926 ([return])
[ Or if you are throwing.—Ver. 205. By the use of the word 'seu, or,' we must suppose that he has, under the word 'numeri,' alluded to the game with the 'tesseræ,' or six-sided dice.]
927 ([return])
[ The game that imitates.—Ver. 207. He here alludes to the 'ludus latrunculorum,' literally 'the game of theft,' which is supposed to have been somewhat similar to our chess. He refers to its name in the words, 'latrocinii sub imagine.' The game was supposed to imitate the furtive stratagems of warfare: hence the men, which were usually styled 'calculi,' were also called by the name of 'latrones,' 'latrunculi,' 'milites,' 'bella-tores,' 'thieves,' 'little thieves,' 'soldiers,' 'warriors.' As we see by the next line, they were usually made of glass, though sometimes more costly materials were employed. The skill of this game consisted either in taking the pieces of the adversary, or rendering them unable to move. The first was done when the adversary's piece was brought by the other between two of his own. See the Tristia, Book ii. 1.477. The second took place when the pieces were 'ligati,' or 'ad incitas redacti,' brought upon the last line and unable to move. White and red are supposed to have been the colour of the men. This game was much played by the Roman ladies and nobles.]
928 ([return])
[ Hold the screen.—Ver. 209. The ancients used 'umbracula,' or screens against the weather (resembling our umbrellas), which the Greeks called ————. They were used generally for the same purposes as our parasols, a protection against the heat of the sun. They seem not to have been in general carried by the ladies themselves, but by female slaves, who held them over their mistresses. See the Fasti, Book ii. 1. 209. These screens, or umbrellas, were much used by the Roman ladies in the amphitheatre, to protect them from sun and rain, when the 'velarium,' or awning, was not extended.]
929 ([return])
[ Tasteful couch.'—Ver. 211. This was probably the 'triclinium' on which they reposed at meals. The shoes were taken off before reclining on it. Female slaves did this office for the ladies, and males for the men.]