Calculation the Nundinal Letter of the Third Year will be G that of the Fourth B and so on of the rest unless their happens some Change by the Intercalation 4. To understand aright what is set down in the second Column we must know That to sue one at Law which we call trying of Causes or sitting of Courts was not allowed among the Romans on all Days neither was the Praetor permitted on every Day to pronounce these Three solemn Words or this Form of Law Do Dico Addico but these Days were called Fasti on which the Courts sate to administer Justice quibus fas esset jure agere and these were called Nefasti on which this was not permitted quibus nefas esset as we learn from these Two Verses of Ovid Ille Nefastus erit per quem tria verba silentur Festus erit per quem jure licebit agi i. e. That Day was Nefastus on which these Three Words were not pronounced Do Dico Addico as who should say among us The Court does not sit to Day and that Day was called Fastus on which it was lawful to sue at Law or try a Cause Besides there were certain Days which they called Comitiales which were marked with a C on which the People met in the Campus Martius for the Election of Magistrates or treating about the Affairs of the Commonwealth and these Days were so called because the Assemblies of the People held on them were nam'd Comitia There were also some set Days on which a certain Priest who was called among them Rex Sacrorum was present at these Assemblies And lastly on a certain Day of the Year they were wont to cleanse the Temple of Vesta and carry off all the Dung in it which was done with so much Ceremony that it was not lawful on that Day to try Causes This being supposed 't is no wise difficult to understand what is contained in this Column for where-ever we meet in it with the Letter N which signifies Dies Nefastus this denotes a Day on which Justice could not be administred or if we meet in it with the Letter F or Fastus that signifies a Court-Day or if we meet with F. P. or Fastus primâ parte diei that signifies that the Court sits on the former part of the Day or if we meet there with N. P. or Nefastus primâ parte diei that signifies the Court does not sit on the former part of the Day or if we meet there with E. N. or Endotercisus seu intercisus that signifies the Court sits some certain Hours of the Day and not at other Hours or if we meet there with a C. that denotes that these Assemblies were then held which were called Comitia or if we meet there with these Letters Q. Rex C. F. or Quando Rex comitiavit fas they signifie that the Court does sit after the Priest called Rex has been present at the Comitia or lastly when we see these other Letters Q. ST D. F. or Quando stercus delatum fas they signifie that the Court does sit immediately after the Dung is carried out of the Temple of the Goddess Vesta 5. The Third Column is for the 19 Figures of the Numbers of the Lunar Cycle otherwise called the Golden Number which signifie the New Moons through the whole Year according to the Order in which they were thought to happen in the Time of Julius Caesar when these Figures were thus disposed in his Calendar 6. The Fourth notes the Succession of the Days of the Months by the Numbers of the Arabick Figures or Caracters but then we must not imagine that they were thus disposed in the Tables of the Fasti i. e. in the Calendar used by the Ancients for they had no Knowledge of any such thing Yet we thought it convenient to place them here that we might the better compare the Manner of naming and reckoning Days that was used by the Ancients with ours at present and discern what are the Days as we now reckon them to which the Festivals and other Days of the Romans might correspond 7. The Fifth Column contains that famous Division of the Days of the Months into Calends Nones and Ides which was in use among the Romans and though this Division was not into equal Parts as were the Decads used by the Greeks but into very different Portions of Time yet this Variety is well enough expressed in these Two Verses Sex Maius Nonas October Julius Mars Quatuor at reliqui Dabit Idus qui libet octo i. e. These Four Months March May July and October have Six Days of Nones and all the rest have only Four but in every one of them there are Eight Days of Ides This must be understood after this Manner that the first Day of each Month was always called the Calends of that Month after that in Four Months March May July and October the Seventh Day of the Month was called the Nones and the Fiftenth the Ides whereas in other Months in which the Nones lasted but Four Days the Fifth was called Nonae the Nones and the Thirtenth Idus the Ides the other Days are reckoned backward from the Beginning of the next Month and the Number always lessens as you come nearer to it The Days which are after the Calends until the Nones take their Name from the Nones of the Month currant the following Days which are between the Nones and the Ides take their Name from the Ides of the same Month but all the rest from the Ides until the End of the next Month take their Name from the Calends of the next Month All which we shall explain more at large under the Word Mensis Besides you may observe that the Tables of the Fasti by which the Romans described their Months and their Days throughout the Year in Process of time were called by the Name of Calendar because this Name of Calends is found written in great Characters at the Head of each Month. 8. The last Column contains those Things which chiefly belong to the Religion of the Romans such as the Festivals the Sacrifices the Games the Ceremonies the fortunate or unfortunate Days as also the Beginning of the Signs the Four Cardinal Points of the Year which make the Four Seasons the Rising and Setting of the Stars c. which were very much much observ'd by the Ancients who made use of them for a long time to denote the Difference of the Seasons instead of a Calendar at least until it was reduced into a more regular Form by the Correction of Julius Caesar We find in most of the ancient Books that they govern'd themselves wholly by the Observation of the Rising and Setting of the Stars in Navigation in tilling the Ground in Physick and in the greatest Part of their Affairs both publick and private The CALENDAR of Julius Caesar JANUARY Vnder the Protection of the Goddess Juno Nundinal Letters Days Golden Number   Â
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
flew into Heaven they shave their Heads as the Egyptians do at the death of their Ox Apis. The Women who will not be shav'd are forc'd to prostitute themselves a whole day to Strangers and the Money they get by that Debauch is consecrated to the Goddess There is also another wonderful thing in this Country a River which goes by the Name of Adonis and descends from Libanus into the Sea changes its colour at certain times and dyes the Sea as red as Blood which is look'd upon as a Miracle this being the time which is dedicated to the Celebration of the Mysteries of Adonis because 't is believ'd that then he was wounded in the Forest of Libamus ADOPTARE to Adopt to take a Stranger and incorporate him into your Family to take him for your Son to design him for your Heir He who was adopted was enter'd under the Paternal Power of the Adopter and was taken from that of his own Father 'T was a Custom to put the Children who were adopted under a Mantle or Gown says Furetiere in his Dictionary as if they would thereby represent that they were the proper Children of those who had adopted them And from thence came the Custom of putting Natural Children under an Umbrella when they are legitimated at a Marriage ADOPTIO Adoption an act by which any one is adopted The Custom of Adopting was very common among the Romans yet it was not practis'd but for certain Causes express'd in the Laws and with certain Formalities usual in such Cases He that would adopt any Person was to have no Children of his own or to be past the Age of getting any In the Infancy of the Republick he was to address himself to the Pontifices that he might have leave according to Law This Right of the High-Priests lasted but a little while and after that application made to the People to obtain it in the presence of his Father who