the Expedition to Colchos But Apollonius Rhodius gives us a more particular Account of this Fable The Children of Boreas says he were also in the Expedition at Colchos He begat them of the Nymph Orythia whom he stole from Athens These Two Persons had gilded Scales which covered their Shoulders and Wings on their Feet with a long Purple Head of Hair They drove the Harpies which much molested Phineus King of Thrace into the Island Strophades but were warned by Iris to desist from the Pursuit that they might not hurt Jupiter's Dogs as the Harpies were Pausanias tells us that the People of Megalopolis in Greece gave as great Honour to the Wind Boreas as to any God whatsoever because he had assisted them with a great Force against the Attempt made upon them by the Lacedemonians They dedicated says the same Author in his Eighth Book Page 513 an Altar to the Wind Boreas and the Citizens offer'd a Sacrifice to him every Year Boreae ara dicata est cui anniversarium Megalopolitani sacrum faciunt c. When Homer says that the North Wind was transformed into a Stone-Horse and covered several fine Mares of which he begat Twelve Colts so swift and light that they could run upon the tops of standing Corn without breaking it and upon the Waves of the Sea without making any Impression upon them 't was because he really believed that they were Mares that would conceive by the Influences of the Wind. Virgil relates that as a true Story of the West Wind which Homer speaks of Boreas as a Fable BOS an Ox a Beast which the Ancients offered in Sacrifice to several of their Deities as Jupiter the Chief of their Gods and such an Ox according to Homer ought to be Five Years old Yet Plutarch assures us that Solon forbad by his Laws that Oxen should be sacrificed but Aelian explains it of Oxen used in plowing Oxen were also sacrificed to Cybele the Mother of the Gods and those Sacrifices were for that reason called Tauropolia to return Thanks to that Goddess of the Earth for teaching Men the Art of taming those Creatures and using them in tilling the Ground The Greeks also offered black Bulls to Neptune to denote the raging of the Sea when it is moved The Superstition of the Ancients proceeded so far as to offer Hecatombs or Sacrifices of an Hundred Oxen to Jupiter Strabo teaches us that these Hecatombs came from the Lacedemonians who every Year offered a Sacrifice of an Hundred Oxen in the name of an Hundred Cities which were under their Command and Government But these Expences appearing too great to some Persons they reduced these Sacrifices to Twenty five Oxen and supposed through a Childish Distinction that because these Oxen had each of them Four Feet it was sufficient to make an Hecatomb that there was the number of an Hundred found in those parts One of the Ancients finding himself in great Danger upon the Sea through a Tempest promised to offer an Hecatomb if he escaped but being not able to discharge his Vow by reason of his Poverty he contrived to make an Hundred small Oxen of Dough and to offer them to the Gods that had delivered him Some attribute this false Hecatomb to Pythagoras for Diogenes Laertins tells us that the Philosopher having found out a new Demonstration in his Trigonometry offered
I think that these Chalcidica's were large and lofty Halls where Justice was administred erected at the End of their Palaces even with the Galleries through which they went out of one Room into another and where the 〈◊〉 leaders walked CHALDAEI the Chaldaeans a People of the greater Asia who above all others practised the Art of Astrology The Prophet Daniel was instructed by them They worshipped the Fire The Jews likewise affirm as Jerom says that these Words of Scripture which say that Abraham came out of Vr of the Chaldees shew that he was miraculously delivered out of the Fire into which the Chaldaeans had cast him because he refused to adore it 'T is credible that these Chaldaeans did worship the Sun and Stars which they looked upon as Eternal Fires and that in keeping a perpetual Fire burning upon their Altars they desired to keep and preserve a Resemblance of them continually before their Eyes CHAOS Confusion a Mixture of all the Elements which the Poets feign was from all Eternity before the Stars were placed in that Order in the which they now appear Manilius confesses that Hesiod makes the World to be produced out of this Chaos in his Theogonia where after he has pray'd the Muses to teach him what was the Original and Beginning of the Earth the Gods Rivers and Seas he brings in the Muses answering that Chaos was the first Being that the Earth followed then Hell and Love Darkness and Night came out of the