CHAPTER X

THE CHILD IN ROME

=Characteristics.= It is one of the world problems to determine just the cause for the origin and building up of a great city from which arose a great nation as Rome. This is one of the great puzzling questions that seems can never be correctly answered. But whatever the cause of the origin of the Romans, there is no question about their accomplishments. From a few mud huts on the bank of the Tiber river filled with savage or semi-civilized people there grew up one of the very greatest ruling forces the world has ever known, conquering the known world and controlling all from the center at Rome with power and wisdom that seem miraculous. The Romans possessed intense personality and keen power of organization and control. They believed in the state and that each individual owed it a duty, and yet they conceived that the state existed for the individual and needed each one as well as the individual needed the state. This view of the state and the individual enabled the Romans to base the state on law and to respect law when once established. Through this view they became lovers of law and order. They were essentially practical and from their attacking the problems of the world in a business and thoughtful way they became strong in administrative ability and through which they evolved a sound jurisprudence, which was bequeathed to humanity. The old Romans were men of both moral and physical vigor and of strong thought; they were utilitarian, proud, overbearing, selfish, cruel, and rapacious; with strong self-will they met humanity and nature and conquered both, which is shown on nature by remains of roads, bridges, aqueducts, and other structures, while their language yet dominates a large part of the world and their laws a yet still larger portion.

"Rome was one continual city of noise and bustle. Horace had complained of the turmoil going on night and day, the scurry and crowding of the streets from whose 'torrents and tempests' he hastened to escape into the chaste solitude of the Sabine hills. But during the first century population and activity increased apace, reaching its zenith, perhaps, in the days of Martial and Juvenal. Before daybreak the bakers would be hawking their loaves, and the shepherds, coming into the town from the surrounding districts, their milk: then the infant schools would begin intoning the alphabet, and with hammer and saw the rasping workshops were set going. Creaking wagons would haul huge blocks of stone and trunks of trees, with the weight of which the ground would quake, heavily laden beasts of burden jostled the foot-passenger; on all sides jolting and knocks and trampling, a fine confusion in which pickpockets reap their advantage. Here, says Martial (100 A. D.), the money-changer clatters Nero's bad coin down on his dirty table, and there a workman is hammering Spanish gold on an anvil. A procession of raving priests of Bellona is shrieking uninterruptedly; a shipwrecked sailor, with a fragment of the wreck wrapped up in his hand, is begging alms; a Jewish lad, sent out by his mother to beg; the call of a blear-eyed peddler from the other side of the Tiber, offering sulphur matches for broken glass. Jugglers, some with trained animals (Juvenal speaks of a monkey riding a goat and swinging a spear), Marsian snake-eaters and snake-charmers are calling for spectators for their craft. Peddlers, peddling old clothes, linen and what-not, carriers of pea-flour and smoking sausages, butchers with a reeking quarter of beef, and the foot, the guts and the blood-red lung,--each, to his own screeching tune, proclaiming his own wares."[176]

=The People.= In early Rome the population was divided into three classes, as in Greece, which comprised citizens with full rights and privileges, aliens with no rights of their own, and slaves who were regarded as mere property. But Rome, unlike Greece, did not remain a small territory, but extended its realm to include the parts of Italy about it and then all Italy and then the land about the Mediterranean, and then expanded to other parts of the earth, making a vast territory. Roman citizenship was gradually extended till it reached out into this territory. So the original three divisions did not continue to be maintained closely but there grew up three other divisions of the people. These were the patricians, the equites, and the plebeians, all of whom were of the free population, enjoying the citizenship of Rome but not having the same privileges. The patricians, or _ordo senatorius_, were of the governing class; the equites, or _ordo equester_, included the middle class, the business people such as bankers, merchants, contractors, and the like; the plebeians included the great body of citizens, the common people.

=Slavery.= The greatest development of slavery was at Rome, reaching its high point in the last century of the Republic. The Romans had slaves from the earliest history. In the early times those who held slaves usually did not have more than two or three each, but as the years went on civic conditions changed and a great demand for slaves arose and the numbers increased till in the time of Augustus it is estimated that the whole number of free citizens in Rome might have been a half million or more and the slave population half that number, one in every three of the population of Rome at that time being a slave.[177]

The slaves came from the children of slaves, from persons becoming slaves under the law of debt, from importations from other slave-holding countries, from kidnappers who snatched up people from other countries and even from the coasts of Italy, but the great source of all was from captives in the numerous wars waged by Rome upon other peoples. It is claimed that in one campaign there were 150,000 people sold into slavery at its close. Slave-dealers followed the armies and there were slave-markets at Rome and other cities. Slaves were sold in open market just as animals and at high-tide prices were very low. There were all kinds of slaves, as they came from many parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. The greatest number were used in agriculture and in domestic service. There were all kinds of mechanics among the slaves and some most highly skilled. There were educated slaves coming from Greece and other countries of the East, so that they were used for the training of the young and for the carrying on of business for their masters. There even were physicians and surgeons among the slaves, many households having one to look after the needs of the free and the slave. There also were slaves whose duty it was to give amusement and entertainment, such as musicians, dancers, acrobats, jugglers, rope-walkers, and the like. Too, there were poor dwarfs and simple-minded among the slaves, who were used to amuse master and mistress and guests as did the jesters of the courts in Europe later.

In the early times when each family had but few slaves, they were well treated and well cared for, being considered as members of the household. But later, and especially when slaves became so numerous and cheap, they were often treated very badly and neglected. The slaves were the absolute property of the masters and unprotected by the law, but later laws were made for their protection. The punishments were often extremely severe. They were brutally beaten, legs fettered, heavy iron collars put around their necks, thrown into dungeons, put at hard labor till worn out. Their capital punishment was crucifixion, being thrown to the animals of the vivarium, or set to fight the fierce beasts in the amphitheater. They were not always treated badly and even some became greatly esteemed by master and mistress and sometimes master and slave became friends, as some slaves were highly educated and accomplished men. Such slaves were usually set free and thus became freemen.

It is not necessary to discuss here the effect of slavery upon the citizen or the nation, for the world has fully decided that slavery is not good for the slave nor for the master nor for the state.

=The Home.= "The oldest Italian dwelling was a mere wigwam, with a hearth in the middle of the floor and a hole at the top to let the smoke out."[178] As Rome kept growing the houses kept improving until within the city the buildings became among the most wonderful and beautiful in the world. Also the Romans built beautiful country residences, _villas_, out from Rome. Little was known about the houses of the Romans until Pompeii and other cities were discovered in the middle of the eighteenth century, having been buried by an eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A. D. The houses and contents in Pompeii were well preserved, as the city was covered with ashes, while the other places were more or less destroyed by streams of lava.

When Rome became so filled with people, only the wealthy were able to have houses of their own, the well-to-do and the poor had to find place in huge lodging-houses called _insulae_ (islands), because they occupied the entire block and so were surrounded by streets. Before the great fire in the time of Nero, the streets were irregular and narrow. In the earlier times of the Republic the houses were three or four stories high and the number of stories grew until the time of Augustus, the maximum height of the frontage of a private building was made 70 feet (Roman measure), which gave room for six or seven stories which height was reduced after the fire of Nero to 60 feet, five or six stories. These houses were erected by speculators and were of poor material and poorly constructed, so that they were continually crumbling and tumbling and burning down. Being cheaply constructed and poorly repaired they did not afford great protection against the weather and so it was fortunate for the poor people that the climate of Italy for the most part favored an out-of-door life.

There were three parts in a Roman house, which were arranged in the same order in almost every house, although there might have been other rooms attached to them. In front was the _atrium_, partly covered; then came a center space, the _tablinum_, which was entirely covered; and adjoining this latter was the _peristylium_, an open court surrounded by columns.

The _atrium_ was the essential feature that marked off the Roman house from that of Greece and other countries of the East. In the primitive houses, and in later times with the poor and the middle classes, this was used for both kitchen and sitting-room, while with the wealthier people it was the reception-room. This contained the family hearth and altar. The street door did not open directly from the street but there was a passage from the street and the door was placed at the end of this passage. Usually there was a square opening in the roof of the _atrium_ for light and in the floor underneath this opening was a cistern for receiving the water that rained in and there were pipes under the floor for carrying off the water.

The _tablinum_ was usually separated from the _atrium_ by curtains. This contained the family records and archives; the _peristylium_ was a later addition to the Roman house, coming when Greek architecture became to be used in the buildings. This became the ornamental part of the house, with fountains and flowers and shrubbery occupying the center of the court, surrounded by pillars and open to the sky. There were other rooms, among them being the _alae_, small rooms at the right and left of the _atrium_, and from the _peristylium_ opened the _triclinium_, dining room, the _culina_, kitchen, and the _sacrarium_, chapel.

The street door was of wood, having two leaves (a folding-door), moving on pivots, and in private houses opening inward and outward in public buildings. When opening inward the door was secured by a bolt and when opening outward by lock and key. There were but few windows and in general only in rooms above the ground floor. Paper, linen cloth, horn, and mica were used in the windows and glass seems to have come into use under the early emperors. The walls were decorated with paintings. The floors of the primitive houses consisted of clay and then came bricks and tiles and stones and later the houses of the wealthy class had marble and mosaics.

"The Romans resorted to various methods of warming their rooms. They made use of portable furnaces for carrying embers and burning coals to warm the different apartments of the house, and which they seem to have placed in the middle of the room. They also had a method of heating the rooms by hot air, which was conveyed by means of pipes through the different apartments. They also had a kind of stove, in which wood appears to have been usually burned. It has been a matter of much dispute whether the Romans had chimneys to carry off the smoke, but it does not appear that these were entirely unknown to the Romans."[179]

There were four representative kinds of chairs used by the Romans. The first kind was a folding-stool with curved legs placed crosswise; the second kind had four perpendicular legs and were without backs; the third kind were similar to the second but had a back; and the fourth kind was a chair of state, with high or low back, the back and legs being ornamented.

The couches were of three kinds. There was the low dining-couch, upon which they reclined at meals; then there were the beds for sleep at night or siesta by day; and the third kind had usually two arms but no back and which were chiefly used for reading or writing at night. With the bed was the mattress, filled with straw or sheep's wool or the down of geese and swans; bolsters and cushions, stuffed as the mattress; blankets and sheets, of simple material or dyed and embroidered; pillows for propping the head or the left elbow of the sleeping or reclining persons; and footstools.

They had benches of wood and stone and bronze, some of them being semi-circular and large enough to hold quite a number of people. There were square, round, and crescent-shaped tables, some being quite large, others smaller with three legs, and a one-legged table, often quite small and made of the rarest material and elegant in design. There were pots and pans of various kinds, and buckets and dishes and drinking-vessels, and other kinds of vessels.

The houses at night were lighted with lamps. The lamp consisted of the oil-reservoir, which contained the oil, the nose, through which went the wick, and the handle to carry it by. The lamps were put on stands or were suspended from lamp-holders or they hung down from the ceiling. The stands and lamp-holders that were used by the poorer people were made of common wood or metal, while those of the rich were of costly material and often most beautifully adorned with figures of all kinds of animals carved upon them. They had lanterns also, which had for covering horn, oiled canvas, and bladder, and later, glass.

=Women.= There were three classes of women at Rome--the citizen-woman, the alien, and the slave. Unlike as in Athens, the foreign woman never rose to prominence at Rome but it was the citizen-woman who took rank always before any other. Nor was a male citizen allowed to marry an alien woman, for citizens were wanted and, therefore, both parents needed to be citizens. But as citizenship was expanded to the parts of the world outside of Rome, the alien woman became a citizen, and so a Roman could marry her and still maintain his own and his offspring's rights.