was to be adopted to whom the Question was put Whether he would abandon his Son together with the full extent of his paternal Authority and surrender up the power of Life and Death over him which Question was call'd Adrogatio The usual Form upon such occasions was this Velitis jubeatis uti L. Valerius Licio Titio tam lege jureque filius sibi siet quam si ex eo patre matreque familiar ejus natus esset utique ei vitae necisque in eum potestas siet uti pariundo filio est Hoc ita ut dixi ita vos quirites rego In the last Age of the Republick when it was just expiring Adoptions were made by the Sovereign Authority of the Emperors who granted that Privilege even to Women who had no Children by their Letters of Concession the words whereof were these Quoniam in solatium amissorum tuorum filiorum cupis privignum tuum vicem legitimae sobolis obtiuere annuimus votis tuis eum perinde atque ex te progenitum ad vicem naturalis legitimique filii habere permittimus Imper. Dioclesianus Maximianus A. A. Since for your comfort under the Loss of your Children you desire to adopt your Son-in-Law we grant your Request and permit you to take him for your natural and lawful Son Adoptions also were practis'd in their last Wills either as for Name or Goods In imâ cerâ C. Octavium etiam in familiam nomenque adoptavit He adopted into his Family and to bear his Name C. Octavius in the last page of his Will Titus Livius tells us that Caecilius adopted Atticus when he was dying by his last Will Gaecilius moriens testamento Atticum adoptavit Those who were adopted assum'd the Name and Sir-Name of him who adopted them and to denote their Family and Birth they added only at the end the Name of the Family from which they were descended or the Sirname of their private Family with this difference nevertheless says Lipsius that if they us'd this Sirname they made an Adjective of it As for instance M. Junius Brutus being adopted by Q. Servilius Caepio Agalo he assum'd all these Names and retain'd only the Sirname of his own Family calling himself Q. Servilius Caepio Agalo Brutus Octavius on the contrary retain'd the Name of his House and chang'd it into an Adjective calling himself C. Julius Caesar Octavianus which yet did not hinder but they might retain the Sirname which they had assum'd as Atticus did who being adopted by Q. Caecilius was Sirnam'd Q. Caecilius Pomponianus Atticus or acquire a new one by their brave Exploits as Octavius did who was afterwards sirnam'd Augustus 'T is with reference to this Rule of Adoption that we must understand what Suetonius says of Tiberius That be being adopted by M. Gallius a Senator took possession of his Goods but would not assume his Name because he was a contrary Party to Augustus Tacitus Lib. XV. Cap. 8. of his Annals tells us of the feign'd Adoptions which were condemn'd by the Senate A pernicious Custom says he was introduc'd of making many feign'd Adoptions when the time drew near of chusing Magistrates and dividing the Provinces among them by Lot for when they had obtain'd their Offices and Employments they emancipated those whom they had adopted Whereupon the Persons aggriev'd came and made their complaint to the Senate alledging the Law of Nature and the trouble of Education against these short and fraudulent Adoptions And therefore it was ordain'd That for the future no regard should be had to these Adoptions either in Offices or in Successions to an Inheritance ADOR or ADUS a kind of Corn which was usually offer'd to the Gods at their Sacrifices The word comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 arista changing the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comes Deus or from the word edo whence it came to pass that they said formerly Edor for Ador according to Festus or lastly from aduro because it was roasted ADOREA the Goods of this World in Plautus and Varro Glory Honour and Riches in Solinus and Apuleius a Present which was made to Soldiers when they were victorious according to Pliny and Victory it self and Triumph according to this Verse of Horace Lib. 4. Od. 4. Ille dies qui primus alma risit Adorea a Day celebrated upon the account of the first Victory obtain'd by the Romans over Hannibal ADORARE to adore a kind of Worship which the Romans gave to their Deities by putting their Hand to their Mouth and kissing it as we learn from Pliny Adorare manum ad os admovere The Romans ador'd their Gods both standing and kneeling with their Heads cover'd and after they had turn'd to the right hand and gone round about their Statues and Altars they prostrated themselves before them and lifted up their Hand to their Mouth and kiss'd it Saturn was the only God whom they ador'd with an uncover'd Head that being a Custom which they learned from the
to undertake his Defence run himself through the Body with a Sword in his presence and at his House after he understood that he had betray'd him which occasioned all the Senators unanimously to demand That the Lex Cynica might be restor'd and that the Advocates for the future should be forbidden to take Presents or Money But Suillius and others being concern'd in point of Interest oppos'd this Advice against whom Silius maintain'd it and shew'd by the Example of antient Orators that they propos'd to themselves no other end of their Labour and Study but Honour and Reputation He alleg'd that we must not defile the most noble of all Professions with filthy Lucre nor make a Trade of Eloquence that Fidelity was always to be suspected when it was bought and that this would foment Discord and prolong Suits if they were made gainful to Advocates as Diseases are to Physicians that they should set before themselves for a Pattern Asinius and Messala and these later Orators Arruntius and Eseruinus who arriv'd at the greatest Dignities without takiag any Fee for their Eloquence This Advice was unanimously received and the Senators were just ready to condemn all those of Bribery who should be convicted of taking any Money when Suillius Cossutianus and others encompass'd the Emperour to bag his Pardon and after he had signify'd the Grant of it they prosecuted their Defence after this manner They represented that there was no Advocate so vain as to promise himself eternal Fame as the Reward of his Labours that they sought by this means only to maintain their Credit and their Family and that it was the Interest of the Publick that Men should have some to defend them that after all their Eloquence had cost them something and while they took pains about the Affairs of another they could not mind their own that no body proposed to himself an unprofitable Employment and a fruitless Profession that it was easy for Asinius and Messala being enrich'd with the Spoils of the Civil Wars and for Eseruinus and Arruntius being Heirs to great Families to make Honour and Glory the end of all their Pains and Study but withal there wanted not Examples of Orators who had received Benefit by their Studies and that all the World knew that Curio and Claudius took great Sums for pleading that after all there was no other Gate but this by which the People could enter into Dignities and that by taking away the Reward of Learning it would in time be wholly neglected The Emperour being moved by these Reasons altho they were rather profitable than honourable permitted Advocates to take Money in a Cause as far as the Sum of two hundred and fifty Crowns and order'd that those who took more should be punish'd as guilty of Bribery ADVOCARE in the Law to pray any one of his Kinfolks and Friends to assist him in his Affairs with their Presence Advice and Credit and to furnish him with means to defend himself The Person thus requested waited upon the Judges at their Houses to solicite them and was present at the Tryal ADYTUM 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Secret Place a Retirement in the Temples of the Pagans where Oracles were given into which none but the Priests were admitted It was the Sanctuary of the Temples Isque adytis haec Tristia dicta reportat Virgil. Aeneid 11. v. 115. Ae was in old times written and pronounc'd as A and E separately and sometimes as A and D and at this day is pronounc'd as a single E. It was also written AI and afterwards Ae Musai for Musae