Chaos and the Heaven and Day sprung out of the Bosom of Night Although this Chaos of Hesiod is very confused yet it is no hard thing to find that it is a counterfeit Description of that of Moses in Genesis The Chaos which was a confused Heap of all Things was before all other Beings in their proper and distinct Nature The Holy Spirit which rested upon the Chaos was that Love which Hesiod mentions The Darkness covered the Chaos and this is what the Poet calls Erebus and the Night for the Greek Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comes from the Hebrew Harah which signifies Darkness The Day as well as the Heaven proceeded from the Chaos or the Earth because the Stars were really in the Chaos as were also the Heaven and Firmament before God took them out of it Hell also itself rose out of the Chaos and kept its Name for so Orpheus calls it in Ovid. Per chaos hoc ingens vastique silentia regni Metam 10. Oppian assures us that it was Jupiter that dwells in the Highest Heavens who raised all these Bodies and all the Parts of this vast Universe out of the confused Chaos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jupiter beate in te omnia ex te orta sunt We may explain that of Love which Oppian speaks of the Agreement of second Causes The Spirit which according to Moses animated the Waters of the Chaos and covered them in some measure according to the Hebrew Text to make them fruitful may be accounted for Love Diodorus Siculus mixing Fable History and Philosophy together makes the World to proceed from Chaos as also do Euripides and Plutarch Ovid among the Latin Poets speaks very distinctly of the Chaos which was before the Creation of the World Ante mare terras quod tegit omnia coelum Vnus erat toto naturae vultus in orbe Quem dixere Chaos rudis indigestaque moles Nec quidquam nisi pondus iners congestaque eodem Non benè junctarum discordia semina rerum Metam 1. He then observes that it was God who gave Order Distinction and Light to this dark Chaos We may say that this Poet follows Moses closely since he separates first the Heaven and Air from the Earth makes the Waters to fall into the hollow Places of the Earth out of which he causes Trees and Plants to spring after this he forms the Stars produces Fishes Fowls and the Beasts of the Earth and concludes his Six Days Work with the Creation of Man for Ovid exactly follows this Order in God's Works as they were all performed in the Six Days Lastly He describes the Creation of Man as the chief Piece of his Workmanship in whom he put some Rays of his Holiness Divinity Dominion and Sanctity yea his own Image that is to say an Understanding penetrating into Heavenly Truths and Eternal Love Sanctius his Animal mentisque capacius altae Deerat adhuc quod dominari in caeter a posset Natus homo est Sive hunc divino semine fecit Ille opifex rerum mundi melior is origo c .... Finxit in essigiem moderantum cunctae Deorum Pronaque cùm spectent animalia caetera terram Os homini sublime dedit caelumque tueri Jussit erectos ad sidera tollere vultus Metam 1. These Verses clearly express that the History of Genesis teaches that Man was created an holy and religious Creature with whom God conversed that he gave them Dominion over all the World being of a Divine Original animated by his Spirit honoured with his Image and governed by his Laws When Seneca in common Speech gives the Name of Chaos to Hell noctis aeternae chaos aversa Superis regna he shews us that that Part of the World still retains the Name of Chaos as having in it Darkness and Confusion of all Things CHARISTIA or DIES CHARAE COGNATIONIS The Kinsmens Feast This Feast was to be kept in the Month of February in the Rustick Calendar which still remains at Rome upon an ancient Marble but in Constantine's Time this Feast was called Charistia which signifies the same thing Valerius Maximus L. 2. C. 1. N. 8. teaches us what it was Our Ancestors says he appointed a solemn Feast which they called Charistia in which none met but Kinsmen and near Relations that if there were any Difference among them it might be ended most easily in the Mirth of a Feast Convivium etiam solemne majores instituerunt idque Charistia apellaverunt eui praeter cognatos assines nemo interponebatur ut si qua inter necessarios querela esset orta inter sacra mensae inter hilaritatem animorum fautoribus concordiae adhibitis tolleretur Ovid also may be consulted about this Day CHARITES See Carites CHARMIS a Physician of Marseilles who being ambitious to out-do others condemned warm Baths and bathed his sick Patients in cold Water even in the Winter CHARON See Caron CHARIBDIS a Gulph in the Sicilian Sea near Messina now called commonly Galofaro into which Ships being driven by Tempests are wrecked by the Rocks that lie hidden under Water which has given an occasion to the Poets to feign that Charybdis and Sylla were two terrible Sea Monsters which swallowed up Ships and that 2 Women having robbed Hercules of his Oxen were stricken with Thunder by Jupiter and changed into that Gulph which is scituated in one of the Streights upon the Coasts of Sicily The Hebrew Original of these two Names discovers plainly enough who
