Roman Problems

ROMAN P ROB LEMS

FR OM A N D A FTE R

P LUTARCH’ S ROMAN QUE STION S

S A C R IF IC IA L S C E N E R O A N — E M W O R L O U V R . ( K) .

ROMAN PROBLEMS

FROM AN D AFTE R

PLUTARCH’S ROMAN QUESTIONS

WITH IN TROD U CTORY E S SAY ON ROMAN WORSHIP A N D B E LIE F

L A G . O . A LE N , M . .

B I A D M A S T E B O I C R A N L E IG H S C H O O L

W ITH ILLU S TR A TIO N S

L O N D O N

B ICKERS SON , 1 LEICE STER SQ UARE 1904

P R E F A C E

’ THE Roman Questions on which this small work is

a a 1 D . based were written by Plut rch bout the year 00 A . h a s as a . They form , been s id by Mr Jevons in his luminous introductory essay to the translation by ‘ a a f a a Philemon Holl nd , the e rliest orm l tre tise written

’ - on the subject of folk lore . The problems which Plutarch sets himself to solve range over a wide ﬁeld

nd a d a in Roman a It lian arch aeology . They e l with

a a m tters of ritu l in the worship of the gods , the rules

a a a a a a of ugury, us ges in m rri ge , buri l , public g mes and a fﬁ a a a festiv ls , the o ces of st te , the C lend r, customs and a superstitions of Rom n domestic life .

Questions on such subject - matter as this could

a a l ina d e h rdly f il to be deep y interesting , however

’ qu atel y they were treated ; and in Plutarch s treatment of them not the least ch arm is the geni al kindliness and spirit of broad tolerant wisdom in which he offers i f . s o ur a a his solutions There , co se , no ttempt to rrive at them by anything like modern scientiﬁc criticism he would h ave been nearly two thousand years in vi PREFACE

advance of his time if he h ad been able to apply the methods of investigation which have been made

am a P M ax Mii l l er or f ili r to us by rofessor Mr . J . G .

r . r L a Fra zer o Mr And ew ng . His plan is rather to put forward the suggestions which have been made by such writers as he h as

consulted , supplementing or correcting them by

own a dl a theories of his ; both , it is h r y necess ry to f nd sa a a . y, being wholly f nci ul unscientiﬁc Nor does he seem to h ave selected for his authorities any of the writers whom he might h ave been expected to consult

a before others . He does not quote single word from an of a a a and y the gre t cl ssic l poets Vergil , Ovid , Horace ; there is nothing to indicate that he ever ‘ ’ ‘ ’ E a opened the neid or the F sti , though he would h ave found in each a treasure - house of Roman folklore 1 and of religious and legal usa ges . Cicero is never men tioned Y u and as , nor Pliny the Elder or o nger to Livy,

a wh o m a a . he y h ve sh red the opinion of Dr Arnold , thought that the chi ef use of reading him wa s like the

of w a use the drunken Helot , to show h t ought to be

a an a voided . His chief uthority is the tedious d

T r . e entiu s a industrious M V rro , who spent his long life in compiling some six or seven hundred volumes of

and a a history ntiquities , the gre ter p art of which are

a happily lost . Plut rch m ay quite reasonably have

’ considered that Varro s undoubted cap acity for taking

He deals of course with many p oints mentioned in th em ; but he n r r rs ir ct i h eve efe d e ly to e t er. PREFACE vﬁ p ains rendered him a more trustworthy authority than 1 wh o a a one , like Livy, s ys he is content if wh t is 2 probable be a ccepted a s true ; but the value of even

’ Varro s industry was largely discounted by a l ack of

a a a R . . . . V critic l cumen Plut rch himself, in Q , quotes an explan ation given by Varro which he considers

and a wholly untrustworthy f bulous .

O t w are are a her riters to whom we referred C stor,

a Li arsean Anti stiu s Rufus , Curio , Jub , Pyrrho the p ,

a d I I a a n . L beo , Dionysius Of the ﬁrst ﬁve regret h ve nothing to s ay ; I do not even know whether Pyrrho was of and the philosopher Elis , if he were , his merits

u an u n a a wo ld still be to me nk own qu ntity . L beo , the

’ a a sturdy republic n of Augustus s time , uthor of four hundred books on Roman l aw (of which only fragments

i s a a and m a on survive) , more t ngible person , we y feel surer ground when we ﬁnd Plutarch relying on him

’ and a a . on Dionysius , the uthor of Rom n Antiquities

a al l a But the uthority of , including Plut rch himself , is vitiated by the fa ct that they did not conduct their inquiries by pla cing themselves within the intellectual and mora l limits of the primitive ages they were

a n and a n investig ti g , comp ring the customs survivi g with those of other n ations in a like stage of develop

. a a own ment Inste d of this , they ttributed their

Th e i i n one a a wh i i m t n i h R . s ss r s n io n t e . p ge e e L vy e ed Q XXV. with r r nc h h A i h r t r u t s wh r efe e e to t e defeat at t e ll a . O t e fac s a e q o ed el e e e m wh ich a ri rom i b ut with out ac now m nt e . . th e y be de ved f L vy , k ledg e , g

i c n R . cr i . sa . and a as i in R . . . ﬁ e Q IV , T l s o Q XXXI

Liv. . 2 v 1 . viii PREFACE motives and environments to an age and a people which were as far removed from themselves as the

a f of modern Americ n is rom the court King Arthur .

’ a a a Consequently the chief v lue of Plut rch s tre tise , a a a of a a p rt from its ch rm m nner, lies r ther in the

a a a i questions sked th n in the nswers g ven . Our interest is stimulated less by what is s aid than by what

n a is left u s id . In the selection which I have m ade from the one hundred and thirteen questions on Roman customs and a I a a ntiquities , h ve conﬁned myself lmost wholly to the problems of ritu a l and religion ; prefacing

' Plutarch s queries with a sketch of R om an and Itali an

and a a beliefs , supplementing them with dozen extr questions on subjects which Pluta rch might have asked

I a a a but did not . h ve tried in these l st to im gine what Plutarch would h ave written if he h a d lived in

and h ad h a d a modern times , ccess to the sources of

n a . as a modern i form tion If, is not unlikely, the ttempt h a s a a u not been f il re , the responsibility is with the authorities but with the la ck of skill in h andling them .

Some word of apology is also due for the translation

’ ’ off evons s a a ered of Plutarch s work . Mr . J very ttr ctive

’ edition of Philemon Holland s version h as a lready been mentioned ; and it wa s the study of this which

’ led me to comp are Holland s translation with the

a and F a origin l with the rench version by J cques Amyot , PREFACE ix

‘ B ell ozane and Abbot of , Bishop of Auxerre Great

’ a Al moner of Fr nce . The result of my compa rison was to strengthen the impression which I h a d

’ previously formed that Philemon s version is not a

’ a a at all tr nsl tion from the Greek , but , like North s ‘ ’ a a a tr nsl tion of the Lives , simply rendering more F or less literal of the rench . Philemon states on his title -page that he h as conferred his version with

’ nd a a the French a L atin . He would h ve put the c se more accurately if he h ad s aid he h ad occasionally conferred his rendering of the French with the Greek .

If an a a m a a of a ex mple is w nted , one y t ke out m ny that suggest themselves the p assage quoted by Mr .

’ Jevons a s an instance of Philemon s defective scholar

’

R . a . . V . a ship In Q , Plut rch s ys

r a fi‘ra r ciwov f wd 70 7 fa tt er p : . which Holl and renders

Th is may seem in s ome sort to h ave been derived from th e Greeks .

Wh at says the Bishop of Auxerre

i ’ Ma s al ad venture q ue ce ste facon est aucunement dé rivé e d es Grecs .

Philemon m ay not have been as good a Greek schola r as a Fellow of Trinity should h ave been ; but even he would scarcely have produced this version if he h ad h ad the Greek as well a s the French before him .

a a not a To ﬁnd f ult , however, is e sy but it is so e sy to emulate and the names of Thoma s North and Phi lemon Holland stand for al l time above the rea ch of a a s a its c rping criticism , m sters of noble English in X PREFACE

’

l a . Jevons s noblest period . And I whol y gree with Mr view that no modern English could hope to represent

’ a a u a a and a Plut rch s ntiq ted specul tions , th t nothing

’ but Philemon s archaic dialect c an harmonise with

’ Plutarch s arch aic rea soning . My object in attempting a version on my own a ccount was to try whether it would be possible to get nearer to the meaning of the origin al without losing the archaic ﬂavour and to m ake the original in some p arts more generally readable by toning down the mediaeva l

n a a fa frankness of a Eliz beth n writer . How r I have succeeded it is for others to judge ; I am fully con scious for my own p art that the style is by no means consistent

a I m a a a i with its pl n throughout , though y ple d th t th s

a a is p rtly due to the variety of the subjects de lt with . Some have lent themselves more th an others to the a a n i s rch ic spirit . The inco sistency , of course , more noticeable in the supplementary question s than in the h a a . a as n a a a tr nsl tion Still , the t sk bee ple s nt one in

a a fﬁ spite of , or perh ps bec use of , its inherent di culties I c an only hope th at some readers will ﬁnd in it a little both of information and of interest ; though one m ay confess to some fear of the verdict of others tha t I have

m o as i n a stra n i a ona ved ge d g l , A nd maybe neith er pleased myself nor th em

’ MA T R D S E S L O GE ,

C RA N LEIGH S CHO OL. — N ata I h a ve done my be st to exclu de from th ese pages th e mysti c ‘ ’ nd m ch - i f m f rt i h a u o t wor ta oo . B ut in s it o o s t as expl ed d b p e y ef , ’ ar cr t i n twic . Hi s i nsman tot m h a ta oo a to th r. I fe , ep e k e I ve b ed l ge e CHIEF MODERN AUTHORITIES CONSULTED .

RAZ R Go d n ou h . . G . E J F , l e B g

N s Rom an Qu s ti ons . B . JE VO F . , e

r h Hi . B . JE voN s nt o ucti on to t e stor of R i i on. F , I d y el g

A ANG th Ritu a a nd R i i on. . L , My , l , el g

A ANG a i n of R i i on . . L , M k g el g

A . ANG u st om and th . L , C My

O MSE R m n i t M N o a H s or . M , y

E NE ar Rom . I , E ly e

MA U LLE R r i i n x nt o uct on to c c of R i i on. M , I d S e e el g

. G RANGE R orsh i of th e Rom ans . F , W p

’ S E H FE RT S a ssic a Anti u iti s an n i Cl l q e (S dys a d Nettlesh p) .

ILKINS Rom a n Anti u iti s . W , q e

S E E LIY i B oo I. ntro uc tion . , L vy, k , I d

R r n n efe e ces to o th er Auth ors will be fou d in th e text .

CONTENTS

r n (xxxv . ) Wh y i s worsh ip pai d to La e tia ?

e n r ( . ) Wh y was one altar co sec a ted to Her cules and th e Muse s i n common ?

Lx h f h t of H ( . ) W y o t e two al ars ercules h ave women no sh are in th e greater ?

xc . h in s cri cin t H rc wa n XVI . ( ) W y a ﬁ g o e ules s o oth er god menti oned and no d og allowed with in h i s enclosure

m n in h i r i rshi 1 . Wh d o th e Ro a s t ar n Wo p XVII . (x x ) y beg e ye

f anus . o J January

xxn h i nu r r nt with wo . W s a s s t XVIII . ( ) y J ep e e ed c s fa e ? .

h wa s th e ima of anu s stam xm . W XIX . ( ) y ge J ped on th e ol d coina with a sh i on th e ge , p reverse Wh y d o m en refrain from enteri ng ’ Di ana s tem ple i n th e Vi cu s P atri ci u s

1 h d o th a st n h h rn f n ( v. ) W y ey f e t e o s o oxe ’ on th e walls of Di ana s tem ple on th e ’ A nti n b u t s ta s h orns i n al l h er o th r ve e , g e temples ?

hi XL Wh d o th acri a rn r Wors p XXII . ( ) y ey s ﬁce t o S tu ba e of Saturn h eaded ?

1 h d (x1 . ) W y o th ey esteem S aturn th e Fath er of Truth

i x vn . h i n h h r Worsh p XXIV . ( c ) W y t e c ari ot ace s in December

f Mars . o i s th e off - si de h orse of th e wi nning team s acriﬁced to Mars

uno . L 11 . Wh i s th e h air of a ri art J . XXV ( xxxv ) y b de p ed wi th th e p oi nt of a javelin ?

rx Wh i h iri n i inu . Lxxx . s t e Qu a th Q uir s XXVI . ( ) y l a called e Fea st of Fools

m f h ar Lar s . LL Wh d o th e i a s o t e s h a a e . XXVII ( ) y ge L e ve d o si th m a nd wh are th e ar s g be de e , y L e cla d i n dogskins

111 . h d id t us or i au ur A ugury . XXVIII . (xxxv ) W y Me ell f b d g y to be practised after th e month of August ? CON TENTS XV

P AGI ’ (LXXIL) Wh y m u st an augur s lantern be open at th e top

Lx xm h wa s an au ur or i n to u se ( . ) W y g f b dde h i s art if h e h ad any sore upon h im ?

h wa th e si ni r or t i L 111 . W s ste s XXXI . ( xxv ) y lef de reckoned fortunate i n augury ?

h r u tur r rr in XCIII . W w s XXXII . ( ) y e e v l e p efe ed au gu ry

X IX h n u ur n r ri C . W cou a a XXXIII . ( ) y ld g eve be dep ved of ofﬁce ?

M sl h i a rs n a s r ort a on i se . v. W s o XXXIV ( ) y pe , f l ely ep ed de d , l n ous . a e h is sa fe return forbi dden to enter h i s h ou s e by th e d oor ? (XXL) Wh y i s worsh ip pai d to th e woodpecker

h r im a A r ei h r (XXXII . ) W y a e ge s called g t own i nt o th e Tiber

L X h 1 r XXXVII . ( X L) W y s h a y b ound up on th e h o ns of sa va ge ca ttle ?

h r th f k - th xcn . i s a w a o e XXXVIII . ( ) W y e o a leaves ’ reward for sa ving a citi zen s l1fe in battle ?

x c h l i XXXIX . ( m ) Wh y i s t e Temple of ZEscu ap us built with out th e city

x 1 h r in th ir f i ( cv11 . ) W y d o th e c enso s beg e o ﬁc al work by feedi ng th e sacred gee s e a nd t e painting th e image of Jupiter (LIL) Wh y d o th ey sacriﬁce a d og t o Genita Mana and pray th at none born i n th e h ous e m ay come t o good ?

’ Lx1 . h m u not h e f R XLII. ( ) W y st t name o ome s gu ardi an dei ty be known ?

(v nI. ) Wh y d o th e Lu perci sacriﬁce a d og

L h as i h t n tin i h ( xxv . ) W y w a l g ever ex gu s ed h d h (Lxxv1 . ) W y o t ose th at are of ancient lineage wear little moons upon th eir sh oes

LxIv h a t r m XLVI . ( . ) W y f e a eal must th e table never be wh olly cleared ? xvi CONTENTS

P AGE Mi scel L Wh of ol d r i n XLVII . ( xxxv . ) y we e w ves ot suffered 18119 0 3 11 to grin d corn or cook m eals

h m m arri L 1 . W u st no a s ta XLVIII . ( xxxv ) y ge ke pl ac e i n May ?

SUPPLEMENTARY QUE STIONS

d id h e R m an c omman rs h an h e l I . Why t o de g t Sp o ia Op i ma on th e Sacred Oa k In th e Capitol

h w r th e Rom an stan ar f r r t ma of W y e e d ds o wa at ﬁ s de a. wi sp of h ay u pon a pole ? Wh y were th e oldest temples at Rome ci rcular in form ? Wh y wa s it forbidden to u se an axe on th e wood of a funera l pyre Wh y were th e R om an weigh ts c ommonly m ade of stone Wh y was th e Porta Capena so called Wh y d i d th e Romans c all th e west wind Favoni u s Wh y wa s th e face of a Rom an general at h i s tri umph p ainted with vermili on Wh y wa s i t a ccounted u nlu cky to see a wolf ? Wh y d i d th e Rom ans keep serpents i n th eir h ou se s

’ Wh y was th e Si ster s B eam so called ? Wh at was th e ori gi n of th e Sibylli ne Books

APPENDIX

IND EX R O MA N P R O B LE M S

ROMA N WORSHIP A N D B ELIEF

THE Romans were a religious people but they h a d no ’ a f a a a a religion . This is su ﬁciently p r doxic l st tement

‘ with which to b egin a discussion on Roman worship ; a a but it is a fairly a ccurate summ ry of a scert ained f cts . ’ a a of a a w To t ke , for the s ke rgument , M tthe Arnold s ’ as a n deﬁnition of religion mor lity touched by emotio , a which is cert inly religion reduced to its lowest terms , there is little in the a ttitude of the Roman towards the objects of his a doration that suggests either emotion or morality . The Roman creed was in fa ct destitute of nearly every quality that is usually a ssociated with religious a feeling . It possessed no tenderness or im gination it inspired no faith or love or reverence ; it taught no a a ide ls of purity , mercy , or justice ; it dded little or a and of and nothing to the gr ce joy living , it provided no hope or consol at ion in the hour of the sh a dow of 1 a . h ad a e and de th And it no s cr d books no theology . Clearly the Romans could have h a d no religion as

Th e i in rac s wh i ch w r s a oo s to all c t th ir S byll e O le , e e e led b k ex ep e custo i ans and w r consu t th m on i n tim s of nati ona m r d , e e l ed by e ly e l e e i i n r i r n w r n no s ns a na t o a sac t atur . . 8 . . ge ey , e e e e l ed l e e See Q XII B 2 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

other nation s and we ourselves understand it in what sense then c an it be said that they were a religious na tion Th e answer to the question is to be found in the deriva tion of the word Religion itself : it comes from a as a a sa n the s me root Oblig tion , th t is to y , Bi ding , or ‘ ’ a bon dage . Oblig tion denotes the bounden duty o f m an to m an in coven ant or contra ct ; Religi on the m an and— an a bounden duty of to God , essenti lly a a—of m an Rom n ide God or the Gods to . a wa s al l n a a a The Rom n beyond thi gs pr ctic l , pros ic , unima ginative ; a m an of business ; a nd it wa s in the a a a c th e business spirit th t he ppro hed unseen world . He regarded the unseen powers and hims elf a s being a a e bound by coven nt , in which he undertook to p rform a a and and a cert in rites , vows , s criﬁces , so forth , cquired thereby a right to expect from them help and protection d a f a an al l gifts that m ke li e desir ble . The obligation wa s a hi wa s a mutu l , the wors pper bound to p y the G ods their due ; the Gods were bound in return to h i ui d u give the worshipper s q p ro q o . ’ of a a a wa s an The God the It li n , s ys Mommsen , instrument for helping him to the attainment of solid m an e arthly objects . The Gods confronted just as a — creditor confronted his debtor perh aps one should rather say a s seller confronted buyer ea ch of them h a d a duly a cquired right to cert ain perform an ces an d u m an p ayments . The pright fulﬁlled the require ments of sacred ritual with the s ame mercantile pnuc u al it a a and t y with which he met his e rthly oblig tions ; , a was h a d it might be , did more th n due , if the God ’ done so On his p art .

R om. Hist. I. x l i . ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF 3

a a was n a a In f ct, the Rom n religion nothi g else th n 1 n nd a a a c arefully defi ed a el bor ted leg l system . It l aid w a a a down , ith sort of Ph ris ic minuteness , the duties m an and a a a of , the pen lties to be ex cted for e ch n a n and n a derelictio . It described the cert i i f llible processes by which the fa vour and a ssistance of the G ods could be secured in any un derta king and no less 2 l a a s an d a than the civil w it w full of fictions c suistry . a s o a a w Just the R m n merch nt might , ithout injuring h i m a a f a s com erci l reput tion , ulfil his contr ct merely in w a so d a the letter ithout reg rd to the spirit , , in e ling G d a was w with the o s , unless the contr ct worded ith a a a ra m a unmist k ble ccu cy , i it tions might be substituted 3 F r a a so a for a . o re lities ex mple , in s crifices , if m ny a G o d a he ds were required by the in s crifice , unless the n ature of the hea ds were definitely specified the sa cri ficer would be fully justified in offering hea ds of garlic a n a a a or hea ds of spra ts . If nim l were cl imed it must be cle arly sta ted that it was to be of living flesh and a a a a blood , otherwise figure of the nim l m de in dough } or wa x might be substituted It i s not to be wondered at tha t un der such con d itions a a a s a s the L tin religion s nk , Mommsen s y , ‘ a a and l and a t an a into singul r sobriety du lness , e rly stage became shrivelled in to an anxious an d dreary ’ n a w in round of ceremo ies . Anxious , bec use men ere a a h ad f const nt fe r lest some duty been le t unperformed , lest the letter of some injunction h a d been neglected ; they were constantly watching their own a ction s and extern a l events to protect themselves against the anger

2 3 mms n I. x ii . h n E a rl R ome . . S . . . . o Cf I e , y Cf Q VIII Cf M e , ,

h i s racti c was not con n to th e Rom ans . . ons ntr. T p e fi ed Cf Jev , I H . R . ch . x vi . 4 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF of the G ods which they might unwittingly h ave a roused n c A n d d a a of a . by some trivi l egle t ritu l utterly re ry, because al l worship wa s reduced to a mech anical routine was w a there no theology , there ere no s cred writings a w a G b u t to te ch people h t the ods were in themselves , only dry formulae to l ay down wh at the duties were an d which men owed to them , how they might secure a a a their f vour or vert their disple sure . So far we have spoken of the Roman religion as d ’ possessing Go s . But even this expression must be a h a d qu lified for , until intercourse with the Greeks led to an identific ation of a t lea st some of the deities of each a a c an a a a h ad n tion , the Rom ns sc rcely be s id to h ve n a y G ods in the usual acceptation of the term . They n o t a w a worshipped , person l living beings ith hum n a and a a a o f n ttributes p ssions , c p ble bei g represented a f an d n a a in hum n orm , eve of ppe ring visibly before a : a a a the eyes of mort ls but dim , v gue bstr ctions , a bout which no stories , no myths were current or even and a possible , no devotion or enthusi sm could be ‘ s a w a a in pired . The Rom n unseen powers ere bstr ct n atural forces a nd should rather be described as

' nu mzna n n a tha a s perso al deities . They were lmost innumerable ; they covered every dep artment and re l ation of life from the cra dle to the grave ; every function of industry and idleness and recreation h ad its al l a attendant or guardian spirit . And were but v rious manifestations of one great spiritual force that per ’ a w v ded the universe . Vergil s doctrine , hich Anchises 1 a ZE neid a enunci tes in the sixth , of the Gre t Spirit a f and s a l l a and se a and sk th t in orms nourishe e rth y , wa s true of the L atin conception of the universe at

n 24 . E . vi . 7 sqq

6 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

i i nd u k x / S u nd a a G . i o a o being prob bly derived from [ ] g , ‘ so th at the meaning would be deities who a c t or ’ 1 a a m anifest themselves in thing or pla ce . A n me suggested for this cumbrous and rudimentary creed is a ni mi sm a sa ; th t is to y, the worship of spirits or a am Spiritual influences . Person lly I inclined to 2 a a ff . a prefer the ltern tive o ered by Mr Jevons , or r ther a a ol d wmoni sm a s dopted by him , n mely p y ; not , the ‘ ’ a a a sa a a gr mm ri ns y, for the s ke of euphony, but bec use it is more explicit . was a a The creed cert inly not polytheism , for th t would imply an organised community of Gods ; a p antheon of beings each with a special n ame and a a a a speci l ch aracteristics . Such beings h ve e ch a a and m rked person lity , something is known of their birth and life ; they are the subjects of a definite m yth o logy . The spirit -names which we h ave mentioned above bear no comp arison to such definite individualities as a a the Hellenic Kronos, Zeus , Her , Athen , Aphrodite , P A and : Apollo , oseidon , res , the rest there is no more individuality in them than in the elves of hill and woodland th at haunted mediaeval im a gin ation . a a a s a se e a at In few c ses , we sh ll , the Rom ns did an e arly period recognise individual deities ; but poly s o a a a theism , properly c lled , does not ppe r until Hellenic mythology h as h ad time to make its influence felt ; and even then the transform ation i s by no means a a a complete . The identific tion or ssimil tion of the Greek P antheon with the Itali an deities whi ch c ame nearest in n ame or attributes wa s rather a State

’ Cf. i . 11 . 6 and s not . L vy , I , Seeley e

M. . 48. ntr. H. R el . . 247 and R . . . 36 r r R . i I p , Q p ; P elle , ROMAN WORSHIP AN D BELIEF

a a a a a and a concern , f shion ble mong the p trici ns educ ted a a f a a a i . cl sses , th n popul r tr ns erence of bel ef The people at large remained faithful t o the ol d animistic ideas . i s a and It time , however, to drop gener lities come a a to definite n mes nd facts . Among the questions a a a are n which Plut rch sks , sever l co cerned with the names of cert ain deities which u ndoubtedly belong to a and are m th o e rly Rome , not borrowed from Hellenic y a logy . He w nts to know the rea sons for ceremonies and a ul customs in the worship of Jupiter , Vest , Herc es , a a d a a an a . a J nus , Di n , M rs , S turn These n mes emerge at a very early period from the cloudland or - a of a and m a a t o Spirit l nd Rom n belief, y be t ken represent the first signs of personific ation among the ’ 1 a . a a nimistic community Jupiter Dy us , pit , the

a —and a a - bright f ther Vest , the he rth spirit , were in fact worshipped by the common ancestors of Italians and — so Greeks the only deities who were honoured , 2 k - t W . wa s s Professor ilkins thinks Jupiter the y spiri , d a a was the god of bright light , of open y . His f vour ’ a a a and a essenti l to the husb ndm n s crops , to the p stu ’ a a r ge of the herdsman s c ttle . He presided over ﬁne a as was a a a al l we ther, but , n tur l , he lso controlled a and a am other we ther, his import nce ong the Gods an t a a as of agricul ur l n tion is not surprising . He w a : T n worshipped under m ny titles o ans the Thunderer , Leucetiu s of a a d god d ylight , Summ nus god of mi night P i stor and Feretriu s t e and h Crusher Striker , both

originally denoting the wielder of the thunderbolt . The most ancient seat of his cult was on the Alb an a a a was a l mount ( volc nic form tion) , where he c l ed

