There was also a Palmus maior 3 Palmi 12 Digiti 9 Pollices or Unciae. It appears from this, that since Therefore the Roman mile is shorter than the English mile by 430 English feet, or 144 yards nearly. Ulna, the Greek war, from which the English word Ell is derived, varied in signification when used to indicate a measure. Sometimes it represents the distance from the shoulder to the wrist, sometimes from the shoulder to the extremity of the middle finger, sometimes it is regarded as synonymous with Cubitus, and sometimes it denotes the distance between the tips of the middle fingers, when the arms are stretched out in the same plane with the body, i.e. the full extent which can be embraced by the outstretched arms, in which case it would be held as equivalent to 6 Pedes. In applying the divisions of the As to measures of length, the Pes was regarded as the As and the Pollex as the Uncia. Hence we read in Columella (III. 13.)—DUPONDIO ET DODRANTE altus sulcus, i.e. a ditch 2 feet 9 inches deep; and again (VI. 19.)-Habet in latitudinem pars prior DUPONDIUM SEMISSEM, i.e. is two feet and a-half broad. III. MEASURES OF SURFACE. We have seen above that the lineal Actus, which was the normal length of a furrow, was 120 Roman feet; the Actus Quadratus was a square, whose side was a lineal Actus; a Iugerum consisted of two Actus put together, and was therefore a rectangular plot of ground 240 Roman feet long and 120 Roman feet broad. Reducing Roman fect to English feet, it will be found that the Iugerum contains 27097.92 square feet English, while the English Acre contains 43560 square feet; hence the Roman Iugerum was less than of an English Acre. Less frequently mentioned than the Iugerum are-the Heredium the Centuria = 100 Heredia 200 Iugera; and the Saltus riae = 800 Iugera. = = 2 Iugera; = 4 Centu We hear also of the Versus, which contained 10,000 square feet, and the Actus minimus, which contained 480 square feet. In applying the divisions of the As to measures of surface, the Iugerum was regarded as the As, and fractions of the Iugerum were represented by the subdivisions of the As. Hence we meet with such expression as the following (Liv. V. 24.)-Triumviri ad id creati TERNA IUGERA ET SEPTUNCES viritim diviserunt, i.e. assigned to each individual seven Jugers and of a Juger. IV. MEASURES OF CAPACITY. The unit of Capacity was the AMPHORA or QUADRANTAL, which contained a cubic foot, and therefore, according to the computation of the Roman foot given above, must have been equal to 5.687 imperial gallons, or 5 gallons 2 quarts 1 pint 2 gills nearly. The Amphora was the unit for both Liquid and Dry Measures, but the latter were generally referred to the Modius, which contained one-third of an Amphora, that is, 1.896 imperial gallons, or .948 of an imperial peck. This being premised, we may enumerate the divisions of the Amphora and the Modius. In applying the divisions of the As to the above Liquid Measures, the Sextarius was regarded as the As and the Cyathus as the Uncia; hence we read in Martial (XI. 37.)— Quincunces et sex cyathos bessemque bibamus Caius ut fiat, lulius et Proculus: i.e. let us drink five, and six, and eight Cyathi, i.e. 19 Cyathi, 19 being the number of letters in the name Caius Iulius Proculus. From Congius is derived the word Congiarium, which properly signifies a vessel holding a Congius, but was frequently employed, especially in later times, to denote a gratuity of wine or oil bestowed upon the people at large; e.g. Lucullus millia cadûm IN CONGIARIUM divisit amplius centum; (Plin. H.N. I. 14;) also a gratuity of edibles whether wet or dry-Ancus Marcius rex salis modios sex mille IN CONGIARIO dedit populo; (Plin. H.N. XXXI. 7.) and finally, a gratuity in money-CONGIARIA populo frequenter dedit, sed diversae fere summae, modo quadringenos, modo tricenos, nonnunquam ducenos quinquagenos numos (Suet. Octav. 41.) Under the empire, a gratuity of this nature, when bestowed on the soldiers, was usually termed Donativum-Populo CONGIARIUM, militi DONATIVUM proposuit (Suet. Ner. 7.) V. COINS.' There can be little doubt that the Romans, in the earlier ages of their history, were unacquainted with coined money. Their circulating medium consisted of lumps or ingots of copper, (Aes,) which were weighed, and not counted, the name of an ingot of this description being Stipes or Stips, from which was formed Stipendium. According to Pliny, copper money was first coined by Servius Tullius, and stamped with the figure of a sheep, (nota pecudum,) but it is very doubtful whether any such pieces were ever minted at Rome, and it is not unlikely that the story was invented in order to supply a plausible derivation for the word Pecunia. Of the coinage as it actually existed from a remote period, we can, however, speak with confidence. The practice of hoarding was carried to such an extent in the ancient world, that scarcely a year elapses in which large numbers of Greek and Roman coins are not discovered in various 1 The Locus Classicus, on the rise and progress of the Roman mint, is in Pin. H. N XXXIII. 