did eat in one Day Forty Pounds of Victuals and drunk as many Pints of Wine He was killed together with his Son by the Soldiery having reigned only Three Years MECOENAS a Roman Knight descended from the Kings of Etruria which made Horace speaking concerning him say Mecaenas atavis edite Regibus He was the Patron of learned Men and had a singular Kindness for Virgil and Horace He was a Favourite of the Emperor Augustus and of a very healthy Constitution All the Patrons of learned Men are at this Day called Meccanas's MEDEA the Daughter of Aetes King of Colchos who by her Magical Art assisted Jason to take away the Golden-Fleece she married him afterwards and had Two Children by him but that did not hinder him from wedding Creusa the Daughter of Creon King of Corinth whither had retired Creon banished Medea scarce allowing her a Day 's Respite the which she improved to make enchanted Presents to Creusa whereby she was destroyed Creon afterwards died embracing of his Daughter Medea killed her own Children and in a Charriot drawn by winged Serpents made her Escape to Athens where she married King Egeus by whom she had a Son named Medus But going about to poison Theseus the eldest Son of Egeus her Design was discovered and she was forced to fly to Asia with her Son Medus who left his Name to the Country of Media MEDICINA Physick it is an Art according to Galen to preserve present Health and to restore that which is lost and according to Hippocrates 't is an adding of that which is wanting and a retrenching of what is superstuous in Herophilus his Sence 't is a Knowledge of such Things as are conducive to Health or noxious thereunto This Art was not introduced to Rome till about 600 Years after the Building thereof as Pliny says wherein he is mistaken unless he means that it was not practised in Rome by Forreign Physicians till such a Time The Art is divided into Anatomy Pathology Therapeutick Chymistry Botanism and Surgery Julian the Apostate made a Law concerning Physicians which is printed among his Greèk Letters and runs thus in English It being known by Experience that the Art of Physick is beneficial to Manking 't is not without Cause that the Philosophers have given out it came down from Heaven seeing that by it the Infirmities of Nature and accidental Sicknesses are removed wherefore in Pursuance to the Rules of Equity and the Decrees and Authority of the Emperors our Predecessors we of our good Will and Pleasure require and command that you who profess Physich be dispensed with and discharged of all Offices and Charges laid by the Senate MEDICUS a Physician is one who practises the Art of Physich in Curing of Diseases and Wounds for of old Physicians practised Chyrurgery some Authors pretend that Physick was practised by no other than Slaves and Freedmen but Causabon in his Comments upon Suetonius refutes this and so does Drelincourt Professor of Physick at Leyden and the same may be farther justified by old Inscriptions Dioscorides a Grecian of Anazarba coming to Rome was made a Citizen thereof and became the intimate Friend of Licinius Bassus an illustrious Roman The Physician who view'd the Wounds of Julius Caesaer was called Antistius and consequently was a free Citizen of Rome for Slaves had only a Surname without any Name for their Family Pliny who seems not to treat well of Physick says That the Quirites as much as to say the Romans practised it and 't is well known that no Roman Citizens were Slaves Those who are acquainted with History must know what Esteem Physicians were in of old at Rome and elsewhere since Princes themselves disdained not the Study of it Mithridates King of Pontus did himself prepare a Remedy against Poyson Juba King of Mauritania writ a Book of Plants and Evax King of Arabia according to the Testimony of Pliny dedicated a Book to Nero concerning the Medicinal Vertues of Simples It s true Suetonius in the Life of Caligula speaks of a Slave that was a Physician Mitto tibi praeterea cum eo ex servis meis Medicum I also send you one of my Slaves who is a Physician with him There might have been some Slaves who were Physicians but it does not follow that