BOOK XIII. III. 19-IV. 22 



When being tested they are put on the back of the 

 hand, to avoid their being damaged by the warmth 

 of the fleshy part. 



IV. Perfumes serve the purpose of the most Luxurious 

 superfluous of all forms of luxury ; for pearls and ^^ '^^ "^' 

 jewels do nevertheless pass to the \vearer's heir, and 

 clothes last for some time, but unguents lose their 

 scent at once, and die in the very hour when they are 

 used. Their highest recommendation is that when 

 a woman passes by her scent may attract the 

 attention even of persons occupied in something else 

 — and their cost is more than 400 denarii per pound ! 

 All that money is paid for a pleasure enjoyed by 

 somebody else, for a person carrying scent about 

 him does not smell it himself. Still, if even these 

 matters deserve to be graded after a fashion, we find 

 in the works left by Marcus Cicero that unguents 

 that have an earthy scent are more agreeable than 

 those smeUing of saffron, inasmuch as even in a class 

 of things where corruption is most rife, nevertheless 

 some deffree of strictness in vice itself g;ives more 

 enjoyment. But there are people who get most 

 pleasure from unguent of a dense consistency, which 

 they call * thick essence,' and who enjoy smearing 

 themselves with perfume and not mcrely pouring 

 it over them. We have even seen people put scent 

 on the soles of their feet, a practice said to have 

 been taught to the emperor Nero by Marcus Otho ; 

 pray, how could it be noticed or give any pleasure 

 from that part of the body ? Moreover, we have 

 heard that somebody of private station gave orders 

 for the walls of his bathroom to be sprinkled with 

 scent, and that the Emperor Caligula had the bath- 

 tubs scented, and so also later did one of the slaves 



IIT 