13.; a passage full of curious information, but containing many evident errors and absurdities. The best modern account of the subject will be found in the Prolegomena to the Doctrina Numorum veterum of ECKHEL. parts of Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa, while the extensive collections which have been formed afford most valuable information on a multitude of topics connected with classical antiquity. The metals employed by the Romans in their coinage were copper, (Aes,) silver, (Argentum,) and gold, (Aurum,) but these were not introduced all at once, but in succession. Copper Coinage of the Republic.-For nearly 500 years after the foundation of the city, the Romans coined no metal except copper. If any gold or silver pieces were in circulation, they must have been of foreign stamp. The ordinary copper coins of the republic were six in number, each being distinguished by a particular device, which is preserved with almost perfect uniformity. The names of these coins were 1. As,............... presenting on its obverse a head of Ianus. 3. Triens, one-third of the As, 4. Quadrans, the quarter As, 5. Sextans, the half Triens, 6. Uncia, one-twelfth of the As, Iovis. Minerva. Hercules. Mercurius. Minerva. The device on the reverse is the same in all, being a rude representation of the prow of a ship. On the As we find the numeral I, on the Semis the letter S, while on the rest round dots indicate the number of Unciae; thus the Triens is marked oooo, the Quadrans 000, the Sextans oo, the Uncia o. Many of them have the word ROMA, and it gradually became common for the magistrate under whose inspection they were struck, to add his name. Weight of the As at different periods.-The As, regarded as a coin, originally weighed, as the name implies, one Pound, and the smaller copper coins those fractions of the Pound denoted by their names. By degrees, however, the weight of the As, regarded as a coin, was greatly diminished. We are told, that about the commencement of the first Punic War, it had fallen from Twelve Ounces to Two Ounces; in the early part of the second Punic War, (B.C. 217,) it was reduced to One Ounce; and not long afterwards, by a Lex Papiria, it was fixed at Half-an-Ounce, which remained the standard ever after. 1 We subjoin a series of cuts taken from existing specimens of the As and the smaller denominations, in which will be seen the different devices and marks enumerated above. It will be observed that in this series, the Semis is smaller than the Triens, proving that the particular specimen of the Triens from which the cut was made belongs to a period when the As was heavier than it was at the period when the specimen of the Semis was struck. Copper Coinage of the Empire.-Upon the establishment of the imperial 1 According to the statement of Pliny, the weight of the As was reduced at once from 12 ounces to 2 ounces. by order of the Senate, in order to relieve the financial embarrassments under which the state was labouring; or, in other words, the Senate resolved to defraud the public creditors by a sudden and enormous depreciation of the currency. This representation, which is in itself incredible, since it is totally at variance with the scrupulous good faith which the government is known to have observed on other occasions in its pecuniary transactions, is completely disproved by the fact, that Asses are still in existence exhibiting a series of weights descending gradually from nearly 12 ounces, through 11, 10, 9, 6, &c. ounces, till we reach the final ounce. The diminution in the weight of the As arose in all probability from the value of copper, in relation to silver, increasing gradually as the latter metal became more common and the former in greater demand government under Augustus, the old As and its divisions ceased to be struck, and a new copper coinage was introduced, consisting 1. Of those pieces which are commonly called Imperial Large Brass, and which form a series extending from Augustus down to Postumus. They are generally about the size of an English Penny; they exhibit, for the most part, on the obverse, the head of the reigning Prince, or of some member of the imperial family, accompanied by a legend expressive of the name and titles of the individual represented, while on the reverse we find a great variety of most interesting and instructive devices. These pieces are usually of very good workmanship, are in many cases composed, not of ordinary copper, but of fine yellow brass (aurichalcum,) and are supposed to have passed for 4 Asses. Several illustrations, taken from the reverse of coins belonging to this class, have been given in the course of the work, and we annex a cut of a Large Brass of Antoninus Pius, bearing upon one side the head of the Emperor, with the legend ANTONINUS AUGUSTUS PIUS, and on the reverse the figure of Eneas bearing off his father from Troy and leading his boy by the hand, with the legend PP. TR. POT. Cos. III. S.C. (Pater Patriae, Tribunicia Potestas, Consul Tertium, Senatus Consulto. 2. Of those pieces commonly called Imperial Middle Brass, which resemble the Large Brass, except in so far that they are only half the size. We annex a cut taken from one of the earliest of the series, exhibiting on the obverse the head of Augustus, with the legend CAESAR AUGUSTUS TRIBUNIC. POTEST., and on the reverse the name of one of the Triumviri Monetales (p. 231) C. GALLIUS LUPERCUS IIIVIR A. A. A. F. F. (p. 231) and S. C. in the field. 3. Of those pieces commonly called Imperial Small Brass. These do not, like the two former classes, form a regular series; they vary much in size; they |