there were no other but Slaves that were Physicians It s farther pretended that they were banish'd out of Rome in the Time of Cato the Censor according to the Sentiments of Agrippa in his Book concerning the Vanity of Sciences but for this there is no other Foundation than the Misunderstanding of the following Passage in Pliny This Art of Physick is subject to a Thousand Changes and a Thousand Additions so lyable are our Minds to change upon the first Wind that blows from Greece and there is nothing more certain among such as practise it than that he who abounds most in Words becomes uncontroulably the Arbiter of Life and Death as if there were not a Multitude of People who live without Physicians tho' indeed they should not be without Physick and this may be observed concerning the Romans themselves who lived above 600 Years without them tho' otherwise they were not a People flow to receive good Arts but manifested the Inclination they had for Physick till having had Experience thereof they condemned it expertam damnarunt However they did not condemn the Art of Physick it self but the Male Practice thereof non rem sed artem Cassius Hemina an old Author says That the first Physician who came from Peloponesus to Rome was Archagatus the Son of Iysanias when L. Aemilius and M. Livius were Consuls in the Year DXXXV after the Building of Rome that they made him a Citizen and that the Government bought him a Shop in the Cross-street of Acilius 'T is said they gave him the Title of Healer of Wounds and that he was at first very much made of but soon after his cruel Operations which went so far as to the Cutting off and Burning of some Parts of the Patient's Body procured him the Nickname of Hangman and made the People out of conceit both with Physick and Physicians And to go a little farther with this Matter take the Words of Marcus Cato the Censor to his Son says he I 'll tell thee now my dear Son Mark what my Thoughts are of these Greeks and what I desire you to learn during your Stay at Athens Take care to inform your self of their Customs but learn them not They are a wicked and indocible People which I cannot endure Believe it as if it came from a Prophet that when this Nation communicates her Sciences to others she corrupts the whole and especially if she should send her Physicians hither to us They are bound to one another by Oath to kill all Barbarians with their Physick ..... They call us Barbarians nay and give us more opprobrious Names I forbid you therefore above all Things to have to do with the Physicians We
PRAETEXTATI were such Children as still wore the Robe called Praetexta Praetextata verba and Praetextatus sermo they were lascivious and wanton Expressions used by Children when a young Woman was married Praetextata Comoedia a Comedy wherein Kings and Magistrates who had a Right to wear the Robe edged with the Purple Border were represented upon the Stage Praetextatae actiones were such Things as appertained to the Actions of Kings and Magistrates PRAETOR a great Magistrate in Rome At first all the Magistrates were called Praetors But afterwards the Generals of the Army and even the Emperors themselves were called Praetors Afterwards they constituted Praetors to administer Justice to the Citizens and others to Strangers And lastly there were Praetors made for the Government of Provinces His Power was very great for the Praetor could alter Laws repeal them and make new ones from whence you have in the Law mention made often of the Praetor's Edict For the better understanding the Dignity of the Praetors it will be proper fully to examine the Reason of their Name Institution Number Dignity and what their Power and Charge was The Word Praetor was peculiarly applied to this new Magistrate for before it belonged to the Consuls and all Persons in Authority whether in Civil or Sacred Things hence it is that we read in some ancient Epitaphs Praetor Sacrorum Praetor Juventutis Which is confirm'd by Asconius Pedianus Non solùm veteres omnem Magistratum cui pareret exercitus Praetorem appellarunt Sed quemcunque in re profanâ sive etiam sacrâ praefectum The Ancients not only called those Praetors who commanded the Armies but also such as had the Charge either of Sacred or Civil Things The Occasion of creating this Magistrate was a Multiplicity of Business upon the Consul's Hands and this was Anno 388 and the Necessity the Republick found it self under of granting to the People a Consul of their own Order for the Senate did not allow it but upon Condition that a new Magistrate should be created that is the Praetor who was taken out of the Patrician Order But in the Year 416 Q. Philo a Plebeian