Glass3£3C^ FRESKNTEI) liY SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME IN THE TIME OF PLAUTUS AND TERENCE BY GEORGIA WILLIAMS LEFFINGWELL, M. A. Sutro Fellow in History, Vaatar College SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE Faculty of Political Science Columbia University NEW YORK 1918 Copyright, 1918 BY GEORGIA WILLIAMS LEFFINGWELL Gift ^"•■^i.varssity OCT 25 018 ^ THE MEMORY OF PROFESSOR GEORGE WILLIS BOTSFORD AT WHOSE SUGGESTION THIS WORK WAS BEGUN AND WHOSE KINDLY GUIDANCE AND HELPFUL CRITICISM MADE POSSIBLE ITS COMPLETION CONTENTS PACK Introduction 9 CHAPTER I Dwelling, Town and Country (a) Town-house and Furniture . . . . • 20 (b) Country Estate 34 CHAPTER n Women and Marriage 39 CHAPTER HI Children and Education (a) Children • 57 (b) General Education • 62 (c) Higher Education — Cultural Studies 67 CHAPTER IV Slaves jz CHAPTER V Freedmen and Clients • 91 CHAPTER VI Finance and Industry 98 CHAPTER VII Religion 113 CHAPTER VIII Morals and Character 128 Bibliography 138 7] 7 INTRODUCTION To assemble as far as possible the source evidence on social and private life at Rome during the first half of the second century B. C, and from this evidence to draw cer- tain conclusions which will give a clearer understanding of the habits of thought and the feelings of the average citizen of the time is the purpose of this study. While literary sources for Roman life in this period of the Republic are less available than for the Ciceronian age or for the Empire, a knowledge of the earlier period is of importance not only for its own sake as a critical moment in the history of Graeco-Roman civilization, but as a basis for comparison with later developments. The very fact of the scarcity of material and the consequent lack of informa- tion, in regard tO' this subject may be given as the chief reason for the present work. Roman life in the Imperial period has received a large amount of attention and been treated in exhaustive detail by modern writers, but the question of Roman life in the period of the Republic has been comparatively neglected. Warde Fowler in his Social Life at Rome in the age of Cicero embodies in his chapters a series of delightful sketches of conditions at the close of the Republican period, but the book throws little light on the century preceding the Ciceronian age, and in any case is of little value for refer- ence purposes. The larger works on Roman life, such as Marquardt's Privatlehen der Romer, devote some attention to Republican conditions. The statements, however, are scattered and more or less general, and the source references given are far from complete. 9] 9 lO SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [lo Contemporary literary sources for the period consist of the Histories of Polybius, the De re rustica of Cato, but most important, the dramatic works of Plautus and Terence. Any use of the plays of these two authors, as a source, neces- sarily involves a careful consideration of the question how far the material of the comedies is Roman, and how far it is simply a reproduction of the Greek, a fact which explains perhaps more than any other the absence of modern works dealing with the Roman life of that age. The generally recognized intermingling of both Greek and Roman elements in the comedies has resulted in a rather confusing habit on the part of many writers. The plays are drawn upon indiscriminately to illustrate or affirm various points of either Greek life or Roman life without any systematic attempt to define the reason for this arbi- trary choice. Modem writers differ in their judgment, but the general impression would appear to be that the plays are so largely Greek that they are of comparatively little value for infor- mation on Roman life and habits. Sellar voices this senti- ment in the definite statement that Plautus " had no intention of presenting to his audience the outward condi- tions of Roman or Italian life." In support of this he emphasizes the absence of all gentile designations among the richer personages of the comedies as in itself a sufficient proof. ^ The explanation, however, of this absence is both possible and easy. The contemporary poet was given very little license along certain lines. To mention Roman citizens by name or to allude to specific gentes involved considerable risk, vide the imprisonment which overtook the poet Naevius for his attacks on the Metelli. Doubtless it was safer and 1 Sellar, Roman Poets of the Republic (Oxford, 1905), p. 169. II] INTRODUCTION II more advisable, therefore, to avoid as far as possible any reference which might possibly be interpreted as a libelous reflection upon some sensitive citizen, and to adopt the avenue of safety offered by setting the scene ostensibly far from Rome. Wallon, who' draws extensively on Plautus as a source for Roman conditions, apparently has much this idea in mind when he says : " Le peuple romain voulait bien qu'on le jouat, mais seulement sous le costume grec; et il ne se fachait pas de voir soulever un coin du manteau, quand le rideau allait couvrir la scene." ^ The choice of the spot in which the action took place, moreover, did not rest en- tirely with the poet. As Oldfather tells us, " so far were the police from allowing the dignity of a Roman citizen to be diminished that, to all appearances, not even the fabida togaia might be set in Rome, but only in some town of the Latin Confederacy." ^ The second argument of Sellar is based upon the fact that there is no distinction in station among the personages except that of rich and poor, freeman and slave, and hence no recognition of " those great distinctions of birth, privi- lege, and political status, which were so pervading a charac- teristic of Roman life." This statement will be referred to again in the chapter on " Finance and Industry." It is sufficient to say at this point that the division of the charac- ters of the comedies on a basis of wealth and poverty is a reflection of one of the most striking characteristics of Roman society of the time. To quote from Duruy : The strife of classes sprang up again, and as in early times the city contained two distinct peoples. If time and law had ^Wallon, Histoire de I'esclavage dans I'antiquite (Paris, 1879), vol. ii, p. 231. ^Classical Weekly (1914), Oldfather, "Roman Comedy," p. 218. 12 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [12 almost effaced the distinction between patrician and plebeian, a higher barrier was now rising between rich and poor, the former growing prouder and more insolent, the latter more wretched and submissive.^ Furthermore the statement as to the lack of recognition of any political distinctions may be met by a citation of a few of the references in Plautus: dictator {Pseud. 415-6), quaestor {Bacc. 1075), praetor {Poen. 584-5), aediles (Men, 590), tresuiri {Aul, 416, Asin. 131), senatus (Asin. 871, Cas. 536, Epid. 189), comitia (Aul. 700, Pseud. 1232, True. 819), praefectura (Cas. 99), prouincia (Cas. 103, Capt. 474), de foro . . . m tribu (Capt. 475-6), patriciis pueris (Capt. 1002). Legrande brings up another point of objection when he says : " De fait, les scandales et les, exploits gallants qui en sont de frequents episodes, les courtisanes, prostitueurs, parasites, artistes en cuisine qui y jouent communement un role devaient etre, durant le He siecle avant notre ere, presque ignores a Rome ". This argument, however, is very clearly not supported by fact. Numerous references from the sources attest indubitably that such conditions were in the most striking way characteristic of the Rome of the time. Compare the passage of Polybius describing the average Roman youth wasting himself " on favorite youths, . . . on mistresses, on banquets enlivened with poetry and wine, and all the extravagant expenditure they entailed." Com- pare the statement of Livy " then the cook, whom the an- cients considered as the meanest of their slaves, both in esti- mation and use, became highly valuable, and what was considered as a servile office began to be considered as an' art." Compare the complaints of Cato that it was difficult to ^Sellar, loc. cit.; cf. Duruy, History of Rome (Boston, 1890), vol. ii, sec. i, p. 260. J 2] INTRODUCTION 1 5 save a city in which a fish was dearer than an ox, or in which a cook brought a higher price than a horse/ Judg- ing from their attitude we can hardly agree with Legrande that the elements he refers to were " presque ignores a Rome " in the second century B. C. It is undeniable that there is much in the plays that is without question Greek, but this may be taken in part as evidence that the Roman public of the time had made con- siderable progress in the knowledge of the Greek language and had even acquired a certain amount of Hellenic culture. Greek titles, Greek words in the text itself, Greek endings attached to Latin roots such as ferritrihaces {Most. 356), legends of Greek mythology (Bacc. 275, Merc. 469, Men. y 4^, Stick. 305) are introduced not with any explanation but simply as casual allusions. The fact that they are present in great number in poets who were essentially popular, sug- gests that the spectators in general must have been capable of grasping them. This is especially true when we consider the character of the Roman audience, and their impatience with spectacles which were incomprehensible or foreign to their tastes.^ The poets are careful to heed this attitude on the part of their hearers. The prologue of the CasinO' (68, et seq.) shows: the necessity for explanation of customs which were con- trary to the habitual usages of the Romans, and again in the Stichus (445-8), when an incident might shock the spectators by its apparent improbability, the actor had hisJ justification ready and interrupted himself to explain: " Don't be surprised at this . . . we're allowed to do this at Athens." ' * Legrande, Matiere de la comedie nouvelle (Lyons, 1910), p, S7 cf. Polyb. XXXIL 11; Liv. XXXIX. 6. 9; Plut. Cat. maj. 8; Cato Carmen de moribus 2, ed, Jord. p. 83. 2 Polyb. XXX. 13 cf. Ter. Hec. Pro. 33, et seq. 2 Cf. Ter. Phorm. 125-6 where a principle of Attic laiv is explained. 14 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [14 In some cases this principle is carried even further, and a passage of the original which presents a foreign custom is changed by the poet in his adaptation from the Greek. An example of this is found in the Phormio of Terence (88, et seq.). In the original piece by ApoUodorus, ac- cording to Donatus, Antipho's infonnant is the barber who has been cutting the girl's hair for her mourning; in the Roman version this is entirely altered " ne externis moribus^ spectatorem Romaniim oifenderet" — Antipho and his friends are sitting in the barber-shop, when " a certain youth enters " and tells his story.^ No question of a mourn- ing practise familiar and ordinary enough in the Greek of course, but offensive perhaps to the Romans, no attempt i6 instruct the Romans that " this is the custom in Greece ", but simply the avoidance of all question by omitting any reference to the troublesome practice. A similar method of procedure is illustrated in the Heauton timorumenos of the same author (61-4). Happily this passage can be parallelled with the corresponding pas- sage from the original piece of Menander, The lines of the Greek run : " By Athena, are you possessed of a demon at so many years of age ? For you are sixty or even more, and of estates in Halai yours is the fairest, yea by Zeus, among the three, and, the luckiest feature, it is unmort- gaged " ; in contrast to the lines of Terence : " For faith in gods and men, what do you want? What do you seek? You are sixty years of age or more, I should estimate. No- one in this neighborhood has a better or more valuable farm than yours." The original is replete with local allusions : the reference to the Greek folk-belief that a Sat/Awv caused strange actions; to the deme 'AAai At^wv situated about two hours from ^ Don. ad Ter. Phorm. I. 2. 41. jc] INTRODUCTION 1 5 Athens between Zoster and Kolias ; the description in terms of proverbial allusion to the farm as " among the three ", «V Tots Tpwriv, an expression which has not been explained ; the use of the word ao-riKTov i. e. a farm which was unmort- gaged and without opoi or mortgage-stone planted on its boundaries. On the other hand the Roman adaptation re- tains only the general substance of Menander's words, and all the specially Greek details which were without interest or meaning tO' the Roman audience, become generalized into a pleasant and easily comprehended whole/ Furthermore the comic poets sometimes consider it neces- sary, in spite of the fact that their audience had a certain amount of familiarity with Greek literature and mythology, to insert an explanation of mythological allusions which were perhaps more difficult. Such an explanation was very clearly not a part of the original text. Consider for example the passage of the Aulularia (555-6), which reads: "If Argus watched them, the one who was all eyesi (octdeus), the one of whom Juno' once made use to watch Jupiter." - Occasionally we find in the comedies a slave swearing by Greek divinities or even speaking the Greek tongue (Cas. 730. cf. Capt. 880, et seq.). Doubtless such slaves are them- selves Greek, but it is evident that this does not obviate the possibility of their being in Rome and serving a Roman 1 Cf. Legrande, op. cit., p. 53, et seq., on this point. Legrande also notes the passage in Terence, Phorni. 49 : " ubi initiabunt," as opposed to the original of Apollodorus, which speaks expressly of the mysteries of Samothrace. He further considers that the Roman version of the Epidkus, in which, when the captive is recognized as the sister of the youth, he is consoled by a flute-player at the house, is probably different in the Greek, as Attic laws permitted the marriage of brother and sister. * Cf. Plant. Epid. 604, Merc. 690 ; Leo, Plautinische Forschungen (Berlin, 1912), p. iii, supports the belief that such explanations were self-evidently not included in the original. 1 6 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [i6 master. As Leo points out in his Plautinische Forschungen, Plautus " nur Sklaven und Personen niederer Schicht griechische Brocken in den Mund legt." ^ Exceptions to this general rule are found in the Trinummus (187) and the Bacchides (1162), where Greek is spoken by old men {senes), but in no instance is that language used by other characters. The plays present many customs and practices which are so clearly Greek that at first glance the passages appear indubitably to be mere reproductions of the original. Judg- ing from the caution exercised by the Roman poets in this particular, however, such a conclusion cannot be reached without careful consideration. The Romans derived their culture so largely from Greek sources that many of the most common usages of Roman life had Greek antecedents. It must further be remembered that in this period especially, the Romans had been brought into even closer contact with Greek civilization. With the broadening of Roman intel- lectual and material life, many new Greek customs were being introduced. Therefore, as is to be expected, such customs were appropriately and naturally mentioned in a play presented tO' a Roman audience already familiar with them in its actual daily life. " Ce sont des moeurs grecques, mais deja transplantees en Italic et melees aux habitudes des plus nobles families." ^ The verisimilitude, the realism, and hence the success of a theatrical presentation has its foundation in the repro- duction of the habits of every-day life. Oliver recognizes this condition when he says " the comedies of Plautus, though largely Greek in inspiration, yet naturally must reflect the immediate surroundings of their author." ' If ^ Leo, op. cit., p. 106. * Wallon, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 266. * Oliver, Romnn Economic Conditions (Toronto, 1907), p. 42. ; 17] INTRODUCTION 1 7 metaphorical phrases from banking and business operations and the like had been mere translation, they would have had no meaning for a Roman audience. While the action was always ostensibly in some Greek coimtry, it was impossible by even the most conscientious efforts really to set the audience in Athens or Ephesus/ Plautus recognizes this as inevitable. Adaptations of foreign comedies never attempt too painstakingly to main- tain the consistency of their allusions, and Plautus indeed makes so little attempt to keep up the fiction of Greek sur- roundings that he speaks of trestdri at Thebes (Amph. 155) and a dictator at Athens {Pseud. 