﻿THE AGE OF PETRONirS ARBITER. 75 



That it was in use at an early period is proved by a passage from Pacuvius (born 220 

 B. C, 534 U. C, died 130 B. C, 624 U. C), quoted by Festus (p. 282): « Pandite val- 

 vas, removete seras." The mention of " sera," while it does not therefore throw light 

 upon the question of the age of Petronius, contains nothing to forbid our assigning 

 him a very early time, if other reasons should justify such a conclusion. 



5. C. 19. 3: "Frigidior hieme Gallica factus." Unless this is considered a pro- 

 verbial expression, like our " Siberian winter," and hence in common use, it might be 

 adduced as an argument in favor of an early origin of the Satyricon, because later 

 expeditious had made the Eomans acquainted with severer climates than that of 

 Gaul. 



6. C. 22. 6 : " Cum intrans cjmbalistria." The use of cjinbals, and the employment 

 of male and female players on cymbals at entertainments, although originally a Greek 

 custom, was, even in the times of Cicero, a pretty common practice among the Romans. 

 C£ Cic. in Pison. 9. 20: "Neque hercule ego supercilium tuum neque collegae tui 

 cj-mbala ac crotala fugi"; and 10. 22: "cum collegae tui domus cantu et cymbalis 

 personaret, ciunque ipse nudus in convivio saltaret." The mention of a female player 

 on the cjTubal in this passage is, therefore, no indication of a later period. 



7. C. 29. 1 : " Quadrata litera." However readily the interpretation " capital letter" 

 may suggest itself, and however probable it may be, inasmuch as " quadrata" undoubt- 

 edly signifies a difference of form and not a difference of size, it must be confessed that 

 it is a conjecture only. Many passages occur in writers speaking of " large letters," 

 as Cic. in Verr. 4. 34. 74 : " Haec erat posita Segestae sane excelsa in basi, in qua 

 grandihtis Uteris P. Africani nomen erat incisum" ; but in every instance it is doubtful 

 whether merely a difference of size or a difference of form is meant. The passage of 

 Quintilian, 1. 7. 11, "Nam ilia vetustissima transeo tempora, quibus et pauciores 

 literae nee similes his nostris carum formae fuerunt," Avhich is quoted by Erhard as 

 throwing light on the expression " quadratus," is to be understood of the gradual 

 changes which the Roman alphabet, like others, underwent in the course of time, but 

 does not refer to the existence of two alphabets at the same time. Yet it is in the 

 nature of things that the Romans, as early as the later times of the republic, when 

 writing was a daily occupation of every educated man, could not be contented ^vith 

 using the letters which we find on ancient monuments, and which are our capital 

 letters, but used an alphabet better suited to rapid writing. This supposition is 

 strengthened by the analogous case of the Greeks. It was formerly a mooted question 

 whether the Greeks had, besides their capital letters, an alphabet for common use 

 (Kursivschrift). The discovery of a papyrus belonging to the year 104 B. C, and 