2 Cf. D s . . 1 ie pi ter Rom. A ntiq 08. 8 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIE F

Jupiter Latiaris as the ancestral God of the L atin

people . Long before the temple h ad been dedicated on the t o and a a h ad Capitol Jupiter Best Gre test , th t hill a been invested with a mysterious s nctity . Vergil is perfectly true to tradition when he makes Evander say 1 t o E neas as he shows him the T arpei an Rock and a a a the C pitoline heights , then covered with t ngled f growth o underwood This grove , these heights with a n are a a — a foli ge crow ed , h unted by God wh t God we a a a a know not . The Arc di ns deem th t they h ve seen a a th e Jove himself , sh king with his right h nd gloomy ’ - wgis and stirring the thunder clouds . of a D i ali s a The priest Jove , the Fl men , held priority among the Roman hierarchy ; and the con di tions of his ofﬁce were so extra ordinary that Plut arch devotes no less th an eight of his Questions to ex amin 2 in a a g the reasons for them . Mr . Fr zer gives summary of the restrictions imposed upon the unfortu a di a n te victim selected for the gnity . The m rvel is , a te a a an ne as f r re ding them , th t y o w ever found a a willing to undert ke the duties . Compens tions there no and a a were, doubt prob bly Rom n ingenuity found an of a f ta boos me s ev ding the most oppressive o the , and so of relieving a strain which must otherwise have f r a H ar a been too severe o mort l endurance . ere e few F ’ from Mr . razer s list : The Flamen D i al is mi ght not or a n t ride even touch horse , he might o touch ﬂour or Wheaten bread ; he might not touch or even na me a a a raw a a and go t , dog , me t , be ns , ivy he might not walk under a vine ; he might not se e work being done on holy days ; he might not be uncovered in

2 E n. iii . 351 e . . . i 1 1 . v gg G B . 7 ROMAN WORSHIP AN D BELIEF 9

’ r a a the open ai . W e m ay ad d th t he might not noint himself in the Open air he might not bind himself by an a at a a y o th , he might not , le st in e rly times , be for one night away from Rome the c ap or ap ex in which a a was a a w a he went bro d m de of s cred wool , ith wooden ‘ ’ spike at the top taken from some s a cred or lucky a and a tree . His h ir n ils (which might only be cut with a bronze knife) h ad to be buried when ou t under a a the s ame kind of tree . He might not touch de d 1 or a a . a a body, step over gr ve The Fl minic , his wife , as t a t s a a w subject o number of a boo of the s me n ture . S o far as it is possible to discern any conscious m a a a purpose in these restrictions , it y be s id th t they are a s a a a a and intended s fegu rds g inst pollution , to F a and protect the l men , in his person the City, from a a a ccidents either n atural or supernatur l . Simil r restrictions and precautions are found in all ancient a religions , the most notice ble point in common being that they have no obvious spiritual value and no ‘ a a are as h as a an pr ctic l utility ; they , been s id , ’ a a f irr tion l element in the conditions o priesthood . But these are th e very qualities that have most value for a as a a the histori n , proving th t the institutions h ve rohibi descended from prehistoric times , when the p tions to a less civilised community would have h ad

deﬁnite meaning and clear reason for existence . In a and a a the present c se , then , the number pp rent absurdity of the restrictions are indications of an origin of a a a prim ev l ntiquity . The worship of Vesta the hearth -spirit also goes a as h as e a to a m a a b ck , be n s id, ti e e rlier th n the 2 a a of a and a sep r tion the L tin Hellenic r ces . She is the

2 Cf. A l u . C ins . 15 . Cf . e ntr. to i i . ell , x S eley , I L vy , 10 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF goddess of the hearth and home the guardian of ea ch d a a an a . individu l household , of the St te The n tion wa s a as a fa and reg rded one l rge mily, its common a as a one a he rth w the temple of Vest , of the e rly 9 2 nd a . . . a a circul r buildings described in S Q III , p ge , supposed to have been bui lt by Numa . Her identity in name and in attributes with the Greek Hestia h as nothing to do with the a ssimilation process or ‘ a of syncretism of historic times . In f ct it is one the most convincing bits of evidence that her worship a a sh e is prehistoric . And , like other prim ev l deities , wa s an a a represented , not under y hum n form , but by symbol . As Jupiter wa s worshipped in the e arliest a a ﬂint - and a s a was times in the sh pe of stone , M rs

a so a a - symbolised by his spe r , Vest the he rth goddess wa s a a a ppropri tely embodied in the s cred fire , which it ‘ ’ was of a the duty her priestesses , the holy m idens , to a keep continu lly burning . As protector of the home and ami sh e was of f ly life, invoked together with the 1 L ares or Penates ; and the hearth of each household as a n a a w reg rded a s a alt r s cred to them . The institution of Vestal Virgins wa s not confined a a a a to Rome , but ppe rs to h ve been common to m ny a a f a It li n tribes . The o fice must h ve existed before m a a the founding of the City , if we y trust the tr dition 2 underlying the mythic al a ccount . It will be observed that Plutarch does not concern himself with the origin and a a n ture of ceremonies connected with Vest , doubt less because he would be famili ar with them in the Greek worship of Hestia but only with the reason for the extreme severity of the penalty for breach of the a Vest l vow .

2 Cic. at. D . 11 . 27. Cf. i I. iii . and . N L vy, , xx ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF 1 1

oflers The first solution which he is not , it must be n a a and a i t co fessed , s tisf ctory , , indeed , it is obvious th t did not satisfy himself . He suggests that it m ay be because they burn the dea d and it would be s acrilege to employ fire to consume the body of her wh o h as ’ a not preserved the divine fire s cred . In other words , they buried a Vestal alive in order to avoid burnin g h her when s e was dea d . But why the necessity for living buri al ? His second ‘ a a a suggestion is much ne rer the m rk , viz . th t they a ccounted it impious to sl ay one who h ad been c onse a f and cr ted to the highest o fices of religion , so a devised a me ns whereby She should die of herself . The real c ause of the form of penalty was u n 1 F a doubtedly the desire to avoid bloodshed . Mr . r zer gives examples of method s (some of which are still in use) in various p arts of the world for putting to death members of royal houses without shedding their blood ff a upon the ground . Sometimes it is su oc tion , some a a a a times st rv tion , sometimes drowning in s ck (comp are the fate of th e unfaithful custodi ans of the Sibylline books) 2 sometimes pounding with pestles

an . in iron mortar . The list is supplemented by Mr 3 Jevons with an example still more to our purpose . He is explaining the very general precautions t aken to prevent royal or sacred blood from being Spilled on D ah omi 1 818 G ezo the ground . In in dethroned A d anl osan and as a m a , , the roy l blood y not be shed , A d anl osan a and wa s a a , bound h nd foot , w lled up in ’ a small room and left to die of starv tion . It is interesting to note that the worship of Vesta was in some degree cogn ate with that of Di ana at

1 1 3 H. . . 3 . . l i . ch . ii . 8. . XII. ntr. R 7 G B vo . Q I p 1 2 ROMAN WORS HIP AND BELIEF

1 i F a a a A ri a . . c Mr r zer refers us to L tin inscription , showing tha t the Arician Diana bore also the title of

a a a a a Vest , which seems to indic te th t the m inten nce of an undying holy ﬁre wa s one of the customs at

Nemi as well a s at Rome . ’ evons s The view suggested in Mr . J Introduction 2 a a a to the R . Q . (unless I h ve mist ken his me ning) , that the original hearth - spirit Vesta h ad no position a s a a a n tion l deity until historic times , does not seem a a to me to be borne out by the evidence . The ch r cter o f the Vesta worship and the conditions of the Vestal ofﬁce seem to point to the establishment of the goddess a s a n ational or at least trib al deity from fﬁ an a a . immemori l d te It is , of course, di cult to assign its proper value to evidence which at its best a and is but v gue misty ; but , until some more con vincin are one m a g proofs forthcoming , y be content — — to err if an error it b e in company with such a as W and a n mes Mommsen , ilkins , the l te Professor

Seeley . a s and And , the belief in the home goddess her holy ﬂame was among the earliest and the purest of a a so a It li n religious growths , it is worthy of note th t the ﬁre of Vesta wa s the last of the Pagan ordin ances out sun of r a to go before the rising Ch isti nity . The worship of Vesta continued to the last days of P agan ism and was a , bolished by the Emperor Gratianus in 382 A D

Plutarch devotes six of his questions to rites and of customs connected with the worship Hercules , who , al l a i s a a like the purely Rom n deities , gu rdi an of a and a f rmers f rm property . His name indicates as

l 2 . 1. 1. . ntr. R . . 11 G B I Q 11 .

1 4 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

1 a a appearance are of profound antiquity . T citus even s ys that th e boundaries of the original city on the Pal atine were so marked out as to include the Greater Altar of a w a a a Hercules . But perh ps h t T citus s ys (like the a soldier) i s not evidence . The swe ring by him under 2 al F the open sky is admitted to be purely It i an . rom of a a a a w the fact his being gu rdi n of f rm property , hich a a a a a formed the m in p rt of we lth in e rly Rom n times , a o a a he bec me the God of pr perty gener lly, of merch n ar d is e and commerce . Alt s were erected to him in a a and a a at every It li n town , b rg ins were concluded a a was them un der solemn o ths sworn in his n me . It a s the Protector of wealth th a t tithes were given to — h as a a a a as . him purely It li n pr ctice , Mr Jevons said . It would be difficult to find any greater contrast than all this to the myths and tra ditions of the Greek a a s Her kles with whom simply, it seems to me , through similarity of n ame the Italian divinity was afterwards identified . a a The simil rity of n me is only in appearance . ‘ ’ Herakles is the glory of the air of he aven : he h as w fa of nothing to do ith rms or propert y . He is one the many personific ati ons of the Sun - god ; he spends ‘ f as a - a his li e joyous knight err nt of God , thirsting for ’ 3 a and and a l bour strife , in toil conflict for mort ls , scattering before him the clouds and darkness that n a beset his course , crowni g his c reer of strenuous a and energy by glorious fiery death . It might be urged in favour of the Greek origin of Hercules th a t the pra ctice of swearing by him in the open air was established because Herakles wa s the

1 2 3 A nn . x ii 2 2 . 4 . . ntr. R . . l i . C . Kin s E l e i a cs . I Q g ley, g — P L . H E R A K L E S (G R E E K W O R K) . N A E S

ROMA N WORSHIP AND BELIEF 1 5

’ - open air God . But there is no evidence to show that this was a Greek custom ; and it is really a proof of a n a in a a the primev l ture of his worship It ly , d ting w w and all G ba ck to the time hen temples ere not , ods and a s u b d i ve nd were invoked s criﬁced to , u er the Open a a i u s Fi i a vault of he ven . All o ths Sworn by the D d s fa a and (god of good ith) were t ken out of doors , 1 Mommsen a sserts that at an early pe riod the D i u s f 2 Fi diu s wa s identiﬁed with Hercules himsel . The c af intro d u c instinctive feeling , whi h survived ter the a a a tion of temples , th t o ths were more binding if t ken a m a a a under the Eye of he ven , y be the re l re son for the custom of leaving a circula r Opening in the roof of 2 n at . . . 9 ma y temples Rome See S Q III . p . . ’ It is noticeable that in Plutarch s time the belief h a d a a degener ted into mere convention , surviving only a in the half comic, h lf serious prohibition to children . I do not feel convinced tha t the a ssoci ation of ‘ Hercules with the Muses is a loan - cult from the ’ 3 a a . an a ritu l of the Greek Her kles At y r te , the ’ evidence for Hera kles in Apollo s character of Musa gete s is distinctly sc anty ; and there is on the other hand some reason to believe th at the Italian Hercules was either one of the fountain Spirits or closely con 4 nec t e d with th eIIL The C a men ae who were the Muses of Italy were divinities of th e springs and fountains ; and if Hercules was a h is one of the w tery brotherhood , connexion with

1 x 11 . I . 2 ro rtius in h i s account of H rcu s . conc u s i n P pe , e le (V l de by de tif in h i ’ y g im w th th e Sabine God Sem o S ancus . See P al ey s note

a d Zoe.

2 1 ntr. R . . . 50 . Cf. ran r Rom. Wor. . 126 . I Q p G ge , p 1 6 ROMAN W ORSHIP AND BELIEF the sisters of the s acred wells finds at once a n atura l n explanatio . His conflict with and victory over C a cus the fire a monster m ay be also trace ble to the same source . ’ It is rather disappointing to find th at Plutarch s curiosity with regard to Janus is contented with only

R . . . and three queries [ Q XIX , XXII , Janu s He asks wh y the Romans began th e year with a a a the month n med fter J nus , why he is represented fa and wh a a wa s a with two ces , y the e rly coin ge st mped d a a with his image an th t of a bo t . One might h ave expected him to want informa tion a s to why he wa s the ﬁrst God invoked in every prayer and s a criﬁce wh y the doors of his temple were closed in th e tim e of peace wha t was the exa ct meaning of J a nu s m di u s was a a of u turna and e why he c lled the husb nd J , a a a whether he ought to be c lled the brother of Di n . a a a a As Greek investig tor of Rom n ntiquities , Plutarch should h ave found Janus an especially F or a l interesting study . he is the only one of l Roman deities who is purely of Italia n growth and ’ h a s no Hellenic double . He is the only one who is represented by an emblematic device peculiarly

- a a a a a . a It li n , n mely, the double f ced he d The nswers ’ to two of Plutarch s questions are fairly obvious when we rem ember that he i s the tutelary deity of al l going out and coming in and would therefore n atura lly a a a preside over the entr nce into new ye r . A new 1 ‘ a a a as a ye r of l bour , th t is when , Mommsen s ys , the ’ a o f l cycle of the l bours the ﬁe d begin a fresh . The ol d ye ar began with March ; January until 1 53 was the eleventh , not the ﬁrst , month .

1 H . i R . I. x i . ROMAN WORS HIP AND BELIEF 17

Similarly the two face s looking forward and back ward symbolised the nature of one who as god of all a and beginnings stands between the p st the future . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ The gate (of his temple) that opened both ways 1 a as out d w s, Mommsen points , connecte with the double head : and of course indicates the s ame function of the god . The appearance of his image on the obverse of the coinage simply illustrated the tradition which existed in historic times that Janus was the most ancient of ’ Italian kings ; and the ship s prow on the reverse commemorated the belief th at he was the inventor of th e art of shipbuilding . A s the god of going and coming he h ad power over both land and sea ; and one tradition made him the

- a of enilia a sea d . husb nd V , go dess The earliest known coin on which these devices 2 a a res ra ve of a ppe r is the As ( g ) c st copper , weighing a u nci ce ad a a li bra nomin lly twelve , which m e Rom n a or pound . The d te assigned to this type of coin is that of the decemvirs (about 4 50 It was the custom at Rome to m ake presents of 3 at a a f a this coin the new ye r festiv l in honour o J nus . a S trea m and Such presents were c lled , both the custom and the word survive in the French é trenu es : the a h as t o a deriv tion , however, nothing do with J nus , but a a a S trenta h o is from the n me of S bine goddess , w cor a a responds to the Roman S a la s . The invoc tion of J nus at the commencement of every sacriﬁce and supplication

1 R . H. i bid . 2 For anoth r anati on cf . Ov. Fa st/i i . 2 33 to which utar e expl , i , Pl ch

. O . M . xi . 334 . evidently refers in R . Q XLI v v 2 . i 18 . Cf. Ov Fa st , i . 7sqq 18 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

is of course in accordance with the belief in his priority

t o and a . to all other divinities , even Jupiter S turn He seems originally t o have been regarded as a god of light and of the su n ; in this chara cter he woul d open 1 the gates of light at dawn (comp are the Hebrew imagery of the outgoings of the morning and the su n coming forth as a bridegroom from his chamber) and

close them in the evening . The opening of his temple doors in time of war 2 is a ccounted for by an obviously aetiologic al legend that the god h ad once repulsed a S abine a tta ck on Rome by pouring forth a torrent of water from the a g ates of h is temple . The n atur l explanation woul d Seem to be that the temple marked the position of some gate or p assage through which the troops h ad 3 a ou t ar m a in ancient times m rched to w . There y have been also the graceful idea which Ovid puts into the lips of the god himself

r d m 1 Pace fo es ob o e qua di scedere possit .

a a a a The usu l n me of the g tew y was Janus Quirinus . As to the vexed question of Janus Medius referred to a and one a ad d twice by Hor ce twice by Cicero , c nnot a a nything to the lucid note given by Dr . Wickh m on 1 . . 8. a S at . II iii He st tes with much clearness the fragmentary nature of the evidence for th e meaning of a and a c an the phr se , shows th t nothing deﬁnite be

a . one a a extr cted from it The re lly import nt point ,

1 H r. . . i 2 o S a t II v . 0 . 2 R rr to i Fa sti i . 259 th ou h i n a if r nt conn i on. efe ed by Ov d , , , g d fe e ex 2 . L . Intr. i v i 38. Cf Seeley, y, p . 1 ’ F . i . 281 Hor. E . H. i . 2 5 5 and d . i . 1 . and ic h m s ; pp , 0 v 5 9 W k a

H r . ii not e . S a t . i . 1 8 E . . i . 54 0 10 . ii . 25 90 P hi l . vi . e ; II , pp I ; , ,

5 . 15 .

20 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

1 a u a a and so sister of J n s V rro boldly s ys yes , does i a —in a Macrobius : Diana s only nother form f ct , the a —oi a a as a origin l form J n , the origin l form

of Janus is Di anns an d D i ovi s of Jovis . But and a a a t if this be so , Di n is the feminine counterp r a a and a can sh e ff of J nus, wh t functions ttributes o er to correspond with those of her brother ? He is the Y a of a a god of the New e r, the president the g tew ys , f a and war sun - od wh the guardi an o pe ce , the g o bids the shepherd drive h i s ﬂocks aﬁeld n r th e o nin i s of th e morn U de pe g eyel d , and at the p artin g of the d ay shuts up the world in n a are and a dark ess . Wh t the duties prerog tives of this sister -goddess of his If the brother is lord of i a f a o . An d the d yl ght , she Should be the L dy Night that of course is exactly th e popular notion of Di ana - t l . a a Al the moon goddess But let us look the f cts . a of a a the ttributes Di n the mighty huntress , the queen ‘ ’ 2 ’ 3 of a triformis a night , the div , the Trivi virgo , to of P o belong the Hellenic Artemis , twin Sister h ebus l l at a a . a Apollo no kith or kin of J nus Both Mr . Fr zer a d a a n Mr . Jevons show conclusively th t the Rom n a a was h ad a Di n , until syncretism from Greece t mpered a d of and a and so far with her, ivinity trees of c ttle ; as her n ame is any indication (by its root d i v to shine) sh e wa s probably more concerned with daylight than e a s moonlight . The Gr ek Artemis w huntress (and therefore protectress or preserver) of the tall deer tha t as P a a R . is the re son why, lut rch notes in Q . IV. ,

1 R . R . i . 3 . 3 acr. . i . . Varr. 7 ; M S 9 2 Hor. 0 d . iii . 22 . 4 . Lucr. i . 85 . ROMAN WORSHIP AN D BELIEF 2 1 a s of are ac h er e h ntler deer pl ed in t mples . But t e ’ Roman goddess is the kindly guardi an of the farmer s and on are kine , therefore in her temple the Aventine h of and id tiﬁc a hung up the orns cows oxen . The en tion of Diana with Artemis took pla ce very early ; a a t o a of tr dition ssigns it the d ys Servius Tullius . But She certainl y enjoyed an independent existence for ages

before this . P ’ o a R . f The p int noticed in lut rch s . Q III . o the exclusion of men from her temple in the Via P atricia a a D e a seems to identify her with the n meless Bon , al l a a from whose worship m les were rigorously b nished . ’

e a . evons s a W must ccept, I think , Mr J conclusion th t Diana is originally nothing more than one of th e ‘ innumerable tribe of a grestes feminae quas Sil vatic as ’ vocant ; that her n ame original ly signiﬁed nothing ‘ ’ a and h o more th n the bright spirit , the goddess w in historic times was invested with the qualities of the Artemis of Greece and of the Tauric Chersonese was ‘ (like the author of the Homeric poems) another ’ a a a person of the same n me . As for the Di n Nemo 1 rensi s wh o wa s at worshipped Nemi , with the minor a and sh e a nsu i deities Egeri Virbius , seems to h ve bee g eneri s : there is no p arallel in classical antiquity to the strange and b arb arous tenure of her priesthood

Th e pri est wh o slew th e sl ayer

And sh all himself he slai n.

a a m a afﬁ a a s Di n then , we y rm , is only sister to J nu so far as both divinities conﬁne themselves to the — functions expressed by their respective n ames god and goddess of the light of d ay : if Janus m ay for the

1 E . ii . 61 n v 7 sqq . 22 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

1 hi l a men ana his ami ni ea moment be s own f , Di is ﬂ

t as a not a . ( hough sister, Wife) A nd to the invocation

2 atutin at r seu an lib enti us au is M e p e , I e d ,

we may add with difﬁd ence

Sive Matutina prob as vocari i i n S ve D a a .

P a a In his eleventh question , lut rch w nts to know 3 a a to a a - a why the Rom ns s criﬁce S turn b re he ded , whereas in sacriﬁcing to other gods their heads Saturn

are a lways covered . He suggests three solu are of m tions , which none the very convincing , he a one a a S a omits more obvious , n mely, th t when turn h ad been identiﬁed with the Greek Kronos he was as a a worshipped Greek divinity in the Greek m nner, 1‘ a . a a . with uncovered he d At le st so s ys Mr Jevons , but why should S aturn be the only God so worshi pped If the author of the Introduction to the Roman ’ ul al l Questions is right , why sho d not the other a identiﬁed divinities , Jupiter , Juno , M rs , Neptune , and a Venus , the rest , be invoked in like m nner The a m a rgument seems to prove too much , but it y be pointed ou t that the assumption of the Hellenic element in this instance is more complete than in most a a a of and a S turn , the It li n god seedtime h rvest , the all a a a Sower, surrenders his origin l ttributes , ret ining only his n ame (whose meaning was probably soon forgotten) and taking over the whole mythology of his

a . Wh can s a t o Hellenic counterp rt y, nobody y ; the w appear to have h a d little in common s ave an interest in

’ Th e Kin r as omm n rs i 2 s n r t . Hor. . . . 2 . dle , M e e de S II vi 0 1 R . . . Cf. ons Intr. R . . Q XI Jev , Q ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF 2 3

1 a d husb n ry , but the complete Kronos myth , Golden nd all on ul of a n Age a , is shifted to the sho ders S tur , a a as who , poor deity, moves in it somewh t une sily in h 2 as . r armour which he not proved K onos , expelled h i s a a from the Greek Olympus by son Zeus , c me cross se a was a the a to L tium , where he welcomed by J nus , a a and a settled s king on the C pitoline Hill , in ugurated a a a a the Age of Gold . The c rniv l of the S turn lia held 1 7 a and on December symbolised the liberty, fr ternity, ’ 3 a a equality of the aurea S turni regn . The tendency ' in L atin literature t o rationalise the stories of their or a and Gods , imported otherwise , is very notice ble , ZEneid a . nowhere more so th n in the Thus , in f a E n . o a . vii , we ﬁnd some the chief It li n deities ﬁguring as human ancestors of L atinus with other primitive kings who h ad faced wou nds and death in ’ a their country s c use . Amongst them

S aturnu s ue s n Iani ue bifronti s ima o q e ex , q g Vestibulo ad stab ant ; al ii q ue ab origine reges ’ r n n r i Ma ti a qui ob patri am pug ando vul e a pass .

There is a good deal of truth in the s aying that the a a Greeks deiﬁed their heroes , but the Rom ns hum nised their Gods . There rem ains only one other Roman deity whom I propose to di scuss in connexion with the Roman

. a a h as Questions About M rs , Plut rch the for R following problem solution ( . Q . Why is the October horse (he calls it December by ’ an oversight) sacriﬁced to Mars Wh y is the horse s tail cut off and taken to the temple called Regia And

1 . Kroni on r nam of h ar st month . Cf , G eek e ve 2 2 Cf. E u . vii . 319 e . . S Intr. Li v gg Cf eeley , y 24 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF why is there a fight for the head between two factions of the citizens It wil l be best perhaps to begin by examining wh at h a a and is known of is e rliest ttributes worship . And h a to a . N O one a as first with reg rd the n me , I im gine, ’ 1 a a ever seriously ccepted Mommsen s etymology, ccord ing to which Mars or Maurs i s a vari ation of Mors a a of aul a and a a and (on the n logy P Pol , Cl udius Cl odiu s and a as ) , is simply to be reg rded the god of ‘ ’ d F or a s far a o . o de th , the killing g indeed M rs is from being the god of death that he is the god of and of and and youth , of strength growth , corn vines a at a springing veget tion . It is only n ur l to connect his n ame and its variants M avors and Mamers (M ar m ar also in the song of the Arval Brothers) with the m a d l a a m acte & c . an root in m gnus , m gis , , his tit e ‘ ’ Gra di vus ma a h as , which y me n the Strider , been a ra ndi s recently with more prob bility referred to g , ra ndi re and a a a a of g , would in th t c se be lso indic tive strength and growth . a a a The month which in e rlier times beg n the ye r, a a a a M rch , when N ture w kes from the sleep of winter, i s a as a dedic ted to him , the god of spring . The Fr tres ‘ ’ a of Arv les, Brethren the fields , whose song will be a 1 41 a a on found on p ge , ddressed their invoc tions behalf o f the crops to Mars ; and the sa crifice of the October horse was m a de to Mars in order to gain hi s

a . a blessing on the h rvest In short , M rs in the purely a a - a d d - a It li n , pre Hellenic (one might even pre Rom n) days was only another of those general n ames for an - d eﬁned a f a ill cl ss o spirits of the country side . E ch 2 ‘ or as m a h ad its own community ( tribe) , Mo msen s ys ,

1 H I. i R . . x l .

M A R S LA T E G R E E W O R —LA E R N ( K K) T A .

