Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-10-01
HOUSES OF THE ROMANS.
Augustus Found a Capital of Brick
and Left one of marble.

In the early ages oil Rome, the nouses
We're merely matched cottages. After
the city was burned by the Gauls, they
were built in a more spacious and con-
venient style, aud of more substantial
materials; but SO great was the haste
to have them erected, that no attention
WAS paid to the regularity of the streets.
Every one set down his habitation ac-
cording to his own taste or fancy.
The success of the Roman arms IN
Greece served to introduce an lmme ense
improvement in the Roman architect
ure, and toward the Augustan e.a,
Rome might well boast OF the magniti-
cence of her buildings. During the
reign of Augustus, the improvements
seem to have been conducted on a very
extensive scale, and to have justified
the Emperor in exclaiming, that he had
found Rome of brick and had left it of
marble. Still, however, the streets
continued narrow and crooked, and
the houses were for the most part of
wood, generally of three stories, and
very inconvenient. A dreadful contia-
CATION In the reign of Nero reduced the
greater part of Rome to ashes, but 1t
was soon after rebuilt with increased
splendor. The streets were made of
greater width, and laid out with more
regularity, and the height of the houses
Was restricted to certain standard.
Every house was ordered TO be isolated,
and to be built of stone, so as to be less
subject to destruction by fire. This
also contributed to the health and mag
nificence of Rome, though there were
many at the time who centured the i'm
provements, and pretended that the
narrow streets and lofty houses pro.
duced an agreeable shade in the heat of
summer, and rendered the city both
pleasant and salubrious.
The vestibule of the golden palace of
Nero was SO extensive that it had three
portlcoes, each a mile in length, and
inclosing a large basin of water, sur
rounded by SO many buildings that
they presented the appearance of a
town.
The door was made in general of diff
ferent kinds of wood, auch as cedar,
cypress, elm and oak, but sometimes of
iron or brass. The doors of the temples
were often Inlaid with ivory and gold.
They were, in general, elevated above
the street by flight of steps: at least,
this was the case in the temples, and,
in all probability, also, in the houses of
Rome, though the doors of the houses
nf pn,nnaii ara fpun1 on a Laval
the footpaths. The door opened inward,
like those used by US; but among the
Greeks, and in order to confer honor
on the meritorious citizens among the
Romans it was made to open outward.
Hence arose the custom, when a person
intended going out of a house, of
knocking on the door, to warn those
who were passing by to get out of the
way-a circumstance which serves to
explain some passages of the dramatic
Suthors of that period.
When the door was shut it was secur-
ed by bolts and locks: sometimes two
bolts were used, one above and the other
below. The lock seems to have been
movable, like our paddock. Knockers
or bells appear to have been generally
used.
The gate served as an entrance to the
hall, three sides of which were support
ed on pillars. The side opposite to the
entrance was fitted up as library,
where the family archives were kept.
The hall was the principal lbed-chamber,
and the spot where domestic manufac-
it served as the kitchen and place where
the family supped. 1t was also the
room where the noble families kept
statues of their ancestors and received
company. 1t was ornamented with
paintings, statues and valuable furni-
ture. and was divided by curtains.