GLADIATORS. 
Had they been entirely confined to this 
class of people, we might have been less 
*■ inclined to censure the custom ; but when 
we reflect that holiest and courageous sol- 
diers were condemned to undergo the lash 
of their captors, and afterwards perish by 
the swords of slaves, or each other, we 
cannot fail of being astonished that the high- 
spirited Roman should expose himself to 
their vengeance, by voluntarily entering 
the arena with them, there to meet almost 
certain death. Strange, however, as it ap- 
pears, freemen fought for hire under the 
term of auctorati ; and even knights, nobles, 
and senators, who had wasted their pro- 
perty by extravagance, have deigned to be- 
come gladiators. Augustus, offended at 
their conduct, forbid the senatorial! order 
and knights to enter the lists as such ; but 
preceding princes, less influenced by a sense 
of honour, permitted them to act as they 
pleased. The contagion, at length, extend- 
ed to the females of Rome ; and, lastly, 
dwarfs were taught the use of the sword, 
and fighting with the women, or each other, 
furnished a new description of diversion. 
Kennet classes the various sorts of gladia- 
tors under the terms of the Retiarii, the Se- 
cutores, the Myrmyllones, the Thracians, 
the Samnites, the Essedarii, and the Anda- 
batae ; the Gladiatores Meridiani fought in 
the afternoon ; the Gladiatores Fiscales were 
paid from the Emperor’s private treasury ; 
the Gladiatores Postulatitii were men of con- 
summate art in their profession ; the Gladi- 
atores Catervarii fought in small companies ; 
and the Gladiatores Ordinarii were not par- 
ticularly distinguished, but fought in a com- 
mon way. 
The dress of the Retiarius was a short 
habit, and a hat tied under the chin. His 
means of offence were a weapon called a 
fuscina, and a net. With the latter in his 
right hand, he endeavoured to entangle 
his adversary, and with the fbscina in the 
left he aimed mortal blows at him ; but as 
this description of gladiator was invariably 
opposed to a Secutor, armed with a scy- 
meter, a buckler, and a helmet, the Reti- 
arius had no means of escape, if he failed 
in casting his net, except by flight round 
the arena, during which he adjusted it for a 
new trial. 
The best gladiators were Thracians. 
Those men, with their faulchion and small 
round shields, possessed more national fe- 
rocity and cruelty than any of their oppo- 
nents. Kennet says, “ The original of the 
Samnite gladiators is given by Livy. The 
Campanians (says he) bearing a great ha- 
tred to the Samnites, they armed a part 
of their gladiators after the fashion of 
that country, and called them Samnites. 
They wore a shield broad at the top, to de- 
fend the breast and shoulders, and growing 
more narrow towards the bottom, that it 
might be moved with the greater conve- 
nience. They had a sort of belt coming 
over their breasts, a greave on their left 
foot, and a crested helmet on their heads.” 
Tiie Epedarii sometimes engaged from cha- 
riots, and at others on foot; and theAnda- 
batae mounted on horses fought with a hel- 
met whicli covered their faces and eyes. 
The exhibition of gladiators was an- 
nounced to the public by bills affixed in 
the public places, sometimes accompanied 
by paintings of the intended combat, or the 
most celebrated combatants ; and when the 
time mentioned had arrived, and the peo- 
ple assembled, the gladiators marched slowly 
round the arena; they were then matched, 
by persons appointed for that purpose, as 
equally as possible, and they proceeded to 
preparefor the contest by fencing with blunt- 
ed swords, &c. 5 after which the trumpets 
were sounded, and the battles began in 
serious earnest. When a severe wound was 
given, the gladiator who inflicted it, and 
the people exclaimed, ‘ He has it.’ If 
that proved decisive, the vanquished per- 
son resigned his weapon, and acknowledged 
himself conquered. But this submission 
was not alone sufficient to save his life : the 
people were to deciide his fate. He there- 
fore turned to them, and supplicated for 
mercy, which was granted, or refused, ac- 
cording to their opinion of his skill and 
courage. Several learned authors have dif- 
fered as to the exact manner in which the 
hands and fingers were placed to express 
praise or disapprobation on those occasions. 
According to Juvenal, the bending of the 
thumbs back authorised the conqueror to 
kill his adversary as a coward. The Em- 
peror might, however, interfere, if he was 
present, and save the gladiator ; it is sup- 
posed, besides, that his entraiice at the in- 
stant of defeat was favourable to the van- 
quished party, as far as his life was con- 
cerned. 
The rewards of the victors consisted of 
money collected from the spectators ; and 
when they happened to be slaves, they re- 
ceived the pileus, or cap, denoting that 
from that moment they became free; or 
the rtidis, or wand, which signified their 
services as gladiators were thenceforth dis- 
