f7) 
 
 A~
 
 M 94
 
 TREATISE 
 
 OF T HE 
 
 REVENUE 
 
 AND 
 
 FALSE MONEY 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 ROMANS. 
 
 To which is annexed, 
 
 A DISSERTATION upon the Manner of 
 diftinguifhing Antique MEDALS from coun- 
 terfeit ones. 
 
 Tranflated from the ORIGINAL printed at Pan's 1740. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for J. and P. K M A p T o N, at the Crown in 
 Ludgate-ftreet. M occ XLI.
 
 f
 
 TAB L E 
 
 Of the CH AP TE RS and MATTER 8 
 contained in this Volume. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 O7? the Demefne of the Romans, Page t 
 
 i. lie Funds of the Demefne, ibid* 
 
 2. Conquered Countries, 2 
 
 3. Confifcated Eftates and E/effs, 3 
 
 4. Eftates reunited to the Demefne, 4 
 
 5. Extent of tbe Demefne of the Romans, 6 
 
 6. Forefts, Rivers, Wrecks, &c, 6, 9 
 
 7. Farms of the Demefne, 10, &c. 
 
 8. Alienations and PrefcriptionS) 18, 19 
 
 CHAP, II. 
 
 Of the real Tattle or falliage incident to Lands* 
 
 25 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Of various other real Charges which the Ro- 
 mans laid upon Lands , 3 7 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of the Perfonal faille or Poll-tax, 4? 
 
 A 2 CHAP, 
 
 2003134
 
 TABLE. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Of Confifcations and Fines, 59 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the Crimes which were punijhable with a Con- 
 ffcation of EJlates, 54 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Of Efcheats, or the Revenue arifmg from the 
 SucceJJlons, and teftamentary Legacies, 68 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Of Eftates that were vacant, and had no cer- 
 tain Proprietor, 74 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Of Impofts laid upon Merchandife and Provi- 
 fionsy 7% 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Of federal other Duties or Impojls, 90 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Of the Money which the Romans drew from their 
 Enemies and from War, 92 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Of the Money which the Romans drew from 
 their Allies, $6 
 
 CHAP.
 
 TABLE. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Of the Prefents or Free Gifts which were volun- 
 tarily made to the Emperor, IQQ 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 r\ ~ _ -Tji 
 
 <^v.> :: ', ..." &$&& .' rv v - v . .. 
 
 Of federal extraordinary Impofts, 103 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Of the Revenue arijing from Salt, Mines, Trea- 
 fures found, Rivers, the Sea, &c. 113 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Of Loans and borrowed Money, j i ^ 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Of the great ILxaftions of the Romans, 119 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 Of the Releafes and Abatements of Taxes made 
 to the Roman People, 129 
 
 CHAP, XIX. 
 
 Of the moft confederate Differences between tht 
 Revenues of the Romans, and thofe of France, 
 
 *35 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 Of the Superintendants of the Revenue among the 
 Romans, 144 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Of the Officers employed under the Superinten- 
 dant of the Revenue, 1 50 
 
 C H A .
 
 TABLE. 
 
 CHAP. XXIL 
 
 Of tie Offices tbat depended on the Superinten* 
 dant of the Revenue* 157 
 
 CHAP. XXIIL 
 
 Of the Superintendant of the Demefne, 1 62 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Of the Officers that depended on the Superin- 
 tendant of the Demefne, 164 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Of the Officers called Palatini, depending on tit 
 Superintendant of the Demefne, 166 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 Of divers fubaltern Officers employed Ukewife in 
 the Revenue^ 167 
 
 E N D of the Table of the Treatife of 
 the Revenue of the Romans.
 
 TABLE 
 
 Of the Treatife of the FALSE MONEY 
 of the Romans, &c, 
 
 PART i. 174 
 
 PART IL 178 
 
 Of the Diflertation on the Manner of 
 diftinguifhing Antique MEDALS, &c. 
 
 A R T I C L E ' I. 
 
 OF Medals of modern Coin? moft of which 
 are known by the name of the Paduan, 
 
 Page 191 
 
 ARTICLE H. 
 
 Of Medals cajt upon fuch as are of modern 
 coining, 195 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 Medals caft upon Antiques, 198 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 'Antique Medals refitted, the Heads and Figures 
 whereof are cbetngedy 201 
 
 ARTI-
 
 TABLE. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 Of Medals ftruck with the Hammer, and fucb 
 as are encafted or joined together, 206 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 Of Medals that have Cracks and Countermarks* 
 
 210 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 Of Medals that are plated, and of fucb as art 
 mifcoined, 212 
 
 ARTICLE VHL 
 
 Of caft Medals that are Antique, and of Me- 
 dallions compofed of different Coppers, 216 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 Of Medals that are merely invented, and of fucb 
 as have been very feldom counterfeited, 219 
 
 A R T I C L E X. 224 
 
 H I S T O-
 
 HISTORICAL 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 O R 
 
 INTRODUCTION to the t freafij$ 
 
 of the Revenue of the ROMANS. 
 
 M 
 
 COLBERT, whofe views ex- 
 tended to every thing that 
 might contribute to augment 
 the riches of the State, and eftablifh a wife 
 adminiftration of the Revenue, engaged a 
 perfon very capable of the work to draw 
 him up a Memoir upon the Revenue of the 
 Romans. It is the very Memoir which is 
 now published. The author hath with 
 equal accuracy and clearnefs given us in it 
 an idea, as well of the Revenues of that 
 renowned nation, as of the manner of re- 
 ceiving them, and the different perfons 
 employed in that collection. This piece, 
 though fufceptible indeed of larger details, 
 feems ftill to me to take in every thing that 
 can be deemed eflential upon the fubjeft. 
 It hath likewife the advantage of offering 
 nothing but what is drawn out of the au- 
 thentic monuments of Antiquity, the on- 
 (a) ly
 
 ii Bijlorical PREFACE. 
 
 ly ones that are capable of giving us juft 
 notions in this point. The author, whofe 
 name is ftill a fecret, hath obferved (but 
 might have been more particular in his 
 obfervations) how exceedingly the Roman 
 revenues increafed by their fuccefsful mili- 
 tary expeditions. Rome, almoft from the 
 very moment of its origin, derived from 
 war various fources of riches, which me 
 never fuffered to dry up in all the height 
 of her power. I mail enter into fome par- 
 ticulars upon this fubjedt, but without con- 
 fining myfelf ftri&ly to a chronological 
 exadtnefs. 
 
 I readily agree, that it was the poverty 
 of the firft inhabitants of Rome which 
 gave rife to this politic oeconomy, whereof 
 I am going to fpeak : but it was found fo 
 very advantageous, that the practice was 
 continued in the mod flourifhing ages of 
 the Republic. Among the towns of Italy 
 that were jealous of the conquefts of Ro- 
 mulus and of the aggrandizing of the Ro- 
 mans, Veii, the capital of Etruria, figna- 
 lized herfelf above other rivals. She did 
 not fail declaring in favour of her neigh- 
 bours that were attacked by this new peo- 
 ple. Romulus having vanquished them 
 in battle, granted them a truce for an hun- 
 dred years, upon condition that they gave 
 up a part of their territory which lay ad- 
 joining to the Tyber, and was called Sep- 
 v tern
 
 Hiflorical PREFACE. iii 
 
 tern Pagi, or the Seven Burroughs, and 
 furrendered likewife the falt-works which 
 they had at the mouth of this river. I 
 mall here take notice, that of all the con- 
 ditions impofed upon conquered people by 
 the Romans, I mall touch only upon fuch 
 as fome way or other relate to the fubjecl: 
 treated of in this work. 
 
 Tullus Hoftilius trod in the fteps of Ro- 
 mulus. When he had overcome the Sa- 
 bines, he obliged them, by way of fati- 
 fad ion for the large and fmall cattle which 
 they had taken, and the booty which they 
 had carried off from the peafants that 
 cultivated the lands of Rome, to pay fuch 
 a fine as mould be fixed by the Roman 
 Senate. Ancus Martius, when he raifed 
 the fiege of Velitrce, infilled that the Volfci 
 mould repair all the damages they had 
 done : and made the valuation there- 
 of himfelf. Tarquinius Prifcus, follow- 
 ing the example of thefe his prede- 
 ceflbrs, not only obliged the inhabitants cf 
 Collatta, a town in the country of the Sa- 
 bines, to acknowledge him for their Sove- 
 reign, but impofed on them likewife a 
 fine to be paid in money. He caufed re- 
 fHtution to be made to the peafants of all 
 the money which the Latins had extorted 
 from them, and condemned them to make 
 fatisfaction for all the damages they had 
 done in their incurfions into the Roman 
 ( a 2 ) terri.
 
 tiljlorical PREFACE. 
 
 territories. The Veians, ever ready to raife 
 all the people of Etruria in arms againft 
 them, were forced in like manner to yield 
 to the valour of Servius Tullius, who 
 ftripped them of part of their lands, 
 which he diftributed among the citizens 
 of Rome. Under this King there was an 
 alteration made in the money, which muft 
 not be omitted in the Preface to a Trea- 
 tife upon the Revenue of the Romans. 
 
 The firft money that they made ufe of 
 was made of brick and leather. This laft 
 kind of money was called AJjes fcortei\ it 
 was ufed at Rome before the reign of Nu- 
 ma, and according to an ancient writer, 
 there was a fmall mark of gold upon thefe 
 leather pieces. Numa next introduced the 
 ufe of brafs pieces, which were taken by 
 weight in exchange for merchandife and 
 provifions. This lafted till the reign of 
 Servius Tullius, who was the firft that 
 caufed brafs money to be coined at Rome. 
 This Prince caufed the figure of an ox or 
 ram to be ftamped upon the coin. Thefe 
 animals having ferved for victims at the 
 Luftral Sacrifice, this was imagined to be 
 the reafon why he took it into his head 
 to embellim the coin with thefe figures. 
 I {hall here obferve further, that there was 
 no other money in the city till the year 
 485 from the foundation of Rome, at 
 which time the firft pieces of filver money 
 
 were
 
 Hijlorical PREFACE. 
 
 were coined. Sixty-two years afterwards, 
 they began to ftrike pieces of gold coin. 
 In thefe firft pieces of brafs money they 
 engraved as many points, as they were 
 worth ounces. 
 
 Tarquin the Proud, aiming at a tyran- 
 nical and defpotic fway, employed the 
 great fums of money which he found in 
 Sueffa-Pometia, to finim the Temple of 
 Jupiter Capitolinus, and to recompenfe the 
 foldiers whom he had allowed to pillage 
 the town. We (hall fee in the courfe of 
 this hiftorical relation, how thefe examples 
 animated the Roman Generals to enrich 
 the Republic. 
 
 In the time of the Commonwealth, Va- 
 lerius Publicola finding the Confuls over- 
 burdened with the management of the 
 Revenue, engaged the people to chufe two 
 men of integrity, who were called <$U(Z- 
 ftors, and entrufted with the care of the 
 public Treafure. He caufed this Treafure 
 to be removed to the Temple of Saturn, 
 conceiving it a place where it would be 
 kept with the greateft fecurity. It was af- 
 terwards divided into two parts j one being 
 deligned for the daily occafions of the 
 State, was compofed of the ordinary tri- 
 butes and imports ; the other was formed 
 of the gold arifing from the import of the 
 twentieth penny which was levied upon 
 the fale of Haves. This was the reafon 
 (as) why
 
 vi Hiftorical PREFACE. 
 
 why they called it Aurum vicefimarium. 
 This laft treafure was never touched but 
 in the moft pre/Ting exigencies and necef- 
 fities of the State. When Annibal had 
 ravaged Italy for ten years together, the 
 Republic, over-whelmed with difafters and 
 calamities, implored in vain the fuccour of 
 twelve of the thirty Latin Colonies: it 
 was only in this terrible extremity, that 
 flie came to the refolution of making ufe 
 of the gold raifed out of the fale of flaves. 
 They took out of this treafure four thou- 
 fand pounds, which amount to near two 
 millions. Julius Cosfar having invaded the 
 Roman liberty, plundered this facred trea- 
 fury. Florus, who is as much a Poet as 
 an Hiftorian, flouriihes upon this facl. 
 " Pompey (fays he*) was fcarce drove 
 <c nut of Italy, when the Senate fled from 
 " Rome, and Ca?far entering the city, and 
 <c finding it in a manner empty, through 
 " the fear and terror which had feized al- 
 " moft all the world, made himfelf Con- 
 cc ful ; and when -the Tribunes did not 
 " readily open the Treamry, he ordered 
 " the door to be broke open, without any 
 " regard to its being an holy and invio- 
 " lable place ; fo that he robbed the pa- 
 <e trimony of the Roman people, before 
 *' he had (tripped them of their Empire." 
 
 Some ages after, Freculphus, Bifhop of 
 
 & t r 
 
 4- '- T . . 
 
 Lizieux,
 
 Hiftorical PREFACE. vii 
 
 Lizieux, without quoting his authorities, 
 informed us, that he took out of the Trea- 
 fury four thoufar.d one hundred thirty- fix 
 pounds of gold, and nine hundred thou- 
 fand pounds of filver, which make above 
 forty millions. 
 
 This treafure was grea'Jy augmented by 
 the Generals of the army. Inftead of 
 contriving how to enrich themfelves, all 
 their care was employed in bringing very 
 confiderable fums into it, and to order it 
 fo, that the vanquilhed enemy mould pay 
 the charges of the war. Animated by a 
 love for the public good, and piquing 
 themfelves upon an heroic difintereftednefs, 
 they did not understand the art of appro- 
 priating to themfelves the riches of con- 
 quered nations. Mars and Pluto were not 
 then fo clofely allied as at prefent. Thus 
 the Conful P. Pofthumius, after he had 
 indulged the foldiery the liberty of plun- 
 dering, caufed all that remained of the 
 Ipoils of the Sabines to be fold, in order 
 to make Rome iatisfaction for the charges 
 of the war. That turbulent nation had 
 foon after another trial of the valour of the 
 Roman troops ; and thereupon fent De- 
 puties to the Conful Sp. Caflias Ufcellinus 
 to offer him their friendfhip. The Conful 
 referred them to the Senate, who feeing 
 Rome on the point of being attacked by 
 other enemies, inflicted only a flight pu- 
 ( a 4 ) nifhment
 
 viii Hijlorical PREFACE. 
 
 nimment on the Sabines. Caffius exacted 
 from them as much wheat as he thought 
 proper for the fubfiftence of his troops: 
 and all the nation was obliged to pay a 
 certain fum of money. 
 
 The Roman Generals found fo much 
 benefit from thefe refources, that they took 
 care to make their advantage of them, 
 whenever the enemy, to prevent the ir- 
 ruption of the Roman legions, implored 
 their clemency. The Conful P. Servilius 
 could not help being moved and foftened 
 by the Deputies of the Volfci, who had 
 thrown themfelves at his feet, to hinder 
 their country from being ravaged : but he 
 knew how to reconcile his compaffion 
 with the intereft of the Republic, exacting 
 from the enemy fubfiftence for his army, 
 cloa thing for his foldiers, and three hun- 
 dred hoftages of their rnoft diftinguimed 
 gentry. A modern Hiftorian * reproach- 
 eth Servilius with an excefs of weaknefs 
 on this occafion, but in my opinion with- 
 out any juft reafon. For could it become 
 a brave Roman to treat with cruelty a 
 people that fubmitted themfelves, and were 
 ready to receive the law of the conqueror ? 
 I cannot bring myfelf to think there would 
 have been any courage of mind, or any 
 thing heroical, in an inflexible refent~ 
 ment. 
 
 * P. Citrou. 
 
 Servilius
 
 Hijlorical PREFACE. 
 
 Servilius was perhaps to blame on ano- 
 ther occafion, though his natural genero- 
 fity and his love for the public good feem 
 to have been the motives that influenced 
 his conduct. It was when he allowed his 
 foldiers to pillage the camp of the Volfci, 
 where there was abundance of filver, 
 goods, cloaths, cattle and flaves, without 
 referving any fhare thereof for the public 
 treafure. His defign was to encourage his 
 foldiers to make new conquefts, to enrich 
 them, and enable them to pay their debts, 
 which had lately tempted them to break 
 out into feditions at Rome. He acted in 
 the fame manner at the taking of Suefla- 
 Pome da. It hath been obferved before, 
 that Tarquin the Proud affected the fame 
 generofity. Accordingly when Servilius 
 was for having the honours of a triumph, 
 the Conful Appius Claudius, his Collegue, 
 oppofed it vigoroufly, on account of the 
 largefles given to the foldiers, accufing him 
 of having infringed the law which prohi- 
 bited Generals of the army from difpofing 
 as they pleafed of the booty taken from 
 the enemy. The fame law enjoined them 
 likewife to bring into the Treafury all that 
 was raifcd of the enemies fpoils. It looks 
 however, as if the Republic did allow a 
 General the liberty of rewarding his fol- 
 diers, provided he did not procure to him- 
 felf any advantage from the conquefts 
 
 made
 
 Hiftorical PREFACE. 
 
 made in the name of the State, and gave 
 an account of his conduct and adminiftra- 
 tion. 
 
 Though this law gave occafion to feve- 
 ral difputes, it muft however be owned, 
 that it did not grant the General an arbi- 
 trary power with regard to the diftribution 
 of the booty, and that it tacitly forbad 
 him to give the whole to the foldiery. A 
 part of it was always to be brought to the 
 public Treafury. Thus at the taking of 
 Corioli, the Conful Cominius, after he had 
 put a golden crown upon the head of Co- 
 riolanus, afiigned him only a tenth part of 
 the booty, gave him an horfe richly har- 
 nefled, and allowed him to take as much 
 of the filver as he could carry off, and to 
 make choice of ten prifoners. Coriolanus 
 contented himfelf with taking the ten pri- 
 foners and the horfe. Perhaps alfo when 
 the General was known to be a citizen en- 
 tirely devoted to the public good, no cavil 
 was ftarted againft him with regard to the 
 execution of this law. Thus the Dictator 
 Quintus Cincinnatus gave the infantry un- 
 der his command the rich booty that was 
 found in the camp of the /Equi, without 
 being blamed or called in queftion on that 
 account. 
 
 It was to the Senate (as appears by the 
 conduct of Sp. Caffius Ufcellinus towards 
 the Sabines) that the Genera) referred the 
 
 Depu-
 
 Hijlorical PREFACE. xi 
 
 Deputies of towns which fued for peace. 
 The Senate fometimes left it to the Gene- 
 ral to appoint the articles and conditions 
 of the treaty. Thus the Veians having 
 fent Deputies to the Conful L. ^milius, 
 he referred them to the Senate, who wrote 
 to Lucius to treat thofe rebels as he thought 
 proper. He granted them peace; but re- 
 quired them to pay all the charges of the 
 war, and to furnim as much corn as was 
 fufficient to fubfift his foldiers for two 
 months. Some years after, this fame na- 
 tion having made another revolt, the Con- 
 ful Aulus Manlius, to whom they fent 
 their Deputies, referred them to the Se- 
 nate, but by way of provifion ordered the 
 Veians to pay the charges of the war for 
 one year, and to fupply his troops with as 
 much corn as they could confume in two 
 months ; allowing them however to con- 
 vert the ftipulated quantity into money. 
 The Senate granted the Veians a truce of 
 forty years. 
 
 It feems however that the General was 
 inverted with an ordinary power of con- 
 cluding truces. For we fee that the Con- 
 ful QJFabius concluded a truce with the 
 /Equi, which he made them purchafe at 
 a dear rate j for he obliged them to fur- 
 nim his army with corn for two months, 
 and every foldier with two coats, fix 
 months pay, and every thing elfe they might 
 
 have
 
 Hljlorical PREFACE. 
 
 have occafion for in other refpects. With 
 regard to the peace which they afked, he 
 fent the Deputies to the Senate, who em- 
 powered the General to prefcribe them 
 what conditions he pleafed. Fabius con- 
 demned them to furnim at their own ex- 
 pence as many auxiliary forces as Rome 
 fhould demand of them in any preffing 
 neceflity. Lucius Cornelius acted in the 
 fame manner with regard to the JEqui. 
 
 The taking of Antium by the Conful 
 L. Cornelius Maluginenfis reprefents to us 
 in a clear light the ufual manner obferved 
 with regard to the enemies booty. He 
 divided that of the Antiates between the 
 public Treafury and the Roman foldiers. 
 The gold, filver, and brafs were carried to 
 the Q^aeftors, and the flaves were fold for 
 the profit of the Republic. The Conful 
 left the foldiers only the goods, provifions, 
 and other utenfils of that rebellious people. 
 However, as hath been already obferved, 
 the General fometimes took a liberty of 
 difpenfmg with this rule of carrying part 
 of the enemies booty to the public Trea- 
 fury ; fome examples thereof have been 
 already cited. Thus we fee the Dictator 
 Mamercus giving up the town and camp 
 of the Fidenates to the pillage of the fol- 
 diers. I mail obferve farther, that when 
 Historians fay limply, that the Haves or 
 part of the booty were fold, their mean- 
 ing
 
 Hiftorical PREFACE. xtii 
 
 ing is, that the price thereof was carried 
 to the public Treafury. Sometimes alfo 
 the whole was carried thither, without any 
 thing at all being given to the foldiery. 
 Such was the conduct of P. Pofthumius a 
 military Tribune, who upon the taking of 
 Bola, caufed all the booty to be delivered 
 to the Quaeftors that followed the army. 
 After his example, the Conful C. Valerius 
 having recovered the fortrefs of Carvenfe, 
 in which there was a confiderable booty, 
 caufed every thing that was there found 
 to be fold by auction, and gave the mo- 
 ney arifing from the fale to the Quaeftors 
 for the public Treafury. It looks as if the 
 practice of carrying thither a part of what 
 was taken from the enemy, had always 
 been the general and prevailing cuftom, 
 fince a modern Hiftorian *, after having 
 related that the fpoils of Anxur, a weal- 
 thy town, were abandoned to the troops 
 by the Military Tribunes, adds, that this 
 liberality of the Generals had been difufed 
 for a good while before. They were af- 
 terwards very careful in referving part of 
 the booty for the public Treafury. 
 
 It will not be improper here to remark, 
 that hitherto, that v is, for three centuries 
 together, the foldiers had ferved the State 
 at their own charge and expence. Every 
 one was obliged to draw out of his own 
 
 * P, Carrou. 
 
 little
 
 riv Hijlorical PREFACE. 
 
 little eftate and fubftance the means of his 
 fubfiftence, as well in the field, as in the 
 winter-quarters : and often when the cam- 
 paign was drawn out into too great a 
 length, the lands, thofe efpecially of the 
 poor Plebeians, were left untilled. Hence 
 arofe borrowing of money, ufuries with 
 intereft upon intereft, and in fine, the 
 complaints and feditions of the people. 
 The Senate, to prevent thefe diforders and 
 inconveniences, pafled an act that for the 
 future all the foldiers that ferved in the 
 infantry mould be paid out of the public 
 money j and to provide a fund for this ex- 
 pence, a new impoft mould be laid, from 
 which no citizen whatever mould be ex- 
 empt. I only copy from M. Rollin *, who 
 obferves after Polybius, that this pay was 
 two oboli^ i. e. a little more than three fols 
 of French money. It was during the 
 liege of Veii, in the 352 d year of Rome, 
 that they began likewife to give a certain 
 pay to the cavalry, as they had done before 
 to the infantry. That of the horfe was 
 treble the others, being fix oboli, or ten 
 fols French. Provifions were at that time 
 very cheap, as M. Rollin obferves after 
 Polybius : a bufhel of wheat was not ufu- 
 ally worth in Italy more than four oboli, 
 and the bumel of barley but half as much. 
 A bufhel of wheat ferved a foldier for 
 
 Hift. Rom. Tom. II. p. 330, 355. 
 
 eight
 
 Hijiorical PREFACE. x? 
 
 eight days. This was the firft time that 
 the Roman equites or cavalry furnimed 
 themfelves with horfes, the State having 
 always before fupplied them therewith. 
 
 Camillas, who had been created Didta- 
 tor on occafion of the war with the Fa- 
 lifci and Capenates, gave diftinguifhing 
 proofs of his zeal for augmenting the re- 
 venue and riches of the State ; for having 
 made a confiderable booty, he referved the 
 greateft part of it for the public treafury, 
 and granted the reft to the foldiers. And 
 the next day after the taking of Veii, he 
 caufed all the prifoners to be fold by au- 
 ction, and the money arifing from this 
 fale was laid by for the public treafury. 
 This was all that was excepted out of the 
 plunder of fo opulent a city. During that 
 fiege the Romans had been much haraffed 
 and infefted by the Falifci : Camillus, then 
 one of the 'Tribuni Militum, was fent a- 
 gainft them, and having routed them in a 
 pitched battle, made himfelf mafter of 
 their camp, all the booty whereof he fold 
 for the profit of the public treafury. His 
 foldiers were exceedingly incenfed on this 
 occafion ; but being obliged to fubmit un- 
 der a fevere difcipline, they could not help 
 hating, at the fame time that they ad- 
 mired, the virtue and public fpirit of their 
 General. The Falifci flruck with an he- 
 roical act of generofity in Camillus, fur- 
 rendered
 
 xvi Hifforical PREFACE. 
 
 rendered to the Romans, and had then as 
 much reafon to admire his moderation j 
 for the Deputies whom they had employed 
 to make peace, having been referred by 
 the Senate to the Tribune, he only laid 
 upon them a certain fum of money fuffi- 
 cient to pay the troops for that year, and 
 eafe the Roman people of that charge. 
 L. Lucretius and C. ^femilius, when they 
 were Tribuni Militum, granted fome little 
 time afterwards a truce for twenty years 
 to the Volfinians, upon condition that 
 they reftored to the Romans all that they 
 had taken from them, and reimburfed 
 them a year's pay for their troops. 
 
 In the war againft the Volfci, Camillus 
 was more liberal to his foldiers j he aban- 
 doned to them all the booty which they 
 found in the enemies camp, a largefs fo 
 much the more agreeable to them, as they 
 did not expect it from a General who had 
 never till then mewed himfelf liberal with 
 regard to the foldiers. He was not lefs 
 fuccefsful in the war againft the Etrurians. 
 The number of prifoners which ferved for 
 an ornament to his triumph was fo great, 
 that the price which arofe from their fale 
 was fufficient to reimburfe the ladies 
 the gold of their jewels which they 
 had lent the Republic. After the exam- 
 le of Camillus, A. Cornelius Coffus left 
 lis foldiers all the booty which they 
 
 found
 
 Wjlorical PREFACE!. 
 found in the camp of the Volfci ; but the 
 prifoners were fold for the benefit of the 
 public Treafury. The Generals neverthe* 
 lefs on fome occafions aflumed the autho- 
 rity of abandoning all the booty to the 
 foldiers. The Conful G. Marcius Rutilus 
 having fallen with an army into the terri- 
 tory of Privernum, referved nothing of the 
 booty for the public Treafury, and allowed 
 the foldier to take all : but in this he de- 
 viated from the common practice, which 
 obliged the General to bring into the pub- 
 lic Treafury at leaft the greater part of the 
 ipoils taken from the enemy. This libe- 
 rality of the Generals towards the foldiers^ 
 fays a modern Critic *, frequently raifed 
 fufpicions in the Tribunes of the People* 
 They took occafion thence more than once 
 to profecute the conqueror, out of a no- 
 tion that fuch largefles were not made 
 without defign. 
 
 But what contributed infinitely to in- 
 creafe the revenue of the State, was the 
 law made in relation to the manumiffion 
 and freedom of flaves; which enacted 
 that whoever enfranchifed a Have mould 
 pay into the public Treafury the twentieth 
 part of what fuch flave was worth* The 
 Senators confirmed this law, becaufe it 
 brought a confiderable revenue into the 
 
 * P. RwiUt. 
 
 ( b ) Exche-
 
 xviii Hiflorical PREFACE. 
 
 Exchequer, which was not rich ; and this 
 fhews clearly enough that fuch enfran- 
 chifements were common and frequent. 
 What a noble ufe did the State make of 
 this public treafure, under the Confulfhip 
 of C. Valerius Publicola, and C. Marcius 
 Rutilus ! Five Commiflaries were appoint- 
 ed, and called Menfarii, who were em- 
 powered to terminate the affair of the 
 debts, which had been a fruitful fource of 
 difTenfions. Compting tables were erected 
 in the market-places, with ready money 
 to pay the creditors, whofe place and af- 
 fignments the State took upon difcharging 
 the debts; or elfe putting a reafonable 
 price upon the lands and houfes of the 
 debtors, they fold them at that rate. By 
 this means abundance of debts were dif- 
 charged without injuflice, and without 
 any complaint. 
 
 The cuftom of carrying into the public 
 Treafury a part of the booty taken from 
 the enemy, was long continued. Valerius 
 Corvus, before he burnt the town of Sa- 
 trique, abandoned the plunder of it to the 
 foldiery : but he enriched the public Trea- 
 fury with the fale of four thoufand prifon- 
 crs of war, with which he made his tri- 
 umphant entry into Rome. It is eafy to 
 be obferved, that when Generals were not 
 able to bring money into the public Trea- 
 fury,
 
 Biftorical PREFACE. 
 fury, they {till were careful on occafion 
 not to diminim it. Thus they obliged the 
 people that fubmitted to their arms, to de- 
 fray the pay of the troops for a certain 
 time. It was at leaft being frugal of the 
 treafure of the State. I have quoted fe- 
 veral inftances of this military ceconomy. 
 The Conful L. ^milius treading in the 
 fteps of his predeceflbrs, when he had 
 forced the Sarhnites to fue for peace, ex- 
 adted from them a year's pay for his troops, 
 and corn to fupply his army for three 
 months. 
 
 But the Republic was not fo entirely 
 taken up with the increasing of the pub- 
 lic treafure, as not to think at the fame 
 time of proper means to make her citizens 
 enjoy the fruits of her conquefts. She did 
 not fail on various occafions to feize part 
 of the enemies territory, and to divide it 
 afterwards among the citizens. There are 
 inftances of this distribution very ancient : 
 I might eafily colledl: a great number of 
 them, and {hew that Romulus firft laid 
 the plan of fuch a divifion, in order to 
 aggrandize his rifing State. I mall only 
 obferve here, that the Romans, when to- 
 wards the end of the fourth century after 
 the foundation of Rome, they granted a 
 truce of an hundred years to the Cerites, 
 a people of Etruria, took away from them 
 ( b 2 ) half
 
 *x Hijlorical PREFACE. 
 
 half of their lands. Some time after this 
 we find the Conful L. Manlius Torquatus 
 {tripping the inhabitants of Capua, Lati- 
 um, and Privernum, of their ancient po- 
 feffions, and diftributing them among the 
 conquerors. The fine plains of Falerno, 
 as far as the river Vulturnus, were fhared 
 in the fame manner, and the diftribution 
 which Rome made of thofe conquered 
 countries was very equitable : fuch as had 
 lands in Latium, had only two acres of 
 land on account of the neighbourhod of 
 Rome j and fuch as could not have the 
 fame quantity of land in Latium, had by 
 way of compenfation fome portion of land 
 in the country of the Privernates. With 
 regard to the Romans who had the plains 
 of Falerno fhared among them, they a- 
 figned them three acres of land, becaufe 
 they lay at a greater diftance from Rome. 
 
 The Romans had likewife a cuftom of 
 granting to Colonies the lands of the an- 
 cient inhabitants, whom they obliged to 
 go and find out an abode in other quarters. 
 Thus in order to chaftife the Senators of 
 Velitrae, they ordered them in the 41 7th 
 year of Rome to quit their town and fet- 
 tle beyond the Tyber, and made a grant 
 of their lands to fuch as they fent thither 
 to form a colony. They confiscated alfo 
 at the fame time the lands of the people 
 V of
 
 Hljlorical PREFACE. xxi 
 
 of Tibur and Praenefte, on account of 
 their frequent revolts. 
 