In the early times the woman remained at home. She engaged in spinning and weaving and other household duties, and she had supreme control of household affairs. She was under the authority of her husband and she had no individual rights in property and she could not make a will. Later she acquired more rights and privileges. The condition of women at Rome was quite a deal better than at Athens or in any other country previous to Roman times. For at Rome women were allowed more freedom and participation in public affairs, they were allowed more to share in the joys and pleasures of the husband and other people, and they enjoyed a greater confidence and esteem of the men.

That Roman women appeared in public and that they were not afraid to stand up for their rights is illustrated in the following. In 215 B. C., when Rome needed resources for the second Punic war, the Oppian Law, was passed which forbade any woman to have gold trinkets of the weight of more than half an ounce, to wear a parti-colored garment, or to ride in a chariot within the city of Rome or a town occupied by Roman citizens or within a mile of these places, except for a religious purpose. Twenty years later, when the war was over and prosperity had returned, the women asked for the repeal of this law. They started a campaign and talked about it in every place, they interviewed men on the street, and they stated the case to every one that had a vote. Women from towns and villages came into Rome to help. On the day of the vote, the women rose early and filled the streets to the Forum and used every means to gain their cause. They finally overcame the opposition, the law was repealed, and the women recovered their liberty of riding and dressing as they had formerly done.

The Roman women would even go to greater extremes than the conducting of a political campaign. Over a hundred years before the event recorded above, when the women had much less privileges, when the despotic actions of husbands became unendurable, the women sought a way of rescuing themselves. At the time a number of men of the upper classes were attacked by an unknown disease, in every case attended by similar symptoms, and nearly all died. No cause could be found until a female slave offered to explain upon promise of freedom and to suffer no harm in consequence. Upon the Senate's guaranteeing such to her, she told them that the deaths were from poison, that the wives met together to compound the poison. She took the officials to the place, where they found the women preparing the ingredients. The women were charged with the matter, and to prove their innocence they partook of the drugs, upon which death followed, and with the same symptoms as with the men. Upon investigation 170 of the women were found guilty and it is held that 300 or more wives had entered into the plot to put their husbands to death. Some doubts are thrown upon this story by some historians but at any rate it is stated that the Romans believed it and told it for the truth.

Another story is told of women's appearing in public. At the time of the second triumvirate, funds being needed, a decree was passed requiring that fourteen hundred of the richest women should make a valuation of their property, under severe penalties against concealment or undervaluation, and that they should turn over such a portion as the triumvirs might require. The women appealed to the sister of one of the triumvirs and to the mother and wife of another but with little success. They then in a body went to the tribunal of the triumvirs, whose acts no man dared question, making for their spokesman, Hortensia, the daughter of the famous orator, Hortensius, and protested against the edict. It is claimed this is the first time to be enunciated the principle of "no taxation without representation." They succeeded in getting the amount reduced to a comparatively small sum.

There are some other instances of the public assembling of women. Under the empire there was an assembly of women known as the _conventus matronarum_, or the "little senate," as one writer of the time named it. The Emperor Heliogabalus built on the Quirinal a meeting-place for this body. This body of matrons met and discussed and voted upon and decided the various points of court etiquette, such as questions of dress, precedence, and the use of carriages.

The public standing of the citizen-woman at Athens has been given in the quotations on pages 179-181, which may be compared with the public standing of the citizen-woman at Rome as given in the following:

"If we take the period of Roman history from 150 B. C. to 150 A. D., we shall be surprised at the number of the women of whom it is recorded that they were loved ardently by their husbands, exercised a beneficial influence on them, and helped them in their political or literary work. Many of these women had received an excellent education, they were capable and thoughtful, and took an active interest in the welfare of the State. It is well known that it was Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, who inspired her sons with the resolution to cope with the evils that beset the State, and her purpose did not waver when she knew they had to face death in their country's cause. Julia, the daughter of Julius Cæsar, and the wife of Pompey, kept the two leaders on good terms as long as she lived, and acted with great sweetness and prudence. Cornelia, Pompey's second wife, was a woman of great culture, and a most faithful and devoted wife. Plutarch thus describes her: 'The young woman possessed many charms besides her youthful beauty, for she was well instructed in letters, in playing on the lyre, and in geometry, and she had been accustomed to listen to philosophical discourses with profit. In addition to this, she had a disposition free from all affectation and pedantic display, which such acquirements generally breed in women.' The intervention of Octavia, the wife of Antony, in affairs of state was entirely beneficial and judicious. The first Agrippina displayed courage and energy, herself crushed a mutiny among the soldiers, and was in every way a help to her husband. Tacitus praises his mother-in-law, the wife of Agricola, as a model of virtue, and he describes her as living in the utmost harmony with her husband, each preferring the other in love. And Pliny the younger gives a beautiful picture of his wife Calpurnia, telling a friend how she showed the greatest ability, frugality, and knowledge of literature. Especially 'she has my books,' he says; 'she reads them again and again; she even commits them to memory. What anxiety she feels when I am going to make a speech before the judges, what joy when I have finished it. She places people here and there in the audience to bring her word what applauses have been accorded to my speech, what has been the issue of the trial. If I give readings of my works anywhere, she sits close by, separated by a screen, and drinks in my praises with most greedy ears. My verses also she sings, and sets them to the music of the lyre, no artist guiding her, but only love, who is the best master.'

"These are only a few of the numerous instances that might be adduced, in which wives behaved with a gentleness or courage or self-abnegation worthy of all praise. It is true that they took an active part in the management of affairs, but, on the whole, it must be allowed that they acted with great good sense. And there is a curious proof of this in the times of the Empire. Wives went with their husbands to their provinces, and often took part in the administration of them. Some of the old stern moralists were for putting an end to this state of matters, and proposed that they should not be allowed to accompany their husbands to their spheres of duty; but, after a debate in the Senate, the measure was rejected by a large majority, who thereby affirmed that their help was beneficial.

"No doubt it was their good sense, their kindliness, and their willingness to co-operate with men, that led to their freedom and power in political matters. And this power was sometimes very great. Cicero, in a letter to Atticus, relates an interview which he had at Antium 44 B. C. with Brutus and Cassius. Favorinus was also present, and besides him there were three women--Servilia, the mother of Brutus; Tertulla, the wife of Cassius and sister of Brutus; and Porcia, the wife of Brutus and daughter of Cato. Servilia strikes in twice in the course of the discussion, and it is evident that her words carried weight. On one occasion she promises to get a clause expunged from a decree of the Senate. There must have been many such deliberations where women were present."[180]

Since women entered into public affairs at Rome, it would be natural to conclude they would enter upon some of the public vocations that were occupied solely by men in the earlier times. It would seem that they did enter into the medical profession but, perhaps, not the better class of women and maybe not the citizen-women at all. Since medical art was introduced from Greece, most all the men that followed it were Greek freedmen and likewise the women were likely of the same nationality and standing. Whether there were women lawyers or not, it is true women were permitted to appear in court in their own defense, which some few, at least, did. In religion the cult of Vesta was entirely in their hands, they had the leading part in conducting the rites of Ceres and other female deities, and the wives of priests in some instances held official positions along with their husbands.

"Women occupied themselves, too, with literature. Very little is known of their writings and this mostly from the male writers of their period, who did not place a high estimate upon these compositions of the women, either prose or poetry. Many of the women who did not take an active part in literature did interest themselves in the writings of relatives and friends. Other women became critics and took pride in expressing their views, while others directed their energies toward philosophy and science.

"Ladies, when not poets, were critics, and as such, deemed by Juvenal worse than tipplers. Before they had been five minutes at table, they began to discourse æsthetically on Homer and Virgil, monopolizing the conversation, with a hammer and tong-like effect. They paraded their snacks of knowledge, made quotations from forgotten authors; grammar in hand, corrected their friends' slips. A woman, says Juvenal, may have the encyclopædia by heart and yet know nothing. Martial, too, mocks the purist woman, and yearns, as his life-wish, for a not too learned wife."[181]

"In the good old days of the legitimate drama under Plautus, Terence, Accius, and Pacuvius, women never appeared upon the stage. Feminine rôles were taken by men in female dress. But, with the appearance of the mime and the farce in the first century before our era, women began to take part in theatrical and musical performances. Their larger participation in such matters under the Empire is proved by the discovery of the burying place of a guild of women mimes, just outside of Rome, along the highways leading from the city. Women took a very active part in public musical performances, if we may draw an inference from the number of epitaphs which we find in honor of women who had been solo singers and flute players."[182] Women entered, also, into the commoner affairs of public life, as costumers, seamstresses, washerwomen, weavers, fishmongers, barmaids, and the like.

"If we make a general survey of the facts which have been noted above, it is clear that Roman women took an active part in the literary and religious life of the time, and in many of the cults held priesthoods or officially recognized positions from very early times. Their interest in literature, however, was not serious, and they have produced very little of permanent value. In the practice of law they never succeeded in getting a sure foothold. Women of the lower classes entered freely into the medical profession and the trades, but so far as medicine is concerned women confined their practice to members of their own sex. The principal branches of business which they took up were those connected with the manufacture of wearing apparel. The pursuits of the shopkeeper and the artisan were naturally left to the lower classes, but women of standing in society engaged in industries organized on a large scale, as we can see clearly enough in the case of the brick business."[183]

In the early days of Rome, while the people were struggling to maintain themselves and the nation, the virtue of the women stood out strong. But as the days of hardships passed and comfort and ease and luxury came in with the conquests, laxity of morals arose till under the empire, if the writers of the times may be believed, licentiousness and not virtue was the dominant trait of the women as well as the men. Yet there were many good women, as is shown in the quotations a few pages back.

The social vices of Asia found place in Rome and while heretofore only the foreign women were of evil character, at the time of the empire the citizen-women entered into the life, and in 19 A. D. even a woman of prætorian birth registered herself at the ædile's as a prostitute. This created quite a feeling at Rome and a decree was made by the Senate that any woman whose grandfather, father, or husband had been a knight should not be enrolled as a public woman.

The public life of the times, too, tended toward the lowering of the standard of women. The circus, the theater, and the amphitheater were open to them and they attended in great numbers and witnessed the indecent and obscene acts and the debasing fights and slaughters. It became the fashion for women even of the highest rank to interest themselves in the actors, athletes, circus-drivers, gladiators, stage-singers, vocalists, and musicians, and often going into excesses. Pantomime dancers were the favorites with the women as they "were very beautiful young men, whose art lent them fresh grace. About 22 or 23 A. D. they were banished from Italy, on account of the factions they caused, and their relations with women, who must have been of high rank, otherwise no such ordinance would have been passed."[184] Also there were the banquets, which gave further opportunities for the meeting of the women with the men. With their obscene songs and dances and stories added to enflaming food and drinks, they helped to debase women and to arouse their passions.

=Marriage.= In the earlier days of Rome, when religion was purer than in later times, and children were desired to perpetuate the household religion, celibacy was looked upon as an undesired state and deserving censure; but in later times, when high moral and religious tendencies went down, childlessness was preferred to parenthood and celibacy to marriage. Marriage was a very important affair as it meant the bringing of a stranger into the household to enter into the family worship, to take part in the sacrifices to the household gods, the deities which presided over the welfare of that particular family. Thus it was a solemn obligation and one which deserved careful consideration. Up to the time of Augustus, there were no laws in regard to marriage, except as to the disposition of the dowries, as previous to that time it was deemed essentially a private transaction.