415-6), of the Porta Trigemina and the Velabrum (Capt. 90, 489) in Aetolia, and makes the characters talk about " living like those Greeks " (pergraecari — cf. True. 88, Most. 22, Baec. 743,) utterly oblivious to the fact that the persons voicing the sentiments are supposed to be Greeks themselves. Many eminent modern authorities, support the opinion that the plays of Plautus and Terence offer much material for a study of Roman conditions. Leo in his Plautinisehe Forschungen states that " specifisch Romisches und indi- viduell Plautinisches leuchtet fast in jeder Scene aus der griechischen Umgebung heraus." - Legrande echoes the sentiment in the words : " On congoit que, s'il etait possi- ble, sans alterer les grandes lignes du modele, d'aj outer ga et la quelque detail romain ou de substituer aux details exotiques des equivalents nationaux, Plaute se soit complu a le faire." ^ Wallon goes even further and concludes: Dans toutes les pieces ou I'aveu meme de F imitation ne nous forqait point a reconnaitre, au moins dans le cadre general, une 1 Classical Weekly, loc. cit., pp. 219-20. * Leo, op. cit., p. 167. * Legrande, op. cit., p. 50. 1 8 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [i8 copie de la Grece, nous I'avons reserve comme specialement romain. 'Ce n'est pas qu'il soit toujours le peintre des moeurs romaines de son epoque : il y avait encore parmi les citoyens une plus forte trace de ces habitudes antiques dont Caton, contem- porain de Plaute, laisse entrevoir quelque chose dans son Traite d'agriculture ; mais il y avait aussi dans la societe une veritable intrusion des moeurs etrangeres. EUes s'etaient etablies au sommet de I'fitat; et de la, par I'autorite des plus grandes families, par I'influence de leurs relations et la force de I'exemple, elles menagaient de se repandre partout. C'est la ce que Plaute attaque sous cette forme toute descriptive, avec non moins de vigeur, mais avec plus d'habilete que le poete Naevius. S'il parle, comme on I'a dit, a la populace qui remplit le fond du theatre, il lui parle bien un peu des sena- teurs et des chevaliers qui occupent les premiers rangs: et ainsi, tout en retracant des scenes greques, il est dans la verite de son temps et de son pays.^ In addition to the reasons which have been given, careful study of sources unquestionably Roman in their material verifies the belief as to the value of the comedies as a field of information. It will be observed that in nearly every instance the material drawn from the comedies is parallelled and substantiated by references to Cato, Polybius, Livy, and similar sources. It may be assumed, therefore, that the majority of the habits and allusions contained in the come- dies are either conclusively Roman, Roman with Greek ante- cedents, or Greek customs already introducted into Rome and familiar to the Romans. At first glance much of the material which has been as- sembled, may seem to present little that is new. The furnishings of the dwelling, the customs of the household, many of the business and social practises are so similar to those which have been treated again and again in the * Wallon, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 261, et seq. ig-j INTRODUCTION 19 manuals and treatises of Roman life, that the present work appears in many cases almost a repetition. This very simi- larity, however, constitutes one of the most significant re- sults of the study because the material has been gathered independently from sources dealing with Republican condi- tions. It is, therefore, of importance in showing tO' what a large extent conditions of the Imperial period had already developed and crystallized as early as the first half of the second century B. C. Attempt has been made throughout the work toi keep the different parts as evenly balanced as possible. The descrip- tion of the country estate may appear somewhat brief, but as practically all the material was necessarily drawn from Cato's De re rustica, a treatment involving a wealth of minute details would be little more than a rescript of the treatise. It seemed preferable, therefore, to limit the dis- cussion of the topic tO' more general statements, giving in the footnotes references from which further and more de- tailed information might be gained. Frequently, in the footnotes to the sources, all of the re- ferences which have been found on a given point are not mentioned. In every case, however, enough references are cited to be significant, and it is hoped, conclusive. In view of the purpose of the work anything further appeared un- necessary. Modern works have been read extensively in the prepara- tion of the following study. The results obtained, however, were largely negative, owing, as has been said, to the lack of attention which has been paid to this particular period. For that reason, only those books have been cited in the bibliography which are specifically quoted or from which definite material has been drawn. CHAPTER I Dwelling, Town and Country (a) TOWN-HOUSE and FURNITURE It is difficult to give a description of the Roman dwelling of this period which would be generally applicable. Not only did the house vary according to the means of the owner, but also in this period of transition, older and sim- pler forms existed side by side with more recent changes and innovations/ ^The treatment of the house in this chapter is based on the literary- sources, with the hope that the result may be of use in the study of archeological remains. Archeological evidence for the second century B. C is available at Pompeii (on the private houses at Pompeii cf. Mau-Kelsey, Pompeii (New York, London, 1899), p. 239, et seq., Over- beck, Pompeji [Leipsic, 1856], p. 179, et seq.) Some of the earlier houses there have no peristyle, but the normal plan includes both atrium and peristyle, and shows the complete union of Greek and Italic types. The House of the Surgeon, which antedates 200 B. C, is wholly Italic, with a roofed court, atrium, surrounded by smaller rooms and a garden in the rear, and the House of Sallust, built in the second cen- tury B. C., resembled this in its original plan. The House of the Faun illustrates the type of dwelling " that wealthy men of cultivated tastes living in the third or second century B. C. built and adorned for themselves" (Mau-Kelsey, op. cit., p. 282). The plan is more complex, and the apartments are in four groups: (i) a large Tuscan atrium with living rooms on three sides; (2) a small tetrastyle atrium with rooms for domestic service around it; (3) a peristyle; (4) a second peristyle. The later House of Pansa also shows the union — here there is an atrium of usual type with alae and tablinum, entered through a vestibule, and at the further end there is access to the peristyle and the surrounding rooms. It is natural to find such a union in a city like Pompeii which was 20 [20 21 ] DWELLING, TOWN AND COUNTRY 2 1 Rough stones held together with mortar were used for the foundation; unburnt bricks for the upper part, and wood for the inner framework. The house was plastered with a mixture of lime and chaff, and a compound of gravel and lime was used for the flooring (pauimentum) .^ The roof was covered with tiles, of which there were different kinds: (i) tegtdae, flat tiles, (2) imbrices, hollow tiles which were placed over the joints of the flat tiles, (3) tegu- lar conliciares, large tiles. ^ There were two systems of roof construction — the closed roof and the roof with the opening. When the roof was closed, the form was called testudo, the four slopes from the sides of the house coming together like a pyramid. The form with the opening in the center over the atrium, how- ever, was the one generally used. The flat roof served as a terrace, solarium.^ Before the house proper was a fore-space or uestihulum. This was used as a waiting room for those who wished to subject at the same time to Greek and Roman influence. It cannot be accepted as positive, however, that all of the features which are found in the second-century remains at Pompeii, were also current in Rome itself at that time. According to Overbeck, op. cit., p. 187, " die dritte Periode der romischen hauslichen Architektur konnen wir vom letzten Jahrhundert der Repubhk an datiren . . . dieser Periode gehort die Erweiterung des romischen Hauses durch vom griechischen Hause entlehnte Raumlichkeiten mit griechischen Namen ". ^ For materials used in construction cf. Cato R. R. XIV, et seq.; pauimentum: XVIII. 7; CXXVIII: " Imhitationem delutare. terram quam maxime cretosam iiel rubricosam, eo amurcam infundito, paleas indito." ^Ibid., XIV. 4; Plaut. Mil. Glor. 504: " imbricis et tegtilas"; Rud. 87; Ter. Eun. 588; Caec. iStat. Synaristosae, Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 68: " ex tegiilis " ; Liv. XXXVI. 37. 2. ^ Plaut. Mil. Glor. 159, 175, 287: " impluuium" ; Ter. Eun. 589: " pluiiiam". Cic. Brut. 22. 87: "in quadam testudine" (referring to a structure belonging to iServius Sulpicius Galba, praetor 151 B. C, consul 144 B. C.). Plaut. Mil. Glor. 340, 378: "solarium." 22 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [22 see the master of the house, and was adorned with paintings., standards and spoils taken in battle, and the like. In front of the uestihulum there might be a walk, ambulacrum.^ There is a question whether the street door, ianua maxima,^ opened directly into the atrium or into a hall, ostium. The words of Livy, " Vulgo apertis ianuis in pro- patulis epulati sunt," and the provision of the sumptuary law which ordered that during dinner the doors should be left open so that all might see that the legal restrictions were observed, suggest that the door opened directly, and this view is upheld by Marquardt.' It is possible, however, that a short hall led from the atrium to the ianua: ( i ) while ostium is frequently used synonymously with ianu^ and fores to mean simply the entrance to the house, Plautus by the expression ante ostium et ianuam suggests that ostium strictly indicated a small space behind the ianua; * (2) there was necessarily a place for the ianitor, and frequently for a watch-dog as well, immediately in back of the door, and it is unlikely that these would be in the atrium. ° The possi- bility that the passage was very short might explain the passage from Livy. ^ Plaut. Most 817: " uiden uestibuliim ante aedis hoc et ambulacruiii " ; Aul. Gell. XVI. 5. 3 : " locum ante ianuam domtis uaciium " ; Liv. XXXVIII. 43. 11: "Amhraciam captain signaque, quae ablata crimin- abantur, et cetera spolia eius urbis ante currum laturus et iixurus in postibus suis ". * Cato R. R. XIV. 2 : " ianuam maximam." 'Liv. XXV. 12. 15: Macrob. '^c^. III. 17. i: " ut patentibus ianuis pransitaretur et cenitaretur, sic oculis ciuium testibus factis luxuriae modus iieret. prima autem omnium de cenis lex ad populum Orchia peruenit." Marquardt, Vie privee des Romains (Paris, 1892-3), vol. i, p. 267. * Plaut. Pseud. 604, Stich. 449-50, Cist. 669 r/. Pers. 758; Overbeck, op. cit., p. 189. ^ Plaut. Asin. 390: "ianitorem"; Cas. 462: " atriensem . . . sub ianua " ; Most. 854 : " canem istanc a foribus abducant face ". 23] DWELLING, TOWN AND COUNTRY 23 The central point of the house was the atrium, which was hghted from above, through the opening in the roof. Be- neath this opening there was a corresponding opening in the floor. The term impluuiwn was applied to either opening. In Terence the opening in the roof is also designated by the term pluuia.^ In the atrium in the simpler form of dwel- ling was the Lar Familiaris and the focusr- In the more elaborate houses the atrium had already begun to be used instead of the uestihuhmi as a place of waiting for those who had business with the master of the house.'' In the arrangement of the house various changes were taking place with the idea of increasing the number of rooms and of distributing them better. Around the atrium were chambers for different purposes, such as sleeping- rooms and private rooms for members of the family and store-rooms for wine and provisions. The conclauia or family rooms were closed with keys and bolts; the store- rooms with seals.'' The house was further increased by additions in the rear, posticae aedes, and the cooking hearth was removed from the atriiun to a special room called culina. There was also a latrina, probably near the kitchen . ^ Plaut. Amph. 1108, Mil. Glor. 159, 175, 287: impluuium used to refer to opening in roof; Liv. XLIII. 13. 6: used to refer to opening in floor ; Ter. Eun. 580 : " pluuiam." ''Cato R. R. iCXLIdl. 2; Plaut. Aid. 386. 'Plaut. Anl. 517-9: " cedunt, petunt \ tre£eni, gtiom slant thylacistae in atriis | textores limbularii, arcularii." * Cato Orat. reliq. LVII., ed. Jord. p. 64: "in cubiculum subrectitauit e conuiuio " ; Plaut. Most. 843 : " conclauia " ; Cas. 881 : " in conclaue " ; Ter. Heauf. 902, Eun. 583; Plut. Cat. maj. 24. iCato R. R. XIV. 2: " cellas familiae, carnaria " ; Plaut. Mil. Glor. 857 : " cella uinaria " ; Capt. 914: "cum rami carnarium"; Cure. 324; Cato Mem. Diet. 72, ed. Jord. p. no: " cellam penariant". Plaut. Cas. 144: "obsignate cellas, referte anuluni ad me"; Capt. 918. Ter. Eun. 603: " pessulum ostio obdo " ; Don. ad Ter. Eun. III. 5. 35. 24 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [24 SO that a common drain might serve for both/ In some cases there was an entirely separate structure in the rear used by the master as a study when he wished to be undis- turbed.^ The posticae aedes also included the garden.^ The space under the roof was also divided into different rooms, which were reached by ladders. These rooms were lighted by luminaria and opened to the atrium. They were used for storing wine, oil, and especially wood.* By the time of Cicero the two-part Greek house had been introduced. This innovation changed the rear of the house into the gynaeceum or family dwelling, which was provided with an atrium and contained sleeping-rooms, the balneum, the apodyterium or dressing-room, and the palaestra or room for athletic exercises. A colonnade (peristylum) was also added. Passages in Plautus and Terence refer to vari- ous features of such a dwelling, but as these passages may be taken substantially from the Greek originals, they do not indicate positively that the form was already current in Rome.^ *Liv. XXIII. 8. 8: " hortus erat posticis aediuin partibus"; Plaut. Stick. 450: " posticam partem magis utuntur aedium" ; Most. 931. Ihid., 1-2. " exi e culina . . . inter patinas " ; Cas. 764. Plaut. Cure. 580 : " ancillam quae latrinam lauat." * Cic. Brut. 22. 87 : " omnibus exclusis, commentatum in quadam tes- tudine cum seruis literatis fuisse . . . exisse in aedis " cf. Plaut. Trin. 194: " posticulum hoc recepit quom aedis uendidit." 'Liv. XXIII. 8. 8; Plaut. Stick. 450-3, 614, Epid. 660, Cas. 613; Ter. Ad. 908-9. ^Cato R. R. LXIV. i, LV, XIV. 2; Plaut. Mil. Glor. 824: " domisit nardini amphoram cellarius." ^Cic. ad Att. II. in. 4: "balineum caliieri"; ad Fam. XIV. 20; ad Qu. fr. III. i. I. 2: "apodyterium" ; in V err. V. 72. 185: "in priuata aliqua palaestra". Plaut. Most 755-6: "gynaeceum aediiicare uolt in suis j et balineas et ambulacrum et porticum"; Ter. Phorm. 862: "gynaeceum". Rider, Greek House (Cambridge, 1916), p. 264, con- cludes that the two-court type of house seems to have been adopted by the Greeks and the Romans about the same time, vis : 2nd Cent. B. C. 25] DWELLING, TOWN AND COUNTRY 25 In some cases the dwelling was enlarged by the addition of a second story. This upper floor was reached by stairs from the street but might also be reached from the interior. The second story led to the transference of the dining-room from the atrium tO' a room (cenaculum) in the upper story, with the result that the whole upper story was called cenacu- lum.