 In the 43oth year of Rome, the Dicta- 
 tor L. Papirius Curfor gained fo compleat 
 a victory over the Samnites, that they were 
 obliged to fue to him for peace. They 
 came to an agreement that the Samnites 
 fhould give a cloathing to every foldier of 
 the Roman army, and a year's pay ; and 
 fhould fend Embafladors to Rome to treat 
 about the conditions of a peace. P. De- 
 cius acted in the very fame manner with 
 regard to the Samnites and the Etrurians, 
 who were always in league together againft 
 Rome : inflead of the peace for which 
 they fued, they obtained only one year's 
 truce, on condition that they fupplied the 
 Roman army with a year's pay, and fur- 
 nifhed two fuits of cloaths to every foldier. 
 The Tufcans faw themfelves foon after 
 obliged by the Dictator M. Valerius Maxi- 
 mus to advance a year's pay for his army, 
 and fupply it with corn for two months. 
 Such was the price for which the Senate 
 granted them a truce for two years. Sp. 
 Carvilius, who obtained the honour of a 
 triumph for having vanquimed the Tuf- 
 cans, was one of the Generals who brought 
 the moffc confiderable fums into the pub- 
 lic Treafury : he had forced the Falifci to 
 pay a fum that amounted to one hundred 
 ( b 3 )
 
 fcxli Hijlarical PREFACE. 
 
 fifty fix of our marks of filver, and the 
 pay of the army for that campaign. Upon 
 his return to Rome, he delivered to the 
 Quaeftors a fum which amounted to fix 
 hundred and nine of our marks of filver 
 and fomething more. 
 
 To mew how intent the Generals were 
 for near five hundred years upon enriching 
 the State, I need only quote a part of the 
 noble anfwer which Fabricius made to 
 Pyrrhus King of Epirus, who offered him 
 gold and filver. " The thoughts of en- 
 " riching myfelf never yet came into my 
 <{ head. As I have been long employed 
 " in the administration of the Common- 
 c< wealth, I have had a thotifand opportu- 
 " nities of heaping up great furns of mo- 
 <c ney without any reproach. Can one 
 <c deiire a more favourable one than was 
 * c offered me four years ago ? Inverted 
 <c with the dignity of Conful, I was fent 
 " with a numerous army againft the Sam- 
 " nites, the Lucanians, and the Brutians. 
 a I ravaged a great traft of country; I 
 " beat the enemy in feveral battles; I took 
 " by aflault feveral towns full of wealth 
 " and booty; I made the whole army 
 *' rich with their fpoils; Ireimburfed eve- 
 * c ry citizen all the expences he had been 
 <c at for the war ; and having received the 
 " honour of a triumph, I put likewife 
 
 " four
 
 Hiftorical PREFACE. xxiii 
 
 " four hundred talents into the public 
 " Treafury. 
 
 I fhall only relate a few other fadts to 
 fhew, that the Romans, in the moil flou- 
 rifhing times of their State, ftill took care 
 to draw from war confiderable fums which 
 were put into the public Treafury. Hav- 
 ing reduced all Italy into fubjection, they 
 carried the war immediately to Carthage, 
 forced Hieron King of Syracufe, who was 
 in league with that powerful Republic a- 
 gainft the Mamertines, to fue for peace, 
 and made him pay an hundred talents of 
 filver. They granted peace to the Cartha- 
 ginians upon feveral conditions, among 
 which we fee that they obliged them to 
 pay two thoufand two hundred talents in 
 the fpace of ten years, and a thoufand im- 
 mediately upon the concluiion of the 
 Treaty. A talent is valued at a thoufand 
 crowns of French money. The Romans 
 having afterwards picked an occafion of 
 quarrel with the Carthaginians about Sar- 
 dinia, thefe laft did not care to engage in 
 a new war, gave up all claim to Sardinia, 
 and paid twelve hundred talents, over 
 and above thofe which they were already 
 bound to give them. Scipio Africanus, af- 
 ter the fecond Punic war, obliged them to 
 furnim the troops of the Roman army 
 with corn for three months, and with pay,
 
 Hiftorical PREFACE. 
 
 till they had an anfwer with regard to the 
 conditions of peace ; and to pay likewife 
 ten thoufand talents of filver within the 
 fpace of fifty years, viz. at the rate of 
 two hundred talents a year. 
 
 ffitus H$uin5tius Flaminius made a peace 
 no lefs advantageous with Philip King of 
 Macedon : he obliged that Prince to pay 
 the Commonwealth a thoufand talents, 
 one half immediately, and the other half 
 in ten years, in the proportion of fifty 
 a year. When he granted peace upon 
 feveral conditions to Nabis King of 
 ,aceda3mon, he required him to pay 
 down an hundred talents, and fifty a 
 year for eight years following. He coru 
 demned him likewife to yield up to the 
 Romans all the towns that he was pof- 
 feffed of in the ifle of Crete. Not to 
 keep ftriclly to the order of time, I muft 
 not omit obferving, that the fame T. 
 Quinftius Flaminius, after his triumph for 
 the victories he had obtained in Greece, 
 fent into the public Treafury to the value 
 of fix hundred forty eight thoufand livres 
 in filver coin and bullion, and two millions 
 four hundred twenty thoufand and forty 
 livres in pieces of gold j Injefti argenti de- 
 fern f otfo millia pondo, & ducenta feptu- 
 tgintafatti) & auri pondo tria milliafep- 
 tingenta quatuordecim^ fays Livy, jL#. 14. 
 
 The
 
 Wftorical PREFACE. 
 
 The Conful Marcus Fufoius Nobiltor, 
 in the treaty of peace which he made 
 with the ./Etolians, among other conditions 
 which he prefcribed them, obliged them 
 to advance immediately two hundred Eu- 
 bcean talents to the Romans, and to pay 
 three hundred more in fix years, at the 
 rate of fifty in a year. The Senate, in 
 their ratification of this treaty, exprefsly 
 infifted that the ^tolians mould pay out 
 of hand to the Proconful who was then 
 in Greece, two hundred Euboean talents 
 in as good filver as the Attic ; and that if 
 they chofe rather to make their payment 
 of a third part of the fum in gold, they 
 mould be at liberty to do fo, provided 
 however they gave one pound of gold in 
 lieu of ten pounds of filver $ which mews 
 that proportion between gold and filver 
 was at that time decuple. The Senate 
 added farther, that for fix years, reckon- 
 ing from the day of the conclufion of the 
 Treaty, they mould pay fifty talents a 
 year, and take care that thefe fums mould 
 be certainly paid at Rome. 
 
 At the fame time that the Conful M. 
 Fulvius Nobilior reduced the ,/Etolians to a 
 ihameful treaty, his Collegue Cn. Manlius 
 Vulfo forced a petty tyrant called Moage- 
 Jus t who lorded it over fome towns of 
 Phrygia, to pay him an hundred talents, 
 
 and
 
 xxvi Hiftorical PREFACE 
 
 and ten thoufand medimni or meafures of 
 corn, each of which held near two Eng- 
 liih bumels. In the famous treaty con- 
 cluded between Antiochus the Great, King 
 of Syria, and the Romans, the Senate did 
 not forget the public Treafury ; but con- 
 demned that Prince to pay in twelve years 
 time, by equal portions each year, twelve 
 thoufand talents of filver, of the befl A- 
 thenian ftandard, the talent whereof 
 weighed at leafl fourfcore Roman pounds. 
 I mail only obferve, that by the fame trea- 
 ty he was obliged to furnim alfo five hun- 
 dred and forty thoufand bufhels of wheat. 
 We fee alfo Marcellus reftoring the Celti- 
 berians to their liberty, in consideration of 
 a tribute of fix hundred talents. The Pro- 
 conlul Lucius Lucullus, following his ex- 
 ample, made the town of Cauca in Spain 
 pay him an huadred talents of filver. The 
 famous Sylla, after having gained two vi- 
 ctories over Mithridates King of Pontus, 
 granted him peace upon feveral conditions ; 
 one of which was, that he mould pay two 
 thoufand talents for the charges of the 
 war. Pompey acted in the fame manner 
 with regard to Tigranes King of Armenia ; 
 obliging him to pay the Romans fix thou- 
 fand talents (or 11625007. Sterling) for 
 the charges of the war, which he had en- 
 tered into againft them without any ground 
 or provocation. 
 
 Before
 
 Hi/lorical PREFACE. xxvii 
 
 Before Pompey's time, the public reve- 
 nues arifing from Afia did not (as Plutarch 
 relates) amount yearly to more than five 
 thoufand myriads, or fifty millions of 
 drachms (which comes to about five and 
 twenty millions of livres, or one million 
 fix hundred and fourteen thoufand five 
 hundred eighty three pounds, 6 s. $d. fter- 
 ling) but his conque&s were fo advanta- 
 geous to the Romans, that they drew af- 
 terwards thence eight thoufand five hun- 
 dred myriads ; which comes to two mil- 
 lions feven hundred forty four thoufand 
 feven hundred ninety one pounds, 131. 
 4 d. fterling. He brought into the public 
 Treafury, as well in filver coin as in gold 
 and filver plate, twenty thoufand talents, 
 that is, fixty millions of livres. Nobody 
 will make any difficulty in believing this 
 fact, who confiders that he forced Tigra- 
 nes alone (as I have faid a little before) to 
 pay him fix thoufand talents, which make 
 about eighteen millions of French livres. 
 This immenfe revenue was like wife prodi- 
 gioufly increafed, after the Gauls and E- 
 gypt were made Roman Provinces. 
 
 It is certain that the money thus heaped 
 up in their wars, contributed infinitely to 
 enhance the revenues of the Romans. We 
 do not fee under the Emperors any in- 
 ftances of this politic ceconomy. Auguftus 
 
 however,
 
 xxviii MJlorical PREFACE. 
 
 however, who applied himfelf to enrich 
 his fubjecls and embellifh the Capital of 
 the Empire, fcraped together immenfe 
 fums. The money left by Tiberius is a 
 fubftantial proof of this fadl. 
 
 Though this laft Prince was extremely 
 vicious, he was not however covetous. Sa~ 
 tisjirmus, fays Suetonius in the life of Au- 
 guftus, ut fcepe metnoravt, adverfus pecu- 
 niam. He was in truth fometimes car- 
 ried on to unfpeakable cruelties ; but be- 
 fides that the inftances thereof are very 
 rare, he left immenfe fums in his Exche- 
 quer : Vicies ac Jepfies HS, fays Tacitus, 
 which amount to two hundred and two 
 millions of French money *, a fum which 
 is hardly to be found now-a-days in the 
 treafury of an Eaftern Monarch. Caligula 
 his fucceflbr fquandered away all this mo- 
 ney in lefs than a year's time. Non toto 
 vertente anno a[jumpjit y are the very words 
 of Suetonius. Though Tiberius was a 
 Prince that ufed ceconomy enough, it is 
 neverthelefs very probable that this prodi- 
 gious quantity of money had been chiefly 
 hoarded up under the long and pacific 
 reign of Auguftus, who, according to the 
 
 * The late Dr. Arbutbnot, who regrets much that no 
 Amhor had in his time left us any account of the revenues 
 of the Roman Empire, computes it at 27796875 /. fter- 
 Jing. Weights and Meafures, c, 1 8. 
 
 wife
 
 Htftoncal PREFACE. xxix 
 
 \vife politicks of Princes that ftudy the 
 happinefs of their fubjects, examined care- 
 fully into the public accounts. Some time 
 before his death he depofited in the hands 
 of the Veftals three volumes containing a 
 detail of the whole Empire, the number 
 of forces, the ftate of the Revenue, of 
 the public Treafury, and his private Ex- 
 chequer, and what ftill remained due of 
 the various impofts and tributes. Auguftus 
 had likewife drawn up a lift of the flaves 
 and freed-men who might be brought to 
 an account. Breviarium to ft us Imperil ', 
 quantum militum fub fignis ubique effet y 
 quantum pecunitf in terario & fifcis* &? 
 veftigaliorum refiduh : adjeclt & liberto- 
 rum fervorumque nomina a quibus ratio 
 exigi poffet -, fays Suetonius in the Life of 
 Auguftus. We fee in this padage that 
 the Emperor carefully diftinguimed be- 
 tween the public Treafury and the Prince's 
 private Exchequer, looking upon the one 
 as the revenue of the State, and the other 
 as his own patrimony. It was at this pri- 
 vate Exchequer that the legacies bequeath- 
 ed by will to Tiberius, Livia, Germanicus, 
 and the Roman people were received. 
 This diftinclion is ftiil more clearly at- 
 tefted by what Suetonius fays, that though 
 he left the Empire in a flourifhing condi- 
 tion, he alledges the narrownefs of his 
 
 private
 
 xxx Hiftorical PREFACE. 
 
 private fortune, as a reafon why he left fo 
 few legacies, excufata rei familiaris medi- 
 ocritate. This Prince obferves likewife in 
 his will, that his heirs would have only 
 three millions feven hundred and fifty 
 thoufand crowns to be fhared amongft 
 them, whereas he had within twenty years 
 paft inherited of his friend to the value of 
 fourfcore millions and fifteen hundred 
 crowns ; the whole of which almoft he 
 had facrificed, befides his own patrimony, 
 to the public good. 
 
 Auguftus, in thus diftinguiming the 
 public Treafury from the private Exche- 
 quer, acted agreeably to the government 
 of the Republic, under which the public 
 Treafury had been a very ferviceable re- 
 fource. After his example, fuch Empe- 
 rors as were truly concerned for the happi- 
 fiefs of their fubjects, as Trajan and A- 
 drian, took particular care to preferve and 
 augment the revenue of the State. Spar- 
 tian fays, that the former of thefe Princes 
 would not fuffer the confifcated effects of 
 perfons condemned to death to be brought 
 into his particular Exchequer, but caufed 
 them to be carried to the public Treafury. 
 Pliny did not fail to extol Trajan for the 
 .manner in which he adminifter'd the reve- 
 nues of the Empire, and his private 
 eftate. " But perhaps (fays he to him) 
 
 " you
 
 Htjlortcal PREFACE. xxxi 
 
 *< you are more careful in the manage- 
 " ment of your private fortune than you 
 " are of the public. Far from doing fo, 
 " you rather favour it the lefs, as think- 
 " ing you have a better right and greater 
 (( power over your own eftate, than over 
 " that of the Republic." 
 
 What I propofe in laying thefe facts to- 
 gether, is to point out a fource of revenue 
 which the Romans knew how to open, 
 and make it contribute infinitely to the 
 grandeur of the State and the happinefs of 
 the citizens. In proportion as the public 
 treafure came to be more confiderable, 
 the Republic flill found in it greater re- 
 fources in critical conjunctures. She was 
 under no neceffity of loading the citizens 
 with heavy impofls ; the public Treafury 
 never failed affording a ready and fure re-, 
 fource in all exigencies whatever. If me 
 took any fum from thence in times of ca- 
 lamity, me reflored it with advantage, and 
 flocked it with new fupplies when me had 
 gained a victory. Some Emperors were 
 fo fenfible of the advantages of this poli- 
 tic ceconomy, that they obliged feveral 
 Provinces to furnifh oil, horfes, fluffs, ba- 
 con, and a certain quantity of corn. They 
 erected magazines of all thefe kinds of 
 munitions and provifions, in order to open 
 and diftribute them in a time of fcarcitv 
 
 or
 
 Hiftoncal PREFACE. 
 
 or famine, without deriving thence any 
 immediate profit to the State. Every thing 
 that relates to the Romans affe&s and in- 
 terefts us fo much, that I have room to 
 hope the world will not be difpleafed to 
 find in the following Treatife various ex- 
 amples of a politic ceconomy which we 
 cannot help admiring. 
 
 OF
 
 [I] 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 REVENUES 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 ROMANS. 
 
 CHAP. L 
 
 Of the Demefne of the Romans. 
 
 TH E Romans had a Demefne confift- 
 ing in arable and pafture lands, mea- 
 dows, vineyards, forefts, olive plan- 
 tations, ponds, mines, rivers, fak-works, and 
 fruit-trees. 
 
 Romulus divided the territory of Rome in- 
 to three parts. He difpofed of the firft to the 
 thirty Curia by equal portions ; he afllgned 
 the fecond for keeping the temples in repair, 
 and defraying the charges of facrifices; and 
 the third was applied to the occafions of the 
 State \ 
 
 * Agrum in triginta parte; aequales divifit ; fed cxcmit 
 prius quantum ad minifteria Sacrorum & Tcmplorum faris 
 eflet, & quandam partem quae effct Juris public! refervavit. 
 Dion. Halicarn. 1. 2. c. 2. 
 
 B In
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 In the courfe of time, the victories of the 
 Romans fwelled their Exchequer, and the con- 
 quefts they made were conftantly a new fource 
 of revenue. The Demefne increafed in pro- 
 portion as the frontiers of the Republic were 
 extended. Thus triumphs enriched them, and 
 no way impovc rimed the victorious ** [as is 
 generally tbe cafe now-a-days.~\ The Veii hav- 
 ing been fubdued by the Romans, were con- 
 demned, as Livy affures us, to lofe part of 
 their territory b . 
 
 The Sabines, according to the fame hifto- 
 rian, paid a like fine ; and whoever fhall trace 
 t}ie progrefs of the arms of the Romans, will 
 eafily obferve the progrefs of the Demefne, 
 and the improvement of the public Treafury, 
 as well under the government of the Kings, 
 as under the authority of the Confuls and the 
 Senate, under the popular government, and in 
 fine under the dominion of the Emperors. 
 Horace fpeaking of the golden age of the Ro- 
 man Republic, fays, that tbe private men were 
 poor^ and tbe State rich c . 
 
 There were many inftances of illuftrious ci- 
 tizens, who, after having enriched their coun- 
 try, died without leaving effects fufficient to 
 defray the charges of their funeral. The po- 
 verty of Valerius Publicola, Mencnius Agrip- 
 pa, and Cincinnatus, was a jufter fubject of 
 
 * * [ Thefe words in Italick letter were Jtruck out, before 
 this Treatife could be licenfed ', and the cafe ivas tbe fame as 
 to all other pajjages, before ivbicb this mark * * occur t ~\ 
 
 b Veientes parte agrorum multati funt. 'fit. Li<v. 1. i. 
 n. 3. 
 
 c Privatus illis cenfus crat brevis, commune magnum. 
 Hor. 1. 2. Od. 15. 
 
 glory,
 
 of the R O M A N S. 
 
 glory, and much more for their honour^ than 
 ail the riches of their fucceflbrs d . 
 
 The Martian foreft, the territory of the 
 Volfci, the lands of the Hernici, the fields of 
 the Aruncians, and the eftates of the Equi, 
 were incorporated into the Demefne j fo that 
 war, which is now become a bottomlefs pit 
 that fwallows up all the riches of a State, was 
 then a mine from which the Romans drew 
 their greateft treafures. This hath been very 
 well obferved by a politician ' who is detefted 
 by private men, but is continually confulted 
 by the beft and ableft Minifters. This is a 
 matter of fact proved by an infinite number 
 of examples, the multitude of which would 
 ferve rather to puzzle, than to give new light 
 to the fubject ; but it is founded on a princi- 
 ple of political prudence, which requires that 
 the revenue of a State mould arife from the 
 very fource from whence the neceffity of the 
 expence is derived , and that war, which is a 
 devouring monfter, fhould be fed with its own 
 fubftance, and drink its own blood. 
 
 Confifcations were a fecond fource of the 
 Demefne. I fhall only in this place quote an 
 inftance or two, becaufe I have wrote a parti- 
 cular chapter on the fubjecl. 
 
 The Demefne of Tarquin the Proud was 
 confifcated to the profit of the Commonwealth ; 
 and fome patrimonial lands which belonged to 
 him were converted into a place of public af- 
 femblies called the Field of Mars, to Ihew that 
 
 d Tit. Liv 1. r, 2, 3. Dion. F.alicarn. 
 Macbiawl, 1. 2. c. 7. upon T. Li-v. See Liiy, Ha- 
 
 l/earn. Fforus, Polybiu!, and "Jitjlln, 
 
 B 2 the
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 the State would never come into any accom- 
 modation with him, or have any peace with 
 fuch as fhould endeavour to reftore him. 
 
 The eftates of the 'Decemviri were likewife 
 confifcated f , becaufe of fimple Commiflioners 
 as they were originally, they had fet up them- 
 felves for Sovereigns ; and abufing the autho- 
 rity delegated to them by the Senate and the 
 People for drawing up and eftablifhing a bo- 
 dy of laws, they had arrogated to themfelves 
 the power of abfolute dominion. The eftate 
 of Spurius Melius was alfo annexed to the 
 Demefne ? . 
 
 Confifcations were introduced, becaufe a 
 perfon cut off from human fociety by a capital 
 punifhment, or from the Republic by a civil 
 death, is deemed to be annihilated, and con- 
 fequently incapable of leaving or difpofing of 
 his effects to his relations or friends, as being 
 cut off from all mare or benefit in the laws ; 
 fo that in fuch cafe the eftate which he enjoyed, 
 being left without any proprietor, ought natu- 
 rally to efcheate to the public Demefne, as the 
 common center" from which he was prefumed 
 to have derived it originally. The laft Em- 
 perors in truth moderated the rigour of this 
 part of the law, as being perfuaded that na- 
 ture was more ancient than law, and that rights 
 of blood were preferable to the claims of the 
 Imperial Exchequer 11 . ' 
 
 I mall not here take any notice of Attalus 
 King of Pergamus, who left the People of 
 Rome his heir ; nor of donations, fines im- 
 
 * r. Liv. far Dion. Ha,'. 1. 4. 
 8 T. Liv. 1. 4. 
 34. 
 
 pofed,
 
 of the R O M A N S. 
 
 pofed, or eilates devolving to the public by 
 efcheat, and deemed to be vacant or deftitute 
 of a proprietor ; becaufe I fhall fpeak of them 
 at large in another place. It will be fufficient 
 to remark, that when private men mounted 
 on the Imperial Throne, they brought all their 
 own eftates as it were by way or portion to 
 the Scate ; for eftates being only acceflbries 
 and annexed to perfons, could not continue in 
 a private condition, when the proprietor there- 
 of was raifed to the dignity of a Sovereign. 
 One of the Antonini mewed himfelf very fen- 
 fible of this truth, when after his elevation he 
 laid to his wife, who blamed him for not be- 
 ing liberal enough, Madam^ we have now no- 
 thing of our own ; meaning, as I conceive, 
 that the public intereft and his private intereft 
 being blended together in the perfon of the 
 Prince, he had no longer any eftate in private 
 property ; and that what he had brought, being 
 united to that of the State, had immediately 
 thereupon changed its nature, and become the 
 property of the Empire, being no longer an- 
 nexed to his perfon, but to his dignity. But the 
 Emperors did not ufe to make exprefs decla- 
 rations for thefe kinds of annexing ; at leaft 
 neither Hiftory nor the Laws furnim us with 
 any inftance thereof; as was praclifed in France 
 in the year 1532 with regard to the fovereign- 
 ty of Beam, the Kingdom of Navarre, the 
 Duchy of Bretagne, Normandy, and the lands 
 of perfons condemned for high treafon ; tho* 
 a pofleflion of ten years hath, by the very 
 words of the Ordinances of 1566, the fame 
 force as a formal declaration. 
 1 JuL Cap. In Antonino Pio. 
 
 B 3 The
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 The lands of the Demefne were called Pra- 
 dia Tamiaca^ Pradia Dominica, Fundi Patri- 
 moniales, Pradia Civilia vel Hfcalia, Res Pri- 
 vatce vel Dominica k . 
 
 We may judge of the largenefs and extent 
 of this Demefne by the greatnefs of the Ro- 
 man Empire, which had fcarce any other 
 bounds than thofe of the Univerfe ' ; for the 
 lands of the Imperial Demefne were fpread 
 over all the Provinces of that vaft Republic, 
 and particularly in thofe of Afia and the 
 Eaft -. 
 
 This Demefne comprehended likewife a 
 great many forefts, the adminiftration where- 
 of was very honourable, whatever contempt 
 Julius Casfar exprefied for that kind of em- 
 ployment ; and notwithftanding the complaints 
 he made, that his commiffion in Spain gave 
 him no power but over trees and thickets n . 
 
 Rivers made alfo a part of the Demefne ; 
 and this is the opinion of Angelus upon the 
 law Fluminum.'. Ulpian had decided this 
 point before in exprefs terms upon the firft 
 law. 
 
 The lawyer Caius maintains in like manner 
 that the public hath every whit as much pro- 
 perty in rivers * , as particular citizens have in 
 
 k C. De Praed. Tamiacis, &?<-. & paffim. 
 1 Orbem jam totum viftor Romanus habebar, 
 Qua mare, qua terrz, qua fidus cunit utrumque. 
 
 Petron. 
 
 m L 6. 8, 13. Cod. De fundis patriraon. 
 " Cod. 1. 1 1, 7, 62, 63, 6c, ///. Ce fugit. Colonis faltu- 
 cnf. De ^ancipiis faltuenf. 6ff. 
 jf. De damno inf<flo. 
 P'jf. De Interd. /. i.ff. DC divifione rwum. 
 
 their
 
 of the R O M A N S. 
 
 their private eftates : and the firft law confirms 
 alfo this opinion -. 
 
 To form a clear and diftinct notion of the 
 matter I am treating of in this place, it will 
 be proper to frame in the imagination as it 
 were four circles of different fizes, inclofed 
 one within another, viz. Families, Towns and 
 Corporations, States, and in fine, the univer- 
 fal Republic of the world. Private eftates 
 belong to Families ; public eftates, in an im- 
 proper meaning of the word, to Towns and 
 Corporations , public things, in their true and 
 natural fcnfe, to States ; and things common 
 belong to the great Republic of the Univerfe, 
 of which the native and the foreigner, the ci- 
 vilized man and the barbarian, are equally ci- 
 tizens. 
 
 From this principle Lawyers have inferred, 
 that the earth, the air, fire, and the fea belong 
 in general to all mankind r , and that by the 
 Law of Nations the entrance and paffage of 
 all feas are free and open to all kinds of na- 
 tions, without any diftin&ion of country or 
 climate. 
 
 The mores too, becaufe they pafled for ac- 
 ceffories or appendages of the fea, were deemed 
 to enjoy, as it may be faid, or be entitled to 
 the fame free and common right. The cap- 
 tains of ^Eneas's fleet, in Virgil, make great 
 complaints againft Dido's officers, becaufe 
 they had hindered them from coming into the 
 
 */: f i. De fluminibus. 
 * Infl. . i. tit. De rerum divifione. 
 L. 2. . Si quis in imri. ff. Ne quis in loco publico. 
 
 B 4 roads
 
 Of the R E v E N" u E s 
 
 roads and landing on the coafts of Africk f : 
 and Juno, in Ovid, exclaims againft a like 
 injuftice '. 
 
 It muft be owned however, that the Prince's 
 Exchequer began to attack and encroach upon 
 this right : and flatterers maintained that every 
 thing which fwam in the fea or in rivers be- 
 longed to the Emperor's Demefne ; a claim 
 which appeared extremely mocking to Juve- 
 nal v . 
 
 Now-a-days, * * [when ambition and avarice 
 have effaced in a manner all traces of this right] 
 Princes pretend that the fea follows the nature 
 of the more ; and confequently whoever is 
 mafter of this, is mafter alfo of the other. 
 
 This is the quarrel of the Hollanders and 
 the Danes about the ftreight and pafiage of the 
 Sound -, of the Englilh and Danes in relation 
 to the feas of Norway ; of the Dutch and 
 Englifli with regard .to the Britifh Channel ; 
 of the Pope and Venetians about the naviga- 
 tion of the Adriatic fea -, and of moft nations 
 in regard of the commerce of the Eaft and 
 Weft Indies, which the Portuguefe and the 
 Spaniards have always laboured to engrofs and 
 appropriate to themfelves, exclufive of all o- 
 ther European nations, 
 
 ' Quod genus hoc hom'num, quare hunc tarn barbaia 
 
 morem 
 Permittit patria ? Hofpitio prohibemur arenae. 
 
 JiLneid. 1. i. 
 
 1 Quid prohibetis aquas? Ufus communis aquarum eft. 
 v Si quid Parphurio, fi credimus Armillato, 
 Quicquid confpicuum pulcrumque ex jequore toto eft, 
 Res fifci eft, ubicumque natat, Ju<v, Sat. 4. 
 
 The
 
 of the R O M A N S. 9 
 
 The chief reafons that fupport this common 
 right and freedom pf the fea, feem to me to 
 be taken, 
 
 1 . From the necefiity of commerce ". 
 
 2. From the diverfity of arts, and the va- 
 rious kinds of genius. 
 
 3. From the defire of travelling, and the 
 inclination which all men have for fociety. 
 
 4. From the original right which every 
 particular perfon hath over all the earth, and 
 which the competition of different claimants 
 hath caufed to be fhared out, as it divides an 
 inheritance among feveral coheirs. 
 
 5. From the quality which the fea hath of 
 ferving for a public road to all the nations of 
 the world. 
 
 6. From this great road's not being liable 
 to be fpqiled, or fubject to any reparations. 
 
 7. Laflly, becaufe no body can juftly com- 
 plain of a paffage, which belongs to nature, 
 and is never to be deftroyed or altered. 
 
 It is however proper to adhere to the right 
 which is fettled by practice and cuftom, with- 
 out troubling ourfelves about laws that are ei- 
 ther difufed or abolifhed. 
 
 The Imperial Exchequer had no claim or 
 right to wrecks w . The Emperor Conftan- 
 tine takes under his protection all perfons what- 
 ever that fuffered by the fea, and grants a kind 
 fanctuary or place of refuge to mips that were 
 driren on fhore by tempefts. The Majefty of 
 the Empire, fays he, bath no right wer the af- 
 flictions of the unfortunate. 
 
 u Nee vere terrae ferre omnes omnia poffunt. Georz. i. 
 * Cod. 1. i. De Naufragiis. 
 
 ** [72*
 
 1O Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 * * \he Ordinances of the Kings of France 
 . are very different, infomuch that if the perfons 
 interejled in a 'wreck do not make their claim with- 
 in a time prefixed, the fpace whereof is reafona- 
 lle enough, that is, of a year and a day, they 
 are deemed voluntarily to renounce what the ft or m 
 lad taken frdm them before againft their wills by 
 force.'] 
 
 The Emperors fometimes gave away the 
 lands of their Demefne, referring only a quit- 
 rent ; and thefe could not be taken away from 
 thofe who held them or their fuccefibrs, pro- 
 vided the rent was duly paid x . Ulpian ftiles 
 this kind of Demefne by the name of Tribu- 
 tary Fields, Agri veftigalcs. This is properly 
 fpeaking what we call the infeoffed or un- 
 changeable Demefne. 
 
 They farmed out other lands for a fum of 
 ready money, and the leafes thereof were ufu- 
 aJJy made for five years : this is the change- 
 able Demefne y . Sometimes they let it out by 
 halves, and the farmers of this kind were 
 called Coloni Partiarii. 
 
 Wafte and uncultivated lands were fome- 
 times difpofed of for a long term of years z : 
 this depended on the oeconomy and good con- 
 duct of the adminiftrators. 
 
