Ill] ON VARIOUS KINDS OF VILLAS 249 



people of Interamna and Reate. But, he went on, 

 isn't this villa, built by our ancestors, in severer 

 taste and better than your luxurious mansion at 



4 Reate? Can you see any citrus wood or gold here, 

 any vermilion or azure, any coloured ^ or marble 

 mosaic — all of which your house possesses in lavish 

 profusion? Besides, this house is the property of a 

 whole people, yours belongs but to yourself. To 

 this resort Roman citizens from the Campus Martins 

 and men of all nations ; to yours, mares and asses. 

 Again this serves for the conduct of State affairs, 

 for it is here the cohorts meet when brought before 

 the Consul on the occasion of a levy, here that the 

 inspection of arms takes place, and the censors con- 

 voke the people for the census. 



5 Of course, said Axius, this public mansion of 

 yours on the edge of the Campus Martins is merely 

 useful? Its decorations did not cost more than those 

 of all the villas of Reate put together, did they? 

 Why, its walls are plastered with pictures, and statues 

 as well, while mine shows never a trace of Lysippus ^ 



' Emblema. tfi(3\jifia means in Greek any ornament in raised 



work— such as jewels, etc., which could be removed. In Latin 



the word denotes a tessellated pavement of various colours. 



Ihe emblema vermiculalum of Lucilius (Cic. Orator, 149), is 



ipposed to owe its name to the resemblance of the pattern to 



wc contortions of worms. Nonius, however, has vermiculatum 



pro minuto atque miniato, small and coloured with red lead. 



^ Lysippi. Lysippus was a great sculptor, statuarius nobil- 

 issimus (Cic, Brut., 86), contemporary with Alexander the 

 'ireat, who would allow none other but him to carve his like- 



-.s ; all his statues were in bronze. Of one — the Apoxyomenus 



