Roman Antiquities, and Ancient Mythology | Page 8

This act was called famili? mancipatio.
Sometimes the testator wrote his will wholly with his own hand, in which case it was called hologr{)a}phum--sometimes it was written by a friend, or by others. Thus the testament of Augustus was written partly by himself, and partly by two of his freedmen.
Testaments were always subscribed by the testator, and usually by the witnesses, and sealed with their seals or rings. They were likewise tied with a thread drawn thrice through holes and sealed; like all other civil deeds, they were always written in Latin. A legacy expressed in Greek was not valid.
They were deposited either privately in the hands of a friend, or in a temple with the keeper of it. Thus Julius C?sar is said to have intrusted his testament to the oldest of the vestal virgins.
A father might leave whom he pleased as guardian to his children;--but if he died, this charge devolved by law on the nearest relation by the father's side. When there was no guardian by testament, nor a legal one, the pr?tor and the majority of the tribunes of the people appointed a guardian. If any one died without making a will, his goods devolved on his nearest relations.
Women could not transact any business of importance without the concurrence of their parents, husbands, or guardians.
CHAPTER VI.
Public Rights of Roman Citizens.
The jus militi?, was the right of serving in the army, which was at first peculiar to the higher order of citizens only, but afterwards the emperor took soldiers not only from Italy and the provinces, but also from barbarous nations.
The jus tributorum was the payment of a tax by each individual through the tribes, in proportion to the valuation of his estates.
There were three kinds of tribute, one imposed equally on each person; another according to his property; and a third exacted in cases of emergency. There were three other kinds of taxes, called portorium, decum? and scriptura.
The portorium was paid for goods exported and imported, the collectors of which were called portitores, or for carrying goods over a bridge.
The decum? were the tenth part of corn and the fifth part of other fruit, exacted from the cultivators of the public lands, either in Italy or without it.
The scriptura was paid by those who pastured their cattle upon the public lands. The jus saffragii was the right of voting in the different assemblies of the people.
The jus honorum was the right of being priests or magistrates, at first enjoyed only by the Patricians. Foreigners might live in the city of Rome, but they enjoyed none of the rights of citizens; they were subject to a peculiar jurisdiction, and might be expelled from the city by a magistrate. They were not permitted to wear the Roman dress.
CHAPTER VII.
Places of Worship.
Templum was a place which had been dedicated to the worship of some deity, and consecrated by the augurs.
?des sacr? were such as wanted that consecration, which, if they afterwards received, they changed their names to temples.
Delubrum comprehended several deities under one roof. The most celebrated temples were the capitol and pantheon.
The capitol or temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, was the effect of a vow made by Tarquinius Priscus, in the Sabine war. But he had scarcely laid the foundation before his death. His nephew Tarquin the proud, finished it with the spoils taken from the neighboring nations.
The structure stood on a high ridge, taking in four acres of ground. The front was adorned with three rows of pillars, the other sides with two. The ascent from the ground was by a hundred steps. The prodigious gifts and ornaments with which it was at several times endowed, almost exceed belief. Augustus gave at one time two thousand pounds weight of gold, and in jewels and precious stones to the value of five hundred sestertia.
Livy and Pliny surprise us with accounts of the brazen thresholds, the noble pillars that Scylla removed thither from Athens, out of the temple of Jupiter Olympius; the gilded roof, the gilded shields, and those of solid silver; the huge vessels of silver, holding three measures--the golden chariot, &c.
This temple was first consumed by fire in the Marian war, and then rebuilt by Sylla. This too was demolished in the Vitellian sedition. Vespasian undertook a third, which was burnt about the time of his death. Domitian raised the last and most glorious of all, in which the very gilding amounted to twelve thousand talents--on which Plutarch has observed of that emperor, that he was, like Midas, desirous of turning every thing into gold. There are very little remains of it at present, yet enough to make a Christian church.
The capitol contained in it three temples: one to Jupiter, one to Juno, and one to Minerva. Jupiter's was in the centre, whence he was poetically called "Media qui