CHAPTER I.
It was the morning of the 12th of September in the Year of Our Lord95; the first cold gleam of dawn was shining on the steel-grey surfaceof the Tyrrhenian sea. To the east, over the gently undulating coastof Campania, the sky was tinged with that tender dewy-green whichfollows on the paling of the stars; to the west the waters still lay inimpenetrable darkness. Their almost unruffled face was swiftly partedby a large trireme,[1] just now making its way from the south andopposite to Salernum, between the Posidium[2] promontory and the Islandof Capreae.[3] The oars of the crew, who sat in rows on three ranks ofbenches, rose and fell in rhythm to a melancholy chant; the steersmanyawned as he looked into the distance, hoping for the moment of release.
A small hatchway--fitted with silver ornaments--now opened on to thedeck from the cabin between decks; a fat round head with short hairshowed itself in the opening, and a pair of blinking eyes lookedcuriously round in every direction. Presently the head was followed bya body, of which the squat rotundity matched the odd head.
"Well, Chrysostomus, is Puteoli[4] in sight yet?" asked the stout man,stepping on to the deck and looking across to the blue-black rocks ofCapreae.
"Ask again in three hours time," replied the steersman. "Unless you cansucceed in looking round the corner, like the magician of Tyana,[5] youmust need wait till we have the island yonder behind us."
"What!" exclaimed the other, drawing a little ivory map[6] from histunic.[7] "Are those rocks only Capreae?"
"Thou sayest, O Herodianus! Out there on the heights to the right,hardly visible yet, stands the palace of the glorified CaesarTiberius.[8] Do you see that steep cliff, straight down to the sea?That was where such useless fellows as you were dropped over into thewater by Caesar's slaves."
"Chrysostomus, do not be impudent! How dare you, a common ship's-mate,make so bold as to scoff at me, the companion and confidential friendof the illustrious Caius Aurelius? By the gods![9] but it is beneath meto hold conversation with you, an ignorant seaman--a man who carriesno wax-tablets[10] about him, who only knows how to handle the tillerand not the stylus--a common Gaul who is ignorant of all history ofthe gods--such a man ought not even to exist, so far as the friend ofAurelius is concerned."
"Oho! you are dreaming! you are not his friend, but his freedman."[11]
Herodianus bit his lip; as he stood there, his face flushed withanger and turned to the growing day, he might have been taken for anill-natured and vindictive man. But good temper and a genial naturesoon reasserted themselves.
"You are an insolent fellow," he said laughing, "but I know you mean noharm. You sea-folks are a rough race. I will burn a thank-offering toall the gods when this accursed sea-saw on the waves is over at last.Was there ever such a voyage! from Trajectum[12] to Gades[13] withoutlanding once! And at Gades hardly had we set foot on shore, when wewere ordered on board again! And if Aurelius, our noble master, hadnot had business to settle in Panormus[14] with his deceased father'shost, I believe we should have made the whole voyage from Hispania toRome without a break. I will dance like the Corybantes,[15] when I amonce more allowed to feel like a man among men! How long will it be yetbefore we reach Ostia?"[16]
"Two days, not more," replied Chrysostomus.
"Aphrodite Euploia be most fervently thanked!"
"What are you talking about? Who is that you are blessing?"
"To be sure, my good Chrysostomus," replied the other with a triumphantsmile, "I was forgetting that a seaman from the land of the Gauls isnot likely to understand Greek. Euploia, being interpreted, means thegoddess who grants us a good voyage. Do not take my observation ill,but surely you might have picked up so much Greek as that in the courseof your many voyages with the lamented father of our lord Aurelius."
"Silly stuff!" retorted Chrysostomus. "Besides, I never sailed in theGreek seas. Ten times to Ostia, eight times to Massilia,[17] twelvetimes to Panormus and a score of times northwards to the seas of theGoths up by the land of the Rugii[18]--that is the sum total of myannals. But Latin is spoken everywhere; even the Frisii[19] can makethemselves understood more or less in the language of Rome; among theRugii, to be sure, we talked in Gothic."
"A poor excuse!" said Herodianus pathetically. "However I have talkedtill I am thirsty! I will be on the spot again when the master appears."
He carefully replaced his little ivory map in the bosom of hisunder-garment, and was about to withdraw, when a tall youth, followedby two or three slaves, appeared on the steps from below. The ship'screw hailed their master with a loud shout, and Caius Aurelius,thanking them for their greeting, went forward while the slavesprepared breakfast[20] under an awning over the cabin roof; only one ofthem followed him.
