BOOK XXXIII. V. 15-V1. 17 



aiigury," when Jupiter the God of the Capitol had 

 repaid twofold. 



Also, as we began on this topic from the subject 

 of rings, it is suitable incidentally to point out that 

 the official in charge of the temple of Jupiter of the 

 Capitol when he was arrested broke the stone ^ of 

 his ring between his teeth and at once expired, so 

 putting an end to any possibility of proving the 

 theft. It follows that there w^as only 2,000 Ibs. 

 weight of gold at the outside when Rome was cap- 

 tured in its 364th year,'' although the census showed 

 there were already 152,573 free citizens. From the 

 same city 307 years later the gold that Gaius Marius 82 b.c. 

 the younger had conveyed to Palestrina from the 

 conflagration of the temple of the Capitol and from 

 all the other shrines amounted to 14,000 Ibs., which 

 with a placard above it to that effect was carried 

 along in his triumphal procession by Sulla, as well as 8I b.o. 

 6,000 Ibs. weight of silver. Sulla had Hkewise on the 

 previous day carried in procession 15,000 Ibs. of gold 

 and 115,000 Ibs. of silver as the proceeds of all the 

 rest of his victories. 



VI. It does not appear that rings were in more Moreabout 

 common use before the time of Gnaeus Flavius son ^^pubiican 

 of Annius. It was he who first pubUshed the dates v^riod. 

 for legal proceedings, which it had been customary 305-4 b.c. 

 for the general pubhc to ascertain by daily enquiry 

 from a few of the leading citizens ; and this won 

 him such great popularity with the common 

 people — he was also the son of a hberated slave and 

 himself a clerk to Appius Caecus,^ at w hose request 

 he had by dint of natural shrewdness through 

 continual observation picked out those days and 

 published them — that he was appointed a curule 



15 