To understand marriage at Rome, it is needed to keep in mind that a woman was always considered to be under the control of a man--father, husband, or guardian. Marriage might or might not mean the transfer of this right to the husband, so that there were two general kinds of marriage contracts. By the one, _cum conventione_, the wife passed from her father's family into the family of her husband, _in manum convenit_, and stood in relation to her husband as a daughter, she surrendered her patrimony and became one of her husband's legal heirs. In the second, _sine conventione_, the wife remained under the rule of her father, as before the marriage, and retained her own property and her right of inheritance in her father's estate. In the first case, the wife became a _materfamilias_ while in the second she was simply an _uxor_.

In the marriage, _sine conventione_, there was, perhaps, no form required as cohabitation of the man and woman constituted the marriage. In the marriage, _cum conventione_, there were three forms--_usus_, _coemptio_, and _confarreatio_. Marriage by _usus_ prevailed among the plebian, common people; marriage by _coemptio_ was the one commonly practised by the middle classes; and marriage by _confarreatio_ was the favorite form in the highest social circles.

Marriage by _usus_ was the simplest form, in which the wife entered into her husband's _manus_, if she lived a whole year in the man's house, both parties agreeing to the relation. In this case then the father's power was gone and he could not even compel the wife to leave her husband's home. But should the woman absent herself from the man's house for three nights in succession during the year, then the bond was broken. In the times when divorce was denied to the woman, she would often avail herself of this right of remaining away three nights in a year, so that if need arose she could have herself claimed by her father or guardian and in this way she could leave her husband.

In marriage by _coemptio_, there was a kind of mutual purchase, a fictitious sale, which the couple made to each other of their person, in which each delivered to the other a small piece of money and repeated certain words. The father emancipated his daughter in favor of her future husband and she came to sustain to the husband the relation of a daughter, took his name, gave up all her goods to him, and declared that she entered into the union of her own free will.

Marriage by _confarreatio_ was the only form that required religious ceremonies. This was the most solemn and stately form of marriage as well as the oldest. By it the wife came into the absolute power of the husband by sacred laws but likewise she became a partner in all his substance and in his sacred rights. In case of the husband's death without will the wife inherited equally with the children and if no children then she inherited his whole fortune. This was a public ceremony, conducted by the pontifex maximus or the flamen dialis, in the presence of at least ten witnesses, and the bridal couple tasted a cake made of a sort of wheat called _far_, which with a sheep, was offered in sacrifice to the gods. The priests themselves had to be married by this ceremony and none but the children of such marriage could ever become flamen of Jupiter, Mars, or Quirinus, or vestal virgins.

A true marriage could be made only between Roman citizens, but as Roman citizenship became widely extended there was thus much latitude for choice. The lowest age for marriage was fixed by law at fourteen for the males and twelve for the female, but usually the girl did not marry before fifteen or sixteen and the boy not till he attained manhood, yet there were a number of instances of early marriages. A woman of twenty or a man of twenty-five who was not a parent became liable to the decree of Augustus against celibacy and childlessness. All within the sixth degree of relationship were originally prohibited from marriage, but later this was lowered to relatives of the fourth degree and when, in 49 A. D., the Senate permitted the Emperor Claudius to marry Agrippina, the daughter of his brother Germanicus, it was lowered to the third degree. But a woman was not permitted to marry her maternal uncle nor a man either his paternal or maternal aunt.

Marriage was a family arrangement, a matter of family convenience, hence, although the law made the consent of the girl necessary, yet really it was wholly in the hands of the parents, for it is well known that children were sometimes betrothed by the parents at a very early age, and the girl was married at the beginning of her thirteenth year, both betrothal and marriage being at an age when the child was wholly under the control of the parent. In the early times, the betrothal was a simple affair but later it became quite formal. This occurred at night or early morning, in the latter case the friends assembling at early dawn at the home of the girl's father or the nearest relative. The amount of the girl's dowry having been agreed upon, a contract was drawn up and signed and sealed by both parties in the presence of witnesses. The boy then gave the girl, as a pledge, an iron ring without ornament or jewels, which the girl placed upon the third finger of the left hand, as from this was believed to be a nerve leading directly to the heart. This was followed by a banquet or feast. The engagement might be broken by either party or by the guardians of either with no legal penalty attached and sometimes this gave the young man or young woman opportunity to escape a union not desired. But as long as a betrothal lasted it imposed certain restrictions, one being that betrothed persons could not testify against one another in the courts. There was usually quite an interval of time between the betrothal and the marriage, but that did not affect the relations of the couple, as they were not together any more than before the betrothal so that really they did not get to know one another till after they were married.

On the night before her marriage the girl put off her _toga prætexta_ and her mother placed on her a long white garment called a _tunica recta_ or _regilla_, and her loosened hair was confined in a scarlet net. The next day, the wedding-day, the girl put on her wedding-dress, which was a long white robe, gathered in at the waist by a woolen girdle tied in the knot of Hercules, a true-lover's knot, and said to be a charm against the evil eye. The _flammeum_, or wedding-veil, was of a brilliant orange red, or flame-color, quite full, of thin, fine stuff, and it was thrown over the head from behind, leaving the face exposed, and then draped gracefully about her. The bride's hair was divided into six strands or stresses by the bridegroom with the point of a spear, and then ribbons or fillets were bound between the tresses and the hair was braided and confined to the head. On these braids and under the veil was worn a garland of natural flowers which the bride herself had gathered.

"The costume of the bride is a complete allegory. This orange-red veil, this saffron-colored _flammeum_, which covers her head and allows only the face to be seen, is the usual ornament of the flamen's wife, to whom divorce is prohibited; the white tunic represents virginity; the head-dress raised in the form of a tower, almost like that of the vestals, with a javelot which runs through it, indicates that the wife is in submission to her husband; the chaplet of vervain is the symbol of fecundity, and the girdle of wool which is tied round her waist bears witness to her chastity."[185]

Weddings could not take place on any day of the year as there were restrictions in reference to such. As a great number of religious festivals occurred in the early summer, requiring the constant attendance of the priests, marriages were forbidden to take place during the whole month of May and the first half of June. On the _dies parentales_, from the thirteenth to the twenty-first of February, marriages could not take place, as on these days there were memorial services for deceased kindred and offerings to their _manes_. Wedding-days could not be placed upon August 24, October 5, and November 8, as the underworld was supposed to stand open on these days, so they were most unlucky days. Nor could such other unlucky days be used as the kalenda, nones, or ides of any month. Nor was it considered appropriate for young girls to be married on religious holidays, although widows could do so. The best time was considered to be that which followed the ides of June.

The guests having assembled in the early morning at the home of the bride's father, or of her nearest relative, the bride being decked out in her wedding garments and the bridegroom having arrived, the wedding ceremonies began with the taking of auspices. In earlier times this was done by observing the flight of birds, but later by the examination of the entrails of an animal, which was conducted by an _haruspex_, a professional diviner. If the omens were favorable, then the wedding sacrifice was made, usually a sheep, and the skin was spread over stools or chairs, on which the bridal pair sat. The right hands of the pair were then joined by a _pronuba_, a woman who had been married but once and who thus acted as a kind of priestess, and the bride signified her willingness to come into the _manus_ of the bridegroom and to take his name by repeating the formula, "_Quando tu Gaius, ego Gaia_," "You being Gaius, I am Gaia." The wedding party then went to a temple or public altar, where offerings and prayer were made to the _flamen dialis_ to the gods, especially to June as the patron of marriage. During the offering, the bridal pair sat side by side, while during the prayer they walked together slowly around the altar. These completed, then all returned to the house of the bride's father where a great feast was held.

At nightfall the feast ended and then came the _deductio_, the leading home of the bride. The bridegroom and his friends made a pretense of snatching the bride away from her father's house, in commemoration of the rape of the Sabines. In reality the father was the only one who could break the bonds that attached the bride to the hearth of her ancestors, where she was under the protection of the household gods, and so he handed her over to the husband and his family to enter into the new relations with them. The bride was escorted by three boys, sons of living parents, two of them holding her by the hand, the other one going before her bearing the bridal torch of white thorn, to drive away the malevolent spirits. Her way was lighted by four married women bearing pine torches and behind her was borne a distaff, a spindle, and in a basket the instruments for feminine work. The procession went through the streets singing, accompanied by flutes, bonfires were lit in the streets and the streets were lined with people, and specially with children, as the bridegroom threw nuts to them to show that he had given up childish things, the bride also having given up her dolls and playthings by offering them to the household gods who had protected her childhood.

As the bride came to the door of her new home, she rubbed oil on the doorposts and then wound woolen bands around them, in order to keep off baleful spells. She was then lifted up by her companions so that her feet might not touch the threshold, sacred to Vesta, the virgin goddess. In the _atrium_, she received from her husband the symbolic gifts of fire and water. The two then knelt together and with the bridal torch lighted their first hearth fire, offered a sacrifice, and broke the cake of _far_, and ate it together. The husband then presented the keys of the house to the wife to show that henceforth she was to have the management of the household. The day was ended with a feast given by the bridegroom to the relatives and friends.

"No one who studies this ceremonial of Roman marriage, in the light of the ideas which it indicates and reflects, can avoid the conclusion that the position of the married woman must have been one of substantial dignity, calling for and calling out a corresponding type of character. Beyond doubt the position of the Roman materfamilias was a much more dignified one than that of the Greek wife. She was far indeed from being a mere drudge or squaw; she shared with her husband in all the duties of the household, including those of religion, and within the house itself she was practically supreme. She lived in the atrium, and was not shut away in a woman's chamber; she nursed her own children and brought them up; she had entire control of the female slaves who were her maids; she took her meals with her husband, but sitting, not reclining, and abstaining from wine; in all practical matters she was consulted, and only on questions politically and intellectual was she expected to be silent. When she went out arrayed in the graceful _stola matronalis_, she was treated with respect, and the passers-by made way for her; but it is characteristic of her position that she did not as a rule leave the house without the knowledge of her husband, or without an escort."[186]

The wife was expected to lament for her husband upon his death and during the time of mourning certain prohibitions were imposed upon her, but these were not imposed upon the widower. Severe penalties were placed upon a widow who married within ten months after the death of her husband. When a widow married, if the husband went to live in her home, the bed upon which the former husband died was removed, the door of the bed-chamber was changed, and the things in the rooms were moved about, that there might be as few reminders as possible of the former husband.

Concubinage existed, but not polygamy, as monogamy was strictly enforced at Rome. This was so closely guarded that a divorced man could not marry again unless the divorce was an effective one. Concubinage was usually between parties that could not enter into a legal marriage, and thus the concubine was usually a woman of low estate, often a freedwoman. The offspring were considered illegitimate and could not enter into the inheritance.

In the early times there were no divorces in Rome. It is claimed that there were no divorces during the first five hundred years from the founding of the city, the first divorce occurring about 231 B. C., when Spurius Carvilius Ruga put away his wife because she was barren. But divorces increased till in the last years of the republic and under the empire they became very frequent. "Seneca says, some women counted their years, not by consuls, but by their husbands; and Juvenal, that some divorced before the green bays of welcome had faded on the lintels, and they might have had eight husbands in five years; Tertullian, that women marry only in order to divorce; these exaggerations must have a foundation in truth.... Ovid and Pliny the younger had three wives; Cæsar and Antony four; Sulla and Pompey five; such cases must have been frequent."[187]

There were a number of causes for divorce, in the later days, the most common one being incompatibility of temper. In the divorce, the tablets of the contract were broken in the presence of seven witnesses, all adult Roman citizens. Repudiation was a less solemn act and took place quietly in the family. In the early times, when a woman was divorced she lost her dowry. In later times, a sixth was kept back for adultery and an eighth for other crimes. Then, still later, it came about that if the husband was divorced by the wife he lost the dowry, but if the wife divorced him without a cause the husband retained a sixth of the dowry for each child, but only up to three-sixths.