^ As early as 218 B. C. there is reference to a building three stories in height,^ and dwellings continued to increase in size and become more elaborate until in the following century M. Aemilius Lepidus Porcina, for example, had in Rome a rent of 6000 HS (c. $300) and in the territory of Alsium a villa several stories high.^ The fact that he was fined for this by the censors suggests that private houses had attained such a height that they had to be restrained by law. The restrictions were probably imposed in an attempt to check the growing luxury of the time and not with the idea of diminishing the danger from fire. The door was usually of wood, with two posts, a sill (limen or limen inferum) , and a lintel (Iknen superum). The door itself was double with two wings (fores) which turned on pivots {cardines). Each of the wings was fixed by bolts, fastened probably one in the sill and the other in the lintel. The door was also provided with a lock for which there were different kinds of keys.* During the day the door was ^ Plaut. Amph. 863: "in siiperiore . .cenaculo" ; Liv. XXXIX. 14, 2: " cenaciilimi super aedes datum est scalis ferentibus in publicum ob- seratis, aditu in aedes uerso." ^ Liv. XXI. 62. 3 : The fanciful story given here of the ox which jumped from the third story of the forum boarium may have been made up at a later date and pushed back into the past. It cannot be taken as positive proof that buildings of that height existed at the time. \j 'Veil. Pat. II. 10: "quod sex milibus aedes conduxisset". Val. Max. VIII. I, 13. damn. 7: " accusatum £rimine nimis sublime extructae uillae in alsiensi agro graui multa aifecit." *Plin. H. N. XXXIV. 3 (7). 13: " Camillo inter crimina obiecit 26 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [26 rarely closed with the bolts. A porter, quite often with a dog, was stationed at the entrance, and people wishing to enter, knocked to announce themselves.^ The house was largely dependent upon the opening in the roof for light, but there were also windows of various sizes. The larger windows of the house were fenestrae clatratae — covered with grills. The smaller openings were called luminaria.^ For artificial lighting there were wax candles (cerei), oil lamps with linen wicks (lucernae) , and lanterns (lanternae). Glass was not used in the lanterns, but some semi-transparent material, such as horn.^ There was no adequate water supply. The rain water which was received through the opening in the roof was collected in an underground cistern (puteiis),'^ and when this was insufficient for the needs of the household, water had to be carried from the public tanks. Sometimes these public tanks were tapped by the individual house-owner, Spurius Caruilius quaestor, ostia quod aerata haberet in dome ". Plaut. Most. 818-9: "age specta postis, quoiusmodi, | quanta Urmitate facti et quanta crassitudine " ; Liv. XXXVIII. 43. 11. Plaut. Most. 829: "in forihus"; Pers. 570-1; Ter. Heaut. 278. Plaut. Cure. 158: " sonitum prohibe forium et crepitum cardinum"; Aul. 103-4: " occlude sis | fores ambobus pessulis " ; Cist. 649 : " occludite aedis pessulis, repagiilis " ; Cure. 153; Ter. Heaut. 278, Eun. 603; cf. Plaut. Pers. 572: " ferream seram atque anellum." Most. 404 : " clauem Laconicam " ; ibid., 425 : " clauim cedo atque abi [hinc]intro atque occlude ostium." ^ Plaut. Stick. 308: "quid hoc? occlusam ianuam uideo. ibo et pultabo fores"; Most. 444-5: "quid hoc? occlusa ianua est interdius. pultabo"; Asin. 382. Asin. 390: "ianitorem"; Cas. 462, Cure. 76, Most. 854: " canem istanc a foribus abducant face." * Plaut. Mil. Glor. 379: " fenstra clatrata" ; Cato R. R. XIV. 2: " fenestras, clatros in fenestras maioris bipedales luminaria." * Plaut. Cure. 9 : " rereum ". Caec. Stat. Meretrix 11 ( i ) , Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 54 : " candelabrum ligneum ardentem ". Plaut. Bacc. 446 : " lucerna uncto expretus linteo"; Most. 487; Cato R. R. XII'I. i. Plaut. Amph. 341: "qui Volcanum in cornu conclusum geris": Aul. 566. * Plaut. Most. 380, 769, Mil. Glor. 551-2. 27] DWELLING, TOWN AND COUNTRY 27 notwithstanding the fact that to draw ofif the water-supply in this way constituted a violation of the law/ The interior decorations, the furniture, and the house- hold utensils of this period are especially significant of the changing conditions of life and the growing tendency to luxury. Houses were beautified with citrus wood and ivory ; the use of Numidian marble for floorings was known; statues of the gods were introduced merely as objects of art, until the conservative Cato, who maintained with pride *^' uillas suas inexcultas et ritdes ne tectorio quidem praelitas fuisse," stood aghast.^ ^ Liv. XXXIX. 44. 4. ^ Cato Orat. reliq. XXXVI. i, ed. Jord. p. 55 : " dicere possum, quihiis uillae atque aedes aediUcatae atque expolitae maximo opere citro atque chore atque pauimentis Poenicis sient " ; ibid., LXXI, p. 69 : " miror audere atque religionem non tenere, statuas deorum, exempla earuni facierum, signa domi pro supellectile statuere " ; Incert. Orat. reliq. X, ed. Jord. p. 72-3 : " M. Cato . . . publicis iam priuatisque opnlentis rebus uillas suas inexcultas et rudes ne tectorio quidem praelitas fuisse dicit . .. Neque, inquit, mihi aediUcatio neque uasum neque uestimentum ullum est manupretiosum, neque pretiosus seruus, neque ancilla." The use of marble at Rome in the second century B. C is questioned. However the quotation from Cato {cf. Festus s. v. pauimenta Poenica, ed. Lindsay, p. 282: "pauimenta Poenica marmore Numidico constrata signiUcat Cato") and the statement of Velleius Paterculus I. 11. 5: " Hie idem [Metellus^ , primus omnium, Romae aedeni ex marmore," appear to establish its introduction in this period. Moreover Livy tells us (XLII. 3, I, et seq.) that in 173 B. C, Q. Fulvius Flaccus, when he was building a temple to Fortuna at Rome, imported marble tiles (tegulae marmoreae) to enhance the magnificence of the structure. As these tiles had been taken from a temple of Juno in Bruttium, the act was considered a sacrilege and the iSenate ordered the marble to be returned. The intention of Flaccus suggests that the employment of marble was already known at Rome. On the other hand Pliny {H. N. XXXVI. 2,{2,)-7) states that L. Crassus c. 100 B. C. was the first to have pillars of foreign marble. He also states {H. N. XXXVI. 6 (7-8). 48-50) that Mamurra, a prefect of engineers of Caesar in Gaul, was the first to cover the whole of the walls of his house with marble, and that M. Lepidus, consul in 78 B. C. was the first to have the lintels of his house made of Numidian 28 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [28 The principal articles of furniture were couches and marble. " This ", says Pliny, " is the earliest instance I find of the introduction of Nuraidian marble ". The statement of Pliny, however, need hardly be considered as nullifying the words of Cato, who was in a better position to know. Platner, Topography and Monuments of Ancient Rome (Boston, 1911), p. 25, doubtless with these statements of Pliny in mind, entirely ignores the earlier references to the employment of marble, and declares that " the use of marble, both native and foreign, began in Rome in the first decade of the first century B. C." PuUen in his Handbook of Ancient Roman Marbles (London, 1894), does not discuss the question. Corsi, Delia Pietre Antiche (Rome, 1845), p. 12, et seq., in dealing with the earliest importations of marble to Rome, says that its use was not unknown before the first century B. C, although " anche dopo la dis- truzione di Cartagine che segui nell' anno 608 fu costume de' piu nobili personaggi romani il valersi delle sole pietre del Lazio " (on this point compare the fragment of Cato with the similar attitude expressed by Seneca, Ep. LXXXVI). Jordan, Topographie der Stadt Rom, (Berlin, 1871-1907), vol. i, sec. i, p. 16, et seq., is also less sweeping than Platner. Although he considers that the general use of marble is of later date, he interprets the passage of Velleius to indicate " ein zum Staunen Roms mit solchen geraubten Marmorstiicken ausgezierter Tempel ". Until the time of Augustus, according to Jordan, marble for building purposes was "ein fremdes, aus dem hellenischen Osten und Afrika bezogenes Material, in Rom schwerlich bekannt vor den punischen Kriegen ". In the same connection he remarks : "Die bekannten Notizen uber die Verwendung des fremden Marmors . . . vor Augustus treten, was gewohnlich iibersehen wird, lediglich in Verbindung mit der Geschichte des Luxus, namentlich der Privathauser, auf ... So auch Catos Klage uber die pauimenta Poenica ". He thus accepts the refer- ence of Cato to the use of marble in extremely luxurious private dwell- ings of the second century B. C It is evident of course that marble was used sparingly in this early period. There is no reason for questioning the statement of Pliny as to the introduction of marble columns. But at the same time there is good reason to believe that with the marked increase in luxury in all phases of life in the early part of the second century B. C, there was also the beginning of the use of marble, which reached a further development in the following century. IMarquardt, op. cit., vol. ii, pp. 266-7, takes much this point of view when he says : " Encore que Rome ait oppose a I'invasion de ces somptuosites une longue et vigoureuse resistance, le vieux Caton deja parle de carrelages en mosa'ique de marbre numide". 29] DWELLING, TOWN AND COUNTRY 29 chairs, tables, and chests of various sizes. There were also mirrors, disc-shaped, and made of polished metal/ The couches (lecti) which served as beds or sofas, varied ac- cording to the purpose for which they were intended and according to the means and taste of the owner. The frame- work was of wood, and in some, leather thongs were stretched across the frame, on which the mattress, cushions, and coverings were laid. In 187 B. C. couches with bronze feet (lecti aerati) were introduced, and Plautus speaks of lecti ehurati and lecti aurati. The couches used for persons reclining at meals were referred to as triclinia and accom- modated three persons.^ For seating purposes there were also various kinds of chairs: (i) the sella, (2) the solium, a high chair with a back, (3) the suhsellium, a low bench. These chairs were not upholstered but were provided with cushions (puluini).^ Chests were of different sizes ranging from the large armarium to the small cistella or casket, and were used not only to hold garments but also different articles of house- hold use. Chests whose contents were especially valuable 1 Plaut. Epid. 382-3 ; Ter. Ad. 415 ; Plaut. Most. 268 : " ut speculum tenuisti, metuo ne olant argentum manus". ^ Ter. Ad. 585: " lectulos in sole ilignis pedibus"; Cato R. R. X. 5: " lecios loris subtentos" ; Ter. Heatit. 125: " lectos sternere" cf. Plaut. Stick. 357. Liv. XXXIX. 6. 7 (referring to the triumph of Cn. Manlius in 187 B. C) : " luxuriae peregrinae origo ab exercitu Asiatico inuecta in urbe est: ii primum lectos aerates, iiestem stragulam pretiosam, plagulas et alia textilia, et quae turn viagniUcae supellectilis habebantur, monopodia et abacas Rontam aduexerunt"; cf. Plaut. Stick. 2,17'- " lectos eburatos, auratos" ; Plin. H. N. XXXIV. 3 (8). 14: "nam triclinia aerata abacosque et monopodia Cn. Manlium ... primum inuexisse". The term triclinium was also applied to the room used as a dining-room, cf. Naevius Tarentilla IV (10), Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 20: " utrubi cena- turi estis, kicine an in triclinio ? " ^Sellae: Cato R. R. X. 5, Plaut. Cure. 311, Bacc. 432; solia: Cato loc. cit.; suhsellium : Plaut. Stick. 93, 703; puluinus: ibid. 94; Cato R. R. X. 5. 30 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [30 were locked or sealed.^ Tables (mensae) were used at meals principally to hold the various dishes. In 187 B. C. abaci, tables of precious metal for the display of plate, and monopodia, stands or tables with one foot, were introduced.^ The floors and walls of the house were kept clean with brushes of twigs or reeds, and there was a special vessel {nassiterna) with which water was sprinkled in sweeping." Tables were wiped with a sponge {peniculus) ^ Under the general term uasa was grouped an extensive range of household utensils: (i) the large jars for storing wine, oil, and provisions : amphora, cadus, dolium, seria, the last two being frequently mentioned together; ^ (2) the smaller vessels in which liquids were carried : urna, sitella, ^Titinius Ex Incertis Fabulis, Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 158: ''quid habes nisi unam arcam sine claui?" Plaut. Epid. 308-9: "ex occluso atque obsignato armario \ decutio argenti tantum " ; True. 55 : " armariola Graeca" ; Amph. 773-4: "in hoc cistellula \ tuo signo obsignata"; Rud. 11C9: " cistellam." ~ Plaut. Men. 210-2 : " glandionidam suillam, laridum pernonidam, aut sincipitamenta porcina aut aliquid ad eunt niodum, inadida quae mi adposita in mensam miluinam suggerant." cf. Pers. 354: " mensa inanis nunc si apponatur mihi"; ibid. 769: "date aquam manibus, apponite mensam." Liv. loc. cit., Plin. loc. cit. ' Plaut. Stick. 347, et seq. : " munditias uolo fieri, ecferte hue scopas siniulque harundinem, lit operam omnem araneorum perdam et texturam inprobem deiciamque eorum omnis telas." ibid. 352-4: " nassiternam cum aqua . . . eonsperge" ; Titinius Setina XVII (12), Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 151: " iierrite mi aedis, spargite"; Cato Otat. reliq. L, ed, Jord. p. 62 : " nassiternas ". * Plaut. Men. 77-8: " nonien fecit Penieulo mihi | idea quia mensam quando edo detergeo " ; Ter, Eun. 777. * Plaut. Poen. 863: "uasa salua"; Aid. 95-6. Amphora: Plaut. Mil. Glor. 824, Cas. 121-2; Cato R. R. CXIII. 2. Cadus: Plaut. Mil. Glor. 850, Amph. 429. Dolium : Cato R. R.'K. 4: " dolia quo uinacios condat, amur- caria, uinaria, frumentaria" . Seria: Plaut. Capt. 917; Ter. Heaut. 460: " dolia omnia, omnis serias " ; Liv. XXIV. 10. 8 : " serias doliaque." 3 1 ] DWELLING, TO WN AND COUNTRY 31 ■urceus. Cato distinguishes between urcei Hctiles and urcei urnales, the latter being apparently larger and not of earthen- ware/ (3) The vessels used in drinking: crater (mixing- bowl), cyathus (a measure or ladle), trulla (a small ladle or scoop) made of wood or bronze, different kinds of drinking cups as the patera, scaphiuni, gaulus, calex (made of earthen- ware), batioca, scyphus, cantharits, sinus. - (4) The eating- ware: lanx (a round platter for roast meats), pathme (platters used for serving meats, et cetera, and which could be covered), catinus (an earthenware bowl), labellum (a small basin). ^ (5) The kitchen-ware : aw/ac (jars used for cooking, sometimes of bronze, sometimes of earthenware). hirnea (used both as a kind of drinking vessel and for bak- ing cakes), trua (a stirring-spoon or skimmer), patinae (em- ployed as a general term to refer to cooking utensils).* The ^ Urna: Plaut. Cas. 76: "in iirnam tnulsi." Sitella: Plaut. Cas. 342; Liv. XXV. 3- 16. Urceus: Cato R. R. XIII. 3. 'Crater: Ennius Ann. Lib. Inc. CXLV. 624, ed. Vahl. p. 116: " crateris ex auratis hauserunt". Cyathus: Plaut. Rud. 1319, Stick. 706. Trulla: Cato R. R. Xril. 2 : " trullas aheneas " ; ibid., XIII. 3 : " trullas ligneas ". Patera: Plaut. Amph. 766: " aurea patera". Scaphiuni: Stick. 693. Gaulus: Rud. 1319. Calex: Capt. 916: "aulas calicesque omnes con- f regit ". Batioca : Stick. 694. Scypkus : Asin. 444. Cantharus : Most. 347, Stick. 693. Sinus: Rud. 1319. ' Lanx : Plaut. Cure. 323-4 : " pernam, abdomen, siimen siiis, glandium - ain tii omnia liaec? in carnario fortasse diets, imnw in lancibus." Patinae: Pseud. 840-1: " ubi omnes patinae feruont, omnis aperio | is odos...in caelum uolat"; Mil. Glor. 759: " tolle kanc patinam; remoue pernam." Catinus: Cato R. R. hXXXIY. Labellum : i&td.,LXXXVIII. 2. ^Aulae: ibid., LXXXI : aulam aheneam; Plaut. Capt. 846-7: " astitui aulas, patinas eltii | . . . epulas foueri foculis feruentibus." Hirnea : Amph. 429, 431-2; Cato R. R. LXXXI: " irneam fictilem." Trua: Titinius Setina XV (i), Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 151. Patinae: Plaut. Most. 1-2: " Exi e culina sis foras, mastigia, qui mi inter patinas exhibes argutias." 