1'20 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1745. 



company of merchants at Rome Mercuriales, as being under the protection of 

 Mercury. And Ganymedes is stiled by Macrobius, Jovialium poculorum mi- 

 nister. Now as these several appellations took their rise from the peculiar re- 

 lation and subserviency of the persons to those deities, from whom they were 

 denominated ; so Mars himself, being here called Jovialis, is by an excess of 

 flattery represented as subservient to this emperor Jovius or Jupiter. For so he 

 was also called, as we find in some like instances of fulsome compliments paid to 

 him by the panegyrist Mamertinus ; as when addressing to him, and his coU 

 league Maximian, he says, Sancte Jupiter et Hercules bone. And in another 

 passage, non opinione traditus, sed conspicuus et praesens, Jupiter cominus in- 

 \'Ocari, non advena, sed imperator, Hercules adorari. And as if no degree of 

 flattery could be too extravagant for this emperor, there is an inscription in Gru- 

 ter, which begins thus : ^terno imperatori nostro maximo optimoqvk 



PRINCIPI AVRELIO VALERIO DIOCLETIANO. The epithets OPTIMVS MAXIMVS, 



usually ascribed to Jupiter, had indeed been applied to some former emperors ; 

 but ^TERNVs, as a personal title, seems to have been first attributed to this 

 prince ; though, like other ill examples, it was soon imitated, and given to some 

 following emperors, 



The third line contains the names of this votary, titvs clavdivs primvs, 

 each of which is separately found in Horsley's Britannia Romana ; and in one of 

 Gruter's inscriptions they all three meet in the same person, in the order they 

 stand here. The next line tells us his character, that he was the freedman of 

 attivs, that is, probably, of titvs clavdivs attivs ; it being customary for 

 freedmen to assume the first two names of their patrons, as tiro the freedman 

 of Cicero was called marcvs tvllivs tiro. Indeed attivs generally stands as 

 a family name, but we find it in the place of a cognomen in Gruter, marcvs 

 tvllivs m. l. attivs. The last line contains the usual form of such addresses. 



The inscription on the second plate is thus expressed : 



D . MARTI . ALATORr 

 DVM . CENSORINVS 



GEMELLI FIL 

 V . S . L . M 



That is, it seems, it may be read : 

 Deo Marti Alatorum Dum. Censorinus, Gemelli filius, votuin solvit 



libens merito. 

 The word alatorv in the first line must probably stand for alatorvm, the 

 letter v being joined to the r in one character ; as we find them in the Britannia 

 Romana, where they make part of the word institaer/nt for institvervnt. 



Now as to the design and use of these plates. The ancient pagans had not 

 only their national but domestic deities, to whom they addressed in private, and 



