1226 There has been much discussion respecting the nature of this substance, and the derivation of the word. Hardouin conceives it probable that it was originally written “orichalcum,” i.e. “mountain brass” or “copper.”—B. Ajasson considers it to be native brass, a mixture of copper and zinc. In the later writers it signifies artificial brass. The exact composition of this metal is still unknown, but there is little doubt that Hardouin is right in his supposition as to the origin of the name.
1227 Possibly so called from Sallustius Crispus, the historian, who was one of the secretaries of Augustus.
1228 There is some doubt respecting the locality of these people; they are enumerated by Pliny among the inhabitants of the mountainous districts of Savoy, B. iii. c. 24, and are referred to by Ptolemy.—B.
1229 Livia.
1230 It was named “Marian,” after the celebrated Marius, and “Corduban,” from the place whence it was procured; probably the mountains near Corduba, in Spain, well known as the birth-place of the two Senecas and of Lucan.—B. See B. iii. c. 3, and B. xix. c. 43.
1231 No light is thrown upon the nature either of Cadmia or Aurichalcum by this statement; we only learn from it that different compounds, or substances possessing different physical properties, went under the common appellation of Æs, and were, each of them, employed in the formation of coins.—B.
1232 “Dupondiariis.” The “as,” it must be remembered, originally weighed one pound. See B. xxxiii. c. 13, and the Introduction to Vol. III.
1233 He alludes to the ancient works of art in this compound metal.
1234 The art of making compound metals.
1235 Vulcan, namely.
1236 No one has accidentally stumbled upon the art of making this composite metal.
1237 We have an account of the destruction of Corinth, and the accidental formation of this compound, in Florus, B. ii. c. 16. Although this account was generally received by the ancients, we may venture to assert, that it cannot be correct; we cannot conceive the possibility of such a fusion taking place during the destruction of the city, or of the complete union of the components, in the mode in which they have been found to exist.—B.
1238 B.C. 146.—B.
1239 “Trulleos.” In an epigram of Martial, B. ix. Ep. 97, the word “trulla” signifies a chamber-pot.
1240 From the Greek ἥπαρ, “the liver.”
1241 The Delian brass is mentioned by Cicero, in his oration “Pro Roscio Amerino,” s. 46, and in his Fourth oration “In Verrem,” s. 1.—B. Pausanias, in his “Eliaca,” says that the Spanish copper, or copper of Tartessus, was the first known.
1242 Or Cattle Market: in the Eighth Region of the City. See B. xxxv. c. 7, and Chapter 16 of this Book.
1243 A distinguished statuary and engraver on silver. He lived in Olympiad 87. Further mention is made of him by Cicero, Ovid, Strabo, and Pausanias. See also Chapter 19 of this Book.
1244 There were several artists of this name. The elder Polycletus, a native either of Sicyon or of Argos, is probably the one here referred to. For further particulars of him, see Chapter 19.
1245 The words in the original are, respectively candelabra, superficies, and scapi.—B.
1246 Probably a proverbial expression at Rome, as it is employed by Juvenal, in an analogous manner, upon another occasion; Sat. iii. l. 132.—B.
1247 Plutarch speaks of the Geganii as an ancient noble family at Rome.
1249 A.U.C. 585; we have an account of it in Livy, B. xiv. c. 42.—B.
1250 This building is referred to by Velleius Paterculus, in the beginning of the Second Book of his History.—B. According to Aurelius Victor, it was situated in the Ninth Region of the City.
1251 The Temple of Vesta is described by Ovid, Fasti, B. vi. l. 265, et seq.—B.
1252 C. Camillus probably, the Roman jurist and friend of Cicero.
1253 See end of B. ii.
1254 “Triclinia,” “abaci,” and “monopodia;” these appear to have been couches for dining-tables, tables furnished with cupboards, and tables standing on a single foot. Livy, B. xxxix. c. 6, informs us, that Cneius Manlius, in his triumphal procession, introduced into Rome various articles of Asiatic luxury; “Lectos æratos, vestem stragulam preciosam, monopodia, et abacos.” We are not to suppose that the whole of these articles were made of brass, but that certain parts of them were formed of this metal, or else were ornamented with brass.—B.