32 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [32 household equipment also included such objects of domestic use as knives, hatchets and cleavers, baskets, the mortar and pestle to grind the flour for baking, and the like/ The ap- parent emphasis placed upon drinking vessels is largely due to the character of the sources for the period, but it may be assumed that the entire household equipment was quite complete. The pottery which was in most general use at Rome was Samian ware. Vases were also made at Mutina. The term " Samian " came to be applied to any kind of earthenware, although Samian ware itself was thin and broke easily.^ In this period earthenware at Rome had been superseded to a large extent by silver. Cato complained that already the people scoffed at the earthen molds which served as orna- ments to the temples, and its use for domestic purposes was regarded as an evidence of poverty or covetousness. In the Captivi of Plautus, for example, it is advanced against a man as the most clinching proof of his avarice : " He's the stingiest person ever — why, just to give you some idea, when he's sacrificing to his own Genius, for whatever vessels are needed in the ritual, he uses Samian ware for fear the Genius himself will steal them — ^you can guess from that how far he trusts anyone else ! " Q. Aelius Tubero Catus, the son-in-law of Aemilius Paulus, in fact, seemed iPlaut. Aul. 95-6: " cultrum, securim, pistillum, mortarium, quae utenda uasa semper uicini rogant." Stick. 289: " sportulamque et hamulum piscarium." ^ Liv. XLI. 18. 4 : " iMsa omnis generis, usui magis quani ornamento." Plaut. Bacc. 202: " scis tu tit confringi uas cito Samium solet"; Men. 178: " placid e pulta. metuis, credo, ne fores Samiae stent"; cf. Walters, History of Ancient Pottery (New York, 1905), vol. ii, p. 474, et seq. The find of lamps described by Walters, op. cit., chap, xx, gives evidence of a pottery on the Esquiline in the third and second centuries B. C, and this is supported by Festus, i'. v. salimim, ed. Lindsay, p. 468. 33] DWELLING, TOWN AND COUNTRY ^^ almost " fabidosiis" , because even in his consulship he ate from earthenware and refused all silverware except two vases which he had received after the battle of Pydna in recognition of his bravery/ The increase in the amount of silverware owned by pri- vate individuals was very marked and rapid. This fact is best illustrated by concrete instances of the years immediately preceding and subsequent to the period under discussion. In the preceding century P. Cornelius Ruf inus had been re- moved from the Senate because he had at his home ten pounds of silverware,^ and the Carthaginian envoys to Rome had remarked that at the banquets they attended in various homes the same set of silver always appeared,^ a fact which would seem to indicate that the Romans of the time regarded the use of such elaborate ware more as a fitting concomitant of the official dignity of the State than as an opportunity for individual display. In contrast to this attitude Scipio Aemilianus was the owner of thirty-two pounds of silver, and Q. Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus was the first of the Romans to have one thousand pounds.* With the increase in quantity a high value was placed upon artistic workman- ship: C. Gracchus paid as high as 5000 HS a pound for some of his silverware, and Crassus the orator purchased two cups (scyphos) engraved in relief by Mentor, which were so valuable that he dared not use them.^ Golden vases ^ Liv. XXXIV. 4. 4: " ante fix a fictilia deorum Romanorum ridentis." Plaut. Stick. 6gf2, et seq. : for use of Samiaii ware as an evidence of poverty; Capt. 290-3; PHn. H. N. XXXIII. 11 (50). 142. cf. Plut. Aem. Paul. 28. Walters, op. cit., vol. n, p. 431, points out that in spite of increased habits of luxury, it is obvious that the replacing of earthen- ware by metal could never have become universal. * Aul. Gell. XVII. 21. 39. ' Plin. H. N. XXXIII. 11 (50). 143. *Ibid. XXXIII. II (so). 141. »/&»U XXXIII. II (53). 147. 34 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [34 were introduced in quantity by Aemilius Paulus, who brought them from Macedon to be carried in his triumph/ The dwelling was rendered still more luxurious in its fur- nishings by the introduction of rich tapestries, rugs, and coverings from the Orient. Plautus gives a vivid description of articles brought back from Asia, and his list is strikingly similar in its details to the account given by Livy of the introduction of Asiatic luxury at the triumph of Cn. Man- lius in 187 B. C.^ The impression made upon the unac- customed Roman by these highly colored stuffs is amusingly illustrated b}^ the threat of a master to his slave in one of the comedies : '* Upon your back I will mark with my lashes a pattern so variegated that no Campanian tapestry or Alexandrian hanging can show sO' many different colors." ^ (b) COUNTRY ESTATE On the country estate the buildings included the dwelling- house, the stables, the storehouses, and the poultry-yard. The size of the estate was uniformly limited. CatO' assumes 240 iugera as a standard and 100 mgera where the vine ^ Plut. Aem. Pnul. 33. References to both gold and silverware are found in Plautus : Tmr. 53-4: " uasum argenteum aut uasum ahenum"; Pseud. 162: " argentum eluito, idem exstruito" ', Amph. 760: " auream pateram" cf. Ennius Ann. Lib. Inc. CXLV. 624, ed. Vahl. p. 116. " crateris ex aurafis hauserunt ". *Plaut. Stick. 376-381: " Pi. lanam purpuramque multam. Ge. est qui uentrem uestiam. Pi. lectos eburatoSf auratos. Ge. accubabo regie. Pi. turn Babylonica et peristroma tonsilia et tappetia aduexit, nimium bonae rei. Ge. hercle rem gestam bene\ Pi. pose, ut occepi narrare, Hdicinas, tibicinas, sambucas aduexit secum forma eximia." cf. Liv. XXXIX. 6. 7. * Plaut. Pseud. 145-7. 35] DWELLING, TOWN AND COUNTRY 35 was cultivated/ The owner did not always cultivate the land himself but might lease it for a fixed period, in which case the person leasing the estate and the owner divided the gross products according to proportions agreed upon. The proprietor under such an arrangement supplied the fodder for the work-animals.^ Among the products of the estate the cultivation of the vine and the olive tree was of utmost importance. The owner might gather them himself or lease the harvest to another. Frequently the olives and grapes were sold while they were still growing.^ Various kinds of grain were cultivated: wheat, lupine, spelt, vetch, barley. The pro- ducts of the farm also included (i) vegetables such as turnips, onions, lentils, beans, radishes, asparagus, and that which in the words of Cato " surpasses all vegetables " — the cabbage; (2) fruit trees such as apples, pears, and figs; (3) leafy trees and shrubs which furnished fodder for the cattle and wood for use on the estate.* Oxen and asses were used as work-animals for drawing ^ Cato R. R. X, XI. ^ Ibid. CXXXVI: "in agro Casinate et Venafro in loco bono parti octaua corbi diuidat, satis bono septima, tertio loco sexta; si granum modio diuidet, parti quinta. in Venafro ager optimus nona parti corbi diuidat. si communiter pisunt, qua ex parte politori pars est, earn partem in pistrinum politor. hordeuni quinta modio, fabam qtunta modio diui- dat " ; ibid. CXXXVII : " uineam curandam partiario. bene curet fundum, arbustum, agrum frumentarium. partiario faenum et pabulum, quod bubus satis siet. cetera omnia pro indiuiso." ^ Cato R. R. CXLIV : " oleam legendam hoc modo locare oportet " ; CXLVI: "oleam pendentem hac lege uenire oportet"; CXLVII: " hac lege uinum pendens uenire oportet." * Ibid. XXXIV, XXXV. Vegetables: /oc. aV., VI, VIII. Fruit trees: VII. 3, VIII. I. Other trees : VI. 3. " circum coronas et circum uias ulmos serito et partim populos, uti frondem ouibus et bubus habeas " ; VII. I : " fundum suburbanum arbustum maxime conuenit habere, et ligna et uirgae uenire possunt, et domino erit qui utatiir." 36 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [36 the plows, for work in the mill, et cetera. These animals were not as a rule bred on the farm but were purchased from outside, and Cato prescribes three yoke of oxen and four asses for an estate of 240 iugera; one yoke of oxen and three asses for one of 100 iugera. The larger cattle, which were used in field work, were fed during the summer in their stalls — the only time they were permitted to graze was in the winter. They were not important as a source of food, as the meat eaten by the Romans was almost exclu- sively lamb or some form of pork.^ One hundred head of sheep were estimated to a large estate. Sometimes the owner turned over his flock to a lessee and shared the pro- duce or leased his winter pasture to the owner of a large flock. ^ The other live stock of the farm included poultry and geese, pigeons, and swine. ^ The latter were so numer- ous that Polybius remarks " nowhere are more pigs slaught- ered than in Italy, for sacrifices as well as for family use." * The principles of agriculture as set forth by Cato in his treatise De re riistica give considerable attention to details, and even the most minute items are carefully elucidated. The idea of rotation of crops was understood as well as the advisability of growing particular crops in certain varieties ^ Cato R. R. X. I, XI. I ; LIV. 5 : " houes nisi per hiemem, cum non arabunt, pasci non oportet"; CLXII, cf. Plaut. Capt. 849: " alium porcinam atqiie agninam et pullos galUnaceos" ; Cure. 323, Mil. Glor. 759-60, Aul. 330- 1- *Cato R. R. X. I, CXLIX, CL; Plaut. True. 645-9: " Rus mane dudum hine ire me iussit pater, ut bubus glandem prandio depromerem. post illoc quam ueni, aduenit, si dis placet, ad uillam argenttim meo qui debebat patri, qui ouis Tarentinas erat mercatus de patre." * Cato R. R. LXXXIX : " gallinas et anseres " ; XC : " palumbum." * Polyb. II. 15 (trans. Shuckburgh) cf. XII. 4. 37] DWELLING, TOWN AND COUNTRY 37 of soil/ Irrigatiom and drainage were to be carried on extensively, and fertilization was recognized as extremely important." In the words of Cato : " Quid est agrum hem coleref bene or are. quid secundum? arare. quid tertiumf stercorare." ^ In spite of the intensive cultivation, however, the pro- duction of grain had already become less profitable than the use of the land for grazing purposes/ If the estate (fundus) was situated near Rome, of course the trade with the city offered a good opportunity for money-making, and vegetables of all kinds from the garden, live-stock, firewood from the trees and shrubs, all found a market there/ The fundus was to a large extent self-sufficing. Certain articles, nevertheless, were purchased from without, in which case the treatise advises the best places to buy them : the coarse clothing for the slaves, jars for storing-purposes {dolia, labrd), keys, locks, and bolts were to be obtained at Rome; iron implements at Cales and at Minturnae; bronze vessels at Capua or Nola; baskets at Suessa or in Campania. ** In many cases public affairs or business enterprises might make it necessary for the owner of the fundus to have his ^ Cato R. R. XXVII : " Sementim facito, ocinuni, iiiciam, faenum grae- cum, fabam, eruum, pabulum bubus. alteram et tertiam pabuli sationem facito. deinde alia fruges serito. scrobis in ueriiacto oleis, ulmis, uitibus, £cis: simul cum semine serito. si erit locus siccus, turn oleas per semen- tim serito, et quae ante satae erunt, teneras turn supputato et arbor es ablaqueato"; XXXIV, XXXV. ^Irrigation and drainage: ibid. II. 4, OLV; construction of drains: XLIII. i; fertilization: V. 8, XXXVII. 2, 3; XXXVIII. 4. Ubid.'LKl. I. * Cato Mem. Diet. 6^, ed. Jord. p. 108 : " a sene Catone cum quaereretur, quid maxime in re familiari e.vpediret, respondit: bene pascere; quid secundum? satis bene pascere; quid tertium? bene arare." Cato R. R. VII. r, VIII. 2. « Ibid. CXXXV. 1-3. 38 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [38 residence at Rome. The superintendence of the farm work was then left to the uilicus, and this office was already very extensive. The proprietor visited the villa only at intervals to go over the accounts, to hear reports, and to issue in- structions.^ The general prevalence of the uilicus, which thus made possible the prolonged absence of the master, is an indication of a growing tendency to regard the city as the permanent home and the country as a place of retire- ment and rest. This sentiment finds expression in Terence : " My country estate offers me this opportunity — that I never become bored with either the farm or the city, but whenever I grow weary of one, turn to the other." ^ * Cato R. R. II, V, CX-LII. The uilicus is further discussed in the chapter on " Slaves ". *Ter, Eun. 971-3; cf. Liv. XXII. 15, 2: " arbusta uineaeque et consita omnia magis amoenis quant necessariis fructibus", indicating that at the time of the invasion of Hannibal the land viras already being planted for other than utiHtarian purposes. CHAPTER II Women and Marriage In the Roman household or familia were included the husband and wife, their children (sons or unmarried daughters), the wives and children of the married sons, the slaves, and finally, the household gods. The head of the familia was the pater, and the property and things under his control were referred to as sua res, res fa/miliaris, or res communis. The term familia itself is joined in formal expressions with domus as domus familiaque.^ Legal marriage could be contracted only by people politi- cally capable of forming the alliance : a f reeborn man could not marry a freedwoman. Exemption from this prohibi- tion, however, could be granted by the Senate.- Marquardt states in general that the legal age for marriage was four- teen for the man and twelve for the woman, but that in practise the man did not marry until after the assumption of the toga uirilis (seventeen years), and the girl also mar- ried later than the age mentioned above. The most exact reference to the age of the girl in the Palliatae is in the ^ Plut. Cat. maj. 24; Ter. Hec. : the wife and child of the married son living with the parents of the husband, cf. Ad. 910 : " traduce et matrem et familiam omnem ad nos " ; Phorm. 571 : " ipsam cum omni familia " ; Plant. Aul. Pro. 2: "ego Lar sum familiaris ex hac familia"; Cato R. R. passim. Plant. Trin. 114; Liv. XXII. 53. 11: "sua res"; Plant. Cure. 552, Trin. 38 : " res priuata " ; Stick. 145, 525 : " res familiaris " ; Amph. 499: "res communis"; Cato R. R. CXXXIV. 2, CXXXIX, CXLI. 2 : " domus familiaque." * Liv. XXXIX. 19. 5. 39] 39 40 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [40 Phormio of Terence, in which a marriage is arranged for a girl of fourteen. That this was the accepted age is sug- gested by the words ** non manebat aetos uirginis meam neclegentiamJ' ^ Marriage was permitted between first cousins from the time of the second Punic War.^ The consent of the patresfamilias was the essential con- dition of the validity of the marriage. The pafresfcmiilia^ of course were not in every case the fathers of the young couple, as when the paternal grandfather still lived, it was he who had the power as head of the house. It is interest- ing tO' note that while for the marriage of a man, the con- sent of both the father and of the grandfather — and if he were alive, of the great-grandfather — was asked, in the case of the marriage of a girl, the consent of the grand- father was asked without that of the father.^ In arranging a match, social and financial equality were usually considered more desirable than extreme wealth.* There were of course exceptions to this general feeling. ^ Marquardt, Vie privee desR.,vo\. i, p. 36. Ter. Phorm. 570-1 cf. 1017. *Liv. XLII. 34. 3 (171 B. C). "pater mihi uxor em fratris sui filiam dedit." 'Girard, Manuel elemeiitaire de droit roniain (Paris, 1911), pp. 155-^. Ter. Phorm, yzz '• " infirmas nuptias," because the consent of the pater has not been obtained; ihid. 231-3: " itane tandem uxorem duxit Antipho iniussu meo ? | nee meum imperium, ac mitto imperiutn, non simultatem meam \ reuereri saltern"; Ad. 334: " ita obsecraturum ut liceret hanc sibi uxorem ducere." Even in a later period when respect for the patria potestas was declining, a marriage which a youth had been forced by the pater to contract against his own wishes, was held to be legal, cf. P. Juventius Celsus, consul 129 A. D., Dig. XXIII. 2. (de ritn nuptiarum). 