Kaisar for Casar Juliai for Julia and in other the like Instances from whence it came to pass that in some words the A remain'd alone as Aqua ab Aequando says St. Isidore It cannot be deny'd but upon the Corruption of the Language Ae was pronounced as a single E whence an E was often put for an Ae as Eger for Aeger Etas for Aetas Es alienum for Aes alienum and sometimes on the contrary an Ae was put for a single E as Aevocatus for Evocatus and the like whereof the old Glosses are full and for this Reason Bede in his Orthography puts Aequor among the Words that were written with a single E. AEACUS the Son of Jupiter and Egina the Daughter of the River Asopus Jupiter fearing lest Juno should discover his Passion for Egina transported her into the Isle of Delos and had by her this Son called Aeacus But Juno having discover'd the Intrigue convey'd a Serpent into a Fountain of which the People drank which so poisoned it that all who drank of it died instantly Aeacus seeing himself depriv'd of Inhabitants pray'd to Jupiter that he would turn an heap of Ants into so many Men which Jupiter granted him and these Men were called Myrmidons because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies an Ant and the Isle was call'd Egina as we learn from Pausanias in his Corinthiaca Aeacus had for his Sons Peleus who was the Father of Achilles and Telamon the Father of Ajax Lucian in his Dialogue Of Mourning speaking of Hell At first after your Descent you meet with a Gate of Adamant which is kept by Aeacus the Cousin-german ' of Pluto And in another place he brings him in saying That he return'd from thence for fear lest some Death should escape him This is certain that he makes him one of the Porters of Hell in company with Cerberus who was a Dog with three Heads Yet Ovid lib. 13. Metamorph. makes him one of the Judges of Hell together with Minos and Rhadamanthus upon the account of his Wisdom and Integrity Aeacus huic pater est qui Jura silentibus illic Reddit AEDEPOL See Aedes AEDES in the singular or AEDES in the plural number Varro thinks that it was used for Ades quòd eas plano pede adirent but since it was formerly written Aides it seems rather to come from the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an old Word which is to be met with in Pindar and Eustathius and signifies the same with Aedes AEDES in the singular number is commonly taken for an Holy Place a Temple and Aedes in the plural number for an House altho this Rule is not without Exception When the word is used for an Holy Place 't is commonly join'd with some other word which determines it to that Sense as Aedes Sacra Aedes Sacrae Aedes Jovis Aedes Pacis Aedes Deorum the Temple of Jupiter the Temple of Peace the Temple of the Gods If no such word be join'd to it 't is commonly to be understood of a Prophane Place altho in strictness of Language Aedes Sacra and Templum were two different things for Templum was a place dedicated by the Augurs and designed by them for some private Use but not consecrated whereas Aedes Sacra was an Holy Place and consecrated to some Deity but not founded by the Augurs But if this Place was dedicated by the
their opinions about the Occasion of this Feast Varro will have it so call'd from a Ceremony used in all Sacrifices where the Priest being ready to offer Sacrifice asks the Sacrificer Agon ' which was used then for Agamne Shall I strike Festus derives this Word either from Agonia which signifies a Sacrifice which they led to the Altar ab agendo from whence these sorts of Ministers were call'd Agones or from the God Agonius the God of Action or from Agones which signifie Mountains and so the Agonalia were Sacrifices which were offer'd upon a Mountain Indeed the Mount Quirinalis was called Agonus and the Colline-Gate which led thither Porta Agonensis which the same Festus will have so call'd from the Games which were celebrated without that Gate in Honour of Apollo near the Temple of Venus Erycina where the Cirque of Flaminius was overflow'd by the Tiber. But it is more probable that this Feast was called Agonalia from the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies Sports and Combats which were us'd in Greece in imitation of those which Hercules appointed at Elis first and consecrated to Jupiter as these Verses of Ovid shew Lib. I. Fastorum v. 359. Fas etiam fieri selitis aetate priorum Nomina de Ludis Graeca tulisse diem Et prius antiquus dicebat Agonia sermo Veraque judicio est ultima causa meo There are Two Feasts celebrated at Rome of the same Name one upon April 21. which falls on the day of the Palilia on which the Building of Rome is commemorated and the other on December 11. according to Festus AGONES the Salii of whom Varro speaks in his Fifth Book of the Latin Tongue See Salii AGONES CAPITOLINI Games which were celebrated every Five Years in the Capitol instituted by the Emperor Domitian in his Consulship and that of Corn. Dolabella Sergius All sorts of Exercises both of Body and Mind were represented there as at the Olympick-Games as Players on Instruments Poets Jack-Puddings and Mimics which strove every one in his own Profession who should gain the Prize The Poet Statius recited his Thebais there which was not well lik'd as he complains in several places of his Silvae This serves to explain a place in Juvenal not well understood Sed cum fregit subsellia versu Esurit intactam Paridi nisi vendat Agaven Sat. VII v. 86. But his Thebais not having the Success he expected and he having procured no Patron by it dyed of Hunger and after being to subsist himself by selling the Tragedy of Agave the Mother of Pentheus which was never acted by Paris the Stage-Player Some Commentators explain this place of Juvenal otherwise and think the Poet meant the contrary that his Work was well receiv'd and universally applauded Altho this Explication be allowable enough yet 't is evidently contrary to the Complaints which Statius makes in several places of his Poems unless we think it better to say that Statius complains that after he had receiv'd Applause for his Thebais he was nevertheless ill requited for it afterwards In these Exercises the chief Conqueror receiv'd a Laurel Crown adorn'd with Ribbands but the others receiv'd a plain One without any Ornament as we may see by these Verses of Ausonius Et quae jamdudum tibi palma Poetica pollet Lemnisco ornata est quo mea palma caret Poets thus crowned were call'd Laureati These Sports were so much esteem'd by Domitian that he changed the Account of Years and instead of reckoning by Lustra which is the space of five years they counted by Agonalia and Agones Capitolini from their Institution to the time of Censorinus AGRARIA LEX the Agrarian Law was made for the dividing Lands got by Conquest which the Tribuni Plebis would have to be shared among the People by Poll. Spurius Cassius Vicellinus being Consul first propounded this Agrarian Law Anno U. C. 267 which was the cause of a very great Quarrel betwixt the Senate and the People but it was rejected the first time There are two Agragrian Laws mentioned in the Digests one made by Julius Caesar and the other by the Emperour Nerva but they had respect only to the Bounds of Lands and had no relation to that we now speak of Cassius perceiving the strong Opposition which some made that this Agrarian Law might not be received proposed to distribute among the People the Money which arose from the Sale of the Corn brought from Sicily but the People refused it After this first Attempt a peace was settled in Rome for some years but in the Consulship of Caeso Fabius and Aemilius Mamercus Licinius Stolo Tribune of the People proposed the Agrarian Law a second time in the year 269 from the Building of Rome This second Attempt had no better Success than the former tho it was pass'd over calmly enough Nevertheless the Consul Caeso seeing the People fond of this Law and that the Senate was positive it ought not to be received contriv'd a way to satisfie both Parties as he thought by proposing that only the Lands of the Vejentes conquer'd under his Consulship should be divided among the People but this met withno better Success than the other The Tribunes of the People being angry at the Opposition of the Senate drew up many