=Dress.= The Romans had two principal articles of dress--the _toga_ and the _tunica_. The toga was made of white woolen cloth. On festival days a new one was worn or one newly cleaned. It was woven in an oblong form and the corners were clipped off till it took the form of an ellipse. Its length was about three times the height of the wearer, exclusive of the head, and its breadth at the middle about twice the same height, although the breadth varied with time and fashion, as, in the early period it was rather narrow, while in later times a fashionable toga was nearly circular. In putting it on, the toga was folded in its long way nearly in the middle and one end was thrown over the left shoulder from behind and allowed to fall to the feet in front. The other end was then brought across the back and under the right arm and the folds were spread out to cover the right side of the body to the calf of the leg and then gathered and carried across the breast and thrown backward over the left shoulder. Thus one-third of the toga would cover the left side and front of the body, the middle third would cover the back and right side, and the remaining third would cover the chest and go over the left shoulder. The diagonal folds across the breast formed the sinus, which was often used as a pocket. It would seem that a girdle was not worn with the toga nor pins or clasps to fasten it, but in later fashionable times small pieces of lead were placed in the ends and hidden by tassels which served to preserve the drapery. The white toga, without color, _toga pura_, was the ordinary garment worn. Boys wore the _toga prætexta_, which had a purple border, and which was discarded when manhood was reached at fifteen or sixteen for the _toga virilis_, _pura_ or _libera_. The toga for mourning was black and in later times dark blue also was used. Beside these there were other kinds. Only Roman citizens were allowed to wear the toga.

The tunica was worn indoors, when the toga was thrown off, and also outdoors, when the toga was worn over it. In the later times in cold weather two or more tunics were worn. The tunica was a kind of woolen shirt, at first without sleeves, then with short sleeves reaching to the elbows, and in the time of the empire long sleeves were attached to it. It reached down to the calves and even to the ankles. It was often fastened to the waist by a girdle, which was used as a purse for holding money.

Another garment was the _pænula_, a kind of cloak made of thick wool and leather, and worn over the toga in traveling in bad weather. Another kind of cloak, worn over the toga or tunica, was the _lacuna_, which was made of lighter and more costly material and was worn for show as well as for use. To both pænula and lacuna could be added a hood (_cucullus_) for further protection from the weather.

The women in the early times wore the toga and the tunica the same as the men. The tunica continued to be worn but there arose as distinct apparel for women, the _stola_ and the _palla_. The stola was an oblong garment worn over the tunica and extended to the feet. It was open at the top on either side for the arms to go through and fastened on both shoulders with clasps or brooches (_fibulæ_), which often were quite costly articles. A girdle was drawn around it at the waist and then it was pulled up and allowed to fall over the girdle till the girdle was covered by the folds and then the lower part of the stola was pulled down till it just touched the ground. At the bottom there was an ornamental border. Sometimes there were sleeves to it, which were open below and fastened together with gold or jeweled buttons or clasps. The stola was a special garment that was permitted to be worn only by married women of unblemished reputation. "The common courtesans were not allowed to appear in the stola, but were compelled to wear a sort of gown, resembling the habit of the opposite sex, and which was regarded as a mark of infamy."[188]

The palla was a kind of cloak worn out of doors over the stola. It was somewhat similar to the toga, as it was a square or oblong piece of cloth. Like the toga, too, it was thrown forward over the left shoulder and let fall to the feet, and then drawn over or under the right shoulder and pulled across the breast and thrown over the left arm or shoulder. When necessary to protect the head, the palla could be drawn up over it like the toga.

The prevalent material of Roman clothing was always woolen and up to the end of the republic the only materials used were wool and linen. Sheep-raising for wool was one of the very most important industries. Foreign wools, however, were imported, because the supply of native wool was not sufficient to meet the demand and also by importing foreign wool a variety of natural colors could be obtained, as brown, red, black, golden-brown, reddish, and grayish. Goats' wool was not often used for wearing apparel, usually only for coarse cloaks and overshoes. It was woven into rough and heavy cloths for tent-coverings, blankets, and the like, and goats' hair was used for making ropes and cables.

Linen was used for the under-garments of both men and women and for women's belts and girdles and also linen thread was made. In the later times the finer grades of linen for handkerchiefs, table-cloths, napkins, bedding, and suits were all imported. Cotton and cotton fabrics were introduced from the far East into Greece and thence into Rome. Silk began to be used by the women toward the end of the republic and by men under the empire.

The color of clothing was originally white, which was prescribed by law for the toga. Poor people, slaves, and freedmen had their clothing of the natural brown or black color of the wool. The mourning garments of the upper classes were of dark color--black or dark blue. In later periods the women got to using a variety of colors, selecting such as the mode directed or as suited their particular taste, as scarlet, violet, purple, yellow, blue, and many other colors. In imperial times the men adopted a variety of colors for their garments, too. The wearing of genuine purple, however, remained the exclusive privilege of the emperors.

In early times the spinning and weaving was done at home under the direction of the mistress of the house. But it was not long till the work of the home did not suffice to supply the demand and large factories (_officionæ_) were established for the weaving of both woolen and linen goods. The garments were prepared with needle and scissors, each wealthy household having several tailors among its slaves. Before they could be used for garments, the woolen cloths had to be finished by the fuller, who not only finished new cloths but also cleansed and restored old garments.

The Romans, usually, whether indoors or out, went bareheaded, both men and women. In case of heat or cold or rain, the men would pull the upper part of the toga up over the head and the women used the palla in the same way. There were times, however, when they did wear coverings upon their heads, as, at the sacrifices, at the public games, at the Saturnalia, upon a journey, or upon a warlike expedition. Also the working-classes exposed to the weather wore a head-covering. These coverings were the _pileus_ and the _petasus_. The pileus was a close-fitting felt cap and the petasus was a felt hat with a round brim. Sometimes the _cucullus_, a hood, was worn in place of the pileus. For ornamentation the women would wear a veil, which was fastened to the top of the head and drooped over neck and back in graceful folds. They also wore the _mitra_, which was a cloth wound round the head to form a kind of cap. They also wore a head-covering in the form of a net made of gold-thread.

In the early times men wore their hair long and this was continued for a long time and the wearing of short hair made slow progress and only among the higher classes. In the late empire the close-cropped hair became the fashion. Before the time of cropped hair it was sometimes worn in wavy locks and again, by means of the curling-iron, it was arranged in short curls and perfumed. Also false hair was used. The ancient Romans wore their beards very long. The wearing the beard long continued till the later years of the republic when it became the custom to shave the face, but full beards came into fashion again in the later empire. "The first hair cut from the head of a child, and a youth's first beard, were consecrated to the gods; but the coins of the late republican period show plainly that young men usually wore a beard, though carefully trimmed and dressed, and were seldom clean-shaven before forty."[189] There were barber-shops among the Romans and they were the gathering-places of idlers and the centers of male gossip. Among the furnishings were razors, tools to pull out the beard, scissors, pomatums to remove hair where not desired, combs, curling-irons, mirrors, towels, etc.

The ways of arranging the hair by the women varied in the different periods. In the first centuries of the republic, there seems to have been two general fashions. The hair was either parted or unparted and then combed back in wavy lines and gathered together in a knot at the back of the head, low down on the neck, and fastened with ribbons or clasps, or it was wound round the top of the head like a crown. In another way the hair was carried around the head in long curls, or the front hair was plaited and connected with the back hair, etc. These simple ways of arranging the hair gave place to many variegated ways and hair-dressing became a science and the women employed special maid-servants for the purpose or had in their employ female hairdressers. In one fashion there was a tower-like headdress, the natural hair being helped out with artificial hair or with wigs. The hair was frizzled and curled and perfumed and dyed. It was kept in place by means of ribbons and pins and hair-pins of metal or ivory and adorned with gold ornaments and pearls and jewels. The hair was sometimes gracefully adorned with wreaths of flowers or of branches with leaves and blossoms.

The Romans wore shoes (_calcei_) and sandals (_sandalia_). There were several kinds of shoes worn, as every Roman order and every tribe or gens had a distinctive kind of shoe. The _sutor_, or shoemaker, had a particularly respectable calling at Rome. The _pero_ was for wet and snowy weather; it was made of raw hide and it was similar to a boot, reaching up to the middle of the leg. The _calceus senatorius_ was of black leather with four straps. The _calceus mulleus_ was made of red leather, with a high heel, and with straps to fasten it about the ankle. It had on its front a crescent-shaped piece of ivory, the _lunula_, which was of very ancient origin, and, like the _bulla_, may, perhaps, have had the force of a charm. The _caliga_ was worn by the soldiers, which was a kind of boot, reaching to the middle of the leg, and the sole was of wood and stuck full of nails. There seemed to have been worn, too, a kind of sock or stocking that reached to the middle of the leg and tied with laces from the instep to the calf. The ladies of the upper classes, for outdoors wore shoes made of fine leather and richly embroidered in silk and gold. In the house both men and women wore sandals (_soleæ_). The sandals and shoes were tied on with straps, which were wound round the foot and the leg upward from the ankle.

The Roman ladies wore many different kinds of ornaments, made of precious metals, ivory, jewels, and pearls. They wore earrings, a very common form being pearls and jewels attached to hooks of gold and then fastened to the ears. There were hair-pins of metal and ivory, made in various forms, some of which contained eyes for the fastening of strings of pearls. They had necklaces of gold with jewels and pearls attached to them. Bracelets, made in the form of snakes, simple ribbons, plaited gold threads, and other styles, were worn at the wrist or above the elbow, with a sleeveless tunic. They had rings adorned with jewels and cameos. They wore chains of gold around the neck, sometimes five or six feet in length. They fastened their girdles and other parts of the dress with buckles and brooches, made of silver and gold and frequently studded with jewels and cameos. Some of these ornaments were also worn by the men, as, rings and bracelets. All the principal precious stones, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, opals, were known to the Romans. They prized the pearl above all other gems and often paid great prices for them. "Julius Cæsar is said to have given to Servilia, the mother of Marcus Brutus, a solitaire pearl for which he paid six million sesterces ($262,500), while Caligula received with his wife, Lollia Paulina a complete _parure_ of pearls and emeralds, which was an heirloom in her family; a part of the spoils taken in Eastern war by her grandfather, Marcus Lollius, in the year 2 B. C., and valued at forty million sesterces ($2,180,000)."[190]

"About the mysteries of the toilette of the Roman ladies, mercilessly laid bare by the authors of imperial times, we shall say little. Great care was particularly bestowed on the complexion, and on the artificial reproduction of other charms, lost too soon in the exciting atmosphere of imperial court-life. During the night a mask (_tectorium_) of dough and ass's milk was laid on the face, to preserve the complexion; this mask was an invention of Poppæa, the wife of Nero, hence its name _Poppæana_. Another mask, composed of rice and bean-flour, served to remove the wrinkles from the face. It was washed off in the morning with tepid ass's milk and the face afterwards bathed in fresh ass's milk several times in the course of the day. Poppæa was, for the purpose, always accompanied in her travels by herds of she-asses. The two chief paints used for the face were a white (_creta cerussa_) and a red substance (_fucus minium purpurissum_), moistened with spittle. Brows and eyelashes were dyed black, or painted over; even the veins on the temples were masked with lines of a tender blue color. Many different pastes and powders were used to preserve and clean the teeth. Artificial teeth made of ivory and fastened with gold thread were known to the Romans at the time when the laws of the twelve tablets were made, one of which laws prohibited the deposition of gold in the graves of the dead, excepting the material required for the fastening of false teeth."[191]

As an aid in the preparation of the toilet and the like, the Romans had mirrors. These were not made of glass but of polished metal. They were square or round and of various sizes, some being equal in size to a grown-up person. Some of the mirrors had handles for holding with the hand, some were made so as to hang on the wall, and others could be placed upright.

