no Before Chrift 130— 127, 



130 — VelleiusPaterculus [-^.ii.r. 1] remarks, that the firllScipio iliewed 

 'the Romans the way to power, and the fecond, to luxury. But, how- 

 ever rich the pubUc treafury might be with the fpoils of induftrious na- 

 tions, individuals were not yet arrived at any great degree of opulence : 

 and the houfes of the greateft of the Romans at this time, though fub- 

 ftantial, were by no means elegant. They were all eclipfed by a houfe 

 built by Lepidus about fifty years after, which, in the progrefs of luxury, 

 was exceeded in magnificence by above a hundred houfes in thirty-five 

 years more. [/*/?>/. L. xvii, c. 1 ; L. xxxvi, c. 15.] 



The marriage portions of women may be reckoned a pretty good 

 flandard of the general wealth of a nation. The fenate of Rome, as a 

 mark of their refped for Scipio, then commanding their army in Spain, 

 gave his daughter a portion of 1 1,000 affes {£,2S '• ^° • 5) fterling : and 

 it was a greater fortune than that of Tatia the daughter of Ceefo, whofe 

 portion of 1 0,000 afles (^^32 : 5 : 10) was efleemed very great. Megul- 

 lia, indeed, greatly exceeded both of them, for Ihe had 50,000 afles 

 (;,^322 : 1 8 : 4), and in confideration of fuch extraordinary wealth fhe was 

 furnamed the Fortune (' Dotata'). [Valer. Max. L. iv, c. 4.] 



The fecond Scipio does not appear to have been luxurious, avari- 

 cious, nor rich ; for at his death he left only 32 pounds of filver and 2~ 

 pounds of gold * ; a fmall fortune for one who had commanded at the 

 deftrudion and plunder of the richefl; city in the weftern world. \_Sext, 

 All r el. Victor de viris i//i//?r.] 



About this time the pay of the Roman foldiers was two obeli (about 

 27d) a day, of the centurions four oboli, and of the horfemen a drachma 

 or fix oboli (j^d). In the north part of Italy, afterwards called Lom- 

 bardy, the medimnus (about a bufhel and a half) of wheat was fold for 

 four oboli ; barley at half that price ; and wine was exchanged for bar- 

 ley, meafure for meafure. Polybius, [L. n,c. 15 ; Z,. vi, c. 37] to whom 

 we are indebted for thefe rates of pay and prices, by remarking the ex- 

 traordinary cheapnefs in the north part of Italy, fhows us, that provifions 

 were then higher in Rome. But though they had coft there even the 

 double of thefe prices, a foldier could fl:ill purchafe a peck and a half of 

 wheat with his day's pay, which of courfe mud be confidered as very 

 high : or, in other words, the Romans paid the defl:royers of mankind 

 at a much higher rate than their feeders. 



The 127th year before the Chriflian aera is diftinguifhed by the laft 

 obfervation made by Hipparchus, a Bithynian Greek, who is with rea- 

 fon called the prince of aflronomers. He calculated the eclipfes of the 



The ovctfight of the prince of Rritifli gcograpli- Necos king of Egypt had demoiiftrated, that the 



ers and antiquaries is kept in countenance by an ioulh part of it was furrounded by the ocean.— 



ovcrfight of Polybius liimfclf in the vciy paffage See above, p. 35. 



quoted ; wlio nilght have learned from Herodotus * The Roman pound waj equal to twelve ounces 



.that the circumravigation of Africa in the reign of 01 our avoirdupois weight. 