It was by this time broad daylight; the whole eastern sky glowed withflame behind the blue Campanian hills, a light breeze curled the noless glowing sea into a thousand waves and ripples, and the prow of thegalley, which was decorated with a colossal ram's-head[21] in brass,threw up the water in sparks of liquid gold. The palace of Tiberiuson the top of the rocky isle seemed caught in sudden fire, at everyinstant the glory spread lower, kindling fresh peaks and towers, and uprose the sun in all the majesty and splendor of his southern might frombehind the heights of Salernum.
Herodianus, who had taken his place officiously close to his master,appeared to promise himself immense satisfaction in interpreting theyoung man's mood of devout admiration by a long quotation of Greekpoetry. He had already thrown himself into a pathetic attitude and laidhis finger meditatively on his cheek, when Aurelius signed to him thathe wished to be left undisturbed. The freedman, somewhat offended,drew back a step or two while Aurelius, standing by the side of hisfavorite slave Magus,[22] who preserved a discreet silence, leaned overthe bulwark for a long space lost in thought, letting his eye wanderover the open sea and linger for a while on the fantastic shapes of therocks and mountains, which constantly shifted in form and grouping asthe swift galley flew onwards.
Capreae was already on their right hand, and the broad bay ofParthenope,[23] with its endless perspective of towns and villas,opened before them like a huge pearly shell; the dark ashy cone ofVesuvius[24] stood up defiantly over the plain where, a short timesince, it had engulfed the blooming towns of Herculaneum, Pompeii andStabiae. Now there rose from its summit only a filmy cloud of smoke,ruddy in the light of the mounting sun. Farther on, the quays ofPuteoli were discernible, the stately buildings of Baiae[25] and theislands of Aenaria and Prochyta.[26] On the left hand the distancewas unlimited; vessels laden with provisions from Alexandria[27] andmerchant-ships from Massilia slowly crossed the horizon like visions;others, with every sail set, flew across the bay to disembark theirprecious freight in the emporium of Puteoli, whence it would be carriedto lay at the feet of Rome, the all-absorbing and insatiable mistressof the world.
Meanwhile the slaves had laid the table under the awning with finecloths, had arranged couches and seats and strewn the spot with a fewflowers, and were now standing ready to serve the morning meal at asign from their young master. The weary night-rowers had half an hourago been relieved by a fresh crew, and the fine boat flew on withdouble rapidity, for a fresh breeze had risen and filled the sails. Inan instant the whole face of the waters had changed, and as far as theeye could reach danced crest on crest of foam.
Aurelius wrapped himself more closely in his Tarentinetravelling-cloak[28] and involuntarily glanced at Magus, the Gothicslave who stood by his side; but Magus did not seem to see his master'slook, he was gazing motionless and with knitted brows in the directionof Baiae. Then he shaded his eyes from the glare with his right hand.
"_Hva gasaihvis._[29] What do you see?" asked Aurelius, who sometimesspoke in Gothic to the man.
"_Gasaihva leitil skip_," answered the Goth. "A little boat out therenot far from the point. If it is the same in your southern seas, asin our northern ones, these good folks would be wise to get theircockleshell to shore as fast as may be. When the sea is covered witheider-down in
such a short time, it generally means mischief."
"You have eyes like a northern sea-eagle. It is indeed, a small boat,hardly visible among the tossing waves, it cannot have more than eightoarsmen at most."
"There are but four, my lord," said the Goth. "And with them threeladies."
The wind was rising every instant; the trireme parted the water like anarrow, and the prow, now rising and now sinking on the billows, dippedin them far above the large metal ornaments.
"It may indeed be a serious matter," said Aurelius; "not for us--itmust be something worse than this that puts the proud 'Batavia'[30] inperil--but for the ladies in that little bark...."
He turned round. "Amsivarius," he cried to the head oarsman. "Tell yourmen to give way with a will; and you, Magus, go and desire Chrysostomusto alter our course."