=Food.= The Romans of the early times had a simple fare, living chiefly on pottage, or bread and pot-herbs. They sat at their meals, using a long table. As the nation grew and wealth increased and they came in contact with older nations, they gave up this simple life and entered among the most luxurious nations in their manner of living.

The Romans had three meals a day. The first meal was in the morning, the _ientaculum_, or breakfast, which was simple, consisting of bread flavored with salt or dipped in wine, olives, grapes, eggs, and cheese. The second meal was at midday, the _cena_, or dinner, which with the country people was the principal meal. In the city this midday meal was a lunch, the _prandium_, while the _cena_, dinner, was taken later in the day, toward evening, and often became quite an elaborate affair. There was sometimes a fourth meal, _comissatio_, served late at night, which really was but little more than a drinking-bout.

The meals were usually served in the _triclinium_, or dining-room. In this was a square dining-table, having on three sides one-armed couches, the remaining side being left open for serving. Each of these couches had room for three persons, who reclined upon the left arm, with the feet outward. About the end of the republic, round tables came into use, with semicircular couches. Some of these tables were quite valuable, being made of rare imported woods. The guests used napkins, which they might have brought themselves or were provided by the host. In later times table-cloths came into use. The principal ornament on the table was the _salinum_, or salt-cellar, as salt was used not only for seasoning, but also for sacrifices, and the salinum also held the sacrificial cakes. The chief implements for eating were two kinds of spoons, the _ligula_, shaped very much like the table spoon of the present, and the _cochlear_, which had a small circular bowl, flat or slightly hollowed, with a pointed handle. Knives and forks seem to have come into use during the later times of the empire.

The chief dish of the poorer classes was porridge, made of a farinaceous substance and which served them as bread. They had such vegetables as the cabbage, turnip, radish, leek, garlic, onion, cucumber, and pumpkin. Meat was rarely eaten, perhaps only on festival occasions. The market afforded all kinds of foods. Among the animals were the rabbit, pheasant, guinea-fowl, common poultry, peacock, kid, pig, and boar; there were various kinds of fish and oysters and snails; beside the plants mentioned above were rue, lettuce, cress, mallow, and sorrell. It would seem that they had quite a number of different kinds of grain; among the fruits were the apple, pear, plum, cherry, quince, peach, pomegranate, fig, olive, and grape; there were lemons and oranges and nuts of various kinds.

Wine was the only drink of an intoxicating nature that the Romans had. It was customary to mix the wine with water, and to drink the wine without putting water into it was considered a sign of intemperance. For a number of years the water-supply was such as could be obtained from the Tiber, wells, and natural springs, and it was not till the time of the republic that the water was brought from outside of Rome, for which means aqueducts were built and which continued to be built until there was an abundant supply of water.

=Child and Parent.= The Romans practiced the exposure of infants as in Greece. This was begun in the early times and carried down into the later times. The children so exposed were usually feeble or deformed, but the father had the power to use it on any child and this was sometimes done when the father considered the child to be illegitimate. The new-born child was laid at the feet of the father and it was his duty to take the child up into his arms and declare it to be his child and that he would rear it and support it. In case the father did not so claim it, the child was carried away and placed at some cross-roads, where it would die unless taken up by a slave-merchant to rear it to sell.

The relation which existed between the father and the child was known as the _patria potestas_. This power of the father was very great in early times. He could sell his children, disinherit them, select a wife for a son or a husband for a daughter, and he even had the power to put them to death. This power ceased only at death or if the father lost his rights of Roman citizenship. The father himself could emancipate his son. Also this power over the son ceased should he become a _flamen_, or priest, and it ceased over the daughter if she married or took the vestal vows.

=Names.= The Romans had three names: These were the _prænomen_, the individual's own first name; the _nomen_, the name of the _gens_ or family to which he belonged; and the _cognomen_, or surname, which distinguished the particular branch or division of the tribe from which he sprung. Thus in the name Marcus Tullius Cicero, Marcus was the prænomen, Tullius the nomen, designating the Tullian family, and Cicero, the cognomen, showing that he was from the Cicerones branch of the tribe.

The boys received the nomen, family name, on the ninth day after birth and girls on the eighth day. On such day the ceremony of purification took place, which was by sprinkling with a branch of olive or laurel dipped in water, the burning of incense, and the offering of sacrifice. The boy was given his prænomen when he put on the toga virilis at sixteen or seventeen and the girl when she was married. The wife at marriage took the nomen of her husband's family, but this was not often a change from her own family as usually marriages were between members of the same gens. In later times, when marriage did not mean so much, and divorces became frequent, the wife did not take her husband's nomen but she was known by the nomen of her father's gens.

=Care and Treatment of Children.= The birth of a son was a happy day in a Roman household and the door of the house was decorated with flowers and green branches. The boy's ninth day after birth and the girl's eighth day was the day of purification, the _lustratio_. A branch of laurel or olive was dipped into water and used to sprinkle the child, incense was burned, a sacrifice was made upon the family altar for the child's welfare, and he was carried to one or more of the temples and placed under the protection of the gods. Also, as stated above, the child's name was bestowed upon him at this time. Usually a private record was made of the time of the lustratio, which was sometimes offered in cases of identification. Under Marcus Aurelius there was begun a public registry of births, as it was decreed that within thirty days after birth the name of each child, born free at Rome, should be placed in the public records in the archives of the treasury in the temple of Saturn. The birthday was religiously observed by every Roman, rich or poor, high or low, at which time the members of his family were brought together and offerings were made to the household gods and a festive time made of the day. Many mothers turned over their children to the care of nurses and the wealthy employed wet-nurses. Each Roman child wore round his neck a _bulla_, which was a small locket of gold or some other metal, sometimes of leather, usually heart-shaped, or circular, and attached to a ribbon or chain. This was a charm against the evil eye. The boy wore his bulla till he put on the toga virilis at manhood and a girl wore hers till her marriage.

"Identical with modern times were the anxious care of mothers, relatives, and nurses, the words of endearment (such as birdie, little dove, little crow, little mother, little lady), and the lisping childish language and the lullabies ('sleep, my child, or suck'), rattles and other means of soothing (such as beating the stone that had hit the child), and the many superstitions, at all ages: such as binding on teeth of horses and boars to alleviate the teething, and old wives' simples and amulets against the evil eye. As a preservative against the _strigæ_, or vampires, garlic was wrapt up in the swaddling-clothes and hawthorn planted in the windows. A mother, who was passing a temple of Venus, would mumble a prayer for her daughter's beauty and make a vow. The figure of the girls was made artificially perfect. They wore tight stays from early childhood, so as to raise the hips into relief, and nurses' carelessness often produced rounded backs or unequal shoulders."[192]

=Citizenship.= At seventeen years of age the Roman boy became liable for military duty. In earlier times this was the age at which he assumed the toga virilis. In the later times the age for taking the virile robe varied, usually taking place between the fourteenth and seventeenth years, but there were cases where boys were invested with the toga virilis as early as twelve and where it was withheld until nineteen. The time of year for this ceremony was not fixed, although a favorite date was at the time of the _Liberalia_, or feast of Bacchus, which occurred on March 17th.

"To make the gods propitious, the youth has passed the last night of his infancy covered, like a bride on the eve of her nuptials, with a white material and a saffron-colored sort of net-work. Is not this a betrothal which is now to be completed: the indissoluble union of the new citizen to the city?"[193] The bulla was removed from the boy's neck and the toga prætexta taken off him and both were consecrated to the lares, a sacrifice was made, and then the boy was invested with the toga virilis. Then the boy was conducted to the Forum by his father or guardian, accompanied by relatives and friends, and formally presented to the public. He was, probably, also taken to the _tabularium_ under the Capitol and his name enrolled among the list of full citizens.

This was a very important event in the life of the boy, as it freed him from the control of others, as he became by law a man, capable of looking after his own affairs and of holding property. After this he entered upon the affairs of life. If he was of the middle or lower classes, he entered directly into business or work; if of the upper class, he began to prepare for public life or the army.

=Inheritance.= Every citizen had the right to make a will and to leave his property to the ones he wished to receive it. There were two kinds of wills recognized, the one made in civil life before the public assembly, and the other was in military life, made when an army was drawn up ready for battle and while the auspices were being taken.

Instead of a written will there might be an oral declaration, which had to be made before the proper authorities and witnesses and recorded in the city registers. If the will of the soldier dying in battle was unfinished, it was valid if there was no doubt as to his intentions. Those by law who could not make a will, or whose will was invalid, were persons under the power of another, minors, the insane, people not capable of managing their own affairs, the civilly dead, and the banished. Where there was no will, the law provided an order of inheritance, the children taking precedence. In case there was neither will nor legal heir, the estate went into the public treasury.

=Adoption.= It was a sacred duty for a Roman family to preserve its name, its domestic sacrifices, and its traditions. These were transmitted from one generation to the next, so in case there was no son, the head of the family was authorized by law to adopt a son. There were three kinds of adoption. The first was adoption properly so-called; the second was the _arrogatio_, adrogation; and the third was adoption made by will or testament, to be confirmed by the proper authorities after the death of the testator.

There were three conditions necessary to adoption. The first requirement was that there were no sons in the family, nor hopes of any, and that the father should be about eighteen years older than the one to be adopted as a son; the second condition was that the honor, religion, domestic worship, or sacrifices of the two families, should not in any way be injured; and the third, that there should be no fraud or collusion.

Adoption proper was for minors. The two fathers, the natural and the adoptive, arranged the matter between them and then, with the child, went before the proper authorities and in the presence of witnesses was legally carried out. The adopted son took the rank and the name of the family into which he entered, he was introduced to the domestic sacrifices, and he became a full heir. If there was a daughter in the family, she became his sister and he could not marry her.

Adrogation was the form of adoption used with citizens who were their own masters. This required the consent of the people assembled for the purpose. Under this act a citizen with his property and all persons subjected to him passed into another's power.

"These adoptions finally led to abuse. The patrician, to obtain the tribuneship, would be adopted by some plebeian, and those who were without children, that they might enjoy office to which only fathers of families could be elected, adopted children, whom, after obtaining the offices, they emancipated. This finally required, to remedy it, a decree of the senate in the reign of Nero."[194]

=Sickness and Death.= Throughout the time of Rome, medicine was largely in the hands of slaves and freedmen. Those engaged in the medical practice were mostly Greeks and orientals, especially Egyptians. Up to the middle of the republic, they treated their patients according to certain old prescriptions and nostrums. In the later days of the republic, the practice of medicine began to take on more the form of a profession and later the profession became to be divided into physicians, surgeons, and oculists, and also there were dentists, ear specialists, and the like. There were, too, women physicians and midwives. As those engaged in medicine were not required to be examined and were not held by law to much responsibility, quackery prevailed. The practice of medicine was quite remunerative and the physicians who were successful made large salaries.

Among the Romans the duties to the dead were carefully attended to. They believed that the souls of those who had not received the proper honors accorded to the dead were condemned to wander for a long number of years along the banks of the Styx before they were permitted to cross over into the realms of the dead. The dying person was surrounded by his relatives and when he had breathed his last his eyes and mouth were closed by the nearest relative present and the _conclamatio_ was made, all calling out loudly three times to the deceased as though he might be in a trance. Upon his not awakening, the relatives and friends retired and left the body to the professional undertaker.

