r 342 ] 
of the gods. And as words, which denote the pro- 
perties of things, are often made uie of to exprefs the 
things themfelves ; fo numen is fometimes ufed in a 
perfonal fenfe for a deity. Thus Horace complimen- 
ting Auguftus upon the divine honours, which were 
paid him by the Roman people, fais : 
Lartbus tuam 
Mifcet numen ( 1 ). 
Nor was this extravagant flattery peculiar to the po- 
ets ; for, as Tacitus informs us : Rubric crimini da- 
batur violatum perjurio numen Augufti (2). And in 
another place he fais : Fortunam , et deos , et numen 
Othoms adejje tejlabantur (3"). Y\ e find the like ufe 
of the word alfo in Valerius Maximus, who fpeaking 
of fome perfons, who falfely pretended to have fprung 
from noble families, thus exprcfies himfeif : Nec divi 
quidem Augujli , etiamnum terras regent is, excellent 
tijjimum numen intentatum ab hoc injuriae gcnere ex- 
titit (4). But this occurs mod frequently in their 
monumc.ntal infcriptions. So among many other in- 
fiances in Gruter , there is one upon an altar at Narbo , 
which has this title : 
NVMINI. AVGVSTI. VOTVM 
SVSCEPTVM. A. PLEBE, NARBO 
NENSIVM. IN PERPETVOM (?). 
This 
( 1 ) Cartnin. Lib. IV. 5. 34. 
(2) ytrinal. Lib. 1. cap. 73. Where fee the Commentators. 
( 3 ) Hi/. Lib. 11. cap. 33. 
(4.) Lib. lx. cap. 15. § 3. 
( 5 ) Pag. ccxxix. 