In a few seconds the vessel's head was turned round a quarter of acircle and was making her way straight into the bay. The acceleratedthud of the time-keeper's hammer sounded a dull accompaniment to thepiping wind; the sea surged and tossed, and the deep-blue sky, wherethere still was not a cloud to be seen, beamed incongruously brightover the stormy main. They were now within a hundred yards of the smallboat, which was one of the elegant pleasure-barks used by the gayvisitors to Baiae for short excursions in the bay. As the trireme cameup with them, the rowers gave up their futile struggle with the ragingelements and only tried to avoid being capsized. The ladies, it couldbe seen were much agitated; two of them, a richly-dressed woman ofabout forty and a young and blooming girl sat clinging to each other,while the third, tumbled into a heap at the bottom of the boat, held anamulet[31] in her hand, which she again and again pressed fervently toher lips.
Aurelius gave a shout from the trireme, which the boatmen eagerlyanswered, and a sailor on board the Batavia flung a rope with apractised hand to the foremost of the men in the smaller vessel--theslave hastily tied it fast and cried out "ready," the sailor pulledfirmly and steadily, the rope stretched taut, the little boat cameon and in a few minutes lay under the lee of the galley like a fishjudiciously hooked and landed. In two minutes more it was fast to theside of the trireme, and the ladies and the crew were placed in safety.
Aurelius, leaning against the stern-bulwark, had watched theproceedings with anxious interest and now, as the ladies, exhausted bythe tossing they had had, sank on to the couches under the canopy, hepolitely went forward and invited his unexpected visitors to go downinto the more sheltered cabin rooms of the trireme. The younger ladyrose at once, and with a dignified eagerness expressed their thanks.Nor was it long before the elder had quite recovered herself; only theold woman who held the amulet hid her pale face in the pillows as ifshe were stunned, while she trembled and quaked in every limb.
"Come, stand up, Baucis," said the young girl kindly. "The danger isover."
"Merciful Isis[32] save and defend us!" groaned the old woman, turningthe amulet in her fingers. "Preserve us from sudden death and deliverus in danger! I will offer thee a waxen ship,[33] and sacrifice lambsand fruits as much as thou canst desire!"
"Oh, you superstitious simpleton!" said the girl in her ear. "How am Ito bring you to your senses? Pray rather to the almighty Jupiter, thathe may enlighten your ignorance! But come now--the noble stranger whohas taken us on board his ship is growing impatient."
A shrill cry was the only answer, for the vessel had given a suddenlurch and the old woman, who was sitting with her legs under her on thecouch, was thrown off somewhat roughly.
"Oh, Isis of a thousand names!" she whimpered piteously. "That hascost me two or three ribs at least and a score of weeks on a sick-bed!Barbillus--you false priest--is that all the good your amulet is? Wasit for this that I had my forehead sprinkled with water out of thesacred Nile,[34] and paid fifty sesterces[35] for each sprinkling? Wasit for this that I laid fresh bread on the altars? Oh woe is me, whatpain I am in!"
While she was thus besieging heaven with complaints, Magus the Goth hadwith a strong hand picked up the little woman and set her on her feet.
"There, leave off crying, mother," said he good-humoredly. "Roman bonesare not so easily broken! But make haste and get below; the storm isincreasing fast. See, my master is leading your ladies down now." Andas Baucis gave no sign of acting on the slave's advice, she suddenlyfound herself lifted up like a feather in his strong and sinewy armsand carried to the hatchway, to the great amusement of the bystanders.
"Madam," said Aurelius to the elder lady, when his guests were snuglyunder shelter in the eating-room, "I am a Roman knight[36] from thetown of Trajectum in Batavia, far north of this, not far from thefrontier of the Belgae. My name is Caius Aurelius Menapius, and I am onmy way to Rome as being the centre of the inhabited world, in order toimprove and extend my knowledge and perhaps to serve my mother-country.May I venture now to ask you and your fair companion, to tell me whoyou are that kind fortune has thus thrown in my way?"
"My lord,"[37] said the matron, with a gravity that was almost solemn,"we can boast of senatorial rank. I am Octavia, the wife of TitusClaudius Mucianus,[38] the priest of Jupiter, and this is our daughter.We have been staying at Baiae since the end of April for the sakeof my health. The sea-air, the aromatic breath of the woods and thedelightful quiet of our country-house, which is somewhat secluded,soon restored my strength, and I take a particular pleasure in morningexcursions on the bay. We started to-day in lovely weather to sailas far as Prochyta; then the storm overtook us, as you know, at somedistance from the shore, and we owe it to you and to your good ship,that we are so well out of the danger. Accept once more our warmestthanks, and pray give us the opportunity of returning in our villa atBaiae the hospitality you have shown us on board your galley."
