Some Eminent Men 37 



gives an average of 57 years from birth of father 

 to birth of son for three generations in succes- 

 sion. And his mother was the youngest sister of 

 Julius Caesar. 



In the early days Rome was controlled solely 

 by the patricians. Little by little the plebeians 

 gained in power at the expense of the patricians. 

 The most prominent member of the most illus- 

 trious plebeian family of the Claudia Gens was 

 Marcus Claudius Marcellus. As evidence that 

 we are not referring simply to an ordinary supe- 

 rior person, observe that double superlative. The 

 average for seven generations in the male line to 

 Marcellus is over forty years. 



The Kembles were a famous family of actors 

 and actresses. Recorded history begins with Roger 

 Kemble, born in 1721, who was an actor and the 

 father of eleven children, all of whom were more 

 or less famous in theatricals. The famous grand- 

 children of Roger were Fanny Kemble, and Ade- 

 laide, also known as Mrs. Sartoris. Both were 

 authors as well as actors. Now these famous 

 granddaughters did not come from Roger's first 

 child, or his second child, or his third child, or 

 his fourth child, or his fifth child, or his sixth 