Accusations against the Patricians and Noblemen before the People and caused many of them to be fined and banish'd which so much provok'd the Cousuls that they caused Genutius the Tribune to be stab'd this Assassination raised a great Tumult in Rome and stir'd up the People to revenge till the Consul Sempronius was condemned to pay a large Fine Lastly In the year 320 from the Building of Rome Mutius Scaevola put Tiberius Gracchus the Tribune of the People in mind to have the Agrarian Law established against the Will of the Senate Nobles and Rich Commons Octavius his Partner being rich was not of the same mind and opposed the Law Gracchus seeing that accused him before the People of Prevarication and Unfaithfulness in his Office and caused him to be depos'd with Disgrace This Obstacle being remov'd the Agrarian Law passed and Commissioners were appointed to divide the Lands AGRIPPA several Persons among the Antients bore this Name which was usually given to such as came into the World with Difficulty or which were born with their Feet forward as Aulus Gellius affirms The most eminent of this Name were AGRIPPA SYLVIUS the twelfth King of the Latins the Son of Tyberinus Sylvius whom he succeeded he reigned thirty or forty years and Aremulus succeeded him in the year of the World 3281. AGRIPPA MENENIUS surnamed Lanatus he was chosen General of the Romans against the Sabins whom he conquer'd and obtain'd the lesser Triumph called Ovation he was endow'd with admirable Eloquence which made him undertake with Success to reconcile the Senate and the People of Rome to this end he went to the Aventine Mount where he pathetically represented
uti sies volens propitiusque mihi domo familiaeque nostrae quo jus rei ergo agrum terram fundumque meum suovitaurilia circumagi jussi uti tu morbos vilos invisosque viduertatem vastitudinemque calamitates intempestasque prohibessis defendas averruncesque uti tu fruges vineta frumenta virgultaque grandire beneque evenire sinas pastores pascuaque salva servassis dicisque bonam salutem valetudinemque mihi domo familiaeque nostrae Harumce rerum ergo fundi terrae agrique mei lustrandi lustrique faciendi ergo sicut dixi macte hisce suovitaurilibus lactantibus immolandis esto Mars Pater ejusdem rei ergo macte hisce suovitaurililibus lactentibus esto Item Cultro facito struem ferctum uti adsiet The same Author hath left us also another Form of Prayer which was made in the second Feast of Perambulation in the month of July in which they sacrific'd a Sow before they began their Harvest which they call'd Porca praecedanea This Prayer was put up to Janus Jupiter and Juno and not to Ceres any more than the former Priusquam porcam foeminam immolabis saith Cato Jane struem commoveto sic Jane Pater te hac strue commovendâ bonas preces precor uti sies volens propitius mihi liberisque meis domo familiaeque meae mactus hoc fercto Ferctum Jovi moveto mactato sic Jupiter te hoc fercto obmovendo bonas preces precor uti sies volens propitius mihi c. Postea Jano vinum dato sic Jane Pater uti te struem commovendo bonat preces benè precatus sum ejusdem rei ergo macte vino inferio esto Postea Jovi sit Jupiter macte sercto esto macte vino inferio esto We find likewise that this Ceremony was perform'd by the Master of the Family accompany'd with his Children and Servants every one of them being crowned with Oaken Leaves as well as the Sacrifice which they led three times round the Lands and Vineyards singing Hymns to his honour after which they sacrific'd to him sweet Wine with Honey and Milk as we may see by the Verses of Virgil Georg. lib. 1. This manner of Procession was always us'd in the Country were they had no Arval Priests as at Rome AMBEGNAE or AMBIGNAE Victims which were accompany'd and encompass'd with other Victims says Varro AMBITUS signifies in the Law of the XII Tables Aspace of Ground of two feet and an half which was left to go about an House for the Houses of old were not contiguous for fear of Fire AMBITUS an earnest Solicitation to get into publick Offices Properly 't is the surrounding a Person to have his Vote in Elections being always busie about him embracing and caressing him for that end The Romans made it a Crime to solicite Offices by too eager Applications as by extraordinary Gifts Threatnings or open Force they made several Laws to hinder this soliciting and punish those that were found guilty of it The most considerable of them was that which was made in the Consulship of Cieero called from his Name Lex Tullia By that Law the Candidates were forbidden to bestow any Combats of the Gladiators on the People to make any publick Feast or to cause themselves to be follow'd by a Crowd of Clients for two years before they put in for any place A Senator who was guilty of a Breach of this Law was punish'd with ten years Banishment others were find and render'd incapable of any Dignity for ever as may be seen in Cicero's Oration against Vatinius and Sextius Nevertheless these things had gone so far in the corrupt times of the Commonwealth that some would publickly tell the Tribes what Sums of Money they would give them for their Votes which was call'd Pronuntiare in tribus says Cicero They made use of three sorts of Persons for this purpose which they call'd Interpretes Mediators who assisted in making the Bargain per quos pactio inducebatur says Asconius Pedianus Sequestres who are the Trustees in whose hands the Money agreed for is deposited and lastly Divisores Dividers who were to distribute the Money to every particular person in the Tribe AMBROSIA the Food of the Gods according to the Poets Lucian rallying these Poetical Gods tells us that Ambrosia and Nectar of which one is the Meat and the other the Drink of the Gods were not so excellent as the Poets describe them since they will leave them for the Blood and Fat which they come to suck from the the Altars like Flies Ambrosia was also a certain Feast which the Romans celebrated on the 24th of November instituted in honour of Bacchus by Romulus which the Romans call'd Brumalia but the Greeks Ambrosia AMBUBAIAE Syrian Women which dwelt at Rome and play'd on a Pipe in the Cirque and other Places of Sports like our Gipsies who play upon the Tabor and pretend to tell Fortunes and do a thousand other cheating Tricks to sharp People of their Money Turnebus assures us that they liv'd after this tricking manner near the Hot Baths at Baiae Cruquius is of another opinion and says they were a sort of Women who sold Cosmeticks and Drugs for painting the Skin Horace speaks thus of them Ambabaiarum collegia pharmacopolae Sat. 2. lib. 1. AMBURBALIA and AMBURBALES Hostiae See Ambarvalia which is the same thing AMBUSTA the Marks of Burning which remain'd upon the Skin It is a Title in Valerius Maximus Ambustarum lib. 8. cap. 1. speaking of two Women whose Reputation was only blemish'd as a Body scarr'd with Burning tho they were not condemn'd by any publick Sentence So among the Antients those who were kill'd by Thunder were call'd Consumpti whereas those were termed Ambusti who were only Thunder-struck For which reason it was that â—â—â—ius was surnamed Ambustus as was also his whole Family because he was smitten with Thunder in the hinder-parts Vt Jovis dicatur fiâ—ius in partibus Fabius adurtiur mollibus obsignaturque posticis AMILCAR the Admiral of Carthage who raised the Honour of his Nation by many brave Actions which he did against the Romans He ordinarily said of his three Sons that he nourish'd three Lions which would one day tear Rome in pieces and he made his eldest Son the Great Hannibal to swear upon the Altars of the Gods that he would never be at peace with Rome AMISSA Things lost These were the ways which the Antients made use of to find the things they had lost Marsus teaches us that they fix'd Papers upon some Post or Pillar in publick places declaring what was lost the Name of the Person who lost it and the place of his Dwelling promising a Reward to him that should bring it as it is practised at this day Quas siquis mihi retuleris donabitur anro I puer eitas haec-aliqud propone columnd Et dominum Exquiliis scribe habitare tuuns Apuleius tells us that they caus'd the thing to be cry'd in the Cross-streets
