Notices respecting New Books. 227 



have given no explanation : perhaps it indicates the country of 

 the gladiator. The number which follows is that of his vic- 

 tories : the word vkit is given by the letter > plai-ed thus. 

 Finallv, in the last column we see a T, or a number : the letter T 

 must signify Tiro, or apprentice ; and the number, that of the 

 years which the gladiator has passed in the troop. According to 

 my conjecture, we may explain the following passages in this way : 

 SECVNDVS POMP" II> II. Secundus of Pompeia conquered 

 twice, and has since served two years. DORYS PIS VI>III. 

 Doris of Pesaro has conquered six times, and served four years. 

 HILARIO ARR VII > VIII. Hilario of Ariano conquered 

 seven times, and served eight years, &c." 



All the other gladiators represented on this bas-relief are on 

 foot : those of the second pair have legs covered with plates of 

 metal, and their body is begirt with similar plates : they rest on 

 a buckler formed like the Roman scutiim, and are ready for 

 fighting. The inscriptions above are not so well preserved as 

 the foregoing, and the names of the two gladiators are lost. We 

 read above the first lUL. XV. which indicates that he was a 

 Frejulian, and that he had been fifteen times victorious : above 

 the second is written IB . XXX . V : M, Millin thinks that the 

 two letters IB. might have been the initials of the word IberuSy 

 and that the gladiator who was thus thirty times victor was a Spa- 

 niard : this is the onlv one who is not designated as a FrejuHan. 



One of tlie gladiators of the third pair is grievously wounded, 

 and his blood flows on the arena : the other has bent forward 

 on one knee, and raises his left hand. Does the latter suppli- 

 cate his life, or on the contrary does he patiently await the 

 blow which his adversary is about to give him ? In the course 

 of this inquiry M. Millin elucidates several practices in the com- 

 bats of gladiators, and cites various expressions of ancient au- 

 thors on this subject. ^Ve need not follow him through these 

 interesting details, but shall adhere to the inscriptions relative 

 to this jjair of combatants. These inscriptions are placed on 

 two lines, both above the gladiator on his knee, so that we can- 

 not ascertain at first sight to whom they refer. M. Millin suc- 

 ceeds, however, in settling what belongs to each. The upper- 

 inscription is thus conceived : SVS IVL. XV M . . The 

 letters SVS are tlie last of the gladiator's name, and it is im- 

 possible to complete it, because a great number of names have 

 the same termination. The consecutive letters lUL. XV an- 

 nounce that the gladiator was of Frejus, and that he was fifteen 

 times victor. Tlie letters M. 0. remain to be accounted for. 

 M. Millin proves by the joint testimony of inscriptions and au- 

 thors, that tlie last of these letters, which has the form of the 

 Greek thela, is a fimercal letter, atuiouncing that a man is 

 dead, and that itjs employed even in Latin inscriptions. He 



P 2 thence 



