MUSIC. 
S(>2 
public expenfe; they continued feveral days, during 
which they proceeded dancing through the city to the 
Forum, and the Capitol, and to many other public and 
private places, beating time upon the ancilia, or facred 
ihields. The Romans called them Salii from their violent 
motions. And for the fame reafon, they called all other 
dancers Saltatores, becaufe their dancing, alfo, was at¬ 
tended with frequent fpringing and leaping, in imitation 
of the Salii: “ In the evolutions which they perform in 
arms, keeping time to a flute, fays Dionyfius, fometimes 
they move all together, fometimes by turns ; and, in dan¬ 
cing, fing certain hymns, after the manner of their coun¬ 
try. They feem to be the fame as the Greek curetes.” 
This account affords no very fplendid idea of the Ro¬ 
man dancing, any more than it does of their mufic. Sing¬ 
ing and dancing together, during Inch violent exertions of 
aftivity and agility, mull have enfeebled both. 
Servius Tullius, who began his reign 578 B. C. in 
forming the people into clafles and centuries, is related 
by the Roman hiftorians to have ordained that two whole 
centuries fhould coniift of trumpeters, blowers of the horn, 
&c. and of f’uch as, without any other inf raments, founded 
the charge. This fhows the number and the importance 
of military muficians in the Roman Hate near 600 years 
before Chrift. 
And in the laws of the Twelve Tables, inftituted about 
the time that the power of the Decemvirs was abolifhed, 
450 B. C. among thofe concerning religious rites, we find 
the two following : I. Let the cryer proclaim the fune¬ 
ral. Let the mailer of the funeral, in the games, make 
ufe of a public officer, and liftors. Let it be lawful for 
him to make ufe of three fquare mantles in the funeral, a 
purple fillet for the head, and ten players on the flute. Let 
him do no more than this. XII. Let the praifes of ho¬ 
noured men be difplayed in an aflembly of the people; 
and let mournful fongs, accompanied with a flute, attend 
thofe praifes. 
According to Servius, Macrobius, and Horace, nup¬ 
tial fongs, which were afterwards refined and polifhed 
into epithalamiums, were firft ufed by the people of Fef- 
cennia, a city of Etruria, and therefore called Verfus 
Fefcennini. This kind of poetry, in its original, was 
grofs and obfcene, though long authorifed by cuftom. 
Young people, inftead of throwing the flocking, in the 
manner of our villagers, fung the FeJ'cennina before the 
apartment of the new married pair. 
Livy gives a kind of hiftory of the Roman drama, which, 
as well as the Grecian, was infeparable from mufic. The 
pafl'age is fo curious, that we fhall infert it entire. “ The 
plague continued, fays Livy, to rage this year (364 B. C.) 
and the following. The molt remarkable occurrence 
during this period was, that, in order to obtain mercy of 
the gods, a public feaft called LeSliJiernium w'as celebrated 
for them, which was the third entertainment of this kind 
that had been made fmce the building of the city. But 
the magiftrates, finding that the violence of the pefti- 
lence was neither abated by human prudence nor divine 
afliftance, and having their minds filled with fuperftition, 
among other means which w'ere tried in order to appeafe 
the incenfed deities, are faid to have inftituted the games 
called Scenici, which were amufements entirely new to a 
warlike people, who, before this time, had none but that 
of the circus. Thefe theatrical reprefentations, like the 
beginnings of moft other things, were at firft inconfider- 
able, and borrowed from foreigners ; for adtors were fent 
for from Etruria, who, without verfes, or any adlion ex- 
preflive of verfes, danced, not ungracefully, after the 
Tufcan manner, to the flute. In procefs of time the 
Roman youth began to imitate thefe dancers, intermixing 
raillery in unpolifhed verfes, their geftures correfponding 
with the fenfe of the words. Thus were thefe plays re¬ 
ceived at Rome ; and, being improved and refined by fre¬ 
quent performances, the Roman aftors acquired the 
name of hijiriones, from the Tufcan word hi/icr, which 
fignifies a ftage-player. But their dialogue did not confift 
of unpremeditated and coarfe jefts, in fuch rude verfes 
as were ufed by the Fefcennini; but of latires, accompa¬ 
nied with mufic, fet to the flute, and recited with fuitable 
geftures. And fome years after, Livius Andronicus firft; 
ventured to abandon fatires, and write plays with a regu¬ 
lar and connected plot. After fatires, which had afforded 
the people lubjeft of coarfe mirth and laughter, were, by 
this regulation, reduced to form, and a fling, by degrees, 
became an art, the Roman youth left it to players by 
profeflion, and began, as formerly, to act farces at the 
end of their regular pieces. Thefe dramas were foon af¬ 
ter called Exodia, and were generally interwoven with the 
Atellane comedies. Thefe were borrowed from the Ofci, 
and always adted by the Roman youth, who would not 
allow them to be difgraced by profefled adlors. Hence 
it has been a rule for thofe who performed in fuch pieces 
not to be degraded from their tribe, and they were allowed 
to ferve in the army as if they never had appeared on the 
ftage.” Bookvii. c. 2. 