1255 See end of B. ii.
1256 “Cortinas tripodum.” These articles of furniture consisted of a table or slab, supported by three feet, which was employed, like our sideboards, for the display of plate, at the Roman entertainments.—B.
1257 “Lychnuchi pensiles;” this term is applied by Suetonius, Julius, s. 37; we may conceive that they were similar to the modern chandeliers.—B.
1258 This temple was dedicated by Augustus A.U.C. 726. The lamps in it, resembling trees laden with fruit, are mentioned by Victor in his description of the Tenth Quarter of the City.—B.
1259 See B. v. c. 32.
1260 We have an account of this event in Livy, B. ii. c. 41, in Valerius Maximus, and in Dionysius of Halicarnassus.—B.
1261 “Iconicæ,” “portrait statues,” from εἴκων, of the same meaning. This term is employed by Suetonius, in speaking of a statue of Caligula, c. 22.—B.
1262 Pisistratus. These statues are mentioned in the 19th Chapter of this Book, as being the workmanship of Praxiteles.—B.
1263 See B. vii. cc. 31, 34: B. viii. c. 74: and B. ix. c. 63.
1264 Near the Temple of Janus, in the Eighth Region of the City.
1265 The Luperci were the priests of Pan, who, at the celebration of their games, called Lupercalia, were in the habit of running about the streets of Rome, with no other covering than a goat’s skin tied about the loins.—B.
1266 “Pænula.” See B. viii. c. 73.
1267 We are informed by Cicero, De Off. B. iii. c. 30, and by Valerius Maximus, B. ii. c. 7, that Marcinus made a treaty with the Numantines, which the senate refused to ratify, and that he was, in consequence, surrendered to the enemy. We may suppose that he regarded the transaction as redounding more to the discredit of the senate than of himself.—B.
1268 See end of B. xviii.
1269 In the First Region of the City, near the Capenian Gate.
1270 “Celetes;” this appellation is derived from the Greek word κέλης, “swift,” and was applied to those who rode on horseback, in opposition to the charioteers—B.
1271 Poinsinet remarks that Pliny has forgotten the gilded chariot, with six horses, which Cneius Cornelius dedicated in the Capitol, two hundred years before Augustus; he also refers to an ancient inscription in Gruter, which mentions chariots of this description.—B.
1272 Mænius was consul with Furius Camillus, A.U.C. 416; we have an account of his victories over the Latins and other neighbouring nations in Livy, B. viii. c. 14.—B.
1273 We have an account of this transaction in Livy, B. viii. c. 14. This trophy is also mentioned by Florus, B. i. c. 11. The “Suggestus” was an elevated place, formed for various purposes, the stage from which the orators addressed the people, the place from which the general addressed his soldiers, and the seat occupied by the emperor at the public games.—B.
1274 Florus, B. ii. c. 2, gives an account of the arrangements and equipment of the Carthaginian fleet, the victory of Duillius, and the rostral monument erected in its commemoration.—B.
1275 See B. xviii. c. 4.
1276 “Unciariâ stipe;” the uncia was the twelfth part of the “as,” and the word stips was regarded as equivalent to as, as being the usual pay of the soldiers.—B. See Introduction to Vol. III.
1277 See B. xv. c. 20.
1278 This circumstance is mentioned by Cicero in his Defence of Milo, § 90-1.—B.
1279 We have some account of Hermodorus in Cicero’s Tusc. Quæs. B. v. c. 36.—B.
1281 Livy, B. ii. c. 10, and Valerius Maximus, B. iii. c. 2, give an account of this event. A. Gellius incidentally mentions the statue, and its position in the Comitium, B. iv. c. 5.—B.