 Leafes were ufually granted for five years ', 
 becaufe at the end of that term a general re- 
 
 ** OrJonnaate of 1543, Art. n, 12. and of 1554* 
 1573, and 1582. 
 
 L. i . jf. Si ager ve&gal. 
 
 L. 5. C. DC locatione praed. fife. 
 7 Fair. 1. 4. De ling. Lat. 
 L' i.ff. Si ager veftigal. 
 
 L. i. C. De jure Emphiteutico, &c. 
 
 T. Liv. & C. De locat. veftigalium. 
 
 view
 
 of the ROMANS. II 
 
 view was made of all the citizens, and an ex- 
 ad account taken of their eftates. But thefe 
 three kinds of leafes differed in abundance of 
 refpects from the adjudications of the King of 
 France's Demefne. 
 
 1. If the leflees of an eftate failed in pay- 
 ing their rent for three years together, or even 
 only for two years, the leafe was vacated and 
 entirely difiblved b : whereas in France it is ne- 
 ceffary to procure the King's letters, and car- 
 ry on a fuit of law for fetting it afide ; the 
 fummary ways of annulling a leafe without the 
 formalities of a legal proceeding not being re- 
 ceived in that kingdom c . The fame method 
 was obferved with regard to leafes for a long 
 term of years. 
 
 2. When the pofleffbrs or detainers of eftates 
 fold them, there was no duty paid to the Im- 
 perial Treafury d . They are now obliged to 
 pay fines of alienation. 
 
 3. They did not obferve the fame formali- 
 ties in fales or leafes as are now in ufe ; but 
 they ftill agreed in the main c . We do not 
 find that they made ufe of fire ; but by poft- 
 ing up advertifements they gave public notice 
 of the adjudications or auctions that were to be 
 made f . There were in this point fome delays 
 which were not always uniform ; and after 
 auctions were over and adjudications made, 
 there was ftill a certain time allowed for re- 
 
 b L. i. Cod. De jure Emphit. Authentic. Qui ven. 
 
 C. De facrofanftis Ecclefiis. 
 c Loifeau, Bacquet. 
 * L. 5. De locat. prasd. fifcal. 
 e L. i.C. De vendendis rebus Civit. 
 ' 1. 3.,De de & jure haftae fiicalis, & paffirn in Codice. 
 
 ceiving
 
 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 ceiving higher offers ; fo that the Royal Ordi- 
 nances upon this fubje<5t are taken almoft ver- 
 batim from the laws I quote. 
 
 4. When a perfon was evicted through de- 
 fault of paying his rent for two or three years, 
 he was not rcimburfed for any improvements 
 he had made on the eftate ; though if it was 
 in a worfe condition, and he had committed 
 any wafte upon it, he was obliged to make 
 good the damages g . This depends in France 
 on the equity of the Judges or Commiflaries. 
 
 It cannot be improper to obferve, that none 
 but the Imperial Treafury and the Churches 
 had a right to receive any higher offers after 
 an auction or adjudication was over ; and that 
 Towns and Corporations were excluded from 
 that privilege h , 
 
 5. If farms were adjudged to infolvent per- 
 fons, the officers anfwered for them, (which is 
 not the cafe at prefent,) For this reafon the 
 Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodo- 
 fius ordered them to difpofe of the farms only 
 to rich and fubftantial people, that could give 
 good and fufficient fecurity j . The Ordinance 
 of Francis I. is agreeable to this regulation. 
 
 6. The Romans knew no diftinction be- 
 tween lands noble and ignoble, lands free or 
 allodial % nor any thing of fines of alienation, 
 the fifth part of the purchafe-money payable 
 to the Lord of a fief, and the fifth of that 
 
 z Novell. 1 20. 
 
 k L. i. C. De vendend. reb. Civit. 
 
 L. 21 . $. 7- ff' Ad municip. Autb. 1 9. C. De facrof. 
 Ecclefiis. 
 
 * L. i. C. De locat. prasd. fifcal. 
 
 k Du Moulin, Pref.fur U tit. det Fifft. Lotfeau. 
 
 fifth,
 
 of the ROMANS. 13 
 
 fifth, of inveftiture and feizin, feizures, open- 
 ing of the fief, amercements for not paying 
 the quit-rent, nor in fhort of the rights of 
 high, mean, and low jurifdiction '. The Ita- 
 lian lawyers m who have thought that Romu- 
 lus had instituted and fettled fiefs, upon his ha- 
 ving divided the Roman citizens into two or- 
 ders, and called the one Patrons (which is a 
 name that our French Civilians give to feudal 
 Lords) and the others Clients, which is a term 
 that they afcribe to VafTals and Feudataries ; 
 thefe lawyers, I fay, had not confulted Dio- 
 nyfius of Halicarnafius n ; for he would have 
 told them, that the Patrons were the Patricii, 
 who had the care of religion and bore civil 
 offices ; and the Clients were the Plebeians, 
 who tilled the lands, exercifed mechanic arts, 
 and followed trades. The firft were properly 
 the protectors of the others, and thefe in re- 
 turn paid them a great deal of refpect : but 
 befides that thefe titles were voluntary, every 
 one being at liberty to chufe any body he liked 
 for his protector, they were likewife purely 
 perfonal, belonging to the perfons, and having 
 no manner of relation to the lands and eftates 
 which fuch perfons occupied or enjoyed. 
 
 7. There was a Super intendant of the De- 
 mefne, who was diftinguiihed by the title of 
 Illuftrious : it was one of the firft pofts of 
 the Empire. This officer had no dependancc 
 
 1 Pitboufur la coutume de Trojes. 
 
 Coquille, Inft. du Droit Francois. 
 m Ealdus, Bartkolus. 
 
 n L. 2. C. 2. 
 
 C. De officio Comit. rer. privat. 
 
 on
 
 14 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 on the Superintendant-general of the revenue, 
 and took place immediately after him. ' 
 
 8. The money arifing from the Demefne 
 was put into a particular treafury called the 
 fife v ; but what arofe from other branches of 
 the revenue was lodged in the public Treafu- 
 ry called fimply Mrar'wm. 
 
 The younger Pliny in his Panegyric makes 
 a diftinction between thefe two forts of Trea- 
 furies, though their names are often confound- 
 ed in other authors. In France the profits of 
 the Demefne are paid into the Royal Treafu- 
 ry, and are under the direction of the Com- 
 ptroller general of the revenue. 
 
 9. The ancient farmers, when their leafe 
 was expired, had the preference before all o- 
 thers. There is a regulation to this effect 
 made by the Emperors Honorius and Arcadi- 
 us : // is juft and equitable, faid they, that the 
 old tenants Jbould be preferred to new Udders, if 
 they offer the fame price '. ** [/ France this 
 depends on the Comptroller-general of the fi- 
 nances.] 
 
 10. There was a genera] prohibition which 
 incapacitated all the officers of the Emperor's 
 houfhold from being admitted tenants of any 
 part of the Demefne r 5 and it lay more parti- 
 cularly againft fuch as had any poft or em- 
 ployment in the Revenue, either in their own 
 name, or by the intervention of others lending 
 
 P L. 2. $. Hoc interdift. ff. Ne quid in loco publico, &c. 
 
 i ^Equitati congruit, ut veteres pofTeffores fundorum 
 publicorum noviffirais condudoribus praeferantur, fi faU 
 per alios augmenta fufcipiant. 
 
 r L Unif. C Quibus ad conduftionem prsed fifcal. ac- 
 ccdere non licet. 
 
 them
 
 ef the R O M A N S. 
 
 them theirs : there is an Edict of Arcadius 
 and Honorius exprefs to this purpofe <". The 
 Ordinances of the Kings of France in 1541 
 and 1561 are agreeable to this regulation: but 
 they are not always obferved, the neceffities of 
 the State fubjedling them to frequent deroga- 
 tions. 
 
 1 1 . The officers of the Revenue fometimes 
 improved and made the moft of the Demefne 
 by putting it under the management of parti- 
 cular Commiffioners who had feveral families 
 and flaves under them [ . In France there is an 
 Ordinance which allows, and indeed goes fo 
 far as to prefcribe this : but it is broke through 
 by a contrary cuftom. 
 
 12. The Demefne lands were fubject to 
 Talliage, and other charges incident to lands u ; 
 as well as to repairs of the highways, bridges, 
 and caufeways. In France this is not obferved 
 at prefent in feveral Provinces, where the 
 Talliages are affixed to lands v , particularly 
 in Dauphine, where the lands of noble tenure 
 declared to be fo in the ancient Cadaftre *, are 
 exempt from them : and as for highways, 
 bridges, caufeways, moles, piers and banks, 
 the officers of the Revenue affign and appro- 
 
 { Nullus Palatinorum qui in officio rei noftne privatas 
 militant, conduftionis nomine, vel per fe, vel per quam- 
 libet perfonam poifeffionum hujufmodi conducendarum fa- 
 cultatem, cum neque militi, neque curiali hoc psrmitta- 
 mus. 
 
 1 L. io. C. tit 62 fcf 63. 
 
 u L i. C. De collat. fund, patrim. 
 
 r L- 4. De privileges Domus Augufta?. 
 
 * The Cadaf.re is a public regifter made by authority of 
 the Court of Aides, and containing the names of the propri- 
 etors of ejlata, tbtir quality and value) in eqcb corpiratiott 
 and pari/b. 
 
 2 priate
 
 16 Of the RE VE N u E s 
 
 priate every year a particular fund for thefc 
 kinds of expences w . 
 
 There is one remarkable difference between 
 the Demefne of the Kings of France, and 
 that of the Roman Emperors. The firft of 
 thefe is facred and inalienable, except in two 
 cafes only, viz. when it is neceffary to provide 
 for the urgent necefiities of the State, and even 
 then there is a right referved of repurchafing 
 it, which cannot be foreclofed by any prefcri- 
 ption ; and in order to fettle an appanage for 
 a younger branch of the Royal Family, but 
 ftill with a right of reverfion to the Crown in 
 defect of male iffue : fo that a purchafer ne- 
 ver hath an unalterable property in lands that 
 ever were part of the Royal Demefne, as ap- 
 pears by the frequent refumptions and re-fales 
 that are made thereof. The Imperial Demefne 
 on the contrary was fold and alienated for ever, 
 like the eftates of private perfons. 
 
 There was a famous law made by Alexan- 
 der Severus to this effect. / Jhould blujh, fays 
 this Emperor, for jhame^ if tbe officers of my 
 Exchequer Jhould offer to fue and moleft a pur- 
 cbafer of the Demefne, after it bath been fairly 
 affigned to him> and be bath paid the purcbafe- 
 money for it x . 
 
 The words of Honorius and Theodofius on 
 this fubject are not lefs remarkable. Neither 
 equity nor honour, fay they, allow tbe Prince's 
 Treafury to refume what it bath once fold y . 
 
 w ExptHi, in his Pltadingt. 
 
 * Graviffimum vcrccundia mea duxit, ut cujus rci pre- 
 tium (cum bona fide eflec addifta) femel fifcus accepcrit, 
 ejus controverfiam referat. 
 
 r Retraftare fifcum quod femel vendidir, zequitatis ho- 
 meftatifque ratio non patitur. L. 2. Cod. 
 
 2 TVo-
 
 of the R O M A N S, 17 
 
 Theodofius and Valentinian decide this point 
 in terms ftill more exprefs. We enatl, fay 
 they z , by this prefent Declaration, that the pur- 
 chafers of the lands of our Demefne in perpetuity , 
 Jhall remain for ever poffeffed thereof, notwith- 
 Jkanding any grant or alignment thereof that the 
 Emperor may make himfelf to a third perfon, ei- 
 ther at the requeft of fuch perfon, or of his own 
 proper motion, under the penalty of an hundred 
 pound fine to be laid on the Superintendant of the 
 Demefne that Jhall any way infringe this Ordi- 
 nance, and the like fine upon the officers of our 
 Demefne, to be paid to us, whatever high and 
 advantageous offers of greater value may be made 
 from other quarters. Our meaning therefore is, 
 that thefe kinds of public contracts Jhall be for 
 (ver irrevocable ; and likewife the eftates fold and 
 affigned may not for the future be refumed nor 
 taken away from the pur chafers to whom they 
 have been affigned, or from their children, fuc- 
 cejfors, heirs and ajjigns, on any claim or pretence 
 whatfoever. 
 
 The fecond law on this fubject is likewife 
 cxprefs. Conftandne the Great hath left an 
 univerfal and inviolable Edict, which is couch- 
 ed in thefe terms. We notify to all perfons, that 
 whoever purchafetb or hath purchased any ejlate 
 of our Exchequer, he and his hsirs and fuccejjlrs 
 Jhall continue perpetual and indefeajable Lords and 
 owners thereof, without being liable to any refum- 
 ption on our part, or to be outed of their po/ejjion 
 on pretence of any right of ours whatever . 
 
 z L. 7. C. Eodera. 
 
 * Univcrfl cognofcant, has poiTeffiones quas de fifco 
 noftro comparanc feu comparaverunt, nullo a nobis jure re- 
 trahi, fed propria firmitate pofleffas, etiam ad poileros fuos 
 dominii perpecui durabilitate dimitti. 
 
 C Gratian,
 
 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodofius ex- 
 tend thefe regulations even to the pure grants 
 and donations proceeding from the mere boun- 
 ty of the Prince without any other confidera- 
 tion. Whoever, fay they, enjoys in virtue of. 
 cur own Imperial liberality or that of our prede-. 
 ceffbrs, any eftate or lands of our Demefne or 
 Patrimony, Jituated either m the Diocefe of Afia 
 or in that of Pontus, Jhall be abfolute proprietor 
 thereof, and have power to tranfmit the fame to 
 his pofterity, and not only to convey them to bis 
 heirs, but even fell and alienate them from his 
 family by any kind of contraft wbatfoever b . 
 
 More than this, the purchater of fuch eftates 
 became fo entirely mailer thereof', that he 
 had the privilege and authority of enfranchi- 
 fing the flaves that were, by the misfortune of 
 their condition and birth, reduced to fervitude, 
 and tied to the ploughing and cultivating of 
 the lands ; though the contrary was inviolably 
 obferved fo long as thofe eftates remained in 
 the hands of the Exchequer d . 
 
 The Emperor Anaftafius carried afterwards 
 this right to a farther length : for he enacted 
 that whoever mould have continued forty years 
 in a peaceable and undifturbed pofieflion of 
 any eftate of the Imperial Demefne, or of 
 lands of the Church, either by himfelf or by 
 any other proprietor from whom he derived 
 
 b Hi quibus patrimoniales pofleffiones per Afianam & 
 Ponticam Dicecefim, vel a Divis parentibus noflris facra 
 largitate donate funt, inconculse poffideant, atque ad fuos 
 poileros transferant : quod quidem non folum in haeredibus, 
 fed etiam in contraftibus omnis generis volumus cuflodiri. 
 
 c L. 12. C. De fimdis patrim. 
 
 - - L. i. C. Ne rei dominica: vindicatio temporis prz* 
 fcriptione fubmoveatur. 
 
 ' his
 
 of the 'ROMANS. 19 
 
 his claim % whether his pofleffion was autho- 
 rized and warranted by authentic writings, or 
 was deftitute of" evidences, mould be deemed 
 to have acquired an entire and perfect proper- 
 ty therein ; fo as even to plead prefcription 
 againft the quit-rent originally referved and 
 afterwards acquitted, if in the courfe of thofe 
 forty years it did not appear to have been paid, 
 and the pofleflbr had not been fued on that 
 account. 
 
 This Ordinance in truth derogates from that 
 of Valentinian the Second, Theodofius the 
 Great, and Arcadius ; the purport whereof is, 
 that no prefcription mould be allowed in fa- 
 vour of fuch as mail have purchafed parts of 
 the Demefne from fellers who had intruded in- 
 to the pofleffion and ufurped the property 
 thereof fraudulently and illegally f ; but that 
 in fuch cafe, the Prince mould on the contra- 
 ry be at liberty to turn out the wrongful de- 
 tainers of fuch lands, without any restitution 
 of the fums of money difburfed by the pur- 
 chafers, how long foever their enjoyment and 
 pofleffion thereof had continued. 
 
 In a Jaw of the Emperors Dioclefrm and 
 Maximian upon this fubjecl:, there is inferted 
 a circumftance which deferves attention - ; 
 which is, that if the officers of the Revenue 
 proceeded to the fale of an eftate, for want 
 of the talliage incident to the lands being paid, 
 the purchafer thereof, by a legal pofftflion of 
 thirty years, becomes the unqueftionable and 
 
 * L. 14. C. De fundis patrim. 
 f L. 2. C. Ne rei dominicae vel templorum. 
 8 L. i. C. De pnefcriptione triginta vel quadraginta an- 
 norum, 
 
 C 2 inde-
 
 2O Of the R E V E N U E S 
 
 indefeafable proprietor thereof, though the 
 ufual folemnities prefcribed by the law in the 
 cafe of fuch fales had been either infringed or 
 negle&ed -, the defeft arifing from fuch omif- 
 fion being removed and repaired fufficiently 
 by fo long and peaceable a poffeflion. 
 
 This feems to be the proper place for giving 
 fome account of the different motives which 
 engaged the Roman Empire and the French 
 Monarchy to lay down, in affairs of the fame 
 nature, fuch different rules, and to eftablifh 
 laws fo direftly contrary -, particularly as to 
 the fale of the Demefne. We fhall follow the 
 order of time, and begin with the Romans. 
 
 1 . The Romans were perfuaded, that there 
 might be an effective commerce carried on be- 
 tween the Commonwealth and the Citizens, 
 between the Public and Private Perfons, as 
 well for lands as the produce thereof, and for 
 immoveable goods as well as the moveable h . 
 
 2. They had found by experience that in 
 certain conjunctures the State had as much oc- 
 cafion to fell, and as much intereft to make 
 purchafes, as fubjefts had '. Now in purcha- 
 fes the perpetual right of redeeming or repur- 
 chafing the eftate fold was fometimes ftipula- 
 ted, but ftill in favour of the purchafers, who 
 might on giving back the land re-demand 
 their money, but never in favour of the 
 State. 
 
 3. They thought it was going againft the 
 nature of things, to attempt to perpetuate the 
 
 k C. De vendend. rebus su Civit. pcrtinentibus, L \ i. 
 tit. 31. 
 
 1 'Tit, Liv. 1. 29. n. 26. 
 
 2 property
 
 of the ROMANS. 21 
 
 property of certain lands to one and the fame 
 mafter -. 
 
 4. They deemed it a point of religion, and 
 conceived themfelves obliged in confcience to 
 keep the conditions and claufes of fales and 
 adjudications '. 
 
 5. This carried with it at leaft a mew of ho- 
 nour, and tended to the fecurity of families *, 
 
 6. They were of opinion that they might 
 fell things confecrated to the Gods, and much 
 more fuch as belonged to the Public n . 
 
 7. They were perfuaded that whatever be- 
 longed to private perfons, belonged alfo to the 
 State . 
 
 8. The power which all the world had of 
 recovering the poffefilon of their eftates, con- 
 tributed fomething to the fecurity of the Em- 
 peror reigning ; for his fall would hardly have 
 been deferred for any confiderable time after 
 his promotion, if the military officers and fol- 
 diers had not been in continual apprehenfions 
 of being ftripped by his fuccefTor, (in virtue 
 of the right of refumption or redemption) of 
 thofe lands which the ambition of their mafter 
 
 k Nam propriae telluris herum natura neque ilium, 
 Nee me, nee quemquam flatuit : nos expulit ille; 
 Ilium aut nequities, aut vafri infcitia juris, 
 Poftremum expellet certe vivacior hajres. 
 
 Hor. L. 2. Sat. 2. 
 
 1 Grave & immutabile fanftis 
 
 Pondus adeft verbis, & vocem fata fequuntur. Vifg- 
 n L. i. C. Ne fifcus evincat quae vendidit. 
 n Non contra Religiones fieri quod Numinum fimulacra 
 venditionibus hortorum & domorum accedant. Tac. An- 
 nal. 1. i. 
 
 Aliam apud Scipiones, aliam apud Fabricios pecuni- 
 a'm, fed cunfta ad Rcmpublicam refcrri. Id. Ann. 1. 2. 
 
 C had
 
 22 Of the REVENUES 
 
 had engaged him to grant and put into their 
 pofifcflion P. 
 
 9. Princes had likewife the vanity to ima- 
 gine, that univerfal property was an attribute 
 of their Empire , and that they poflefied them- 
 felves by a right of fovereignty, whatever 
 their fubjects poflefled by a right of property . 
 
 10. The Emperors reckoned it vaftly for 
 their glory, to be obfervant of the laws of the 
 State, and fubmit to them as well as private 
 citizens r . 
 
 11. And laftly, the privilege of redeeming 
 and recovering eftates leflened the price and 
 value of purchafes. 
 
 Such were the motives of the Romans for 
 their regulations : but the French are able to 
 produce much ftronger reafons in favour of 
 their own. 
 
 1. It is God, and the natural right of birth, 
 which put the Kings of France upon the 
 throne ', and not the uncertain chance of ele- 
 ction, nor the voices of foldiers ever ready to 
 be given to the higheft bidder. 
 
 2. There muft ever be a fixed and certain 
 fund in a State for its fupport in all exigencies : 
 and on this its fecurity and tranquillity chiefly 
 depend '. 
 
 P Appian, I. 4. of the Civil Wars. 
 
 * Gefar cundta poffidet imperio, finguli dominio. Sett. 
 
 1 Q^anquam Jegibus foluti iumus, attamen legibus vivi- 
 mus. Nihil ram imperil proprium qu^-tn legibus vivere : 
 digna vox eft majeftate Regnantis, legibus obligatum Prin- 
 cipem fe profited ; & revera majus imperio eft fubmittere 
 Jegibus Principatum. L. 31. Jf. de Legibus, L. 3. C. de 
 Teft. 
 
 ( M. Le Bret, Du Tillet. 
 
 1 Nee quies gentium fine armis, nee arnia fine ftipen- 
 diis, nee ftipendia line tributis haberi queunt. Toe. Hift.
 
 of the ROMANS. 23 
 
 3. In France the greedinefs of Courtiers is 
 bounded and reftrained by the moderation and 
 prudence of the Prince -, whereas under a ** Ne- 
 ro, Caligula, and Galba t it drained and ex- 
 haufted all the fources of the Revenue u . 
 
 4. The redeeming or re-purchafing of De- 
 mefne-Iands does no injury to private perfons : 
 the law is publickly known, and people pur- 
 chafe on that very condition. 
 
 5. This re-purchafing is of very great ad- 
 vantage to the King, being a very fure re- 
 fource againft the necefllty of the alienation. 
 
 6. Private men often infert this condition 
 in the bargains of fale and contracts that they 
 make : and in the Parliament of Touloufe it 
 is. a received rule in the judgment of caufes, 
 that the right of redeeming or re-purchafing 
 thus refer ved is imperfcribable ; whereas in' 
 countries governed not by the written law, but 
 by their particular cuftoms, it is prefcribed 
 againft by a pofTefiion of thirty years . 
 
 7. The lands of the Demefne confift gene- 
 rally in Duchies and other appanages diftin- 
 guiihed by pompous titles, which were utter- 
 Jy unknown to the Roman Empire -v . 
 
 8. If in France they have received or intro- 
 duced the right of primogeniture, and that of 
 redeeming or re-purchafing eftates by the Lord 
 of the fief, and by the next lineal heir, in or- 
 der to the keeping up and confervation of fa- 
 milies, why fhould they not likewife keep up- 
 
 * The Licenfer Jlruck out tbefe three names, and inferted 
 in their Jlead tbefe 'words, certain Emperors. 
 " Tacitus, Suetonius, Dio. 
 v Olive, in bis Arrets. Louet. 
 w Cbopin, in bis Treatife of the Demefne. 
 
 C 4 and
 
 24 Of the REVENUES 
 
 and obferve the perpetual right of redemption 
 in order to the fupport and confervation of 
 the Crown, under the grandeur whereof ail 
 the families of the Kingdom enjoy their quiet 
 and find a protection x ? 
 
 9. The Emperors exprefsly prohibited the 
 fale of their palaces, in what places or pro- 
 vinces foever they were fituatcd >. The Kings 
 of France have frequently drawn from theirs 
 very confiderable fuccours in the neceffity of 
 their affairs. 
 
 This perpetual and univerfal right of re- 
 demption hath alfo fome kind of refemblance 
 and affinity with the fiftieth year of the Jews, 
 which was their Jubilee z ; that is, a general 
 reverfion of all eftates and lands to their ori- 
 ginal and firft diftribution. 
 
 * * [Very good reafons however may be brought 
 to prove, that the King of France may alienate 
 indefeafably. 
 
 1. 'The alienations that were formerly made of 
 the Duchies of Guienne and Normandy, and of 
 the County of Flanders, Jhew it clearly ; for tbo* 
 the Lords of tkofe fne Prwinces held of the 
 Crown, they yet were Sovereigns as much as the 
 ElecJors of the Empire a . 
 
 2. All the noble fiefs and ignoble tenures in 
 the Kingdom, depend either mediately or immedi- 
 
 * Du Moulin* Cotttum. de Paris, tit. de Fiefs; Grimau- 
 4'.t d* Retrait lignagtr. 
 
 y Sleidan, du Btllay. 
 
 * Levit. xxv. 10. 
 
 * Popalus liber eft, ctiamfi fcedere comprehenfum eft ut 
 aherius populi imjeftatem confervet ; hoc cnim adjicitur 
 ut intelligatur non effe liberum. L. 7. J. i. jf. de Capti- 
 VJJ. Chopin du Domaint. 
 
 etely
 
 of the R O M A N S. *g. 
 
 tttly on the King , fo that this defendant allows 
 him to alienate them h . 
 
 3. Ckopin and all the French lawyers are of 
 opinion, that the King may alienate indefeafably 
 ty exchange. 
 
 4. < TheJafety and good of the people ought to 
 le the fo-vereign law c . 
 
 5. Plato fays, that great Kings ought in fame 
 places to command and over-rule 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Of the Real Tattle or Tattiage incident to 
 Lands. 
 
 THIS real Taille was levied upon all 
 the fubjecls of the Roman Empire, and 
 certainly produced an immenfe revenue; for 
 in the reign of Trajan the Empire was fo 
 widely extended, that its boundaries were Scot- 
 land, the Rhine, the Leffer Poland, the Caf- 
 pian Sea, the Tigris, the Perfian Gulph, the 
 Defarts of Africa, and the Pillars of Her- 
 cules ". 
 
 The real Taille confifted, i. In the tenth of 
 all the arable lands which were ufed to lie fal- 
 low or unfilled b . 2. In a quit or annual rent 
 payable for fuch as were ufed to be tilled c ; 
 
 and 
 
 b Du Mtu/itt, Caututne de Paris, 
 e Salus populi fuprema lex efto. 
 Dio, Tacitus, Jppian. 
 k Appian, Bell, civil. 1. i.e. 20. 
 
 e Servius Tullius, the fixtb King of the Romans, Jpeakt 
 thus in Dionyfius of Halicarnaffui. Ut tributa quac in aera-
 
 26 Of the RE VENUES 
 
 and this rent or duty was of two kinds, be- 
 caufe when they farmed out any of the lands 
 which were actually laboured, they received 
 and took all the profits and income thereof, 
 as proprietors do of their eftates ; and the 
 great lawyer Paulus calls thefe Agri vefligales '. 
 The Romans, when they had conquered a 
 country, fometimes fold the inhabitants their 
 own lands : and in fuch cafe they received at 
 firft the price of thofe lands, and then laid 
 upon them an annual quit-rent, which was ge- 
 nerally the tenth or eighth part of the yearly 
 value of the eftate. They ftiled thefe lands, 
 like thofe of the former kind, Agri vefligales 
 feu Empbiteuticarii e . 
 
 3. The real Taille confifted in the fifth part 
 of the produce or profits of all forts of fruit- 
 trees, or according to others, in the eighth 
 part of the faid revenue f . Cicero in his Ora- 
 tion againft Verres fays, that the Sicilians paid 
 only the tenth of their wine and oil ; which 
 fhews plainly that this impoft was not uniform 
 in all places alike. 
 
 4. The fhepherds and herdfmen, as well of 
 large as of fmall cattle, paid a certain duty for 
 each kind of their flocks and herds to the pub- 
 lic farmer, that they might have the liberty of 
 
 rium conferuntur, ob quae pauperes gravantur, coguntur- 
 que fcenore pecunias fumere, levius impofterum feratis, vo- 
 lo omnium bona cenferi, & unumquemque pro cenfu fa- 
 cultatum fuarum conferre, ut in optime inftitutis civitatibus 
 fit. Juftum autem & Reipublicae utile exiftimo, ut qui 
 multa poffident, multa conlerant ; qui vero tenuibus./unt 
 facultatibus, pauca. 
 
 d L. 4. C. 2. /. i.ff. Si ager veftigalis. 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 f Jtfnan, Btll, civil. 1. I. c. 2. 
 
 leading
 
 of the ROMANS. 27 
 
 leading them to pafture. This duty, accord- 
 ing to Feftus, was called Scriptura ; and the 
 field in which they grazed was called Scriptu- 
 rarius ager. It is what the French now call 
 Paijfi/is & Pannage. 
 
 5. No lands whatever were exempt from 
 this real Taille ? . The Emperor Dioclefian 
 laughs at a Philofopher, who petitioned him 
 for the favour of fuch an exemption ; fo that 
 no condition or age, no tendernefs or favour 
 of children, nor any confideration of fex ex- 
 cufed any body from thefe burdens or duties 
 incident to lands. They even evicted the Im- 
 perial families, and the Churches themfelves, 
 out of lands which they legally enjoyed and 
 had fairly purchafed, if they did not pay the 
 Taille h . There is an exprefs decifion of the 
 Emperor Leo to this purpofe. Gratian, Va- 
 lentinian, and Arcadius revoke all immunities 
 in this cafe which had been formerly granted ; 
 and ftrictly forbid the procuring, and even the 
 pretending to any for the future, under pain 
 of being burnt ; . 
 
 What is ftill more remarkable is, that the 
 very lands of the Emperor himfelf were fub- 
 jedt to this tax k . 
 
 The lands of the Churches too paid this Tal- 
 liage ; as the Emperors Theodofius and Va- 
 lentinian fignify to Taurus, the Prafeftus Pra~ 
 torn . 
 
 t L. 2. C. De manerib. patrim. 
 * L. 8- C. De exaftor. 
 *- L. ii. C. De immunit. neminl conced. 
 k L. 15. C. 7/V.47. /. 10. 
 
 1 L. 2. Cod. Tit. De quibus muner. nemini liceat fe cx- 
 cufare. 
 
 Thp 
 1J1C
 
 28 Of tie R E v E N u E s 
 
 The exemptions which were obtained by 
 any to excuie them from paying it, were 
 deemed null, and ftood them in no ftead m . 
 
 If any perfon did not pay the Taille, they 
 proceeded to fell the ground on which it was 
 laid ; and if the debtor had only a part of a 
 clofe, the officers of the Imperial Exchequer 
 fold it all entire ; putting afterwards the price 
 of the part which belonged to the debtor into 
 the Emperor's coffers, and reftoring the over- 
 plus to the other proprietor, according to the 
 Ordinance of Alexander Severus, which was 
 afterwards enacted into a law by Conftantine n . 
 The real Talliages were liable to no prefcrip- 
 tion, and the lands were fold if the Taille laid 
 on them was not paid . 
 