22, Karlowa, Romische Rechtsgeschichte (Leipsig, 1885), vol, i, p. 706. * Considerations in arranging a marriage: Plaut. Aul. 212, et seq.: genus, iides, facta, aetas. Undesirability of a wealthy marriage for a poor girl: Plaut. Aul. 226, et seq., Trin. 451, et seq.; Ter. Phorm. 653: "in seruitutem pauperem ad ditem dari" (for in matrimonium) . 41 ] WOMEN AND MARRIAGE 41 The humble client of Cato, for example, gladly accepted the proposal that he give his daughter in marriage to his noble patron. Probably in this case, however, the natural and expected deference of a cliens to the wish of his pa^- tronus, was effective in influencing his attitude. That such a union of persons in different stations was infrequent is suggested by the statement that " this proposal at first as might be expected, astonished the secretary, who . . . had never dreamed that his humble family would be allied with a house which could boast of consulates and triumphs." ^ The unpleasant position of a poor man who' foolishly gives his daughter in marriage to a rich husband is pictured to us in the following terms : You are a rich man, Megadorus, a man of influential connec- tions, while I am the poorest of the poor. Now if I gave my daughter to you in marriage, the thought suggests itself to me that you would be like an ox and I, like an ass; when I was yoked with you and could not bear an equal share of the burden, I, the ass, would lie prostrate in the mud, and you, the ox, would not consider me any more than if I had never been born. I would find you a bad match for me; my own class would laugh at me; and I would have nowhere to turn for refuge if there should be a divorce. The asses would tear me with their teeth, the oxen would gore me with their horns. It is a great risk — to rise from the rank of the asses to that of the oxen.- The celebration of the marriage itself was preceded by the rite of betrothal. The agreement was cemented by the formula spondesne . . . spondeo, but except for the in- sistence upon the utterance of these specific words, no formal ceremony was called for. The patres of the young * Plut. Cat. maj. 24. * Plaut. Aul. 226, et seq. 42 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [42 couple arranged the match between them, or the suitor ad- dressed himself personally to the pater of the girl. Wit- nesses of the betrothal contract were not required. They were frequently present, however, and possibly this was the general practice. The betrothal did not bind the two parties unalterably to the consummation of the marriage, as it might be broken off by a repudium on either side.^ The oldest form of marriage was the manus marriage. In this the wife came absolutely into the power of her hus- band and possessed a peculium only on sufferance. The condition of a wife in such a union is expressed by Plautus in the words : " A virtuous woman should have no peculium without the knowledge of her husband . . . whatever be- longs to you is all of it absolutely the property of your spouse." ^ Certain passages in the comedies, however, indi- cate another form of marriage, a form in which the wife remained under the power of her pater and retained the right to her own property. The plays do not give us the name of this form, but it apparently corresponds to the marriage sine conventione in manum.^ ^Arranged between patres: Ter. And. 102; Ex incert. incert fab. VIII, Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 114: " sponden tuam gnatam Alio uxorem meo"; Liv. XLII. 34. 3. Between suitor and pater: Plut. Cat. maj. 24; Plaut. Trin. 1157-8, Aul. 238, 256-7, Cure. 674, Poen. 1157; Pacuvius Dtilorestes II (12), 'Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 91. Repudium: Plaut. Aul. 783; Ter. Phorm. 928; cf. And. 148-9. 'Ter. And. 2^7: "in manum"; Titinius Fullonia I (4), Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 13s : " ego me mandatam meo uiro male arhitror \ qui rem dispcrdit, et trmm dofein conicst" ; Plaut. Cas. 197-202. ' Plaut. Stick. 53 : two married daughters refer to themselves as in patri' potestate ; Men. 799-805 : the father of the wife is angry not at the unfaithfulness of the husband but at his stealing gold and jewels from her; cf. Cato Orat. reliq. XXXII. i, ed. Jord. p. 54: " principio nobis mulier magnam dotem attulit, turn magnam pecuniam recipit, quant in uiri potestatem non conmittat. earn pecuniam uiro mutuam dat. postea, ubi irata facta est, seruum reeepticium sectari et Hagitare uirum .^-j WOMEN AND MARRIAGE 43 There were three methods of entering into the manus marriage, (i) Confarreatio, or reHgious marriage. This had existed from a very early date. It was doubtless still retained among conservative aristocratic families, but it was becoming less frequent, and in any case was probably never open to plebeians. (2) Coemptio. This form is often described as " le mariage civil a cote du mariage religieux, le mariage plebeien a cote du mariage patricien ". In it the bride was acquired in the same way as a slave or a valu- able piece of property. (3) Usiis—hy prescription, if the wife remained with the husband continuously for one year. Rossbach describes tl^is form as " das Resultat der Periode, wo man der manus schon zu entgehen suchte, ohne sie jedoch aufheben zu wollen ". An example of the form is given in Plautus.^ The introduction of the marriage without manus, how- ever, presented new difficulties. This marriage did not require any intervention of public authority. Its validity did not depend on: the betrothal, the festivities and cere- monies, or the drawing up of a document regulating the pecuniary relations of the couple (instrumentum dotale), but on the other hand it was not formed simply by the iubet"; Ennius Cresphontes III (7), Ribb. Frag. Trag. pp. 29-30: " Iniuria abs te adficior indigna, pater. Nam si inprobum esse Cressipontem existintas, Cur me huic locabas nuptiis? Sin est probus. Cur talem inuitam inuitum cogis Unqucre?" Marquardt, Vie privee des R., vol. i, p. 39. Karlowa, Romische Rechtsgeschichte (Leipsic, 1885-1901), vol. ii, pp. 167-9, in his discussion of the marriage without manus considers that this form first became frequent in the lower classes of society and from there found its way more and more into the higher classes. On the basis of Macrob. I. 6 he concludes that "im Stande der Freige- lassenen die Ehe ohne manus verbreiteter war en, als im Stande der Freigeborenen ". ^Girard, op. cit., pp. 151-3; Rossbach, Romische Ehe (Stuttgart. 1853), p. 65. Plaut. True. 392-3. 44 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [44 interchange of nuptial consent. In some cases the dmtio uxoris in domum mariti — the leading of the bride to her new home — was regarded as the criterion of completed marriage/ The ceremony with its careful preparations to make sanctas nuptias - customarily took place in the home of the bride. While the comedies give instances of the cena. taking place in the home of the groom, it is in that case possible that a large part of the marriage ceremony was omitted. In the AuMaria of Plautus the groom provides the pro- visions for the banquet, but this occurrence is plainly re- garded as unusual and surprising, and is explained by one of the characters of the play on the ground of the poverty of the father of the bride. Moreover, even here, the latter feels it incumbent upon him to purchase at least " a trifle of incense and floral wreaths " to decorate his house for the ceremony, and the fact that the banquet, although he does not pay for the provisions, is nevertheless served in his house, indicates this as the recognized usage.® The ceremony was a lengthy affair. Auspices were taken first in order to assure propitious conditions. It was neces- sary that the household gods of the family O'f the bride and of the family of the groom should approve in order that the marriage prove f-ortunata. In the adornment of the house for the ceremony, therefore, wreaths were hung on the hearth for the Lar and incense burned. The cere- money ended with a cena.^ ^ Girard, loc. cit., cf. Muirhead, Historical Introduction to the Private Law of Rome (London, 1899), p. ^Z- ' Ter. Ad. 899-900: "sanctas nuptias .. .cotisumunt diem." ^ Plaut. Cure. 728, Aul. 261, et seq., 294-5: "hie non poterat de suo j senex opsonari Aliai nuptiis?" Ibid. 384-7. * Plaut. Cas. 86: " ultro ibit nuptum, non manebat auspices"; Aul. 386-7; Ter. Ad. 699: " abi domum ac deos conprecare ut uxorem ac- cersas"; Ex incert. incert. fab. XXIV, Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 117: "cum tetulit coronam ob colligandas nuptias." ^r] WOMEN AND MARRIAGE 45 At nightfall the banquet came to an end, and the deductio took place — the leading of the bride to her new home. The deductio was the occasion for a festal procession preceded by flute-players and torch-bearers, which finally congre- gated in a merry throng before the house of the groom/ Upon her arrival the noua nupta annointed the posts of the door and bound them with bands of wool.^ Great care had to be taken in crossing the sill to avoid the ill omen of stumbling.^ The existence of a dowry was the distinguishing feature of inatrimonium, for without a dowry marriage with equality on both sides was considered impossible.* The size of the dowry naturally varied. In the Heauton of Terence a modest dowry of only two talents is given, but in the Andria and in the Mercafor of Plautus ten talents are mentioned ; in the Cistellaria twenty talents ; Polybius tells us the dowry of the wife of L. Aemilius Paulus was twenty- five talents ; and in some cases the amount reached as high as fifty talents.^ 1 Plaut. Cas. 118, 533, 798, 856: " hidos in uiam nuptialis"; Ter. Hec. 135 : " uxorem deducit domum " ; Ad. 907 : " hymenaeum turbas lampadas tibicinas " ; Pacuvius Dulorestes I (4) , Ribb. Frag. Trag. p. 91 : " hymenaeum fremunt \ Aequales, aula resonit crepitii musico." 2 Don. ad. Ter. Hec. I. 2. 60. " uxor dicitur uel ah ungendis postibus et Agenda lana, id est quod cum puellae nuberent, maritorum pastes ungebant ibiquc lanam Hgebant." ^ Plaut. Cas. 815-6: " sensim super attolle limen pedes, noua nupta." * Plaut. Trin. 690-1 : " in concubinatum tibi, | si sine dote t.8p6fiui, which took place on the fifth day and was the occasion of the naming of the child, corresponding in this to the Roman dies lustriciis, the ninth day after birth for a boy, the eighth for a girl.^ Early in the life of the child — according to Ussing, on the first birthday (cf. Plautus, Rudens 1171) — the hullat was presented to the child by the father. This ornament was for a long time the mark of pueri ingenui, but at the time of the second Punic War the children of freedmen obtained the right to wear one of leather.* The bulla was a round medallion hung around the neck. Marquardt states ^ Ter. And. 401 ; Plaut. Amph. 501 : " quod erit natum, toUito." ' Plaut. Cist. 123-4, 166, 635-6, Cas. 40-6 ; Ter. Heaut. 614-5, 640 : " uel uti quaestum faceret uel utx ueniret palam " ; Plaut, Rud. 390 : "qui suos parentes noscere posset"; Ter. Eun. 753: " monutnenta". * Plaut. True. 476 : " ignem in aram, ut uenerem Lucinam " ; ibid. 423-4 : " dis hodie sacruHcare pro puero uolo \ quinto die quod Heri oportet." * Ussing, Erziehung und Jugendunterricht (Berlin, 1885), p. 45 cf. Plaut. Rud. 1 171: "bulla aurea est pater quant dedit mi natali die." Macrob. Sat. I. 6. 8, et seq.; Liv. XXVI. 2>6. 5: " niio bullam", re- ferring to the bulla aurea of the children of senators. 6o SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [60 that it might also be in the shape of a heart, citing from Macrobius, Sat. I. 6. 17, the words cordis Hguram. The sentence of Macrobius taken as a whole, " cordis Hguram in bulla ante pectus adnecterent," does not seem to indicate this positively, as the usual expression to denote the mean- ing adopted by Marquardt would be bullam cordis iigura.^ In general boys wore the bulla until the assumption of the toga uirilis and girls until their marriage, but in one case in Plautus the bulla aurea of the girl, although preserved, was not worn but laid aside with the childish crepundia.^ The crepundia were little metal trinkets strung together and hung around the neck of the child. Plautus describes a typical collection of such miniature objects: a gold sword with the name of the father, a gold double-axe with the name of the mother, a silver sickle, two clasped hands, a pig. These crepundia were presented to the child by members of the household and by the household slaves. They served as a protection against fascinatio (Ussing points out in the " sicilicula argenteola" a resemblance in form to the crescent, and Plautus in the Epidicus mentions a lunula, evidently a half-moon shaped amulet, given to the child by one of the slaves of the household), and as a means of identification if the child were lost or stolen.^ They were further useful as a plaything — a kind of rattle. The old Roman custom of the nursing and care of the infant by the mother still continued in some cases.* In this period, however, we already find reference to the employ- ment of nurses, a custom which had become general by the * Marquardt, Vie privee des R., vol. i, p. 100. *Plaut. Rud. 1154, cf. 1171. 'Plaut. Mil. Glor. 1399: "quasi puero in collo pendant crepundia" cf. Rud. 1081; list of crepundia: ibid. 1154, et seq.; Ussing op. cit., p. 43 cf. ed. Plaut. Rud. 1156 n., Oxford ed. 1169 cf. Epid. 640. * Plut. Cat. maj. 20. 6i] CHILDREN AND EDUCATION 6l time of Cicero/ Marquardt states that the nurse was usually a woman of free status belonging to the family, but in some cases in Plautus and Terence the nurse {nutrex) is a slave (ancilla), and in others is evidently not from the household but summoned from outside." The name mater was sometimes given to the nutrex, apparently from affec- tion, and in the Mercator the ancilla refers to her young master as " erus atque alumnus." ^ Even when there was a nurse, the mother assisted in the care of the child.^ The child was rocked in a cradle (cunae).^ There is little information about the amusements and playthings of the children. The crepundia have already been mentioned. There were in addition various sports and pastimes, such as games of ball, walking on stilts (grallae), playing horse, and the like. Pets were more common than at present, especially dogs and various kinds of birds.^ ^ Plaut. Men. 19-21 : " uti mater sua \ non internosse posset, quae mamtnam dabat, \ neque adeo mater ipsa quae illos peperat" cf. Cic Tusc. III. 1.2:" ut paene cum lacte nutricis errorem suxisse uideamur." 2 Marquardt, Vie privee des R., vol. i, p. 106 cf. nutrex a slave : Plaut. Merc. 509, 809, Poen. 1130 cf. Tac. Dial. 29: " natus infans dele- gafur Graeculae alicui ancillae," which would seem to indicate that in a later period as well the nutrex was not of free condition but a slave; nutrex summoned from outside: Plaut. True. 903; Ter. Hec. y2^: " immo uero abi, aliquam puero nutricem para." ^ Mater: Plaut. Men. 19, Merc. 809. * Plaut. True. 902-3 : " matri autem quae puerum lauit \ opu' nutrici, lact' ut habeat." * Plaut. Pseud. 1177, Amph. 1107, True. 905. ^ Plaut. Bacc. 428: pila; Poen. 530: " gralatorem gradu"; Asin. 700, et seq. : the master carries the slave on his back " ut consuetus es puer olim"; Capt. 1002-3: "quasi patriciis pueris aut monerulae \ aut anites aut coturnices dantur, quicum lusitent." Dogs : Plaut. Most. 849 ; Ter. And. 56-7; Plut. Aem. Paul. 6. 62 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [62 (b) GENERAL EDUCATION The period under discussion marks a new phase in the history of Roman education. Marquardt states that up to approximately 150 B. C. it is possible to " grasp the real originality of the old system of education which is half effaced later , . . the system of education confided with- out reserve to the family," ^ but it is evident that thei change had begun at a much earlier date. Wealthy families of the third century were already entrusting to Greek slaves a part in the education of their children. Before 240 B. C. Andronicus, who had been among the prisoners from Tarentum in 2^2 B. C, received his liberty from his master Livius because of his excellent qualities in instructing his master's children. Before the end of the century (after 231 B. C.) the first school at Rome, according to Plutarch, was opened by Spurius Carvilius, a freedman.