The body was washed, anointed, and clothed, the coin to pay Charon, the ferryman of the Styx, was placed between the teeth, and then the corpse was laid upon a couch in the atrium, with feet turned toward the entrance door. Flowers were placed about the couch and the decorations and crowns, if any, of the deceased were displayed about the body. To show that the house was in mourning, branches of cypress or pine were hung in front. The body lay in state for seven days for visitations of kindred and friends.

The day of the funeral having arrived, the funeral procession took place. In ancient times all funerals were in the night time, but later they were held in the day time, yet still later the procession went with lighted torches.

The order of the procession was arranged by the _designator_, master of ceremonies, and it closely resembled a triumphal procession. At the head marched the musicians, which might have been a single flute-player or a band of musicians with trumpets and pipes and horns; then came the mourning-women, hired for the occasion; next came dancers and mimes, one of whom was dressed up to resemble the deceased, and who acted out his character, imitating his style of speaking, his manner, and exaggerating his peculiarities. Following these came professional actors dressed in the garbs of the ancestors of the deceased and wearing wax masks representing their features, who strove to imitate them in speech and actions. Then were displayed the crowns and rewards the deceased had been honored with and the spoils and standards he had taken in war. Then came the torch-bearers and lictors, with lowered faces, followed by the nearest relatives or friends or slaves set free by the will, bearing upon a lofty bier the corpse extended and exposed in rich garments. Then the family of the deceased followed, the sons with veiled faces and the daughters with heads uncovered and hair loosened. Last came the freedmen, slaves, clients, friends, and the general public.

There were demonstrations of grief displayed by the mourners, the nearest relatives tearing their clothing, pulling out their hair, and covering their heads with dust, the women smiting their breasts, scratching their faces, tearing their hair, and the like.

If there was to be a funeral oration, the procession went to the forum, the bier being set down in front of the rostrum and surrounded by the wearers of the ancestral masks. A near relative, usually, mounted the tribune and delivered a eulogy upon the deceased and his ancestors. An informal eulogy might be given at the place of interment, in which case the procession did not stop at the forum. At the close of the oration the procession passed on. The burial place might have been public, along some one of the great highways leading out of Rome, or it might have been private, upon the suburban estate of the deceased. The vestal virgins had the right of burial within the city itself. The body was placed in the tomb, those present were then sprinkled, in order to purify them, three times with a branch of olive or laurel dipped in pure water, and then all returned from the funeral.

The above description refers to the funeral of the wealthy and illustrious. The bodies of the middle classes were placed in the _columbaria_, which were built up or cut out of rock, being super-imposed niches. These were often built by joint-stock companies who would keep them in order, letting out the niches as they were wanted. The poor were given a place in the common burial-ground, their bodies being carried out at night by the _vespillones_, carriers of corpses. Persons killed by lightning were buried at the place they fell, which was enclosed with a wall. The bodies of malefactors were left unburied, exposed to the elements and to the birds and the beasts.

The earlier Romans interred their dead. Burning the body gradually came into practice and became general near the close of the republic and almost universal under the empire. As Christianity grew, cremation gradually fell into disuse and interment became the practice.

In one way of cremation, perhaps the earlier form, a grave about three and a half feet deep was made and filled with fuel. The body was placed on the fuel and as it burned the bones and ashes of the body fell into the pit with the coal and ashes of the fuel. The remains of the body were gathered up and put into an urn which was set up in the grave and the dirt heaped around so as to form a mound and then a wall was built around the place.

In another way, a funeral pile, made of wood and in the form of an altar, was built up outside the city and near the family burial place. The eyes of the corpse were opened and it was wrapped in a shroud and laid upon the pile. The nearest relative impressed a last kiss upon the lips of the deceased and then with a burning torch and head averted set fire to the pile, the others present raising a _conclamatio_. While the pile was burning there was thrown upon it incense, perfumes, clothing, ornaments, weapons, and other things, as last presents to the deceased. When the body was consumed, the fire was extinguished with wine. The bones and ashes of the body were collected, dried, sprinkled with perfumes, and put into an urn, which was placed in a tomb. The last farewell was spoken, those present were purified with a sprinkling of pure water, and then all departed.

Relatives and friends came together the day after the funeral and partook of the funeral feast. If the deceased had been a great or wealthy man, scenic games were given and raw meat distributed among the people. The mourning continued for ten days, during which time none of the relatives could be summoned to a court of justice. On the ninth day a banquet was held, bringing the whole family together again, and on the tenth day the house was purified and the funeral ceremonies ended.

"The purification of the house ended the funeral ceremonies, but the 'paternal Manes' had three festivals which brought together again families: in March, the three nights of the _Lemuralia_, to appease the Manes whom forgetfulness might irritate; in February, the _Parentalia_, 'the day of the dear kindred,' which Ovid calls also the festival of the _Caristies_, and in the summer, that of roses, _Rosalia_, which were then scattered around the tomb. On this day all the relations were united at the same table, _socias dapes_, in order that the festival might lead to forgetfulness of quarrels: 'This is the time,' says the poet, 'when concord takes pleasure in descending among us.'"[195]

=Industries.= Agriculture was the most important industry of the early Romans. The farms were small and many of the leading citizens followed the calling of farming. Later there arose large landed estates, which greatly changed the manner of farming. The proprietors did not work themselves and most of the work was done by slaves. Large tracts of land were used for parks and pleasure grounds and others were kept in pasturage. Thus agriculture decreased or changed and as the population grew the people of Rome were no longer able to supply their own food and food-stuffs were imported from other countries. The time came when immense supplies of grain were brought in by the government and distributed free among the people or sold at a nominal price.

On a great estate the dwelling of the master, the villa proper, stood apart from the other buildings, which were built around a court-yard and all were enclosed with only one entrance which was guarded by a porter with a fierce watch-dog. The slaves that could be trusted worked out in the fields and the others were kept within the enclosure, often in underground chambers, and did indoor work. A great deal of the farm work was done by hand and for which they had a number of implements, such as spades, mattocks, rakes, hoes, and forks. They had different kinds of plows to suit the nature of the soil. They usually used oxen for plowing.

The Romans understood about fertilizing and drainage and rotation of crops. It seems they had many different kinds of grain and practiced both fall and spring sowing. Next in importance to the grains were various kinds of pulse, the most useful being the _faba_, some variety of bean. They raised turnips as food for cattle and sheep.

Among the animals raised on the farms were cattle, bred mostly for draught rather than for beef; horses and mules, race-horses commanding the highest prices; sheep and goats and hogs. Poultry-raising was quite important. Doves and thrushes and peacocks were raised and for which there was quite a demand. Since honey took the place of sugar, great attention was given to bee-culture.

Two of the greatest industries were the raising of grapes for wine and olives for oil. Market-gardening employed quite a large number and it was quite profitable, especially near cities and large towns. There were various kinds of fruit-trees and grafting was a common practice. Beside fruit-trees other trees were raised, in particular trees for shade and ornament.

"In considering the Roman farmer's year as a whole, we find that he computed rainy days and festivals at forty-five and reckoned on thirty days after the sowing when there was no field labor to be done. But on these thirty days, and on the stormy ones, there were ropes to make, baskets to weave, and other home-made utensils to prepare; while all the other instruments of the husbandman--his 'mute servants,' as Verro calls them--had to be repaired and thoroughly cleaned. Even on feast-days certain kinds of work were allowed, such as the cleaning of drains and the mending of highways, so that only the December Saturnalia seem to have afforded a complete holiday to the slaves.

"On New Year's day, a little work of every kind was done for good luck; but then followed a time of complete relaxation. In the latter half of January, the ground was cleared of brambles, and the trimming of the vineyards completed; while the autumn-sown grain and the beans, if they were sufficiently grown, were hoed for the first time. Early trees were now grafted, and the stock was planted. Vineyards were also cultivated, and young orchards set out, grass sown and ground broken, fields manured and osier-beds renewed. Vine-sets were also transplanted, if needful and the late fruit trees grafted.

"In March, the vegetable garden was prepared, the autumn grains received their second hoeing, and the spring grains were sown. In April, came weeding, sheep-washing, the setting out of new vineyards, the trimming of old vines, and the olive-grafting.

"May brought the earliest mowing, and in this month the earth was first spaded up about the olive-trees, and the vineyards dug over, this latter process being repeated each month until cold weather. The olives were also trimmed, the vine-shoots nipped; in warmer latitudes the sheep were shorn, and the lupins, which had been sown as fertilizers, were ploughed in. In June the first ploughing was finished and the second done, the threshing-floor was made ready, vetches mown, beans picked, and honey taken from the hives.

"Grain-harvest took place in July, and the cutting of the straw and gathering of leaves for the winter fodder of cattle. In August, figs and grapes were dried for winter use, and brakes cut for litter.

"September was, _par excellence_, the month of the vintage, and then, too, turnips were planted, and the later grains harvested. In October, winter grains were sown and harrowed in, trees trimmed, and the olive-picking begun.

"November was devoted to a general cleaning-up of autumn work. The making of oil was finished in December, and the vines trimmed, and we may close the brief _résumé_ of the work of the Roman agricultural year by a few general precepts from the natural history of the elder Pliny: 'He is no farmer who buys what his estate can supply. He is a bad head of a household who does by day what can be done by night--except in case of foul weather; he is a worse who does on working-days what is permitted on holidays; the worst of all is he who on a pleasant day chooses to work within doors rather than in the field."[196]

The upper classes in Rome held in low esteem, and even in contempt, the tradesmen and mechanics. This might have been because these people performed for the masses the duties that slaves did for the higher classes, and so all were put on the same footing. These people were, with few exceptions, debarred from serving in the legions and in consequence they became cowardly and likewise at times unruly. Yet the laboring class, as everywhere and in all times, were greatly needed at Rome and did perform a large amount of honest and useful labor. The great commerce carried on needed a large number of sailors and in the ports dock hands and porters and clerks. The city, too, needed a large number in the trades, as, bakers, tailors, shoemakers, potters, carpenters, and various kinds of smiths. There were needed plenty of small shops where the people could procure the things necessary for life and such shops would call for the employment of many people.

People of the same trades would naturally associate together and attachments would be formed, so that guilds came into existence at an early date, both from this natural instinct of association and for the protection of their trades. Among the crafts represented in the guilds were weavers, carpenters, dyers, leather-workers, tanners, smiths, porters, and a number of others. They were modeled after the gens or family, with a religious center and a patron deity. They had separate inns for their meetings. They had festive days at which times they went in procession through the streets carrying their emblems and banners. They provided for the funerals of their members, they had their widow's fund, and in other ways they looked after the interests of the ones belonging to the guilds.

Rome had an extensive commerce. Traders went along with the soldiers or quickly followed after them to open trade with the conquered provinces. Thus London in 61 A. D., only eighteen years after the conquest, had a large number of Roman merchants among its people. The roads built from Rome into all parts of the world greatly promoted commerce. The traders did not stop with the boundaries of the empire but went out among peoples not under Roman sway. As an instance of this was their going out into the North of Europe to the Baltic for amber and at one time there was quite a trade in this and in other articles. Even before Cæsar's conquest of Gaul, Roman traders had entered it over the St. Bernhard pass and had even gone among the Belgæ. The Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Atlantic were full of Roman ships trading with the various provinces and countries. The conquest of Egypt opened up a great trade, not only with that country but through it also with Arabia, Ethiopia and even India.