 The Emperor or his particular Exchequer 
 was paid and ranked for the arrears that were 
 owing, preferably to all other creditors: and 
 this was the order and method obferved in that 
 refpect. The Exchequer fell in the firft place 
 upon the principal debtor or his fecurity, and 
 in the fecond place (on fuppofmon of their in- 
 folvency) upon the third Detainer, as the Ci- 
 vil Law ftiled a perfon who had in his hands 
 any effects of debtors which had been before 
 engaged to another P : for, according to the 
 great Civilian Paulus, the Exchequer could 
 bring an action againft the debtor of a perfon 
 that was indebted to the Prince, who on that 
 
 * L. 3. tit. De muncr. patrim. 
 
 n L. 12. &f 6. Cod. lib. io. Tit. De fide & jure haftae 
 fifcalis. L. unic. C. De vendit- rerum fifcalium L i C. 
 De cap. & diftrah. pignoribus. 
 
 * L. 3. C. De przfcript. triginta vel qaadraginta anno- 
 rum. 
 
 * , i. C. DC convcn. fifci dcbitoribus. 
 
 account
 
 of the R O M A N S. 29 
 
 account had acquired a tacit kind of mortgage 
 upon all his effects : but could not conftrain 
 cither the debtor's debtor or the third detainer, 
 till after having diftreined upon and fold the 
 effects of the principal in the obligation >. 
 Godefroy hath very well obferved, that in this 
 refpect the Exchequer had lels favour fhewed 
 it than private creditors r . 
 
 In fhort, the obligation in folidum 9 ( by 
 which, as in a common bond, each fingle per- 
 fon is obliged to pay the whole debt for all 
 the parties) was prohibited in point of the 
 Taille : and the Emperor Zeno fays, it clafhes 
 both with the Civil Law and with natural 
 equity, that one man fhould be profecuted for 
 the debts of another f . The reafon of this is 
 plain enough j becaufe the real Taille is an- 
 nexed to the thing, is incident to the land, 
 and is proportioned to the quality and quantity 
 thereof; but the cafe is not the fame with re- 
 gard to the perfonal Taille, where it is very 
 poffible for fraud to intervene, either by fome 
 miftake of the charge in the rolls of affeff- 
 ment, or through the fault of the affeffors, 
 or elfe on the part of the collectors, who may 
 be either negligent or infolvent , and in this 
 cafe it is always fuppofed that there is a frau- 
 dulent combination among all the perfons fub- 
 ject to the Taille, which of courfe infers a per- 
 fonal fraud, and obligeth them all and every 
 one to make good the lofs and damages. 
 
 i L. Af~j.ff- De jure fifci. 
 r Sup. Leg. De conv. fifci debit. 
 f L. un. Cod. Ut nullus vicaneus pro alienis vicanco- 
 rum debitis teneatur. 
 
 The
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 The Emperor Theodofius granted the 
 Church of Thefialonica an exemption from 
 the Taille, with a prohibition of extending it 
 to any other lands under their name '. It is 
 very probable that this was after he had put 
 to the fword feven thoufand of the inhabitants 
 of that city, for having mutinied and killed 
 one of his Lieutenant-generals in the tumult. 
 
 There were fome Provinces and Towns, 
 in which a compofition was made for the 
 Taille ', 
 
 Thefe Tailles were impofed by officers, 
 called Cenfitores, Pertzquatores^ Infpettores : they 
 were properly fpeaking afleffors. They wrote 
 down in the Tax-roll or Terrier the names of 
 the proprietor and tenant of the territory or 
 diftrict, the butts and boundaries of the land, 
 the number of acres, and the quality thereof; 
 they fpecified whether they were arable lands, 
 or vineyards, olive-plantations, meadows, fo- 
 refts, copfes, falt-works, ponds, ports, &c. u 
 But the proprietors were obliged to declare and 
 give an account of all thefe particulars, as is 
 pra&ifed to this day in France in furveys and 
 the writings between the landlord and tenant, 
 and to pay the Taille at the office of the Re- 
 ceiver for the diftricl: where the lands were fi- 
 tuated w . 
 
 Thefe officers were empowered to make al- 
 lowances and abatements, when the lands were 
 damaged or lefTened in their value x . They 
 
 * C. 14. De annon. & tributls. 
 v Ulp. 1. i, 2, 3. ff. De cenfib. 
 
 v Cod. De cenfibus & cenfitoribus^ 
 w Ulp. 1. 4. ff. De cenfibus. 
 
 * D. L. 4. f i. 1. 3. C. 
 
 were
 
 of the ROMANS. 3* 
 
 were likewife authorifcd to dilpofe of lands 
 that were wafte, defart, untilled and unoccu- 
 pied, to whom they thought fit, and to make 
 their afTeflment in fuch a manner, that the bar- 
 ren lands mould be made up or compen fated 
 by the fruitful ground, the ftrong carrying the 
 weaker y . 
 
 If it happened that the proprietors or occu- 
 piers of lands had cut down their vines, and 
 impoverifhed their grounds, in order to obtain 
 an abatement of the tax, they were punifhed z . 
 The Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and The- 
 odofius provided againft this practice, and 
 gave orders about it to Eutropius the Prcefeftus 
 Pr&torii. 
 
 If thefe afieflbrs, out of favour to any far- 
 mers, eafed them in their tax, the goods of 
 the proprietors were confifcated, and they un- 
 derwent the penalty of paying four times the 
 value of the fum taken off the land ; and if 
 they laid the taxes too high, they were con- 
 demned to reftore fourfold '\ This is the pe- 
 nalty ordered by Arcadius and Honorius. 
 
 The pofleflbrs of eftates that were over- 
 charged had the liberty of complaining with- 
 in a year, in order to be relieved " : minors 
 who had nobody to defend their caufe, and 
 perfons employed for the fervice of the State, 
 had time allowed them till they could adfc for 
 themfclves *, but in the mean while they were 
 to pay by provifion the rate which had been 
 afifeffed on their eftates. The Emperor Con- 
 
 T L. 4. C. De cenfibus. 
 
 * L. 2. C. De cenfibus. 
 
 * L. 6. Cod. 
 
 fc L. 5. C. eod. 
 
 2 ftantine.
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 ftantine, in confideration of the payment of 
 their ordinary Taille, difcharged them purely 
 and fimply of what they had been over-rated, 
 in order to eafe the tich c . 
 
 Such as were concerned in the collecting 
 and receiving of this tax, if they kept the mo- 
 ney anting thence in their hands, or diverted 
 it to any other purpofe, were fubject to the 
 penalty of paying four times its value, and 
 were rendered incapable of that employment 
 for the future d . Hufbandmen however were 
 not allowed the liberty of removing from the 
 Parim or Collection in which their abode was 
 fituated, without the Emperor's licenfe e ; and 
 when they got his permifllon to do fo, the 
 lands that they held in the diftrict which they 
 had quitted, were incorporated into the public 
 Demefne -, the relations which they had upon 
 the place having no right to fucceed to them f . 
 This is the decifion of the Emperor Diocle- 
 fian. 
 
 If the officers of the Exchequer fold an 
 eftate for the quit-rent's being in arrears, or if 
 it was difpofed of and adjudged to any body 
 out of favour, a third peribn was admitted to 
 demand an adjudication of it to himfelf, upon 
 his paying the true and full value of the land 
 at the Receiver's office ?. 
 
 It rnuft be obferved, that thefe levies and 
 afiefiments were fettled and laid every year, 
 and were called Indifliones h : but Tbeodofius 
 
 L. i. Cod. eod. 
 
 L. 8. Cap. De jure fifci. 
 
 L. l z. C. De fufceptoribus. 
 
 L. 4. C. De jure fifci. 
 
 L. 3. C. ibid. 
 
 Plin. jun. Epift. ad Trajan. 
 
 the
 
 
 of the ROMANS. 
 
 the Great, as Cedrenus relates, or ConftantinCj 
 according to Onuphrius, ordered them only to 
 be made once in every fifteen years* 
 
 Thefe indictions or afiefiments were charged 
 only upon lands, and never upon perfons j 5 
 and nobody could be charged with them 
 higher than in proportion to the amount and 
 value of the eftate he poffefled. 
 
 The Emperors Honorius and Arcadius de- 
 clare, as hath been already obferved, that it 
 is an ordinary charge, and that nobody could 
 be exempted from it, whatever privilege he 
 had to alledge or produce k . 
 
 This real Taille was fometimes increafed 
 and raifed to an higher rate than ufual 5 and 
 this additional charge was called Supcrindi- 
 Elum '. It was paid like the ordinary Tailles, 
 provided it was ordained and fettled by the 
 Emperor, without which the people of the 
 Provinces were not obliged to it. 
 
 It was ftrictly forbidden to exact more of 
 fuch as were fubject to this tax, than was 
 charged upon them or came to their mare, on 
 pain of reflitution of double the fum wrong- 
 fully exacted to the fufferers : this was the pe- 
 nalty for the firft offence, but in cafe of a fe- 
 cond, the punifhment was capital . Before 
 this Ordinance of Arcadius and Honorius, the 
 Emperors Conftantine II. and Julian the Apo- 
 ftate had condemned the exactors to reftore 
 four-fold n . 
 
 s Indi&iories non perfonis, fed rebus indici folent. Di* 
 tcl. fcf Maxim. 1. 3. De Ann. & Tributis. 
 k L. I . C. De indidionibus. 
 1 L. un. C. De fnperindi&o. 
 
 L. un. C. De fuperexaftion. 
 
 * L. 8. C. De exaft. muner. 
 
 D The
 
 34 0/*/& REVENUES 
 
 The Emperor Leo V. afterwards by his 
 fixth Ordinance regulates the penalties incurred 
 by fuch as exacted more than they ought. For 
 the firft time he condemned them to double 
 the fum exacted ; for the fecond offence to pay 
 four times its value ; and for the third, to the 
 forfeiture of half their effefts and eftate. 
 
 This Taille upon lands was not laid equally 
 in all the Provinces ; Italy was not charged 
 fo high as the reft, as may be feen in Sigonius, 
 Ulpian and Caius quote feveral examples, which 
 evidently mew that the Emperors had grati- 
 fied feveral Provinces with the fame privileges 
 as Italy enjoyed p . It is likewife out of alf 
 queftion, that the ten Provinces which Au- 
 guftus left to the People of Rome, according 
 to Suetonius and Dio Caffius, were much more 
 heavily rated than the eleven which he referved 
 to his own immediate infpeftion and admini- 
 ftration ; fince Tacitus in his Annals, to ex- 
 prefs how Tiberius Casfar had eafed Achaia, 
 fays, that he freed it from the load of the Pro- 
 confular government q . Now the Provinces 
 afligned to the People were called Tributaries 
 and Proconfitlares ; and thofe kept in the Em- 
 peror's hands were diftinguifhed by the name 
 of Stipendiaries : thefe laft were governed by 
 Prefidents of the Emperor's appointment, and 
 the others by Proconfuls. 
 
 The Taille was not paid in all places in 
 the fame fpecies of money r : there were fome 
 lands that paid it in gold, others ufually in 
 
 Lib. De jure Italias & Provinciarum. 
 
 f L. i &f 8. ff. De Cenf. 
 
 Achaiam Proconfulari imperio levavit. 
 
 * L. i. C. De argenti pretio quod thefauris infcrttir. 
 
 filver,
 
 of the R O M A N S. 35 
 
 filver, and fome in brais. The Emperors Ar- 
 cadius and Honorius, by a Law of the Code, 
 give leave for the receiving it in gold from 
 fuch as were taxed to make their payments in 
 filver, provided they paid five ducats of gold 
 for every pound of filver. 
 
 This Taille incident to lands was ordinarily 
 paid at three terms, viz. on the firft of Sep- 
 tember, the firft of January, and the firft of 
 May f . This cuftom was particularly efta* 
 blimed by a Declaration of the Emperor A- 
 naftafius, in which he leaves the Armenians 
 their choice of paying either in this manner* 
 or in the way they had ufually done, that is 
 to fay, at two half-yearly payments l . The 
 Theodofian Code prescribes the very fame re- 
 gulation v ; and from thence it comes, that the 
 acquittances which the Receivers of the Taille 
 ufed to give to the pofleffbrs or occupiers of 
 eftates, were ftiled Quadrimeftres breves ; be- 
 caufe they were given for a four months aflefT- 
 ment. There is likewife a paflage to be feen 
 in Caffiodorus, which confirms this ufage, and 
 entirely removes all the difficulties that might 
 otherwife be raifed on the fubjecl:. It is an 
 Imperial regulation directed to an officer em- 
 ployed in collecling and receiving the real 
 Taille, and enjoining him to make all perfona 
 pay it regularly at three terms, without allow- 
 ing them any farther delay ". No retrofpedion 
 
 was 
 
 f L. i. C. De militari vefte. 
 
 1 C. De Annoti. & Tributis. 
 
 T L. 15, 16. Tit. eod. L. i. . 2. C. De Apochis. 
 
 B Admonemus ut trina illatione dcvotus pofieflbr confli- 
 
 tutis temporibus fuam compleat funftionem, ita ut ceflee 
 
 venalis ilia dilatio, quae non ad tributariorum compendia, 
 
 D * fed
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 was allowed beyond the three laft years 5 fo 
 that whoever produced acquittances for thofe 
 years could not be profecuted, or have any 
 demand made upon him on pretence of arrears 
 antecedent to that time w . 
 
 The filver or gold that was levied, was put 
 into the hands of the Receivers y , who are 
 filled fometimes Sufceptores, and fometimes Ex- 
 aftores of Perfecutores esrarii. The law did 
 not allow them to offer an exception non nume- 
 rate pecunia^ or to plead that they had not 
 received the money, when the land-holders 
 produced their acquittances. 
 
 There were generally two Receivers in eve- 
 ' ry diftridt or collection ; which the Romans 
 called Metrocomia y . 
 
 The acquittances which the Receivers gave, 
 were patted before public Notaries, who arc 
 ililed Chartularii ; and they contained the day 
 of payment, the name of the perfon charged 
 to the Taille, the month, the year, and the 
 caufe or reafon of the payment, which is pro- 
 perly fpeaking a libelled or declarative acquit- 
 tance z . Thefe Receivers had fome inferior 
 officers depending upon them ; as Calhiers, 
 who are ftiled Arcarii\ Comptrollers, who 
 Were called 'Tabularii , and Clerks to draw up 
 and difpatch the acquittances, who went like- 
 wife by the name of Chartularii. 
 
 fed ad fraudis ambitum cognofciturexquifita. Nam qui de 
 hujufmodi onere fublevare dicunt, aliud majus pondus abo- 
 minabilis nundinationis imponunt. L. \\.c. 7. 
 
 w L. 3. C. De Apochis. 
 
 x L. 4. C- De exaftoribus & fufceptoribus. 
 
 y L. i. C Non lucre habitat. Metrocomiae. L. 8. De 
 cxafloribus, faV. 
 
 z L. i. f 2. C. De Apochis. 
 
 As
 
 of the R O M A N S. 37^ 
 
 As foon as they had received either gold or 
 filver, they were obliged to fend it immediate- 
 ly to the General Office of Receipt of the Pro- 
 vince. The Emperors Honorius and Theo- 
 dofius enjoined the fame thing ftill more ex- 
 prefsly a . 
 
 Befides thefe Receivers, there was fent eve- 
 ry year into each Province of the Empire, 
 an officer of the Imperial Houfhold, called 
 Canonicarius, to ufe compulfory ways of pay? 
 ment, if any body were in arrears. A month 
 after the term was expired, an officer ftiled 
 Compulfor was fent to force the inhabitants to 
 pay ; and had authority to diftrein upon fuch 
 as were indebted for paft arrears, to condemn 
 them to fines or amerciaments, and to levy 
 upon them the fees due to him for his time in 
 the journey, as well as his travelling charges b . 
 But this cuftom was aboliflied by the Empe- 
 ror Juftinian c . 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Of various other real Charges, which the 
 Romans laid upon Lands. 
 
 BEfides the impofition of the Taille, the 
 proprietors or occupiers of lands were 
 obliged to furnifh every year a certain quanti- 
 ty of corn for the magazines, the military 
 
 * L. 7. C. eod. L. un. C. De aerarii public! perfeq. 
 
 L. un. De officio Comitis facraram largit. 
 b L. 9. . i. C. De exaftor. 
 r f Novel, j 28. 
 
 D 3 men*
 
 3 8 Of tie R E v E N u E s 
 
 men, and the ftore-houfes a . This impoft or 
 duty was termed Annona Militaris : and thefe 
 kinds of contributions and levies of corn were 
 an ordinary charge, from which nobody had 
 a privilege of exemption. 
 
 Such as lived neareft to the magazines on 
 the frontiers, or to the public ftore-houfes, were 
 obliged to carry them thither b . Thefe ftore- 
 houfes were called Manfiones. They were not 
 to be made but at convenient and fmall di- 
 ftances from one another ; and whenever they 
 could make them more conveniently by water 
 than by land, either upon the fea or upon ri- 
 vers, they were obliged to take that method, 
 on pain of a capital punifhment to be inflicted 
 upon fuch as infringed this Ordinance c . 
 
 Neither the lands of the Minifters or Coun- 
 fellors of State, nor thofe of the military men, 
 nor even thofe of the Emperor himfelf, were 
 exempted from thefe impofitions of corn, 
 which were made as beft fuited to the conve- 
 nience of places d 5 fo that fuch as could not 
 make their payments in money, were fome- 
 times admitted to pay in provifions e ; and 
 from thence were ftiled Tranjlati : as in like 
 manner thofe that could not pay in provifions, 
 were allowed to pay in money, and for that 
 reafon were called Adarati. 
 
 The Clerks or officers that received thefe 
 contributions of corn were called Qpinatorss f . 
 
 C. De Annon. .5^7. C. eod. 
 
 b L 6. C. L. 8. C. eod. fcf L. 2. C. De Lucris. 
 
 c L. 9. C. DC Annonis. 
 
 d L. 3. DC Difcurforibus. 
 
 * L. un. Cod. De collat. donat. & tranflatorum. 
 
 * L. i . C. De exaftione & tranflai. roiHtar. Annonamm. 
 
 *** There
 
 of the ROMANS. 39 
 
 There were Jikewife fome officers appointed 
 for the keeping of this corn, called ARuarii. 
 
 There was no houfe whatever exempt from 
 carriage and making ammunition-bread : the 
 Emperors Arcadius and Honorius refufe fuch 
 an exemption to the very lands of their own 
 Demefne ?. This corn and bread were put in- 
 to granaries and magazines, from whence they 
 made every year a diftribution thereof among 
 the foldiers. 
 
 The Romans likewife laid other impofitions 
 of bacon, mutton, vinegar and wine ; the dif- 
 tribution whereof was by the Emperor Con- 
 ftantius ordered to be made in this manner h . 
 They gave the military men for two days one 
 after the other a certain quantity of bifcuit, 
 called Panis buccellatus ; and on the third day 
 a proportion of ordinary bread ; one day they 
 distributed wine, and the next vinegar ; one 
 day bacon, and the two days following mut- 
 ton. 
 
 They impofed in like manner a quantity of 
 hay upon the pofleflbrs of lands ; but thofe 
 who were fubject to this contribution were 
 not obliged to carry it to the camp '. 
 
 The keepers of the magazines and ftores 
 were termed Acluarii^ becaufe they were obli- 
 ged to keep a regifter of all the various kinds 
 of provifions ; and were, within thirty days 
 after they were brought into the ftores, to de- 
 liver an exact account thereof, fpecifying the 
 quantity of corn, and the rations of bread, and 
 of all the feveral kinds of provifions that were 
 
 * Ibid. L. 2. 
 
 h L. i . C. De erogatione militaris Annonze. 
 
 1 L. 8. C. tod. 
 
 D 4 &
 
 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 in the magazines k . Thefe Rolls or lifts of 
 provifions were called Pittacia. 
 
 They furniflied alfo draw to the foldiers ; 
 and they were not bound to go and fetch it at 
 a greater diftance than a mile ', 
 
 In favour alfo of the military men, a mo- 
 derate rate was fet upon the provifions proper 
 for them, always fomething under the current 
 price, and called Stellatura m . 
 
 The landed men in the Provinces were like- 
 wife bound to furnifh cloaths to the foldiers, 
 which were to be delivered in the winter 
 quarter, viz. from the firft of September to 
 the firft of April, that is to fay, before the be- 
 ginning of tne Campaign n . This kind of 
 impofition was regulated in fuch a manner, 
 that twenty heads of families or twenty ploughs 
 furniflied a fuit of cloaths. There was how- 
 ever a variation in this rule, according to the 
 different Provinces. 
 
 If there were any overplus or remainders of 
 thcfe provifions and cloaths, the officers of the 
 magazines fold them at the current rate of the 
 market, and not upon the foot of the original 
 price and value at the time they were laid in -, 
 becaufe fometimes the purchafe thereof had 
 been very moderate. Thefe remains of mu- 
 nitions were called Species reftftentes* fcf annoncs 
 vacantes . 
 
 If they thought it would be more conveni- 
 ent, either for the foldiery or the inhabitants, 
 
 k L. c. C. tad. 
 1 L. 2. C. eod. 
 m Altiat. on the Law 1 1 . C. 
 
 * L. \. C. De militari vefte. 
 
 L. \2. C. DC erogatione. 
 
 tQ
 
 of the R O M A N S. 
 
 to convert the cloathing, provifions, and other 
 munitions into money, it was done according- 
 ly p. The practice of this converfion was 
 called Adarare. In confideration of thefe con- 
 tributions, ftrict orders were given to all the 
 officers and foldiers of the armies, forbidding 
 them to moleft, injure, or abufe the inhabi- 
 tants, to demand money or relief of them in 
 their marches or pafiing from one place to an- 
 other, or to compel them to furnim them ei- 
 ther with wood for firing, with mattrefles for 
 their bedding, with oil and nice fort of meats 
 for their eating, or with any other kind of 
 perquifites and gratifications q . 
 
 Befides thefe burdens, the inhabitants of the 
 Provinces were fubject to the quartering of the 
 foldiers r , and were obliged to furnim them 
 with houfes to lodge in, which were called 
 Metata ; as the harbingers that diftributed and 
 marked them out, were ftiled Metatores. 
 
 There were however feveral kinds of per- 
 fons that were exempt from this charge of 
 quartering foldiers ; as the Phyficians of Rome, 
 the great Artifts, Painters, and other people 
 diftinguifhed by their talents and endowments f . 
 
 In order to be excufed and difcharged from 
 this lodging of foldiers, they paid certain taxes 
 called Epidemetica, as Alciatus interprets the 
 word . 
 
 P I. 1 9. C. L. 4. De milk, vcfte. L. . C. De colla- 
 tione donatorum. 
 
 * L. 5 . C. De erogat. militaris Annonae. 
 
 L. un. C De Salgamo militibus non praeftando. 
 T L. i . C. De Mctatis, & L. 2. C. eo</. 
 { L. 8 fc? 9 C. 
 1 C. De Metatis & Epidemeticis. 
 
 Thefe
 
 42 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 Thefe quarters, accommodations, and mu- 
 nitions of various kinds were given not only 
 to the foldiery, but likewife to the officers 
 that were fent by the Emperors into the Pro- 
 vinces"; which coft always a great deal of 
 money, more efpecially in the cafe of the Pro- 
 confuls. Cicero, on this account, urges it in 
 the way of reproach to Pifo, that his journey 
 into Macedonia had coft the inhabitants of the 
 places through which he pafled above two hun- 
 dred and fifty thoufand pounds : and Civilis 
 made ufe of this pretext to incenfe the Hol- 
 landers, and engage them to make an infur- 
 rection againft the Romans u . 
 
 Moreover, feveral towns were obliged to 
 provide and maintain public horfes and cha- 
 riots, which were made ufe of by the Magi- 
 ftrates, and by Governors of Provinces and 
 places, when they went to take pofieffion of 
 their pofts, or returned from thence w . The 
 Emperor alfo with his equipage and retinue 
 made ufe of them on occafion : and there was 
 no houfe, not even of the Emperor himfelf, 
 nor of the Church, that had any privilege of 
 exemption in this refpect x . But nobody tra- 
 velled in this manner without a fpecial order 
 from the Emperor, called Traftatoria ?. 
 
 There were alfo fome Provinces, that were 
 particularly ordered to furnim a certain quan- 
 tity of horfes : this was the cafe of the Pro- 
 
 L. iz.C.eod. 
 
 Tac. Hifi. \. 4. 
 
 w L. 9. C. De curfu pablico, Angariis, & toto titulo. 
 
 * L. 21. C. tod. L. unic. C. De Tradatoriis. 
 
 y // mufl be ob fervid, that thefe ditties or charges in the 
 laft lanv De Muneribuj & Honoribus, are ranked among the 
 ferfonal charges, 
 
 vince
 
 ef the R O M A N S. 43; 
 
 vince of Guelder land, which made it break 
 out into a revolt 2 . 
 
 The people of Frizeland were obliged to 
 furnifh hides or leather. This impoft, which 
 was not very confiderable, was laid upon them 
 by Drufus a . 
 
 The Hollanders maintained a certain num- 
 ber of troops, and fupplied alfo a quantity of 
 arms h . 
 
 There was likewife a contribution of mo- 
 ney laid upon the occupiers of lands for the 
 providing of carriages, which was paid in 
 gold, and not in filver: but the farmers or 
 tenants of the Emperor and of the Roman Se- 
 nators were exempted from it by the Declara- 
 tion of the Emperors Conftantine and Con- 
 ftans c . This duty went by the name of Au- 
 rum Temoniacum or Tyronicum, as the learned 
 Cujacius obferves. 
 
 There was alfo an impofition either of mo- 
 ney or of days-works for the building of pub- 
 lic edifices , from which all the Senatorial Or- 
 der were exempted d . A great many other 
 perfons had got themfelves difcharged from it, 
 but all their privileges of exemption were re- 
 voked by Conftantine the Second. 
 
 The Emperors Arcadius and Honorius ex- 
 plain themfelves in the following manner up- 
 on this fubject, in a refcript directed to the 
 Governors and Magiftrates of the Provinces. 
 
 z 'Tacit. 1. 4. 
 
 * Tributum iis Drufus modicum jufferat pro anguftia re- 
 rum, ut in ufus militares coria boum penderent. Tacit. 
 Annal. 1. 4. 
 
 b Batavi viros tan turn & arma miniftrant. 
 c L. 4. C. De dignitatibus. 
 
 * L. 7. C. tod, L. i. C. DC operibus publicis. 
 
 We
 
 Of the RE v EX v E s 
 
 We declare that the Confuls, the Magiftrates, 
 and the inhabitants of cities and towns are bound 
 to ereff new walls, or to fortify the old ones c ; 
 and that tbefum which the charges of the works 
 may amount to, (hall be levied upon the lands of 
 private proprietors, according to the number of 
 acres, regard being however had to the fertility 
 and barrennefs of the lands, and tbeftrong help- 
 ing to bear the weaker. This impoft was called 
 Adfcription, and extended no farther than the 
 territory of the town, where they were making 
 thefe public works. 
 
 Before the reign of the Emperor Zeno, the 
 Governors ufed to make an account of this 
 money to be given in to themfelves, and took 
 ajiliqua in zfolidus, near ten per Cent, for their 
 pains in this refpecl : but that Prince exprefsly 
 forbad them to take this perquifite, and or- 
 dered that for the future the Receivers mould 
 pafs their accounts before the Magiftrates at 
 the Town-houfe f . 
 
 The Emperor Valentinian, feeing that the 
 Governors exacted days-works from people 
 more than were due by law, gave orders to 
 his Lieutenant-general to oppofe and put a 
 ftop to the practice. It was chiefly the Go- 
 vernors of ftrong places that tormented the 
 country -people exceedingly in this refpect ?. 
 
 Befides thefe duties, the Emperors laid par- 
 ticular impofitions upon the moft fertile Pro- 
 vinces (as on Egypt, Sicily, and Africa) of a 
 
 L. 12. c. tod. 
 
 f L. UH. C. De ratioeiniis operum publicorum. 
 
 * L. un. C. Ne operat a Coflat. exigantur. 
 
 L. \ & 2. C. Ut Rufticani ad nullmn obfcquium oc- 
 ean tur. 
 
 great
 
 of the R O M A N S. 45 
 
 great quantity of corn for fupplying the gra- 
 naries and ftorehoufes of Rome, Conftantino- 
 ple, and even of Alexandria ; part of which 
 was diftributed gratis to the common people, 
 efpecially at Rome. Thefe contributions of 
 corn were filled Annona Civiles, becaufe they 
 were defigned and applied to the fubfiftence of 
 the citizens h . 
 
 Aurelius Victor fays, that Auguftus drew 
 out of Egypt above three millions fix hundred 
 thoufand bufhels of corn : and Hegefippus re- 
 lates, that this country alone fupplied victuals 
 for all the people of Rome a third part of 
 the year '. St. Jerome writes, that Ptolomy 
 Philadelphus raifed every year upon that king- 
 dom fifteen millions of bufhels of corn k . The 
 chief employment of the Governor of that 
 Province confided in taking care to levy thefe 
 contributions of corn, and to fend them to 
 Rome, or to Conftantinople, after the feat of 
 the Empire was transferred thither. The o- 
 ther Provinces of Africa contributed double 
 to what Egypt did , which amounted to above 
 feven millions fix hundred and fifty thoufand 
 bufhels '. Jofephus reprefents Agrippa as fay- 
 ing, that Africa fupplied the people of Rome 
 with food for nine months in the year. 
 
 There were fome crews of mariners and 
 of feamen appointed to carry this corn to 
 Rome *. They were puniflied capitally, if 
 they did not keep the ufunl courfe \ the Judges 
 
 fc L. i. C. De Annonis Civilibus. 
 
 * L. z. cap. 9. De Excidlo Hierofol. 
 k Upon the ninth chapter of Daniel. 
 
 1 Jurel. Viftor. 
 
 * L. 7. C. De Naviculariis. 
 
 2 and
 
 46 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 and Magiftrates of places, if they did not take 
 care to make them fet out in proper time 
 and place, were punifhed with the confifca- 
 tion of their goods and eftates ; and the ma- 
 ilers of the mips were banifhed n . They were 
 forbidden in the ftricteft manner to trade with 
 this corn. 
 
 No vefiels under twenty tun could be ex- 
 empted or excufed on any account whatever 
 from ferving as tranfports to carry this corn . 
 
 The Emperors Arcadius and Honorius for- 
 bid, under pain of death, the loading of thefe 
 Ihips with any other goods, merchandife, or 
 commodities whatfoever p . 
 
 If the mips ran aground or ftranded on any 
 coaft, the inhabitants of the country were 
 obliged to lodge the corn in the public ftore- 
 houfes, till the firft opportunity that offered 
 of fending it away. If they were wrecked, a 
 particular account was drawn up of the fhip- 
 wreck, and after a due inquifition into the 
 matter according to the forms of law, was 
 authenticated by the Judge, and certified with- 
 in the year q . After the expiration of that 
 term, it was no longer receivable, and they 
 were obliged to make good and pay the lofs : 
 if the accident happened through the fault of 
 the officers of the fhip, the goods of the com- 
 pany and body of the feamen were anfwerable. 
 for the damage fuftaincd r . 
 
 L. 8. C. L. 4. C. tod. 
 
 L. 2. C. De navibus non cxcafandi's. 
 
 L. un. C. Nequid onere publico imponatur. 
 
 L. 2. 3. 5. C. DC naufragiis. 
 
 L. 6. C. to4. 
 
 The
 
 of the R O M A N S. 47 
 
 The Emperor Theodofius calls this tranf- 
 port of corn by the name of Felix Embola f . 
 
 When this corn was lodged in the maga- 
 zines of Rome, they valued it at a moderate 
 price for the purchafe of fuch as did not re- 
 ceive any gratis. Afconius Pedianus fays, that 
 Clodius, when he was Tribune of the People, 
 in order to gain their favour on his fide againft 
 Cicero his enemy, ordered all the quantity of 
 corn that had been thus bargained for, to be 
 delivered to the purchafers without payment. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of the Perfonal Taille, or Poll-Tax. 
 