1282 We are informed by Dion Cassius, that there were eight statues in the Capitol, seven of which were of the kings, and the eighth of Brutus, who overthrew the kingly government; at a later period the statue of Cæsar was placed by the side of that of Brutus.—B.
1283 Suetonius, speaking of this temple, remarks, that though dedicated to the brothers Castor and Pollux, it was, only known as the Temple of Castor.—B.
1284 We have an account of the victory of Tremulus over the Hernici, and of the statue erected in honour of him, in Livy, B. ix. c. 43.—B.
1285 This event is referred to by Cicero, Philipp. ix., 5.—B.
1286 Florus, B. ii. c. 5, gives an account of the murder of P. Junius and T. Coruncanius.—B.
1287 In the Bamberg MS. the reading is “unum se. verbum.” Gronovius is probably right in his conjecture that the word is “senatus consulti.”
1288 By one Leptines, at Laodicea.
1289 “Oculatissimo.” The place where there was “the most extended eyeshot.” It is to this singular expression, probably, that Pliny alludes.
1290 “Quod campum Tiberinum gratificata esset ea populo.”
1291 A.U.C. 441.
1292 See B. vii. c. 31.
1293 His life has been written by Diogenes Laertius, and he is mentioned by Cicero, de Fin. B. v. c. 19, and by Strabo.—B.
1295 We have an account of the exploit of Clælia in Livy, B. ii. c. 13, and in Valerius Maximus, B. iii. c. 2: there is a reference to this statue in Seneca, de Consol. c. 16.—B.
1296 To King Porsena.
1297 See end of B. xvi.
1298 Plutarch says that it was uncertain whether the statue was erected to Clælia or to Valeria.—B.
1299 A.U.C. 596.—B.
1300 See Chapter 9.
1301 “In Octaviæ operibus.” These were certain public buildings, erected in Rome by Augustus, and named by him after his sister Octavia; they are mentioned by Suetonius.—B.
1302 Valerius Maximus refers to this event, but he names the individual Statius Servilius, B. i. c. 8, § 6.—B.
1304 We have an account of the attack by Hannibal on Rome in the twenty-sixth Book of Livy, but we have no mention of the particular circumstance here referred to.—B.
1306 Livy, B. i. c. 19, informs us, that Numa made Janus of a form to denote both peace and war.—B.
1307 The mode in which the fingers were placed, so as to serve the purpose here indicated, is supposed to have been by their forming the letters which were the Roman numerals for the figures in question. We are informed that some MSS. of Pliny give the number three hundred and fifty-five only, and there is reason to believe that, in the time of Numa, this was considered to be the actual number of days in the year. Some of the commentators, however, are disposed to read three hundred and sixty-five; and this opinion derives some support from Macrobius, who refers to this statue as indicating this latter number with its fingers.—B. The Bamberg MS. gives three hundred and sixty-five.
1308 See end of B. iii.
1309 “Misoromæus”—“Roman-hater.” See end of B. iii.
1310 Pliny himself informs us, in B. xxxv. c. 45, that the statue of Jupiter in the Capitol, erected by Tarquinius Priscus, was formed of earth.—B.
1313 Hardouin gives several quotations illustrative of his liberality in bestowing ornaments in the City, and his inattention to his domestic concerns.—B.
1314 The brothers Lucius and Marcus, the former of whom triumphed in the Mithridatic, the latter in the Macedonian War.—B.
1315 See end of B. ii.
1316 See B. vii. c. 38.
1317 The absolute number of statues assigned to Lysippus differs considerably in the different editions, as is the case in almost every instance where figures are concerned. Pliny gives a further account of his works in the next two Chapters and in the following Book.—B.