Life altogether Divine These are the words of Jupiter to the other Gods Oetaeas spernite stammas Omnia qui vicit vincet quos cernitis ignes Nec nisi maternâ Volcanum parte potentem Sentiet Aeternum est à me quad traxit expers Atque immune necis nullûque domabile flammâ Idque ego defunctum terrâ coelestibus oris Accipiam c. Metam l. 9. v. 250. In another place of the same Poet Venus desires of Jupiter the Deification of Aeneas Quamvis parvum des optime Numen Dummodo des aliquod Satis est inamabile regnum Aspexisse semel stygios semel isse per amnes Assensere Dei ibid. l. 14. v. 489. The Meaning of the Poet is That Aeneas having made a Descent into Hell out of Piety and Religion in his Life-time it was not just that he should descend thither again after his Death The Expiation of his Mortality was made not by Fire but by Water and for this end a Commission was granted to the River Numicius which wash'd away the stains of his Mortality Hunc jubet Aeneae quaecunque obnoxia morti Abluere tacito deferre sub aequora cursu Corniger exequitur Veneris mandata suisque Quicquid in Aenea fuerat mortale repurgat Et respergit aquis pars optima restitit illi Lustratum genitrix divino corpus odore Unxit ambrosiâ cum dulci nectare mixtâ Contigit os fecitque Deum ibid. v. 500. The Apotheosis of Romulus is thus describ'd Corpus mortale per auras Dilapsum tenues ceu tatâ plumbea fundâ Missa solet medio glans intabescere coelo Pulchra subit facies pulvinatibus altis Dignior est c. ibid. v. 724. These Deifications were to be authorized in Greece by the Oracle of some God and at Rome by a Decree of the Senate which declar'd an Emperour to be of the number of the Gods and order'd Temples to be built Sacrifices to be offer'd and Divine Honours to be paid him When Alexander the Great had a mind to adore Ephestion as a God one Philp who came from Babylon gave an account that an Oracle of Jupiter Hammon had commanded Ephestion to be worshipt as a God and to offer Sacrifice unto him as Diodorus Siculus tells us in lib. 17. Alexander testified so great Joy at this Deification that the Historians say he was the first that offer'd Sacrifice to him and that he kill'd for that end no less than ten thousand Victims But the Athenians did not only adore Great Men after their Death but they worship'd them and sacrific'd to them even while they were alive This they did to Demetrius Polyorcetes as Demochares testifies in lib. 20. of his History where he relates That Demetrius returning from Leucada to Athens the Athenians came out to meet him being crown'd with Garlands of Flowers that they made Libations of Wine and were accompanied with Singing-Men and Musicians who sung Hymns to his Honour that the Common-People prestrated themselves before him crying with a loud Voice that Demetrius was the only true God We salute thee said they Son of Venus and of the Almighty Neptune and we conjure thee to give us Peace for thou art the Lord the other Gods are asleep in the time of our Necessity and are deaf to our Prayers Upon this Subject you may consult Athenaeus and Duris the Samian Pythagoras who was the first that assum'd the Name of a Philosopher i. e. a Lover of Wisdom having dwelt twenty years at Crotona went afterwards to Metapontum and died there The Metapontines admiring his profound Doctrine consecrated his House into a Temple and worship'd him as a God All Greece decreed Sacrifices to be offer'd and Altars to be erected to Lysander after his Death upon the account of his Vertue and Duris remarks That he was the first of the Grecians to whom Divine Worship was given and in honour of whom Hymns were sung which must be understood during his Life since there were many others to whom Sacrifices were offer'd and Altars erected after their Death a long time before Lysander The Romans follow'd the Example of the Greeks and made Gods of their Emperours The Senate decreed to them Divine Honours Sacrifices and Temples and instituted Priests Festivals and Games in honour of them as the Greeks had done before them The manner of Deification us'd among the Romans was by letting an Eagle fly which came out of the top of the Funeral-pile on which the Body of the Emperour was burnt and their Superstition inclin'd them to believe that the Soul of the Emperour by this means flew up into Heaven among the Gods Thus they deified Judius Caesar Augustus and other Emperours whether good or bad the good for the great esteem they had of their Vertues and the bad out of Flattery and in compliance with the Torrent of Custom APPELLATIO an Appeal from any Sentence when we are not satisfi'd with it An Appeal say the Lawyers is nothing else but a complaint made by a Person who has lost the Cause to a superiour Judg against the Injustice of an inferiour and subordinate In the Roman Law he who would not abide by a Sentence was oblig'd at the instant it was given or at least in two or three days after to declare either vivâ voco or by writing that he did appeal from it since that the time was limited to ten days after which no Appeal was to be admitted In France any one may appeal within the space of thirty years This Appeal was to be notified to the Judg and the adverse Party If the Judg consented to the Appeal he gave the Appellant a Writing containing a Summary of the Cause and the Reasons of his Sentence which he carried to the superiour Judg and if he did not consent nevertheless he gave a Writing containing an account of the whole matter and the Reasons why he would not consent nor admit the Appeal But whether the subordinate Judg did consent to the Appeal or not still the Appellant might always carry the Suit before a superiour Judg. This was a very good Custom tho it is not at present used in France In Civil matters none but he who had lost the Cause could appeal but in criminal Causes when a Man's Life was concern'd any Person was admitted to bring an Appeal tho he who was condemn'd did not desire it APPELLATORIUS LIBELLUS a Writ of Appeal a Writ which is obtain'd in Chancery for admitting an Appeal and for summoning the Adversary before the Judg when he has obtain'd a Sentence in his favour to see if it can be set aside APPIADES are five Pagan Deities which were ador'd under that general Name viz. Venus Pallas Vesta Concordia and Pax whose Temples were at Rome near Caesar's Market-place where were the Fountains of Appius from whence the name Appiades was given them APPIANA FAMILIA the Appian Family most illustrious among the Romans It s Original was from L. Appius who
his Companions to the Fountain of Dirce which was near to fetch him some Water but they were devoured by a Dragon Minerva to comfort him for this Loss advised him to go and slay the Monster and to sow its Teeth upon the Earth This being done he saw armed Men immediately to grow up who slew one another except Five who surviving that Slaughter helped him to build the City which he called Thebes and reigned there several Years He married Harmonia or according to Ovid Hermione the Daughter of Mars and Venus by whom he had several Children which came all to miserable ends Cadmus was expelled out of Thebes by Amphion and went into Europe with the Phaenicians 'T is said that he brought with him Sixteen Letters of the Greek Alphabet that he taught to write in Prose and that he was the first that set up Images in the Temples of the Gods He was changed into a Serpent with his Wife through the Anger of the God Mars because he slew the Dragon which kept the Fountain of Dirce. Cadmus was one of the Graecian Heroes of which the Pagans often made their Gods Bochart informs us that Cadmus was one of those Cadmonites of whom Moses speaks in Genesis The Name of Cadmonites was given them because they lived about Mount Hermon which was the most Easterly Country It is probable that Hermione Cadmus's Wife might have taken her Name from that Hill And because these People were part of the Hivites it was feigned that Cadmus and Hermione were changed into Serpents because the Syriack Word Hevaeus signifies a Serpent The Fable says that Cadmus having sown the Serpents Teeth there came up armed Souldiers which slew one another and there survived Five of them only which subdued Baeotia Bochart ingeniously conjectures that these are only Allusions to the Phoenician or Hebrew words for these