=The Spectacles.= The public games, or Spectacles, were the greatest amusements the Roman people had. Originating in early times as religious celebrations, they became so fixed as to make them a public necessity, a means of keeping the mass of the people busy so as to keep their attention away from affairs of state. As it became a duty of the government to provide grain free or at a nominal cost, so it became its duty to furnish free entertainment for the masses. These games were provided by the officials and made free to the public. There were four phases of the spectacles. Horse and chariot races were held in the circus, gladiatorial fights and fights with animals and also sea fights in the amphitheater, scenic representations in the theater, and athletic and musical contests in the stadium.

The Circus Maximus was located in Rome in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills. It was of an oblong circular form, about a mile in circumference, and seated 150,000 or more people. Among the displays were exploits on horseback, such as leaping from horse to horse while running, picking up things from the ground with the horse in full gallop, and the like. Young men in full armor gave mock-fights, and sometimes there would be military drills, and again boys from senatorial families and young princes went through cavalry exercises in glittering armor. The greatest displays of all were the chariot races. Factions arose with their colors, at first but two with white and red, and then four with white, red, blue, green, and later gold and purple were added but soon dropped out, leaving the four factions and colors. Heavy bets were made by the factions and there were fierce contests and often fights between them. Sometimes two chariots raced, usually four, and again at times six, and there were two or four horses to each chariot, rarely three. The victor in the race was crowned and received a cash prize and his was greeted with great applause.

The amphitheater was an elliptical building with an arena in the center and with tiers of seats leading up all around. The Coliseum at Rome was the greatest of all, being computed to have contained 87,000 seats. In the amphitheater were held the gladiatorial fights. Just how these originated is unknown but the first public exhibition of gladiators at Rome was given in 264 B. C., by the brothers Marcus and Decimus Brutus at their father's funeral. Such continued at funerals and then they were given at other times, the number of days and number of fighters gradually increasing, till Trajan, upon his return after a victorious campaign on the Danube, gave gladiatorial games for 123 days, in which 10,000 fighters took part. The gladiators were captives, slaves, and criminals, and under the empire knights and senators and even women were enrolled among them. There were schools for the training of gladiators. Emperors, senators, and all classes of people attended these fights and although women at first were excluded, later they were admitted freely. The gladiators wore helmets and had leather coverings for their legs and they carried shields. Their weapons were the lance, dagger, sword, and rapier. There were others who used the trident and the net for entangling their opponents. They were usually matched by pairs and when one was overcome his life depended upon the people, who would turn down their thumbs for his life to be spared and upon the turning up of their thumbs the wounded gladiator was slain by his opponent. The victor received a palm crown, sometimes money, and he might be given his freedom.

"These gladiatorial exhibitions proclaim the true nature of the Roman character. When the vestal virgin, the Roman matron, and the young lady could find amusement in such scenes of human slaughter, it can certainly surprise no one that the Roman character, in its constituent elements, possessed so much hardihood, and could remain such firm proof against every tender feeling of humanity. The school of blood in which the young were reared, and the old matured, was eminently calculated to form precisely the character which the Roman possessed. It is thus that the manners and customs of a people are influenced by, and in their turn, influence the character from which they originate."[197]

Another great amusement of the Romans was the _venatio_, or exhibit of wild animals. The first known display of wild animals at Rome was given by Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, the conqueror of Ætolia, in 186 B. C., eighty years after the first gladiatorial exhibit. These displays grew until all parts of the world were searched to find animals. There were bears, elephants, deer, hares, stags, boars, bulls, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, lynxes, apes, giraffes, tigers, ostriches, hyenas. They were made to fight with one another. They were starved to make them fierce with hunger and then driven into the arena against one another with whips, pricked with lances, burnt with hot irons, and in other ways tormented to make them extremely angry. There were also fights between men and beasts. These were often captives and criminals compelled to fight, but there were others, _bestiarii_, who were trained, as the gladiators, in schools to fight against animals. These men sometimes were assisted by dogs trained to hunt and to fight wild animals. In some exhibits, captives and criminals were bound to stakes and animals set upon them or they were sent unarmed or poorly armed against the wild animals. There were, too, exhibits of trained animals and animal-training became a regular profession under Augustus.

Another form of the spectacle for the entertainment of the Roman public was the _naumachia_, or naval battle. As in the other contests, usually the combatants were captives and criminals. These were held in the amphitheater, in which case the arena was flooded with water, or great ponds were dug for the purpose. The first naval battle on a large scale was given by Julius Cæsar in 46 B. C., the two sides having biremes, triremes, and quadriremes, with 1,000 marines and 2,000 oarsmen on each side. Claudius in 52 A. D. gave a naval contest in which there were 100 triremes and quadriremes and 19,000 warriors and oarsmen. Other large naumachiæ were produced by Augustus, Nero, Titus, and Domitian. In these conflicts real fighting took place and large numbers were killed.

There were no theatrical entertainments in the early times of Rome. In 364 B. C., during a plague which could not be stopped, to appease the wrath of the gods scenic performances were first introduced into Rome. Actors from Etruria were brought to Rome, who gave mimic dances to the accompaniment of a flute. For a long time there were no theaters erected at Rome, a temporary wooden stage being erected for the occasion. Later wooden theaters were built and then torn down after the performances were over, being used but one time. The first stone theater was built on the Campus Martius in 55 B. C. by Pompey, and which was large enough to hold 40,000 people. Comedies, tragedies, and pantomimes were given. Tragedy was never popular with the masses as they were too much used to seeing real tragedies enacted in the arena for any great impression to be made upon them by the imitations of the stage. Pantomime attained to the most significance of all performances upon the Roman stage and especially under the empire. The professional actors were mostly slaves and freedmen or natives of other countries, as there was a prejudice against the profession in Rome. Noted actors were paid high fees for their performances. Many of the most famous actors belonged to the imperial households.

The last of the great spectacles were the athletic, literary and musical contests. These contests were not common under the republic but they grew on the people till they became popular under the empire. Athletic contests were first introduced into Rome at the same time as the exhibit of wild animals and by the same person, in 186 B. C., by Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, who brought athletes from Greece for the purpose. These contests continued to be given and they increased in popularity till a stadium for them was built in 28 B. C. on the Campus Martius and the demand from the people became so great that the officials who provided the state games included athletic contests with the other games. The Capitoline Agon was instituted by Domitian in 86 A. D., and it took rank with the Olympian. For these contests he built a stadium large enough to accommodate 30,000 or more spectators. There were contests in oratory and poetry, in music, and in athletics. The oratorical contests ceased in later times, but those in poetry increased in importance and the most talented poets in the empire competed for the prize of oak-wreath, bestowed by the emperor upon the winner after the decision of the judges. The gymnastic contests for men and boys were the same as in Greece. The Spartan custom of races for girls was introduced but soon discontinued because of the feeling against it.

=Other Amusements.= Among the sports of the Romans was that of hunting. They kept parks for this purpose and they also hunted in fields and forests. They used dogs in hunting and they were trained for hunting various kinds of animals, as, the lion, the bear, the stag, the hare, and the like. Boar-hunting was one of their most common pastimes. They had hawks and other birds of prey trained for hunting. Fishing was another sport and they made use of rod and line and net. In winter when the water was frozen over they would cut holes through the ice for fishing. They had large fish-ponds on their country estates.

Walking was used as a means of exercise and as a pastime. This was done in the open air and also there were covered walks built at different places and in particular about the Campus Martius and the Forum. There were also places provided for horseback riding and for pleasure driving in vehicles.

There was a game similar to chess in which the chess men were glass, ivory or metal colored. Dice were in great use and gambling with dice prospered in spite of laws against it. Under the empire there arose an entertainment similar to a lottery, in which tickets were distributed free to the guests or sold to them and a drawing was made for the prizes. At their banquets and elsewhere the guests were entertained with musicians, mimics, dancers, jugglers, acrobats, rope-dancers, and other kinds of performers.

=The Bath.= The Romans in early times took their baths in the Tiber. Later, the _lavatrina_, or washhouse, connected with the kitchen by a heating apparatus, served as a bathroom. In those days they bathed only for health and cleanliness. Under the empire, bathing became a fashion and it was carried to excess. When the supply of water became abundant by means of the aqueducts, baths multiplied rapidly and public baths were established. The public baths were at first arranged for and used only by the common people, but their importance grew gradually until all classes used the public baths and they were enlarged and beautified and different kinds of baths provided, as, hot, tepid, cold, and shower. The usual time for the bath was in the afternoon shortly before the evening meal. It also became the custom to take a bath after the meal and then the number was often increased till the bath was taken seven or more times during the day and evening.

The _thermæ_, baths, at Rome, under the empire, covered large spaces, with magnificent structures adorned with paintings and sculptures, the walls lined inside with marble, with marble columns, and silver mouthpieces for the water pipes. There were rooms not only for bathing, but also large halls for swimming, and rooms for places of meeting for conversation, for listening to the reading of poems by their authors, for gymnastic exercises, and the like, and provided with libraries and museums. Thus these thermæ became centers for gatherings of various kinds and places of amusement.

=Games and Plays.= Children in Rome played a great deal, just as do children everywhere. They had their dolls and hobby-horses and toy-houses. They played with carts and used them very much as the children of the present. They skipped stones and walked upon stilts and spun tops. They used nuts for playing a number of games, one being called _ludus castellorum_, in which three nuts were to be so arranged that a fourth nut could be placed upon them without displacing them, the winner receiving all the four nuts. They played _par impar_, odd or even. The boys and even sometimes the young men would roll a large iron hoop, which had iron or brass rings fastened around it and kept up quite a clatter while the hoop was rolling. Some of these hoops were five or six feet in diameter and required quite a little skill to roll them, being rolled and guided by means of an iron rod.

Ball was a game especially liked by the boys and young men of Rome. There were three kinds of balls used--a large hollow ball, a small hollow ball, and a ball stuffed with feathers. At the country villas about Rome there was usually a place for ball-playing. The boys used the streets and squares of Rome for ball-playing, particularly before the butchers' shops in the Forum Romanum. They played ball alone or with a few or with many. In one game the ball was thrown up into the air and all tried to catch it. The _trigon_, or _pila trigonalis_, was a favorite way of playing ball, the players being placed in a triangle and they were to fling the ball at one another, the one failing to catch it and return it being the loser. There was a game in which they would choose sides and have the ground marked out as for lawn-tennis.

=Religion.= The Romans were of a deeply religious nature even down into the times of the empire. Religion entered into the life of the Romans in a practical way and touched upon the civic duties and social relations, as the events of life were held to be of a sacred nature. The Roman life was closely connected with religion, as every activity of life was presided over by a deity, whom it was necessary to worship properly in order that the activity might prove successful.

The child came in contact with religion at his very earliest life in the home in the worship of the household gods, the Penates and Lares, the former being the gods of the hearth, who guarded the stores and provisions of the family, and the latter were the spirits of departed ancestors, who were the protectors of the family. In the atrium was the image of the chief lar between two penates, to whom were offered sacrifices each morning by the father as priest, and birthdays and marriages and the putting on of the toga virilis by the boy and the return of a member of the family after a long absence were occasions of special religious exercises. The young people, too, were led further into religion as the gens and the state carried on similar sacrifices and ceremonies for the common good, for the state had its common hearth, presided over by the Vestal Virgins, who guarded the sacred fire upon the altar, which symbolized the home.

=Vestal Virgins.= In Rome was a worship in which was preserved a common hearth, having always burning on it the domestic fire of the whole nation. This was in the temple of Vesta, the goddess of the home. The goddess being herself a virgin, it was considered necessary that this fire should be cared for by virgins.