 AMONG the Romans there was a di- 
 ftinction made of two kinds of Tri- 
 butes or Taxes ; the tribute of the ground, 
 and that which was laid in the nature of head- 
 money a . 
 
 The perfonal Taille or Poll-Tax was ufu- 
 ally impofed in the countries which they con- 
 quered, as appears from feveral paflages in 
 Livy. It was not uniform in all the Provin- 
 ces of the Empire b . What number of heads 
 foever there were in a houfe or family, they 
 were all fubject to this tax, and muft be paid 
 for, without any exception of fex, viz. the 
 males from after the age of fourteen, and 
 
 f L. 2. C. De navibus non excuGmdis. 
 
 * Cenfus five Tributum aliud praedii, aliud caphi. L. I. 
 ff. De muneribus. 
 
 * L. i. 3. & ult.ff, DC Cenfibus. 
 
 2 the
 
 Of the kEVENUEs 
 
 the females from twelve years till they were 
 fixty-five. This diftin&ion of age however 
 was hardly obferved any where but in the Pro- 
 vince of Syria ; for in other countries they 
 paid this tribute of Head-money from the 
 time of their birth till that of their death. 
 This tax was not laid alike in all places and at 
 all times. Appian writes that Pompey the 
 Great impofed upon the people of Syria and 
 Cilicia an annual contribution of the hundredth 
 part of their revenue. As for the Jews, the 
 Emperor Hadrian loaded them with exceffive 
 taxes. Jofephus, Zonaras, and Xiphilinus re- 
 late, that Vefpafian laid upon them two 
 drachms an head, payable at Rome to Jupiter 
 Capitolinus. 
 
 Jofephus, fpeaking of Egypt, fays, that 
 every perfon in that country paid Head-money; 
 and it appeared by the rolls of this tax, that 
 there were feven hundred and fifty thoufand 
 men that paid to it, without reckoning in this 
 number thofe of Alexandria, who might a- 
 mount to about an hundred thoufand. 
 
 Strabo obferves, that Egypt alone paid feven 
 millions five hundred thoufand pounds a year to 
 the father of the famous Cleopatra , and about 
 twice as much to Auguftus Cjefar. This Taille 
 therefore amounted to fifteen millions under 
 the Roman government. Agrippa, in Jo- 
 fephus, reprefents to the Jews, that Egypt, 
 befides the vaft quantities of corn it was obli- 
 ged to furniih, paid more contributions in a 
 month, than all Judsea paid in a year d . 
 
 c Lib. 17. 
 
 * Lib. 2. DC excid. Hierofolym. 
 
 Velleius
 
 of the ROMANS. 49 
 
 Velleius Paterculus fays, that the Gauls paid 
 ftill more than Egypt did : but Hiftorians con- 
 tradict one another upon this fubjed:. Sueto- 
 nius and Eutropius relate, that Julius Casfar 
 impofed upon them only one million : but 
 Juftus Lipfius pretends, that there is an error 
 in the text, and that it ought to be read four 
 millions. Auguftus Casfar raifed thefe im- 
 ports a great deal higher, 
 
 If we confider it upon the like footing in 
 other countries, what ought Afia, Spain* 
 Greece, Illyria, and fo many other Provinces 
 to pay ? Juftus Lipfius computes, that this 
 Taille exceeded one hundred and fifty millions 
 a year. 
 
 The inhabitants of towns were exempted 
 From this tribute by Conftantine the Great, 
 provided however that they were Roman ci- 
 tizens e . 
 
 The Emperors Dioclefian and Maximian 
 declare exprefsly, that the hufbandmen and 
 farmers paid this impoft F . In great extremi^ 
 ties the Romans doubled it, or caufed two 
 years to be advanced at once. 
 
 Appian relates, that the Romans had laid 
 tributes on all the Provinces of Afia, from 
 the Hellefpont to the Euphrates g . 
 
 Plutarch in his Life-of Pompey writes, that 
 this great Conqueror laid imports upon all the 
 people of Afia, to the amount of eight mil- 
 lions a year. 
 
 Appian fays, that Sylla made them advance 
 five years at once ; fo that feveral towns, to 
 
 e X.. i.C. De Capitatione civium cenfibu? eximenda. 
 f L. i. C. Ne Rufticani ad ullum obiequium devocentur. 
 Mitbnd. c. i. 
 
 E avoid
 
 50 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 avoid being ill-treated and abufed by the fol- 
 diery who made thefe levies, were forced to 
 fell and mortgage their theatres, their town- 
 houfes, their ports, their walls, and other pub- 
 lic places h . 
 
 The fame author relates further, that Mark 
 Anthony exacted from the people of Afia the 
 tribute of ten years in a fingle one, which 
 amounted to near an hundred millions; re- 
 proaching them with having raifed and paid 
 to Brutus and Caflius the very fame fum with- 
 in the fpace of two years ! . 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Of Confifcations and Fines. 
 
 TH E goods and eftates of perfons con- 
 demned either to death, to perpetual 
 banilhmenr, or to the mines, were confifca- 
 ted \ The income which arofe from this kind 
 of revenue could not but be very confiderable, 
 confidering the vaft extent of the Empire, 
 the great number of people condemned, the 
 rigorous prohibition of petitioning for the con- 
 fifcations of fuch as were found guilty of high 
 treafon, and the regulation by which it was 
 provided with regard to the other crimes fub- 
 ject to this penalty, that all the grants which 
 
 b Mithrid. c. 7. 
 
 1 Civil Wars, 1. 5. C. I. 
 
 k Damnatione bona publicantur, cum aut vita adimitur, 
 aut civitas, aut fervilis conditio irrogatur. Calliftrat. L. I. 
 ff. De bonb damnatorum. 
 
 the
 
 of the ROMANS. 51 
 
 the Emperors fhould make of the confifca- 
 tions of the criminals eftates, fhould be null b . 
 Such grants however, as the Prince thought 
 Jit to make of his own proper motion, and 
 for which no application by way of requeft or 
 follicitation was made to him, were ftill va- 
 lid c. 
 
 This cuftom Jafted till the time of the Em- 
 peror Juftinian, who by Novelle 124. enacted, 
 that excepting the cafe of high treafon, the 
 goods and eftates of perfons condemned for all 
 other crimes mould belong to their relations 
 in the afcending and defcending lines, as for 
 as the third degree ' j that their wives fhould 
 come upon thefe very eftates, and recover the 
 portions and eftates they brought in marriage, 
 their dowers, or the other profits of their fur- 
 vivance ; and that if the wife had not brought 
 her hufband any fortune at all, me mould on- 
 ly be entitled to the fourth part of his confif- 
 cated eft ate. 
 
 The effects and eftates of perfons Profcribed 
 were confifcated in like manner = ; and when 
 it was for the crime of high treafon, all per- 
 fons who had any effects of the criminals in 
 their hands, or any kuowledge thereof, were 
 obliged to give in an information of the fame 
 within two months, or eight at fartheft, un- 
 der pain of forfeiting four times the value. 
 Appian attefts this to be the ufual practice, in, 
 the account he gives of Sylla's profcriptions, 
 
 b X. i. 2. C. De petitionibus bonorum fublatis. 
 c D. $. i. L. 2. 
 - Novel/. 117. c. 5. 
 
 e L. n. C. De bonis profcript. Civil Wars t \. i. c. 12. 
 * I 4, c. 3. 
 
 E 2 and
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 and in reckoning up the great number of per- 
 fons profcribed, who were the victims of the 
 Triumvirate. 
 
 The eftates of fuch as killed themfelves af- 
 ter an accufation had been brought againft 
 them, and antecedently to their condemnation, 
 were alfo confifcated f : but if they had made 
 away with themfelves before the accufation was 
 brought, their eftates were not liable to any 
 claim of the Exchequer. It was neverthelefs 
 neceflary that fuch Felos de fe mould be accufed 
 of fome crime that was punimable by law 
 with the penalty of confifcation, before their 
 eftates could be feized on account of their fui- 
 cide f. If there was any difficulty in the judg- 
 ment or determination of the matter, the con- 
 fifcation did not take place. The Emperor 
 Antoninus fays likewife, that if the heirs are 
 able to bring proofs to juftify the memory of 
 the deceafed, there mall be no confifcation h : 
 and Adrian maintained the heirs in the en- 
 joyment of the eftate and effects of a father, 
 who had killed himfclf upon being accufed of 
 having taken away his fon's life. 
 
 The goods and eftate of a perfon that bribed 
 or corrupted his accufer, if the crime charged 
 upon him was capital, and his life lay at ftake, 
 were not confifcated , though the bribery and 
 corruption were never fo clearly proved and 
 verified : for the confifcation on this account 
 did not take place, except in the cafe of 
 
 f L. 3 ff. De bonis eorum qui ante fen ten dam vel mor- 
 tem libi confciverunt, vel accufatores conuperunt. L. i . 
 Cod. eod. 
 
 * D. L i. i i. 
 
 b Ibid i 8. 
 
 crimes,
 
 of the R O M A N S. 53 
 
 crimes : , the legal punifnment of which was 
 either a perpetual banifhment, or a penal fer- 
 vitude. 
 
 It muft neverthelefs be ftill obferved, that 
 the confitcation was not always rigoroufly in- 
 lifted on or exacted in a!l thefe cafes ; for Ta- 
 citus rda:es, that fuch as prevented the exe- 
 cutioners by laying violent hands on them- 
 felve.s, had the rites of a funeral, which \vere 
 ufually denied to fuch as forfeited their eftates, 
 and their teftaments were executed -'. 
 
 With regard to fuch as were recalled from 
 banifhment or from working in the mines, 
 though they were thus exempted from thofe 
 penalties, yet their eftates which had been con- 
 fifcated were not thereby reftored to them, 
 but continued ftill in the hands of the Exche- 
 quer *, and if an exiled perfon procured Letters 
 to reftore him ', he could only recover part of 
 his effects and eftate m . 
 
 * L. \.jf.tod. 
 
 k Promptas ejufmodi mortcs metus carnificis faciebat, Sc 
 quia damnati publicatis bonis fepultura prohibebantur, eo- 
 rum qui de fe ftatuebant, humabantur corpora, manebanc 
 teftamenta, pretium feflinandi. Annal. 1. 3. 
 
 1 L. 3. Cod. tod. 
 
 m In Infulam deportati bona fifcus, poena remiffa, reti- 
 net, fays Papinian, L. b.jf. De fententiam paffis & refti- 
 totis. 
 
 3 CHAP,
 
 Of the R E v N u s s 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Of the Crimes which 'were funijhaUe with 
 a Confifcation of Eft ate. 
 
 TH E eftatcs of perfons guilty of high 
 treafon were confifcated a . Now the 
 overt-acts which inferred a guilt of this nature 
 among the Romans, were much the fame as 
 are deemed high treafon at this time in France. 
 All were deemed criminal in this refpecl, that 
 made any attempt or formed any defign a- 
 gainft the life of the Prince, that treated with 
 the enemies of the State, that levied troops, 
 that confpired or contrived the death of the 
 Ministers of State, that calculated the nativity 
 or drew the horofcope of the Prince in order 
 to do him fome mifchief or work upon him 
 by inchantments, and that excited the people 
 to an infur reel ion or revolt. 
 
 Some Emperors were minded to extend this 
 crime likewife to fuch as judged cafes and pro- 
 nounced fentences contrary to their Ordinan- 
 ces ; but this was not received, nor ever pafied 
 into a law. Evil Princes extended it even to 
 words b , which had ever till their time pafled 
 with impunity c : but Theodofms the Great re- 
 
 L 5. C. ad Legem Juliam, Majeftatis. 
 
 L. \.ff. /,. 5. C. eod. L. 7. G. De Maleficis & Mathe- 
 maticis, &c. 
 b L unic. C. Siquis Imperatori malcdixerit. 
 
 L. 28. i i ff. De poenis, &c. 
 Fafta arguebantur, difta impune erant. Tacit. 
 
 jeded
 
 of the ROMANS. 55 
 
 jec*led all accufations of this kind. Deferters 
 were burnt alive, and the authors of feditions 
 were condemned to be thrown to wild beafcs. 
 
 A flatterer of Tiberius Casfar charged one Ro- 
 man citizen with high treafon, for having fold 
 a garden in which there was a ftatue of Au- 
 guftus Casfar ; and accufed another of the fame 
 crime for having fwore falQy by the name of 
 the faid Emperor. As for the nrft it was de- 
 cided, that without any offence againft Reli- 
 gion, they might fell the ftatues of the Gcds, 
 as they fold the houfes and gardens of which 
 they were appurtenances : and with regard to 
 the fecond cafe, it was determined, that it 
 ftiould be left to the Gods, as it was their bu- 
 finefs, to revenge the injuries offered to the 
 Gods \ 
 
 There wanted not other informers that 
 brought the fame charge and accufadon againft 
 fuch as had made encomiums upon the ene- 
 mies of the State ; as happened in the cafe of 
 Cremutius Cordus , to whom it was objected 
 as a criminal matter of this kind, that he had 
 given in his Hiftory great elogiums to Brutus, 
 and had called C. Cafiius the laft of the Ro- 
 mans. 
 
 The authors of fcandalous and defamatory 
 libels either againft the State, or againft thofe 
 that governed it, were likewife attainted of 
 this crime ' : fuch as publiihed or fpread them, 
 fuch as found them in the ftreets and did not 
 
 d Contra Rcligioncs non fieri, quod Numinum fimula- 
 
 chra venditionibus hortorum & domorum accederent. 
 
 Deorum injarias Diis cure. 
 
 e Tadt. Annul. 1. 4. 
 
 f L. i . C. De faznolis libellis. 
 
 E 4 burn
 
 56 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 burn them immediately, were deemed worthy 
 of death. Before the time of Auguftus Cas- 
 far, the State was fatisfied and thought it fuffi- 
 . cient to make anfwers to thefe libels, and fo 
 prevent their ill effects , and that Emperor 
 was the firft who made it a crime of high 
 treafon , though he ftill pardoned words. 
 Suetonius however, in his Life, exprefies the 
 contrary h . 
 
 This crime of high treafon was an inex- 
 hauftible fource for the revenue in the times of 
 Sylla and Marius, under the Triumvirate, and 
 in the reigns of Caligula, Heliogabalus, and 
 the other tyrants of the Empire '. 
 
 Tiberius Casfar underftood very well how 
 to make his advantage of it, or, properly 
 fpeaking, how to abufe it ; but he always 
 employed it, rather to get rid of his enemies 
 and fuch perfons as he fufpected, than to get 
 their eftates. 
 
 There was fomething very particular, and 
 indeed fingular in this crime : it was, that an 
 accufation might be brought againft a man 
 for it after he was dead k , and that the bare 
 dcfign or will to commit it, though not fol- 
 lowed by any action, was punifhable ' ; which 
 never took place with regard to other crimes. 
 
 This crime became extremely common, 
 through the fhameful abufe of accufations, and 
 
 & Primus Augullus cognitionem de famofis libellis fpecie 
 Isefae rnajeftatis traftavit. Tacit. AnnaL 1. I. 
 
 * Cb.ytf . 
 
 5 Appian, Salluft, Uerodlan. \ '. 
 
 k L. 8. C. ad L Juliam, Majeftatis. 
 
 1 Eadem enim feveritate voluntatem fceleris quam ef- 
 
 feftum puniri jura voluerunt. L, 5. C. eod. Cogitatio- 
 
 nis poenam nemo patitur. Ulpian, L \%.ff. De pcenis, 
 
 the
 
 of the R O M A N S. 57 
 
 the deteftable profefilon of a Delator or In- 
 former , which having been ever unknown 
 before, was introduced into Rome together 
 with' Tyranny m . 
 
 The crime of Parricide was always punimed 
 with the confifcation of all the effefts and eftate 
 of the criminal n : but this crime, fo extraor- 
 dinary in its nature, muft be placed in the 
 fame rank as menders, which are fo much the 
 more rare, as they are more .fhocking and 
 horrible . There was however in the reign 
 of Tiberius found a fon fo unnatural, as to ac- 
 cufe his father of having defigned to kill the 
 Emperor, and raife an infurrection againft 
 him in Gaul : and Appian mentions a monfter 
 like this, who went along with the ferjeants 
 or guards of the Triumvirs, to mew them the 
 place where his father lay concealed, and 
 looked on whilft they murdered him in his 
 prefence p. 
 
 By the Cornelian law, the effedls and eftates 
 of murderers were confifcated q ; and this law 
 took in likewife fuch as afiifted or were accef- 
 fories in the murder. It comprehended alfo 
 poifoners, incendiaries, fuch as carried forbid- 
 den arms about them in order to kill any bo- 
 dy, Magiftrates that fuborned witneffes and 
 accufers for the getting an innocent perfon to 
 be condemned falfly , fuch as juftified a mur- 
 der, fuch as made others eunuchs, or fuffered 
 
 m Dclatores genus publico exitio repertum per praemia 
 llciebantur. Tacit. Annul. 1. 4. 
 
 11 L. unic. C. De iis qui parentes vel liberos occidemnt. 
 Miferiarum ac fjevitise exemplum atrox. Idem, 
 P Sell. Civil. L 4. c. 4. 
 1 L. Cornell, De Sicariis. 
 L.l.ff. eod. & paffim in Codice. 
 
 2 them-
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 themfelves to be made fo ; fuch as ufed forcery 
 and witchcraft all fuch as circumcifed their 
 children, except the Jews , fuch as expofed 
 their flaves to combats againft lions and other 
 wild beafts ; and, in fine, women that defign- 
 edly made themfelves mifcarry. 
 
 The cafes in which the killing of a man 
 was not attended with the confifcation of the 
 murderer's eftate, were, i. When the man- 
 flaughter was involuntary. 2. When a man 
 killed another purely in defending his own 
 perfon. 3. When he killed a robber, efpeci- 
 ally a night-robber. 4. An hufband that 
 killed his wife, having caught her in adultery, 
 was only fent away to a diftant place for a 
 time, if he was a man of fafhion and credit ; 
 bye if he was a mean and obfcure perfon, he 
 was bani/hed for ever r : it was however allow- 
 ed to kill a wife taken in the very fact. 
 
 Adulterers were alfo punifhed with death f , 
 and confequently with the connfcation of all 
 their effects and eftates ; at leaft from the time 
 of the Emperor Alexander Severus. The ma- 
 nagers, goers between, and agents in bringing 
 about and carrying on that infamous com- 
 merce, were comprehended in this law. Such 
 as married a woman convicted of adultery and 
 fentenced for the fame, and fuch as debauched 
 widows or maidens forfeited half of their 
 
 < L. i & 5. C. L. 2 & 3. C. L, 4 fcf j. C. L. i. f 
 
 ff. &c. 
 
 r L. 9. f i.f.C. ad Leg. Ju/. De Adulteriis. 
 L. 2<j.ff.eo<l.D. L. . i. I. i z. 
 
 Such
 
 if the R O M A N S. 59 
 
 Such as feduced a girl under twelve years 
 of age, incurred the penalty either of baniih- 
 ment or of penal fervitude l . 
 
 Sodomites were punifhed with great feverity, 
 and fuch as lent their honfes for the carrying 
 on of any lewd and fcandakxis commerce, un- 
 derwent the fame punilhments as were inflicted 
 on adukerers v . 
 
 Auguftus Oefar put feveral perfons to death 
 for having debauched his daughters v . 
 
 Forgers of deeds and writings were punifhed 
 with death, when they were of a fervile con- 
 dition ; and if they were freemen, with per- 
 petual banifhme-nt and confifcation of their 
 eftates w . 
 
 Such as incurred the penalties of the Cor- 
 nelian law if FalJtS) were in the firft place, 
 fuch as made falfe teftaments and the like ficti- 
 tious deeds, or caufed them to be drawn up 
 and made by others. 
 
 ^. Such as took money, and were hired to 
 ferve for witneffes. 
 
 3. Such as bribed the Judges or witnefies. 
 
 4. Falfe witnefies. 
 
 5. Such as broke open the teftaments of 
 perfons before they were dead x . 
 
 6. Perfons entrufted with the keeping of 
 the writings and evidences of a party in any 
 caufe, if they communicated them to the ad- 
 verie party. 
 
 < L. 1 8. $. i. ff. Depcenis. 
 
 v Papiniaa, L. 8. C. eod. 
 
 u Suetonius in Auguft. 
 
 L. i. f ttlt.ff. de leg. Cornel DC falfis. 
 
 ^ Z>. L. i. 
 
 7. Such
 
 60 Of /^REVENUES 
 
 7. Such as in writing the laft will of any 
 body, put down themfelves for legacies /. 
 
 Lampridius however relates, that the Em- 
 peror Adrian did not proceed to execute the 
 rigor of this law, but contented himfelf with 
 the cutting off of the fingers of a perfon guilty 
 of forgery. 
 
 Falfe coiners fuffered the penalty of this 
 law, as to confifcation of their effects, as well 
 for having filed, clipped, or altered, as for 
 having ^counterfeited the coin. It took in like- 
 wife fuch as did not prevent this practice when 
 it was in their power to do fo, and fuch as 
 put off and vended falfe money z . The lands 
 and houfes of perfons where it had been 
 coined were alfo confifcated. 
 , The Emperor Conftantine the Great de- 
 clares falfe coiners to be guilty of high treafon, 
 and condemns them to be burnt alive 2 . 
 
 Whoever changed his name with any ill 
 defign in view, underwent the rigor of this 
 law ; but excepting the cafe of fraud, it was 
 allowable for all perfons to change their names 
 at pleafure b . 
 
 Such as fuppofed children were likewife fub- 
 
 jedt to the penalties of this law ; and in this 
 
 cafe no time whatever could introduce a pre- 
 
 fcription, and fave the guilty from profecu- 
 
 j tion and punifhment c . 
 
 Such as offered any violence to others, 
 without carrying arms about them, forfeited 
 
 7 L. 4. C. eod. 
 
 z L. 9. . i, z.ff, L. i.C. De falfa moneta. 
 
 L. z. C. eod. 
 
 b L. un. Cod. De mutatione nominis. 
 
 * X7.KC. eoJ. L. i. . i.ff. L. 19. 5. i.ffi 
 
 only
 
 of the ROMANS. 61 
 
 only a third part of their eftates : but if they 
 had weapons about them when they committed 
 the violence, they were fentenced to a perpe- 
 tual exile, and all their eftate was confiscated d . 
 
 This penalty was alfo incurred by thofe that 
 exacted new impofts, with an armed force, 
 by their own authority. 
 
 The eftates of fuch as committed rapes up- 
 on maidens, widows, virgins confecrated to 
 Religion ; as alfo the effects of thofe that ac- 
 companied them in the enterprize, or har- 
 boured, lodged, and entertained them in their 
 houfes, were confifcated ; and their perfons 
 moreover were punifhed capitally e . 
 
 The eftates of fuch as were convicted of 
 facrilege, of robbing the treafury, and em- 
 bezzling the public money, were alfo confif- 
 cated ; but in the laft cafe five years was 
 enough to create a prefcription, and fave the 
 embezzler from punilhment f . 
 
 Such as kept the public money in their 
 hands, and made ufe of it for their own pro- 
 fit, were condemned to make reftitution, and 
 pay a third part of the fum fo diverted over 
 and above by way of fine g . 
 
 Such as being employed in a poft committed 
 any exactions, were banifhed, and fentenced 
 to an amerciament, which was often four times 
 the value of the fum that had been exacted ir- 
 regularly and unjuftly from people h . 
 
 d L. 10. f ult.f.adL. Jul. De vi publ. L. ult.f.eoJ. 
 
 * L. un. $. z. C. De raptu Virg : num. 
 
 f L. g.JT. ad L. Jul. Peculat. &c. 
 
 I. 4. f eod. 
 
 h Novel. 159. L. 7. . $. ff, ad Leg. Jul. Repetundar. 
 
 Extor-
 
 62 Of the R E v E N u fc a 
 
 Extortioners were fometimes punifhed ac- 
 cording to the Cornelian Law, by which they 
 were fubjected to have their eftates confifca- 
 ted 1 . 
 
 Such as bribed to get into offices, and pur- 
 chafed fuffrages, were fined an hundred crowns 
 of gold k . 
 
 Plagiaries were alfo generally condemned to 
 the mines, and their eftates confifcated '. 
 
 Prevaricators that ufed collufion, and be- 
 trayed a caufe or truft, differed fometimes the 
 lofs of all their whole eftate, and fometimes 
 only of a moiety m . 
 
 Such as diverted, mifapplied, or embezzled 
 the affets awd eftate of a fucceffion, were fome- 
 times condemned to very heavy fines ; for it 
 was a criminal affair. Cheats likewife that 
 fold or mortgaged a thing twice over, or by 
 a falfe title, were treated in the fame manner >. 
 
 Such as formed focieties and combinations, 
 and affembled multitudes of people together 
 without the Prince's perrniffton, were fentenced 
 alfo to fevere fines . 
 
 Subaltern Judges, in country villages, called 
 from their not being allowed feats at the hear- 
 ing of caufes, pedanei^ were, when guilty of 
 bribery and corruption, punifhed with the lofs 
 of their eftates, and banifhment p . 
 
 1 L. 2.ff. De concuffione. L. 3. 8. 5. ad L. Corbel. De 
 ficariis. 
 
 k L. un.ff. ad L. Jul. Ambitus. 
 
 1 L. ult. C. eo<t. 
 
 m L. 6.f. De Prtevar. I. 38. f *.ff. De pcenis. 
 
 n L. 3. C. De crimine expilatae haeredit. L. 3. ^. 7..jf. 
 Stellionatus. 
 
 1. l.f L l.ff. DeColkgiis. 
 
 L. 28. \. 10. f. De poenis. 
 
 2 There
 
 of the R O M A N S. 63 
 
 There was a fine of ten pounds of gold 
 Jaid upon fuch as violated the fepulchres of the 
 dead ; one of fifty pounds upon fuch as hin- 
 dered the interment of deceafed perfons ; and 
 a confifcation of a third part of their eftates 
 was the penalty incurred by fuch as befet dy- 
 ing people, and teazed them in order to get 
 their fucceffion q . 
 
 All perfons likewife fubjecl: to the Taille 
 forfeited their eftates, if they changed their 
 abode : and befides this penalty, perpetual 
 exile was decreed againft merchants convifted 
 of engrofling commodities into their hands r . 
 
 Such as enhanced and ufed arts to raife the 
 price of corn, were punifhed with heavy fines, 
 and fometimes corporally f . 
 
 Falfe accufers or flanderers were lentenced 
 to the fame punifhment as the perfon wrong- 
 fully accufed would have undergone in cafe he 
 had been found guilty upon their accufation i 
 fo that their eftates were often confifcated '. 
 
 There was a penalty of four times the value 
 againft fuch as mifapplied and diverted the 
 public money, againft fuch as borrowed mo- 
 ney of perfons that were indebted or account- 
 able to the State, and againft the concealers 
 and detainers of the effects of condemned per- 
 fons ". 
 
 i L. 4. C. De fepulch. violator. L. 6. C. Novel. 60. 
 c. i. 
 
 ' L. 4. C. De jure fifci. L. i. $. 2 C. De monopolik 
 
 { L. } 7 .f. Depoenis. 
 
 T L. ult. C. De calumniatoribus. 
 
 u L. 8. C. Dejure fifci. 
 
 L. i, 2. C. De Ivs qui ex publicis rationibus mutuara 
 pecuniam acceperuiu. C^ L. ult. De bonis profcriptorum. 
 
 The
 
 64 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 The punilhment of fmugglers that brought 
 in prohibited merchandife, and ran contraband 
 goods, was no lefs than capita], befides the 
 confifcation of the merchandife, and a fine of 
 thirty pounds of gold laid upon the governors 
 of the places where it had been run. There 
 was likewife a confifcation of all their effects, 
 and perpetual banifhment denounced againft 
 fuch as harboured and received any foreign 
 merchants, without giving notice thereof to 
 the Chief Director of the Commerce w . 
 
 The carrying away of gold into foreign 
 countries was prohibited under pain of death ; 
 and the merchants of Perfia were exprefsly 
 forbidden to bring any merchandife on this 
 fide the river A raxes, under pain of confifca- 
 tion of the faid merchandife x . 
 
 Such as levied more than was impofed upon 
 the people that were fubject to the Taille, were 
 condemned to make them ample reftitution, by 
 paying either double or elfe four times the va- 
 lue of rhe fum wrongfully exaded ; and fome- 
 times too all their effects were confiscated y . 
 
 The purchafer of an eftate or thing in dif- 
 pute, knowing the title to be bad or precari- 
 ous, was condemned to reftore it, and the 
 purchafe- money was forfeited to the Exche- 
 quer z . 
 
 The farmers of excifes, cufloms, duties of 
 export and import, and of all other imports 
 
 w L. 14 fcf 1 6. L. 4. $. i. C. De commerciis & mer- 
 catoribus. L. 6. C eod. 
 * L. 2. C- eod. L. 4 $ i. 
 y L. unic. C. De fuperexa&ionibus. 
 
 L. 8. C. De excufat. munerum, &c. 
 z L. 4. C. De lirigiofis. 
 
 that
 
 tfthe ROMANS. 
 
 that had been laid irregularly and by violencd 
 upon any commodities or merchandife, were 
 condemned to make reftitution of double their 
 value a . 
 
 Confifcation of goods was likewife denoun- 
 ced againft fuch as fold purple without the 
 Prince's permifiion j againft all that bought 
 filks from foreigners j againft fuch as either 
 fold or bought the corn defigned and appro- 
 priated for the people of Rome and the ar- 
 mies of the State ; and againft all that fold 
 arms to foreigners b . 
 
 There was no confifcation of merchandife 
 decreed againft fuch as had not declared them 
 through mere inadvertency or miftake : they 
 only paid double the ordinary duty c 
 
 Such as farmed lands under the Exchequer, 
 if they tranfported or tranfplanted fruit-trees, 
 were condemned to pay four times their va- 
 lue d . 
 
 Whoever fraudulently and by artifice got 
 any grant and received any thing from the Ex* 
 chequer, was condemned to reftore double its 
 value e . 
 
 If the Governors of Provinces did either in 
 their own name, or by means of other perfons 
 acting by their direction and in their behalf, 
 purchafe any lands within their governments, 
 they might be demanded back by the feller, 
 
 I- \,ff. De Publicanis. 
 
 L. i.C. Quas res venire non poflunt, & 
 
 L. z: C. Quse res exportari non poflunt, 
 
 L. i. 1 6. f/: De Publicanis. 
 
 L. 45. . \T > .ff. Dejurefifci. 
 
 and
 
 66 Of the R E v E N v E s 
 
 and the purchafe-money was paid into the Ex- 
 chequer f . 
 
 Such as defrauded the treafury of any of its 
 dues, were condemned to reftore fourfold g . 
 
 Such as opened the teftament of a perfon 
 whilft he was living, incurred the penalties of 
 confifcation of eftate and banifhment h . 
 
 If a man caufed any pillars or works of 
 marble to be carried out of the town into the 
 country to any of his eftates, the eftate was 
 confifcated '. 
 
 There was an exprefs prohibition of pulling 
 down houfes in order to fell the ftones, the 
 marbles, and the pillars feparately, under pain 
 of nullity of the fak, and of double the price 
 being paid to the Exchequer by the purchafer. 
 It appears neverthelefs that this double was 
 paid equally by the feller and the purchafer k . 
 
 The Magiftrates that were commiffioned to 
 take care of the bringing in and receiving of 
 the corn for the army, when it was not done 
 within the year, were fentenced to pay double '. 
 
 The Commiflaries of provifions that had 
 kept any of them to themfelres, were alfo 
 condemned to pay double, the moiety where- 
 of went to the Exchequer m . 
 