Two Terms seni naas signify both the Teeth of Serpents and Points of a Sword Hyginus tells us that Cadmus found out Steel first at Thebes as also the Metallick Stone of which Steel and Copper is made still called Cadmia The armed Souldiers were at length reduced to Five because the word Hames signifies Five It imports also a Soldier girded and ready for Battle because the Souldiers girded their Body about the fifth Rib. Nevertheless some Interpreters of Finder relate that Cadmus and Hermione lived to a very old Age and were by the special Favour of the Gods carried into the Elysian Fields in a Chariot drawn by two Dragons which doubtless was the Occasion of the Fable Euhemerus of the Isle of Cos in the third Book of his sacred History will have it that Cadmus was the Cook of the King of the Cydonians one of whose Maids a Player the Flute he debauched and had by her Semele whom she put in a Chest with Bacchus and cast her into the Sea because she prostituted her self to Jupiter Such as have allegorized this Fable say that Cadmus was a very valiant Prince who conquered the Kingdom of Boeotia by force of Arms which was then governed by a King named Draco that he endeavoured to divide it among his Subjects but they quarrelled and destroyed one another and so he invaded the Kingdom This History made the Poets feign that he slew a Dragon and sowing the Teeth their sprung up Men which killed one another CADUCA BONA Escheats Goods which are forfeited to the Kings Treasury by the Laws of Escheats which were made in the Time of Augustus to encrease the Treasure which was exhausted by the civil Wars These Laws were contained in several Articles 1. That all Persons who lived a single Life should enjoy no Legacy if they did not marry within the time limited by that Law and if they did not whatever they had bequeathed to them by Will should be paid into the Treasury 2. That those who had no Children should lose one Moyety of what was left them by Will and this is that which the civil Law calls Poena orbitatis 3. All that was given by Will to any Person who died in the Life of the Testator or after his Decease before the Will was opened was an Escheat and belonged to the Treasury 4. Every Heir who was negligent in revenging of the Death of him whose Estate he inherited was deprived of his Inheritance and it came to the Treasury In a Word Caducum in the sense of the civil Law is meant of any Legacy or Gift of Inheritance which is void There is a Title in the Civil Law de caducis tollendis CADUCA AUSPICIA Vain Signs by Birds which are of no Use CADUCA VOTA CADU CAe PRECES Fruitless Vews and vain Prayers which are not heard CADERE CAUSA or LITE to lose his Suit or Cause An ancient Term of Law CADERE VOTIS to make Vews in vain which are not heard To hope vainly CADUCEUM an Heralds Staffe The Wand which Mercury according to the Fable received of Apollo in exchange of the Seven-stringed Harp which he gave him was so called The Poets speak of many Vertues which this Wand of Mercury had as to lay Men asleep and to raise the Dead The Word comes from the Latin Cadere which signifies to fall because this Wand had a force in it to appease all Differences and make Mens Arms to fall out of their Hands as Mercury proved by Two Serpents which were fighting for he threw it down between them and they were Friends and from that time Mercury always carried it as an Ensign of Peace This Wand according to the Aegyptian Mythology was streight adorned with Two Serpents twining round it and as it were joined together about the middle of their Bodies which seek to kiss one another making an Arch of the highest part of their Bodies The Ambassadours of Rome sent to make Peace carried a Wand of Gold in their Hand and were upon that account called Caduceatores as those who were sent to declare War were called FECIALES The Ancients have attributed many wonderful Effects to the Cadinoeans alluding to the Rod or Staff of Moses with which he did such Miracles in Aegypt before Pharoah and the Magicians of that Country CAECIAS the East Wind which blows from the Parts where the Sun rises and raises Clouds from whence comes the Proverb It is attended with Mischief as the Cecias with Clouds CAECILIUS of Epirus who was the Freedman of Atticus a Roman Knight He taught Grammar at Rome and was the first who read Virgil and the other Latin Poets to his Scholars There was another of that name who was a Gaul who has written of the Civil-Law and of the signification of its Terms CAECUBUM a Town of Campania whence came the excellent Wines which Horace and others of the Poets speak so often of Their Vineyard was destroyed by Nero as Pliny relates CAEDERE pignora or Sectionem pignorum instituere or pignora auctione distrahere In the Roman Law are used to signify to sell by Auction or by
very fortunate to the Commonwealth The Latins weakned by many frequent losses banished out of their Country Tarquinius Superbus being then fourscore and ten years old as being the author of their Misfortunes This unfortunate Prince retired to Cumae at the Court of Aristodemus where he died few days after All the Roman people were reduced to thirty one Tribes The Sabines renewed the War The Senate created a Dictator to maintain it viz. Aulus Posthumius A Company of Merchants was settled at Rome and the Temple of Mercurius their Patron was dedicated The Honour of this Dedication was contested by the two Consuls the Senate to bring them to an Agreement appointed the People to decide their Quarrel who bestowed that honour upon M. Lectorius a private ancient Centurion A. M. 3560. R. 259. AUL or C. VIRGINIUS COELIMONTANUS T. VETUSIUS or VETURIUS GEMINUS The Sedition rais'd by the indebted persons was renew'd and became so strong that a Dictator was created to quell it Upon the rumor of this domestick disorder the Sabini the Aequi and the Volcae confederated themselves and took the Field and as the Consuls would raise Forces to march against their Enemies the People refus'd to list themselves and retir'd in a body upon the Mounts Esquilinus and Aventinus The Soldiers likewise refus'd to take the Oath Upon this the Senate was forc'd to create M. Valerius Dictator Publicola his Brother who pacified all things being extreamly lov'd by the People and Souldiers he rais'd ten compleat Legions which was the greatest Army that ever Rome had on foot and defeated the Volcae A. M. 3561. R. 260. SPURIUS CASSIUS VICELLINUS POSTHUMIUS CAMINUS ARUNCUS The people in a mutiny against the Senate went out of Rome and incamped in a tumultuous manner upon the sacred Mountain four Miles from Rome Menenius Agrippa a very eloquent man went to the sacred Mountain where he represented to the people that the whole Commonwealth was but one Body whereof the Senate was the Head and the Stomach which alone seem'd to swallow down all that the strength and the skill of the other parts could get but that it was only in order to destribute the same to all the rest of the Body to nourish and strengthen it but if the Members should cease to afford the usual aliments they would shortly be deprived themselves of strength heat and life it self The People having hearkened to this just comparison yielded to the proposals of agreement that were made to him whereof the chiefest was that popular Magistrates should be created who were called Tribunes of the People and that they should be sacred and inviolable They had power to oppose themselves to the deliberation of the Senate and the orders of the Consuls Nothing could be concluded without their consent which they notified by putting a T below the order and on the contrary when they opposed themselves to it they did write this word l'eto Their power is more fully described under the word Tribunus A. M. 3562. R. 261. T. GEGANIUS MACERINUS P. MINUCIUS AUGURINUS Rome was afflicted with great Dearth which grew still more raging by the injustice of Aristodemus Tyrant of Cumae who seiz'd upon the Corn that the Roman Magistrates had bought in Sicily A. M. 3563. R. 262. M. MINUTIUS AUGURINUS AULUS SEMPRONIUS ATTRATINUS The People grumbled at the unequal distribution of the Corn that was brought to Rome C. Marsius surnamed Coriolanus from the taking of Corioli endeavouring to suppress the murmuring and