26 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIE F

f h a d a aff standards consisted of a wisp o y boun upon st . They showed that the god of the Roman ﬁghting line and s was also the god of p asturage of c attle . But a intercourse with Greece developed and Greek inﬂuence a a a a constantly incre sed , the M rs of the f rmer ssumed and the attributes guise of his Greek cousin , dropping a at a so a as his own person lity l st completely th t , ’ a h ad and Jevons s ys , if we only Vergil s mythology poetry for our guide we could never even suspect that Mars h ad any other functions than those of the

r- wa god .

a R . . It i s quite evident that Plu t rch in Q XCVII .

h as no suspicion of Mars being anything else . But F a h a s a a of Mr . r zer conclusively shown th t the s criﬁce the October horse is of the s ame n ature a s m any other and a customs , both in Europe elsewhere , which h ve for f their object the procuring o a blessing on the crops .

a of - The horse is the represent tive the corn spirit , like

S . . . a to a re re the wolf in Q IX , but it seems lso h ve p al l a was sented c ttle . Its blood kept in the temple of a a s Vest until the following spring . The blood w then mingled with the blood and a shes of the unborn calves sacriﬁced at the fe ast of the Parilia in April ; and the mixture was given to the shepherds who used it for

sprinkling their flocks . ’ 1 a su ffim en erit vitul i ue a a a S nguis equi q f vill , s ys Ovid in describing the ritual ; and with the speci al efi ca cy which seems to have been a ssigned to the ’ blood of the horse s tail we m ay comp are the super stition S . . . a was a mentioned in Q IX , th t it good omen for the crops if a wolf crossed the field with his tail dragging on the ground ; but an evil omen if h e

1 Fasti , iv. 733 . ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF 27

and th e carried it aloft . Both horse wolf represent

n - and e a cor spirit , the fructifying power resid s especi lly

in the tail . The custom known as the Ver S a crum or S acred 1 f ar Spring well ill ustrates the twofold character o M s . a was h a a Its legend ry origin t t the S bines , being once U a to h ard pressed by their mbri n neighbours , vowed all a send beyond their borders their sons , d ughters ,

nd a a . a a c ttle born in the ye r of the vow One b nd , led of a a d by the sacred ox M rs , c me own into the centre a a or of Italy . The Rom ns dopted inherited the and of a a a custom , in times n tion l emergency Ver a was of S crum vowed , when the body youths setting out t o found a new community marched under the protection of Mars the protector of cattle and the ar le ader in w . ‘ a h ad F a or M rs, like Jupiter , his l men Kindler and f with him must be coupled the Flamen o Quirinus . P a as a a Fl amines lut rch , we h ve seen , is gre tly interested Ma i rt ans in the office of the Flamen D i al i s ; about the other two Flamines Majores he appears t o m 112 a n ask i s a h ve o questions to , which somewh t a For one ul a t dis ppointing . wo d h ve liked o know what light he could h ave thrown upon the mysterious Quirinus himself ; whether he was a S abine Mars (which seems most likely) or whether his name is merely an epithet . Certainly we find the word used a a a for a a a in v rious ssoci tions ; inst nce , it is tt ched t o a and a s a t J nus , is given new title o the deified e a i i 2 n . W a uir t s a d Romulus lso h ve Juno Q , the full designation of the Roman State in form al declarations

1 Cf. i 1 f r ii . 0 o an account of th e ver s r 2 1 . L vy , xx , ac um of 7 2 R . . . Cf i x ii . 10 . Q LXXXVII . L vy, x 28 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

’ u li a uiri ium or documents is R esp b ca Populi Rom ni Q t . There seems little doubt that the ol d S abine word u i = u i ri s a a a and c r s ( q ) l nce is the origin of the n me , we know tha t the earliest symbol under which Mars was

as a a - a a worshipped w spe r he d . When the S bines and a moved to Rome occupied the Quirin l , their God a a and was ccomp nied them , his temple built on the 1 Slope of the hill . Dionysius , who is quoted by Seeley , describes Quirinus as an ancient S abine deity corre sponding to the Greek or Ares ; but he adds that the Romans themselves were doubtful whether to a a a s a identify him with M rs , or to reg rd him distinct deity who ought to receive the same honours as were

p aid to Mars . He ignores the story of Quirinus being a and the n me of the deiﬁed Romulus , the whole legend ’ of Romulus s apotheosis i s doubtless a Greek a daptation a belonging to much later times . Even Livy s ys a a out nothing bout it . But the following facts st nd a as a adi and cle rly, distinct from the v rying tr tions legends : (1) there were only three deities t o whom ‘ F a a a a l mines M jores were ssigned , n mely Jupiter, a and 2 a — or a M rs , Quirinus . ( ) Only two Rom n r ther ‘ a a —m d eiti e s a and h ad a a It li n , M rs Quirinus , ncili

(sacred shields) and S al n or colleges of sacred dancers . These two colleges of S alii were n amed respectively Palatine and Colline the former being concerned with a and a M rs the l tter with Quirinus . The Colline were so called from the Port a Collina which was close t o a a on e their s nctu ry the Quirinal . Like the thre F a all a a l l mines , the S lii (twelve in e ch col ege) must a a n be p trici ns a d life members of their college . One would have liked to ﬁn d Plutarch wanting t o know

1 Di on . ii . 4 8. ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF 29

why dancing was of such import ance in religion as to

require two colleges consecra ted to its practice . The ’ a a was a war- d ncing se son in M rch , the god s month , whi ch of course was also the beginning of the war a a se son . All through the s cred month they moved in and a solemn procession through the city, d nced the war- dance in triple measure e ach d ay before the nd a a temples a round the ltars . These d nces were a a a a a a x a menta ccomp nied by s cred ch nts c lled , written ol d a a a s a a a in the S turni n metre (which , M c ul y points out i s , perfectly represented by the nursery rhyme

Th e u n wa s in th e ar our atin r a and h on q ee p l e g b e d ey) , and supposed to have been composed or collected by a a a Num a . They were so rch ic th t nobody could a and as a underst nd them , not even the priests ; e rly a s 100 they were being investigated as an u h known tongue by Roman philologists . S eyffert quotes two of the most intelligible lines

Cumé tonas Leucé si e prastet trembnti

Q uom tibei cunei d extumum toné ront .

’ Th e o aroun must tr m at th e i h t -Go s th un r f lk d e ble L g d de , h Wh en from h i s and th e bolts ﬂy cleavi ng clou ds asunder.

The practice of d ancing in religious ceremonies wa s no a by me ns confined to Rome or Italy . Prob ably P a and so lut rch knew this well enough , did not f a consider it su ficiently str nge to need any inquiry . was Pa and was It common in lestine , employed even a ne in the worship of Jehov h . Every o remembers the occasion when D avid joined in the dances before and in a the Ark, curred thereby the disple sure of hi s a a a a wife Mich l the d ughter of S ul . The ring d nces of our children are probably survivals of Ol d religious 30 ROMAN WORSHIP AND B ELIEF ritual ; and other survivals may be found in England n f d a . o o to this y Thus in Devonshire , the eve Twelfth D a a to a y, it is the custom for the f rmer t ke his a and t o labourers into the orch rd , with them move in a and solemn procession round the l rgest tree , to drink a pitcher of cider to the coming year . The toast must be drunk three times ; or the trees will bear no 1 a a on a a You fruit . Luci n in his tre tise d ncing s ys cannot find a single ancient mystery in which dancing a i s a does not occur . In f ct , it well known th t most people say of the revealers of the mysteries that they ! ! ’' 2 out é o sl a fia t 7d. ci n d r a dance them [ g px ppn ] . A ul a a so a to myth wo d be represented in d nce , th t ’ dance any given Subject would mean to be ao

u ainted . . a on q with it Mr L ng , in commenting this f a v a a of a p ass age o Luci n , gives se er l inst nces simil r practices among the Peruvians before and after the a a of a Sp nish conquest , mong the Bushmen Australi , ! and a a a . i s the bl ck r ces of Afric It superfluous , he ‘ a of a concludes, to multiply ex mples the d ncing , which is an invariable feature of s avage as of Greek ’ mysteries . The chants which in most cases accompanied the a and an a a of d nces , which were integr l p rt the ritual a no a a nd of the S lii , doubt origin ted in the cries rough ’ t o a a music used drive w y the evil spirits . Al l a a a of s crifices were ccomp nied by music some kind , which would be expected to have the same magical and an - efficacy, would drown y ill omened words . one P a ask The question which lut rch does (R . Q . L a of u XXXIX . ) ne rest to the subject Q irinus, i s

1 n M th Ri ua l a nd Cf. a t R i . L g , y , , el gi on, i . 272 2 Luc . S a l t. 1 5 and P i sa. 33. ROMAN WORSHIP A N D BELIEF 31

h ’ a a a . W a d o bout the Quirin li y, he sks, they call it ’ the Feast of Fools ? And he connects it quite a ccu ratel a of a a a y with the Fe st the Forn c li , held a a in honour of Forn x , the goddess or gu rdian a Spirit of ovens . It w s celebrated in February u a a a by the C ri e , the thirty ncient politic l divisions of 1 a m the three original tribes . If an failed to celebrate a was this festiv l , he supposed to be ignorant of h is own a and was a stu l Curi , written down fool ( tu s ) ; and h ad t o appear and make expiation at the Quirinalia a 1 on Febru ry 7. Accordingly the Quirinalia a cquired a of S tu l toru m Feri ee F a F the n me , the e st of ools . ’ One of the most interesting of Plutarch s questions

fift -first a a is the y , in which he sks why the L res of the a a a house h ve the im ge of dog beside them , Lares and are a a s portr yed clothed in dogskins . ’ The matter is so fully treated in Mr . Jevons s Intro duction that there is no need to go over the ground a f ou t gain . It is su ficient here to point that the worship of the L ares is clearly traceable to the ancient Roman pra ctice of burying their dead under their own f a roo s , or possibly in the courty rd , which continued a f 2 wa s o . a until it prohibited by the L ws the XII T bles . a a a The L res were the good spirits of dep rted ncestors , and the belief th at they often took the form of a dog was and a , perh ps is still , common to other countries a i s a besides It ly . There , for ex mple , the black dog which comes and howls outside a house before the

a one a . of r de th of of the f mily This is , cou se , the Spirit of a relative summoning his kinsman to join the a f r nks o the departed . a There is story, which professes to be well au th en

1 2 Cf. i i . 13 . See n i . L vy , Appe d x 32 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF tic ate d a of a , told in recent number the Tre sury ’ 1 a a a m an wa s a a M g zine , of who h unted by ghost dog until he took certain steps to discover the bones a of a murdered m an and give them Christi n buri al . h ad was no After this been done , the spectre more

. a s was seen It w the Spirit of the murderer, who none ’ a a a a a other th n the narr tor s brother . The n rr tor w s n a e a m an of strictly temperate a d truthful h bits . S

non é vero e ben trova to .

of a as h as al a The worship the L res , been re dy wa s a of a all mentioned , coupled with th t Vest , being a a s - as a a not reg rded house spirits . And Vest only a a a a a protected e ch individu l house , but the n tion l Vest a wa s a a so lso gu rdi n of the city, there were , besides L a a a a P reestite s the domestic res , n tion l L res , the a a ff a t tutel ry spirits of Rome . S criﬁces were o ered a ppointed times to both . If the spirits were neglected they bec ame mischievous and m alignant ghosts (L arvae and and O a Lemures) , vid describes the ritu l for the Feast of Spectres (Lemuria) held in the middle of 2 Ma f a y, the object o which is to rele se the living members of a family from the malign power of the dead . ‘ ’ a a a h a was Acc L renti , the mot er of the L res ,

- worshipped with her children . The folk t ale which rationalised her from a house - spirit into a human

a R . . being is told by Plut rch in Q XXXV . She is (though Mommsen and Plutarch think otherwise) probably the L arentia of the Romulus and Remus legend ; and very possibly the D ea D ia (wh o is a fairly r comprehensive deity) worshipped by the A val Brothers .

1 An i ’ 2 — sco a h ost tor ri 1903 . Fa sti . 425 44 6. Ep p l G S y, Ap l , v

84 ROMAN WORSHIP AND B ELIEF

so a was to a . a names , th t there nothing reve l If tribe

n od no a was . a h ad only o e g , n me needed The bsence of proper names must have rendered the interchange — of individualities among the various deities syncretism a very e asy process ; and is at the root of this per pl ex ing confusion among the animistic gods of early a a : a Rome . Tribes combined to form n tion e ch tribe brought its own deity into the common stock ; and the characteristics of each god became the common

a of al l . an a one property of m ny , if not If by y ch nce of the divinities was fortun ate enough to possess a a at a a of an n me , he once bsorbed the person lity y hi m and own others who even remotely resembled , his individuality was strengthened thereby . Thus Hercules a a nu mi na and united in himself number of n meless , the Mars of the Rom an republic h ad swallowed up a ma rtes a s a m ny lesser rustic who were , we h ve seen , of and a a a simply spirits growth , in m ny c ses prob bly n ameless . Before concluding this p art of the subject one must hark ba ck to the dog element in the L ares ; as ’ Plutarch s fifty- second question connects them (though D ii Ma nes wh o I think unconsciously) with the , were ‘ h ’ a . W a the good spirits of the de d y, he sks , do a a a d o to a a a and a the Rom ns s crifice g Genit M n , pr y that none born in the house m ay ever become Manes ‘ ’ i or Good Mr . Jevons points ou t that th e n ame Genit a Man a signifies a spirit presiding over birth and death : though we must a dmit that the latter of her ‘ two one functions is the chiefly in evidenc e . By a a a d —L a a L a a a m ny n mes men c lle her r , rund , Mut and I strongly suspect sh e is another form of our a a h e friend Acc L rentia . S seems at any rate to have ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF 35

‘ divided with her the honour of being the mother of a d is L a a the L ares ; n L arunda suspiciously like renti . Many spiritual suspects have been hung together on less evidence . L ater legend s made her the daughter of the River A m and a God l o , Mercury, or r ther Hermes , for the a a a story is of obviously Greek m nuf cture , the f ther of a a are a a the L ares . Hum n s criﬁces s id to h ve been to a offered to her in primitive times , secure the welf re f . o a of the family But , by one the religious leg l

a a - a a and fictions lre dy referred to , poppy he ds , g rlic , a a a wooden dolls were fterw rds substituted . As M na a sh e a a a of a d o and Genit lw ys received the s crifice g , a a of a the pr yer th t none the f mily might ever die . Fin ally sh e degenerated into a bogey t o frighten children a an a with . The pr yer is of course simply ex ggerated form of s aying Grant them in health and wealth long ’ a a a a n 0 to live , comp r ble with the s lut tio s king , live ’ ’ l m re for ever and Vive E pe ur. The Dii Manes dwelt in the sh adowy underworld euphemistically called Mu nd u s and one would have been gla d to have ’ a a a th e La i s Ma na li s Plut rch s ide s bout p , the great stone in the Comitium which covered the circular 1 a a a . a n sh ft le ding to their bode Thrice in the ye r, o 24 5 and 8 August , October , November , the stone 2 wa s and ofierin s and a removed , g of fruits c kes were a t thrown in , which the M nes were supposed o come a up nd receive . an on a No work of y kind might be done those d ys . a a a No b ttle might be fought , no m rri ge might take

a a . W the pl ce , no expedition might st rt hen Mu nd u s was uncovered the barrier between the two worlds of

1 2 arro in acr. S . I. x vi . utarch Rom x i V M Pl , 36 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF life and death was removed and the dwellers in th e h ad nether gloom power among the living . There was another l ap i s ma na ti s (derived from manure to , ﬂow) which must not be confused with s P a . wa a a this It kept just outside the ort C pen , close

of a and was se as a a - a to the temple M rs , u d r in ch rm n iﬁ in seasons of drought . The po t ce s brought it into the city (it wa s of millstone Shape a nd was bowled ‘ ’ a and a a along like wheel) r in followed immedi tely . I have no expl an a tion to oﬂer of this belief : it does ‘ not seem to come under the head o f sympathetic ’ t c an l a . a a a m gic The round s one h rd y h ve been me nt , ’ i t a like K ng Ar hur s round t ble ,

to an ima of th e mi h t wor be ge g y ld ,

’ a a to as though , if it were , it might ppe l Jove the world s f and i and o . s ruler , lord storms sunshine It more likely to have been connected in some way with the a of a a w an s acred fount in the C men e , which flo ed d s till flows ne ar the Porta C apena and m ay at first have been the covering of a well . two a at P ff Of the gre t colleges Rome , the onti s and ur i s on a a P a Aug s , it only the l tter th t lut rch bestows

an a of a . of P ontifi oes y sh re his ttention The College and ontiffs does not appear t o have aroused in A W h im any interest whatever ; nor is there indeed any mystery about it which would be likely t o have a stimul ted his curiosity . As this does not profess to be anything like an exh austive survey of the Roman and t ua no religion its ri l , there is object in supple ’ m enting Plutarch s omissions by giving details which an a of a a a m ay be found in y diction ry cl ssic l ntiquities . It will be sufficient to draw attention to one or two ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF 37 points which are not so likely to be noted in the a accounts usu lly given . Th e designation of the President of the Pontifical a ffi a College , Pontifex M ximus , still survives in the o ci l a a title of the Supreme He d of the Rom n Church . a a i But the inappropri teness is lmost grotesque . Noth ng could be more dissimilar than the offices held by the P a hi a h a a agan and Christi n er rchs . W tever the ncient ff was was a a an Roman ponti , he emph tic lly not a s was a ecclesiastic . As Often not he distinguished general : Julius C aesar was Pontifex Maximus al l a a a through his c amp igns in G ul . No speci l knowledge was needed for the position ; consequently there was a a as no theological or liter ry tr ining . The pontiff w in a wa s an no sense the te cher of the people , nor it y business of his to inquire into the religious beliefs of his fellow citizens : there was no need for the pontiff a an himself to h ve y religious Opinions . Provided he a a a duly c rried out his duties to the St te , the St te at all a or troubled itself not with his person l beliefs , a a even his person l ch racter . These duties were purely a a m a and ceremoni l , m tters of for lity routine . The ’ ’ science of things divine and human was the pontiffs n own description of their fu ctions .

The meaning of the title is still somewhat uncertain . a ens a The obvious deriv tion from p , which would m ke bridge - building the chief or at least the original duty h a s b eeii of the Pontifex , much disputed , though it h as the support of Professor Nettleshi p in his Lectures ’

2 . and a . 7 a Ess ys , p The theory most gener lly received is that which takes p ans in its primitive sense of a r a nd a ff h d of o d , a would imply th t the ponti s a control 38 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

keeping the communications between al l p arts of the

State in good order . m a d a It y be oubted whether, in the extremely e rly w w period to hich the origin of the ord belongs , the importance of road - m aking was sufﬁciently recognised a to justify this interpret tion . a a a a a In l ter d ys , when the ro ds were the gre t rteries down which the life - blood of the n ation ﬂowed from a hi was a the Urbs Rom w ch the he rt of the world , it is hardly possible to exaggerate the dignity and impor tance of the work of superintending them . But in the a a a a d ys of the e rly settlement on the P l tine , or even when the other b ill s h ad been included within the a S u bl ic iu s a a w lls , the Pons cross the Tiber must h ve loomed immea surably larger to the Roman mind than ’ the rough tracks m a de by the farmer s wa gons and

a a a . a a c ttle , when the remoter p rts of It ly were l nd 1 almost unknown . The interest which Plutarch took in the science of augury is shown in the following questions : Wh y might h no auspices be taken a fter August (XXXVIII . ) W y ’ h h ad the augurs lanterns no cover ? (LXXII . ) W y did a sc ar or sore disqualify an augur from practising ar ? h a s his t (LXXIII . ) W y w the sinister side con sid r h r e e d fortunate ? (LXXVIII . ) W y a e vultures h preferred in a ugury t o other birds ? (XCIII . ) W y

once an augur always an augur (XCIX . ) f i s a of of The origin of the o ﬁce , like th t the College ff a a s a Ponti s , lost in ntiquity . Livy is , usu l, quite

a nd - v gue a self contradictory . In the discussion on the 2 C anul eia C anu l eiu s as a Lex he represents s ying , ‘ P ontiﬁces augures Romul o regnante nulli erant : ab

2 . i 1 . iii . I . i Cf L vy , xv v v. ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF 89

’ a P a a Num ompilio cre ti sunt . On the other h nd , in

. um a a a of I xviii . we ﬁnd N pl cing himself in the h nds ’ an a at a and i s a ugur his ccession , it on the ugur s a a a a report th t he is decl red king . The uguries t ken and a by Romulus Remus (I . vii . ) seem to h ve dispensed an a a a L with ugur, but it is cle r th t ivy intends us a a h incon to underst nd th t t e science existed . The si stencies are exactly similar to his statements a s to the ul and of Vestal Virgins . Rom us Remus were the sons a Vestal but Vestals were not appointed till the reign ‘ f hi s a o Num a . But whence does Cicero derive st te a a a one a ment th t Romulus ppointed ugurs , from e ch ’ of the tribes . ’ a of a a a The est blishment the ugurs uthority d tes , 2 ’ L u s A ttu s N avi u s s a ul so ivy tells , from mir c ous ‘ and performance with the ra zor Whetstone . The respect which was thenceforth p aid to the college of augurs and their auguries was so great that nothing was ever done either in pea ce or war without consul t and an a of a was ing them , y m tter import nce rendered invalid if the birds did not give their ’ approval . The auspices at Rome were always t aken from the ’ 3 Li s at C apitol . vy description of the proceedings ’ Numa s election is based on the practice of historic a u a a a a times . The ug r se ts himself f cing the e st c pite a hi s an a aff vel to ; in right h d he holds curved st , ’ li tu um a ell arunt e quem pp , th n , looking forth over city and an d a a t o a country, with pr yer the gods , he m rks off of sk a t o and the regions the y from e st west, to declares the southern division be the right , the

1 2 R . ix . . i . 6 ch a so Cic. Di v: . 11 . and xvn . ep . II I xxxv ; l I 4 0 ROMAN WORSHIP A N D BELIEF

f a s a . a P northern t o be the left The le t h nd, lut rch was a ur observes (R . Q . considered the f vo a a a hi s able region . He ppe rs to h ve in mind , though he ’ a a a does not quote it , the p ss ge in Cicero s De Divin ’ 1 ou t of and tione, which points the divergence Opinion ’

a to and . a practice with reg rd right left Ennius , s ys our a a a Cicero , with reference to Rom n ugurs , decl res ’ on a th at when it thunders the left , ll s well ; but in n 2 Homer Zeus sends his propitious thunder o the right . n a a u a to So that omens o the left ppe r fort n te us, but the

Greeks and barb ari ans prefer the omens on the right . And our Roman augurs themselves ca ll favourable signs si ni s tra when they are a ctually d ea tra He might have quoted Vergil for h is u se of si ni s ter in the sense of unpropitious

‘ Arb orib us ue satis ue otus ecori ue sinist r q q N p q e , and Ovid,

uod cun ue atti erit Si ua est stu iosa sinistri 4 Q q g q d , and any number of other instances for which one need ’ not look further than L ewis and Short s L atin D i ctio

a . m a t d a a a n ry Cicero , it y be no e , refers in nother p ss ge ’ 5 of the De D ivinatione to a strange inconsistency in a of of a a the observ tion the voice birds , n mely th t it was held favourable for a crow to be heard on the left a n but raven o the right . The explanation usually given of the discrepancy between Roman and Greek practice is that it was due ff of a th e to the di erence position t ken up by Observer . B ut this evidently will not cover nearly all th e

1 2 1 . xx ix . I . X. 23 . . i 444 II x l i 6 G . . 1 5 Tr. u . 25 . . i 7 I Vi .

4 2 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

wa s a pity, it this body of foreign sooths yers from T a Etruria . hey pretended cert inly to more deﬁnite and a knowledge , in course of time they bec me more a a a popul r , th n their riv ls ; but they never held the a same rank in the St ate . C to forbade his steward to n a h a ru s ex a nd a a co sult p , Cicero considered it disgr ce ful thing that a h a ru sp ex should h ave been admitted by ‘ ’

a a a . are C es r into the sen te They such rogues , he ‘ a a no a c an a s ys , th t h ruspex meet nother without ’ a l ughter . R X C . t The preference for vultures ( . Q . III ) o other birds in augury m ay be due to the story of Romulus d i a an . as s Remus But if, pretty cert in , the story is a a a o f v u of comp r tively l te origin , the selection ltures as the birds of fate would be due to the fact that they a a a were lre dy the favourites . One would rather h ve a was a looked for the e gle , who cert inly selected by Marius for the symbol on the stand ard ; n aturally u eno gh as the bird of Jove .