"With the greatest pleasure," said Aurelius eagerly, "and all themore so, as I purposed remaining to rest at Baiae--" but he coloredas he spoke, for this was not the truth--he looked round in someembarrassment at Magus, who was standing humbly in a corner of the roomand preparing to serve some refreshment. The eyes of the master and theslave met, and the master colored more deeply, while the slave laughedto himself with a certain satisfaction. Two other servants placed seatsround the table in the old Roman fashion, for the custom of lying on acouch at meals was by no means universal in the provinces, and Aureliusknew that even in Rome women of high rank and strict conduct contemnedthis luxurious habit.
The rocking of the vessel had ceased, for it had been steered intoa sheltered cove of the bay, and before long a tempting breakfastwas spread on the embroidered cloth; fish, milk, honey, eggs, fruitand a dish of boiled cray-fish, of which the scarlet mail contrastedpicturesquely with the artistically-embossed silver-platter on whichthey were served.
Aurelius begged his guests to be seated and led Octavia to the seat ofhonor at the upper end of the table. On her left hand her daughter,the fair Claudia, took her seat; Aurelius sat on the other hand and atthe side of the table. Herodianus and Baucis, who was still very muchdiscomposed, took their places at the other end of the table and at arespectful distance.
"You must take what little I can offer you, ladies," said the Batavian."We Northmen are plain folks...."
"You are joking!" interrupted Octavia. "Do you imagine, that all theinhabitants of the imperial city are gourmands after the fashion ofGavius Apicius?"[39]
"Well," said Aurelius in some confusion, "we know at any rate that Romeis the acknowledged mistress of all the arts of refined enjoyment, andabove all of the most extravagant luxury in food...."
"Not half so much so as you believe," said Octavia. "You gentlemen fromthe provinces fall, without exception, into that strange mistake. ARoman lady in the same way is to you the type of all that is atrocious,because a few reckless women have made themselves talked about. Youforget that it is in the very nature of virtue to remain concealed andignored. But tell me, my lord, whence do you procure this delicioushoney?"
"It comes from Hymettus,"[40] replied Aurelius, who was somewhatdisconcerted by the lady's airs and manners. "My friend here, thewo
rthy Herodianus, procured it at Panormus."
"Ah!" said Octavia, raising a polished emerald[41] mounted in goldto her eye, for she was short-sighted: "Your friend understands thesubject, that I must confess--do you not think so, Claudia my love?"
The young lady answered with vague abstraction, for some minutes shehad sat lost in thought. She had hardly touched the delicacies that hadbeen set before her, and she now silently waved a refusal to the slavewho offered the much-praised honey. Even the vigorous struggle in whichHerodianus was engaged with an enormous lobster[42] failed to bring asmile to her lips, and yet her expression had never been brighter ormore radiant. Once and again her eyes rested on the face of the youngBatavian, who was engaged in such eager conversation with her mother,and then they returned to the loop-hole in the cabin roof, where thepane of crystal[43] shone like a diamond in the sunshine.
Octavia was talking of Rome, while Herodianus entertained Baucis withan account of Menander's[44] comedies; thus Claudia could pursue herday-dream at her pleasure. She was in fancy again living through theevents of the last hour--she pictured herself in the small open boattossed on the angry waves; far away across the seething waters she sawthe tall trireme--saw it tack to enter the bay. It was all vividlybefore her. And then the moment when the slave flung the rescuing rope!who was the man who stood, calm and proud, leaning over the bulwarks,undisturbed by the wrath of Nature? She remembered exactly how hehad looked--how at the sight of that noble figure, which seemed asthough it could rule the storm, a sudden sense of safety had come overher, like a magical spell. Then, when she found herself on board! Atfirst she had felt ready to sob and cry like Baucis; but the sound ofhis voice, the wonderful look of gentle strength that shone in hisface, controlled her to composure. Only once in her life had she everfelt like this before; it was two or three years since, when she wasout on an excursion to Tibur[45] with her illustrious father. TheirCappadocian horses[46] had shied, reared, and then galloped off likethe whirlwind. The driver was flung from his seat--the chariot wasbeing torn along close to the edge of a towering cliff--her father hadseized the floating reins just in time, and quietly saying: "Do not befrightened, my child," in five seconds the horses were standing stillas if rooted to the spot. The feeling she had had then, had to-daybeen vividly revived--and yet, how dissimilar were the two men in age,appearance and position!--It was strange. And once more she glanced atthe face of their host, which was glowing with animation as he talked.