^ Ussing modifies the statement of Plutarch by the expla- nation that this Carvilius was doubtless the first teacher whose name was known, and considers that schools existed at Rome long before. He bases his conclusion (i) on the references in Livy III. 44. 6 (449 B. C. ), V. 27. i (394 B. C.), and Dion. XI. 28; (2) and in his opinion more con- ^ Marquardt, Vie privee des R., vol. i, p. 97. 'Suet, de Poetis, ed. Roth, p. 291. The first dramatic work of Livius was produced in 240 B. C, when he was apparently free. Plut. Q. R. 59. Livius Andronicus also founded a school cf. Suet, de Gram, i, and it is uncertain whether this school or that of Carvilius was actu- ally the first. The exact date of the school of Carvilius cannot be determined, but as Sp. Carvilius received his divorce in 231 B. C. (Aul. Cell. IV. 3. I, 2 cf. XVn. 21. 44), probably it was in the third quarter of the century. If that of Carvilius was the first, Livius must have waited for some time after his emancipation. The Romans and the Greeks may very probably have had no absolute means of deter- mining the question, and in any case the schools date from practically the same time. 53] CHILDREN AND EDUCATION 63 clusively, on the previous existence in Rome of written laws. Marquardt also uses these arguments as a contradiction of the hypothesis that there were no schools in Rome till Carvilius/ The existence of written laws, however, would not by itself prove the existence of ludi litter(wii, primary schools, as a knowledge of writing might be acquired in other ways. The references in Livy cannot be accepted as conclusive ; the chief source of information for this early period, the pontifical annals, give only a bare record of events. It is more probable that Livy, filling in the details, introduced in his mention of the ludus litterarum an institu- tion of a later period. By the early part of the second century B, C. the custom of employing educated slaves as instructors for the young had become common enough so that a slave or freedman opening such a school was sure of pupils. Some of the more conservative, however, still preferred to instruct their children directly, recognizing the undesirable features of the subordination of their sons toi men of a lower order. A person having such a slave in his household, whether or not he desired him as instructor for his own children, could profitably rent out the slave's services as instructor to the children of others." If the time of the father was occupied to a large extent by public affairs or business matters, the instruction which he was able to^ give toi his sons might be supplemented by lessons from slaves of the requisite learning.^ The early ^Ussing, Erziehung u. Jugendunterricht, p. 100; Marquardt, Vie privee des R., vol. i, p. 109, n. 4, p. iii, n. i. " Plut. Cat. ntaj. 20 : Cato kept at his house a grammarian slave, Chilon, who instructed the children of other citizens for a salary re- ceived by his master, although Cato himself supervised the education of his own son ; cf. Plaut. Pseud. 446 : " hie mihi corrumpit filium." » Plut. A em. Paul. 6. 64 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [64 instruction of the child, therefore, might be given (i) at home directly by the parents, (2) at home by a slave of the household, (3) in a private school conducted by a slave or freedman. The education of the child began formally at the age of seven/ The essential elements of the instruction imparted to the child by the parents are summed up by Plautus in the words " parentex . . . litteras, iura^ leges docent", and this corresponds closely with the system followed by Cato." Children still learned by heart the XII Tables, a custom which fell into disuse in the time of Cicero.^ There was no systematic study of history, but the children were taught the illustrious deeds of the family to which they belonged, and in this way acquired some knowledge of the history of Rome.* The instruction in the primary schools was naturally along much the same lines as that given by the parents. That their chief task was to teach the alphabet and its uses — reading and writing — is shown by the names applied toi the school, hidus litter arius or litter arum, and to the in- structor, who was called litterator. Instruction was also) ^ Plaut. Poen. 66 : " ptter . . . septuennis " ; Merc. 292, 303, Bacc. 440. * Plaut. Most. 126 cf. Plut. Cat. maj. 20. 'Cic. de Leg. 11. 23. 59: " discebamus enim pueri XII ^ ut carmen necessarium, quas iam nemo discit." * Plut. Cat. maj. 20. Cicero Brut. XIX. 75, Tusc. I. 2. 3, speaks of songs which the Romans were accustomed to sing at banquets in praise of their famous ancestors, a practise which was dropped between Cato and Cicero. Doubtless there were such songs in praise of ancestors, but judging from other songs composed by the Romans, they were probably vague and general in character so that the same songs could be used to apply to anyone who had been brave. If in the time of Cato there had been any songs in praise of specific* families, they would not have been allowed to die out; cf. Varro, ap. Non .y. v. assa uoce, ed. Lindsay, vol. i, pp. 107-8. 65] CHILDREN AND EDUCATION 65 given in rudimentary arithmetic. The lessons were done on wax tablets.^ During this period Roman education was broadened by the introduction of music and dancing. Although theseJ accomplishments were still regarded by the most conserva- tive as unbecoming, instruction in them was not limited to people of the lower class. Even citizens of high rank began to have their children so trained. Macrobius describes a dancing school of more than fifty boys and girls, and this school was probably not exceptional, as young girls of aristocratic family continued to receive similar instruction.^ In addition to his intellectual training the Roman youth was trained from early boyhood in bodily exercises : hurl- ing the javelin, boxing, swimming, and riding.^ The Romans, however, never regarded gymnastic exercises as seriously as did the Greeks. Scipio, while he was in Sicily, preparing his expedition against Carthage, entered the gymnasium of Syracuse in Greek dress and took part In the exercises of the palaestra; but many Romans were scandalized, and these actions were later brought up asi accusations against him.* Athletic games are mentioned for the first time in 186 B. C.^ With the development of schools, the custom of the! ^ Plaut. Pers. 173 : " si in ludum iret, potuisset iam Hen ut probe litteras sciret" cf. ibid. 187: "si scis tute quot hodie habeas digitos in manu " ; Merc. 303 : " ludum litterarium " ; Bacc. 441 : " tabula " ; Suet. de Gram. 4: " litterator". *Macrob. III. 14. 4-7; Sallust Cat. 25: Sempronia, the mother of D. Brutus, is described as " litteris Graecis et Latinis docta, psallere et saltare elegantius quam necesse est probae, multa alia quae instru- menta luxuriae sunt." ' Plut. Cat. maj. 20. * Cic. de Rep. IV. 4: " iuventutis uero exercitatio quam absurda in gymnasiis." Liv. XXIX. 19. 12, XXXVIII. 51. i. ^ Liv. XXXIX. 23. 2 : " athletarum quoque certamen turn prima Romanis spectaculo fuit." 66 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [66 paedagogus was introduced, a slave who accompanied the child to class and was present at the lessons. Plautus speaks of the paedagogus continuing his office until the boy reached the age of twenty, but this is probably an exaggeration even for Greek education. The functions of the paedagogtis probably ceased at the assumption of the toga uvrUis.^ The change from the toga praetexta to the toga uirilis took place at the- age of seventeen. The youth might begin his military career before that time. In 216 B. C. and in 212 B. C. the enrollment of boys under seventeen is men- tioned, and later the proposed legislation of C. Gracchus in- cluded the exemption of youths under seventeen from being drafted for the army.^ The lex Plaetoria apparently first established the distinction between minority and majority. This law protected minors up to the age of twenty-five, and gave them relief from any juristic act which they had con- cluded imder the influence of fraud. ^ . ^Paedagogus: Plaut. Bacc. 138, Pers. 447, Merc. 91; Ter. Phorm. 144. Plaut. Bacc. 422-3 : " nego tibi hoc annis uiginti fuisse primis copiae, \ digitum longe a paedagogo pedem ut ecferres aedibus." * Liv. XXII. 57. 9 : " iuniores ab septendecem et quosdam praetex- tatos scribunt"; ibid. XXV. 5. 8: "qui minores septendecem annis Sacramento dixissent Us perinde stipendia procederent, ac si septen- decem annorum aut maiores milites facti essent"; Polyb. X. 3: "He [Publius IScipio] was then ... eighteen years old and on his first cam- paign." Plut. C. Grace. 5, Flamin. i : " young men learned how to act as officers not by theory but by actual service in the field." * Plaut. Rud. 1380-2, Pseud. 303-4: "annorum lex me perdit quinaui- cenaria. \ metuont credere onines." The lex Plaetoria was passed before 192 B. C, as that is the year in which the Pseudolus was presented. Kaxlowa, op. cit., vol. ii, pp. 306-8, discusses the probable date of the law, and reaches the conclusion that it apparently does not mudi antedate 192 B. C iHe points out that with the incoming of Hellenic customs and the consequent change in social conditions at Rome, the inexperience of youths was more frequently taken advantage of, and moreover in a period of long continued warfare, it might often be the case that young men who had reached or even passed their twentieth birthday, and were veteran soldiers, in view of the long duration of their military activity, were still very inexperienced in civil affairs. Cf. Sohm. op. cit., pp. 294-5, Girard, op. cit., pp. 229-30. 57] CHILDREN AND EDUCATION 67 After the assumption of the toga uirilis various fields of interest were open to the youth. He might carry on hisi studies with a view to practising at the bar; he might enter military life as a tribune; he might be entrusted with busi- ness enterprises and transactions as the representative of his father or independently/ Either as a direct gift from the father or through the profits of his business affairs the son might acquire a peculmm, private property,^ but legally this was held only with the consent of the father. (c) HIGHER EDUCATION CULTURAL STUDIES In some cases the youth might desire to carry his studies further as Roman education was gradually becoming more cultural. The translation of the Odyssey by Livius An- dronicus dates the beginning of Roman poetry. Both Livius and Ennius introduced into the general education the study and interpretation oif Greek literary works, and the reading and explanation of their own compositions, and their example was followed by others. The first grammarian to give real lessons was Crates of Mallos, the ambassador of Attains (between 160 and 150 B. C). Strabo calls Crates the foremost of the grammarians, the word being used in a large sense to mean literary critic. In this respect Crates continued the work of Ennius, and his teachings inspired wide imitation.^ *Plut. Aem. Paul. 2; Polyb. XXXII. 9: "I [Scipio Aemilianus] am considered . . . far removed from the true Roman character and ways, because I don't care for pleading in the law courts." Plut. Flamin. I. Plant. Most. 1016-7: "me apsente hie tecum Ulius \ negoti gessit"; Merc. II : "pater ad mercatum hinc me meus misit"; Bare. 249-50. * Plant. Capt. 19-20, Merc. 96-7 : the son, receiving a price above what he is to give to his father, says " peculium \ conHcio grande." 'Suet, de Gram, i, 2: "primus igitur quantum opinamur studium grammaticae in urbem intulit Crates Mallotes . . . nostris exemplo fuit ad imitandum ", cf. Strabo I. 2. 24. 68 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [68 In the case of a family of sufficient wealth the whole education of the son might be conducted at home. This was true of Aemilius Paulus, who " provided his children with grammarians, sophists, and rhetors, surrounded them with sculptors, painters, hairdressers, and hunting-masters, all Greek ", and to complete their instruction asked the Athenians to send him the most esteemed philosopher of their city/ The same Aemilius Paulus, in bringing home the books of Perseus', established the first private library in Rome. Plautus indicates that in this period few if any libraries were at the disposal of a writer.^ At the beginning of the century history was still written in Greek. Both Q. Fabius Pictor and L. Cincius Alimentus used that language, and the first history to be written in Latin was the Origines of Cato. The knowledge of philosophy at Rome was diffused in various ways. Indirectly it was made known through the theatre, which familiarized the people with philosophic maxims and beliefs — for example Plautus by the wordsl " quos pol ego credo humanas querimotdas non tanti facere, quid uelint, quid non uelint" {Merc. 6-7), suggests the Epicurean theory which considered the gods sublimely in- different to the affairs of men, and Terence by the words " homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto " {Heaut yy), suggests the Stoic idea of universal brotherhood.^ 1 Plut. Aem. Paul. 6. * Plut. Aem. Paul. 28; Plaut. Men. 247-8: " quin nos hinc domum \ redimus nisi si historiam scripturi sumus." ^Cf. Pacuvius Ex Incert. Fab. XIV {Herm. 2), Ribb. Frag. Trag. pp. 124-6: " Fortunam insanam esse et caecam et brutam perhibent philosophi, Saxoque instare in globoso praedicant uolubilei. [Quia quo id saxum inpulerit fors, eo cadere Fortunam autumant.] Insanam autem esse aiunt, quia atrox incerta instabilisque sit: 5o] CHILDREN AND EDUCATION 69 An effort was made to check the spread of the new belief si by the expulsion in 173 B. C. of the Epicureans Alcius and Philiscus, but professors of all kinds continued to come in, and in 161 B. C. the Senate was obliged to pass a new senatus consultum against them/ Such an edict was diffi- cult to enforce. It might be possible to expel some of the teachers, but the edict could not be carried out in the case of Greeks like Polybius who were living as preceptors or friends in the households of wealthy and influential fami- lies,^ or in the case of ambassadors. The ambassadors, besides their special mission, spoke in public on the studies in which they were interested. Examples are Astyamedes. the ambassador of the Rhodians, a rhetor who published his discourses ; ^ Crates of Mallos, the gram- marian sent by Attains II ; * the philosophers Carneades, Diogenes, and Critolaus, sent as an embassy by the Athe- nians in 155 B. C, who organized lectures while waiting Caecam ob earn rem esse iterant, quia nil cernant quo sese adplicet: Brutam, quia dignum atque indignum nequeat internoscere. Sunt autem alii philosophi, qui contra Fortunam negant Esse ullant, sed temeritate res regi omnis autumant. Id magis ueri simile esse usus re apse experiundo edocet: Velut Orestes mode fuit rex, factus mendicus modo." ^ Athenaeus XII. 68. Aul. Gell. XV. 11 gives the substance of this decree. '^ Polyb. XXXII. 9: "the sons of L. Aemilius Paulus exerted all their influence with the praetor that Polybius might be allowed to remain in Rome. This was granted." 5 Polyb. XXX. 4. * The exact date at which Crates of Mallos came to Rome is uncer- tain. Suet, de Gram. 2 says the year of the death of Ennius, but ac- cording to iCicero (Brut. XX. 78) Ennius died i6g B. C, and Attalus II did not become king until 159 B. C. The acceptance of this year as the date of the embassy is plausible, (i) as it would be natural for Attalus to send an embassy in the first year of his reign, (2) as this year places the date of the embassy as close as possible to that of the death of Ennius. 70 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [70 for their audience with the Senate. These lectures were very successful, and people crowded to hear them/ While Terence does not give philosophy a high rank as a serious study, classing it with the breeding of horses and of hunt- ing-dogs as a fad of youth, still prominent Romans were interested in the new teachings. When the Greek embassy was to appear before the Senate, an important citizen, C. Acilius, sought as an honor the privilege of serving as in- terpreter. Cato strongly opposed this teaching of Greek philosophy at Rome, but in doing so, it was not so much the theories themselves which he objected to, as the intro- duction into Rome of an interest in rhetoric and philosophy, studies which he regarded with disfavor. It was largely due to his efforts that Carneades and his colleagues were finally sent back to Greece.