I . f The explanation given (R . Q . XC X ) o the reten ﬁ ar of an tion of the of ce for life reg dless y crime , once ’ an a a a an a a a a one . ugur lw ys ugur, seems s tisf ctory The kn owledge once a cquired could not be p arted with ; and the position of augur wa s rather one of ’ art nd h a nd a a knowledge t n of honour a m gistracy . The disqualiﬁc ation from exercising the art by the

n R . presence of a y wound or sore upon the body ( . Q L m a a a ul a XXIII . ) y be comp red with the Mos ic r e l id down that no m an who h ad any blemish on his person 1 ofier a h o ah might s crifice to Je v . Whether this restriction extended t o the pontifical and other quasi religious offices at Rome I h ave not been able to

1 x x i 1 Lev . . 7sqq . ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF 4 3

’ a discover . Plut rch s words , however, seem to imply a and a f of th t they did , he supplies urther point similarity to the Hebrew code when he notes that no victim might be offered having any sore or blemish . ’ Your l amb shall be without blemish ru ns the in junction for the Passover ceremony ; and the rule l l a . 5 a a a a . . . extended to s criﬁci l nim ls Cf Ex xii , 1 nd a . . 8. xxix . , Lev i There is one element in Rom an belief of which a a a a a Plut rch ppe rs to t ke no ccount , though it could a a a a h rdly h ve esc ped his notice ; n mely , the P ort nt e ’ a a a rod i i a ppe r nce of portents , p g , which were reported from time to time in periods of n ational

a . a nxiety Strictly spe king , they do not come within a n the r nge of this introductio , which ought to conﬁne ’ f hi n itsel wit the limitations set by Plutarch s inquiries . But it would be impossible to convey any a dequate notion of the religious a ttitude of the Romans without h some reference to t is side of their belief . Every striking and unusual n atural phenomenon was regarded a s a specia l manifestation of the will or the displeasure

G . a a a a of the ods Eclipses , e rthqu kes , meteoric ppe r a o a a a n es , monstrous form tions or bnorm l conduct in a a all a a awe men or nim ls , w kened the superstitious , ‘ ’ the religio of the people in times of trouble and danger ; and the very terror which they inspired re acted in turning every strange event into an omen of v di d a d a e il . Pro gies by the score were reported y by y during the d arkest times of the second Punic war in the ﬁrst chapter of hi s twenty -second book Livy gives a sufﬁciently long list of typic al prodi gies which pre

ceded the overthrow oi Flaminius at Tra simene . The procedure enjoined on such occ asions was for 4 4 ROMAN WORSHIP AND BELIEF

the consul to take the evidence in the presence of the a a ontifices sen te , then to refer the m tter to the p , or in a exceptional c ses to the keepers of the Sibylline books , and for the State to perform the expi ations rec om 1 a a mended by these uthorities . One form of expi tion , a was Lecti s terni um prob bly of Hellenic origin , the or a symbolic feasting of the Gods . Couches were spre d a and a in the streets for the im ges of the gods , t bles set before them on which food and drink offerings were a pl ced , either by the people , or more commonly by the of a Epulones , the college seven priests whose speci l 2 function wa s to superintend these b anquets . The first l ecti s terni u m was held in 398 in a ccordance 3 ’ e with the directions of the Sibylline books . If Li vy a a m a a as one of ccount is to be ccepted , we y t ke this the earliest instances of the hellenising influence of a of the Sibylline or cles . For a further discussion the

see S . . subject Q XII . Much more might be said on the many points ’ of interest ra ised by Plutarch s penetrating and su g ge stive queries one c an but feel how ina dequate any discussion on them is which leaves out al l reference t o

— - the odd survival of the Argei prob ably a rain ch arm R . . . all al a D ea a Q XXXII ; lusions to the Bon , M ter a a C onsu ali a F a a M tut , the , the eti les , Venus Libitin , a and a far a Liber P ter, l st , but from le st , the Rex a S crorum . Perhaps these and a few others m ay some d ay furnish m aterial for another volume ; the object of the present one will have been ful ly attained if it awakens some interest in the by-p aths of comp arative religious history ; and especially if it induces any one

1 2 Cf. S . . . Cic . De Or. iii . 19 i iii . 42 . 13. Q XII ; L vy , xxx , v 2 iv V. iii . L y, x ROMAN WORSHIP AN D BELIEF 4 5 to follow up for hi mself some of the problems which have been shown t o abound in the records and a of a —a tr ditions the Rom n people people which , a as and st rting it did from the humblest beginnings , a was and st ined though it with much crime superstition , yet by sheer force of character taught other n ations the splendour of p atriotism and the grandeur of obedi ence to discipline ; and h as bequeathed to later times a a a m a a l ngu ge which, though in one sense it y be c lled a and a a and a de d , still lives bre thes in the l ws liter ture f a a o more th n h lf the civilised world . Q UESTION S FROM P LUTA RCH

R . . X L . I. ( Q )

For wha t rea son i s th e p ri es t of Jup i ter f or bi d d en to a noi nt himself i n the op en a i r

IS it because it used not t o be accounted lawful and right for children to put Off their garments in the a a son -in -l aw presence of their f ther, nor for before his ’ a to wife s f ther, neither did they in olden time use a and as a b the together ; so , Jupiter is the f ther of his a a priests , th t which is done under the eye of he ven seems in an especial manner to be under the eye of Jove a a as is a l a m an Or is it r ther th t , it unl wfu for to an or a ui unclothe himself in y temple s cred b lding , even so they held in reverence the Open air beneath the vault of he aven as being full of deities and spiritual beings This indeed is the re ason why much that is necessary is performed indoors under the cover of ou r f roofs out o reverence to the divine presence . a are l aw Ag in , some duties enjoined by upon the and al l as priest only, others upon men by the priest , a a for ex mple , in our country (Boeoti ) the customs of a a C a a a we ring h plet , llowing the h ir to grow long, not a a we ring sword , or setting foot within the borders of P are al l a a P hocis , speci l oblig tions of the resident QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 47

a to a a himself . On the other h nd , refr in from t sting ’ a a a and the se son s fruit before the utumn l equinox , from pruning the vines before the vernal equinox these matters are enjoined by the President upon all our people : for those are the sea sons which belong to

a a . a n as e ch Oper tion In like m ner, therefore , it seems i s a a to me , it the speci l duty of the priest of the Rom ns t on a t o a a not o ride horseb ck , nor be w y from the City a l a a a a more th n three nights , nor to y side the he dge r a from whence he derives his n me of Flamen . But there are many other m atters which are notiﬁed and enjoined upon al l by the priest ; whereof one is a air not nointing the body in the Open . For this a was a a pr ctice held in gre t suspicion by the Rom ns , wh o consider that nothing h as done more to reduce the Greeks to bondage and to m ake them effeminate a a a and a a th n their gymn si pl ygrounds , which h ve a produced in their cities much indolence , w ste of time , and a a vicious pr ctices . It is owing to these th t they a awa a and t o h ve un res lost their skill in rms , prefer be a - and ccounted nimble witted , good wrestlers , well fa a a a a - at - a and voured , r ther th n v li nt men rms good

. an a a a horsemen At y r te , it is no e sy t sk for those that strip in open air to avoid these evil habits ; but those who anoint and tend upon themselves at home are ll ff void of a o ence . 48 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

1 R L . 1 . . . ( Q X IV )

Why i s i t tha t the Fl a men of Jup i ter i s not a l l owed to ta ke a ny oa th

Is it becaus e the administering of an oath is like a and ul dministering torture to freemen , the priest sho d be exempt from torture both in body and soul ? Or bec ause it is not seemly to distrust in small matters him wh o is trusted in things divine and great ? Or is it because al l forms of oath conclude with execration of and a a a and a a perjury, execr tion is sh meful b rb rous thing ? A nd therefore amongst other n ations also n t a t a i it is o custom ry for the priests o utter execr t ons . an a i at was At y r te, the pr estess Athens commended for a a refusing to curse Alcibi des , though the people b de ’ For a sh e I a m a oi nted ri s tess to . e her do it , s id , pp p ’ t u rse p ra y a nd not o c . Or was it because the danger of perjury would fall n a a and o the whole st te, if godless perjured person shoul d be the director of prayers and s ac riﬁces on behalf of the City

R L . III . ( . Q . )

For w t rea son d i d the Fl a men o Ju i ter ha f p , ’ ‘ a A teia s record s a lwa s resi n hi s ri es t s o ice s , y g p ﬁ on the d ea th of hi s wife

WA S it because the m an wh o h as wedded and lost a wife is more unfortunate than he who h as never wedded any ? For the house of the married m an is perfect and entire ; but the house of him that h as

50 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

h as d o f and h as both lost the pro uctive power seed , a a not yet cquired the nutritive qu lity of food . And a t h e h as a a for this re son poet , spe king in figure , ‘ a a - a m l e ha ton a to sa c lled b rley me l y p (th t is y, mill as though it were destroyed and slain in the grinding ; while the leaven is not only itself a s produced by corruption , but lso corrupt the dough c F r with whi h it is mingled . o the dough loses its and and a of firmness consistency, , in short , the ction a le ven seems to be a sort of decomposition . And a undoubtedly, if the le ven be in excess , it renders the a and flour ltogether sour uneatable .

R x . . o v . ( Q . )

Why i s th e Fl a men B i a li s a l so forbi d d en to tou ch ra w mea t

Is the purpose of this custom to remove him from all possibility of e ating raw food ? Or is it that meat is made unlawful for the same cause a s ﬂour ? F or it is neither the living animal nor cooked food . But the and a a of seething ro sting , being process conversion and a a a ch nge , lters its form while th t which is fresh killed and raw is not cleanly and wholesome to look h as a and u a a upon , but repulsive even lcerous ppe r a nce . QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 5 1

R 0 x 1 . v1 . ( . Q . )

For what rea son d i d the R oma ns ord er the Fl a men of Jove no t to tou ch nor even to na me ei ther a d og or a goa t

a to a was a WITH reg rd the go t , it th t they misliked it as a a and a a or a w nton uns voury cre ture , th t they were afraid of it a s spe cially liable t o disea se ? For it appears t o be of al l animals the most subject t o and a e at epilepsy , to infect those th t of it or touch it f A nd when it is in the grip o this m alady . observers tell us that the cause lies in the n arrowness of its windpipe , which often becomes obstructed ; evidence of which they say is the thin and high pitch of it s a of a are a e voice . Indeed , in the c se men lso who t k n a a with the s me dise se , we ﬁnd the voice often resembles the bleating of goats . A s a a a for the dog , he is less uncle nly th n the go t , although it is afﬁrmed by some that by re ason of his ill repute he m ay not be suffered to come within the

Acropolis of Athens or the Island of Delos . But this is said in ignorance of the true reason ; which is th at ’ the dog s froward and pugnacious nature c auses him to be excluded from holy temples and places of a a are d a s nctu ry, which esigned to be s fe refuges for d suppli ants an fugit ives . S o that it is ﬁtting th at the F a of a b a s a l men Jupiter lso , eing it were living and a f a a l l temple shrine , should be e sy o ccess for and a a petitioners suppli nts , without nything to repel

’ r m h o ake t em afraid . And for that reason the priest h ad a couch set for him in the entry of his house ; ’ and any m an who could fall down at the priest s knees was free for that d ay from stripes and other

E 2 52 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

a a to punishment . And if prisoner were ble outrun d t o was his pursuers an get ﬁrst the priest he set free , and his bonds and shackles were ﬂung out Of the house , not by the door , but down from the roof . But a ll this kindness and benevolence would have been to no purpose if the priest h ad kept a dog in front of his house to scare away and terrify al l those wh o were f a a . a o in need of s nctu ry This , then , is the true c use the proh ibit ion ; not but that the ancients did certainly n a a For esteem the dog to be ot wholly clean anim l . he is not consecrated to any of the Olympian deities ; a f a as a howbeit , in th t he is sent orth to the crossw ys

a - ff a U d me t o ering to Hec te , goddess of the n erworld , he serves the purpose of an expiatory and purific atory d a . a a a n s crifice Moreover , in L ced emon they cut up a as ff t o qu rter little whelps o erings Ares , the most all a bloodthirsty of the gods . And the Rom ns them in of u a a a selves , the month p rific tion , s crifice dog upon the feast of Lupercalia (which answers to our F a L caea e st of y in Greece) . Therefore it is not unnatural th at those wh o have taken upon them the service of the hi ghest and most holy of al l the gods should be forbidden to m ake the dog either a familiar companion or a dweller in their house .

R . . VII . ( Q CXII . )

Wha t i s the rea son tha t the p ri es t of Jove i s forbi d d en ei ther to tou ch i vy or to p a ss through a ny wa y covered overhea d by the tra i li ng vi ne

THIS rule seems comp arable t o those of the P yth a gore ans which prohibit the disciples from taking their QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 53

n a a or n a s a a a a meals o ch ir, usi g se t the me sure c lled a o or a not a ch enix , stepping over broom ; th t the Pythagoreans h ad any fears or scruples about such a a s of m tters , but used them symbolic prohibitions a c of walkin a others . S O the t g under vine would hear t o and n a was a reference wine , sig ify th t it unl wful F a n for the priest t o be drunken . or they th t be dru ken a a a and are h ve the wine bove their he ds , overborne and weighed down by it ; wherea s it is the duty of men at al l times to rise superior and to be m asters of this nd d a a an . enjoyment , not to be its sl ves subjects a a a Now , with reg rd to the ivy , it is pl nt fruitless and a and so a a unproﬁt ble to men , is unst ble th t it a t to c nnot suppor itself , but needs be upheld by other a and a trees ; moreover , by its green sh de glossy foli ge ll it seems to cast a spell over a them that look upon it . Therefore the Romans thought (as I suppose) that such a a not pl nt , which yields no proﬁt , ought to be uselessly ff and a su ered to grow twine itself bout their houses , striking its roots into the earth and injuring the plants a that give it ccess to them . And for this rea son it is excluded from the services a an a f of the Olympi n deities , nor is y Spr y o ivy seen either in the temple of Hera at Athens or of Aphrodite at at a of a Thebes but the festiv l Dionysus (or B cchus) , a h e a of which is celebr ted under t d rkness night , there

ivy is to be found . But m ay we not also reg ard it as a symbolic pro hibiti on of B acchic fea sts and revellings ? For the women wh o are possessed by the Bacchic frenzy a a a a str ightw y rush upon the ivy , gr sp it in their h nds and and tear it in pieces chew it with their teeth . S O that we m ay quite well believe those who tell us 54 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

that there dwells in the ivy a spirit that stimulates a and a rd and and transports folk to m dness , th t diso ers and a distracts them ; , to sum it brieﬂy , m kes them and a a wh o drunk without wine , gives them gr tiﬁc tion are of themselves n aturally inclined to frenzied and

fanatic ecstasies .

R . . VIII . ( Q CXIII )

' Wherefore a re these p ri es ts of Jove not p er mi tted to a ccep t or be ca nd i d a tes f or a ny oﬁi ce of r a l l owed to h a ve a li ctor bea ri n S ta te, bu t a e g curu l e cha i r a s a ri vi l e e o thei r fa sces, and a , p g f rank a nd comp ensa ti on f or thei r ex clu si on from ‘ oﬁice

a a as THE ﬁrst reason th t presents itself is th t , in some parts of Greece the dignity of priesthood is equivalent ’ a a f to th t of roy lty, they selected for the priests o ﬁce

- men of well kn own position and character . Or a better solution m ay be that whereas religious a and a for ceremonies h ve definite times se sons , but matters of public business there c an be no times fixed or a was a determin te , it not possible , if they h ppened at an a o y time to coincide , for the s me pers n to be at was a a present both but it inevit ble th t , when both and a or religious secul r duties were urgent , one the other should be neglected ; and either the worship of su fiered or s of the Gods dishonour, the interest the a citizens were s crificed . Or lastly we m ay suppose that the Romans being aware th at in al l hum an governments necessity is no a a and a h o v r less strong th n uthority, th t he w rules o e QUESTIONS FROM PLUTAR CH 55

a people (as Hippoc rates said of the physician) must and a a h needs both see h ndle much th t is evil , t ereby gathering from the maladies of others a h arvest of ff an sa e a a su ering for himself the Rom s , I y, b ing w re of a a m an this, thought it not right th t who might have just been occupied with death sentences and of - or as l executions his fellow citizens , even ( befe l of ul ff a Brutus) his own kinsfolk , sho d then O er s criﬁce

and conduct the worship of the Gods .

L IX R . . . ( Q XXXIII )

Wh a t exp l a na ti on may one d evi se of the foll ow i ng ma tters i n R oman hi s tory

W E read that the Romans having heard that the B l etonesi ans a a a h ad ofiere d a a , b rb rous tribe , hum n a being in s crifice to their gods , sent for their rulers with the intent to punish them . But when it was explained that th e barb arians h ad done this in a ccord a a nce with ncient custom , they let them go free but a a Yet a forb de the pr ctice for the future . the Rom ns themselves not m any years before h ad buried alive in the B oariu m or a a and Forum , c ttle m rket , two men two and two a a women , to wit , two of Greek of G ulish r ce and it seems strange and monstrous th at they should th emselves do the very thing which in strangers they as condemn impious . It m ay be that they accounted it impious to offer a a to a t o ff hum n s crifices the Gods , but necess ry O er them t o daemons ; or else that those wh o did thus according to mere custom and l aw were offenders ; but 56 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTAR CH

that they themselves were acting under the direction a For a of of the Sibylline Or cles . the occ sion the a as We are was : of Roman s criﬁce , told , this One the a a a as sh e was d Vest l Virgins , n med Helvi , ri ing on horseback was struck by lightning and killed ; and sh e was found lying by the dead body of the horse with and a al l a a protruding tongue , with her g rments in dis rr y, and a a a even her shoes , rings , he dge r being ﬂung bout in great disorder a s if done of set purpose . This event sooths ayers interpreted a s signifying some terrible disgra ce that was to befall the holy a a and m idens ; th t it would become notorious , would a a a involve Some inf my t o the Equestri n Order lso . Whereupon a slave belonging to a certain knight of foreign blood gave inform ation against three Vestal a ZE mil i a a and a a for Virgins n med , Licini , M rti , a and a h ving broken their vows , lived in unch stity for some time ; and one of the n ames associa ted with ’ was a B uteti u s a theirs th t of , the informer s m ster . Accordingly these Vestals were convicted and punished ; but since the whole m atter seemed to be

of terrible import , the priests decided to consult the are Sibylline Books . And we told that they found therein certain oracles foretelling that these actual events would come to p ass an d bring great evil on Rome : for the averting of which they directed that two Greeks and two Gaul s should be sacriﬁced to some monstrous and outlandish deities by being buried quick in the earth in the pl ace where the Vestal was stricken a de d .

QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 57

x R . . ( . Q . XCVI )

Wherefore a re those Vesta l Vi rgi ns who h a ve broken thei r vows of cha s ti ty p u ni shed i n no other wa y tha n by bei ng entombed a li ve

A a a of C N the re son be th t , while they burn the bodies a the de d with fire , they judged it not right to perform with fire the funeral of one who h ad not guarded purely as she should the sacred fire Or perchance they considered it unlawful to slay one wh o h ad been consecrated t o the highest offices of and t o l a a a a and religion , y violent h nds upon wom n ; so to avoid this they devised a means whereby sh e Should die of herself ; for they lowered her into a small va ulted chamber underground where was a light and a a a and a d burning , lo f of bre d little milk an a and a a w ter then closed in the ch mber from bove . But even with this device of expiation they have not wholly qui tted themselves of superstitious fear ; but even to this d ay the priests when they p ass over

the place make offerings to the dead .

X x 1 R . I . ( . Q VII . )

Wha t wa s the rea son tha t ma ny wea l thy R oma ns were wont to p a y ti the to Hercu l es of thei r good s

MAY it have been because Hercules himself s acriﬁced at Rome the tenth or tithe of the c attle he h ad won from Geryon ? Or bec ause he delivered the Romans from being subject to tithe under the Etrurians 58 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

sa a t Or Shall we y, if this ccount be held unwor hy a a of serious belief, th t they did s criﬁce to Hercules plenteously and without stint as to a gluttonous and luxurious deity O a a m a a a n the other h nd , the re son y h ve been th t they desired to reduce their superabundant wealth as being a grievance to the community ; a s though they were thereby reducing somewh at of their bodily and and so strength vigour, doing honour to Hercules , a s a a and who , is known , took delight in such b tements f al l a and retrenchments o luxury , being in his life frug l - d a self contented an averse from extr vagance .

x 11 R . . ( Q . XXVIII )

Why d o th e R oma ns forbi d thei r chi ld ren to swea r by the na me of H ercu l es wh en benea th a roof bu t bi d them go f orth i n to th e op en a i r

Is as sa a a it, some y , bec use they consider th t Hercules a a a t kes no ple sure in biding within the house , but in an outdoor life Spent beneath the open sky Or is it rather because among the Gods Hercules a a a afa ? is not n tive to the soil , but str nger from r For neither do they swea r by B a cchus under the roof

a a . of their dwellings , who lso is foreign deity Or perchance it i s but s aid to children in jest ; though it m ay also be a means of restraining them from and a a as Favorinu s as to reckless h sty swe ring , w wont s a y . For the rul e seems expressly made to cause a a and to del y give opportunity for reﬂection . And one might agree with Favorinu s in h is suggestion QUE STIONS FROM PLUTARCH 59

a was not to th t this custom common the other gods , as ul a ul a a but w pec i r to Herc es , in ccord nce with the r h im For a to a stories that a e told of . he is s id h ve been so circumspect in the m atter of o aths that he a an a and a was never m de o th but once in his life , th t to a s a a Phyleus the son of Auge s . And it wa for th t re son that the oracle at Delphi g ave the L acedaemonians this answer : Wh en oath s th rough out your land sh all cease

Sparta Sh all ﬂouri sh and increase .

XIII . (R Q . XXXV. )

h di d th omans hold Lar nt a bei n bu t W y e R e i , g a courtesa n i n su ch hi h es teem , g

FOR this woman is not to be confounded with another a ar a of Acc L enti , the nurse Romulus , who is honoured a a a a in the month of April . This L renti is s id to h ve been surnamed Fabula and to h ave derived her renown a : na a a a from the following c use mely , w ger m de in a Sport with Hercules by the keeper of his temple , th t he should provide the god with a banquet and a consort a a a if he should be the loser . The t le goes th t h ving lost the g ame he p aid the wager with the help of ’ L arentia ; wh o by Hercules s direction afterwards b e came the comp anion of a certa in wealthy Roman named T aruntius ; and he at his death bequeathed t o all hi her s goods . She in turn left to the state of Rome al l sh e died possessed of wherefore the Romans pay s a her thi honour of yearly sacriﬁce . 60 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

R . . LIX r . x v. ( Q )

For wh a t rea son wa s th ere one common a l ta r f or Hercu l es a nd the Mu ses

WA S it that Hercules t aught Evander and his people a s a h as ? For the knowledge of letters , Jub recorded the ofﬁce of those wh o t aught their friends and kins a a a folk was in those d ys ccounted honour ble . How beit in later times they beg an to t a ke p ayment for teaching : and the ﬁrst m an to Open a school for was C arviliu s m a of a letters Spurius , the freed n th t

C arviliu s who put away his wife .

x R . LX v . ( Q . )

Wh ere ore i s i t th a t seei n there a re two a l t rs f , g a o H ercu l es women a rt a ke not nor ta s te o the f , p f s a criﬁces offered on th e grea ter one

Is it because C armenta and her womenfolk came too a a and a a of P inarii l te to the s criﬁce , bec use the f mily the c ame late also It wa s from this circumstance that the fa mily of the P inarii derived their n ame (meaning thereby pined a a s a hi or st rved) , being excluded from the b nquet w le a the rest m de merry . Or is it on account of the fable of Deianira and th e poisoned tunic wherewith sh e slew h er husband QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 61

R . X I. . X C V ( . Q )

Wh erefore i s i t th a t when s a crifice i s bei ng a ered b the R oma ns to H ercu l es no other God i s fi y , ' na med b them nor i s a n d o su ered to a ea r y , y g fi pp wi thi n the reci nc ts o hi s tem l e a s Va rro h a s p f p , rel a ted i n hi s hi s tory

Is it because they regard Hercules a s but a demi- god a a hi m ? a o th t they n me no God beside Howbeit , a an a a cording to some , Ev nder erected lt r to him wa s a m an a and f while he yet mongst men , of ered a al l a a s s criﬁce thereon . But of nimals the dog w his greatest abhorrence ; for no other beast gave him such unceasing toil and trouble ; a s for example and a al l s on Cerberus , bove when Oeonus the of Licymnius was sl ain by the sons of Hippocoon in a a a a ul qu rrel bout dog , Herc es being forced to give b attle lost therein many of his friends and amongst them his brother Iphicles .