complaining of the people was banished out of Rome Coriolanus retired into the Country of the Volcae and made war against his own Country which he brought very near to its ruine He would neither be perswaded by the Ambassadours that were sent to him nor hearken to the advice of the Pontiffs but only was prevailed with by the Prayers of Veturia his Mother and Volumnia his Wife Wherefore he brought the Volcae again into their Country but a while after they put him to death because he had betray'd them in quitting their Conquests and giving over the sacking of Rome A. M. 3564. R. 263. SPUR NAUTIUS RUTILIUS SEXTUS FURIUS MEDULLINUS The Calendars of the Capitol reckon two Consuls before these and mention Q. P. Sulpitius Camerinus Spurius Largius or Laertius Flavus C. Julius Julus and P. Pinarius Mamertinus for the years of the World 3565 and 3566. A. M. 3567. R. 266. T. SICCINIUS ABINUS C. AQUILIUS TUSCUS The first Consul made war against the Volcae but got no great advantage over them says Livy tho' Dionysius Halicarnasseus affirms that he throughly defeated them the Roman Cavalry having fought on foot at the head of the Infantry Siccinius obtained the great Triumph and Aquilius the Ovation for the advantages obtained over the Heruici A. M. 3568. R. 267. SPURIUS CASSIUS VICELLINUS PROCULUS VIRGINIUS TRICOSTUS Cassius propos'd the Agrarion-Law which was the cause of a World of Divisions at Rome This Law ordered that all the Lands gain'd from the Enemies should be divided among the People but it was rejected The Roman Civil Law mentions two Agrarian Laws one made by Julius Caesar the other by the Emperor Nerva but they concern the limits of the Lands and have no regard to the Divisions thereof A. M. 3569. R. 268. SERGIUS CORNELIUS MALLUGINENSIS or COSSUS Q. FABIUS VIBULLANUS The Quaestors Fabius Caeso and Lucius Valerius sued Cassius and impeach'd him for high Treason which was proved against him and he was thrown headlong from the Tarpeian Rock at the end of his Consulship Some were for punishing his Crime even in the persons of his Children but they could not carry it and this moderation passed afterwards for a Law at Rome that the Crimes of the Fathers should not be punish'd in the persons of their Children till the time of the Wars of Sylla and Marius The Estate of Cassius was forfeited and applied to the setting up a a Statue in the Temple of Ceres A. M. 3570. R. 269. CAESO FABIUS L. AEMILLIUS MAMERCUS Cassiodorus denotes by a K. what Livy expresses by a C. Caeso The Temple of Castor and Pollux was dedicated which had been devoted after the Battle on the Lake of Regillus Livy tells us that some Authors before his time affirmed that this Battle was fought in the tenth Consulship tho' he related it himself in the ninth A. M. 3571. R. 270. M. FABIUS VIBULLANUS S. VALERIUS POTITUS VOLUTIUS The Vestal Oppia was buried alive being convicted of Incontinency The War of the Volcae obliged the Consuls to raise Forces but the Tribunes of the people opposed them whereupon by an order of the Senate the Ivory chair of the Consuls were carried out of the Town where they listed Souldiers confiscating the Estates of the Citizens who refused to obey The Tribunes alledged the Laws agreed upon on the Sacred Mountain but it was to no purpose for by the very same Laws their power had no further extent than the compass of the Walls of Rome so that
Generals of the Armies had broke their word they should make atonement for their faults That the Pontiffs should be Judges in Affairs concerning Religion between both Priests and Laymen That they should make new Laws according to their own mind concerning Sacrifies That they should examine the Priests and keep them to their Duty That they should give reasons for the Worship of Gods and Genius's and of all the Religious Ceremonies practised therein to those that should inquire of them about the same That those who should despise their Ordinances should be punished by them according to their faults and that they should be subject to none All these Laws are mentioned by Livy Plutarch and Florus And the reason that St. Austin gives for the Multiplicity of these Priests is that having so great a number of Gods they were afraid they should be confounded one with another ANNUS duodecim esset mentium That the year should be of twelve of Months Two Months were added to the year of Romulus viz. January and February DIES omnes in fastos nefastosque distribuerentur That the days should be divided in holy days and working days UT SI Pater filio concesserit uxorem ducere quae futura illi juxta leges sacrorum bonorumque omnium particeps eidem patri postea nullum jus vendendi filium esset That if a Father has given leave to his Son to marry his Wife comes into a common propriety to the Goods with him and the Father after that cannot sell his Son UT CONTRACTUS dubii sine testibus fide ac jurejurando terminaretur utique Magistratus ac Judices in dubiis causis ex alterius fide Sacramento suam interponerent sentmetiam That doubtful Contracts made without Witnesses should be certified by Oath and that the Judges should give Judment in doubtful Causes upon the Oath of one of the Parties These were the Laws made by the Kings Tullus Hostilius the third King of the Romans established a Law That when a Woman should bring forth three Children at one Birth they should be brought up at the publick charges till they came to Age. UT trigeminis quoties nascerentur alimenta ex publico iisque ad pubertatem darentur He renewed again the Law of Romulus concerning the Officers called Feciales Ut Feciales foederum belli pacis induciariumque Oratores Judicesque essent bella disceptarent Tarquinius Priscus made these following Laws UT Regia Romanorum Majestas corena aurea sceptro sella eburnea togaâ—picta Lictoribus duodecim aliisque ornamentis insignis esset That Kings should wear a Crown of Gold with a Scepter in their hand that they should have an Ivory Chair with an Embroidered Robe and that twelve Lictors should walk before them Ut quisque civis veram bonorum suorum quae qualiacumque essent astimationem Jurejurando probaret probatamque ad Regem deferret genus item aetatem nomina uxorum liberorum familiae que omnis quae cujus generis praedia quis servorum pecudumque numerus quae qualiacunque fundorum Instrumenta singulatim sine dolo malo profiteretur quaque urbis in parte â—uove extra urbem loco habitaret suas que res possideret sancte indicaret qui secus fecisset bonis publicatis civitatem amitteret caesusque virgis sub hasta veniret That each Citizen should be bound to bring to the King an account of all his Goods whatsoever and certifie by Oath the truth thereof as also to declare his Family and his own Age the name of his Wife Children and all his Family and tell the number of his Fields and what they were proper for and the whole without any fraud That if any failed therein he lost the Citizen's freedom and forfeited his Goods he should be whipped and then sold by publick Sale UT QUISQUE Pater familias pro nascentibus quidem ad aedem Junonis Lucina pro sumentibus vero togam virilem ad Juventutis pro desunctis denique ad Libitinae certas stipes penderent easque quotannis Aeditui in tabulas referrent ex quibus puerorum puberum ac mortuorum certus numerus singulis annis cognosceretur That each Master of a Family should give a certain sum of Money to the Temple of June Lucina for new born Children another to the Temple of Youth when their Children put on the toga virilis and a third to the Temple of the Goddess Libytina when they died The Sextons of the Temple were bound to keep Registers of the names of those for whom these presence were made to the Goddesses that it might be known what number of Children were born how many had put on the toga virilis and how many were dead UTI in Tribus urbanus atque jus civitatis servi ab civibus Romanis manumissi qui vellent ad sciscerentur libertini ad omnia plebeiorum admitterentur munia That Slaves freed by the Romans might be admitted into the Tribes of the City if they desired it and enjoy the freedom of Citizens and that Freemen's Children should be received in all Offices like the Roman People NE QUIS ob debitum foenus in vincula traheretur neve faeneratoribus jus in libera corpora sed