This temple of Vesta went through a purification on June first of each year and a renewal of the fire was made on March first. In case the fire went out it was kindled again by the rubbing together of two pieces of "lucky wood," thus producing a fire, and in later times by use of a concave mirror to focus the sun's rays. This was the most sacred of all worship at Rome and the letting this fire go out was considered a great evil, as this was emblematic of the state and its extinction meant the extinction of the nation, hence the Virgin who, through carelessness or negligence, permitted this was severely scourged in the dark by the pontifex.

There were six Vestal Virgins. When chosen, the girl was not to be younger than six nor older than ten; she was to be the daughter of freeborn parents, alive at the time of her selection and residing in Italy, and not engaged in any dishonorable calling; she was to be free from mental and physical defects.

At the time of the admission of a Vestal, her hair was cut off, and a very solemn ceremony was gone through with, after which she was dressed in white and admitted to the work of the Virgins. It appears that her hair was allowed to grow again and to be worn long. Her dress was always white and she wore round her forehead a broad band which had ribbons fastened to it. In processions and at sacrifices she wore a white veil, buckled under the chin.

The term of service was thirty years, the Vestal being a novice during the first ten years, an active priestess the second ten, and a teacher of novices the remaining period. At the end of the term of service of thirty years, the vestal could go back to her family and even get married, but most of them remained in the service of the goddess.

The Virgins had four important duties to perform: (1) Tending the sacred fires; (2) Bringing water daily from the sacred spring, for ceremonial sprinkling and sweeping; (3) Offering sacrifices of salt and cakes, and pouring libations of wine and oil on the sacred fire; (4) Guarding the seven sacred objects on which the stability of Roman power was supposed to stand, the chief of these being the Palladium.

The Vestals were very jealously guarded. Death was inflicted on any one committing an offense against one of them. No man was allowed to go near the temple of Vesta at night nor at any time permitted to enter the dwelling of these Virgins. If a breach of chastity occurred on the part of one of them, she was severely punished by being cruelly beaten and then buried alive. The one sharing her disgrace met a violent death. Twelve Vestals were so punished.

The privileges of a Vestal were very great. She was entirely free from the control of her parents; she could make a will; could give evidence without taking an oath; had the seat of honor at banquets and games; one who was convicted of a crime, if he accidentally met her, was given his liberty. She was treated with the utmost respect and reverence; a consul meeting her on the street, always made way for her; and all the people gave great homage to her. In all the troublesome times between patricians and plebeians neither party disturbed the Vestal Virgins but on the contrary greatly respected them.

=Education.= As long as Rome was in its full strength, education was wholly of a practical nature, its aim being to prepare its young that in manhood they might be of most service to the state. It was more of the Spartan idea than the Athenian, but unlike Sparta the Roman state did not undertake the education of the young but left that wholly to the home, and it was not till the time of the empire that education was taken up by the state, for before that time the state did not even assist in education, let alone control it. Although the state did not concern itself with education, yet love of country and obedience to its laws were so instilled into the minds of the young that no other nation has ever got its citizens to quite so high a pitch of patriotism as the Roman people reached under the republic. As conquest grew and wealth increased under the empire, the Romans came more and more under the influence of Greece until Greek methods and models and ideals dominated Roman education.

In the early times of Rome there were probably no public schools, education being wholly in the hands of the parents. The early years of the child were under the mother, and he received his training from her. These early years of the child could not have been passed better than under the care and training of the old Roman mother, for she was a woman of purity and dignity and industry, qualities fitted for the training of the child's younger years. As the boy grew older he would be permitted to be in the atrium of a morning when his father received his clients and so the boy would receive training in custom and law as he would hear the counsel given by his father to the clients. The boy would also gain much from the discussions of the men at the banquets and other gatherings as he would attend with his father. The child of these times did not learn through instruction so much as by informal training and in imitation of his elders.

Reading and writing were taught to the boy by the father and also simple calculations, such as would be needed in everyday affairs. Ballads, national songs, and religious hymns and deeds of the men of the past were learned by the Roman boys. Physical training of the boys came mostly through games while the young men practised gymnastic exercises, but only to prepare them for military life. Such training made warriors and loyal citizens but also made these Romans selfish, overbearing, cruel, and rapacious, without lofty ideals or enthusiasm for the higher things of life.

Literary education may have said to have begun at Rome during the third century before Christ. In 260 B. C., according to Plutarch, a school was opened by Spurius Carvilius at which fees were charged, the first of the kind. This man was a freedman and he had been a domestic tutor to the consul of the same name, Spurius Carvilius, who, as mentioned before, was the first man at Rome to divorce his wife. From this time education increased and there became three kinds of schools--elementary, grammar, and a higher school, the rhetor's school. The first was presided over by the litterator, or ludus magister; the second by the literatus, or, grammaticus; and the third by the rhetor. Added to these kinds of schools were those of the various philosophies, which were given to the adherents in form of lectures. The child entered the elementary school at about the seventh year of age. Near his twelfth year he went into the grammar school and at fifteen or sixteen, if he had determined on politics or law, he would enter the rhetor's school.

As stated above, the child entered school at about seven years of age. The term _ludus_ was used to designate the elementary school and _schola_ the higher school. In the elementary schools, reading, writing, and arithmetic of a very elementary nature were taught. In learning to read, the child was first taught his letters and then syllables, which were followed by words and then came the sentences. At the first of the elementary schools the reading was taught by means of exercises given by the teacher on account of the scarcity of books. But during the second century before Christ large numbers of slaves were put to copying books so that from this time there were plenty of copies to be had at reasonable cost, and no doubt each child had his own reading book, which contained, perhaps, a Latin version of the Odyssey and the standard Latin poets. Special attention was given to correct pronunciation and intelligent expression. After the child had learned to read he was then taught to write. In the beginning the teacher would make the letters with a stylus on a waxen tablet and then he would give the stylus to the child to trace the letters, the teacher guiding the child's hand. In arithmetic but simple calculations were taught in the elementary schools, the children learning to count and to calculate on the fingers or by means of pebbles and after using these means till they gained some facility an abacus with pebbles was used. Also the waxen tablet with the stylus was used for calculation.

It is quite probable that for a large number of the children school education ceased with the end of the training in the elementary schools. At twelve years of age the boy who went on with his education entered the grammar school. There were two kinds of these schools--the Greek and the Latin. In the Greek schools the language used was Greek with Greek literature and methods of instruction, and at first the teachers were Greek. The Latin schools differed in that the language used was Latin and while at first the literature was Greek translated into Latin later there was a Latin literature. Too, the Latin schools laid more stress upon the practical side of the work rather than the theoretical. The head of each grammar school determined what the curriculum should be but these were quite uniform after all, as all were striving for the same end. The principal studies were grammar and literature, but also were included mathematics, geography, history, and music.

In the study of grammar there were studied the divisions of the letters into vowels and consonants with the divisions of the vowels, the sounds of the letters or phonics, philology in a simple way, the parts of speech, the inflections of the parts of speech, and the like. In literature in the Greek schools, the study of Homer took the leading part as did the study of Vergil in the Latin schools, and also other authors were studied. Geometry was studied along the practical lines of mensuration and astronomy. Likewise geography and history were entered into for practical purposes. Music was taken up to aid in getting proper intonation and rhythm in oratory and for learning the religious chants. There was but little training in gymnastics, only for hygienic purposes and as an aid to military training. Dancing was not taught in the schools but in the home. This was not as with us, but more of the form of calisthenics. There was nothing such as the round dance with us, which would have been thought shockingly vulgar by the Romans.

When the youth, at about sixteen years of age, assumed the toga virilis, his further education depended upon what his life's work was to be. If it was to be war, then he at once entered the army. If he was to enter public life, then he attended the rhetorical school and studied oratory and law. Also he frequented the places where he could hear the public orations and he might have attached himself to some orator or jurist.

In the rhetor's school those things were studied which would help the young man in his public career. Oratory and rhetoric were the leading studies, and, as he sought, too, to gain a wide knowledge, mathematics, philosophy, law, and literature would be included in the course. The youth usually remained in these higher schools for two or three years. Then he might go on with his studies through travel and attendance at centers outside of Rome.

"Youths of higher intellectual ambition did not rest satisfied with the instruction obtainable at Rome, but (at least after 80 B. C.) resorted to Athens and other philosophical and rhetorical centers. In the last decade of the Republic there were many famous schools of this higher class. In addition to Athens, the mother city, we have the great university schools of Rhodes, Apollonia, Mitylene, Alexandria, Tarsus, Pergamus, and afterwards, in imperial times, Smyrna and Ephesus. In the time of Cicero Marseilles also was already a widely known school."[198]

The elementary schools were poorly provided for, as they were not held in regular school houses for there were no buildings for such educational purposes. The school-rooms were sometimes on the street or in the market-place, wherever a quiet, convenient corner was found; they were, too, in sheds or booths in front of a house like a lean-to; again they were in places similar to a veranda of a house. If the school-room was the street, the children sat on the stones; in buildings, they sat on the floor, or they might have had benches. The grammar schools were better cared for, as they were generally in covered places attached to large buildings and opening on the street. They had benches for the children and the teacher sat on a chair on a raised place. There were often placed in grammar schools sculptures of marble or plaster and also paintings. All school-rooms were open to the public and frequently the parents and friends went in to see the work and at times there were great "speech days."

The pedagogue was used in Rome, as in Greece, to have charge of the boy and to accompany him to and from school. Although the Romans used the Greek term _pedagogue_, yet the Latin terms _custos_, guardian, and _pedisequus_, attendant, were, perhaps, most commonly used and, too, were used _comes_, companion, and _rector_, governor. The Romans were more careful in the selection of a slave for pedagogue than were the Greeks, and yet he was too often too old or too much physically disabled for the best performance of his duties. These slaves often were manumitted when their duties were completed in a satisfactory manner.

The elementary teacher, litterator, was usually a slave or freedman, and too often quite ignorant, in consequence these teachers were held in little esteem and almost with contempt. Although the grammaticus was better educated and received more esteem yet he did not have a high standing. It was only the rhetor who was respected and praised in Rome. The elementary teacher received very poor pay and the grammar teacher did not fare much better. Yet in later times the grammaticus and rhetor were both well paid and there were some who even became wealthy.

The school year, at least for the elementary schools and probably, also, for the grammar schools, consisted of eight months, with a vacation from July to October inclusive. There was a holiday in whole or in part every eighth day, market day, and there were numerous other holidays throughout the school year. The school day began at daylight, often before, and continued till evening, with a recess for dinner. There were, however, no home lessons.

The discipline at school was very severe. The ferule, whip, strap, and rod were very liberally used. There must have been quite a good deal of such punishment, as many wrote protests against it, Quintilian, perhaps, most of all.

"Roman boys, like boys in our times, occasionally shirked school, or contrived to feign illness in order to avoid reciting their lessons. The master hung up, where all might read it, a board with names of pupils who absented themselves or had run away. Persius tells us that when a boy he used to rub his eyes with olive oil to give him the appearance of illness, though how oil would have that effect is not apparent. Pliny says that school children took cumin to make them pale."[199]

In the early days the education of the girls was for the most part that gained from the mother in the home. They were taught spinning and weaving and sewing and other household arts, and, no doubt, they also learned to read and write, the same as the boys. When education became common, girls had about the same studies as the boys but whether they attended the same schools with the boys is a disputed question. It is, perhaps, true that the girls of the common people attended the elementary schools with the boys, while the girls of the higher classes had tutors at home. It was more difficult for women to get higher education as they must have obtained it through private instruction and possibly, after marriage, from their husbands.

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