 If any perfon engaged in a law-fuit wa* 
 convicted of having given money to the Judge 
 
 r D. L. . 2. L. unit. L. C. Tit. cj. 
 D. L. i. f ult. 
 
 * L. 38. . -j.f. De pcenis. 
 
 * L. C. De JEdif. privatis. 
 
 k L. $z.ff. De contrah. emptione. L. 4. f 5, 6, 7, g f 
 10, 11, 12, & ff. De legatis. L. 4. C. De /Edif. privatij, 
 L. ult. De donat. inter virum & oxorem. ' .". 
 
 1 L. 7. C. De exaftoribus. 
 
 ? D. L. 7. 
 
 in
 
 of the ROMANS. 67 
 
 in a civil affair, he was fentenccd to pay four 
 times the fum ; and if it was in a criminal 
 cafe, his eftate was confiscated ". 
 
 Such as made appeals from the fentences of 
 the Courts of Judicature rafhly and caufelefs- 
 ly, were condemned to pay fifty pound weight 
 of filver . 
 
 The effects and eftates of the chief and o- 
 ther Magiftrates of towns, whenever they 
 quitted their towns, were employed in defray- 
 ing the charges of collecting the public mo- 
 ney, if they did not return within the year ?. 
 The falaries and perquifites due to officers 
 deceafed, belonged to the Exchequer q . 
 
 All fines were to be carried to the Treafu- 
 ry, as foon as ever they were received r * 
 
 Such as gathered thefe fines > if they diverted 
 any part of what was due to the Treafury 5 
 were condemned to pay fifty pounds of gold 
 to the Exchequer ' . 
 
 The Judges might condemn a Barretter 
 who had loft his caufe to pay the cofts of fuit, 
 and to pay moreover ten per Cent, of the fum?, 
 to which the faid cofts amounted into the Ex- 
 chequer, 
 
 The Serjeants or Bailiffs that let any perfons 
 committed to their cuftody make their efcape, 
 incurred a fine of ten pounds of gold '. 
 The Judges were ftridtly forbidden to mo- 
 
 n Authentic. Novo jure, C. De pcenis. 
 
 L. 5. . ult. Quorum Appellationes non recipiuntur. 
 * L. 5. C. De Decurionibus. 
 
 1 L. i.C. De Annon. 5c Tributis. L. i. C. Tbeod. De 
 Annonrs civilibus. 
 
 1 L. i. C. De modo mul&arum. 
 
 f L. 13. .3. 
 
 r L. 2. C. De fportulis. 
 
 F 2 left
 
 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 left and opprefs the people of the Provinces* 
 under the penalty of a fine of fifty pounds of 
 gold ; and were enjoined to obierve and keep 
 to the Ordinances, on pain of paying ten 
 pounds of gold for each infringement thereof". 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Of Efeheats, or the Revenue arifing from 
 Succejfions, and teftamentary Legacies. 
 
 AUguftus Casfar firft introduced this right, 
 which was eftabliflied by the law Pa- 
 pa Popptza a ; and took in, i . Every thing 
 that was left by will, in the way of inheri- 
 tance, or in truft, as a donation on account of 
 death, or by any other title whatever, to per- 
 fons living and capable of fucceeding at the 
 time of making the teftament, but who 
 chanced to die during the teftator's life-time, 
 or after his deceafe before the opening of his 
 will h . 2 . Every thing that was left under 
 any condition whatever which came to fail, 
 and all legacies or inheritances that were re- 
 nounced or not claimed by thofe that had a 
 right to receive and inherit them. 
 
 The Emperor Juftinian fupprefied this 
 right, becaufe t fays he, // having been eftablijhed 
 an occafion of the Civil Wars, it is very reafon- 
 tble and proper'* to aboli/h it during the calm of 
 
 " 1.4. . 2. C. N. 112. C. 2. 
 
 * Tac. Annal. 3. Dion Cajfius in Aug. 
 
 b Ulp. in Fragm. 1 1 1. De Caduc. & L. mtic. $ 2. C. De 
 
 siducis tollcfidis. 
 
 peace 3
 
 of the R O M A N S. 
 
 peace <= ; expreffing himfelf very finely on the 
 fubjecT: in the following words : What is gene- 
 rally beneficial to all, we deem -preferable to our 
 private intereft j being in our Imperial way of 
 thinking perfuaded^ that the advantage of our 
 fubjefts is our own particular advantage d . 
 
 3. Every thing that was left by will, on 
 any account or by any title whatever, to per- 
 fons that lived in a (late of celibacy, was 
 claimed by the Exchequer, if the legatees did 
 not marry within an hundred days after the 
 death of the teftator ; unlefs the unmarried 
 perfon, if a man, was a minor not five and 
 twenty years old, or if a female, under the 
 age of twenty years e . This right of debar- 
 ring batchelors from inheriting, was called the 
 penalty of celibacy, and was introduced chiefly 
 for two reafons. 
 
 The one was, in order to bring money into 
 the Prince's coffers ; the other was, to oblige 
 the men to marry, for the quicker repcopling 
 of the Commonwealth, which had been ex- 
 tremely thinned and wafted by the civil wars 
 of Marius and Sylla, of Pompey and Casfar, 
 of the Triumvirate, and of Anthony and Au- 
 guftus f . 
 
 The Emperor Conftantine confidering this 
 ufage as contrary to the tenor of the Chriftian. 
 Religion, thought fit to fupprefs it ?. 
 
 * L. unica. 
 
 * Quod communiter omnibus prodeft, hoc private no- 
 ftrae ucilitati praeferendum efle cenfemus, noftrum eflc pro- 
 prium fubje&orum commodum imperialiter exiftirnantes. 
 
 e Ulp. ibid. Tit. 13. De ccelibat. & orbit. Cujacii PA- 
 ratttla in Codice. 
 
 f Velhius Patercitlus, dppian, Dion Caftus. 
 
 * Z.. I . C. De infirmandis pcenis coelibatus. 
 
 F Suclx
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 Such as were married, but yet had no chil- 
 dren, loft half of what was left them by will, 
 the other half efcheating to the Exchequer h : 
 but if they were charged to make it good to 
 other perfons who were qualified to inherit, 
 they took po0eflion of the whole, according 
 to the opinion of Javolenus \ Befides, if they 
 had a fon, or their fon had died after attain- 
 ing the age of fourteen, they had in this cafe 
 too the whole. Conftantine abrogated this 
 right alfo. 
 
 When a hufband made his wife his heir, or 
 gave her any thing by will ; and when a wife 
 made a like difpofition of her effects in favour 
 of her hufband ; if they had no children, they 
 had only the tenth part of what fhould have 
 accrued to them by fuch legacy ; the other 
 nine parts belonged to the Imperial Treafury *. 
 But in cafe they were minors, that is, the man 
 under five and twenty, and the woman under 
 twenty years of age ; or if the man was above 
 fixty years old, and the woman turned of 
 fifty-eight, they then had the whole. If they 
 had children by another marriage, each child 
 was worth a tenth to them, procuring them 
 that further /hare of the fucceflion. If they 
 had by the fame marriage a fon or a daughter 
 who had died after the ninth day, they got 
 likewife another tenth oh that account: if they 
 had two children who had thus died after li- 
 ving nine days, they not only gained two 
 tenths, but enjoyed allb the ufe and profits of 
 the reft. But if they procured a faculty from 
 
 k U/p Tit. DC ccelibat. & 01 bit. 
 
 j L. ^z.ff. De Legatis. U)'t. Tit. f i & 2. 
 
 * L. 2. C. Be infirmar.dis ri cnis ccelibatus. 
 
 the
 
 of the ROMANS. 71 
 
 the Emperor, giving them the rights .and be- 
 nefit of children, they entirely cut off all de- 
 mands and pretenfions of the Exchequer '. 
 
 In cafe an hulband or wife died without 
 heirs, the furvivor barred the Exchequer from 
 any claim, and was qualified to inherit, in 
 Virtue of the Praetor's Edict m . But if they 
 had never had any children, the furvivor took 
 only the the tenth, or feveral tenths, according 
 to the number of children which he had by 
 other marriages : and the Law Papia (what- 
 ever Godefroy may fay of it) extended in this 
 cafe to the fuccefiion of perfons dying inte- 
 ftate, as is eafy enough to be proved n . The 
 Emperors Honorius and Theodofius abrogated 
 the claim of the Exchequer in this point, and 
 gave the right of children to all married per- 
 fons in general. 
 
 Every thing that was left, in any manner 
 whatever, to perfons undeferving of fuch kind- 
 nefs and liberalities, belonged al/o to the 
 Prince's Exchequer . 
 
 1. An inheritance or fucceffion that fell to 
 an heir who did not revenge the death of the 
 deceafed, devolved to the Exchequer, and the 
 unworthy heir was obliged to refund the pro- 
 fits he had received out of the eftate p . 
 
 2. Whoever had let his wife die for want 
 of care, was deemed unworthy of fucceeding 
 to her effects q. 
 
 1 Ulp. Tit. 15. De Decimis. 
 81 L. i.C. Unde vir & uxor. 
 
 n Bafilk. 1. 45. Tit. 5. L. i. C- De infirmandis poems 
 coelibatus, fcf L. i. Cod. De jure liber. 
 C. De iis quibus ut indignis hseredit. auferuntur. 
 r L. i.C. eod. 
 
 *-&s.j!. 
 
 F 4 3, Who-
 
 Of the R E V E N U E S 
 
 3. Whoever had married a wife of the Pro- 
 vince whereof he was Governor, was deprived 
 and excluded from her fucceffion r . 
 
 4. Whoever had difpofed of the eftate and 
 effects of one of his parents during the life 
 and without the knowledge of fuch parent, 
 loft all his right to the inheritance f . 
 
 5. Whoever wrongfully charged a will with 
 being forged, incurred the fame penalty '. 
 
 6. Whoever lent his name, in order to fe- 
 cure a legacy or truft to a perjon incapacitated 
 by law to receive it, was deprived of it, but 
 with this difference however, that if he gave 
 information of it himfelf, he only loft a moie- 
 ty thereof ; and if the information came from 
 another quarter, he loft the whole i the lega- 
 cies ftill remaining valid ". 
 
 7. An hufband that did not revenge the 
 death of his wife, loft her fortune, if Ihe had 
 brought him any v . 
 
 8. If a fuppofuitious child fucceeded to an 
 eftate, as foon as ever it was difcovered that 
 he was fo, the eftate and iucceflion devolved 
 to the Exchequer w . 
 
 Whoever had fupprefied a teftament, had 
 hindered any body from making a will, or 
 forced him to make one in his favour, fo that 
 he came to fucceed to an eftate by one of thefe 
 
 < D. L. 2. i 3. 
 L. 5. J. i. 
 
 L. 10. /. L. 3. $. ff. De jure fifci. I. vnk. C. D 
 Jus qui fe dcferunt. 
 
 T L. 20. ff. Dehisqus, fcfc. 
 * I. 46 ff. De jure fifci. 
 
 thret
 
 of tie R O M A N S. 73 
 
 three means, loft all right to it, and the fuo 
 ceffion fell to the Exchequer x . 
 
 Women that married contrary to the laws, 
 forfeited their dower, and all the advantages 
 to which they would otherwife have been en- 
 titled : and all the effects and eftates of fuch 
 as contracted inceftuous marriages were con- 
 fifcated y. 
 
 The Governors of Provinces, who either 
 married themfelves within the diftrict of their 
 government, or fuffered any belonging to them 
 to marry there, were fined ten pounds of gold, 
 befides the nullity of the marriage z . 
 
 Women that engaged haftily in a fecond 
 marriage, before the year of mourning for their 
 former hufband was expired, loft every thing 
 that was left them by will, all legacies, trufts, 
 or donations on account of death which might 
 fall to them : all belonged to the Exchequer, 
 which claimed alfo, and obliged them to refund, 
 whatever they had got by the teftament of their 
 firft hufband and by their marriage- articles a . 
 
 A widow that within the year of her mourn- 
 ing had a child by any body but her firft 
 hufband, was liable to the fame penalty b . 
 
 x L. 2. ff. ad L. Cornel. De falfis. L. 2. C. Siquis ali- 
 quem teftari prohibuerit. 
 
 y Authentic. Inceftas. C. L. 4. De inceflis & inutilibu* 
 nuptiis. 
 
 z 1. unic. C. Si quacumque praeditus poteftatc rcl ad 
 cum pertinentes, &c. 
 
 L. i. C. De fecundis nuptiis. 
 
 b Authentic, eifd. pcenis. C. 
 
 CHAP,
 
 74 Of the REVENUES 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Of Hflates that were vacant, and bad n* 
 certain Proprietor. 
 
 TH E eftatcs of fuch as died without heirs 
 belonged to the Exchequer, exclufive 
 even of the privileges of the towns, corpora- 
 dons, and private men that might have fome 
 claim to them, either by a long poffeflion, or 
 by a particular privilege: but this did not 
 take place, unlefs the heirs both on the father's 
 and mother's fide came to fail. Such inheri- 
 tances however, if they had not been incorpo- 
 rated into the Demefne, were prefcribable, and 
 all the pretenfions of the Exchequer were 
 barred by a poffeffion of four, or rather of 
 forty years 3 . It muft be obferved likewife, 
 that the hufband or wife excluded the claim of 
 the Exchequer. 
 
 Tn eSecls and eftates of foreigners, and 
 of fuch as had been given for hoftages purfu- 
 ant to treaties made with enemies, belonged 
 alfo to the Exchequer b 5 and hoftages could 
 not make a will without the Prince's licenfe e . 
 
 * L. i. \. 2. fl". DC jure fifci. L. i. C. De bonis va- 
 camibus, &< . L. 4. C. L. i . C. De quadriennii praefcri- 
 ptione. L. 4. C. De praefcriptione triginta vel quaaraginta 
 annorum. jf. Unde vir & uxor. 
 
 b Dirus Commodus obfidum bona ficut & captivorum 
 omoimoda in fifcum efle cogenda refcripfu. Ulp. l.$\.ff. 
 De jure fifci. 
 
 c L. \\.ff, Qui teftamcnta faeere poflunt. Tacitus, Po- 
 im, fee. 
 
 Now
 
 of the R O M A N S. 75 
 
 Now there was always a great number of ho- 
 ftages and prifoners of war among the Ro- 
 mans j for they never made any treaty, but 
 they took hoftages to infure its being obferved. 
 This kind of confifcation or efcheat is called 
 in France the Droit d* Maine : the Royal De- 
 mefne aflumes all the benefit of it, exclufive 
 of private Lords of Manours, notwithftanding 
 the cuftoms which prevail in fome places, be- 
 ing founded on the law of the Emperor Corn- 
 modus, whofe regulation eftablifhed the pra- 
 ctice here mentioned. 
 
 If the foldiers purchafed any eftates in trie 
 countries where they were employed in ma- 
 king war, they were confifcated, becaufe it 
 was a thing exprefsly forbidden them d . 
 
 All kinds of merchandife fubjeft to the 
 payment of any duty were confifcated p , if 
 they did not pay it, and were not declared at 
 the offices of the Receivers of the Cuftoms. 
 Run goods and commodities that were fmug- 
 gled, were ftiled imprcfeffa merces ; and the 
 right of forfeiture in cafe of that illegal pra- 
 ctice was called Commiffum f . Merchandife 
 belonging to the foldiers was not liable to fuch 
 forfeiture and feizure. 
 
 The hopes and profpeft of gain tempted 
 informers and delators to look out for frauds 
 and rnifdemeanors of this kind, and to make 
 a difcovery thereof. We fee in Appian feve- 
 ral inftances, where the accufers had fometimes 
 all the confifcation of the perfons condemned. 
 Tiberias Caefar was far from being inclined to 
 
 * L. g. ff. De re militari, fcf L. l$.jf. tod. 
 e L. 3. De veftigal. & comraiffis: 
 D. L. 3. L. 2, C. eod. 
 
 leffcn
 
 76 Of the R E v E N u E 3 
 
 leffen their perquifites and emoluments, ailed- 
 ging that they were the guardians of the laws e. 
 Under the various Tyrants of the Empire, J 
 thefe public nuifances and pefts of fociety mul- 
 tiplied in an extraordinary manner, and made 
 themfelves exceeding terrible. Tacitus de- 
 fcribes with energy die terror they infpired in 
 faying, Every lody dreaded for fear the very 
 walls bad ears. 
 
 The delators or informers of run and for- 
 feited goods, of eftates efcheated for want of 
 heirs, of the effects of foreigners, of frauds 
 and other things fubject to confiscation, had 
 at firft the half of the profits : but in Nero's 
 time they were dinted to a quarter part ; which 
 gave occafion to their being diftinguifhed by 
 the name of Quadruplatores^ fo odious among 
 the Romans h . 
 
 If any man accufed another falfly of a crime, 
 the legal punifhment whereof was the Jofs of 
 life, of the city, or of liberty, he incurred the 
 fame penalties of death, banifhment, or fla- 
 very ; befides the confifcation of all his ef- 
 fete '. 
 
 In like manner, if the informers gave in 
 falfe informations againft any body, all their 
 eftates were confifcated, and they underwent 
 the corporal punifhment of fcourging : if they 
 were in any pofts or employments, they were 
 turned out immediately k . The Emperors 
 Carus and Numerianus brand this kind of pro- 
 
 * Tacit. Annul 1. 4. 
 
 h Suetonius in Nerone. 
 
 1 C. De accufat. infcriptionibus. 
 
 * L. //. $. 10. C. DC delatoribus. 
 
 feffioa
 
 of the R O M A N S. 77 
 
 Feflion by the ftile of Execrable l . The name 
 of delator or informer was infamous ; and if 
 any one had called another an informer, he 
 had an action againft him, and might recover 
 damages m . 
 
 Every thing that came into any one's pof- 
 feflion by lucrative title, (that is to fay, by 
 way of a teftamentary heirfhip, or in the 
 courfe of fuccefiion to a perfon dying inteftate) 
 by way of legacy, truft, donation on account 
 of death, or donation and conveyance between 
 living parties (except moveable goods) was 
 fubjedt to the payment of a duty which was 
 impofed upon all immoveables, and confifted 
 in a certain quantity of gold charged by the 
 acre. The Senators themfelves were not ex- 
 empted from paying this duty ". 
 
 The Senators paid feven hundred crowns of 
 gold : but the Emperors Arcadius and Hono- 
 rius fupprefled this duty. Cujacius fays in that 
 place, and Godefroy after him, that this gold 
 was called Aurum debate, when the feven 
 hundred crowns of gold were exacted from the 
 Senators ; and Aurum Coronarium^ when le- 
 vied upon the Magiftrates of towns ; and that 
 the Tradefmen paid their duty in filver : which 
 notion doth not feem to me to be well foun- 
 ded . 
 
 1 Omnibus notiffimum eft eos execraliles nunciatores eflc 
 qui fifco deferunt. L. 4. Cod. 
 
 m L 3. C. De injuriis. 
 
 n Tbeodof. & Valentinian. L. unic C. De imponenda lu- 
 crativa defcriptione. .. 4. C. De dignkatibus. 
 
 * L, 2. DC prjetoribus. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Of Impofts laid upon Merchandife and 
 
 Provifions. 
 
 HERE was an impoft laid not only 
 JL upon merchants and tradefmen, but alfo 
 upon all kinds of merchandife : and this all 
 forts of perfons were obliged to pay ; the ve- 
 ry foldiers themfelves having no exemption in 
 this refpeft any more than others a . This im- 
 poft was at the rate of twelve and a half per 
 Cent, and all the exemptions that were pro- 
 cured to be excufed from paying it were of no 
 effect, being declared null by the Ordinance 
 of the Emperors Honorius and Theodofius b 
 The third penny arifing from all impofts in 
 general was annexed to the local charges and 
 employments, except from fuch as had from 
 time immemorial belonged to the Emperor's 
 Demeihe : the two other thirds were carried 
 and paid into the Imperial Treafury c . Now 
 as I have already obferved, all merchandife 
 and commodities that were not declared either 
 at the Co* 1 lector or Receiver's office, or at the 
 Guftom-houfe, fpeaking in the language of 
 our ufages, were liable to be feized, and be- 
 ing difcovc red were confiscated : but this right 
 of feizure a nd confifcation was taken away by 
 a prefcription of five years, if no fuit had 
 
 L. 7. C. De Vcftigalibas & Commiffis. 
 L. 12. 
 L. 13. Cut. 
 
 been
 
 of tie R O M A N S. 79 
 
 been carried on, nor profecution made, on ac- 
 count of this right within that time ; and if 
 the merchandife or goods were no longer in 
 being, or had not been concealed with a frau- 
 dulent defign d . There was no cuftom, excife 
 or impoft paid for fuch merchandife or goods, 
 as were bought for a man's own ufe, or for 
 the ufe of the Prince and State : but all other 
 goods were fubject thereto e . Foreign ambaf- 
 fadors paid the duties for fuch merchandife 
 and provifions as they brought from their own 
 country, but were exempt from paying for 
 fuch as they carried home with them f . 
 
 Soldiers were obliged to pay the duties as 
 well as others : but yet if they could run or 
 pafs their merchandife without carrying it to 
 the Cuftom-houfe or declaring it at the Col- 
 lectors offices, they were fo much favoured 
 that it was not fubject to confifcation *. This 
 peculiar privilege was granted them by the 
 Emperor Severus and his fon Caracalla. 
 
 There was alfo an impoft upon certain beafts 
 that came from Egypt, but not upon all kind 
 of cattle h . 
 
 The Magiftrates of Towns and Corpora- 
 tions had a power of laying fome impofts to 
 provide for the necefiities of thofe particular 
 places ; and nobody could oppofe or deny the 
 payment of them : but however, before they 
 could exert this power, they were obliged to 
 apply for leave either to the Governor of the 
 
 4 Seir. &f Antonin. L. 2. Cod, 
 
 L. 5. C. eod. 
 f L. 8. C. eod. 
 L. 3. C. ted. 
 
 * L. Q. Cgd, See Cujanut. 
 
 Pro-
 
 So Of tie R E v E N u E 8 
 
 Province, or elfe directly to the Emperor him* 
 felf \ This is obferved likewife to this day 
 in France : Towns and Corporations have no 
 authority to lay any impofitions upon them- 
 felves without letters patents from the King ; 
 in confequence whereof the fums of money 
 levied by fuch impofts are called Oftrois, 
 Grants. 
 
 The farmers of thefe duties upon merchan- 
 dife were ftiled Offavarii, fignifying as it were, 
 that they were farmers of the eighth penny. 
 It is generally thought that the payment was 
 at the rate of a Ihilling in the pound ; and yet 
 the Law which I have juft quoted fays the 
 contrary. 
 
 This eighth penny was levied even upon 
 the Eunuchs of the Palace ; but the Emperor 
 Leo forbad the farmers to receive it, as being 
 a thing prohibited by the law of Conftantine 
 the Great k . If the officers employed in col- 
 lecting thefe duties exacted any things for com- 
 modities and things that were exempted and 
 ought not to pay, it was a capital crime, and 
 they were punifhed with death. If they le- 
 vied any thing without the Prince's letters au- 
 thorizing them to do fo, they were obliged to 
 make reftitution: and fuch as molefted and 
 oppreffed the people of the Provinces were 
 condemned to perpetual banilhment l . 
 
 The officers that levied thefe duties were 
 called Stationarii) and were indeed foldiers . 
 
 1 L. 10. C. L. 2& 3. C. Veftigalia nova non infh'tui 
 poflc. 
 
 k L. i fcf 2. C. De Eunuchis. 
 
 1 L. i. C. De veftigalibus. L. 3. C. Veftigalia nova. 
 
 " D. L. 5. L. 1 6. D. 5. DC publicanis & veftigaJibHs. 
 
 There
 
 tftbe ROMANS. 81 
 
 There is in the Digeft a fmall book of rates 
 of the things fubjeft to this duty of the eighth 
 penny j and thefe are feveral forts of fpices 
 and grocery ware, among" others pepper : yet 
 there is no manner of doubt to be made, but 
 that all other kinds of merchandife were fub- 
 ject to this duty n . 
 
 Julius Casfar was the firft that laid a duty 
 on foreign merchandife . The Romans car- 
 ried on a very great traffick in India ; and 
 Pliny p relates, that they bought in that coun- 
 try every year to the value of above two mil- 
 lions of merchandife, upon which the mer- 
 chants gained an hundred-fold their prime coft 
 and value. Now according to Strabo, thefe 
 foreign commodities paid double duty, that is 
 to fay, both for import and export h ; fo that 
 this impoft afforded a confiderable produce. 
 
 There was alfo a duty of entry that was 
 paid at the gates of Towns, and called Veftigal 
 in port a. A Toll was alfb paid at bridge, 
 and on the high roads r . 
 
 Herod ian however fays, that thefe duties 
 were tyrannical impofitions, and that they were 
 abolifhed by the Emperor Pertinax. How- 
 ever this was, it is certain that the merchants 
 and tradefmen who furnifhed goods for the 
 Emperor's ufe, and provilions for his houfhold, 
 
 n Cod. De Veftigal. & Commiflis. 
 
 Portoria peregrinarum mercium inftituit. Suefan. in 
 Cafare. 
 
 P Hijl. lib. 12. L ult. Cod. 27. 
 
 1 Lib. 17. 
 
 * Nee indignabitur fapiens aliquid impendere ut iimen 
 tranfeat, ccgitans & in pontibus quibufdain p,o traafitu 
 dari. Senec. 
 
 G were
 
 82 Of fie R E V E N U E 8 
 
 were not exempt from paying them f ; and 
 that nobody was difpenfed with in that re- 
 fpect, unleis it were the body of Mariners, 
 called in the Civil Law Navicularii !. 
 
 The farms of thefe imports were always ad- 
 judged and fet to the higheft bidder : the leafes 
 were ufually granted for three years at leaft ; 
 and Varro fays, that in ancient times they ge- 
 nerally were made for five years. A man 
 who in the heat of the auction and in the ea- 
 gernefs of bidding had offered the higheft fum, 
 was not admitted to farm them, unlefs he gave 
 good and fufficient fecurity for payment ; and 
 all the eftates and effects of fuch as owed any 
 thing to the Imperial Exchequer on account 
 of their farms, were bound to make it good u . 
 Nobody was compelled to take thefe farms y : 
 but if the farmers who had made great pro- 
 fits by their leafes were for quitting them after 
 their term was expired, and there offered no 
 new tenants that would give as much, the old 
 ones were obliged to continue their farm upon 
 the fame rent and foot as before *' : and this 
 regulation was very juft and reafonable. Far- 
 mers that were behindhand in their accounts, 
 were not admitted to take a new leafe of their 
 
 { L- i. C. De commerciis. 
 
 * L. 6. Cod. 
 
 u L. 4. C. L 4. De Lingua Latina. Cujacius cap 14. 
 De prafcript L. 3. $'. b.ff. De jure nTci. Pau/us, L. 9. 
 'Jf'. De Publicanis. L. nit. Cod. 
 
 T Ad conducendum veftigal nemo compellitur, & ideo 
 impleto tempore conducHonis elocanda hint. D. L. $. i. 
 Callijlr. L. 3. . b.Jf. De jure fifci. 
 
 w Qui maximos fru&us ex redemptione ve&igalium con- 
 fequuntur, fi poftea tan to locari non poffunt, ipfi ea prio. 
 ribus pen/ionibus lufcipere compelluntur. L. 1 1. $. ult. ff. 
 
 farm,
 
 of tie ROMANS. 83 
 
 farm, if they had not firft cleared their ac- 
 counts, and difcharged the arrears of their 
 former *. 
 
 It was provided by law, that no perfons 
 indebted to the Exchequer of the Prince or 
 State, fhould be admitted to take the farms, 
 unlefs they provided fubftantial fureties for 
 paying as well what they owed upon their old 
 leafe, as what was to become due upon the 
 new/. 
 
 If the farmers did not make the payments 
 ftipulated by the articles of their leafe, there 
 was a remedy againft them by evicting them 
 out of pofieffion, vacating their farm, and 
 forcing them to pay intereft from the day that 
 they, came to be in arrears 7 . If there were 
 feveral aflbciates concerned in thefe. farms, each 
 having his diftinct mare in the management 
 thereof, they might upon occafion force one 
 of their company to part with his lhare in 
 the adminiftration "-. 
 
 All mercantile goods and commodities, as 
 well fuch as were liable to pay duty, as thofc 
 that were free and paid none, were equally 
 fubjed to the regulation which required that 
 
 * Reliquatores ve&igalium ad iterandam conduflionem, 
 antequam fuperiori conduction! fatisfaciam, adrnittendi non 
 funt. L. 9. $. z.jf. 
 
 V Debitores fifci itemque Re'publicse vcfligalia condu- 
 cere prohibentur, ne ex alia caufa eorum debita onerentur, 
 nifi forte tales fidejuflbres obtulerint, qui debitis eorum fa- 
 tisfacere parati fmt. Ibid. 
 
 z Non folutis veftigalium penflonibus pellere condufto- 
 res, necdum eciam tempore condulionis compieto, vel ab 
 his ufuras ex morl exigere permittitur. Hcrmogt*. L. \.jf- 
 
 a L 9- $ 4 -ff- 
 4i "- G 2 they
 
 84 Of the REVENUES 
 
 they mould all be declared at the Cuftom- 
 houfe or the Receivers offices : and in defect 
 thereof they were confifcated, and might be 
 feized even in the hands of the heirs of thofc 
 that had run them, who were obliged to make 
 good the damage, and liable to the penalties 
 of their predeceflbrs fraud b . But if any body 
 out of miftake had not paid the duty, the 
 farmers in fuch cafe were to take up with dou- 
 ble the fum due c . 
 
 Several things were exempted from thefc 
 duties. 
 
 1 . All the merchandife and goods that were 
 defigned for the Emperor's houfhold d j tho* 
 merchants and tradesmen that bought them 
 either from the officers of the revenue or from 
 the farmers, were fubject to them c . 
 
 2. Every thing that was bought for a man's 
 own ufe, or for ploughing the ground f ; in- 
 fomuch that nothing was paid for the flaves 
 which people bought for their own fervice $. 
 
 3. All provifions for fupplying the army 
 in war, and the (tuffs defigned for their cloath- 
 
 b Fraudati veftigalis crimen ad hneredem ejus qui frau- 
 dem contraxit, commiffi ratione tranfmittitur. Papin. 
 L.sff. 
 
 ' L. 26. $. ltd. 
 
 d Fifcus ab omnium veftigalium prafiationibus immunh 
 etto. D. L. 9. f 8. 
 
 c D. L. i. 
 
 f Univcrfi Provinciates pro his rebus quaa ad ufum pro- 
 prium, vel exercendi ruris caufa, invehunt, nullum vefti- 
 gal a ftationariis cxigatur. L. 5. Cod. De vcdligalibus. Co*~ 
 ftantinui Imperator. 
 
 * L. 203.^ De verb, fignificat. 
 
 ing.
 
 of the ROMANS. 85 
 
 ing h . Excepting thefe three cafes, every thing 
 paid ; . 
 
 If a farmer had neglected to levy the duties 
 upon any merchandife, commodities, or pro- 
 vifions, his fucceflbr in the farm might exact 
 them , but this was not allowed him, in cafe 
 the things did not ordinarily pay duty k . 
 
 The Governors of Provinces were not au- 
 thorized or allowed, without an exprefs order 
 from the Emperor, to lay any new impofls, 
 or to new modify or alter old ones, either by 
 augmenting or lefTening them '. 
 