X R XIX . VII . ( . Q . )

Why d o the R oma ns ta ke the month of Ja nu a ry a s the begi nni ng of thei r yea r

FOR in ancient times March was accounted the ﬁrst as a month , is evident ( mong other proofs) by this especially that the ﬁfth month from March [Jul y] a and is n med Quintilis , the sixth [August] Sextilis , and so the rest in order until the l a st of a ll whi ch a a they c ll December, reckoning it the tenth from M rch . From t his some h ave been moved to think and say 62 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

that the early Romans concluded their year not in a to a of twelve months but in ten , by dding cert in the and months other days over beyond the thirty . Others a a a w a was g in , llo ing th t December the tenth from a a a a a and a M rch , decl re th t J nu ry Febru ry were the and and a a eleventh twelfth ; th t in the l tter month , a a was at bec use the ye r its end , they performed rites nd ff of purific ation a o ered sacrifices to the dead . And sa a a a was a and [they y] th t fterw rds this order ch nged , a a a as a a was th t J nu ry w m de the first month , bec use it on the new moon or first d ay thereof [which they c all the Kalends of January] th at the first consuls were a a of ppointed fter the expulsion the Kings . But those writers are more worthy of credit wh o sa a a m an war and of a a y th t Romulus , being of m rti l and son of a breeding deeming himself the M rs , set the a a a of a month of M rch , the n mes ke his f ther, before a a a m an the rest ; but th t Num his successor, being of peace and desirous to incline the minds of his subjects to the l abours of husb andry and to di vert war a t o a a and them from , ssigned the priority J nu ry a a as a promoted J nus to gre t honour, being God more concerned with the affairs of government and tillage a ar th n with the concerns of w . a a Consider, too , whether Num did not m ke this month the beginning of his year as suiting well with ’ a a For a a n ture s seasons in our reg rd . gener lly spe king there is no one point in al l the annual circuit whi ch c an a a or a be n tur lly reckoned either first l st, but different folk take d ifierent points of time wherefrom

to begin . And those d o best wh o take their beginning sun a from the winter solstice , when the , h ving ceased to and h s a a n recede, turns in his course w eel g i toward

64 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTAR CH

nd ZE ne as e a s and Evander a cam thither lso by ea . The more reasonable conjecture is this : that there are some m atters whi ch are honourable for states to possess and others which are necessary and of things a and hi honourable the gre test is good government , of t ngs a necessary the grea test is bundance of supplies . Ina s much then as Janus introduced sound government and a f civilis tion into their li e , whilst their river Tiber being navigable furnished them with good store of a f sea and necess ries , conveying some rom the others a a l aw from inl nd , their coin ge bore the device of the a o f a giver , with the double form bec use the ch nge w as a a and a s hich , I h ve s id , he introduced the device

a a a a a . of the river, p ss ge bo t or b rge They also used a different currency stamped with of an a and a n a the device ox , sheep , swi e , for this re son that their wealth wa s derived mainly from such live and a and a l a stock th t their goods subst nce y in c attle . And it wa s owing to this that many of the n ames of a a a s F a the ncient Rom ns were , enestell tells us , such a s O vil ii B ub ul ci and P orcii or a s one sa , , , might y, a and S Shepherds , Ne therds , wineherds .

x x . R ( . Q . III . )

Wh a t i s th e rea son th a t o a l l the ma n t , f y emp l es o D i a na whi ch a re i n R ome one onl namel th a t f , y, y whi ch s ta nd s i n the Vi cu s P t a ri ci u s, i s not to be entered by men 2

Is on a of a of a it ccount the legend th t is told the m tter, a a m n how th t a once offered violence t o a woman who h ad QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 65 come thither to worship the goddess and that he was set upon and torn to pieces by hounds For we are a a a a i awe am told th t , fter this , cert in relig ous c e upon so a suﬁered no m an an the people , th t they y more to ente r the temple .

I . XXI. (R Q . V )

For wha t rea son i s i t tha t wherea s i n a ll other

’ temp l es of Di a na men a re wont to set up s ta gs h rns the horns o ox en a re l a ced i n her tem l n o , f p p e o the A venti ne

Is a a of a a a it for memori l the ncient t le th t is told , a a m an a An C oratiu s how cert in of the S bines , tron by h ad a c ow a and a name , exceeding well f voured gre ter in growth than al l others ; and being told by a seer that the city of him wh o should sacrifice that cow to Diana on the Aventine was fated to become the queen and o f al l a s ruler It ly, he betook him elf to Rome with intent to s acrifice the cow But a cert ain bondservant ’ told King Servius secretly of the seer s prophecy , W and the King told Cornelius the priest . herefore Cornel ius b ade Antron go and b athe himself in the a a b e ff Tibe r before s crificing ; for, s id , those who o er sac rifice are ever wont so to d o . The m an therefore a went to b the himself, but or ever he could return , Servius sacrificed the cow t o the goddess an d fastened a the horns to the wall of her temple . This t le is told ub a and a a a a a both by J V rro , s ve only th t V rro h th not set down in writing the name of this Antron ; nor doth sa a was he y th t it by Cornelius the priest , but by the

- a a was . temple keeper, th t the S bine beguiled 66 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

X I. R . . XXII . ( Q )

Wha t i s the rea son tha t they sacriﬁce to S a turn ba rehea d ed

Is it be cause the custom of covering th e head at as a to JE neas b ut th e sacriﬁce w beque thed them by , sacriﬁce offered to S aturn is altogether of older time Or is it because they cover themselves for the Gods of a a a S a as a od of he ven bove , but reg rd turn g the a and a a e rth the world below Or for this re son , th t nothing which belongs to truth is kept in conceal ment or a and a a s ac n a rn to sh dow, th t the Rom n cou t S tu be the Father of Truth

R . . . XXIII . ( Q XII)

Why i s i t tha t they a ccou nt S a turn to be the Fa ther of Tru th 2

Is a se s me i e s d m S a urn it bec u like o ph losoph r they ee t , a to t a th t is Kronos , be Time , h t is in Greek Chronos , 1 and Time is the discoverer of Truth ? Or m ay we a a a e a was suppose th t the f bled g when S turn King , as n h ad a a a e of bei g most righteous , gre ter sh r Truth than any other

1 Compare th e well -known legend on th e coins of Ph ili p and Mary VER TE M ORIS L ’ ITAS P FI IA .

— R O M A N C HA R IO T E E R . V A T IC A N M U S E U M . QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 67

R . . XXIV . ( . Q XCVII )

Wherefore i s i t th a t a t the ch a ri ot ra ce whi ch

h ld u n the Id es o D ecember the horse th a t i s e p o f , f i s u on the o si d e o the wi nni n p a i r i s s a cri p n)? f g ﬁced a s holy u nto Ma rs ; whi l e i ts ta i l i s cu t of a nd conve ed i nto the tem l e o Ju no R e i na y p f g , whose a l ta r i s sp ri nkl ed wi th i ts bl ood ? A nd why i s i t th a t f or the hea d th ere i s a contes t be tween two a cti ons one comi n ou t o the s treet f , g f

ca l l ed th e Vi a S a cra , a nd the other from the

S u bu rra

Is a s sa a a s was a it possible , some y, th t , Troy t ken , a a a a ccording to the f ble , by me ns of horse , the a a Rom ns , counting themselves Troj ns by descent , punish a horse in commemoration of the event ? As also one of the poets h as said

’ i on s ori ous sons too wi s of th e au h t rs of a i u Il gl k ve d g e L t m.

Or is it because the horse is a creature of high courage and warlike spirit ; and men commonly offer to the Gods in sacriﬁce th at whi ch is most pleasing and appropri ate to them ? S o the victorious horse is s acriﬁced to Mars because of hi s connexion with

Victory and strength . a m a a a The re son , however, y be th t the speci l a a and na function of this deity is ste df stness te city, whereby those who stand their ground vanquish those

a a . as who st nd not, but t ke to ﬂight Swiftness , then , and a a of a if it were the support m inst y cow rdice , is t o to a a devoted punishment ; te ch men , in symbolic l a wh o a a a a ﬁgure , th t they pl y the cow rd Sh ll h ve no hope of s afety . 68 QUESTIONS FR OM PLUTARCH

. L . R . xx v . ( Q XXXVII )

Wherefore do they p a rt the h ai r of newly wed d ed bri d es wi th the p oi nt of a ja velin

Is this custom intended as a sign th at the ﬁrst Roman wives were wedded by compulsion and under con ditions of war to d r a a dd Or is it let them un e st nd th t , being we ed of a and a a are t o to men w rlike breed ch r cter, they accept only such a dornment as is simple and severe and plain For even so Lycurgus b ade the Sp artans fashion their doorways and roof-timbers with saw and axe ff no to only, su ering other instrument be employed , to the end that he might b anish al l superﬁu ity and a a extrav g nce . Or does the practice darkly symbolise separation as a a if wedlock should never be broken sunder , s ve by the force Of arms Or wa s it that they referred most Of the ceremonies of marriage to Juno ? The spear certainly is sacred and Of a a to Juno , most her st tues represent her le ning a upon a spe r . And for this c ause sh e bears the n ame uiritis ui ri s a a a a Q , q being the n me for spe r mong the a a a f ncient people . M rs lso or the same reason is said a a s to h ve been c lled Quirinu .

R . . . L XXVI ( Q XXXIX . )

Why d o they ca l l th e Q u i ri na li a the F ea s t of Fool s

Is it because they h ave assigned this d ay (as Jub a a s t o e wh o are ra of i n ami st te ) thos igno nt the r ow f ly,

70 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

R . X . XXVIII . ( . Q XX VIII )

For wh a t ca u se d i d Q u i ntu s Metel lu s who wa s

' chi e onti a nd i n oth er ma tters es teemed to be fp ﬁ, both ru ent a nd s ta tesma nli ke orbi d the ta ki n p d , f g of a u sp i ces af ter th e month S ex ti li s whi ch i s now ca ll ed A u gu s t

WA S it because just a s morning or noon is the time Of d a and n of y, likewise the begi ning or middle the month a a to u a is the se son when we ttend s ch m tters , while we avoid the times O f sunset and declin ation as unmeet so a for them , even Metellus considered th t the time a as and of fter eight months is , it were , the evening sunset the ye ar which is then declining and drawing to its end Or is it that birds should only be used for this purpose when they are in their prime and perfection ? An d such they are before summer - time ; but in autumn are a and and are ﬂed lin s some we k sickly, others but g g and a - are not at all h lf grown whilst others to be seen , a a h ving migr ted owing to the season Of the year .

XXIX . (R . Q . LXXII . )

For wha t rea son d i d th e R oma ns consi d er tha t thos e p ri es ts wh o obs erved th e fl igh t of bi rd s (whom f ormerly th ey na med A u sp i ces bu t now A ugu rs) ou gh t to keep thei r l a mp s op en a lwa ys a nd never s et the cover up on them

WA S a as P a a a it perch nce , the yth gore ns used sm ll a a sit m tters to symbolise gre t ones , forbidding to upon a a a and t o a a so qu rt me sure , stir ﬁre with sword , the QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 71 a a e a and a ncient Rom ns us d m ny mysteries , especi lly with regard to their priests This rule concerning the lamp wo uld be an example ; for the lamp i s an F emblem o f the body which contains the soul . or the soul within is like the light ; and the intelligent and reasonable p art of it ought to be always open and nd a a n ou t . observ nt , ever to be enclosed or blown N ow are are and when winds blowing , birds unsettled , aff no a a of a ord sure pres ges , bec use their w ndering and a a uncert in beh viour . By this usage then they teach their augurs t o go a ri are a a forth for Observ tion , ot when winds bro d , but a and a are a t o in c lm serene we ther , when they ble use a their l mps open and uncovered .

R . . L XXX ( Q . XXIII )

Wherefore wa s i t unl a wfu l f or a ny a u gur who wa s suﬁeri ng from a bod i ly sore to ta ke the a u sp i ces 2

a as a m or to n METHINKS this lso w sy bol token , sig ify that no m an sh ould minister in religious rites if he h ad any vexation at the heart or private grief and passion as and in his soul , but only such were free from sorrow of uncorru pt and undistracted mind . a a is a a h a u Or g in , it re son ble t t if it wo ld be wrong a h as a to offer in sacriﬁce any victim th t sore upon it , d a are a or to take auspices from bir s th t unhe lthy , still more ought the priests to be c areful Of themselves in s a and a a and uch m tters , only to ppro ch the Signs portents of the God s if th ey themselves b e pure an d 72 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTAR CH

For an or e und eﬁl ed and without blemish . ulcer sor ﬁl m n seems to be a mutilation and d e e e t of the body .

R L . X . XX I . ( Q XXVIII )

Wha t i s the rea son tha t i n ta ki ng a u sp i ces the Si ni s ter i s the fortuna te

not IT is doubtful whether the belief is wholly untrue , people h aving been led a stray by the language of the a a a country . For they (the Rom ns) c ll the left h nd ni trum and to a a Si nere S i s , le ve lone is with them ; ’ a m an a a a sa and when they bid Le ve th t lone , they y ‘ ’ S i ne .

a a a Th t bird , then , whose ﬂight counsels le ving lone an a as S i ni s teri on y ction , being it were , the common a on folk wrongly conceive to be Sinister, th t is , the a and a a left h nd , n me it ccordingly . a n m a a s a a Ag i , it y be , Dionysius rel tes , th t when Ascanius son Of ZE neas was engaging in battle against a and Mezentius , it thundered on his left h nd brought him victory ; and that the soothsayers SO interpre ted the omen and have preserved this interpreta tion to the d a . t o a e not present y According others , this h ppen d , t a o to a E a . Asc nius , but his f ther ne s The Thebans undoubtedl y routed their enemies and won the b attle of Leuctra with the left wing Of their a and on hi a a a ul all rmy t s ccount they m de it r e , in a a to m an and b ttles from th t time, give the co m d conduct Of the ﬁght to the left wing . and a m a a as Another more likely re son y be th t , a a h to a ma a u is Jub s ys , the Nort , n f cing the s nrise ,

74 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

F r h as he prey upon his own kind . o no one ever yet seen a vul ture taste the ﬂesh O f any fowl ; whereas eagles and hawks do especially chase and strike down wn a sa o e . those of their kind , th t is to y, oth r birds And , as ZE sch yl u s h as it :

How can th e fowl be counted clean Th at preys upon h i s fellow?

a one m a a sa And tow rds men y f irly y, he is the most of no nor a innocent birds ; for he destroys fruit pl nt ,

a an a a . neither does h rm to y domestic nim l Moreover , if the fable Of the Egypti ans about vul tures be true a are al l a and are a th t they fem les , impregn ted by the a a s are W a a E st wind , trees by the est, it is re son ble that presages and omens derived from them should be a a and a ltogether s fe trustworthy, comp red with other fowls whose prognostications are rendered greatly confused and uncert ain by their being subject to th e a a and a n excitements Of the p iring se son , the ch si g , a d a n a an o e a . tt cking , esc ping from nother

R . . XXXIII . ( . Q XCIX )

Wheref ore i s i t tha t when a member of a ny other p ri es thood i s f ou nd gu i l ty of crime a nd ‘ ba ni shed the d e ri ve him o hi s O i ce a nd a oi nt , y p f ﬁ pp a nother to su cc ed hi m wh erea s a n A u u r h ow e , g , ever rea t be th e rim s r a i ns t hi m i s g c e p oved ga , ‘ never d ep ri ved of oﬁlce so l ong a s h e li/ves

IS it bec ause as some say they desire that no man unless he be a priest Shoul d know the mysteries Of their or a not a religion ; bec use they would , by m king him QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 75 a a a a an a a priv te individu l , bsolve ugur from those o ths ‘ by which he h as once been straitly bound to secrecy 2 Or is the word Augur a title not so much O f dignity and Ofﬁce as O f knowledge and skill In such ca se it would be like deposing a musician from being a a or a a a a musici n , physici n from being physici n , or like forbidding a prophet to be any more a prophet ; Since they would have no power to deprive him of his and a a skill bility, lbeit they might deprive him of his title . a a a s Neither do they ppoint nother to succeed him , they rea sonably desire to keep the ori ginal number Of a the augurs unimp ired .

R . XXXIV . ( . Q V . )

Why i s i t th a t p ersons who h a ve beenf a l sely re te t h e d i ed i n a orei n cou ntr i the p or d o a v f g y , f y retu rn s a e a re not ermi tted to enter thei r hou se f , p b the d oor bu t mus t need s cli mb u on to the ti l es y , p a nd enter through the roof

VARRO gives an altogether fabulous Oxplan ation ; for he tells us that in the Sicili an war a great sea - ﬁgh t wa s and a an was a fought , th t untrue report spre d con a a a a h a d cerning m ny of the comb t nts , th t they been Slain and that though they returned home nevertheless a all a a one in a Short while fter they died . But cert in of a h is them , when he would h ve entered house, found a Of a and the door f st Shut its own ccord , though they

al l a a . tried me ns to Open it, yet might it not be unf stened Therefore he p assed the night where he wa s before h is 76 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH own door and in his sleep he dreamed a dream which Showed him a means of entering from the roof by a T a and h ad rope . his he ccordingly did ; good fortune l d a f a f and a O e . F al l his li e ter , lived to good g rom a a was a e this , ccording to V rro , the custom est blish d

for al l men after to Observe . But I question whether this custom h as not a t th e certain resembl ance o the customs of Greeks . F or they accounted not those to be ceremonially pure for whom funera l rites and a sepulchre h a d been pre p ared as ii they h ad been dead ; nor did they allow them to forgather with themselves or to appro ach the O a s acriﬁces O f the Gods . N o w it is told f one who h d a a a m an become victim of this superstitious pr ctice , a A ristinu s a a n med , th t he sent to Delphi to entre t the ora cle and to pray th at he might be delivered from the disabilities which this custom imposed upon him and ’ the answer O f Apollo s priestess was as follows

Al l th at a moth er doth for h er new-born ch ild i n th e cradle D h u n ur and a t rwar Off r th O t o e d e ; f e d e y dues unto Hea ven.

Ari stinu s a a thereupon , h ving well considered the m tter, entrusted himself to his womenfolk to be treated as a new- born infant : and after him all other men h ave a H s tero otmi a is t a done the like , being c lled y p , th t o s y, ea and supposed to be d d found to be living . But there are some who s ay that the custom is an ancient one and that all these ceremonies were Observed

A ri stinu s . before There is nothing surprising , then , in the Romans also holding that such a s were supposed to have been once bu ried and to have been enrolled amongst the departed ought not t o enter in at the main a a and u entr nce , by which they go forth for s criﬁce , ret rn

78 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

R . XXXVI. ( Q . XXXII . )

For wha t rea son d o the R omans ca s t i nto the

ri ver Ti ber from the S u bli ci a n B ri dge certa i n

s o men a nd i ve them the na me o A r ei i ma ge f , g f g

Is it because in former times the b arbarians wh o dwelt in those parts were accustomed to put t o death in this a and manner those of the Greeks whom they c ptured , was that Hercules , who highly esteemed by them , a and a abolished the custom Of murdering str ngers , t ught them to ﬂing images of men in imitation O f their ancient superstition ? (N ow the men Of Ol d used to call all

a a A r ei . U Greeks like by the n me of g ) nless , indeed , it were true that Since the Arcadians accounted the Argives a a as their enemies , bec use they were their ne r neigh a and bours , Ev nder his followers when they ﬂed from Arcadia and settled in Italy retained the remembrance nd Of their wrongs a their hostility towards them .

R XXXVII . ( . Q . LXXI . )

Wherefore i s i t tha t they bi nd a wi sp of h a y to the horns o su ch ca ttl e a s a re d a n erou s a s a f g , wa rni ng to those wh o may come i n th ei r wa y

IS it because satiety and fullness make both cattle and horses and asses and menfolk to wax insolent ? A s Sophocles h as it

B ut th ou art r sti as a u - c o t e ve f ll fed l , Th ow and maw in i h r y j l well l ed w t p ovender. QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 79

A nd it was on this ac count that the Romans used t o ’ a a a h d h a say th t M rcus Cr ssus a y upon his horn . For though they ﬁercely attacked the others in the a e of as a government , yet did they bew r him being re dy

o f and a t o . was defence h rd cope with However, it s aid afterwards on the other hand that C ae sar h ad a a h a a plucked w y the y from Cr ssus . For he was the ﬁrst to withstand him in the government and to trea t him with contempt . — NOTE If Plutarch h ad dei gned to read Horac e h e might h ave

- r rr hi s r a rs to th e w nown in in Sat . i . 4 ash a m h a t efe ed e de ell k l e , F be ’ ’ in cornu on u wh r see i c h am s not . h th r sa a , l ge f ge , e e W k e W e e v ge r r r at i n th i a n n cattle were eally eve t e ed s w y seems ope to q ue sti on. O e can imagine diffi culties occurri ng .

XXXVIII . (R Q . XCII . )

Wherefore d o they bes tow on him who ha s s aved the life of a ci ti zen i n wa r a wrea th of oa k lea ves

WA S it because th e oak-tree is plentiful everywhere and ever ready to the hand in c amp aigns Or because the o ak -wreath is sacred to Jove and as a a of Juno, whom they look upon gu rdi ns the city Or is the custom an ancient one derived from the a i a wh a a w o ak Arc d ns , o h ve sort Of kinship ith the ; for they are thought to be the ﬁrst - born of all men from the earth even as the oak i s of al l plants 80 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTAR CH

R . . . XXXIX . ( Q XCIV )

For wh a t rea son d oes the temp l e of E scu l ap i u s s ta nd wi thou t the Ci ty

Is it bec ause the Romans considered that it was more healthful to dwell outside than inside the town The a of E scul a i us Greeks , we know, h ve their temples p air generally built on high ground where the is pure . Or i s it that they believe that this deity c ame by invit ation from Epidaurus ? The temple of ZE scu l a pius was certainly built not in their city by the

E id aurians at a . p , but some dist nce from it Or might it be that when the serpent came ou t of the trireme on to the Isl and at Rome and disappeare d a from sight , they considered th t the God thereby indicated the site where he woul d have his temple built ?

R . . X L . ( Q XCVIII )

For wha t rea son d o th e C ensors up on ta ki ng ‘ u th ei r o ice b ore d oi n a n other bu si ness p ﬁ , ef g y , ma ke a contra ct f or the feed i ng of the s a cred eese a nd or the a i nti n a new o the i ma es o g , f p g f g f the God s 9

IT m ay be that they would fain begin with th at work which wa s O f least a ccount and ent ailed the smallest nd expense a trouble . Or possibly it is a commemora tion Of an ancient debt Of grati tude owed to these a war a l a cre tures ever since the with the G u s , bec use it was these geese which perceived the B arbari ans as

QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH 81 they were in the very act of scaling the rampart of the a a - a a C pitol in the night (the w tch dogs being f st sleep) , a a and by their cries roused the gu rd . a m a a Another re son y be th t , the Censors being a a a and the gu rdi ns Of m tters Of the highest concern , h aving the supervision and inspection of temples and and O f and a a other public buildings , the lives ch r cters of a a a a a citizens , they h ve especi l reg rd to th t cre ture a whi ch is most vigil nt Of all li ving things . And by bestowing this care upon the birds they stimulate and urge the citizens not to be careless or indi fferent in religious matters . A S a of a d a to the rep inting the im ges Of the Go s , th t a a for d e is necess ry duty, the vermilion y with which they were wont to colour the ancient images quickly a nd f des a perishes .

R LII. XLI. ( Q . )

Why d o the R oma ns s a criﬁce a d og to the od ss w i s c l l e i t a na a nd ra to g d e ho a d Gen a M , p y her th a t no one of those born i n the household ma y come to good

Is it bec au se Genita Mana is a deity concerned with the birth and procreation Of things corruptible For the name Of the Goddess Signifie s flux ion and genera — no nd i no a tion ma a g g . As then the Greeks s crificed a d o t o P a so a a a g roserpin , lso perh ps the Rom ns sacrifice to Genita on behalf Of those born in the a u s a a household . Socr tes tells th t the Argives s crificed a d og to Ilithyi a to obtain a safe deliverance in child 82 QUESTION S FROM PLUTARCH

But with regard t o the prayer that none of those t o m a born in the household should ever come good , y it have referred not t o persons but to dogs ? for dogs to be ﬁerc e - and indeed ought tempered terrible . m a a are of Or it y be , since the de d spoken with as the Good a a tenderness , th t they pr y , under f a of cover O these words , th t none their household at m ay die . There is nothing to wonder in this ; for Aristotle s ays that in a cert ain trea ty between the Arcadians and the L acedaemonians a clause was In serte d that they should make none of the Tegeans g ood on a ccount of the help they h ad given to those wh o favoured Sp art a ; thereby meaning that they a should put none to de th .

R L XI. XLII . ( . Q . )

For wh a t rea son i s i t f orbi d d en ei ther to menti on or to i nqu i re a ny th ing or to u tter th e na me o tha t D ei t whether i t be ma l e or ema l e f y , f , to whom bel ongs esp eci a l ly the gu a rdi a ns hip a nd rotecti on o R ome 2 N ow the connect thi s ro p f , y p hi bi ti on wi th a reli gi ou s s entiment ; f or they rel a te th a t a certa i n Va l eri u s S ora nu s ca me to a n

evi l n i n i l t t e d f or h a v g d vu g ed hi s s ecre .

Is a as a a a a t it bec use , some Rom n histori ns h ve sser ed , there are certain evocations and enchantments of th e a a a Gods , whereby the Rom ns believed th t cert in Gods h ad a and h ad been evoked from mong their enemies , transferred their abode to themselves ; and so they were afraid lest other n ations might serve them in like

84 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

a f Hec te they bring forth, with the other Of erings Of a and purification , puppies for s crifice ; those who need ’ ceremonial cleansing they rub al l over with puppies skins ; and they call this right of purification by the

name O f P eri scyl acism u s . Or is it because the Roman word Lup u s signifies a ’ and Lu erca li a a ? wolf, p wolves fe st A dog is the enemy of a wolf ; and on th a t a ccount he would ’ a naturally be s acrificed at the wolves festiv l . a al l a a at Or is it , fter , simply bec use the dogs b rk and annoy the Luperci a s they run through the streets ? Yet it m ay be to the God P an that the a ff as an f a to s crifice is O ered , the dog is Of ering gr teful P an n u o acco nt Of his herds of goats .

R . . . XLIV . ( Q LXXV )

Why wa s i t tha t they never ex ti ngu i shed a ’ l a m bu t su ered i t to d i e ou t o i tse p , ﬁ f lf

WA S a a it bec use they reverenced it s of kindred stock , na O f a a y, even the brother the fire th t is unquench ble and immortal ? wa s a a a s a Or this lso symbolic l , showing th t one n or a a un ought not to i jure destroy nything th t lives, a s a less it h rms our elves first , seeing th t fire resembles a a For h a s e Of living cre ture it n ed nourishment , it - and is self moved , when extinguished it utters a voice a s if it were being Slain . a a a Ag in , the custom te ches us th t we ought not to injure either fire or water or any other necessary thing af h as our a at ter it served turn , but to llow others th QUESTIONS FROM PLUTAR CH 85 need to make use of it ; and to relinquish it to other folk when we ourselves no longer need it .

L . . V R . XLV. ( Q XX I )

Wha t i s the rea son tha t men of p a tri ci a n bi rth wea r up on th ei r shoes li ttl e ima g es of the moon ?

