[68]The dog-faced ape—the baboon.
[69]The gladiators called Samnites, were armed with the peculiar “scutum,” or oblong shield, used by the Samnites, a greave on the left leg, a sponger on the breast, and a helmet with a crest.
[70]Philippides must have gone one hundred and forty-two miles in two days, and the other one hundred and fifty miles in one day.
[71]This statement must have been in some of his lost works.
[72]His works in ivory were said to have been so small, that they could scarcely be seen without placing them on a black surface.
[73]Or Bacchus.—“Father Liber” is the name always given to him by Pliny.
[74]“Magnus.” Plutarch states, that, on his return from Africa, Sylla saluted him with the name of “Magnus,” which surname he ever afterwards retained. He also says that the law did not allow a triumph to be granted to any one who was not either consul or prætor.
[75]When a Roman overcame an enemy with whom he had been personally engaged, he took possession of some part of his armor and dress, which might bear testimony to the victory; this was termed the “spolium.” The words “hasta pura,” or victor’s spear, signify a lance without an iron head. We are told that it was given to him who gained the first victory in a battle; it was also regarded as an emblem of supreme power, and as a mark of the authority which one nation claimed over another.
[76]Among the Jews and other nations of antiquity, it was considered an essential point for the priests to be without blemish, perfect and free from disease.
[77]Some of these are given by Valerius Maximus. It is very doubtful, however, if Greece did not greatly excel Rome in this respect.