of Plinies Naturall Hiftorie. 
A man ofmeaneand bafe parentage,as whofe grandfire by his fathers fide had been no betterthan 
aflave enfranchifed : howbeit having a pregnant wit of his owne, and brought up daily under a 
good {choolematter 4ppius Claudius furnamed the Blind(whom he ferved as his Scribe ,Clerke, 
or Secretarie) he grew into inward credit and favour with his mafter, that for bis better advance- 
ment, he openedunto him the whole courfe of daies pleadable and not pleadable,exhorting and 
_ perfuading him withall, to publith that fecret & myfterie to the view and knowledge of the whole 
- alwais before were woont to hang everie day upon thelips of fome few of the chiefe & principal - 
citie :which the faid Flevins (after much conference and confulration with Appivs)did,and effe- 
Ged accordingly : whereupon he became fo gracious with the whole bodie ofthe people, (who 
Senators, for to have the information andknowledge ot the faid daies) that in the end a Bill pro- 
mulged by him,pafled by general affent of them all, forto be created Adile Curuletogither with 
Q. Anicivs of Prenefte(who not many yeers before had been a profefled enemie & borne arms 
againft the Romans ;) without anyregard had inthis election, either of C. Petilins or Domitius, 
who werenobly born,and had two Coff. to their fathers, who notwithftanding ftood for the faid 
dignitie & honourable place.And more than that, this F/sv/vs had a {peciall grace befides gran- 
ted, To bee atthe fame time one of the Tribunes alfo or Provofts of the comminaltie: At which 
indignitie, the Senat tooke fuch difdaine,and chafed fo for defpight and anger,that as we read in 
the ancient annals and chronicles of our citie, there wasnot one Senatour of them all but laid 
away his golden rings,& gaveup his place.Many are ofopinion (although they be far deceived) 
that the knights and meffof arms alfo didthe femblable, and left off their rings the fame time: 
And thislikewife goeth currant and is generally received, That they caft afide the caparifons and 
trappings of their bard. horfes;for thefe be the wo badges and marks which caufeth them to be 
called Equites,as one would fay,knights,men of arms, or horfmen, True it is befides, that in fome 
annals we find recorded, that it was the nobilitie onely of Rome that gave over their gold rings, 
and not generally the whole bodie of the Senat. Well ,howfoever it was,this hapned tn that yeer 
when P.Sempronius Longus and L, Sulpitivs were Confuls. But Flavizs abovefaid, feeing what 
. troubleand difconrentment was arifen hereupon throughout the citie, vowed to ere and build 
F 
a temple in the honour of Concord, if he could reconcile the eftate of the Senat, and the order of 
_ the Gentlemen againe to the common people, And feeing thathe could not be fornifhed with 
mony out of thepublick treafure of thecitiefor the defraying of charges requifitto this peece of 
worke, he made means to have certain extreame ufurers condemned to pay good round fums of 
money :and with thefefines,a littlechappell hecanfedto be made all of braf{e, and reared ic in. 
the place appointed for Embafladours out of ftraunge countries to wait and give attendance in, 
called Grzecoftafis, the which was at the head of the publicke grand place ot hall of aflemblies 
called Comitium : where,in a table of brafle hee tooke order, there fhould bee cut and engraven 
the veritie of the dedication of the {aid chappell, which was 104 yeers afcer that the temple in 
the Capitoll was dedicated, and in the 448 yecre from the foundation of the citie. This is the firlt 
and moft ancient evidence that may be colicGted out of all the antiquities of Rome now extant, 
as touching the ulage and wearing of Rings. Another teftimonie we have thereof in the fecond 
Punicke war, which implieth,that rings in thofe daies were ufed more ordinarily,as well by com- 
mons as gentlemen and nobles: for otherwife, ifthey had notben fo ufually worneas well by one 
as another, _4naiball couldnever have {ent to Carthage thofe three modij of rings which were 
plucked from the fingers of thofe Romanes who died in the battaile of Cannz. Moreover, the 
Chronicles doe beare witnefle that the great quarrell betweene Cepio and Drufis (from which 
arofe thefociall war of te Marfians, and the ruine of the {tate) grew by occafion of a ring fold 
in portfale, which both of them would have had, the one as wellas the other. Neither at that 
time verily did all Senators weare goldrings;for knowne it hath been within the remembrance 
of our grandfathers, that many of thean (even fuch as bare the Pretourfhip) in their old age and 
to their verie dying day, never wore any other rings but of yron. Thefamedoth Feneflel/areport _ 
of Calpharniys ,and of ~Manilivs allo,who was lieutenant under Caius Mariv in the war againfk 
king Jugurtha. And many other Hiftorians affirme.the like of £.Fu/idiws, him] meané, unto 
~ whome Scgurvs dedicated that booke which hee compiled of hislife. There is a whole houfe or 
familie at Rome, of the Quintg , wherein (by auncient cuftome and order) there was never any 
knowne,{o muchas the veric women, to weare any gold about them. Andevenat this day,the 
greater part of thofe nations and people wholive under the Empire of Rome, know not mat 
Rr thefe 
457 