Suddenly the head oarsman's time-marking hammer ceased; the bright spotof light cast by the sun through the glass skylight on to the panelledwall, described a brief orbit and then vanished; the vessel had swunground and was at anchor.
"Madam," said Aurelius to Octavia, "allow me to offer you my services.We Northmen rarely use litters,[47] still--on the principle that awise man should be ready for all emergencies--Herodianus has providedmy galley with that convenience."
"And the litters are already awaiting your commands on deck," added thefreedman.
"You have surpassed yourself, Herodianus! Well, then, whenever it isyour pleasure...."
"Then it is settled," said Octavia, going to the door. "For a few daysyou will be my guest."
"For as long as you will allow," Aurelius would have said; but hethought better of it and only bowed in answer.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] TRIREME. "Three-oared;" a vessel with three ranks of rowers, one above another. The time was given by the beats of a hammer or by word of command; not unfrequently by an air played on a flute or a sailor's chant (_cantus nauticus_).
[2] POSIDIUM, now called the Punta della Licosa, south of the Gulf of Salerno.
[3] CAPREAE, (Isle of goats) now Capri.
[4] PUTEOLI. An important port in Campania, now Pozzuoli. Concerning Puteoli's commerce, see Stat. _Silv._ III, 5, 75.
[5] APOLLONIUS OF TYANA in Cappadocia. An ascetic and ecstatic philosopher and miracle-worker (A.D. 50) often compared with Christ by heathen writers. (Philostratus wrote his life.)
[6] IVORY MAP. Sketch-maps of various routes were common in ancient times, and were often engraved on wine-jars, cups, etc.
[7] TUNIC. The short-sleeved under-garment worn by both sexes, the house costume, over which men, when they went out, threw the toga, women the stola or palla. During the period of the empire a second garment, the _tunica interior_, corresponding to the shirt of modern times, was worn under the tunic.
[8] THE PALACE OF TIBERIUS. For an account of the cruel and extravagant proceedings of Tiberius at Capri, see Tacitus _Ann._ I, 67, Suet. _Tib._ 40, Juv. _Sat._ X, 72 and 93. Insignificant remains of this palace are visible at the present day: _Villa di Timberio_; the perpendicular cliff 700 feet high is called _il salto_ (the leap.)
[9] CASTOR AND POLLUX. Leda's twins, the Dioscuri, were the patrons of sea-faring men. [10] WAX-TABLET (_tabula cerata_). A little tablet covered with wax, on which memoranda were written with the stylus. In the schools the wax-tablet supplied the place of the slate, and in daily life was a substitute for our note-book.
[11] FREEDMAN. The institution of slavery (_servitium_) which existed from ancient times, was an extremely important factor in the organization of Roman society. The slaves (_servi_) were the absolute property of their masters, who had unlimited control over their destinies and lives. (This right was not withdrawn until A.D. 61, when the law of Petronius prohibited the arbitrary condemnation of slaves to combats with wild beasts, etc.) The slave could then be released by the so-called _manumissio_, and was styled _libertus_ or _libertinus_. His position depended upon the greater or less degree of formality with which the _manumissio_ was granted. The most solemn manner bestowed all the rights of the free-born citizen, but even in this case he was socially burdened with the same stigma that rests upon the emancipated slaves in the United States. If a freedman attained power and influence--which under the emperors was very common--the haughty representatives of the ancient noble families paid him external respect, it is true, but the man's origin was never forgotten.
[12] TRAJECTUM. A Batavian city in the Roman province Germania, now Utrecht.
[13] GADES. A city in southern Spain, the modern Cadiz.
[14] PANORMUS. A city on the north coast of Sicily, the modern Palermo.
[15] CORYBAS. In the plural _Corybantes_; priests of Cybele. Their worship was a wild orgy with war-dances and noisy music. (Horace, _Od._ I, 16, 8: _non acuta si geminant Corybantes aera, etc._)
[16] OSTIA. The port of Rome, situated at the mouth of the Tiber.
[17] MASSILIA. An important city founded by the Greeks on the southern coast of Gaul, now called Marseilles.
[18] RUGII. A German race occupying a considerable part of the coast of the Baltic--the present Pomerania and island of Ruegen.
[19] FRISII. A German race settled in the northern part of what is now Holland and farther east beyond Ems (_Amisia_).
