72 PLIJ^Y S NATUBAL HISTORY. [Book XXXIII. 



inwards, conferred invisibility upon the wearer, who is there 

 that must, not admit, perforce, that this story is even still 

 more fabulous ? It was the hand, and a sinister^- hand, too, in 

 every sense, that first brought gold into such high repute : not 

 a Eoman hand, however, for upon that it was the practice to 

 wear a ring of iron only, and solely as an indication of war- 

 like prowess. 



As to the usage followed b)^ the Boman kings, it is not easy 

 to pronounce an opinion : the statue of Komulus in the Capitol 

 wears no ring, nor does any other statue — not that of L. Brutus 

 even — with the sole exception of those of Numa and Servius 

 Tiillius. I am surprised at this absence of the ring, in the 

 case of the Tarquinii more particularl}', seeing that they were 

 originally from Greece,^'^* a country from which the use of 

 gold rings was first introduced ; though even at the present 

 day the people of Lacedaemon are in the habit of wearing rings 

 made of iron. Tarquinius Prisons, however, it is well known, 

 was the first who presented his son with the golden bulla,^^ on 

 the occasion of his slaying an enemy before he had laid aside the 

 praetexta f^ from which period the custom of wearing the bulla 

 has been continued, a distinction confined to the children of 

 those who have served in the cavalry, those of other persons 

 simply wearing a leather thong.-^ Such being the case, I am 

 the more surprised that the statue of this Tarquinius should 

 be without a ring. 



And yet, with reference to the very name of the ring, I find 

 that there has been considerable uncertainty. That given to 



23 " Sinistrae." The play here upon the word "sinister" cannot be so 

 well transferred into the English language ; but it bears reference to the 

 double meaning of the word, " on the left hand," and " unlucky," '• iil- 

 oraened," or, as we say " sinister." We may remark, that rings were 

 very generally employed by the Romans, not merely as ornaments, but as 

 indications of office and rank. — B. 



22* From Corinth, it was said : Damaratus of Corinth being the father of 

 the first Tarquin. See B. xxxv. c. 5. 



2-' On the subject of " Bullae," golden balls, worn hy the children of the 

 nobles, see Dr. Smith's Diet. Antiq. p. 168. — B. 



2* As to the '* Toga praetexta," see B. viii. c. 74. 



25 " Lorum." This word literally signifies a leather strap or thong, and 

 Pliny is supposed by Hardouin to mean simply, that, in this latter case 

 the strap was worn without the bulla, which was in other cases attached to 

 it. Juvenal, Sat. v. 1. 164, speaks of the " lorum " of the children of the 

 poor.— B. 



