Gallus; Or, Roman Scenes of the Time of Augustus. with Notes and Excursuses Illustrative of the Manners and Customs of the Romans (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: O A L L U S. SCENE THE FIRST. NOCTURNAL RETURN HOME. THE third watch of the night was drawing to a close, and the mighty city lay buried in the deepest silence, unbroken, save by the occasional tramp of the Nocturnal Triumviri', as they passed on their rounds tosec that the fire-watchmen were at their posts, or perhaps by the footstep of one lounging homewards from a late debauch2. The last streak of the waning moon faintly illumined the temples of the Capitol and the Quadriga), and shot a feeble gleam over the fanes and palaces of the Alta Semita, whose roofs, clad with verdant shrubs and flowers, diffused their spicy odours through the warm night-air, and, while indicating the abode of luxury and joy, gave no sign of the dismal proximity of the Campus Sceleratus. 1 The nightly superintendence of Rome soon became one of ihe duties of the triumviri or treaviri, Ireviri cujii- taleSj who had to preserve the peace and security of the city, and especially to provide against tires. Liv. xxix. 14; Trimviris capitalibns mandutum esl, ut vigi/ias disponercnt per urbem servarentque, ne qui noctumi coitus fifrent; utqtie ab incendiis cavere- ttir, adjntores triumviris rjtnnqueviri nl'i cis Tiberlm tune r/uiqtic reyionis tfriificiis praeaenl. Val. Max. viii. J, 5. M. A/alvitii, Cn. Lol/ius, L. Sejrlilius, triumviri, quod ad incen- tiium in sacra via ortum ea'tinyuen- rlttm tardius venerant, a trib. pi. die dicta ad popttlum damnati sunt. They were also called triumviri noc- turni. Liv. ix. 4G; Val. Jlax. viii. 1, 6. P. Villius triumi'ir nocturnus t a P. siquilio, trib. pi. accusalns? rjuia vigilias neyligenlius circumie- rat. The timorous Sosias alludes to them, Amphitryo Plauti, i. 1, 3: Q-aid faciam nunc, si tresviri me in carccrem compegerint? because they arrested t...