[20] BREAKFAST. The first meal after rising was called _jentaculum_. In the time of the republic (and still later among the poorer classes) it consisted principally of pulse. Among the wealthy luxury intruded even here; but in comparison with the second breakfast (_prandium_) and especially with the principal repast (_coena_) the _jentaculum_ always remained frugal.
[21] RAM'S-HEAD AT THE PROW. These ornaments were usually carved in wood on the prow. They must not be confounded with the ship's beaks (_rostra_, [Greek: hembola]). These beaks--two strong iron-cased beams--were on the fore-part of the ships of war and also on vessels intended for long voyages, where they would be exposed to danger from pirates. They were beneath the surface of the water, and were destined to bore holes in the enemy's shi
ps. See vol. 2, Chap IX.
[22] MAGUS. A Gothic word--(not the Latin _Magus_, Greek [Greek: magos]--magician, sorcerer,)--means a boy, or knave in the old sense of servant.
[23] PARTHENOPE. The ancient name of Naples, from the siren Parthenope, who is said to be buried there.
[24] VESUVIUS. The famous eruption, which buried the three cities mentioned, took place A.D. 79, that is, sixteen years before the commencement of this story.
[25] BAIAE, now Baja, the most famous watering-place of ancient times. See Horace, _Ep._ I, 1, 83.
[26] AENARIA AND PROCHYTA, now Ischia and Procida.
[27] ALEXANDRIA in Egypt was, in point of commerce, the London of ancient times.
[28] TARENTINE TRAVELLING-CLOAK. The woollen stuffs from Tarentum, now called Taranto, were famous.
[29] "HVA GASAIHVIS?"--"GASAIHVA LEITIL SKIP." Literally: What do you see? (I) see (a) little ship. The earliest existing specimens of Gothic date from several centuries later than the time of this story, namely the period when the Goths left their original settlements on the lower Vistula and settled farther to the southeast on the Black Sea. I thought it permissible, however, to make a Goth of the first century speak the language of Ulfilas, since there is nothing against it in the general analogies of language, and Gothic, in the form in which it remains to us, is so concrete and logical in its structure, that it is hardly credible that it should have varied to any great extent within a period of two or three centuries.
[30] BATAVIA. It was the custom at a very early date to name vessels after towns, persons, or countries, etc.
[31] AMULET. A faith in the protecting power of charms and amulets was universal among Roman women, and children were always provided with amulets against the evil eye.
[32] ISIS. The Egyptian goddess Isis was originally a personification of the Nile country, and as such was the wife of Osiris, the god of the Nile, who is slain by Typhon and longingly sought by the deserted goddess. She was afterwards confounded with every conceivable form of Greek (See Appuleius. _Met._ XI, 5.) and Roman Mythology and thus in the first century after Christ became the principal goddess. Her worship was chiefly by women.
[33] WAXEN SHIP. Such votive offerings are commonly mentioned. They were generally painted pictures, but models in wax or metal were also given.
[34] NILE-WATER. The worshippers of Isis ascribed a special power to the waters of the Nile.
[35] SESTERCES. A Roman silver coin worth about 4 or 5 cents.
[36] ROMAN KNIGHT. During the reign of the emperors the free population of Rome was divided into three orders: senators, knights, and people (third order). The order of senators was limited to Rome, and in its hands lay the real political power, which in the time of the republic had been exercised by the assembled populace. To the senate belonged the right of conferring and recalling sovereign power, that is, by appointing and deposing the emperors, a right rarely exercised, it is true, but which the emperors formally recognized by allowing themselves to be confirmed by the senate. In their relation to this body, the emperors were only first among their peers, the members of this order being really their equals; a relation which, with the exception of Caligula, Nero, Domitian, and Commodus, the emperors during the first two centuries, more or less earnestly endeavored to maintain. (Friedlander. _Rom. Sittengesch._ I, 3.) The number of the old senatorial families was comparatively small.
The second order, the knights (_equites_), was scattered over the whole empire. A class specially designated for military service, it became in the time of the Gracchi, a body of rich men, each of whom possessed a fortune of 400,000 sesterces, and also fulfilled the conditions of being of free birth and descent, blameless reputation, and refraining from dishonorable or indecorous methods of making money. Loss of this fortune, whether by their own fault or otherwise, entailed loss of rank. In consequence of the confusion and dissolution of all legal regulations through the civil war, these conditions were largely abrogated. While many who had formerly been entitled to belong to the order of knights, lost their rank through loss of fortune, others, who though possessing the needful property, had none of the other requisites, assumed without opposition the external distinctions of the knights, especially the gold ring and the seat of honor in the theatre. (Friedlander.) There were various degrees of rank in the order of knights, and also great diversity of fortune. Besides the poor titular knights, there were bankers, wholesale merchants, and the directors and members of great commercial companies and societies for mercantile enterprises of every kind.