^ The Athenian embassy represented three different schools of philosophy — " Carneades ex Acidemia, Diogenes Stoicus, Critolaus Peripateticus", but the teachings of Carneades were especially popular. The success of his doctrines at Rome, moreover, was not merely temporary. Clitomachus, the friend and successor of Carneades, dedicated two books to Lucilius and to the consul L. Censorinus.^ The Stoics at Rome were especially represented by Panaetius, the pupil of Crates of Mallos. The success of the Stoic school isl marked in the circle of Scipio Aem'ilianus. Laelius in par- ticular followed the lessons of Diogenes, the colleague of ^ Gell. VI (VII). 14: the Athenian embassy was sent to reduce the fine imposed after the pillage of Oropus; Plut. Cat. maj. 22; Cic. de Orat. II. 37. i55- ' Ter. And. 55-7 : " quod plerique omnes faciunt adulescentuli ut ammum ad aliquod studium adtungant, out equos alere aut canes ad uenandum out ad philosophos." For attitude of Cato towards rhetoric and philosophy cf. Plut. Cat. maj, 23, Cato Incert. Lib. Reliq. 19, ed. Jord. p. 87. ^Cic. Acad. IV. 32. 102. 71 ] CHILDREN AND EDUCATION 7 1 Carneades, and then the lessons of Panaetius. With Panaetius stoicism no longer emphasized exclusively the speculative side, but occupied itself as well with the practical organization of peoples and cities/ The role of philosophy in politics was growing and an influence in the reforms of Tiberius Gracchus is attributed by ancient writers tO' the rhetor Diophanes of Mytilene and to the philosopher Blossius of Cumae.^ The scientific study of the period was mainly concernedi with the improvement of the calendar, which did not cor- respond exactly to the solar year. In 192 B. C. the consul M'. Acilius Glabrio is said to have proposed the institution of intercalary days. The pontiffs who had charge of reg^l- lating the intercalations, abused the privilege, however, by employing it to lengthen or shorten the term of magistrates.^ In 188 B. C. M. Fulvius Nobilior posted on his temple of Hercules and the Muses a list of the months and days of the year with explanations about each.* This was done evidently in order to familiarize the people with the facts. There was also an attempt to determine more exactly the hours of the day. In 263 B. C. a sun-dial brought from Sicily by M, Valerius Messala, had been set up in the forum, but as this was regulated for Catana, it was not entirely ^ Strabo XIV. 5. 16; Cic. de Fin. II. 8. 24: "nee ille, qui Diogenem Stoicum adulescens, post autem Panaetium audierat, Laelius " ; de Leg. III. 6. 14: " etiam a Stoicis ista tractata sunt? Non sane nisi ab eo, quern modo nominaui, et posiea a magno homine et in primis erudito, Panaetio, nam ueteres uerbo tenus acute illi quidem, sed non ad hunc usuni popularem atque civilem, de re publico disserebant." ' Plut. Tib. Grace. 8. * Macrob. Sat. I. 13. 21 ; Censor, de Die Natal. XX. 6, 7: " pontificibus datum negotium eorumque arbitrio itttercalandi ratio, permissa. sed horum plerique ob odium uel gratiam, quo quis magistratu citius abiret diutiusue fungeretur . . . plus minusue ex libidine intercalando rem sib* ad corrigendum mandatam ultro quod deprauarunt." * Macrob. Sat. I. 12. 16. 72 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [72 correct. In 164 B. C, Q. Marcius Philippus, the censor, erected one regulated for Roman use. To some people, however, the new method of telling time was not entirely desirable. Plautus puts in the mouth of one of his charac- ters an amusing diatribe against the recent innovation, be- ginning : " May the gods destroy the man who first dis- covered hours, and even more, the man who first set up al sun-dial here and divided the day into little bits of pieces for poor me." In 159 B. C. Scipioi Nasica introduced the first water-clock.^ The study of astronomy had progressed so that many Romans were able tO' comprehend the scientific explanation of natural phenomena. In 168 B. C, before the battle of Pydna, when an eclipse of the moon terrified the soldiers, C. Sulpicius Gallus, the mihtary tribune of Aemilius Paulus, the next day explained the occurrence to them, giving them a brief description of the planetary system. According toi Livy he not only explained the phenomenon but also an- nounced the hour beforehand.^ While it is improbable that he would be able to make such definite calculations, still it is important that a Roman officer of the time could make such an explanation. ^Plin. H. N. VII. 60 (60). 213-5; Plaut. frag. Boeotia, cf. Fowler, Social Life at Rome (New York, 1910), p. 265. *Cic. de Rep. I. 15. 22; Val. Max. VIII. 11. i; Liv. XLIV. 27- 5, 6: " pronuntiauit node proxima, ne quis id pro portento acciperet, ah hora secunda usque ad quartam horam noctis lunam defecturam esse, id quia naturali ordine statis temporibus Hat, et sciri ante et praedici posse." CHAPTER IV Slaves The number of slaves in Italy increased rapidly in this period as the sources of supply became more abundant. Walion attempts to estimate the slave population of Italy at the beginning of the second Punic War and then again at the time of the first consulship of Pompey. The total popu- lation of Italy is first estimated on the basis of the grain supply, and from this is deducted the number of the inhabi- tants who were included in the census lists with allowance for the number of freedmen and foreigners. While it is recognized that the result is necessarily inexact, he co;i- cludes that the beginning of the second Punic War the ser- vile population was still far from equaling the free popula- tion, whereas at the time of the first consulship of Pompey " a la diminution du nombre des hommes libres a corre- spondu, generalement, une augmentation des esclaves et que ce dernier nombre, plus f aible que I'autre au commencement de la seconde guerre punique, I'a maintenant au moins egale." ^ There are indications that from Cato the Censor to Cato of Utica the number of domestic slaves, at least in the wealthier and more aristocratic families, had become several times as great. Valerius Maximus, after comparing the three slaves of the former with the twelve attendants of the latter under similar circumstances, significantly adds, " nu- 1 Walion, Histoire de I'esclavage, vol. ii, p. 70, et seq., p. 157. 7i\ 73 74 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [74 mero plures qttam superior, temporum div^rsis moribus pauciores." ^ Such moderation in the number of slaves was not exceptional in the time of the elder Cato. Scipio Aemi- lianus when he was commissioned by the Senate " to settle the kingdoms throughout the world " only took five slaves." The chief reason for the increase in the number of slaves during this period was the foreign wars in which large numbers were included in the booty. Some of these cap- tives were brought to Rome for the triumph, and others were sold on the spot by the quaestors. The sale was called sub hasta or sub corotm iienire.^ It is striking in this con- nection to note Polybius' description of the crowds of tm- armed citizens, " more numerous than the soldiers them- selves," who followed the camp of Flaminius in hopes of booty, carrying chains and fetters with them in readiness for the slaves they hoped to obtain.^ Besides the captives in war, however, there were also other sources from which slaves were acquired. Kidnapping and piracy were carried on extensively, and many of the slaves offered for sale in the markets were obtained in this way.^ In addition to slaves acquired by purchase there were the slaves born in the household and known as uernae. These persons grew up in the family with the children of the master and were nursed by a nutrex or sometimes even by the mistress her- self.' » »Val. Max. IV. 3. n, 12. « Polyb. Frag. XXIX. »Liv. XXIII. 37. 12, XXXIX. 42. I, XLI. II. 8; Cato de re tnilitari 2, ed. Jord. p. 80: " ut populus sua opera potius ob rem bene gestam coronatus suppUcatum eat, quam re male gesta coronatus ueneat"; Plaut. Capt. 34: "emit hose' de praeda umbos de quaestoribus" cf. ibid. Ill, 453, Epid. 43^4, 210-1. * Polyb. III. 82. ' Plaut. Cure. 644, et seq., Men. 30-1, Capt. 8-10, Poen. 897. ® Plut. Cat. maj. 20 : the wife of Cato nursed the children of the 75] ^^^^^^ 75 Slave-dealing, although recognized as a regular busi- ness, was regarded with disfavor as a quaesttis inhonestus. Wallon points out that as the Greeks had the advantage of the Romans in long experience, they therefore were more prominent in the slave traffic in Rome than the Romans themselves, but it is evident that Romans of high rank did not disdain to profit by it indirectly. Cato, for example, provided his slaves with money with which to buy young slaves who were to be trained for a year and then sold at a profit/ The traffic in slaves was carried on in public mar- kets, and the slave to be sold was put up on a stone and proclaimed by the herald. There was a fixed spot for slave dealing near the temple of Castor. In this period there was no general tax on the sale of slaves, although one was later established under Augustus. Cato, however, imposed a tax on slaves under twenty who were sold for more than a cer- tain price.^ The prices of slaves varied according to circumstances. domestic slaves; Plaut. Mil. Glor. 698: "quid? nutrici non missuru's quicquam quae uernas alit? " In ancient law every execution was personal and resulted in the bondage of the debtor, so that the creditor might either sell him (trans Tiberim) or kill him. The extreme provisions of the law were no longer used, but bondage for debt continued to be the civil law method of execution par excellence. The debtor who was unable to pay, was brought before the praetor and addicted to his creditor. He was thus placed by execution in somewhat the position of a slave in regard to his creditor, and addiction is frequently incorrectly given as one of the sources of slaves at Rome. Cf. iSohm, op. cit., p. 286, et seq. Plaut. Men. 96-7 : " nam ego ad Menaechmum hunc ' eo quo iam diu | sum iudicatus" ; Poen. 1341, 1361 : " quin egomet tibi me addico, quid praetore opust"; Ter. Phorm. 334; Liv. XXIII. 14. 3: " quique pecuniae iudicati in uinculis essent." 1 Plaut. Capt. 98-9; Wallon, Histoire de I'esclavage, vol. ii, p. 48; Plut. Cat. ma J. 21. 2 Plaut. Bac£. 815-6: " atque in eopse astas lapide, ut praeco praedicat \ ...quis me uendit?" Cure. 481; Liv. XXXIX. 44. 3. y^i SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [76 In the comedies the prices are given in Greek money, but there was a close relation between the Greek drachma and the Roman denarius, and in later times the term "drachma'* came to be applied to the denarius/ For purposes of com- parison, therefore, the drachma may be recognized as ap- proximately equal to the denarius. According to Cato a fair price for a first-class laboring slave was 1500 denarii {c. $270) but ordinary unskilled labor probably brought much less. In 194 B. C. the prisoners who had been sold in Greece by Hannibal were bought back at the low price of 500 denarii. The prices of Greek markets corresponded roughly to those of the Roman markets during this period in consequence of the closer relations which were estab- lished between the two people. After the battle of Cannae, Hannibal had offered to ransom his captives at 500 denarii for a horseman, 300 for a foot-soldier, and 100 for a slave, but that this price was below the usual value of slaves is indicated by the statement of Livy that the Senate pur- chased as soldiers {miles) eight thousand slaves " though they had the power of redeeming the captives at less ex- pense." An even lower price was agreed upon by Fabius as a ransom — 250 drachma.^ A philosopher is estimated in Plautus at a talent {Capt. 274) ; an intelligent able-bodied young slave of superior quality is estimated at 20 minae {Capt. 364) ; and for young slave-boys of high personal attractions extravagant sums were paid in spite of the efforts of the censors to check this ^Hultsch, Griechische und Romische Metrologie (Berlin, 1882), p. 149, states that in later times in Rome instead of the drachma " wurde . . . der D'enar gebraucht und der Name Drachma auf diesen iiber- tragen." ''Plut. Cat. maj. 4; Liv. XXXIV. 50. 6, XXII. 57. 11-12, 58. 4; Plut. Fab. 7. -~ -' 77] SLAVES J J growing tendency/ A child of four years sold for 6 minae (Capt. 8,974) ; two children and their nurse at 18 minae {Poen. 897). Young girls varied according to their accom- plishments and personal attractions. A fair price was ap- parently 20 minae {Pseud. 52, Merc. 429; Ter, Ad. 191), but as low as 600 nummi is mentioned {Pers. 36), and as high as 30 minae {Merc. 432, Rud. 45, Most. 300, Cure. 63), 40 minae {Epid. 52), 50 minae {Merc. 440), or even 60 minae {Cure. 64, Pers. 665), For common work newly imported slaves were preferred rather than those who had been in service for a long time. All nationalities were represented, and the names of slaves in the comedies frequently indicate the country from which they come, as Lydus, Libanus, Cilix, Syrus. The Syrians were the most numerous and were considered particularly fitted for slavery by innate qualities of submission and en- durance. They were already employed especially for the humbler duties of the household, and in Plautus {Merc. 413-6) the head of the house promises to obtain " a Syrian or an Egyptian, someone to grind corn, to cook, to spin," and to perform other laborious tasks. ^ In theory the slaves were not badly treated ; Cato worked, ate, and drank with his slaves, and in any case it was to the self-interest of the master to keep them in good condition. lUv. XXXIX. 44, 3 cf. Polyb. XXXII. il. Ramsay, Most. 241, et seq., in the article on " Terms Employed With iReference to Money ", gives an explanation of money in Plautus, saying : " In the works of the Latin dramatists all computations in Greek money must be referred to the Attic standard and wherever moderate sums are named we shall not commit any grave error if we consider the value of the Attic drachma — Qd. sterling." 2 Ter. And. 457: " quid nam hoc est rei? quid hie uolt ueterator sibi?" Plaut. Baec. : Lydus ; Asin. : Libanus ; Fab. Inc. Frag. 149 : Cilix ; Merc., True.: Syra; Ter. Heaut.: Phrygia, Syrus cf. Ad.: iSyrus; And.: Lesbia, Mysis. Plaut. Trin. 542 : " turn autem Surorum, genu' quod patientissutnumst." 78 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [78 A fixed allowance of com which they themselves ground, olives, salt-fish, oil, and salt was given to each slave, and a small ration of wine. The distribution was made monthly on the Kalends. Cato carefully estimates 4 measures of com during the winter, 5 from the beginning of work in the vineyard until the ripening of the figs, and then 4 again. The uilicus, the uilica, and the opilio (shepherd), however, were to have only 3.^ The allowance was regulated accord- ing to the amount of labor performed, and was raised at the festivals of the Compitalia and the Saturnalia, the latter of which had recently been restored to especial honor in the midst of the reverses of the second Punic War in 217 B. C.^ In Plautus (Stick. 6901) there is a description of such festal rations which includes nuts, beans, figs, olives, lupine, and small pastry. It is probable that sometimes, at least in the city, an equivalent in money was given to the slave. Clothing and shoes were furnished by the master, al- though these might be supplemented by presents or pur- chases from the peculium of the slave. For the street the slave wore a campestre or tunica in place of the toga. Other articles of clothing were the cento, a garment made of several bits or pieces sewed together, the tegillum, a kind of hood, the saga, a coarse woolen mantle, and the sculponeae, heavy wooden shoes. ^ These heavy wooden shoes were ^ Plut. Cat. maj. 3. Plaut. Stick. 60 : " uos meministis quotcalendis petere demensutn cibum" cf. Men. 14-15, Trin. 944; Ter. Phorm. 