got himself advanced to the Office of Praetor notwithstanding the Opposition made by the Consul Sulpicius against him There was no more but one of them from the Year 388 till 510 according to Lipsius but Business coming to increase so much by reason of the great Number of Citizens and Strangers that came to live in Rome and one being not enough they thought it proper to constitute another and their Business was distinct for one administred Justice to the Citizens of Rome and for that Reason was called Praetor urbanus and the other took Cognizance of the Suits that happened between the Citizens and Strangers and he was called Praetor peregrinus The first was more honourable than the other and so he was entitled Praetor honoratus and his Edicts named Jus honorarium as the Lawyers say But towards the Year 520 when Sicily and Sardinia were reduced into Provinces they appointed Two new Praetors whom they sent thither in the Quality of Governours and Judges and this was likewise done when the Spaniards were conquered as Livy informs us who says they made Six Praetors for that Year sex Praetores eo anno primùm creati Sylla also encreased the Number of them with two more but the Triumvirs increased them to 64 according to Dion However Augustus reduced them to 12 and Tiberius being sollicited to increase the Number refused it as Tacitus says L. 1. Tiberius afterwards named 12 Praetors the Number established by Augustus and as the Senate pressed him to increase them he swore he would not do it However he increased them to 15 in the Year 786 according to Dion The Emperor Claudius enlarged the Number to 18 but upon the Declension of the Empire they were reduced to 3 only as we may see by the Laws of the Emperors Valentinian and Macrinus set forth L. 2. C. de Off. Praet The Praetorship was the second Office for Dignity in Rome since 't was conferred by the same Auspices as the Consulship and that the Praetors were in History called Collegae Consulum as Livy observes L. 7. Decad 1. The exterior Ensigns of this Office were the Robe called Praetexta the Curule Chair and six Lictors This Office was Annual and he who discharged the same with Honour and without any Disgrace had a Right for all his Life-time to wear the Praetexta and white Trabea but such as were guilty of Male-Administration were forced to lay it down as it happen'd to Bembius Pamphilus All their Business in general consisted in Three Things viz. to administer Justice to Citizens and Strangers to preside over Games and to take Care of the Sacrifices Justice was administred by these Three Words Do Dico Addico Do signified to receive and admit the Plaintiff to commence his Suit Dico to summon or give a Summons upon Oath or deliver it to the Person in Possession to dispatch Matters of Adoptions and Emancipations and to make Edicts as a Supplement to the Civil Law and Addico to adjudge condemn and pronounce Sentence He was to oversee the Games as Livy has it L. 8. Decad 1. as also Martial and Juvenal They took Care of the Sacrifices offered to the Goddess called Bona Dea as Plutarch says in Caesar's Life and Cicero L. 1. Ep. 10. ad Articum PRAETORES CEREALES or FRUMENTARII Praetors whose Business it was to see that Rome was supplied with Corn they were establish'd by Julius Caesar PRAETORES AERARII the Officers of the Treasury or Exchequer PRAETORIUM the Place where the Praetor administred Justice it was also his Palace and sometimes his Pleasure-house Besides which it signified the Tent or Pavillion of the General of the Army where the Council of Warmet PRAETORIANI the Soldiers who were the Emperor's Guards Scipio Africanus was the first who established a Company of the Bravest of his Army whom he chose for his Guards and who did not forsake him in Battle PRAXITELES a Native of Great Greece and honoured with the Priviledge of a Roman Citizen an excellent Statuary whose Works were all Master-pieces Among others there was Cupid's Statue which the Thespians bought for 800 Golden Minae Atticae and was brought to Rome by Julius Caesar But the most Considerable was the Statue of Venus which half opened her Lips as if she smiled The Industry of the Artist overcame the Stone it self insomuch that the Hardness of the Marble exprest the most delicate Features of so beautiful a Body There was a Mole upon the Goddess's Thigh which was the more conspicuous because the rest was of white Marble finely polished Lucian in his Dialogue of the Lovers does also discover unto us the Cause of this Mole The Sacristan he or she that officiated there for they say 't was a Woman told us somewhat that amazed us she said that a young Man of Noble Birth but one whose