The third order comprised mechanics, small tradesmen, tavern-keepers, learned men, artists, etc., etc.,--except in cases where those who followed these pursuits were slaves,--and also the immense body of proletarians, who subsisted almost exclusively on public alms.
[37] MY LORD SAID THE MATRON. Concerning the address "lord" (_domine_), see the minute discussions in Friedlander's _Sittengeschichte_, I, appendix. It was not so common as the modern "sir," but was used as an expression of special courtesy in the most varied relations of life. The emperors themselves used it in intercourse with persons to whom they wished to show attention. Thus Marcus Antoninus writes to Fronto: "_Have, mi domine magister_." According to Seneca (Ep. III, 1.) it was already customary under Nero to greet persons, whose names could not be instantly remembered, by this title, in order not to appear uncourteous under any circumstances. The Fronto just mentioned calls a son-in-law "_domine_," and when Nero once played the cithara in public, he addressed the spectators as "_mei domini_."
Nay, the association of _domine_ with the name, which to our ears has a very modern sound, is often found. Thus in Appuleius (Met. II,) we read: "_Luci domine_,"--"Lord Lucius." In this story, however, this association is avoided, as it might have produced the semblance of an anachronism. In accosting women _domina_ (lady) corresponds with _domine_. The French, when referring to subjects connected with ancient Rome, reproduce the sound as well as the meaning of the word correctly by their madame (_meam dominam_).
[38] TITUS CLAUDIUS MUCIANUS. The Romans usually had three names. Titus is here the first name (_praenomen_) which was given sons on the ninth day after their birth. Claudius is the name of the gens, the family in the wider sense of the word (_nomen gentilicium_). Mucianus is the cognomen, the surname, the name of the immediate family (_stirps or familia_). Thus several stirpes belonged to a single gens. Daughters bore only the name of the gens; for instance the daughter of Titus Claudius Mucianus was called Claudia. If there were two of them, they were distinguished by the words major (the elder) and minor (the younger); if there were several, by numbers. The _Claudia Gens_ was a very ancient and famous one. The principal characters of the story, belonging to the _stirps Muciana_, are purely imaginary.
[39] GAVIUS APICIUS, the famous Roman gourmand (Tac. _Ann._ IV, 1) who finding that he had only two million and a half denari left in the world (about 400,000 dollars) killed himself, thinking it impossible to live on so little.
[40] HYMETTUS. A mountain in Attica, famed for its delicious honey. (Horace, _Od._ II, 6, 14).
[41] POLISHED EMERALD. (Plin. _Hist. Nat._ XXXVII, 64) where it is stated that the emperor Nero used such an eye-glass at the public games.
[42] THE LOBSTER, (_cammarus_), was less highly esteemed by the Romans than among ourselves. See Plin. _Ep._ II, 17. "The se
a, it is true, has no superabundance of delicious fish; yet it gives us excellent soles and lobsters"--a passage in which lobsters are contrasted with delicious fish.
[43] CUT CRYSTAL. Window panes of glass (_vitrum_) mica plates (_lapis specularis_) and similar materials were by no means rare in ancient times.
[44] MENANDER, son of the general Diopeithes, B.C. 342. The most distinguished poet of the New Comedy; fragments of his comedies have come down to us.
[45] TIBUR. A favorite summer resort of the Roman aristocracy, now Tivoli.
[46] CAPPADOCIAN HORSES. The province of Cappadocia in Asia Minor was famed for its horses.
[47] LITTERS (_lectica_). The usual conveyance, somewhat resembling the Oriental palanquin, were supplied with rich curtains (_vela_) and in other respects became the object of luxurious decorations. The number of litter-bearers (_lecticarii_, _calones_) varied from two to eight. In the city of Rome itself, where riding in carriages was not allowed during the day-time, the _lecticae_ took the place of our carriages and hacks, for they could also be hired by the hour, and there were stands of them (_castra lecticariorum_) in several frequented quarters.