1319 In their attack upon Flavius Sabinus, the brother of Vespasian; A.U.C. 822.
1320 See B. iv. c. 27.
1321 It was a statue of Jupiter.
1322 Better known by the name of Q. Fabius Maximus; he acquired the soubriquet of Verrucosus from a large wart on the upper lip.—B.
1323 The Colossus of Rhodes was begun by Chares, but he committed suicide, in consequence of having made some mistake in the estimate; the work was completed by Laches, also an inhabitant of Lindos.—B.
1324 It remained on the spot where it was thrown down for nearly nine hundred years, until the year 653 A.D., when Moavia, khalif of the Saracens, after the capture of Rhodes, sold the materials; it is said that it required nine hundred camels to remove the remains.—B.
1326 He is mentioned by Columella, in his Introduction to his work De Re Rusticâ, in connexion with the most celebrated Grecian artists.—B.
1327 Suetonius, in describing the temple which Augustus dedicated to Apollo, on the Palatine Hill, speaks of the Portico with the Latin and Greek library.—B.
1328 This victory took place A.U.C. 461; we have an account of it in Livy, the concluding Chapter of the Tenth Book.—B.
1329 This was a statue of Jupiter, placed on the Alban Mount, twelve miles from Rome. At this place the various states of Latium exercised their religious rites in conjunction with the Romans; it was sometimes called Latialis.—B. See B. iii. c. 9, and Notes; Vol. I. p. 205.
1330 The designer of the Colossus at Rhodes.
1331 Decius is said by Hardouin to have been a statuary, but nothing is known respecting him or his works.—B. He probably lived about the time of the Consul P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, A.U.C. 697.
1332 His country is unknown.
1333 See B. iv. c. 33.
1334 St. Jerome informs us, that Vespasian removed the head of Nero, and substituted that of the Sun with seven rays. Martial refers to it in the Second Epigram De Spectaculis, and also B. i. Ep. 71.—B.
1335 “Parvis admodum surculis.” There is, it appears, some difficulty in determining the application of the word surculis to the subject in question, and we have no explanation of it by any of the commentators. Can it refer to the frame of wicker work which contained the model into which the melted metal was poured?—B.
1336 This observation has been supposed to imply, that Zenodotus cast his statues in a number of separate pieces, which were afterwards connected together, and not, as was the case with the great Grecian artists, in one entire piece.—B.
1338 The term signum, which is applied to the Corinthian figures, may mean a medallion, or perhaps a seal-ring or brooch; we only know that it must have been something small, which might be carried about the person, or, at least, easily moved from place to place.—B. Statuette, probably.
1339 Her riddle, and its solution by Œdipus, are too well known to need repetition here.
1341 Consul A.U.C. 787.
1342 The “Avenger.” In the Forum of Augustus, in the Eighth Region of the City.
1343 “Regia.” The palace of Minerva, also in the Forum of Augustus.—B.
1345 We have an account of this statue, and of the temple in which it was placed, by Pausanias, B. v. There is no work of Phidias now in existence; the sculptures in the Parthenon were, however, executed by his pupils and under his immediate directions, so that we may form some judgment of his genius and taste.—B. There is a foot in the British Museum, said to be the work of Phidias.
1346 An Athenian; see B. xxxvi. c. 5. He is spoken of in high terms by Pausanias and Valerius Maximus.
1347 Tutor of Ptolichus of Corcyra, and highly distinguished for his statues of the slayers of the tyrants at Athens. He is mentioned also by Lucian and Pausanias.
1348 The reading is uncertain here, the old editions giving “Nestocles.” We shall only devote a Note to such artists as are mentioned by other authors besides Pliny.
1349 An Athenian; mentioned also by Pausanias.
1350 There were probably two artists of this name; one an Argive, tutor of Phidias, and the other a Sicyonian, the person here referred to.
1351 A native of Ægina, mentioned by Pausanias. There is also a statuary of Elis of the same name, mentioned by Pausanias, and to whom Thiersch is of opinion reference is here made.