1805.] 



On the Ancient Reman New/papers. 



27 



perfons and difperfed about the city or the fame author afTertJ, forbade* the pub- 

 lient to their fiignds in the provinces, that Jication of the former to be comirmerl, but 

 no Roman might be ignorant even of the there is no reafon to think that his prohl- 

 minuteft event which happened in the me- bition extended to the latter. It is certain, 

 tropoiis of the world. Jy fuitable to the genius of an abfolute 



We may find fome ground for this fup- monarchy that its councils fliou Id not be 

 pofition in the correfpondence between publicly known ; but the amufing and 

 Cicero and Ccelius*, whilft the former trifling topics of difconrle uhich the corn- 

 was governor of Cilicia. Ccelius had mon events of a gieat city afFrrd, are Co 

 promifed to fer.d him the news of Rome, far from bring ofFenfivi under I'uch a con- 

 and in order to difcharge his ccmmifilon ftitution, that they rather feive todrawofF 

 with exaflnefs, and gratify the curiofiry the minds of the people (rom inquiring in- 

 of his friend, he inclofes in his fiift letter to affairs of a mor«^ important and (iecret 

 a kind of Journal of the occurrences of the nature. 



city. Cicero, it appears, would have made The antiquaries pretend to have difco- 

 a bad figure in a modern C'.ffee-houfe con- vered fome of tliefe paters. Thofe which 

 verfation, for he rallies Ccelius, humor- relate to the 585th year of Rome, were 

 oufly enough, about it in his aiillver " Do firlt publiflied by Pigliius, in his Annslsf .' 

 you think," fays he, " that 1 left it in We tells us that they were given tj him 

 charge with you to fend an account of the by James Sufuis, who found thtin amdngit 

 matches of gladiators, the adjournments the papers of Ludovicus Vives. He docs 

 of the courts and fnch like ai ticks, which, not i'ctm to have the lealf doubt of their 

 •yen when I am at Rome, nobody ventures being genuine, and evui mjkes ufe of 

 to fell me. From you, I expefl a politi- them to correal a pafiage in Livy. Dod- 

 cal fketcli of the (late of the common- well alTo inferted them in his Camdenian 

 **ealth, and notChreflus's newfpaper.f" LefturesJ together with lonic atiditional 

 Suetonius likewife mentior.s a little par- A£ia of the year of Rome 691. A friend 

 ticularity with regard to thefe .-^^a jDwr- of his, Adrian Beverland, had rtceived 

 Ka, which may ferve to confirm the no- them from Ifaac Vofiius, who tianfcribed 

 tion of their bearing a pretty near refem- them from a parcei of infcriptions whicii 

 biance to our newfpapers. H^ lays that Petavins had prepared for the prefs. 

 *' IJulius C?efar in his confulfhip ordered I Hiall now venture to make a few ex- 

 fhe diurnal afls of the fcnate and the peo- traffs from the papers themlirives, ohfcrv- 

 ple to be p.ublifhed.'* Auguftus, indeed ing only that the names of Paulus^mi- 



lius, the conqu-ror of Macedon, Pooilius 

 Lenas, the famous ambaffddor, Julius 

 Casfar, Cicero and Horteofius give an air 

 of importance, and perhaps occ^lion the 

 mod trifling circumitancccs being men- 

 tioned. 



I have purpofely kept as clofe to the 



• Lib viii. Ep. I. Lib. ii. Ep. 8. 



+ " Quid ? tu me hoc tibi mandafl'eexlfti- 

 mas, ut mihi gladiatorum compofitioncs, ut 

 vadimonia dilata & ChreJJi Compilaticncm mit- 

 tttes, et ea quae nobis, cura Kor.ije fumus, 

 narrare nemo audeat ?" c;c. 



J Vit Jul. Ca:s. " Primus omnium infti- ..,••-■ 

 tuit ut tarn lenatus quam populi diurna aaa Originals _as polfinle, that the form and 

 conficerentur et fuhhcarer.tur." It has been J^^anner of drawing them up may be pre- 



contended that thefe words of Suetonius im- 

 ply that Julius Caefar was the firft vvho or- 

 dered the iHi of the I'enatK and people to be 

 drau'n upas well as publiflied j and this is one 

 reafon, amongft others, why fome men of 

 learning have fufpefled the genuinenefs of 

 thefe remains, but the force of Suetonius's 

 cxprclTion may be in fome degree lefl'eried by 

 conlidering that a numerous, grave, and re- 



ferved. 



J.UC. 585. 5/Z> of the Kaletiits of April. 

 The Fafces nvUb jEmilius the Con Jul. 

 The Coni'ul crowned with laurel, 



licas rc!;itum ut c:^ tabulffi privata Lamen cul- 

 todiu continereiitur, non coiitinui oomi, fed 

 dividi paliim." — Pro Syll. c. 15. it is i.ot 

 ^p all impolTible that thefe Tabulte Pullhct 



d 



which might be referred to and examined up- m^rna v^ith a good deal of learning and in- 



on occifion. Bciidcs, it may be clearly col- ge„ujty. 



lefltd fri.m the following piflage in one of * Aug. c 36 



Cicero's Orations, that there w. ,c fome fuch •)• Pighius' (Me^hanus) Annalcs Magiftra- 



regifters in being long before the time of tuum e: ^'rovinciar^m. Si" D R, A,,! ica, 



(.«far's confulOiip •._" Quid deindc, quid lo). See vol. ii. o^ -^-i^. '^ ">"-i5')h 



itcj cum fcitem ita indicium wTibuJas pub- J App. c. 5. and c" a'q. 



D:^ 



The 



