BOOK XIII. XXVII. 85-88 



lasted in a hole in the ground, and consequently on a 

 point of such importance I will quote the words of 

 Hemina himself : ' Other people wondered how 

 those books could have lasted so long, but Terentius's 

 explanation was that about in the middle of the 

 coffer there had been a square stone tied all round 

 with waxed cords, and that the three books had been 

 placed on the top of this stone ; and he thought this 

 position was the reason why they had not decayed ; 

 and that the books had been soaked in citrus-oil, 

 and he thought that this was why they were not 

 moth-eaten. These books contained the philoso- 

 phical doctrines of Pythagoras ' — and Hemina said 

 that the books had been burnt by the praetor 

 Quintus Petilius because they were \\Titings of 

 philosophy.<^ The same story is recorded by Piso the 

 former Censor in his Commentaries, Book I, but he 

 says that there were seven volumes of pontifical law 

 and the same number of Pythagorean philosophy ; 

 while Tuditanus in Book XIII says that there were 

 twelve volumes of the Decrees of Numa ; Varro him- 

 self says that there were seven volumes of Antiquities 

 of Man, and Antias in his Second Book speaks of 

 there having been twelve volumes On Matters 

 Pontifical written in Latin and the same number in 

 Greek containing Doctrines of Philosophy ; Antias 

 also quotes in Book III a Resolution of the Senate 

 deciding that these volumes were to be burnt. It is 

 iiowever universally agreed that the Sibyl brought 

 three volumes to Tarquin the Proud, of which two 

 were bumt by herself while the third was destroyed 

 in the burning of the Capitol in the Sulla crisis. 

 Moreover the Mucianus who was three times consul 

 has stated that recently, when govemor of Lycia, he 



151 



