BOOK XIII. IV. 22-vi. 26 



of Nero — so that this must not be considered a privi- 

 lege of princes ! Yet what is most surprising is that 

 this indulgence has found its way even into the 

 camp : at all events the eagles and the standards, 

 dusty as they are and bristhng with sharp points, 

 are anointed on hohdays — and I only wish we were 

 able to say who first introduced this custom ! No 

 doubt the fact is that our eagles were bribed by this 

 reward to conquer the world! We look to their 

 patronage forsooth to sanction our vices, so as to have 

 this legitimation for using hair-oil under a helmet ! 



V. I could not readilv sav when the use of unffu- introductvjn 



■^ of SC€7lt Qt 



ents first made its way to Rome. It is certain that Uome. 

 in 189 B.c. the censors Pubhus Licinius Crassus and 

 Lucius Juhus Caesar issued a proclamation forbidding 

 any sale of ' foreign essences ' — that being the 

 regular name for them. But, good heavens ! nowa- 

 days some people actually put scent in their drinks, 

 and it is worth the bitter flavour for their body to 

 enjoy the lavish scent both inside and outside. It is 

 a well-known fact that Lucius Plotius, the brother of 

 Lucius Plancus who was twice consul and censor, 

 when proscribed by the Triumvirs « was given away 

 in his hiding-place at Salerno by the scent of the 

 unguent he had been using — a disgrace that acquitted 

 the entire proscription of guilt, for who would not 

 consider that people of that sort deserved to die ? 



VI. In other respects Egypt is of all the countries Paim-tree 

 in the world the best adapted for the production of ^''^"'' 

 unguents, but Campania with its abundance of roses 



runs it close. But Judaea is even more famous 

 for its palm-trees, the nature of which will now be 

 described. It is true that there are also palms in 

 Europe, and they are common in Italy, but these are 



113 