The circumftance of thefe plays having been firft repre- 
fentedon account of the plague, proves theatrical exhibi¬ 
tions to have been originally religious inflitutions among the 
Romans, as well as the ancient Greeks; and the import¬ 
ance of mufic in religious ceremonies is put out of all 
doubt by another curious paflage in Livy, where he has 
recorded the eftedls of refentment in the Roman mufi¬ 
cians, who ufed to perform at facrifices, and who, upon an 
imaginary affront, left the city in a body. The relation 
of the hiftorian feems to merit a place here wdthout abrid°-- 
ment. “ I fhould omit a circumftance, fays he, hardly 
worth mentioning, if it did not feem connedted with re¬ 
ligion. The tibicines, or flute-players, taking offence at 
the preceding cenfors refufing them the privilege of eat¬ 
ing in the temple of Jupiter, according to traditional 
cuftom, withdrew in a body to Tibur, fo that there were 
no performers left to play before the facrifices. This 
created religious fcruples in the minds of the fenators; 
and ambaffadors were fent to Tibur, to endeavour to per- 
fuade the fugitives to return to Rome. The Tiburtines 
readily promifed to ufe their utmoft endeavours to this 
end, and, firft fummoning them before their fenate, ex¬ 
horted them to return to Rome ; but, finding them deaf 
to reafon or intreaty, they had recourfe to an artifice well 
fuited to the difpofitions of thefe men. For, upon a cer¬ 
tain feftival, they were all invited by different perfons, 
under pretence of affifting in the celebration of a feaft. 
As men of this profeflion are generally much addidled to 
wine, they were fupplied with it, till, being quite intoxi¬ 
cated, they fell faft afleep, and in this condition w r ere 
flung into carts, and carried to Rome ; where they pafled 
the remaining part of the night in the Forum, without 
perceiving what had happened. The next day, while 
they were full of the fumes of their late debauch, upon 
opening their eyes they were accofted by the Roman peo¬ 
ple, who flocked about them ; and, having been prevailed 
upon to flay in their native city, they were allowed the 
privilege of ftrolling through all the ftreets in their robes, 
three, days in every year, playing upon their inftruments, 
and indulging themfelves in thofe licentious excefles 
which are pradlifed upon the fame occalion to this day. 
The privilege of eating in the temple was alfo reltored to 
fuch of them as fhould be employed in playing before the 
facrifices.” Book ix. c. 30. ' This adventure happened 
309 years B.C. while the Romans were preparing for two 
very dangerous wars. 
But, notwithftanding the importance of thefe flute- 
players to the celebration of religious rites, mufic feems 
to have arrived at no very great degree of refinement or 
perfedlion, or to have been much in ufe on other occa- 
iions, till after the conqueft of Antiochus the Great, 
king of Syria; and it is mentioned by Livy, as a memo¬ 
rable Eera of luxury, that the cuftom was then firft intro¬ 
duced at Rome of having pfaltrice, or female muficians, 
to attend and perform at feafts and banquets in the Afia- 
tic manner. 
Indeed 