debitorum contenti facultatibus essent That no body should be put in Prison for Debt and that Creditors should have no right over free Persons but should be contented with the substance of their Debtors We have but this Law of Tarquinius Superbus Uti facrorum causa quotannis semel in moutem Albanum Romani Latinique nomine populi Romani a supreme Magistratu Romano cogerentur Jovi Latiali consensu communi sacra facturi ferias mercatus celebraturi una epulaturi That every year the Soveraign Magistrate of Rome should Summons the Romans and Latins upon Mount Albanus to offer unanimously a Sacrifice to Jupiter Latialis and keep there a Holy-day a Market and a Feast together These are all the Laws made by the Kings which Sextus Papirius a Lawyer has collected into a body to preserve them to Posterity which are called after his name Jus Papiriâ— We must now speak of the Laws made during the Commonwealth whereof some were established by the Decemviri others by the Consuls Dictators and Tribunes of the people The Laws of the Decemviri comprehended under the names of the Laws of twelve Tables were most considerable for they were collected from the Republicks of Greece and the most just customs of the Romans and other Nations to which the Royal Laws were added This Collection was made with great care and deliberation by the most able Men amongst the Romans Then the Decemviri called an Assembly of the Senate to whom they proposed these Laws to be examined The Senate after a serious consideration unanimously approved of them by a Decree and the people afterwards confirmed them by a Plebicitum in an Assemby of Hundreds Then they were Ingraved upon Brass Plates exposed in the publick
ordine quo Natura dederit te sequemur USURA CENTESIMIS Usury Interest at One per Cent. They paid Interest by the Month and not by the Year as we do and so this implies the Hundredth Part of the Sum every Month and consequently Twelve per Cent. per Ann. This sort of Usury was looked upon as exorbitant and therefore the Law of the Twelve Tables confirmed long after by the Tribunes regulated Usury to One per Cent. per Ann. and this was called Vnciarium foenus nay and the same was regulated one Time at one Half less Tacitus L. 5. Ann. speaks of Usurers thus For says he they had publickly acted contrary to the Law which Caesar had enacted for regulating the Interest of Money and Matters relating to the Estates that were possest in Italy and the Advantage of particular Persons made the Publick Good to be neglected Usury doubtless is one of the oldest Evils of the Republick and the most usual Cause of Seditions and that is the Reason why so many Laws have been made to restrain it even in a Time when Mens Manners were not so corrupt for first it was forbid by the Laws of the Twelve Tables to lend Money at an higher Interest than the Eighth Denarius whereas before all kinds of Interests were allowed of Afterwards it was at the Desire of the Tribunes reduced to Sixteen Denarii and some time after forbidden altogether The People afterwards made several Orders for the Prevention of the Cheats practised in this Respect but notwithstanding any Regulations that they could make the Covetousness of Men always found out new Ways to elude them VULCANUS Vulcan whom they commonly make to be the Son of Juno of whom she conceived without the Help of Jupiter her Husband she threw him down from Heaven and he fell into the Isle of Lemnos where he had broke his Neck says Lucian had not the Inhabitants of the Country received him in their Arms as he tumbled through the Air and prevented him from running the Fate of Astianax however this could not prevent his having his Leg broke which made him always go lame The same Lucian says in his Dialogue of the Gods where he introduces Jupiter and Vulcan speaking that after the latter had cleft the others Head with an Ax there came an Amazon forth who was Pallas armed with a Lance and Shield and he as his Reward for so happily delivering him desired he might have her to Wife Jupiter agreed to it but he could not perswade her to marry him because she was resolved to live a Virgin all her Life-time So he married Venus who proved false to his Bed prostituting her self to God Mars which being suspected by Vulcan he watched an Opportunity to surprize them for which end he beset his Bed with invisible Nets and then went to his Forge The Gallant laying hold on the Opportunity of the Husband's Absence went to enjoy his Mistress but the Sun discovered them and informed Vulcan of it who took them both in the Fact and wrapped them up in his Nets Then he called all the Gods to be Witnesses of his Disgrace They made him to be the Smith of the Gods and gave him the Islands of Lesbos and Lipara for his forging Places in the Company of the Cyclops The Poets tell us that Vulcan had once a Contest with Neptune and Minerva about the Excellency of their Arts Neptune as his Master-piece made a Bull Minerva a House and Vulcan a Man when they came before Momus whom they chose for Judge he blamed Vulcan because he had not made a Window in the Man's Heart to see if his Words agreed with his Thoughts So much concerning the Fable of Vulcan now we come to the History and so Vulcan is found to be the first in the Dynasties of the Egyptian Kings who were Gods as they have been transmitted down to us by Syncellus He is also called the Father of the Gods in the proud Inscriptions of the Kings of Egypt Et Vulcanus Deorum pater Herodotus speaks of a magnificent Temple of Vulcan's whose Porch on the North-side was built by Moeris King of Egypt and Ramsinitus erected that to the West It 's said it was King Menes who built that stately and magnificent Temple of Vulcan's at Thebes from whom the Priefts reckoned 360 Kings in Egypt he speaks in another Place of a Colossus of Vulcan's which was 75 Foot high and stood before his Temple Sanchuniathon does also place Vulcan among the Phoenician Gods and calls him Chrysor and gives him a far greater Extent of Power than that attributed to Vulcan by the Greeks Diodorus Siculus also assures us the Egyptian Priests reckoned Vulcan among the Kings of Egypt and said he was the first of them all lastly they attributed the Invention of Fire to him for a Thunder-bolt happening to fall upon a Tree and setting it on Fire he brought more Wood to it and so preserved the Use of Fire They attributed the Lightning to Vulcan which gave Men occasion to say he made Jupiter's Thunder-bolts so they did those fiery Irruptions in Mountains which vomit out Flames because they supposed that the Cyclops or Smiths wrought there according to Vulcan's Directions or lastly they attributed to him the Fire made use of for all Arts and especially for Smithing for Vulcan being the Tubal-cain of the Pagans he presided over all those Arts that concerned the Working of Mettals The Poets made Vulcan to be the Son of Juno alone however Homer gives him also Jupiter for his Father Now Jupiter who is the Coelestial Fire might very well give Being to the Terrestrial and Juno who is the Air might also all alone work that Agitation in the Clouds that forms Thunder Lastly if Juno be the Earth it 's also not to be doubted but that she alone forces out of her Bosom those Fires which some Mountains send forth and which they call Vulcanoes Servius says something like this In Lemnum insulam decidit Vulcanus à Junone propter deformitatem dejectus quam aërem esse constat ex quo fulmina procreantur Ideò autem Vulcanus de femore Junonis fingitur natus quòd fulmina de imo aëre nascuntur One might in my Opinion says Father Thomassin from hence draw a Proof that could give some Weight to the Physiological Meaning of Fables and shew that Fable upon some Occasions has been invented only for the vailing of natural Truths and thereby giving them a new Grace wherefore after they had made Juno to be the Sister and only Wife of Jupiter and Queen of all the World why should she have no other Son but Vulcan only or when Vulcan is made to be her Son why should he have such and such Functions and Qualifications But the Thunder-bolts being as it were Productions of the Air which is Juno or of the Air which is Jupiter and of Juno that is the Earth the Fable must have been accommodated to the Nature of those