 Contraband goods paid nothing, becaufe the 
 carrying and tranfporting them to foreign coun- 
 tries was forbidden on pain of death. Such 
 were whetftones, iron, corn, and fait m . It 
 was alfo forbidden to carry gold thither out 
 of the Empire. The Emperors Gratian and 
 Valentinian recommend and even enjoin their 
 fubjects to carry off dexteroufly the gold they 
 met with in foreign countries : . To the com- 
 
 h Res exercitui paratas vefligalium oneri fubjici non pla- 
 cuit. Jul. Paulas. Dig. L. 9. . 7. De Publicanis. 
 
 ' Ea vero quae extra praediclas caufas, vel negotiation is 
 caufa portantur, folitas penfitationi fubjugamus. L. 5. C. 
 De vetHgalibus. 
 
 k Earum rerum veftigal quarura nunquampra:flitum eft, 
 praeftari non poteft, quod (i prasftari confuetum indiligentia 
 publican! omiferat, alius exercere non prohibetur. Dig, 
 L 9. $. 5. 
 
 1 Veftigalia fine Imperatoris pnecepto, neque Praefidi, 
 neque Curator! conftituere, neque prascedentia reformare, 
 & his vel adjicere vel diminuere licet. L. io.^I De Pub- 
 licanis. 
 
 m Cotem fcrro fubigendo necefTariam hoftibus quoque 
 vcnundari, ut ferrum, frumentum, & fales, non fine pe- 
 riculo capitis licet. L. \i-ff- 
 
 n L. 2. C. De commerciis. L. 2. C. Quae res venire 
 con poflunt. 
 
 G 3 modities
 
 86- Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 modities here mentioned may be added the 
 filks, which it was forbidden to buy of the 
 Barbarous nations, wines, oil, and feafim, the 
 export of which into foreign countries was ex- 
 prefsly prohibited . The Emperor Martian 
 declares fuch as mould carry them arms to be 
 guilty of high treafon, and punifhable accor- 
 dingly. The Emperor Leo pronounces the 
 fentence of death againft all that mould buy 
 Eunuchs among the Barbarians ; and forbids 
 the farmers of the Cuftoms on goods exported 
 and imported to receive the duties for them, 
 under pain of the fame punimment p . 
 
 There were parties of men placed and dif- 
 pofed upon the high-roads and the fea-coafts, 
 to hinder the entry and tranfportation of con- 
 traband goods q . It was likewife forbidden to 
 fell (hips to foreigners, and even to inftrudl: 
 them how to build them, on pain of fufiering 
 the penalties of high treafon. 
 
 The duties which we have been fpeaking of, 
 were called by different names. Thofe which 
 were laid upon goods exported or imported 
 were (tiled Portoria, becaufe they were ufually 
 collected at the fea-ports. The duties of en- 
 try, which were paid at the great pafiages, 
 were called Port aria, becaufe they were re- 
 ceived at the gates of towns, as Juftus Lipfius 
 hath obferved in his Treatife of the Grandeur 
 of the Roman Empire -, and the general name 
 of all thefe duties was Veftigal^ Vcffigalia. 
 
 Ad Barbaricum transfercndi vini, olei & liquaminis 
 Dullam quifquam habeat facultatem, nee guflus quidem cau- 
 sa, aut ufus commerciorum. . i. Cod. Quae res exporta- 
 ri non poflunt 
 
 f L 2 C. De Eunuchis. 
 
 * L unic. De littorum & itincrum cuftodia. 
 
 The
 
 of the ROMANS. 
 
 The perfons that farmed them were called 
 Publicans r , Gratian, Valentinian, and Theo- 
 dofius call them OSiffvarii^ becanfe they re- 
 ceived the eighth penny of the value of certain 
 commodities and forts of merchandife f . They 
 panned alfo under the denomination of Manci- 
 pes t ConduftcreS) Redemftores Veftigalium* 
 
 Thefe farmers were generally of the order 
 of the Roman Knights, and the flower of the 
 Commonwealth : . Titus Aufidius and Pub- 
 lius Rutilius raifed themfelves from the farms, 
 the latter to the dignity of Conful, and the 
 other to the Government of a Province. 
 
 Their Clerks and under officers however 
 rendered themfelves exceeding odious, by ex- 
 acting the duties with abundance of rigour, 
 by taking frequently more than was due, and 
 by confifcating fometimes things that were 
 not liable to feizure or forfeiture. It was with 
 the view of reprefling their extortion and gree- 
 dinefs, that the Praetor made an Ordinance 
 condemning them to make reftitution of dou- 
 ble the value of what they had received irre- 
 gularly and unjuftly, if the party injured com- 
 plained and demanded back his money with- 
 in the year, and to the reftitution of the bare 
 duty or fum received, if the complaint was 
 not lodged till after the year was expired . 
 
 The complaints made of their infolence were 
 fo very great and general, that Nero in that 
 happy time of clemency with which he began 
 
 r Publicani dicuntur qui publica veftigalia habent con- 
 duh. L. 12. . ult.ff. De Publicanis. 
 f L.S.Jf. De Veftigalibus. 
 * Cicero, Or at. pro Pompeio & pro Plancio. 
 8 Dig. De Publicanis. 
 
 G 4 his
 
 88 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 his reign, and which feemed to prefage fo fine 
 and glorious a futurity, propofed to the Senate 
 to (upprefs all the Cuftom-houfes and duties 
 upon goods either exported or imported. But 
 the Senators put a ftop to his zeal, by repre- 
 fenting to him that the State could not fublift 
 without a conftant revenue v . They thought 
 it therefore fufficient at that time, to order that 
 the leafes and dues of the farmers of the pub- 
 lic revenue, which had always before been kept 
 very fecret, mould be publifhed and pofted 
 up in public places, fo that all the world 
 might know what they were to pay , that af- 
 ter the expiration of a year the farmers mould 
 not be allowed to demand what they had neg- 
 lected to take , that the Praetor at Rome, and 
 the Governors in the Provinces fhould take 
 cognizance of their mifdemeanors, punifli the 
 guilty, and do juftice to the fu Meters ; and 
 that the privileges and exemptions granted to 
 the troops mould be religioufly obferved. 
 They fuppreffed alfo the fortieth and the fif- 
 tieth penny. 
 
 If a fhip laden with merchandife was forced 
 by a ftorm to put into fome port and unlade 
 there, the goods were not fubjecl: to confifca- 
 tion, though they had not been declared at the 
 Cuftom-houfes v . 
 
 If a merchant had made his declaration at 
 the office, and by confent of the receiver or 
 
 * Eodem anno crebris populi flagitationibus Publicano- 
 rum immodeftiam arguentis, dubitavit Nero, an cun<fla vc- 
 &:galia omitti juberet, idque pulcherrimum donum mor- 
 talium generi daret: fed tmpetum ejus retinucre Senatores, 
 diflblutionem Imperil dicendo fecuturam, fi fruftus quibus 
 Jlefpublica fuftineretur, diminuerentur. Tac Annal. 1. 13. 
 
 w 1. 1 6. f 8 ff. DC Pubiicanis. 
 
 officer
 
 of the R O M A N S. 89 
 
 officer attending there, had not paid the duty 
 for his goods, they were not liable to confif- 
 cation or feizure ; provided however that the 
 effects of the farmers and their fureties were 
 able to fatisfy the Exchequer and make good 
 the damage x . 
 
 If any body paid the farmers by miftake, 
 either more than was due, or for commodi- 
 ties and merchandife that ought not to pay any 
 duty, they had a right to demand and recover 
 what had been paid unduly y. 
 
 To mew that thefe duties produced an im- 
 menfe revenue ; Cicero accufeth Verres of ha- 
 ving made the farmers of the port of Syracufe 
 (who took only the twentieth, or five per Cent. 
 on merchandifes) lofe in fome months fifteen 
 thoufand livres : and an old Itinerary publifhed 
 by Arias Montanus fays, that the markets and 
 port of Conftantinople brought in twenty thou- 
 fand crowns a day, which comes to one and 
 twenty millions nine hundred thoufand livres a 
 year, 
 
 It mud be obferved, that thefe duties were 
 not uniform and alike in all places, nor with 
 regard to all commodities and fpecies of mer- 
 chandife -, for by a law of the Code it is faid 
 to be twelve and a half per Cent. ; whereas 
 Cicero fpeaks only of the twentieth part, or 
 five per Cent. z ; and Quintilian, who is fol- 
 lowed therein by Symmachus, reprefents it as 
 but two and a half per Cent. 
 
 * Dig. L. . ia. 
 
 y Siquid indebitum per errorcm folventis Publicanus ac- 
 ceperit, retro eum reilituere Divi Severus & Antoninus re- 
 fcripferunt. Dig. L. 26. . ult. 
 
 * L. 7. De veftigalibus. Orat. in Vernm. 
 
 CHAP
 
 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 ? i ; .' . - r t^fc.S V. f , -0>&0 
 
 C H A P. X. 
 
 Of federal other Duties or Impojls. 
 
 AUguftus Caefar exacted the twentieth part 
 of all fuccefiions, legacies, trufts and 
 donations on account of death ; unlefs the 
 heirs, donees, and legatees were extremely 
 poor, or very near relations of the deceafed. 
 He pretended to have found a Memoir about 
 this impoft among the papers of Julius Caefar 
 his adoptive father : but it was fo very difa- 
 greeable to the people, that fearing it might 
 excite a fedition, he wrote to the Senate to 
 look out for fome other expedient for raifing 
 the fund that was wanted, fmce the twentieth 
 gave them fo much difcontent a . In fine, fee- 
 ing that the Senate came to no refolution upon 
 the fubject, he laid an impoft upon all eftates 
 and houfes ; which obliged the people to fub- 
 mit to the impofition and payment of the 
 twentieth b . 
 
 This revenue muft certainly have been im- 
 menfe, fince all the Romans made teftaments. 
 
 The fame Emperor exacted likewife the 
 twentieth of the price of all flaves that were 
 fold c . Nero, under pretence of abrogating 
 this impoft, did nothing but confirm it, only 
 eafing the purchafer at the expence of the 
 feller : for whereas it was the buyer that paid 
 
 Dim Caffiut. 
 
 b Xiphilinus in Augufto* 
 
 c Suttoniui in Augvji*. 
 
 the
 
 of the ROMANS. 9I 
 
 the twentieth before, he ordered that for the 
 future it fhould be the feller d . 
 
 Now as the grcateft part of the eftates of 
 the Romans, and their chief traffick confifted 
 in flaves, this duty couH not fail of bringing 
 in a prodigious fum. "'Tacitus relates, that 
 Pedianus had above four hundred flaves e . Pli- 
 ny mentions fome private men that kept a 
 much greater number of them. A gramma- 
 rian named Daphnis was fold, according to 
 this author, for above feventy five thoufand 
 Jivres : and Calvius Sabinus, as Seneca relates, 
 coft his mafter five and twenty thoufand li- 
 vres f . True it is indeed, that Dion Caflius 
 doth not agree with Tacitus with regard to 
 the quota or rate of this laft impoft ; for he 
 fays, that it was only two per Cent, aid was 
 defigned and appropriated for the pay of the 
 Praetorian troops. 
 
 Auguftus laid alfo another impoft of one 
 per Cent, upon all eftates real and perfonal, all 
 provifions, commodities and merchandife that 
 were fold either wholefale or by retale. The 
 people petitioned Tiberius to eafe them of this 
 tax, but he refafed to do fo ? . This fund, ac- 
 cording to Tacitus, was appointed for the pay- 
 ment of the army. 
 
 d Ve&igal quintae & vigefimae venalium mancipiorum 
 remiffum fpecie magis quam re, quia cum creditor pendere 
 cogeretur, in pretium emptoribus accrefcebat. Tacit. 
 
 * Annul. 1. 14. 
 ' Hi/l.Li. 
 
 * Annul. 1. i. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Of the Money which the Romans drew from 
 . their Enemies and from War. 
 
 WHEN the Romans had fubdued na- 
 tions, they were not always fatisfied 
 with carrying off their money and treafures, 
 but fometimes fold the people themfelves. 
 This cuftom is very often mentioned by Livy 
 in his Hiftory a : the money that accrued from 
 thence was called Captive Money, Captiva Pe- 
 cunia. 
 
 Such as had merited the fmaller kind of 
 Triumph, called Ovation, paid for that ho- 
 nour a duty which Livy calls Argentum Biga- 
 tum, in allufion to the form of this triumph, 
 in which the conqueror was carried in a cha- 
 riot drawn only by two horfes abreaft b . But 
 we may form fome judgment of the riches 
 which their conquefts brought in to the Ro- 
 mans, by the quantity of triumphal gold which 
 appeared at Rome upon thofe occafions ; that 
 is to fay, by the quantity of gold and filver 
 which the conquerors made a parade of in the 
 pomp of their triumphs ; for they never en- 
 tered the city in triumph, but they made a 
 fhew of the ipoils and money taken from the 
 enemy c . Now from the time of Romulus to 
 the death of Auguftus Casfar, I find that there 
 
 1 Tit. Liv. 1. 10 n. 46. 
 
 b L. 5. Id. 
 
 c ?*ljb. Tit. Liv. Diomf. Haliearn. jfppian. 
 
 were
 
 cf the R O M A N S. 93 
 
 were about three hundred and twelve tri- 
 umphs. 
 
 Dionyfius of HalicarnafTus relates, that Tar- 
 quin the Proud triumphed over the Sabines, 
 and that he brought from the war to the value 
 of fourteeen hundred thoufand livres of booty ; 
 befides his having diftributed fixteen hundred 
 ounces of filver to each foldier d . 
 
 Papirius Curfor, who vanquifhed the Sam- 
 nites, brought back from his victory and car- 
 ried in his triumph at Rome, three hundred 
 fixty-fix thoufand fix hundred livres, which 
 were put into the Exchequer, nothing being 
 given among the foldiers e . 
 
 The triumph of Curius and Fabricius was 
 fet off likewife with a very rich booty f . 
 
 In that of Scipio Africanus, after the con- 
 queft of Spain, there was, as Livy relates, a 
 million four hundred thirty-four thoufand two 
 hundred livres *. 
 
 The fame Scipio, after the defeat of Anni- 
 bal, had in his triumph thirteen millions three 
 hundred thoufand livres : and Appian, who 
 takes a delight in defcribing this triumph, af- 
 fures us, that there was a prodigious quantity 
 of gold and filver, part in bullion, and part 
 coined : but he doth not fpecify the fum h . 
 
 The fame Appian fays, that Scipio Nafica, 
 after he had taken and deftroyed Carthage, 
 brought from thence and difplayed in his tri- 
 
 * I. 4 . c . 7 . 
 
 e Tit. Liv. 1. 10. 
 Id ib.c. 1 8. 
 
 * Id. 1. 28. 
 
 * Id- \. 30. dptian. Ljblc. c. 6. 
 
 umph
 
 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 umph a confiderable quantity of gold and fil- 
 ver ; . 
 
 Pliny the Hiftorian relates, that the fame 
 Scipio, after the reducing of Numantia, gave 
 twenty thoufand and eighty livres to every fol- 
 dier*. 
 
 The triumph of Paulus ./Emilius, defcribed 
 by Paterculus, fupplied the Treafury with fix 
 and thirty millions. Though Pliny and Livy 
 do not agree as to this fum ', yet Pliny affures 
 us, there was fo great a quantity of filver, that 
 the People of Rome left off from that time 
 to pay the Taille or fubfidy upon land 31 : and 
 Suidas relates, that there were found thirty 
 millions of livres in the treafures of King Per- 
 feus. 
 
 The fame Pliny writes likewife, that Sylla 
 (after he had granted peace to MithridatesJ 
 brought out of Aria two hundred and thirty 
 thoufand marks of filver, and thirty thoufand 
 marks of gold ". 
 
 Paterculus, fpeaking of Pompey's triumph 
 after his Afiatic conquefts, fays, that there was 
 a greater quantity of gold and filver fhewed 
 in it, than had been feen in any former tri- 
 umph, except that of Paulus /Emilius : and 
 Plutarch pretends that there was a great deal 
 more than in this laft. Appian writes, that 
 
 * Hid. c. ult. 
 *Hijl.\. 33 . c. u. 
 1 L. i i.e. 3. 
 
 * A quo temporc populus Romanus tributum pendere 
 dkfiit 
 
 n L. 33. dppia*. Mitbrld. C. 7. 
 
 * Magnificentiffimum de tot Regibus per biduum egh 
 triumphum, longeque majorem omni ante fe, illata pecu- 
 ia, preterquam a Paulo ex manubiis intulit. 
 
 Pompey
 
 'of the ROMANS. 95 
 
 Pompey brought ten times feventy thoufand 
 five hundred and ten talents of filver ; which 
 amounts to an immenfe fum. The fame hi- 
 ftorian relates, that Julius Casfar carried in his 
 triumph fixty-five thoufand talents p . 
 
 Befides this triumphal gold, the Romans 
 took likewife all the gold and filver they could 
 from their enemies. Appian affirms, that Pau- 
 lus JEmilius made all the gold and filver be 
 thrown into an heap, which he had taken of 
 the fpoils of feventy towns and cities that he 
 had reduced and ruined q . 
 
 Sylla condemned and forced Mithridates to 
 pay the charges of the war. Scipio Afiaticus 
 obliged Antiochus to pay down five hundred 
 talents in ready money ; two thoufand five 
 hundred after the treaty was ratified by the Se- 
 nate ; and nine thoufand five hundred in twelve 
 years r . 
 
 Scipio Africanus made the Carthaginians re- 
 flore to the Romans all that they had taken 
 from them, or the value in money for things 
 that were no longer in being : and obliged 
 them befides to pay two hundred Eubcean ta- 
 lents a year for the fpace of fifty years f . There 
 are an infinite number of other the like exam- 
 ples, which it would be too long to enume- 
 rate. 
 
 f Mitbridatic. C. 1 6. De Bell. Civil. 1. 2. C. ic. 
 
 * Illyric. c. I. 
 
 r Ato. Mitbrid. C. 6. Id. Syriac. C. 4. 
 
 f In Lybic. c. 6. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 96 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Of the Money which the Romans drew from 
 their Allies. 
 
 Of the Coronary Gold, or the Golden Crowm. 
 
 WHEN the Romans had gained any 
 fignal victory over their enemies, their 
 Allies were ufed to fend them prefents of 
 Crowns of mafly gold. Livy relates, that 
 upon the Romans having vanquifhed the Sam- 
 nites, the Carthaginians fent ambaffadors to 
 congratulate them on the occafion, and prefent 
 them with a golden crown that weighed five 
 and twenty pounds a . 
 
 After Cneius Manlius had routed and fub- 
 dued the Galatians, feveral Kings and various 
 People fent him crowns of gold, each in pro- 
 portion to their riches ; and he received no 
 fewer than two hundred . 
 
 Quintus Flaminus, upon his victory over 
 Philip of Macedon and reftoring liberty to the 
 cities of Greece, was prefented with two hun- 
 dred and fourteen c . 
 
 Julius Csefar received likewife on different 
 occafions eighteen hundred twenty two golden 
 crowns, which weighed twenty thoufand four 
 hundred and fourteen pounds d . 
 
 Lib. 7. 
 
 k Tit. Liv. 1. 38, 39. 
 
 < Idim, 1. 34. 
 
 - dppian. Btll. civil. I. z. c. 15. 
 
 After
 
 of the ROMANS. 97 
 
 After the Emperor Claudius had reduced a 
 confiderable part of Great Britain under his 
 fubjection, the nations of Spain and Gaul pre- 
 fented him with golden crowns of a very great 
 value. Juftus Lipfius, who corrects this paf- 
 fage, fhews in endeavouring to rectify the text 
 and reftore the true reading of the hiftorian, 
 that the crown which was given by the hither 
 Spain weighed feven hundred pounds, and the 
 other nine hundred. 
 
 Thefe crowns of gold, according to the 
 opinion of Feftus, fucceeded to thofe of lau- 
 rel, which were ufed before e . 
 
 Cicero urgeth it by way of reproach to Pi~ 
 fo, that he had demanded and exacted fome 
 of thefe crowns irregularly and unjuftly ; and 
 that it was not allowed for Generals of the ar- 
 my fo much as to accept of them till the ex- 
 piration of their command, in order to ferve 
 for a grace and ornament ,of their triumph. 
 Dion Caflius relates that feveral Generals, who 
 had no juft pretenfions in point of merit, did 
 yet prevail with Mark Anthony and Auguftus 
 to grant them the honour of a triumph, in 
 order to get prefents of crowns cf gold under 
 that pretext ; . 
 
 Thefe crowns, or this coronary gold, which 
 in the beginning was perfectly free and vo- 
 luntary, came after it had gained the credit 
 and authority of cuftom on its fide, to dege- 
 nerate into an impoft and tribute. 
 
 e Triumphales Coronse funt quas Imperatori viftori au- 
 rex praeferuntur, quae prifcis temporibui propter paupcrta- 
 tem laures fuerunt. 
 
 f L. 49. 
 
 H Auguftus
 
 98 Of the REVENUES 
 
 Auguftus Csefar, as Dion relates, gained the 
 heart of the Italians by excufing them from 
 the charge of the gold which they were ufed 
 to furnim for thefe triumphal crowns : and 
 Spartian obferves, that the Emperor Adrian 
 was much commended for having difcharged 
 Italy entirely from the fame contribution, and 
 leflened the burden and expence attending it 
 very much in the Provinces of the Empire. 
 
 Julius Capitolinus relates, that the Emperor 
 Antoninus Pius reftored to the towns and cities 
 of Italy, all the coronary gold which they 
 had prefented him by way of compliment on 
 his adoption, and fent back alfo half of the 
 fame gold to the Provinces. 
 
 We read in Ammianus Marcellinus, that 
 the town and country of Tripoli fent ftatues 
 of gold to the Emperor Valentinian. Suidas ob- 
 ferves, that the Rhodians had no fubfidy 
 charged on their lands, and paid no Taille, 
 becaufe they were an independent and fovereign 
 people : but they had a cuftom of fending 
 every year a crown of gold by way of pre- 
 fent to the Romans, considering them as their 
 allies. 
 
 Procopius in his Hiftory gives us an ac- 
 count, that Theodatus King of the Goths en- 
 gaged himfelf to fend the Emperor Juftinian 
 every year a crown of gold that weighed three 
 hundred pounds g . 
 
 Appian relates, that at Sylla's funeral, his 
 friends carried above two thoufand golden 
 crowns, which he had been prefented with by 
 the towns and legions which had been under 
 his government and command. 
 * DC Bella Gotbito, 1. i. 
 
 An
 
 of the ROMANS. 99 
 
 An ancient Infcription informs us, that Au- 
 guftus Caefar had received above a thoufand 
 of thefe crowns, and that they weighed five 
 and thirty thoufand pounds ; which amounts 
 at lead to the value of three millions five hun- 
 dred thoufand pounds. 
 
 The Magiftrates of cities and towns ufed 
 to offer them to the Emperors by way of ma- 
 king their court, generally embracing the oc- 
 cafion of iome public rejoicing for that pur- 
 pofe h . 
 
 The Kings and Princes that were under the 
 protection of the Roman Empire, adopted 
 the fame practice, and had the like view in 
 their prefents of crowns '. 
 
 Aulus Gellius takes notice, that crowns of 
 gold ufed to be fent to the Emperors in order 
 to fet off and embellim their triumphs k . The 
 Jews, according to the fame author, were not 
 exempt from this kind of tribute. At lad the 
 Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, and Thecdo- 
 fius made an Ordinance that this coronary gold 
 fhould not be exacted from any perfons or 
 communities, but fuch as were accuftomed to 
 pay it '. 
 
 1 L. ult. C. ad 
 
 k I. i.r 6 & L. 17. c. 6. 
 
 1 Ad coilationsm AuriLororurii phcuit nemincm abfqi:* 
 confuctudine elTe ccgendym. L. unia Q. De Auro Corqr 
 
 H 2 CHAP,
 
 ioo Of the REVENUES 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Of tie Prefents or Free Gifts which were 
 voluntarily made to the Emperor. 
 
 TH E Senators of Rome, and even the 
 People, ufed to prefent the Emperor 
 with gold by way of new-year's-gifts. This 
 was done (as it is likewife at this time) on the 
 firflr day of January ; and the Emperor on his 
 fide did not fail to return the compliment, 
 and exert his liberality in the like prefents. 
 Dion Caflius relates, that when Auguftus Cae- 
 far's palace was burnt, feveral private perfons 
 offered him large fums towards the expence 
 of rebuilding it ; but he refufed them, and 
 contented himfelf with taking a crown of gold 
 (worth about five drachms) from every corpo- 
 ration or community, and a drachm an head 
 from every private perfon a . 
 
 The Princes and People that were in alli- 
 ance with the Romans fent alfo money, troops, 
 horfes, ammunition, and provifions, on occa- 
 fions that offered. Examples of this kind oc- 
 cur frequently in the Roman hiflory. 
 
 Thefe voluntary contributions were made 
 chiefly when the State was under any difficulty 
 or diftrefs. When the Romans began to give 
 pay to their troops, which happened at the 
 fiege of Veii about three hundred fifty-two 
 years after the foundation of Rome, there was 
 a noble emulation between the People, the 
 
 L. 14. 
 
 Knights,
 
 of the ROMANS. IQ: 
 
 Knights, and the Senators, who fliould con- 
 tribute moft to the payment of the troops b . 
 
 During the fame fiege of Veii, the Knights 
 obliged themfelves to keep every one of them 
 a horfe at their own expence : and the People 
 made the like offers to vye with the Knights c . 
 After the Gauls had laid Rome in afhes, all 
 the Roman people contributed towards the re- 
 building of the city : and the work was car- 
 ried on with fo much ardor and diligence, that 
 it was entirely re-edified within a year , and 
 there appeared in the buildings a much greater 
 regularity, beauty and magnificence, than had 
 been feen before u . 
 
 After the battle of Cannae, which had re- 
 duced the State to the brink of ruin, all the 
 citizens of Rome offered, and (trove with one 
 another which mould firft carry all the money 
 and plate they had to the Exchequer. The 
 very Ladies facrificed to the public good all 
 their jewels and ornaments ; fo that the ordi- 
 nary receivers were not enough to enter in the 
 regifters the names of fuch as came to offer 
 and bring their money to the Treafury e . 
 
 This admirable zeal for the public fervice, 
 this cordial fympathy with the State, and har- 
 mony among one another, that reigned in the 
 whole body of the people, is the ground and 
 reafon why Afmius Pollio faid in Tacitus, that 
 the money of private perfons was a real re- 
 fource for the State \ 
 
 b Tit. Li<v. 1. 4. n. eg. 
 < <T. Liv. 1. 5. 
 
 A Id 1. 5. n. 55. fcf 1. 6- n. 4. 
 e Idem. 
 
 f Aliam apud Scipiones, aliam apud Fabrhios pecuniam ; 
 fed cundla ad Rempublicam referri. Annal. 1. 2. 
 
 H 3 Tacitus
 
 102 Of the REVENUES 
 
 Tacitus relates, that Gaul, Spain and Italy 
 vyed with one another in offering to fupply 
 Germanicus with arms, horfes, and money, 
 in order to recruit his army , and that he ac- 
 cepted the arms and horfes, but declined ta- 
 king the money *. 
 
 We may rank likewife among the Free 
 Gifts, the money that came in to the Imperial 
 coffers from fuch as left the Emperors their 
 heirs, either in whole or in part. Nero al- 
 tered the nature of thefe bequefts, and of mere 
 voluntary legacies, as they were originally, 
 converted them into downright impofts and 
 real tributes ; ordering the eftates and effects 
 of all that made a teftament without leaving 
 the Prince their heir for fome fhare in their 
 fortunes, to be confifcated h . 
 
 Auguftus Casfar, when any thing was left 
 him by will, gave it at firft to the neareft re- 
 lations of the deceafed : afterwards however, 
 during the laft twenty years of his life, he 
 drew very confiderable fums from the tefla- 
 rnents that were made by particular perfons in 
 his favour ; . But good Princes generally de- 
 clined making ufe of this way to enrich them- 
 ielves. 
 
 To this muft be added the liberalities of fo- 
 reign Princes, of which there are fome extra- 
 ordinary inftances ; fuch as of Attalus King of 
 Pergamus, who left the Roman People his 
 
 Certavere Gai'iae, Kifpanife, Italia, quod cuique 
 promptum e:at, arma, equos cfferentes ; quorum laudato 
 ftudio, Germanicus, armis modo & equis ad bellum fum- 
 ptis, propria pccunia militem juvit. Annal. 1. 2. 
 
 ** Suetonius in Neroxe. 
 
 i Quatuor decies millles ex teflamentis amicorum peice- 
 pit. Suetonius in jfvgujto, c. 16. 
 
 heir.
 
 of the R O M A N S. 
 
 heir. The fame thing was done by others ; 
 to fay nothing of Mafmifia King of Nutni- 
 dia, who put his children under the protection 
 of the State, with an entire and abfolute de- 
 pendance on the pleafure of the Romans k . 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Of feveral extraordinary Impqfts. 
 
 AUguftus Casfar exacted the eighth penny, 
 or twelve and a half per Cent, of all 
 the effects and eftates of perfons that were 
 enfranchifed a . 
 
 The Emperor Flavius Vefpafian laid an im- 
 poft upon urine b . His fon Titus not relifh- 
 ing this kind of tax, he held one day a piece 
 of the money that was the produce thereof 
 to his nofe, and afked him if it had any ill 
 fmell . 
 
 Servius Tullius laid three forts of duties up- 
 on the people of Rome. The firft was a piece 
 either of gold or filver, of different value, ac- 
 cording to the diverfity of their condition and 
 circumftances, which they were to pay for eve- 
 ry new-born child ; and this was put into the 
 
 k Appian, Tit. Livius. 
 a Dion Caff. 1. 48. 
 b Suetonius in Vefpafiano, C. 23. 
 
 c Juvenal alludes to the avarice and the quejliott of Vef* 
 pa/tan ix thefe ver/es : 
 
 Lucri bonus eft odor ex re 
 
 Qualibet, ilia tuo fententia Temper in ore 
 Verfetur, Diis atque ipfo Jove digna, Poetae. 
 
 Sat. 14. 
 
 H 4 Trea-
 
 104 Of the R E VE N u E s 
 
 Treafury of Juno Licinia. The fecond was 
 a piece of money which every citizen, when 
 he came to the age of manhood and put on 
 the habit, paid and carried to the Treafury of 
 Venus. The third was a little piece, which 
 was paid for fuch as died, and was put into 
 the treafury of the Goddefs Uibitina d . 
 
 There was alfo a certain duty that was le- 
 vied as well in gold as filver, called Chryfar- 
 girum. It was impofed upon beggars, upon 
 harlots, their afiiftants and fervants, upon per- 
 fons enfranchifed, upon cattle, horfes, dogs, 
 and other beafts of fervice, as oxen, mules and 
 afies. A man and a woman paid a crown a 
 head ; they paid as much for a horfe, an ox, 
 or a mule, and about a quarter part for an afs 
 and a dog. This duty was exaded alfo for 
 urine, dung and ordure i fo that the farmer or 
 manager of this odd fort of impoft might fay 
 almoft literally, Aurum in ft er core quaro . 
 
 Conftantine Manafles agrees with Cedrenus 
 as to the nature of this tax ; but he adds, that 
 it was abolifhed by the Emperor Anaftafius . 
 Sozomen in the third Book of his Ecclefiafti- 
 cal Hiftory- makes Conftantine the Great to 
 be the author of this impoft. Evagrius does 
 not agree with him in that particular, but he 
 affirms that there was as much follicitation ufed 
 and intereft made for the farm of this nafty 
 and infamous kind of excife, as for the com- 
 
 d Diomf. HaUcarnaJf. C. 4. 
 