IS as a a a of a it , C stor s ys , token the belief th t the a and a a our a moon is inh bited , th t fter de th our souls shall again have the moon at their feet ? Or h as this always been the mark of the most — ancient families as were those of the Arcadians de a and a e P rosel eni or scended from Ev nder c ll d , born before the moon a a Or does this f shion , like m ny others , put in remembrance those of a high and lofty spirit of the a a affa and mut bility of hum n irs , using the moon the phases thereof as an emblem

Out of th e oom sh e rin s h er cr sc nt i h t gl b g e e l g , A nd to full orb sh e waxes nigh t by nigh t Yet sta th not nor s h er ci rc ri h t ye , keep le b g , B ut nd ai s a in ti ani h c ar r m i h fades a f l ga ll v s ed le f o s g t .

Or was it a lesson of obedience to those under a a uthority, th t they should not be discontented , but , e as and a ven the moon willingly obeys her lord m ster , and a a t kes the second pl ce ,

E r turnin h er az to th e s n our of th e Sun God ve g g e ple d . as Pa h as so a b e rmenides it , lso should they content to and t o to hold the second degree , be subject their 86 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH

a and a a of and le der, to enjoy sh re the power honour that are derived from him

L . L V . X VI . (R Q XI )

' Why di d not th e R oma ns ever suﬂer the ta bl e to be wh ol ly clea red of the mea ts bu t h a d a lwa ys s omethi ng l eft up on i t

WA S it that they darkly hinted thereby the duty of leaving always something of present store for the time and To -d a to to come , while it is y remember the Morrow ? Or did they account it a token of elegant manners to keep the appetite under restraint and control whilst

‘ the opportu nity for enjoyment was still before them ? For are of a a not men less desirous wh t they h ve , when they h ave a ccustomed themselves to refrain from what they have . Or was the custom one of consideration for their servants ? For servants are better contented to p artake with their masters th an merely to t ake food from a a them , feeling th t thereby they do in some me sure a a a sh re with their m sters in the f re provided . But perh aps the real reason is that we Should never suffer any sacred thing t o remain empty ; and a the t ble is indeed a sacred thing .

88 QUESTIONS FROM PLUTARCH perchance is also the reason why in thi s same month they worship Mercury ; for the month h as its name from his mother Maia . A better reason m ay be that (as some say) the a of Ma Ma or a is and n me y is derived from i , th t , elder ; J uni or a a e th e of une from j , th t is , younger in g , time a a a as a youth being more conson nt with m rri ge , we re d in Euripides

To Love and Wedlock Age must bid farewell ; Th e Qu n f i n n of r ee o Love w ll o e c abbed Age .

wa s a a a M a Therefore it th t the Rom ns m rry not in y, a for u but w it J ne which comes next in order . SUP P LEMEN TARY Q UESTION S

I— h d i d the R om n com QUESTION . W y a ma nd ers h a ng the sp oli a opima up on th e sa cred oa k i n the C ap i tol

‘ ’ a a a a N OW the spoli opim , being the rms of hostile general t aken from him by the general of the Roman nd ff Feretriu s a army a o ered to Jupiter , h ve been a dedic ted only thrice in the history of the city to wit , and a by Romulus , by Aulus Cornelius Cossus , by M rcus ‘ Claudius Marcellus . M ay it not be that the o ak was not only dedicated and a a t h e a as m de s cred to Jupiter by Rom ns , being and a all a the strongest most m jestic of trees , but th t they also claimed some afﬁnity and kinship with it

as h as - themselves , been shown in the ninety second a a question For the Arc di ns , with whose king , a E a a a a a Ev nder, ne s m de lli nce , were wont to comp re k s o a a . a h a themselves with the for ntiquity Or r ther , not the oak in all times been con secrated to the F ather a s a a a at a of the Gods , for ex mple the or cul r tree Dodon 2 a a and a in Thess ly, whereof Herodotus spe ks , ne r to which stood a temple of Zeus Pliny the Elder tells 3 ‘ a are and us th t trees the temples of spirits , simple folk in the country still dedicate a noble tree to some

M r l l i i . . . . E i t. . and u tarch a ce u s ii . L vy , I x IV xx , p xx Pl , , v

H ro otus ii . 57. i n N . H . x ii . r . e d , Pl y , p ef 90 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

a of are a d one of the Gods . The v rious kinds trees s cre o ak b a t o their protecting spirits ; the to Jupiter, the y a t o tree to Apollo , the olive to Minerv , the myrtle ’

a ul . Venus , the white popl r to Herc es It m ay be that Vergil was thinking both of the spolia opima and o f the Arc adian oak -trees when he makes Pa llas the son o f Evander vow to hang upon ’ Tiber s o ak the spoils of Hal eesu s

r i l Heec arm a ex uviasqu e viri tu a q ue cu s h ab eb t .

But the pra ctice of hanging votive offerings upon trees is a common one a s Vergil also mentions in his 2 twelfth E neid that there was a sa cred olea ster

nautis olim venerabile lignum on which mariners when saved from Shipwreck used t o ’ 3 h ang their garments and we read in Ovid s Fa sti of ’ Diana s sa cred grove at A ri cia whose enclosure was ff covered with the o erings of her worshippers . Nor is the custom conﬁned to Rome or It aly ; we ﬁnd it in a P a a and a a and a Asi Minor , lestine , Indi , Ar bi , in m ny 4 a at p arts of Europe . Thus we know th t Ephesus the great goddess Artemis h ad both the o ak and the ol ive a and a t h ad consecr ted to her, Delos She her mother ’ 5 a - d a Leto s p lm tree . Her im age an other s cred things were hung from the branches of these trees and it is thought by some that the trees themselves were Objects of reveren ce before the worship of the goddess wa s

. For as a connected with them , Pliny s ys , every tree ’ a a h th spirit dwelling within it .

2 E n. . 42 E 3. n. xu . 766 s . Fa s i iii . 263 . x qq t , sqq — . raz r G . B . vol . i . . 55 9 8 om of wh os m i h Cf F e , pp s e e exa ples m g t h a n nown n to ut rch ve bee k eve Pl a . 5 Cf. an M th Ri tua l and R eli ion vol . 11 . . 239 . L g , y , , g , p

9 2 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS herbs plucked in the citadel by th e feti a li s or herald whereby the persons of such heralds were made invio lable . This form of war- standard appears to have remained a a a unchanged in the Rom n rmy until the consul M rius , a in his reforms of their milit ry system , introduced the a was Silver e gle, which the symbol of Jupiter Optimus a a as a Maximus . The dor tion which w undoubtedly p id to the older standards was then transferred t o the eagles and it is worthy of notice tha t in time of peace a of a od they were pl ced in the temple S turnus , the g of 1 sowing .

OTE —A custom of th e Ar ans in n i a cit b an th N . y I d ed y L g My , ’ Ritua a nd R i i on vol . i . . 1 00 ma com ar with th e Rom an l , el g , p ) y be p ed O s r anc an one wi sh s hi s arm to ictori ous h e sh ou o b e v e : If y e y be v , ld g on th e b att - in cut a sta of rass and th row it a ainst bey d le l e , lk g g h i m i nd i ’ th e enemy t e h ost le army beco es spl t a d ssolved .

— QUE S TION III Why were th e ol d es t temp l es a t R ome ci rcu l a r i n form

WA S as a VitruvIu s h as a it , the rchitect suggested , th t u a a was an of u a the circ l r Sh pe invention the Etr sc ns , and a as the Rom ns borrowed it from them , they did a a a a and a lso m ny other m tters , both s cred prof ne Or ‘ sa su ﬂi cient and does Vitruvius y this without evidence , is it only an example of the desire to tra ce all Roma n art u a ? at to Etr sc n origin Indeed , the one temple Rome which was most probably of Etruscan design wa s the a a a a and a gre t s nctu ry of Jove on the C pitoline hill , th t , as al l w was a a . the world kno s , not round but qu dr te

Tao. A nn . 11. 1 7. SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS 9 3

hi a And Vitruvius mself, in describing the Etrusc n style 1 and a a a a in his third fourth books , l ys down pl n for a a a a of rect ngul r temple h ving three isles , which the a M a a central one should be the gre test . y we not r ther assume that the earliest abodes of the gods were ma de on the same plan a s the earliest dwellings of men ? And there is much evidence that these were often circul ar and sometimes dome -Shaped or like a 2 beehive . a a a Cert inly the e rly Rom ns dwelt in round huts , whereof the walls were wooden and the roofs thatched C a s a R omu li with straw . The or Hut of Romulus preserved on the eastern Side of the Pa latine Hill was a of this sh ape and built of these m teri als . This was supposed to be the home in which the founder of Rome dwelt for a sp a ce while his city was in building ; and wa s a a under the ch rge of cert in priests , whose duty it was to preserve it a s ne arly a s possible in its original state and to rep air it c arefully if it were damaged by a a rain or wind . Now it is cert in th t Romulus wa s worsh ipped a s a god under the n ame Quirinus ; and the C a s a R omu li was regarded as an abode of the a deity . It would not therefore be str nge to ﬁnd the Shrines of others of the early gods made of Similar 3 Shape ; and the Cella of Hercul es in the Forum B o ari um F a a t a and , those of ortun Pr eneste of — ! Albunea at Tibur al l of whom are primitive Italian —ar a h ad ll deities e ctually s o built . These temples a of them circular openings in the centre of the roof ; and such Openings m ay well h ave been Oopied also from the arrangement of the primitive huts ; which

2 - Vi t . iii . 2 i v. 7. . B arin Gou S tra n e S urvi va l s . ; Cf g ld , g m Called by some th e Te ple of Vesta . 9 4 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS would have an opening to allow the esc ape of smoke 1 from the hearth . a as Afterwards in the l rger round temples , such the P was a antheon , which built by Agripp under Augustus , the circular Opening m ay have t aken a religious Sig nce a a niﬁc a , th t the priests or worshippers might p y 2 M a one their vows under the open Sky . y not even comp are with this the custom noted in the seventy ’ Second question that an augur s lantern must be always open at the top The pra ctice of building the monuments of the a as ae a a dea d in a circul r form , the tomb of C cili Metell a W a and a a a on the Appi n y , th t of H dri n by the Tiber , m ay likewise h ave been due to the idea that the dwelling - place of the dead should in some sort resemble a that of the living . But the Spirits of the de d are in a as as a sense reg rded divine , being worshipped Dii Manes ; and most of all the spirit of a Di vus Imperator ; m a a a so that a tomb y lso be ccounted a temple .

— s N OTE It i s pointed ou t i n th e life of N um a th at th e sacred ﬁre m aintai ned by th e Ve stal s i n th e midst of a round temple corresponds to th e Pyth agore an doctrine of a central ﬁre wh i ch th e Pyth agoreans called é o‘r ia in th e midst of a round universe : and Plutarch takes th i s as evi dence th at Numa derived much of h i s religi ous system from th a oras wh o was th e on Gr h i oso h r w nown to th e Py g , ly eek p l p e ell k

ta ians . B ut th e worsh i of sta i s far o r th an th a oras and I l p Ve lde Py g , belongs to th e pre -h i stori c d ays before th e s eparation of th e Grmco i r i n i h e nn i n f um i h Ital an ace to ts two branch es . T co ex o o N a w t Pyth agoras appears to h ave been sugge ste d wh en th e story of h i s i nter ‘ ’ cours with ri a c as to i . . S ntr. to i e Ege e ed be bel eved Cf eeley, I L vy,

40 . i . p .

Th e opening in th e roof of th e Cella would of course similarly a ow th e sca of th e sacri ci a smo r m th e a ar ll e pe ﬁ l ke f o lt . 2 Cf . R . . . ut. N uma 1 1 . Q XXXVIII Pl ,

9 6 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

a a there is this to be s id on the other Side , th t the oldest form of burial seems to h ave been not cremation but was inhum ation . In other words , the body not com a m itted to the ﬂames but directly to the earth . Cert inly ’ a Le ib u s a a Cicero , in his tre tise De g , s ys th t the most a of a a a ncient form buri l is th t which , ccording to u a for a Xenophon , Cyr s dem nded himself , n mely the 1 restorin g of the corpse t o the earth . But we know from Homer that a mongst the Greeks cremation was at a in common use the Siege of Troy, which took pl ce a a and m ny ye rs before the founding of Rome ; Virgil , 2 EEneid a a ZE neas and in his sixth , ssumes th t his Troj ans employed it habitually ; for he gives us an elaborate description of the funeral rites performed in a honou r of Misenus . Howbeit he m kes no mention a a of stone implements, but r ther implies th t they used d axes an wedges O f iron . It i s true th at we need not accept Vergil a s an authority for antiquity ; but we m ay t ake his statements a s indic ating the usage of his own times . And it would seem from them that a s regards funeral rites the strictness of ritua l h a d given way to pra ctica l convenience ; and that funeral pyres a were constructed with ordin ry tools .

- QUESTION V . Why were the R oma n weights commonly ma d e of s tone

MA Y not the answer to this be found in what h as already been said in the examination of the la st a a a question , n mely th t the m teri al used in primitive and barbarous ages was retained in later and civilised

3 - D e Le . ii . 22 . E g n. vi . 214 231 . SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS 9 7

times on account of the s acred and religious assoc iations belonging to it W e know that amongst the Romans weights and measures were regarded as possessing a special religious of Signiﬁcance . The stone which the weights were composed wa s even c alled l ap i s d i vi nu s ; they might a ea: u ovi s l a i d e of one not be m de g p , but only sort , which is of extreme hardness and varies in colour from a a light green to a dark olive . Its tr nsp arency re a o f wax and c an a sembles th t , it be polished to high a a degree of brilliancy . It is in f ct Species of that ja d e which is found in almost every p art of the world and of which the s avages in the later stone a ges m ade their ﬁ a and a and nest xes other we pons implements . Examples of these have been found by excavators on

a and a a - the site of ncient Troy , mongst the l ke dwell T are a ings in Switzerland . here m ny specimens pre served in museums of ancient Roman weights some of them h ave inscribed upon their upper surface the names of the magistrates under whom they were issued a s well a s the number of librae or u nci se which they An d one a an ins ri represented . there is which be rs c p tion stating th at by the a uthority of Augustus the weight wa s preserved in the temple of Ops the wife of 1 a a a a the God S aturn . It is tr dition mong the Christi ns at Rome that many of these weights were hung about uff the necks of those who S ered for their religion , in order to drown them in the Tiber : and for this reason they are commonly called martyr - weights or martyr a t rum are a t stones (l ap i d es m r y ) . They s id o h ave

us um in th e o i o R m For It i s i n th e Kirch eri an M e C lleg o ano . a ’ ac o nt of th i s i nt r stin su ct see acmi an s R oma n Mosaics full c u e e g bje M ll , i r to whi ch I am indebted for th e a bove part c ula s . 98 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS been thus used by order of the Emperor Diocletian

(about A D .

- h wa s the P orta C a ena so ca ll ed QUESTION VI . W y p

WA S as a a a W a it , some ssert , bec use the Appi n y, which a a di a a ? p sses under it , le ds rect from Rome to C pu W e do not ﬁnd the other gates of the City called by the names of any place to which the roads p assing a : a are a through them le d on the contr ry , they lmost invari ably n amed a fter that p art of Rome which lies i in a nearest to them . Thus the Port a E squ l a nd Porta Collina take their names from the E squiline and Colline hills ; a nd the Porta S alutaris is evidently so a of a or a c lled from the Temple S lus S fety, which

a . a am st nds close beside it So lso , unless I much a a a S an u al is mist ken , is the n me of the Port q on the north -west of the Quirinal connected with the neigh b ourin a g temple of the god Semo S ncus . a P a a a on Now , we know th t outside the ort C pen , a a a s a the left of the Appi n W y one le ves Rome, there was a a a and a grove s cred to the nymph Egeri , spring a d a of w ter which is ﬂowing there to this y . This nymph Egeria wa s one Of the Italian Muses who are a c lled in the L atin tongue C a smenoe or C a mena . What is more likely th an that the gate was c alled at P orta C a mena and a a u the ﬁrst , fterw rds corr pted by the vul gar who c ared n othi ng for the muses and a a a a reg rded only the pr ctic l purpose of the ro d, to and a a P orta C a ena ? connect Rome C pu , into p Certainly we cannot afford to p art with any vestige of the legend of the S abine king and his mysterious b a d ride ; the Muse who , like her sisters of Greece, h unte

100 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

eni ta li s s i ri tu s mund i an a creation , g p ; which is ide its a a and a ve cogn ate with deriv tion from F unus f o . a a a There is , however, nother deriv tion , perh ps less a c a worthy of consider tion , which conne ts the n me of Fa unus with f a ri a s the speaking or prophetic god ; a nd in support of this it m ay be urged that he was a lso a F a tu u s a s f known by the n me of , his wi e or sister ro h e sIe d was a F a tu a Fauna who p p to women c lled . The story will be remembered 1 which records the

capture of F aunus and Picus by Numa . There was a fountain on th e Aventine Mount whither these two

‘ a deities were wont to resort . Num desired their pro

h eti c aid a . p , but knew not how to obt in it By the advice of Egeri a he poured wine into the Spring : wh en n d Fa a a and P i ou s a unus c me , they dr nk were overcome

a . W a by the potency of the dr ught hile they Slept , Num a a bound them f st , nor would he rele se them , though a they , like Proteus with Arist eus ,

mni a trans ormant s s i n mi ra cu a r ru m 2 O f e e l e ,

al l a till they h ad told him his desire . The tr nsformation p art of the legend h as m any p arallels as for example the c apture of Thetis (who like Proteus was a water

deity) by Peleus . And the whole story m ay be com p ared with th at told by Vergil of Silenus in the sixth Eclogue : the p art of Egeria in the strata gem being ‘ ’ ZE l e N aiad u m a t aken by g pulcherrim . It is worthy of notice that among m odern Italians the belief in wood spirits is by no means extinct and a story i s told of one who h a d stolen milk from a farmer and was outwitted in a a a a a a f shion th t ex ctly repe ts the trick pl yed by Numa . The farmer placed two milk -p ails ready for the

utarch N uma 15 and f c . R . . Pl , , ; Q XXI .

Ver . . i 44 1 f h v. o . utarc N uma 15 . g G ; Pl , , SUPPLEME NTARY QUESTIONS 101

’ d a an . a Spirit s next visit , cont ining milk wine F unus — — if we m ay so c all him un suspectingly drinks ; is overcome by the unwonted strength of the mixture i s a and th e a a s of c ught bound by f rmer , who the price relea se insists on being taught the art of makin g cheese 1 So much for F aunus a s the god of prophecy : as the god of spring he wa s honoured in the great festival of a a of h as a Luperc li , which mention been m de in the - a a sixty eighth question . This fe st took pl ce on the 1 5th F a as a wa s of ebru ry , which , we h ve seen , the time of year when the breeze Favonius might be expected to begin to blow . Another less import ant feast was of and was a held in the Nones December, c lled the ’ Faun ali a a a . It celebr ted the conclusion of the ye r s a l bour in the ﬁelds , the time when

stab ul i s gaudet p ecu s et arator igni 2 (th e ox enjoys th e byre and th e h usbandman h i s ﬁre)

’ m a so far a a a if one y v ry Hor ce s line . The s me poet h a s given u s another ode expressly composed for the December festival

Fa une nymph arum fugi entum am ator

aunus woo r of th e m h s th at ﬂ th (F , e Ny p y ee) ,

4 and in a third he illustrates the fact that the Augu stan a ge identiﬁed Fa unus with the Arc adian P an ; who often quits his loved haunts upon Mount Lyc aeus for a a a Lucre il i the ch rms of It li n t s .

as P an was a trOo of Ha ul er/c t And followed by p o , a and a a a so little sprites of kindred n ture ppe r nce , there were many woodlan d elves c alled Fauni wh o

Gr n r W hi a ors o Roma ns . 106 . 0 d . 1 . iv. ge , p f , p d 0 . . iii . d . . III xv 0 1 xvi . 102 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

lurked in the deep Silence of the forest , sometimes F breaking it with their songs and merriment . rom s aw or saw time to time country folk , thought they , l them in the ﬁelds and Vergil in the exordium of his ’ Georgics invokes them as the guardian spirits of the rural folk

z’ Vos agrestum praesentia numina Fauni .

The functions of F aunus and his goddess -wife or a a a s and and sister F un protectors of the ﬂocks herds , their connexion with the wolf- nurse of Romulus and

are S . . . Remus , discussed in Q IX

S — h wa s the a ce o a R oman QUE TION VIII . W y f f 9 genera l a t hi s tri ump h p a i nted wi th vermi li on .

PE R HAPS we m ay best begin the answer to this a a question by sking nother, to which reference is 3 m ade elsewhere : Wh y was the s acred image of Jupiter p ainted by the censors on entering upon their f ? For a a m a a not a o ﬁce the re l re son y h ve been , th t was one a and it of the e siest simplest of their duties , but that it was a rite of the highest religious impor a t nce . And the history of the rite seems to be something of a the following n ture . In all countries and in all ages the blood of s acriﬁce h as been an essential element of religious worshi p . a a an In the e rliest times of which we h ve y record , the blood was spilt upon a n altar consisting either of a single slab of rough stone or of smaller stones a a he ped together . The reason for this appears to h ve been primarily to prevent the blood from being shed

ucr ti us 3 iv. 582 s . . i . 10 . R . . C . L e , qq G Q X VIII

1 04 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

’ a a a a t fathers , g ve s nction to the ret ining of obsole e a a n i a and a as a a a . ceremoni l , cted ch rm g i st innov t on a a a a It seems at ﬁrst little extr ordin ry, in the f ce a so a a a u a of this , th t m rked ch nge co ld h ve been permitted a s the substitution of an imitative substance

for th e original blood of s acrifice . But this seems to be in accordance with a recognised religious or quasi 1 legal ficti on . The anointing with oil or fat was regarded as an a as a equiv lent , for ex mple the ceremony which took pla ce when the bride entered the doorway of her new wa s an a to a home . It the custom in cient It ly s crifice 2 a pig at weddings ; and the door- posts of the home f f a a a were rubbed with the at o the nim l . Oil w s 3 a and th e F a a poured upon s cred stones , r tres Arv les at Rome used to anoint with oil the ima ges of the a goddesses . There seems indeed to h ve been a speci al sanctity attached to the mi ni u m which was used for a in the s ame purpose . It w s employed in funeral scri ti ons and a a a a p , for m rking import nt p ss ges in 4 e a a a documents . W h ve seen that the gre t st tue of Jupiter in the C apitol wa s p ainted with it ; and this brings us back to the question with which we started why was the face of the triumphing general subjected to the same treatment ? For this reason : beca u se he wa s on th e d a y of hi s tri u mp h the embod iment or i nca rna ti on o the o as t f g d . The god w believed o have been present to give victory to the Roman arms

Com ar th e h a s of oni ons and o i s o f r to o th at p e e d p pp e f e ed J ve , h e migh t strike th em wi th h i s th underbolts rath er th an th e h ea ds of men nd ; a th e straw u ts th rown annua i nto th e Ti e r. R . p ppe lly b Q .

XXXII .

P li n. N . H. iii . 135 . f. ii . 18. xxv C Gen. xxvi

Cic . A d A . tt 15 . 14 .

1 06 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

a moment of his consecr tion , which gives him the ’ ‘ ’ a fﬁ a s divine right , the roy l priesthood , to hold o ce ’ 1 God s representative among the sons of men .

— h wa s i t a ccounted u nl u ck to see QUE STION IX . W y y 9 th e R oma ns a nd i nd eed th e Ita li a ns a wol . F or f , enera l l beli eved th a t th e si h t o a wol wa s g y , g f f d a ngerou s ; a nd if th e ma n were s een ﬁ rs t by th e 2 t i k n d u mb wolf he wou l d be s r c e .

MA Y a a sa a we , fter the f shion of Euhemerus , y th t this superstition is but a survival or unconscious remini s cence of the time when wolves were t oo plentiful in the l and and were a serious peril to the country folk For wolves are wont to go about not singly but in a and a m an a comp nies , if met with them , especi lly if a a a was a they c me upon him un w res , it like enough th t a a a a a a he would never spe k g in , for the be st h ving le pt upon him would give him small chance of esc aping to m s th e a . a wa tell the t le Euhemerus , it y be noted , critic who expounded all fables by the rules of common 3 a a a and sense s ying , for ex mple , th t the myth of Apollo D aphne arose from there having been a young maiden

a ! of the n me , who being pursued by her lover hid her a and a self behind a l urel bush so esc ped him . But this does not seem entirely s atisfactory for the causes which are a dduced are for the most p art wholly a a a in dequ te to ccount for the results . May it not h ave been connected with the belief

’ . ons ntr. Hi st. R el . ch . . ri sth oo . Cf Jev , I xx P e d 2 ir E . x 22 . cl i . 54 Th eo . x i v . V g ; c .