43-4 cf. Don. ad Ter. Phorm. I. i. 9; Cato R. R. LVI-LVIII, CIV; Plaut. Rud. 936-7 : " hie rex cum aceto pransurust | et sale sine bono pul- mento"; Cato R. R. II. 4; "cum serui aegrotarint, cibaria tanta dart non oportuisse." «Uv. XXII. I, 20. *Cato R. R. LIX: " uestimenta familiae. tunicam P. HIS: saga alternis annis: quotiens cuique tunicam aut sagum dabis, prius ueterem accipito, unde centones flant: sculponeas bonas alternis annis dare oportet " ; ibid. II. 3, X. s ; Plaut. Cc^s. 495 : " soleas . . . qui quaeso potins quam sculponeas"; Rud. 576: "tegillum" ; Pseud. 1 187-8: " mea quidem haec habeo omnia, \ meo peculio empta". 79] SLAVES 79 worn by both male and female slaves, and in Plautus {Cos. 708-12) the lighter and more elegant soleae are promised to a female slave only as a high reward — " I will give you sandals if you accomplish this, and a gold ring for your finger, and many presents." The slave was not only permitted but encouraged to amass a personal fortune or pecidium. The possession of such a peculium was regarded as a proof of industry and capacity, whereas a slave without a peculium was regarded as " nili at que inprobus." It was furthermore to the ad- vantage of the slave to acquire capital with which he could buy his freedom/ Various means were open for securing a peculium: ( i ) the slave could save a part from his monthly allowance; (2) if he was entrusted with the independent carrying-on of some business for his master, he might be given a share in the returns; (3) if a shepherd, he was per- mitted to raise some of the sheep for his own profit (pecu- liarem) .^ The peculium, of course could not be disposed of without the consent of the master, and moreover the slave had to make gifts on certain occasions such as the wedding of his master's son, the birth of a child, its birthday, et cetera.^ Legal marriage did not exist for slaves,* but unions might be contracted with the consent of the master. Cato de- manded a fixed sum from slaves desiring to contract such a ^Plaut. Rud. 112: " peculiosum esse addecet seruom et probutn"; Asin. 498: " frugi tatnen sum, nee potest peculium enumerari" ; Cos. 257-8 : " armigero nili atque inprobo, | quoi homini hodie peculi nummus non est plumbeus" cf. Aul. 466, Asin. 1277, Capt. 1028, Stick. 751, Most. 253, 863. Rud. g2g: "pro capite argentum ut sim liber" cf. Capt. 121. * Ter. Phorm. 35, et seq. ; Plaut. Asin. 540-1 : " etiam opilio qui pascet . . . alienas ouis, | aliquam habet peculiarem qui spem soletur suam " ; Merc. 524-5, Asin. 441-3; Plut. Cat, maj. 21. » Ter. Phorm. 35, et seq. * Plaut. Cas. 68-70. 8o SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [go union, but Plutarch suggests that this practise was not gen- eral/ These unions were frequently recognized as equiv- alent to marriage, and the same terms such as nuptum and tixor, were used in referring to them, which were applied in the case of people of free condition to legal forms from which slaves were excluded. Frequently the marriage of certain slaves was to the interest of the master, as that of the uilicus and the idlica advised by Cato.^ Private slaves were divided into the familia urbana and the familia rustica. The familia rustica had a harder life, and to send a slave to the villa was often regarded as a punishment. Some, however, might prefer to work there, as the farm offered them greater freedom than was possible in the restrictions of city life.^ At the head of the familia rustica was the uilicus; only the presence of the master limited his power, and the farm was his " praefectura " (Plant. Cos. 99), his " prouincia" (ibid, 103). He super- intended all matters pertaining to the work of the farm, including the buying and selling, the distribution of food and clothing to the slaves under him, the settlement of dis- putes, the hiring of outside help, etc. He was supposed to be expert in all kinds of farm work, and to help in it to some extent without exhausting himself — in short, in the words of Cato, the uilicus should be " the first to rise in the morning and the last to retire at night." * * Plut. Cat. maj. 21, '^ Plaut. Cos. 254: "super ancilla Casina, ut detur nuptum nostra uilico " ; Ter. Ad. 973 : " Phrygiam . . . uxorem meant ". Cato R. R. CXLIII. I. ' Plaut. Most. 4: "ego pol te ruri, si uiuam, ulciscar probe" cf. Ter. Phorm. 249-50 : " molendum usque in pistrino, uapulandum, ha- bendae compedes, | opus ruri faciendum " ; Plaut. Most. 6-y : " quid tibi, malum, hie ante aedis clamitatiost? \ an ruri censes te esse? " *Cato R. R. V, CXLII; Plaut. Cos. 99-110; Pomponius Ergastulum I, Ribb. Frag. Com. p. 232 : " longe ab urbe uilicari, quo erus rarenter uenit, I [Id]non uilicari, sed dominari est mea sententia." Si] slaves 8i Under him were the ploughmen (bubulci), the ass-driver (asinaritis) , the shepherd (opilio), the swineherd {subul- cus), and the ordinary workmen (operarii). The number varied according to the size of the estate; for one of 240 iugera with oHves and sheep Cato estimates 5 ordinary- workmen, 3 ploughmen, i ass-driver, i swineherd, and i shepherd; for one of 100 iugera with a vineyard 10 work- men, I ploughman, i ass-driver, i swineherd, and one man to take care of the willow trees (salictarius) . In harvest season hired hands were taken on, but the uilicus saw to it that these were not kept any longer than was necessary.'^ Some of the slaves on the farm were compelled to work in fetters (compediti), but this did not apply to the large number of them as Cato makes an exception of compediti in the distribution of food and provides them with bread instead of com to be ground. Probably only those worked in chains who had committed some offense or who it was feared might attempt to escape. Besides the regular work of the farm the country slaves were liable to be called on for public work such as the construction of roads.' The work inside the house was attended to by the uilica, who, as has been said, it M'^as usually considered advisable should be married to the uilicus. She attended to the clean- ing, the cooking, and the poultry yard, and Cato bids her see to it that there is a plentiful supply of eggs and chickens. Wallon considers that while the uilica is the only woman mentioned in the familia rustica enumerated by Cato, the restraint placed on unions between slaves which is men- tioned by Plutarch, proves that there were other slave women in the villa. The statement of Plutarch, however, is ^Cato R. R. X, XI, V. 4: " operarium, mercennarium, politorem diutius eundem ne habeat die." 2 Ibid. 'LVI ; Plaut. Most. 19 : " augebis ruri numerum, genu' ferratile." Cato R. R. II. 4 : " uiam publicam muttiri." 82 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [82 not applied definitely to the familia rustica, but seems rather to refer to the urban household/ The slaves in the familia urbana were in closer touch with the master, and their condition was considered more desirable. With the increase in the number of slaves their duties and occupations were highly specialized, and the slave who' was delegated to some special office resented as an infringement any call upon him for services along other lines. For example, in Plautus (Cas. 461-2) a slave com- plains disgustedly that he, who' had been an aduersitor, his master wished tO' make a mere door-keeper. The slaves may be divided into certain groups. First were the domestic servants : of these the most important was the atriensis, who in this period managed the entire household, attending to money matters such as purchases and sales and superintending the provisions.^ That he was often harsh in his maintenance of discipline is suggested in Plautus (Asin. 371-2) where Leonida with the desire of the true artist to make his impersonation of the atriensis as realistic as possible, stipulates to his fellow-slave: " If pres- ently when I am pretending to be Saurea, I should break your jaw with my fist, don't get angry over it." Under the atriensis were the porter (ianifor or ianitrix), the steward {cellarius) , the slave who* laid up the provisions (condus), the slave who distributed the provisions (pro- ^Cato R. R. CXLIII, cf. Plaut. Merc. 508-9; Ter. Ad. 846, et seq. on. the duties of a female slave in the country: " atque ibi fauillae plena, fiimi ac pollinis coquendo sit faxo et molendo; praeter haec meridie ipso faciam tit stipulam conligat; tarn exjcoctam reddam atque atram quam carbost." Wallon, Histoire de I'esclavage, vol. ii, p. 103 cf. Plut. Cat. maj. 21. ^ Plaut. Asin. 347, 368-9, Pseud. 608-9 '■ " condus, promus sum, pro- curator peni. I quasi te dicas atriensem " cf. Poen. 1283 : " ipse abiit foras, me reliquit pro atriensi in aedibus." 83] SLAVES 83 mus), his assistant {suhpromus) , the slave who arranged the couches (lectisterniator) , the cook {co quits), the weaver {textrix), and various others to satisfy the increasing needs of the household/ The familia also included the personal slaves, as the nurse (nutrex), the teacher (lifterator), the pedagogue {paedagogus), the invitation-bearer (calator), the attendants or lackeys (pedisequus, pediseqiia) , the slaves who went tO' meet the master (aduersitores) , the garment- folder (uestipica), the fan-bearer (Habellifera) , the keeper of the jewel-casket {cistellatrixy, the sandal-bearer (sandOr- ligerida), et cetera. There were also slaves skilled in music in the familia, although professional entertainers might be hired for an occasion.^ Naturally this division of labor was not carried so far in every household, even those of the wealthy, but a single slave might be entrusted with several functions. In addition to the house slaves and the farm slaves there were the industrial slaves, serui usurarii, who' practised dif- ^ Plaut. Asin. 390-1: "ianitor"; Cure. 76: "ianitrix." Mil. Glor. 824, Capt. 895 : " cellarius." Pseud. 608, Mil. Glor. 837, 846, Poen. 716. Pseud. 162 : " lectisterniator." The coquus is taken up more in detail in a separate paragraph. Weaving was one of the principal occupa- tions of female slaves cf. Plant. Merc. 518-20: " possin tu, sei ussus uenerit, subtemen tenue neref possum, sei tenue scis, scio te uberius posse nere. de laniUcio neminem metuo, una aetate quae sit." Men. 796-7. *The nutrex, the litterator, and the paedagogus are dealt with more fully in the chapter on "Children". Plaut. Rud. 335: "calator". Asin. 183, Aul. 807 ; Ter. And. 123 : " pedisequa " ; Plaut. Poen. 41 : " pedisequi ". Stick. 607, Men. 437, 445, Most. 938, 947 cf. Don. ad Ter. Ad. I. I. 2: "aduersitores". Plaut. Trin. 253-4: " uestipica .. .AabelU- ferae, sandaligerulae, \ cantrices, cistellatrices, nuntii, renuntii " ; Epid. 411, 372: " fidicinam, nuntnio conducta quae sit"; Aul. 280-1; Liv. XXXIX. 6. 8. 84 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [84 ferent trades for their master's profit. Examples are the tonstrix, the tihicina, the fidicina, and various artisans/ A slave who deserves special mention because of his rapid increase of importance in this period is the cook {coquiis). The regular daily cooking was done by a com- mon slave of the household, but for special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, large dinners and the like an expert cook was hired. In all of the plays of Plautus these cooks are apparently slaves, whereas in Greek comedy the pro- fessional cook is never represented as a slave except in one play of Posidippus, and Rankin thinks that even this cook was not an actual slave but an apprentice to a higher fidyeip '^A, ^ ^- q6 social and private life at ROME [96 of the literary men gained a certain amount of control over public opinion. ^ In many cases the slaves who has obtained their freedom made undesirable citizens who brought into civil life habits of idleness and unreliability, such citizens as Plautus pict- i ures in the Persa, the Poemdus, and the Menaechmi, men who had but recently given up their peculium in order ta be counted as citizens, and who, rendered arrogant by their unaccustomed independence, feared nothing so much as toi be mistaken for slaves; men who except perhaps on the occasion of an invitation to dinner, refused to hurry, no matter how important the business on which they were sum- |, I moned, on the ground that " it befits a freeman to walk through the city at a moderate pace ... it is the part of a mere slave to tear along at full speed." Lazy and quarrel- some, they haunted the courts, and Plautus humorously describes them : ^Aul. Gell. XII. 4 gives a passage from Ennius describing a typical friend of such a great lord : " haece locutus uocat, quocum bene saepe libenter mensam sermonesque suos rerumque suarum comiter inpertit, magnum £um lassus diet partem fuisset de summis rebus regundis consilio indu foro lato sanctoque senatu; ctii res audacter magnas paruasque iocumque eloqueretur et -f cuncta malaque et bona dictu euomeret, si qui uellet, tutoque locaret, quocum multa uolup Liv. XXXIII. 29. 4. * Plaut. Aul. 626-7: " coepif artem facere ludicram \ atque... emi- care"; praestrigiator: Aul. 630, Poen. 1125; praestigiatrix : Amph. 782; ludius: Aul. 402. 107] FINANCE AND INDUSTRY 107 Special varieties of foot-gear, as the calceolarii, the sutores diahathrarii, the solearii; of the sup ellex peilionis (furrier) ; and so on/ However, from the mention in metal-work of the gold- smith, the lead- worker, the maker of jewel-caskets, and from the mention in pottery of the ampullarius, we may infer that the same movement extended also to other fields of production. Among the list of trades and to give some idea of their scope and variety may be mentioned the mate- riarius (timber-merchant), the lignariits (carpenter), the unguentarius (dealer in unguents), the holitor (kitchen- gardener), the haiiolus (porter), the cetariiis (fish-monger), the fartor (poulterer), the uinarius (wine-merchant), the scutarius (shield-maker), the restio (rope-maker) and the uito r ( basket-maker ) . " * Plaut. Aul. 508, et seq. : " stat fullo, phyrgio, aurufex, lanarius; caupones patagiarii, indusiarii^ Hammarii, uiolarii, carinarii; aut manulearii, aut murobatharii, propolae linteones, calceolarii; sedentarii sutores diahathrarii, solearii astant, astant molocinarii ; petunt fullones, sarcinatores petunt; strophiarii astant, astant semul sonarii. iam hosce apsolutos censeas: cedunt, petunt treceni, quoin stant thylacistae in atriis textores limbularii, arcularii. infectores corcotarii" Cf. Mil. Glor. 691, et seq., Epid. 222, et seq. ; supellex pellionis: Men, 404. ^Aurufex: Plaut. Aul. 508, Men. 525.; worker in lead: Cato R. R. XXI. 5; arcularius: Plaut. Aul. 519.; ampullarius: Rud. 756; mater- iarius: Mil. Glor. 920; lignarius: Liv. XXXV. 41. 10; unguentarius: Poen. 703 cf. myropola: Trin. 408, Cas. 238; holitor: Trin. 408, Mil. Glor. 193; baiiolus: Poen. 1301, 1354; cetarius: Ter. Eun. 257; fartor: Ter. Eun. 257, Plaut. True. 104; uinarius: Poen. 838, Asin. 436; scutarius: Epid. Z7', restio: Most. 884; uitor: Rud. 990 cf. Don. ad Ter. Eun. IV. 4. 21. I08 SOCIAL AND PRIVATE LIFE AT ROME [log There were also certain trades existent at Rome at this time which deserve special mention because of their recent innovation and their interest as a direct outgrowth of changing conditions. Shipbuilding had not been carried on extensively by the Romans until the Punic wars brought the need of a navy, but the careful and detailed description given in one of the comedies of the entire construction of a vessel shows that knowledge of this field of labor must already have become so current that its terms were intelli- gible to the audience/ Although barbers, tonsores, had been brought in from Sicily in 300 B. C, they were not much patronized. Some of the younger generation might adopt the practice of being- shaved daily, but the more conservative Romans still kept to the custom of beard and undipped hair.^ As a strag- gling, unkempt beard, however, was regarded as slovenly, there was some call even among them for the services of the tonsor.^ The tonsor also included in his functions the care of the nails.* Public cooks who hired out their services for the prep- ^ Plaut. Mil. Glor. 915-21 : "... uhi prohus est architectus, bene lineatam si semel carinam conlocauit, facile esse nauem facere, ubi fundata, constitutast. nunc haec carina sati' probe fundata, [et] bene statutast, adsunt fabri architectique