Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1896-10-03
CHILD LIFE AMONG ROMANS.
Their Education. Toys aud Amusements.
Duties Gf Parents.

CHILD LIFE AMONG ROMANS.
Their Education. Toys aud Amusements.
Duties Of Parents.
A lecture delivered by DR.. Tracy
Peck, professor of Latin literature
and tho Latin language in the uni
versity ext rsicn course, was rs in.
ttresting rs fairy ta!o. To be child.
\ IS, the last of cne's lire, he said,
vas considered calamity by tho
Eomans, lat after the tirstborn the
action OF the father soon after birth
told VII, her Ev accepted his obliga-
ton as lht Laren; and intended to do
for it nll that was ossible, or wheth-
or il V rs to be "oxrosed'-be of the
"expositm.' Sometimes, though it
was the will Ct the father that the
child should be cast out, the tender
ness CT the mother provided menus
for tho recognition i'll after years.
Children became articles of merchan-
disc, and sometimes were manned to
increase their value rs mendicants,
a practice not yet extinct in Italy.
The recognition by the father was
OH the ninth day for boys end eighth
day for girls, when the child was
sprinkled with water. incense WAS
burned and sacrifice was offered
on the family altor. Other cere-
monials were rubbing the child's
fingers with saliva and presenting to
it the "bulla,' or amulet, against
the influence of the evil eye, and
which the ooy wore until ho put on
the robe of manhood and the girl
until she was married Then, too,
the child received its name.
This naming was very simple
matter, as the girls name was her
fathers middle name, with the
"ius" changed to "ia, while for the
boy the whole list to choose from
numbered only 81 at most. The
name was made up of, first, the in
dividual name, then the name of the
family, and, third, tho branch of the
family. Where there was more than
one daughter, to the individuals
were given nioknames referring to
some individuality. Thus Clara, she
who is heard often, and Lucy, mean.
ing she was born in the morning.
Besides this "bulla' and the saliva
charm, there were many others used
through life. Thus, one affected with
cramps had only, on an empty stom-
aoh, to stamp on the ground three
times nine times-that is, ~ times
each time repeating this jingle,
and he would be cured, Terra pes
tenn teneto, salus hoo maneto."
The games and toys wero many.
The girls had baby houses, flowers,
and parrots and magpies educated in
Greek and Latin. The boys had tops,
and the girls helred to spin them,
and for marbles they had hickory
nuts. There was also tho game of
MORO, that Italian boys still play in
our streets. They also played ball,
but there is no evidence that they
used the bat.
The girl kept her doll until she
was married and then offered it to
Venus. In marble sarcophagus
lately opened were tho bones Of
girl. At her side lay her doll, made
of finely grained oakwood, showing
she was unmarried. But in the rings
that had dropped from her fingers
was one with clasped hands and the
inscription which told she was en-
gagged, and there was trace on the
skull of the myrtle wreath sacred to
Venus, and on her bones were shreds
of fine lir en-, showing she was about
to be married and had been buried
in the wedding garments, eloquent
indications that have come down to
US through II centuries.
For the first seven years the chill.
dren were in the mothers care.
During this age they were taught to
have regard for physical health, rev.
erence for the gods, respect for the
law, obedience to authority, to have
confidence In themselves and in
Rome as ruler of the world. The
formal education was carried on at
homo under the supervision Of the
mother. Tho instructors in tho fam.
lilies were Greeks, and the instruo.
ton was limited to the three RS.
The teachers were in the three grades
of primary or granmatista, or lit
terator, secondary or examinations
or litteratus, and third or highest,
rhetor. -Philadelphia Ledger.