. Max Miil l er N i neteenth C entur Jan. 1 882 uot Mr. an Cf , y, , q ed by L g i n C ustom and Myth . SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS 1 07 that the spirits or daemons which haunt the forests d a and a h as an hills , the f uns silv ni of whom mention

a S . . . a a been m de in Q VII , were wont to ppe r in wolf Shape ? And in al l countries where belief in the super — n atural exists - and where does it not it h a s a lways been considered dangerous if not fatal to meet a spirit 1 a or a deity face to f ce . It m ay be objected that P an and F aunus and al l their kindred tribe of woodland gods are generally supposed to have the attributes not of wolves but of a as a of go ts , even Hor ce writes aures ’ ri d at rorum aca tas cap p e um S y , and as Praxiteles and other sculptors have represented a a i a i s them . But little consider tion w ll Show th t this a a a and a a not lw ys the c se, th t the wolf no less th n the a and a goat is akin to them both in n ture n me . To Lu erca li a are a begin with , the p which tre ted of in are F a Question LXVIII . held in honour of unus and h is tribe ; and we h ave seen that the n ame is derived l u u s a a a a wh from p wolf , which is perh ps re son y a 3 Lu r u dog is s acriﬁced at the festival . p e c s is another a Fa wh o was a n me for unus , worshipped in grotto c alled the Lup erca l under the Palatine Hill ; and it is evident that the young men cla d in goatskins wh o were called Lup erci represented fauns as being p artly was a f a wolves . It p rt o the ceremony th t their faces Should be smeared with the blood of the victims Slain

Cf. ons R . . . and u s vi . 22 iii . 22 . Jev , Q XLV , J dge , x 2 d . xi x . 0 . II 3 ‘ ’ Th e nam : wo - ri r ri m l u - ro us a rceo i . e. th e r e lf d ve , de ved f p , p o ‘ tector from wolves i s himself a wolf ; on th e principle similia similibu s ’ curantur. 108 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

n a a s a i s crifice this , we h ve seen in our discussion of w l a . a S Q . VIII , ou d be token th t they represented n a s a a deities of some sort . A d it w lso essenti l in the ritual that when the blood wa s wiped from their fa ces with a go atskin they should l augh aloud and Show h m a a s an a their teeth , w ich y be interpreted imit tion l fi h a a a a m a of the wo s n ture . So th t the Luperc li y be regarded as a combin ation of two beliefs a s to the sylvan deities ; one being that they h ad the nature of a h a d a o f a . go ts , the other th t they the n ture wolves There is another aspect of the question which confirms the idea th at a wolf wa s regarded a s the a incarna tion of a f un or wood spirit . The Luperc al or grotto on the Mons Palatinus wa s believed to be the place where the wolf suckled the twins Romulus an d a a a a Remus . And we h ve seen th t it w s lso the

a - a st rting point of the course t ken by the Luperci , who

themselves represented fauns . Surely this is more an a an and m a a th ch ce coincidence , y signify th t the sons of Rhea were brought up under the guardianship 1 of w an h a s of the spirits the oodl d . Moreover, it been a f a a pointed out in Question XXI . th t the wol th t re red wa s a a a for hi them ided by woodpecker, the n me w ch a P i in L tin is cu S . This reminds us of the story a lready

. . n quoted in S Q VII . of Picus a d Faunus being in comp any with one another when Numa c aptured them at a A n i i . d N d iu s i s f the fount in g , who re erred to in

R . . X X L a a a Q , s ys th t where woodpecker is seen in 2 a far the woods wolf is never away . L astly we m ay observe the n ame whi ch is given by

Th e wolf -nurse was dei ﬁed u nder th e name of Lu perce and made th e wi of aunu s or u rc us . . Hartun R el . d er Rdrner ii . 177. fe F L pe Cf g , , mm o sen . x ii . conn cts oth wo nd wo r wi th ars . M , I , e b lf a odpecke M

SUPPLEM ENTARY QUESTIONS 109

1 Livy (wh o doubtless follows an ancient tradition) to the herdsman wh o discovered the children in the lair a F a a a of the wolf . He c lls him ustulus n me which bears a suggestive resemblance to that of the god and is certainly of cogn ate origin . There are many beliefs and superstitions in Italy and n a m a other cou tries bout wolves , which it y be all worth while to notice brieﬂy . They tend to Show that a wolf was regarded as something more th an a w a a and a was mere ild nim l , th t it thought to possess ’ supern atural powers and inﬂuence over men s lives and u fort nes . S oract e a On Mount , which lies on the west b nk of of was an a a Tiber to the north Rome , there nnu l

a - festiv l in honour of Apollo the Sun god . A fire was a and a kindled on the top of the mount in , cert in young men of the S abines who were called Hi rp i used to leap hi r u s through the flames unscathed . Now p in the 2 a S abine dialect means wolf . Pliny gives the follow ing legend to accou nt for the pra ctice . On a certai n a a was ff occ sion , when s crifice being o ered , some wolves n o f came a d c arried off the flesh the victims . They a a a were pursued by the shepherds , who c me to c ve which exhaled poisonous vapours (evidently a volcanic h a d a outlet) . AS the Shepherds ventured too ne r, a f a re pestilence ollowed , presum bly to punish their p

. a an a an d sumption They sought dvice from or cle , were told that the plague would be stayed if th ey imi ta ted wol ve as u d s . The story looks tho gh it h a been invented to account for the rite ; it is noticeable a a of a S ora cte and however th t the n me the mount in , , a l a a are a th t of the wo ves , which were c lled Sor ni , cogn te

i I. . 6 N . H. vu . 19 u ot Gran r L vy , v . , q ed by ge . 1 10 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

l nu s and S u b sol anu s L a i a a with S o a , t n n mes for the e st 1

: . wind words obviously derived from Sol , the sun Hirpi Sorani would therefore mean the wolves s acred

! to the Sun god . The festival held on the Lycaean Mount (the wolf mountain) in Arcadi a in honour of Zeus was undoubtedly ae and connected with the worship of the wood d mons ,

as a S . . P an a we h ve seen ( Q VII) , who h unted the Arc adian hills was identified by the Romans with 2 L Fa . a a c eea a a a unus This festiv l , c lled y , ppe rs to h ve a a and wa s been celebr ted every ninth ye r, held within a t S t a the s cred inclosure on the Om pe k . None but a a a a priests were llowed to t ke p rt in the s crifices , a w which included human victim . This victim as a a m an a a Sl in by chosen by lot, who immedi tely fter the s acrifice was compelled to t ake flight (like the Rex S a crorum in Question and to wander for nine a a a In a of ye rs , ccording to popul r belief , the Sh pe

a . a a a wolf In the tenth ye r , h ving expi ted the a a h i s a a s a sl ughter, he reg ined hum n Sh pe . They y , a a a a a moreover, th t Lyc on the mythic l king of Arc di , and a a of ff f ther of C llisto the beloved Zeus , o ered in s acriﬁce to Zeus a child upon the altar he h ad raised a and a a at upon the mount in , th t Zeus , being ngered a n f a . his wickedness , ch nged him i to wol But this a Hir i story, like th t of the p , is one of those myths which are a a a a a a c lled etiologic l , th t is , invented to expl in F r h as m a custom . o it been well s aid th at ritual y 3 a c an often be the p rent of myth , but never be its

child . This account of the Lycaean festival and of its

1 ’ For u tarch s i ws on th e i nt rch n f . Pl v e e a ge o R and L see Q . LIV 2 3 Hor. d . . ii . C raz r G . . . i v. I xv F e , B II

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS 1 1 1 supposed origin introduces a new feature of the super i ions a a a a m a s t t bout wolves , n mely, th t hum n beings y h be transformed into them . T is belief is found widely a a a Spre d over Europe, more especi lly mong Teutonic ‘ ’ peoples whose legends of were - wolves are matters of common knowledge . To conﬁne ourselves for the to and a present Rome It ly, there is the story in ’ Petronius which is told a t some length in Becker s

Gallus and m ay be brieﬂy related here . a a t a a B ssus , one of the guests b nquet given by a a Lentulus , t kes up the question of met morphosis , which a ne of a h ad been st rted in jest by o the comp ny . He i s a and a a h as inclined to tre t it seriously, decl res th t he n a good evide ce for his belief in its possibility . L ugh ’ as a c an a you will , s id he , I give you sound uthority for the belief in a circumstance which h appened to a m an well known to myself ; the facts are enough t a a a o m ke your h ir st nd on end . If you wish it I will give you them . a a a a My inform nt , who is now we lthy freedm n , told me that in his days of slavery he wa s wont to deposit his savings with a certain innkeeper and his f h ad a a w a . i e , for whom he gre t reg rd They lived a a a a at bout ﬁve miles from C pu , the Sl ve himself lived ’ a his m ster s house in the town . ! ! O d a a a a a ne y , s id he , I he rd to my gre t grief th t the innkeeper h ad suddenly died ; and I natu rally felt anxious to go and see if it were possible to be of any a service to the family . My master h ppened to be a b u t a a was a was a bsent , str nger who soldier st ying a a at in the house . I begged him to ccomp ny me a to and nightf ll the house of my friend , he consented

s o . wa s a to do It bright moonlight when we st rted , 1 12 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

and was a s a a s a everything cle r midd y . When we were about h alfway my comp anion halted beside some a a sepulchr l monument by the ro dside . I went on for a a and little sp ce , , ﬁnding he did not follow, I looked a a round . And this w s wh t I saw. He h a d taken off h is clothes and l aid them in the roa d ; sp at thrice upon

wa a a nd i mme them , lked round them in circle , d i a tely m beca me a wolf. I a telling you no lie : it is the sober truth . While I looked he uttered a howl and a a s spr ng into the thicket . At ﬁrst I w p aralysed with a a nd a horror , then I plucked up my cour ge pproached — the Spot to t ake up the clothes they h a d become 1 ’ ! a a a f stone I rushed w y tow rds my riend s dwelling , waving my Sword an d striking at the Sha dows a s I a a went . I re ched the house more de d than a live my ’ poor friend s wife was n aturally a stonished to se e me at ‘ ’ an and a . a S h e such hour in such plight But , s id , a as am h ad gl d I of your presence , you but come a little e arlier you would h ave been even more welcome for a wolf h as just been breaking into the outbuild h a ings and as killed sever l Sheep . But he did not esc ape unpunished ; for my slave thrust him through ’ f a a . Yo u w a with spe r ill oresee the end of the t le . I a wa a n and h stened home rd e rly next morni g , when I re ached the pla ce where the clothes h a d l ain I saw a nothing but a pool of blood . But on rriving at my ’ master s house I found my late comp anion lying in w nd . wa s a a a a bed There l rge ound in his neck , m an wa s a wa s a a . surgeon b nd ging it The , in f ct , one of those creatures we c all versip el l es or Skin changers and a eat a a never ag in could I bre d in his comp ny .

1 i r h e a m h Thi s seems a gratuitous a ddit on . O does t m n ean t at h e saw noth ing b ut th e st ones of th e roa dwa y

114 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

as - a - a - or P t Spirit , the Rye wolf, B rley wolf, O ts wolf, ota o th e to a a wolf, Spirit being supposed be c ught in the l st a or a a and she f h ndful of the crop g thered , sometimes to a of r a be killed by the l st stroke the Sickle o Sp de .

a e to . a ar (Pot toes , with due resp ct Mr Fr zer, e not

a . re ped ) Children , when they wish to go into the cornﬁel d s to g ather the blue corn - cockles or to pluck

a are a as - the e rs , w rned in such words , The corn wolf ’ ’ a will h ve you , The big wolf is sitting there . And the wolf against whom they are warned is not an a of hi s d e scri ordin ry wolf, for he is often spoken by p ’ a s - - tive title, The Rye wolf, or The Wheat wolf will ’ e at . h a all you up Still , the supposed monster s the a a a a a outward ppe r nce of wolf . An od d belief mong the peasants in E ast Prussi a was th at if a wolf was seen running through the c ornﬁel d s with his t ail on the ground it was a good omen for the h arvest ; but if a a a and a he c rried his t il high , he brought curse , not

and . blessing , must be killed In some p arts it is thought th at the wolf caught in the last sheaf lives during the winter in the farm buildings ready to renew hi s activit y a s corn spirit in

n . at the spri g Hence midwinter, when the lengthening a a d ys begin to her ld the return of spring , the wolf a a man makes hi s appearance once more . In Pol nd ’ with a wolf s Skin thrown over h is hea d is led about at a or a ff a a Christm s , stu ed wolf is c rried bout by persons h ’ w o collect money G . B . vol . SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS 1 1 5

X — h di the s QUESTION . W y d R oma n keep s erp ents i n t 9 1 hei r h ou s es . For we rea d i n P li ny th a t these crea tu res were so ca refu l ly rea red a nd tend ed i n the houses a t R ome th a t the beca me ver nu me u , y y ro s a nd if thei r nu mbers h a d not been red u ced from ti me to time by the grea t ﬁres whi ch u sed to occu r i n the ci t the wou l d h a e w d t t y , y v cro d e ou he hu ma n u t occ p a n s .

THE reason which Pliny gives in the same passage is that the Romans adopted the custom of keeping snakes as of od a pets when the worship Asklepios , the g of he l a a ZE scu l a iu s was ing , whom they c lled in L tin p , E id auros introduced into Rome from p , to which event h a d reference is m ade in R . Q . XCIV . There been a 2 a d a C X I A C an C C CL . U . . pl gue in the city , in the ye r the of a Sibylline books , being consulted by order the Sen te , directed that envoys Should be sent to bring the god 3 a E id au ros to Rome . So they c me to p in Argolis with offerings and prayed to Asklepios the son of Apollo th at he would of his own free will leave his temple An d a there and accompany them to Rome . it is s id a a and a a a th t he ssented , , t king the form of gre t

a . an serpent , went with them on bo rd their ship At y a a a a a r te , this much is cert in , th t they did bring b ck snake with them and th at the creature wa s landed out n a a di sa of the galley o to the Insul Tiberin , where it p peared from Sight . N w a a as h as a a o , sn ke , is well known , lw ys been ul a iu s a a the emblem of E sc p , p rtly bec use of its pro

1 1 B . C . 293 . H. i . 72 . N . xx x 3 i 4 and x i . it . Ov. Fa sti i . 291 . L vy , x . 7 Ep ; , 1 1 6 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

1 verb i al wisdom wise a s serpents being a common a a w s ying) , but chieﬂy bec use it is the symbol of rene ed F r off af life and youth . o it Sloughs its old skin ter every winter and comes forth in the Spring with its u n f new sc ales gleaming in the s . Where ore Vergil h as comp ared the appearance of Pyrrhus son of Achilles at the taking of Troy to the serpent that h as just renewed its youth

ual is u bi in l ucem c o u r ma a ramina a stus Q l be l g p , ri i a sub t rra tumid u m u m rum a t e eb at F g d e q e b g , unc ositi s no u s ex u vii s nitid u s u e i uventa N p v q , Lu bri ca convol vit subl a to pectore terga mi r r l 2 A rd uus a d so m et l in ui s cat o e t is u ci s . le , g

Th e wa s a and serpent therefore s cred to Asklepios , and a in serpents were kept re red his temples . But this scarcely commends itself as a sufﬁcient reason for the Rom ans havin g adopted these animals a a s and a gener lly pets ; the c use must , I think , be looked

for in quite a different direction . One of the most m arked cha racteristics of Roman a a a a religion , ch r cteristic which seems wholly Rom n , w a n n a wa s not borro ed from y exter l source , the belief in a a n T gu rdi an spirit or Ge ius . his spirit presided ’ a an a over m s birth , guided him through life , Sh red ‘ ’ h i s a nd wa s in fa a f joys sorrows , ct Second sel , a nd i m survived in h s Manes after death . A Ro an kept ’ a n f his birthd y in ho our o his genius . The genius h a d a n a a w was w w and lt r , hich cro ned with ﬂo ers on w f a a and n ff hich r nkincense , c kes , pure wi e were o ered . a f was a an d n The celebr nt himsel cl d in white , duri g the s a criﬁce m a de solemn vows and prayers for the

1 G en. iii . 1 a tt . . 1 6 Th e i a i s uni rsa . , M x . de ve l 1 E i n . i . 4 1 7 sqq.

1 18 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

possibly have m ade the household sn ake more popul ar ’ a a a a a s a h rmless necess ry domestic pet , even p rt from a as an a a the reverence p id to it inc rn tion of the genius . Cicero tells a strange story of the father of the a was an a and a m an a re Gr cchi , who ugur of gre t 1 a . a a a a a put tion for wisdom A p ir of str y sn kes , it ppe rs , were c aught in his house ; whereupon he consulted the h aruspices (an odd thing for an augur to do) as to

what was to be done with them . They replied that if a a he let the m le esc pe , his wife would shortly die but d hi if he let the female esc ape he woul die mself . He decided therefore t o meet death himself rather than ff : a a a su er his wife to die he rele sed the fem le sn ke , and died no long time a fterwards . It seems evident from the story t hat the two snakes were considered to represent the lives or souls of

Tiberius Gracchus and his wife Cornelia . But if this S O as a were , why , Cicero pertinently sks , Should not both snakes h ave been let go ? What need for destroying either of them ? One would rather have expected both a a as to h ve been preserved with the utmost c re , ’ M el e ager s mother preserved the firebrand which ’ represented her son s life . It is a lso strange to find a snake (as embodying a a a a genius) the represent tive of wom n . For women — — such wa s the unchivalrous Rom an belief could h ave no Genius (it is a s well to spell the word here ‘ a a a with c pit l) . Their extern al soul or second self ’ was a a . a a a c lled juno Juno M tron , the gre t goddess , ’ wa s the personific ation of the Roman m atron s life and was as d as a a She , it were , sub ivided into many ttend nts or guardi an Spirits as there were women in each house

1 D i v. . iii . . i . I xv , II xx x SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS 1 19

o a a and hold . In every house ccupied by Rom n his nd a d wife a genius a juno were worshippe together . a a s far as am a a But we ﬁnd no other inst nce , I w re , ’ a of a matron s juno being represented by serpent .

a - a Besides men , however , buildings , m rket pl ces , a and and the tres , townships , colonies , provinces , even u a a gods h ad their gen . The birthd y of a town w s kept in much the s ame spirit a s the birthday of an of individual . The festival the genius of the Roman a a n people w s celebr ted o the ninth of October . And a a a an a was the genius of pl ce , like th t of individu l ,

of a a - a represented in the likeness serpent . A w ll p inting discovered at Herculaneum represents a boy approaching i a a an altar round which a sn ake s coiled . The s cred c kes or li ba are on a a and a a strewn the lt r , the sn ke is e ting a : GE N I them . An inscription on the b ckground runs VS

HVIVS LOCI MONTIS . ’ Comp are with this Vergil s description of the Visit ’ n hi h ad of ZE e as to Anc se s s tomb . The hero just offered his prayer and poured the due libations to the Shade of his Sire a dytis cum l ub ricu s angui s ab imi s t m in ens ros se tena o umina trax it Sep e g gy , p v l , m us aci tumul um l a su u e er ara A plex pl de p sq p s .

a mi n n Ob stipuit Vi su ZEneas . Ille g e lo go an m int r ateras et i a ocul a s r ns T de e p lev p e pe , Lib avitque da pe s rurs usque innox iu s imo l ari l i ui S uccessit tumulo et d epasta a t a q t . Hoc ma i s ince tos nitori i nstaurat honor s g p ge e , Incert us geniumne loci famul umne parentis t 1 E sse pu et .

F r a a orth from the holy sh ine c me serpent gliding , with a train of sevenfold vast coils ; round the tomb it

1 84 e . E n. v . gg 1 20 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

a a smoothly swept and slid a cross the lt r . At the a sight [Eneas stood ama zed . The monster tr iling its and a huge length between the bowls gle ming cups , touched with it s lips the food and Slunk ba ck harmless n a a a a h a d be e th the tomb , le ving the lt rs where it fed . ZE neaS resumes with higher hopes the s a criﬁce begun to his sire ; doubting whether to think th is to be the ’ a a a o f a genius of the pl ce or the ttend nt spirit his f ther .

r/ d 0 . 959 Sa m ; Among the Greeks the y . la i or good a a of a a and a a genius ppe rs in the form sn ke , speci l } kind of Egyptian snake was called d ya d o ba inwv Much might be s aid on the subject o f serpent in f a worship , which some orm or other seems lmost universal among primitive n a tions . But this is not the pl a ce for such a discussion ; we m ay conclude our brief survey with the interesting coincidence of a belief ’ a a a a prev lent mong the Zulus , th t the ncestor s spirit ’ will dwell in the descendant s kra al in the body o f a a sn ke . The coincidence is the more noticeable as the and a Zulus , like the Greeks Rom ns , hold the belief that the spirits of the dea d p a ss into a Ha des or sh adowland underground they go to join the A b a ’ a a n f th e p nsi is the n tive expressio . The di ﬁculty of Spirit being absent in the nether world and present at the s ame time in the land of the living does not troubl e them ; any more th an it troubled Homer th at ‘ the ghost of Herakles walked in Ha des in form like ’ bl ack night with b ow unc a sed an d Shaft upon the string while the hero himself set free from toil by death takes his joy at the banquet among the immortals on Olympus 2 and h as fa f ir Hebe or his bride .

1 ons Hi st. R el . . 1 87 a nd i and cott Jev , p ; L ddell S , 2 . d . x i . Cf 0 603 sqq .

1 22 SUPPLEMENTAR Y QUESTIONS

to a a a some family crime, be expi ted by f mily s criﬁce and the dedication of the altar to Juno Sororia led to the further idea of the crime ha ving been committed a of a t a a gainst a sister . The f ct the other l r being dedic ated t o Janus C u ri atiu s suggested the obvious inference that the god derived his epithet from the and a al l a Curi atii brethren , there we h ve the det ils a re ady for the legend . Cle rly the Horatius who defe ated the Alban brothers was the Horatius who a a a committed the crime g inst his Sister . Wh t crime Nothing short of murder could have required so serious h a ? an expiation . W y Should he h ve murdered her l l is a u a . a a Love the key th t nlocks mysteries Hor ti , h ad of a the Sister, been the betrothed of one the de d brethren ; wh at more n atural than th at She Should ’ grieve for her lover s death And what more n atural ’ a a a - th n th t high spirited youth , moved by his Sister s a h is te rs , Should plunge Sword into her body , sending her to join her lover, with the words So perish every ’ Roman maiden wh o Shall mourn for her country s foe 1 So the legend grew ; and we m ay admit that — there i s probably this a mount of truth in it that the ritual of p assing under the beam or yoke and between the alt ars was performed in expiation Of some crime that in remote a ges h ad been committed by some r a member o members of the Hor tian family . But — the form which the expi ation took that of p assing under the yoke or between stones or sacriﬁcial victims - far a an or a is older th n y Roman legend tr dition . It

a - and m a goes b ck to the remotest pre historic times , y a a and a a be tr ced in lmost every country , mong lmost 1 h m . S c O ann b . uot on i I. i Cf , q ed y Seeley , L vy , xxv SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS 1 23

a a every people . Sometimes it ppe rs in the custom of p a ssing through a natural chasm or cleft in a rock ; an a a a a sometimes through rtifici l hole in s cred stone . The belief which is attached to the ceremony is not necessarily expiation of crime ; qui te as often it is purification from bodily sickness ; or it is a test of a a an a a a a good f ith in t king o th or m king coven nt . There is a remarkable example of the l atter use in one a a a a C osm e din of the churches in Rome , S nt M ri in , a a ne r the Tiber . The church cont ins in its portico a a a of a o a circul r sl b m rble s me five feet in di meter, a a a like huge millstone , with round hole Sh ped some what like a mouth p assing completely through the

centre . th e a La a a a It goes by n me of Bocc dell Verit , ‘ ’ and so a a the mouth of Truth , is c lled from the f ct that it h as been used from time immemorial as a sort of ordeal to test the guilt or innocence of an accused 1 person . The supposed criminal placed his hand and arm and a a a a through the oriﬁce , m de solemn decl r tion of his innocence . If he spoke the truth , he withdrew his hand without difﬁculty ; but if his declaration a a a a and were f lse , the m rble j ws would contr ct , close h a and is was . f st upon the limb , guilt thereby proved Wh ether there was ever any mechanism in the stone by whi ch this desirable result could be arrived at h as not a a , been scert ined ; but it is well known that the various ordeals used in the middle ages al l

1 ’ Cf . Har s Wa l ks i n Rome i . 242 wh r h e uot s A out R ome e , , e e q e b , ‘ C ontemp ora/in e : Cette bouch e mordait l es mente urs ; au moins l a ’ ’ tra i i n l J i i n r i m i ue l e Gh tto d t o assure . y a t odu t a dextre en d sant q e ’ ’ était un i u é i ces et s n ai as été mor u . l e de d l , i p d 1 24 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

t o and a was a lent themselves imposture , th t it l rgely a a on th at account th t they were bolished . Nor is it known how the Bocca della Verita c ame to be pla ced a a in the church , or the pl ce from which it c me . But , a s the building stands upon the Site o f an ancient and a a a temple of Ceres Proserpin , the m teri ls of which n t a were used in buildi g it , it is quite likely h t the a f a a and gre t stone ormed p rt of the origin l ediﬁce , m ay h ave been used in the ritual and worship of the

a a - and a Gre t E rth Mother the M id . The s acred cha sm s and clefts in rocks which are f a a a a s ound in m ny pl ces were , undoubtedly, reg rded ‘ o f a - al l emblems the E rth Goddess , the mother of ’ n an d a wa s a livi g , to p ss through them new birth , i a n a f n al l a S n . rege er tion , puri yi g from p st There is a a c a a a a a crevice in ro k on the M l b r Hill , ne r Bomb y , which to this d ay is constantly used in this manner ; and are a a na a a nd there other c verns in Indi , both tur l a a u w a at rtifici l , thro gh hich pilgrims p ss , entering the an d — a south side , issuing from the north custom 1 n a a a which remi ds one of the p ss ge in Ezekiel , l ying down the rule for entering an d dep arting from the T m a Th e m a e ple a t Jeru s lem . coincidence y be only n f a a b u t a t a w o . ccide t l , it is le st orthy notice In a a a a some p rts of Indi where Br hminism prev ils , purific ation or regeneration is secured by p assing through an openin g m a de in a l arge golden image of a f a o a . F a cow , or lotus flower Mr . r zer gives 1 ‘ n a f a striki g inst nce o this pr ctice . Two Hindoo a a a h a d an a mb ss dors , who been sent to Engl d by a n a n tive prince , were co sidered on their return to h ve so polluted themselves by contact with strangers tha t

1 1 E z . i . 9 . . B I. ii . xlv G .

