Before Chrift 43. ricj 



late the intercalary days, repeated the leap-years every third year ; and 

 the error ran on after the death of Caefar, till it was reformed in the 

 reign of Auguftus. [P/i?i. Hift. nat. L. xviii, c. 25 — Sucton. in "Jul. c. 40 ; 

 Oclav. f. 31. — Dion Cciffl L. x\xd — ,Cenforin. c. 8.] Cafar firll planned 

 a general furvey of the whole empire, and committed the execution of 

 it to three Grecian geographers, to each of whom was alligned a por- 

 tion of the Roman world : and 25 years i month and 10 days elapfcd 

 before the laft part of this vafl: furvey was completed, which, with the 

 fupplementary fvirveys of new provinces, when they were conquered, 

 formed the chief ground-work of Ptolemy's fyftem, which was till lately 



the univerfal ftandard of geographical fcience. {^JEthici Cofmographia 



Veget. de re inilit. L. iii, c. 6. J In one year (44) he rellored the two 

 commercial cities of Carthage * and Corinth, which had been deftroyed 

 in one year by his predeceflbrs. Both recovered Ibme (hare of their 

 antient importance ; and in about half a century Carthage became as 

 populous as any city on the north coafl of Africa. [Sfral/o, L. v'ni, p. 

 585 ; L. xvn,p. 1 190.] Thefe adions fliow, that Caefar, Hke Alexan- 

 der, had a foul capable of the ufeful virtues, and might have been as 

 beneficent as illuftrious, if the folly of mankind did not bellow greater 

 applaufe upon their deftroyers than their benefadors. 



43 — Cicero, who at this time fell a facrifice to the rage of civil war, 

 obferves, that thofe. who afcribe the creation of the world to the fortui- 

 tous concourfe of matter, might as well iuppofe, that innumerable forms 

 of the twenty-one letters, made of gold or any other material, if jum- 

 bled together, and then fhaken out upon the ground, could produce a 

 copy of the Annals of Ennius. And he elfewhere talks of imprinting the 

 notes, or marks, of letters upon wax f . [De nat. deor. L. ii ; Part, orat :j:.] 

 From thefe notices it feems probable, that the antients knew how to 

 print letters : but we may be allured, that they knew nothing of a per- 

 manent colouring matter, or ink, nor of a prefs, as their forms (or types) 

 do not appear to have been ever appUed to the valuable purpofe of mul- 

 tiplying the copies of books. 



Luxury, or rather profufion, being introduced in Rome by the con- 

 quell of the wealthy and enervated kingdoms of Alia, had now made 

 iuch progrefs, thai there were this year above an hundred houfes, more 



to matce a new regulation, vviiich is now adopted deiitly have approached to the nature of modern 



in every part of Europe, and the European co- types. For feveral paffages of antient authors, 



lonies, excepting RulCa and Turkey. coiicerii^ng their letters, writing, &c. fee Hugo de 



* Gracchus attempted to rebuild Carthr.ge foon faihci'.diorig.c. lO. 



after its deftrudlon ; but the enterprife feems to \ The chapters, or fedions, in the various edi- 



have been foon abandoned. tions of Cicero are very difcordantly numbered. 



_ t Quintilian \_De tnjl. i^nit. L. i, c. Il] men- That containing the paflage here quot-.-d from 



tions ivory letters, iii commonly put into the hands Natura deorum is numbered 20, 37, and 95. The 



of children to affill them in learning to read. But other from the Pflr//V;V>nfj I have found numbered 



thofe letters, wherewith impreflions were made up- 7 and 26 in two editions I have examined. 

 on tables or plates covered with wax, muft evi- 



