Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1842-08-20

death Of that refined Consul, the Gshe
that swan in the pond of his countr,
house were sold for the trhe of 700 ,OO(
francs. Others spent 26,OOO,OOO on tn,
, finish OF a wing of a palace commenced by
Nero. One Of Caligula's dinners cost /
100000 francs. Heliogabalue was NOR,
parslmonious, one Of his breakfasts only
required 100000 francs. Aesopus Oval,
lowed pearl worth 100000 francs--a
gastronomic example also set by Cleop
atra. The Aesopus we advert TO (hi.
son by the by, melted precious stones tc
drink at his entertainmentslD was not as
you may well suppose, the jolly fabuIisl
and Greek hunchback whom every BODY
is acquainted with; il was Claudius Aes.
opus, an actor on the Roman stage, very
intimate with Cicero; this opulent histo
ran earned in one day more than eight
hundred Stole, Pythagoric, or Peripateti-
clan philosophers could pocket in a year
APicius, the most celebrated gourmet of
the "eternal city, devoured we use the
proper word l4,0OO,OOOE; he then ex
amned his financial situation, when the
poor creature found that all that remain
ed was 1850, 900 francs; foreseeing that
he must die of hunger, he committed
suicide. Crassus, when he went to fight
the Parthians, and be killed by them,
was the possessor Of landed estates worth
100000 francs; his slaves furniture,
and trinkets we're, fortunately Of Ito
tie moro value,
All the riches in the world were at
that period, in few hands. You must
remember, ye classic readers, the feast
of Trimalcion--that awful old man, so
full of contempt for mankind -who
asked what poor man was (quid est
pauper,) who received from one Of his
stewards 100000 sesteres which he
could not lay out, and who wished the
likeness of his dog to be engraved on his
tomb.
If some Romans Of the imperial times
could rise from his tomb--if he visited
US, how astonished would he be, and
what compassion should we excite in him!
He would find our eleganS assuming
their surnames, and deriving their van
ty from pair of gloves of a light coI-
Or, which may cost three francs; most Of
our hons have nothing more names in
he way Of capital, scarcely can they
contrive to owe their bootmakers or tai>
lors bill Of two or three figures; and if
they have to subscribe a wretched bill of
exchange, the first usurer they have to
deal with puts them in durance. To
dine hundred francs ahead is the ne
plus ultra Of their magnifcence. They
must, indeed, feel ashamed Of Lucullus's
and Milo's debts.
If one Of the said Romans wished to
witness the entertainments of our Cir
Gus, q remember would he say, fhe
horse races at the number Of hundred
a day which Domitianus established my
father saw divine Nero himself conduct
car with ten horses; he saw him arrive
he last, yet win the prize Claudias
ran camels against horses, Trajan
drove a carriage drawn by Two ea,horses.
was drawn by stays, lions,
tigers, and elephants, it was he who i'm
lgined a race Of cars conducted by drl-
vers who were to be at least eighty years
old. Commodus led four in hand, wild
boars, bears, and buffaloes. Traian en-
his people with games which
lasted hundred and twenty three days;
ten thousand gladiotors appeared and
died in them that amused US for a mos
ment Caligula made sixteen hundred
men fight at the same time. Many a
time the Field of Mars was covered with
galeys. Thrty-six crocodlles were
seen on it in one day Titus had nine
wild animals killed in one day
In single evening, Ileliogabalus exhib,
tied fifty one tigers. Probus threw pros
misculously on the arena a thousond os-
iriches, a thousand stays, and as many
wild boars. Rome witnost combats be-
veen cranes and cranes, and between
and bears. An emperor IN
PRODUCED, one day, into the circus ten
thousand rats and thousand vessels
Marcus Aurelius would have hundred
ions make their appearance at the same
ime. Another Emperor constructed.
whale Of wood. which contained u'y
,anlhers. A third invited us to see SER
,ents fifty cubits long These Jeies were
most frequent; it matered not whether
he ground was soaked with the blood oil
thousand animals, or that OF tho u
and slaves.
When the said Roman had finished
lis speech, you might take him to the
pera, orany theatre. Instead Of Aason-
ass sun, he would have our dismal lamps,
1stead of his immense galleries and
igantic marble columns, he would be
hTust into an inconvencnt box, in a
uiIding of wood. pasieboard, or brick,