1 26 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS in which the p arties to a contract passed between the a a divided carc ass o f a sacrificed anim l . An inst nce of and a this i s referred to in R . Q . CXI . th t the custom was prevalent in early P alestine is shown in the ’ a account of Abraham s coven nt in Gen . xv . In the Horatian sacrifice it seems prob able that the p assage under the sacred beam involved the p assing between the two s acrifices offered Simultaneously on a n so the alt rs o either side of the street . The persons pa ssing would also necessarily go between two fires ; and this might be regarded as a further purificatory rite . W e read that in the Middle Ages the envoys who visited a Kh an of Tartary h ad to p ass between two 1 fires before they were admitted to his presence ; the re ason given being that the fires woul d purge away any magic influence which the strangers might be intending to bring upon the Khan . Possibly the object in this c ase m ayalso have been an a to destroy y risk of infection . U ncivilised n tions

re a a a . a by no me ns ignor nt of this d nger Turner , in a a a a a a a a his ccount of S mo , st tes th t the n tives of S v ge a a a ki l l ed all a as a Isl nd inv ri bly who l nded , Simple 2 and effective precaution against infectious dise ase ! A superstition which prevail s in various p arts of the world concerning the burial of the dead h as been con ne d a cte with this practice . Thus in E astern Prussi and among the Eskimo the corpse is conveyed out o f the house through a window inste ad of through the for door . The Hottentots make a breach in the wall ’ a 3 d a . an a the s me purpose, s ys Mr Jevons , the ncient

1 2 Fraz r . . . u . Quot Fraz r ad loc. ci t. e , G B I ed by e , 3 R . . r. Q Int XXXIX . SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIO N S 1 27

did Norsemen the same . The Teutons in prehi storic times dug a hole under the threshold and p ulled the ’ a n af n corpse through with rope . If there is a y ﬁ ity in these pra ctices it can only be with the idea that p assing through thi s unwonted means of exit constitutes a sort

o f purgatory . But it seems more reasonable to attribute all such customs to the desire to prevent the return of the d ea d ’ a t person s spirit . If the corpse were c rried ou through ‘ a a m an a of the door, th t would give the de d right a a a w y to return . The s fest course is therefore to p ss the body through some opening Speci ally made for the

a and a . occ sion , then to close it perm nently Mr . Jevons a a gives m ny interesting illustr tions of the belief, which

he connects with R . Q . V . ‘ ’ As a ﬁnal example of Stones of ordeal we m ay ’ ’ a - t ke the well known St . Wilfrid s needle in the crypt f a a o Ripon C athedral . The stone is in v ulted cell a and a a under the centr l tower , its perture me sures a some eighteen by thirteen inches . The p ssing through the opening was a test of ch aracter those who achieved it were all honourable men and women ; honesty alone (as distinct from slimness) could thread ’ 1 the needle s eye .

1 It i s a sati sfaction t o th e present writer to record th at h e may count h imself a s one of th e select company wh o h ave pa ssed th e te st . B ut it wa s many years ago ; and on th e occa sion of h is last vi sit to Ri on th e n ’ t h ntract ou t ss an p , eedl e s eye a ppeared o ave co ed : d b le O tica i p l llusion. 1 28 S UPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

— h a t wa s th e ori i n o t QUE STION XII . W g f he S i byl li ne 9 B ooks .

A RE we to credit the legen d which says that in the 1 reign of Tarqu iniu s P ri s cu s a mysterious woman a and oﬁere d a a c me before the king him , for cert in n price , ni e books , which he refused , thinking the price and w n a too high , kno i g nothing of their v lue ; but after Sh e h ad destroyed Six of the nine a nd offered a at a the rem ining three the s me price , the king , on a a and the dvice of his ugurs , bought the books , there upon the woman vanished and wa s seen no more Or sh all we s ay tha t this i s another aetiological a a s o myth , invented to s tisfy the popul r mind , since va lued a trea sure must needs h ave h ad a mira culous 2 origin ? There is no doubt that the boo ks were a cquired by the Romans at a very early period of their and a a a history , most prob bly they c me from Cum e in a a a w was a as a a a C mp ni , hich f mous the tr dition l bode f o f and was an a o . one the Sibyls , ncient Greek colony Th e ora cles were in Greek hexameters ; they were said to h ave been composed in the time of Solon by n and of the Hellespo tine Sibyl , kept in the temple i a Apollo a t G erg s on Mount Id . They found their way thence to E ryth ree and from E ryth ree to Cumae a in Ita ly . In the e rliest times of Roman hi story a a a a and speci l college, inferior only in r nk to the ugurs 3 ff as a a a w . ponti s , ppointed to t ke ch rge of them It consisted at ﬁrst of two members (d u u mvi ri s a cri s fa ci u nd i s) and these were furnished by the State

1 r in h Or a cco to anot r rsion Tar ui niu s u r us . , d g e ve , q S pe b 1 3 . l Intr. Li v . . omms n . x ii . Cf See ey, y, I Cf M e , I 4 i iii . 10. L vy ,

1 80 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

s ays : The oracles which are now ext ant h ave been gathered from various sources ; some from the cities o f a f E r th ree a a n It ly, others rom y in Asi , h vi g been tran scribed by envoys who were sen t thither by order 1 f O a m a o the Sen ate . thers h ve been co piled by priv te n are u m a persons ; but ma y o f these spurio s . They y ’

d n a a . c be etected by bei g of the n ture of crostics Ci ero , on n a f a in his book Divi tion , re ers to this crostic 2 ‘ ’ a of a peculi rity . In the verses the Sibyl , he s ys , ‘ the summary of the p aragra ph on ea ch subjec t is conta ined in the initial letters of every verse of th e ’ a a a p r gr ph . Out of the tota l number of verses collected by the a an w on ti ces envoys , thous d ere selected by the p fi u i nd eci mvi ri w ffi h a d n su s not by the g , hose o ce bee pended with the destruction oi the ancient books a nd w am were deposited by Augustus , hen he bec e f a a a a t a Ponti ex M ximus , in gilt c se the b se of the a a n a a gre t st tue of Apollo o the P l tine . Augu stus al s o ma de a recension of a l l the flo ating prophetic writin gs which were c urrent in Rome ; some h e pla ced in a Sim il a r ca se beside the new Sibyllin e n e n and a collectio the r st he ordered to be bur t , forb de the keeping of such writin gs by any private person . n e w n a The collectio s , however, never obt ined the s ame credit and ven era tion a s the old T arqu ini an a s volumes . They could not na turally be regarded of

a a an d n ul . equ l uthority , were seldom co s ted The Rom an emperors a fter Tiberius Openly di sregarded them ; a nd a ll the efforts of Julian the Apostate to 3 a revive belief in them were una vailing . Fin lly they

nt a -in - l aw Were bur in public by Stilicho , the f ther of

1 Hi . 11 4 M ) . 361 . st. iv. 62 . Di v . 5 .

’ S I B YL S T E M P L —T E . IB U R .

1 82 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

and e aw 1 50 A . D . a W s year , s ys of it when we were in C u m ee a place where a sanctuary is hollowed ou t — in the rock a Sight most wondrous and grea tly to be a s a dmired . Here , we were told by those who received h a a t e tr dition from their foref thers , did the Sibyl a a a deliver her or cles . And in the midst of the s nctu ry a they Showed us three gre t hollows cut in the rock , a n a wherein , they s id , whe they were ﬁlled with w ter, she was wont to bathe ; and thereafter withdrew into the a a and a inner p rts of the holy pl ce , se ting herself upon ’ a a a lofty centr l se t She uttered her words of prophecy . This c ave i s s aid to h ave been the one destroyed by N arses when he underm ined the Acropolis of C u m ee about 550 A D .

According to Vergil , there were two methods of a oracular response . The ordin ry custom of the pro ph e te ss was to write her inspired verses on leaves

fol u sq u e notas et nomina m andat 1 and a a a a rr nge them in cert in order , in which they remained till the first bla st of win d r ushing through ’ the c avern s open doors sc attered them in confusion n on the floor . The i quirer h ad to take wh atever a nd answer c ame to h nd a make the best he could of it . This evidently points to the use made of the l i bri fa ta l es in historic times ; the S O - c alled s ortes S i byl li nazf When the college wa s hid d en by the Sen ate to consult a a was a a the S cred Books , no ttempt m de to find a a u a b a Th e p ss ge s it le to the occ sion . verses were written on p alm - le aves one or more of these was aw at a and was dr n out r ndom , it the duty of the com missioners duo viri or quindecim viri to expoun d

1 E iii . 444 n . sqq . SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS 1 33

a . W a a a a their me ning ithout such uthorit tive expl n tion , a a for Vergil implies , the responses would be of no v il , ’ a s at th e a Sibyl s c ve ,

n b d em u e i nco su ti a eunt se o r S b l l w. I l , q de e y

for a a The other method , reserved the gre test occ sions , and n a a a was a employed o ly fter speci l invoc tion , th t described in the magn iﬁcent pa ss a ges in the Sixth ZE neid w f a , here the god himsel ﬁlls with his domin nt n a h is a and prese ce the bodily fr me of vot ress , through her frenzied lips reveals the secrets of the future

Ventum ra t a d im n cum Vi r o P o scere ata e l e , g , f

m u s ait u s cc u s . C ui ta i a anti Te p , de , e e de l f Ant or s su ito non vul tu s non co or unu s e f e , b l N on c om tae m a nsere com a sed ctu s a nh el um p e ; pe , E t rabi e fera corda t ument m ajorq u e vid eri N ec m orta sonans ad ﬂata e st numin u an o le , e q d m r i r 1 Ia p op o e d ei .

A t P h oebi nond um p atiens imm ani s in antro B a cch atur at s m a num S i ctor ossit v e , g pe e p E x cu ssi sse deum t ant o m agi s ille fa tigat 2 O s rabid um ra cor a om ane ﬁn it ue r m n o . , fe d d , g q p e e d

Which m ay be roughly rendered a s follows Now even a ! Th e upon the threshold cries the holy M id , time a sk — is come to thy destiny lo , the god , the god is ! as a f a a here Even She sp ke be ore the g tes , str ight way a ch ange c ame over her features and blanched her a all a a face her braided locks stre med bro d , her bosom a and a t a was a he ved , he rt wi h frenzied p ssion distr ught , a u a wa s her st t re dil ted to the view, her voice more

1 1 Ib . 773 E n i . 45 s . . v qq g 1 84 S UPPLE MENTARY QUESTIONS than mortal to the e ar so mightily breathed upon her ’ ’ the spirit of the god s own presence .

’ o But the seeress , not yet subdued to Ph ebus s a a n power , r ves wildly through the c ve , seeki g if She m ay ﬂing the might of the god from off her brea st ; th e in more She strives , the more he plies the bridle her f a n a and a o mi g lips , curbing her wild he rt , f shioning it ’ by pressure to his will . T hen come the words of prophecy, uttered , like s at those of her sister prieste s Delphi , under the tempo ra ry possession or hypn otic trance imposed by the a f wh o god ; or r ther, it is the god himsel uses the lips f r is of his priestess as the vehicle o h own utterance . a a u m a The ide is kin to , tho gh by no e ns to be n f ide tiﬁed with , the divine possession re erred to in t nd m a a S . Ques ions VIII . a IX . It y be presumed th t Virgil h ad some tradition al description from which he and drew this vivid picture , did not evolve the symptoms from his inner consciousness . The con ’ d itions of are a a possession , in f ct , strikingly simil r in a t a an a the m jori y of c ses . There is ex mple quoted by 1 ’ ‘ ’ i and F a . il l am s s F Mr Jevons from W iji the iji ns , which corresponds almost word for word with the ’ a a ZEn id F a e . p ss ges in the In iji , he s ys , one who a and h intends to consult the or cle , dresses oils imself in a few minutes he trem bles ; slight distortions are seen in his fa ce and twitching movements in his

. a a t a a limbs These incre se to violen muscul r ction , which Spreads until the whole frame is strongly con vul sed a d n hi a . , the m an S vers as with a strong gue ﬁt

1 Hi R el . . 2 4 n r s . . I t . t p 7

1 86 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS

priestess at Delphi inh aled the mephitic vapour which a scended from the cleft in the rock beneath her sa cred

se at . a a a in In f ct , ex mples of tempor ry possession or a are al l and m a spir tion to be found the world over , y be found quoted in any book on ethnology ; th e best l perhaps being those co lected by Mr . Tylor in Primitive ’ 1

a are . F a Culture , to which re ders referred by Mr r zer a in the chapter cited bove . There is no reason then for questioning the ‘ ’ a at Cu m ee an existence of sibyl , either or y other a a a pl ces , where the cult of Apollo m de belief in or cles a a a a was of a n tur l thing , or where the loc l worship a a s sensation al and orgi astic ch r cter . It wa only to be expected tha t a crop of legends Should grow up s a and a round these mystic per on ges , th t the truth

b e - own rO h eti c ob scu ri s Should Often like their p p gift , n l en — a a d vera i vo v s ent ngled with f lsehoo . Not the least rem arkable result of the Sibylline writings was the apocryphal literatu re claiming t o a a and a be Sibylline , which rose in l te Jewish e rly a a Christia n times . They ppe r to h ave been inspired by the ora cles to which Vergil makes reference in his famous Fourth Eclogue and the great line

Ultima C umeei venit i am earmini s aatas (Comes th e last Age wh i ch sh e of Cumse sang) established the authority of the Cum aean Sibyl a s a

Messianic prophetess in the early Christian Church .

- a This pseudo Sibylline liter ture , composed by Alex e ndrine and a a was a Jews p rtly by Christi ns , com bination of classical story and Old Testament tradition

1 P 11 131 . . C . . egg SUPPLEMEN TARY QUESTIONS 1 37

6 A a C . 00 . D . and ranges in d te from 1 50 B . to The li bri a ta l es books were written , like the genuine f , in a r a h ad b hex mete s , the metric l form which een con secrated by immemorial Greek usa ge to religious utterance ; and so closely did their style resemble the O a and a prophecies of the ld Test ment the Apoc lypse , that p agan writers who a ccepted them as genuine a sserte d tha t the Biblic al authors h ad borrowed their rO h e i p p t c utterances from the Sibylline oracles . Of the genuine Sibylline b ooks few fragments remain to us but we posse ss a large collection of the

u d eeo - a a a h a J Christi n writings , which ppe rs to ve been a Or a m de in the seventh century . igin lly there were fourteen b ooks ; of these some have been lost ; but i a and the th rd (in p rt) , fourth , Sixth , eighth , the eleventh to the fourteenth are still extant ; the la st is a a a a directed g inst the te ching of Moh mmed , whose new creed wa s a fanatic and formid able rival to both a and Christi nity Judaism . The se a pocryph al oracles at the time of their a a a a a ppe r nce were highly prized by the e rly Christi ns , who regarded even the genuine Sibylline utteran ces with almost the reverence due to their own Scriptures . a a a Christi n pologists of the second century , not bly

a a s a a . Justin M rtyr, relied upon them uthorit tive Clement of Al exandri a c alls the Sibyl of C u m ee a ’ 1 d A u stine an St . u true prophetess , , g tells us how he was a n once in conversation with friend of high positio , wh o a a a s a Showed him Greek book cont ining , he s id , th e h i ora cles of the Sibyl of E ryt rae . He po nted out a p assage which seemed to contain in acrostic form

a of r . a the n me Ch ist This , s ys Augustine , proves

1 Ci v. D ei iii . 23 . , xv 1 38 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS tha t the Sibyl h a s a claim to be numbered among those who belong to the City of G o d . a a s And this consecr tion , it were , of the Sibylline ora cles to Christian use continued to a late period in d the Church . The solemn hymn which to this ay is sun g a t the m ass for the dea d wa s composed by a cert ain Tomm aso di Celano at the beginnin g of the a a f fourteenth century . It cont ins re erence to the Sibyl b ased upon an acrostic in the eighth book of the a Oracles , which describes the L st Judgment

i s i rsa i s i a D e , d e ll S ol vet s aecl u m i n favilla i Teste David cum S bylla .

The Sibylline Sisterhood m ay be s a id to h ave been b e a almost canonised by Pope Sixtus V . when uthorised Michael Angelo to include them in his m agniﬁcent series of frescoes with which he a dorned the ceilin g of i a . s t a the Sistine Ch pel There they , Sibyls of Persi , ’ a E r th ree C u m ee a a Delphi , Liby , y , , hum no m jores , a a n t throned beside the gre ter prophets , re di g from heir scrolls of prophecy or ga zing with c a lm inscrutable eyes down the vista of the ages p ast the frontier w alls ’ of time . A nd the associ a tion of the unconscious vaticination of paganism with the clear pronouncements of Hebraic 1 a a inspira tion is both right and appropri te . In no ge and in no country does G od leave him self without witness ; and the Sibylline hopes and a spirations of G wa s o f the olden Age which to come , of the Reign and a S O Righteousness triumph of Pe ce , wholly opposed

1 Mr J . evons refers th e a ppearanc e of th e Golden Age myth i n Italy to 4 7 wh n 9 aturn a i ntiﬁ with Kronos . R . . . i . , e S w s de ed Q p xxx

. Ver . E i el . . a Cf g v p ssim.

A P P E N D IX

‘ ’ THE Fratres Arvales or B reth ren of th e Fields were a commu nity of twelve members forming one o f th e S acred m T i ti s a Colleges at Ro e . he r du e were to c rry ou t th e rites and c m oni of th e worshi of th e D ea Di a wh o i s ere es p , prob ably to be identiﬁed with Acca Larenti a (page Thei r place of meeting was a grove ﬁve miles from Rom e ; and it i s worth m entioning th at no less th an ninety -six m a ta ts a n i cov r th r i nc 1 570 i n rble ble h ve bee d s e ed e e S e , i with r rts of h i a nnu a rocee in scr bed epo t e r l p d gs . Th ir ch i f f ti a wa s h on Ma 28 29 and 30 and e e es v l eld y , , ; on th e sec ond d ay a ceremoni a l dance and song were per r n h r r fo med i t e sac ed g ove . h n i inscri n on f h t Th e text of t e so g s bed o e o t e ta ble s . It i s so archai c that i t was prob a bly less intelligible to th e h n m es th an it i s to th e m o n h r B ret re the selv der sc ola . Omit in tition s it u n t u s t g repe , r s h

E N O S LA S E S IVVA TE NEVE LVE B VB MAR MAR SINS IN C VRR E R E IN P LE OR E S S A TVR FV F ERE MAR S LIMEN SALI S TA B ERB ER S E MVN IS A LT E R N IS A D VOCA P IT C O N C TO S

E N O S MARMOR IVVA TE

TR IVMP E . 1 42 APPENDIX

i n see Momm s n I. . Th e For th e m odern Lati n vers o e , xv d d r s e to th e G o s th e ﬁft and ix h ﬁrst fou r l ines are a es d d , h S t

h ren i nd ivid u a and c o ec tive and th e S venth to th e B ret , lly ll ly, e Th e h m n n s with th e cr Triu m h s th ric e t o Mars . y e d y p repe at ed . h f win E n i sh It m ay be rou gh ly represented in t e ollo g gl

f m com h a st n to ai d u s ! s . G o s o th e h o To th e God O d e , e e Let not 0 ars a u or sti nc , M , pl g e pe le e F a ll on th y pe ople l e c ont nt 0 sa a ars ! B e , v ge M 1 To t h e Leap t o th e th re sh old Stand ! Smite l h r n B ret e . Ca ll ye i n t urn on al l th e gods of sowi ng Mars a h a st 0 ars to aid u s I To . M ke e , M , To th e Le ap i n triple measure I B reth ren .

Th e date of th e m arble t ablet on whi ch th e hymn i s ‘ Th u e ti on m a a k h 2 18. e s s e W a t engraved i s A D . q y be d ’ mention i s there o f th e D ea D i a ? Th e answer will be n th e same ta et w ich conta ns th e fo owin n t fou nd o bl , h i ll g o e

N LVC O D A D A A LFE N I A IT A N 1111 KA L IVN IA S . I E E I E VS V I VS

P R O MA G IS T E R A D ARAM IMM OLA VIT P OR C ILIA S P IA C VLA R E S .

‘ n Ma 29 i n th e rov o f D e a D ia A l feniu s Aviti anu s O y , g e , th e vi ce - presid ent o ffered a n ex pi atory sa criﬁce o f young ’ n Th ou h not m ntio n b na m h e m a b e tak n swi e . g e ed y e s y e in h i n a i n It i i h a s i nclu ded t e vo c t o . w ll b e not ce d t a t there i s no th ing whi ch su ggests m etri cal a rrangem ent in th e Hymn o f th e B re th ren pro ba bly it ex i sted eve n befo re th e a nc ient ’ me asu re c a e th e S a tu rni an a n ex a m e o f w i ch i s i en ll d , pl h g v 2 I a m n t u r b th h h n o n a e 9 . o s e wa w eth e t e seco p g e, y y, r d line of th at co u plet migh t not b e better rendere d

h n i h tnin rom h i s ri h t h an c a s h e u un r W e l g g f g d le ve t clo ds as de .

For a i s cu ssi on of th e S atu rni an m etr and its ori in d e g , ’ ‘ ’ see Macau a s refa c to hi s La s of nci ent Ro me wh ere l y p e y A ,

1 ‘ ’ Q u r im n un r to s u s s e y l e t o be de s od a M . s gge t ?

IN D E X

AB E ON A 5 AVID 29 1 38 , D , , A onai 33 D ea Di a 32 d , , E n i 4 8 19 23 90 9 6 1 19 c m i ri 1 7 e d , , , , , , , De e v , E scul a iu s 1 3 80 1 15 1 17 h i 76 134 p , , , , Delp , , Al an ount 7 i ana 7 b M , D , Animism 6 uum i ri 1 28 , D v , A h ro it 6 p d e , A o o 6 20 2 7 109 1 30 1 36 p ll , , , , , , Ar s 6 25 9 1 E D US A 5 e , , , , A r ei 44 78 ri a 2 1 98 g , , Ege , , A ri ci a 9 9 ti ans 95 , Egyp , A ri stwu s 1 9 tru scans 1 3 , E , Arno atth w 1 an r 85 89 ld , M e , Ev de , , Art mi s 2 0 2 1 e , , A h 2 1 4 A r a B r t r n 4 32 0 . v l e e , , , , pp As i os 1 3 1 15 aunus 99 102 107 klep , , F , , , Ath na 6 a oniu s 99 e , F v , A ttu s N avi u s 39 rua r 83 , Feb y , — Au ur 38 39 4 2 70 - 75 am n B i a i s 8 47 55 g , , , , Fl e l , , Au u sti n 1 37 a m n arti a i s 2 7 g e , Fl e M l , Au u stu s 9 7 ontu s 19 g , F , Au s i c s 39 70 orna 31 p e , , F x , oru m B oari um 9 3 F , raz r 8 1 1 1 2 1 13 1 35 F e , , , , , ’ ’ B mcx x n s Ga u s 1 1 1 un ra s 95 96 ll , F e l , ,

B ona D ea , 2 1 uri a 95 B l , Ga u ls 80 , G ni ta ana 34 81 e M , , ACU S 1 6 G ni u s 5 1 1 6- 1 1 9 C , e , , am na 1 5 Gra di vus 24 9 1 C e e , , , a na 36 9 8 Gran r 1 5 C pe , , ge , a ito 8 Grati an us 1 2 C p l , , n sors 80 Ce , i c ro 39 4 0 4 1 C e , , , ,

o s 36 A . C llege , , pp Cornwall 125 , 1 4 6 INDEX

H ra s 1 3 1 4 1 5 rc u r 35 e kle , , , Me y , H rc u s 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 34 57—61 i ton u ot 20 e le , , , , , , , M l q ed , 3 omm s n 3 5 12 9 M e , , , H rm s 35 un u s 35 e e , M d , H ro otu s 89 M u s s 1 3 e d , e , H stia 1 0 c na 1 25 e , My e e , Hir i 1 p , 09 Hom r 25 83 9 1 1 20 e , , , , Hora c 22 2 5 79 99 101 E MI 2 1 e , , , , , N , Horati a ns 1 2 1 tun 2 2 ge , Nep e , tt sh i 37 Ne le p , Numa 94 1 00 , , HN E 3 I , n i s 5 I d ge , n i ita m nta 5 OAK 77 79 I d g e , , ,

ron 95 and A . Oc cat or 5 I , pp , Iterd uca 5 cto r h ors 23 67 , O be e , , sc ans 1 3 O , i 1 8 20 26 4 0 99 1 17 Ov d , , , , , , JAN US 1 6—20 23 61—64 , , , h o ah 29 33 Je v , , ons 3 5 1 1 1 3 1 4 20 PALATIN E 14 28 9 3 1 30 Jev , , , , , , , , , , , 1 1 7 a stin 29 33 P le e , , u iu s aesar 37 P an 84 101 1 07 J l C , , , , anth on 9 4 P e , u it r 7 1 0 1 8 22 89 na t s 10 J p e , , , , , Pe e , Juturna 1 6 1 9 troni u s 1 1 1 1 13 , , Pe , , Pi cu s 77 , P i stor, 7 KR ON OS 6 22 23 Pl a t o 1 31 , , , , in 9 9 109 1 1 5 Pl y , , , Plut arch a ssi m , p AMP S 84 o th i sm 6 L , P ly e , an An r w 30 P ol d sem oni sm 6 L g , d e , y , a i s Manal i s 35 ons S ubl ici us 38 9 5 L p , P , , ar nti a 32 59 onti 36 37 1 30 L e , , P fex , , , ar 31 A r n s 43 s 69 . o t t L e , , , pp P e , cti st rni um 4 4 os i on 6 Le e , P e d , i 2 7 38 39 4 4 128 otina 5 L vy, , , , , P , Locu ti u s 5 ro rtiu s 15 , P pe , ucr ti u s 25 rot u s 1 9 100 L e , P e , , u rci 83 107 108 L pe , , , ca u s 1 10 Ly e , QU IRIN AL, 28 Qu i ri nali a 31 68 , , Q i rin 2 u u s , 7, 30 MACAU LAY uot 2 1 2 5 29 q ed , , , iri i 2 Q u t s , 7 a n s 34 35 67 1 16 M e , , , , arri a 87 M ge , a rs 2 M , 7 2 34 67 77 9 1 RE GILLU S 1 9 , , , , , , Ma 8 A 7 88 . R i i on 2 y , . pp el g ,