2(5 



On the Ancient Roman Newfpapersl 



[Aug. /, 



of precipifation, bec^ufe that takes place 

 in ihe WufF itfelf, whrrethe produiils are 

 fixed. It is, however, to be oblerved, 

 that if v/e pafi the Cotton which has been 

 fubjefted to tne operation of galling 

 through a too hot folu'ion of aluiri, a 

 portion of galls efcapes from the itufF, in 

 which cafe tlie decompofition is prcduccJ 

 in the b.Tth itfelf; which leficns the pro- 

 portion of the mordant, and impoveriflies 

 the colour. 



Hi;re, then, is a triple combination ; 

 oil, the aftringent principle, andalumine, 

 which ferves as a mordant for the madder 

 red. Neither of thefe employed feparately 

 produces either the fame fixity or the fame 

 brilliancy in the colour. 



This mordant is, doubtlefs, the mol> 

 c^vmplicated of any employed in the art of 

 dying, and prefents a combination highly 

 inierefting, and well worthy the attention 

 of the philofuphic chemiff. 



For the Monthly Magazine. 



The ACTA DJURNA, Or NEWSPAPERS 

 of the A.MCIENT ROMANS. 



Sine ullis ornamentis monumenta fotum tem- 

 porum, liominum, locorum, gcftarumijue 

 rerum reliquerunt ; dum intelligatur, quid 

 dicanf, unam diceiidi laudcm putant elTs 

 brevitatem ; non exoinatores »erum, fed 

 tantummodo narratores fuerunt. 



Cic. de Orat. lib. ii. c. 12. 



YOUR learned and ingenious Corref- 

 pondent Indagator, to whom the 

 readers of your magazine are fo often and 

 fo greally indebted, flrft luggeded to my 

 mind (fee Nurr.ber for February 1805, p. 

 36) the following imperfeft aitempt to 

 . trace and connect whnt little has been 

 handed down to us, refpefVing a fubjc6l 

 of conGderable ciiriofity, viz. the ABa 

 Diurna, or Newfpapers of the Ancient 

 Romans. 



As we are apt to look either with an 

 eye of contempt or furprize on the cuftoms 

 of other nations which differ from our 

 own, fo we cannot help being pleafed with 

 any which bear feme degree of refem- 

 bbnce to thofe of our cou.itry : the plea- 

 fore feems to be ftronger tlie further wa 

 carry our views b;<ck into ancient times, 

 and obferve this analogy of fafhions : 

 whether the veneration nlually paid to an- 

 tirniity itU;lf heightens the frftisfaciion, or, 

 vBiiether we regard it as the voice cf Nature, 

 prrmt uncing luch a cuftom rational and 

 xilcful, by the conl'ent of dilfant ages. To 

 apply this general remark to a particular 

 initance ; every budy mult allow that 

 Ntw/papeis by ttie maurials tliey afford 



for difcourfc and fpeculation contribute 

 very much to the amufcment of the pub- 

 lic ; their cheapnefs brings them into uni. 

 verfal ule ; their variety adapts them to 

 every one's ta(fe ; the fcholar learns what 

 is going on in the literary world ; the fol- 

 ditr makes a campaign in fafety and cen- 

 fures the conduft of generals without fear 

 of being punifhed for mutiny; the politi- 

 cian, .nfpired by the fumes of the soflTce- 

 pot, imiavels the knotty intrigues of mini- 

 fters ; the induftrious merchant obferves the 

 courfe of trade and the rates of exchange ; 

 the honed (hopkeepcr nods over the ac- 

 count of a robbery and the price of the 

 maikets till his pipe is out ; and many a 

 fartiionable f.ur-one would find her break- 

 fad inGpId and her appetite palled unlefs 

 the firft were feafoned and the latter re- 

 vived by the oblique infmuation and chit- 

 chat fcandal of the gay world, of which 

 our modern Newfpapers contain fo plenti- 

 ful a fliare. 



One may eafily imagine that theufeand 

 anuifemeiit: rel'uliing from thefe diurnal 

 hillories render them not likely to be con- 

 fined to one part of the globe or one period 

 of time. The Relations of China men- 

 tion a Gazette publiHied there by autho- 

 rity, and the Rom:'.n hidorians Ibmetimes 

 quote the ABa Dutrna, or Daily Adver- 

 lifeis of that empire, as your learned and 

 ingenious Coriefpondent, Indagator, 

 proves by reference to Tacitus, 1. x\\. 

 c. 21. 



I fliall now proceed to ftate the few ob- 

 fervations which a little leifore in the coun- 

 t}y enabled me to colle^l on this curious 

 fubjecSV, trulling that they may lead fome 

 one of your learned correfpondents to com- 

 municate tlie refult of more accurate rc« 

 fcarches on the fubje£t. 



The Asia Diurna were journals of the 

 common occurrences of Rome, as the 

 •trials, eledlions, punifhments, builJingi, 

 deaths, facrifices, prodigies. &c. com- 

 pofcd under the direflion of the magi- 

 ftrates, committed to their care, and laid 

 up with the rell of their records in an edi- 

 fice called the Hall of Liberty. Like 

 all other public papers, the accef* to them 

 was eafy. The hiftoriansf appear, as al- 

 ready noticed, to have colie£ftd materials 

 from them ; nor is it improbable that co- 

 pies were frequently taken by paiticuiar 



* Vide Jufti Lipfii Excurfus in Taciturn, 

 Ed. Var. vol. I. p. 743. 



f Suet, in Ca:s. c. 20. in Vita Tib. c. 5. 

 et al- Tacit. I. 13. Suet, in Cal. c. 9- and 

 Juvenal Sat. ii. I. 136, fays^— 



fient ifta palam, cupicmet in Aftarefetri. 

 ptrloiis 