 Caffiod. Par. . 
 
 f Chiyfargirum fuftulit Anaftafius Imperator, quod erat 
 ut omnes viri, fceminae, pueri, fervi, liberi, nummum ar- 
 genteura, nomine ftercoris & uriase, fifco darcnt, item 
 znuli, equi, bovcs. 
 
 mand
 
 of the R O M A N S. 105 
 
 mand of an army, or for an office of judica- 
 ture *. 
 
 There was another impoft laid upon ufurers, 
 upon curtefans and their agents, pimps and 
 procurers of young people of either fex, and 
 others concerned in the like infamous kinds of 
 traffick. This was Jevied every four years, 
 and was called Aurum luftrale h . 
 
 Caligula laid excifes upon all provifions and 
 eatables in general, that were fold cither by 
 wholcfale or retale at Rome '. He did not 
 forget lewd women, and condemned them to 
 pay every day as much as they received at a 
 time. 
 
 He laid likewife upon the ftreet-porters a 
 tax that was exceffively hard and infupporta- 
 ble : it was the eighth penny of all that they 
 got by the day. In fine, he went fo far as 
 to lay an impoft even upon marriages. 
 
 He exacted the fortieth part of the value of 
 all eftates the title whereof was litigated, and 
 of all effects and fums of money that were 
 fued for at law : and there were penalties de- 
 nounced againft fuch as mould be convicted 
 of making an accommodation with their ad- 
 verfaries, or of giving up any of their rights 
 or pretenfions k . 
 
 6 Hoc munus colligendi ambibant non aliter quam mi- 
 litarem aliquam Praefefturam, aut civilcm Magiftratum. 
 
 h Cujacius, Tit. 59. L. 12. Cod. 
 
 ' Pro eduliis quae tota urbe venirent, certum ilatumquc 
 cxigebatur. Suetonius in Caligula, c. 40. 
 
 k Pro litibus atque judiciis ubicumque conceptis quadra- 
 gefima fummas de qua litigabatur, exigebaturj nee fine 
 pcena, fiquis compofuiiTe vel donafle negotium convince- 
 retur. Ibid. 
 
 See
 
 io6 Of the R E v E N u E $ 
 
 See now another artifice and effect of the 
 malice of this monfter of cruelty. He would 
 not fuffer his Edicts to be pofted up in the 
 public places and ftreets, that by reafon of peo- 
 ple's ignorance of their contents, there might 
 be the more violations of them, and confe- 
 quently more confiscations to his profit. When 
 the people made a great clamour on this ac- 
 count, and prefled him to publifh them, he 
 caufed them indeed to be engraved, but it was 
 in characters fo very fmall, that it was not 
 poflible to read them '. 
 
 When Auguftus Csefar was declared Gene- 
 ral of the forces of the Commonwealth againft 
 Mark Anthony, the Senate of Rome, as Xi- 
 philinus relates, pafled an Ordinance that all 
 the world mould contribute the twentieth part 
 of their eftates towards the charges of the war ; 
 and that the Senators over and above this tax 
 Hiould pay four oboli (about the value of five 
 pence) for every chimney of the houfes which 
 they either owned or rented, as well within as 
 without the city. Dion Cafiius in his account 
 of this tax rifes much higher than Xiphilinus, 
 and fays that they paid five pence for every 
 tile upon the houfes which they had either in 
 the town or country. 
 
 It happened fometimes that private perfons 
 procured grants from the Prince giving them 
 the fole privilege of felling a particular fort of 
 merchandife or provifions : and for this exclu- 
 live privilege they paid a fine which was called 
 Jus Monopolii . 
 
 1 Suetonius in Caligula, c. 41. 
 
 m Gotbofred. Supp. L. unic. C. De Monopolies. 
 
 Some-
 
 of the R O M A N S. 107 
 
 Sometimes alfo the Emperors robbed the 
 Gods, and plundered their temples of all the 
 gold and filver that had been offered in their 
 honour, or confecrated to their fervice. Dion 
 Cafllus relates, that Auguftus Casfar being in 
 want of money to make war upon Anthony, 
 feized on all the ornaments, treafures, and of- 
 ferings that he found in the temples of Rome, 
 Italy, and the Provinces that were in his in- 
 tereft, or under his command. 
 
 When they did not firft direct, they often 
 afterwards countenanced and authorized fuch 
 exaction*. There is a remarkable inftance to 
 this purpofe in Licinius the freed-man of Ju- 
 lius Csefar^ and his Procurator in Gaul ; where 
 he had alone all the jurifdiction which is now 
 under the French government divided between 
 the Court of Aides, and the Chamber of Ac- 
 counts. To enhance the taxes of the people, 
 he altered the form of the year, and made it 
 to confift of fourteen months, becaufe the peo- 
 ple of the country paid the Romans a certain 
 and conftant tribute every month n . Some 
 time after, Licinius being accufed of extor- 
 tion, reprefented to Auguftus, that if he had 
 plundered Gaul, it was only to raife him mo- 
 ney, and deprive at the fame time the people 
 of the country of the means of revolting. The 
 Emperor approved his apology, and inftead 
 of punilhing him, looked upon his exactions 
 as an important fervice done to the State. 
 
 It muft be obferved, that the Romans al- 
 ways kept a very confiderable fund in referve 
 
 for the neceffities and urgent affairs of the 
 
 -a c 
 
 f. 1 4a4\ 
 n Dion Caffjus. 
 
 Republic.
 
 io8 Of tie REVENUES 
 
 Republic. Titus Livius calls it Aurum Vice- 
 Jlmarium . 
 
 Appian relates upon this fubjec~l, that there 
 had from ancient times been a rich treafure 
 repofed in the temple of Saturn at Rome -, 
 and that when it was there depofited, terrible 
 imprecations had been made againft fuch as 
 fhould offer to take it thence, unlefs it was to 
 maintain a war againft the Celtas p. From 
 this paflage it appears evidently enough, that 
 this treafure referved for the greateft diftrefies 
 and extreme neceffities of the State, was de- 
 figned more particularly for wars with the na- 
 tions of Gaul. Julius Csefar however feized 
 upon it, and carried it all away, faying, that 
 fmce he had fubdued thofe nations, and re- 
 duced all Gaul into fubjedlion, thofe impreca- 
 tions had no manner of relation to him, who 
 by his conquefts had fully anfwered the end 
 for which the treafure had been at firft depo- 
 fited. 
 
 It is impofiible without fome horror to give 
 a juft defcription of the terrible aftions done 
 by Anthony, Auguftus and Lepidus, during 
 their Triumvirate. Appian writes, that An- 
 thony laid all kind of taxes in the moft arbi- 
 trary manner upon the relations and friends of 
 Cicero - 9 who in the terror they were in for 
 fear of being fufpe&ed of holding intelligence 
 with him, paid them immediately. 
 
 Thefe three Tyrants demanded at firft and 
 actually feized on all the real and perfonal 
 
 
 ,*.- L. 27. * 
 
 f De Bella Civil. 1. z. 
 
 * Ibid. 1 3. c 9. 
 
 eftates
 
 of the ROMANS. 109 
 
 eftates that they could find in eighteen of the 
 richeft and moft eminent towns in Italy r . 
 
 They profcribed feveral citizens, whom 
 they did not look upon as their enemies, pure- 
 ly to get money from them ; and they invol- 
 ved in their profcriptions above three hundred 
 Senators, and two thoufand of the Equeftrian 
 Order, who were deemed the moft wealthy 
 perfons in Rome f . It was at this very time 
 that the Provinces of Gaul broke out into an 
 infurrection, on account of the exceffive im- 
 pofts with which they were oppreffed and ini- 
 poverifhed '. 
 
 Italy being in a manner ruined by their 
 exactions, they mortgaged the impofts, ex- 
 cifes and cuftoms upon goods exported and 
 imported, for feveral years, in order to fup-, 
 ply themfelves with ready money for their oc- 
 cafion u . 
 
 They rewarded every flave that brought 
 them the head of a prbfcribed perfon with the 
 fum of ten thoufand drachms, befides his li- 
 berty, and gave five and twenty thoufand to 
 freemen for the fame fervice. He that pre- 
 fented Cicero's head to Mark Anthony, had 
 two hundred and fifty thoufand Attic drachms 
 given him for a recom pence '. They expofed 
 the real eftates of all that were profcribed to 
 fale : but the thing was fo odious, or the title 
 fo precarious, that no body cared to bid for 
 them, and they could not find a pur chafer. 
 
 1 Ibid. 1. 4. c. I. 
 
 f Ibid. C. 2. 
 
 * Tacit. Annal. 1. 3. 
 u Appian. 1. 4. 
 
 Ibid. c. 4 &? $. 
 
 They
 
 no Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 They taxed fourteen hundred Roman Ladies, 
 the richeft in the city, to pay two hundred 
 thoufand talents ; which amounted to four and 
 twenty millions of crowns. They taxed alfo 
 above an hundred thoufand perfons, as well 
 citizens as ftrangers, and even the very priefts, 
 for the payment of exorbitant fums. Thefe 
 laft were in the war of the Gauls obliged to 
 pay the fiftieth part of their eftate, and one 
 year's entire revenue. 
 
 Caflius on his fide did not fcruple making as 
 great exactions, as well upon the inhabitants 
 of Laodicea, as on thofe of Tarfus ; from 
 whom he extorted fifteen hundred talents. 
 Thefe laft, in order to raife the fum demand- 
 ed, were reduced, after having fold all the ef- 
 fects and eftates belonging to their Corpora- 
 tion, and even thofe that were appropriated 
 to the temples of their Gods, to fell likewife 
 their boys and girls. 
 
 The fame Caflius having taken Rhodes, car- 
 ried off all the gold and filver that he could 
 find in the temples, and all the effects of the 
 inhabitants *. 
 
 He obliged all the Provinces of Afia to 
 pay him in two years the tribute which was 
 due from them in ten : and thefe advances a- 
 mounted to above an hundred and forty mil- 
 lions, according to the calculation of Juftus 
 Lipfius. 
 
 Brutus feized on the treafure of a petty 
 Prince in Afia, and caufed it to be coined. 
 He took away likewife all the gold and filver 
 that he found in Patara : and yet he caufed a 
 
 w Aftian. De Bcllo Civili, /. 4. c. 9. 
 
 flave
 
 of the ROMANS. in 
 
 (lave to be hanged for having difcovered his 
 matter's treafure ; and difmified the mafter 
 with his money untouched x . 
 
 By the help of all thefe exactions, Brutus 
 and Cafllus were very well enabled to brag, 
 that they had on their fide the finews of war, 
 that is to fay, money in abundance, whilft 
 their enemies were prefled with great wants in 
 that refpect. 
 
 After the defeat of thefe two Generals, Au- 
 guftus beftowed the richest towns of Italy up- 
 on his foldiers, and drove out the inhabitants, 
 who by that means were difperfed into all 
 quarters of the Empire. He excufed this pro- 
 ceeding by the neceffity he was under of gra- 
 tifying and contenting the foldiery ; for the 
 greateft part of thefe towns had done nothing 
 againft him to incur his difpleafure, and de- 
 ferve fuch a treatment. The defolation of thefe 
 towns, and the miferable fituation of the in- 
 habitants, is defcribed by Virgil in his firft 
 Eclogue y . 
 
 Auguftus, under pretence of borrowing the 
 money for a time, feized on all the treafures 
 that were kept in the temples, thofe of the 
 Capitol, and other confecrated places z . 
 
 Anthony and AuguMus were jointly con- 
 cerned in laying new and further impofts on 
 the people, in order to defray the expences of 
 the war againft Sextus Pompeius. It was on 
 this occafion that Mark Anthony was told, 
 
 x Ibid. c. 10 Ibid c. 26. 
 
 y At nos hinc alii iitiemes ibimus Afros, 
 
 Pars Scythiam & rapidum Crerz veniemus Oaxem, 
 
 Et penitus toto divifos orbe Britannos. 
 z Appian. 1. 5. c. 3. 
 
 that
 
 112 Of the REVENUES 
 
 that if he was minded to double the fubfidies 
 and taxes, he ought at the fame time to fup- 
 ply the people with two fummers, two au- 
 tumns, and a double harveft. 
 
 They ordered among other things, that all 
 mafters mould pay twelve drachms and a half 
 for every flave they had : and they exacted a 
 certain portion of all eftates of perfons decea- 
 fed, of all legacies and trufts ; which raifed 
 great difcontents and heavy clamours among 
 the people a . ;, 
 
 Nero took three parts in four of the aflets 
 and eftates of all enfranchifed perfons after their 
 death. He robbed the Gods and pillaged their 
 temples : he never difpofed of a poft or em- 
 ployment, but he faid to the perfon to whom 
 it was granted, when he gave it him : Tou 
 know what I muft have ; take care that nobody 
 elfe have any thing b . 
 
 He ordered all the tenants of houfes to pay 
 the value of their leafes into the Exchequer : 
 and exacted three kinds of money, Nummum 
 afperum^ Argentum poftulatum, Aurum obrizum. 
 To multiply the number of confifcations, he 
 was for making a law, that ail words fpoken 
 againft the Prince mould be deemed and pu- 
 niflied as high treafon e . 
 
 Tiberius before him had taken it into his 
 head to make it a capital crime for any body 
 either to go into a place of ill repute with a 
 piece of money on which his image was 
 
 * ttlJL 1. ?. c. 8. 
 
 b Nulli delegavit officia ut non adjiceret, Scis quid mihi 
 opus lit, & hoc agamus ne quis quidquam habcat. Suet on. 
 in Nerone, c. 12. 
 
 * Suetonius ib. c. 44. 
 
 (lamped,
 
 of the ROMANS. 113 
 
 ftamped, or to ftrike the vileft flave that had 
 any of his coin about him. 
 
 The fame Emperor confifcated the eftates 
 of fome Gaulic and Spanilh noblemen, purely 
 for the fake of their riches, and fupprefled the 
 privileges of feveral private perlbns d . 
 
 Caligula, to make people buy the fame pri- 
 vilege twice over, iflued out an Edict, by 
 which all ftrangers, whofe anceftors had ob- 
 tained Patents of naturalization and denizen- 
 fliip, if they were beyond the firft degree of 
 relation in the direct line, were declared in- 
 capable of enjoying the rights of Roman ci- 
 tizens e . 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Of the Revenue aripng from Salt, 
 Treafures found t Rivers, the Sea, &c, 
 
 r"T"1 H E Exchequer was entided to a moiety 
 JL of all treafures that were found in facred 
 places* or in fuch as belonged to the public, 
 or held of the State or Prince *. If any per- 
 fbn found a treafure in a ground belonging to 
 the Exchequer or the Demefne, and did not 
 give notice of it, he was obliged to reftore 
 the whole, and pay likewife as much more 
 into the bargain. 
 
 Tacitus and Suetonius relate, that one Ca?- 
 iius Baffus fent Nero word that he had found 
 
 * Idem In Tiberio, c. 48. 
 
 e Idem in Caligula, c. 16. 
 
 * L. i. f 9. ff. De jure fifci. fridtr. Infer at. Qu 
 fin: Regalia in mibus fcudorum. 
 
 I avaft
 
 1 14 Of the REVENUES 
 
 a vaft treafure in Africa b , and that he believed 
 it was the very fame which Dido Queen of 
 Carthage had hid there formerly, to prevent 
 its falling into the hands of Pigmalion c . This 
 fine ftory found credit with Nero, and the ad- 
 vice flattering his paflions made him give 
 a loofe to his extravagances, and in a more 
 time fquander away all the wealth of the Em- 
 pire. 
 
 With regard to fait, the Cenfor Livius, lay- 
 ing a new excife upon this commodity, gained 
 himfelf the additional name or cognomen of 
 Salinator. 
 
 Private men were not allowed to fell any 
 fait d ; which mews that all the falt-works be- 
 longed to the State, and that the Government 
 fixed a price for the fale. There were feveral 
 forts of it ; for befides that which was made 
 with fea-water, and what they drew from falt- 
 fprings, there was likewife a mineral fait 
 which was got out of the earth ; and women 
 convicted of certain crimes were often con- 
 demned to thefe falt-works e . 
 
 The duty upon fait could not but yield an 
 immenfe produce, confidering the neceffity of 
 the commodity, and the vaft extent of the 
 Roman Empire. 
 
 Appian writes, that fome people of Illyria 
 furrendered themfelves to Auguftus Casfar after 
 holding out a fiege of two years, for want of 
 
 fc Suetonius in Nerone. 
 
 e Glifcebat luxuria fpe inani, confumebanturque veteres 
 opes quafi oblatis quas multos per annos prodigeret, & di- 
 vitiarum expeftatio inter caufas paupemtis publicae crat. 
 Tacit. Attntu. 1. 1 6. 
 
 * L. n. C. De veftigalibus. 
 
 ? Pemponim, L. b.ff. De captivis. 
 
 fait.
 
 of the ROMANS. 115 
 
 felt. Thefe fait- works were let out to farm : 
 and Cafliodorus fays, that the traffick and fale 
 of the fait was in ancient times one of the 
 chief functions and principal bufinefs of the 
 Superintendant of the Revenue. Cicero in- 
 forms us alfo, that the Roman Knights kept 
 a great number of officers in the fait- works, 
 for the better managing of them to advan- 
 tage f . 
 
 All rivers, and fea- ports, the banks of ri- 
 vers and the fhores of the fea, depending on 
 countries fubject to the Empire, belonged to 
 the Roman people : but notwithftanding all 
 their ambition, the Romans were of opinion 
 that the fea ought to be as free as the air r. 
 This determination of theirs is made ufe of by 
 all the Princes and States of Europe, to op- 
 pofe the pretenfions of the Portuguefe, with 
 regard to the navigation of the Eaft Indies 5 
 againft thofe of the Spaniards, in relation to 
 America ; againft the Venetians, with regard 
 to the Adriatic Sea or Gulph of Venice, over 
 which they take upon them to aflume a do- 
 minion, and claim it as thsir Demefne or pro- 
 perty ; and againft the pretenfions of the 
 Danes, who are for appropriating to them- 
 felves the feas of Norway, and the ftre'ghts 
 or paflage of the Sound. 
 
 The Romans had abundance of Mines, 
 from whence they derived an immenfe revo 
 
 f Illjric. C. 3. Caiui, L. \$.ff. Pe Publicanis. Variar. 
 L. 6 c. 7. 
 
 8 Littora m quae populus Romanus imperiam habet, po- 
 puli Romani effe arbitror ; maris vero ccmmur.em ufum 
 omrubus ut aeris. Celfus, L .ff. 3. Nequid in loco publko 
 vd itincre fiat. 
 
 I 2 nue.
 
 1 6 Of the REVENUES 
 
 nue. Polybius writes, that there was one of 
 them in Spain near Carthagena, where they 
 kept above forty thoufand men continually at 
 work. 
 
 Pliny relates, that there was another near 
 Verceil in Piedmont : but the undertakers were 
 ftinted to the number of five thoufand work- 
 men ; becaufe if they had employed more, 
 the whole mine would in a fhort time have 
 been exhaufted h . 
 
 Befides their mines of gold and filver, they 
 had others likewife of chalk, of iron, copper 
 and lead, which the Emperors farmers fet to 
 undertakers, as they did alfo the excife and 
 lalt-duties '. 
 
 The Emperors took a tenth of all the pro- 
 duce of the quarries of marble. Spain, ac- 
 cording to Strabo's account, afforded a vaft 
 number of them : but there were ftill greater 
 quantities of marble drawn from thofe of Illy- 
 ria, Pannonia, Thrace, Macedonia, and the 
 Provinces of Gaul k . 
 
 There was no want of quarries in Italy, 
 but as Pliny relates, it was forbidden to open 
 or work them by cxprefs order of the Senate^ 
 
 h L. 33. cap. 4. 
 
 1 L. i$.ff. De Publicanis. 
 
 Cujacius & dlciat.fuper Tit. 6. L. II. Cod. 
 k Strebon. I. 13. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 of the ROMANS. 117 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Of Loans and borrowed Money. 
 
 
 
 IN the greateft diftreffes and prefling occa- 
 fions of the Commonwealth, there were 
 always found private men that advanced large 
 fums upon loan to the State : but if the con- 
 dition of the public affairs was fuch, that it 
 was impracticable to repay the creditors the 
 whole fum within the time that had been fti- 
 pulated, the Senate ftill took care to do it at 
 different times and in feveral payments > and, 
 except in the cafe of an utter inability notori- 
 ous and vifible to all the world, they ever kept 
 the public faith and credit untainted ; which, 
 if well managed, is the fureft, the readied, 
 and moft plentiful refource of fovereign Pow- 
 ers. We have a very fignal inftance of this 
 good faith mentioned in Livy. Several pri- 
 vate citizens of Rome had advanced a great 
 deal of money for maintaining the war againft 
 Annibal : and as after the fatal battle of Can- 
 nae, it was impofiible for the State to. pay off 
 the debt and clear with the creditors within the 
 time fettled and agreed on when the money 
 was borrowed, they ftill ordered, notwith- 
 ftanding the difficulties under which they la- 
 boured, that the whole debt fhould be dif- 
 charged at three payments a . 
 
 * Decreverunt Patres, ut tribus penfitationibus ea pecu- 
 nia folverctun Lab. 9. . 1 6. 
 
 I 3 After
 
 Ii8 Of the R E VE N u E s 
 
 After the Carthaginian war, when the Ro- 
 mans could not fatisfy and pay off the State- 
 creditors with ready money, the Senate or- 
 dered that they mould be paid the value of* 
 their debts in lands, to be reftored afterwards 
 to the State at the option of the creditors, if 
 they chofe rather to be paid in money, at a 
 time when there was a fufficient fund in the 
 Treafury \ 
 
 . It muft be obferved in this place, that Cor- 
 porations, when they were over-loaded with 
 debts, had the liberty of felling their eftates, 
 and might alienate or make over their lands 
 and other pofiefBons to their creditors, in fuch 
 a proportion as was fufficient to difcharge the 
 debt. 
 
 * * \In France it is now a difficult matter to 
 procure a licenfe of this kind from the King ; as 
 appears from the cafe of the Communities of Pro- 
 vence, who have been often refufed fnch A per- 
 miffion.'] 
 
 b Cum privati aequum poftalarent, nee tamen folvendo 
 acre alieno Refpublica eflet, quod medium inter asquum & 
 utile erat, decreverunt ut quoniam magna pars eorum agros 
 vulgo venales efle diceret, & fibimet emptis opus efle agri 
 pubiici qui intra quinquagefimum lapidem efiet, iis copia 
 fieret. Confules agrum aeftimaturos, & in jugera afles ve- 
 fligales, teftandi causa, publicum agrum impofituros, ut 
 fiquis cum folvere poflet populas pecuniam habere quam 
 agrum mallet, reftitueret agrum populo. lit. Liv. 1. 31. 
 n. 13. 
 
 AP.
 
 of the ROMANS. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Of the great Exaftions of the Romans. 
 
 PLutarch relates, that Paulus ^Emilius plun- 
 dered all Macedonia and Illyria. Julius 
 Csefar carried off all the the gold and filver 
 that he could find in Spain, and did not fo 
 much as leave any in the temples. In the time 
 of his firft Confulmip, he took three thoufand 
 pounds of gold out of the Capitol, and put in 
 its ftead the fame quantity of brafs gilt over 
 flightly enough a . He fold Corporations and 
 Kingdoms, and took from Ptolomy fix thou- 
 fand talents b . 
 
 Xiphilinus writes, that the Emperor Tibe- 
 rius having fent for Bato King of Dalmatia, 
 afked him the reafon why that Province had 
 broke out into an infurrection, and revolted 
 from his Empire ; and that the other anfwered 
 him in thefe words, Why do you fend wolves 
 and voracious beafts to keep your flocks, inftead 
 of dogs and J/jepberds ? 
 
 Tacitus in the Life of his father-in-law A- 
 gricola, who was Governor of Great Britain, 
 afcribes the revolt of the Britons to the cxcef- 
 five taxes and burdens laid upon them by the 
 Romans. What they call governing (faid they) 
 is plundering^ cutting the people's throats ; and 
 when they have reduced a very populous country 
 to the condition of a frightful defart^ they call it 
 
 a Suetonius in Julio, c. 54. 
 s. 
 
 I 4 fad-
 
 ISO Of tie REVENUES 
 
 pacifying a country c . They complained that 
 inftead of one King which they had before, 
 they had under the Romans two Tyrants, the 
 Governor who fhed their blood, and the Pro- 
 curator who drained their fubftance d . 
 
 Strabo relates, that the Romans laid tributes 
 upon uncultivated and defart iflands. The ifle 
 of Gyara was a very fmall one, and inhabited 
 only by a few poor fifhermen ; yet they im- 
 pofed upon them a tax of a hundred and fifty 
 pounds a year. The miferable fufferers, un- 
 able to bear fo heavy a burden by reafon of 
 their fmall number and their extreme indi- 
 gence, fent a deputation to the Emperor Au- 
 guftus to get excufed of a third part of the 
 tribute. 
 
 The accufation of Verres, and the defence 
 of Fonteius, in Cicero's Orations, ferve for 
 proofs and monuments of the rapacioufnefs of 
 Roman Governors. Sometimes indeed they 
 were profecuted for their rapines and extor- 
 tions, but the Provinces which they had plun- 
 dered and oppreffed were not thereby relieved, 
 nor fared the better on that account. Juvenal 
 gives HS a defcription of the infolent and op- 
 preffive adminiftration of one Marius, who 
 had the Government of Africa % and who is 
 probably the fame that is mentioned by the 
 younger Pliny f . This Marius, according to 
 the account given of him by the laft of thefe 
 
 e Trucidare, rapere falfis nominibus Imperium, atque 
 tibi folitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant. Tacit. 
 
 4 Pro fingulis Regibus nunc binos imponi, ex quibus 
 J.egams in fanguinem, Procurator in bona faeviret. Ibid, 
 
 '* Sat. i. 
 
 f I.Z.E?. ii. 
 
 authors,
 
 
 of the R O M A N 5. 121 
 
 authors, was convicted of monflrous extortions, 
 condemned to pay a vaft fine to the Exche- 
 quer, and then to be banifhed from Italy 5 but 
 nothing of the plunder that he had made was 
 ever reftored to the fufferers, or applied to the 
 cafe and relief of the Province. 
 
 Cilicia was a very poor Province, and be- 
 fore it was fubdued by the Romans, was inha- 
 bited only by robbers and pirates ; yet Capito 
 and Junius Tutor found in it quarries for their 
 avarice, and made it the fcene of thofe ads 
 of violence, oppreflion, and extortion, for 
 which they were condemned. Juvenal on that 
 occafion gives a very fine lecture to the Go- 
 vernors of Provinces g : but he complains im- 
 mediately after, that all thefe examples had 
 fo little effect, that they were not able to re- 
 ftrain the greedinefs of thofe that fucceeded 
 the very Governors that had been punifhed for 
 their depredations h . 
 
 This Satyrift finds fault with the Romans 
 for their treatment of Kings and Princes that 
 depended on the Republic, fleecing and de- 
 vouring them to the very marrow of their 
 bones '. 
 
 He accufeth them of committing even cru- 
 eller exactions in times of peace, than in the 
 rage of war k : and advifes them, for their 
 
 Expeftata diu tandem Provincia cum te 
 Reftorem accipiet, pone irz fraena modumque, 
 Pone & avaritiae, miferere inopum fociorum. 
 Refpice quid moneant leges, quam fulmine jufto 
 Et Capito 8c Tutor ruerint, cfamnante Senatu, 
 Piratx Cilicum, &c. Sat. 8. 
 
 ^ Sed quid damnatio confert, &V. Ibid. 
 
 1 Offa vidcs Regum vacuis exhaufta medullis. Ibid, 
 
 t ' Referebant navibus altis 
 
 Occulta fpolia, & plures de pace triumphos. Ibid, 
 
 own
 
 122 Of the REVENUES 
 
 own intereft, to moderate their avarice, to put 
 a flop to their rapine and opprefibns, and ufe 
 more humanity in their treatment of miferablc 
 but warlike nations '. 
 
 We have already related in another place 
 the ftory of Julius Casfar's freed-man ; who 
 after he had pillaged the Provinces of Gaul, 
 where he had been employed as the Prince's 
 Treafurer, was artful enough to extricate him- 
 felf dexteroufly out of a very ill affair, and 
 make a fuccefsful apology for his extortions. 
 He is accufed of having imbezzled the public 
 ihoney, and robbed the people under his go- 
 vernment to fill his own coffers : he takes this 
 effectual method to fave himfelf ; he carries 
 Auguftus to his houfe, fhews him all the gold 
 and filver that he had fcraped together by vi- 
 olence and plunder, and gives him up all the 
 booty *, he is acquitted by this means ; and the 
 Emperor, that mould have been his judge, 
 becomes his accomplice. 
 
 We may properly enough in this place take 
 notice of the ravages committed in the fury of 
 the Civil Wars. What numbers of Towns 
 facked, and Corporations ruined ! What mul- 
 titudes of people deprived of their poffefiions, 
 and driven out of their country, to make room 
 for the foldiers, upon whom their lands and 
 eftates were beftowed! Tacitus, fpeaking of 
 the alteration made in the conftitution of the 
 Roman State, when the Commonwealth was 
 
 1 Ctarandura imprimis ne magna injuria fiat 
 Fortibus & miferis : tollas licet omne quod ufquam eft 
 Aim atque argenti, fcutum gladiumque relinques, 
 Et jacula & galcam : fpoliatis arma fuperfunt. Sat. 8. 
 
 turned
 
 of the R O M A N S. 123 
 
 turned into a Monarchy m , fays, that the Pro- 
 vinces were not at all forry for this revolution, 
 becaufe of the avarice of the Magiftrates and 
 Governors which ufed to be put over them in 
 the latter times of the Republic n . Salluft, in 
 the beginning of his Hiftory of Catiline's Con- 
 fpiracy, laying open the wounds made in the 
 Commonwealth, and the miferable fituation of 
 her affairs through the deluge of vice and cor- 
 ruption that had overflowed it, gives a ftill 
 more feeling reprefentation of the excefles and 
 violences that are the fubject we are treating of 
 at prefent. Plutarch, in the life of Marius, 
 fays, that fuch as flood candidates and folli- 
 cited for any poft in the Government, carried 
 gold and filver by bufhels into the Campus 
 Martius to purchafe publickly the votes of the 
 electors : and Suetonius relates, that Csefar had 
 fpent all his fortune in making intereft to get 
 himfelf raifed to the honours and dignities of 
 the Republic. Now, as all confiderable pofts 
 and employments were difpofed of by the peo- 
 ple, and depended on their fuffrages, the Ma- 
 giftrates confequently, as well at Rome as in 
 the Provinces, minded nothing but how to 
 get money and grow rich, that they might be 
 able to purchafe them on occafion. It is for 
 this reafon that Horace fays, the age he lived 
 in was truly the Golden Age . Juvenal fpeak- 
 ing of the manners of people in his time at 
 
 m Jnnal. 1. i. 
 
 * Ob certamina Potentum & avaritiam Magiftratuum, 
 invalido legum auxilio, quas ut ambitu poftremo pecunia 
 turbabantur. 
 
 Aurea nunc vere funt fecuk ; plurimus auro 
 Yenit honos. 
 
 Rome,
 
 124 Of the REVENUES 
 
 Rome, reprefents poverty itfelf as ambitious, 
 and money as the fovereign dilpofer of all 
 things P. 
 
 To all thefe accounts of the greedinefs of 
 the Romans, we may ftill add the horrible 
 abufe of confifcations in the reigns of the Do- 
 mitians, the Nero's, and other tyrannical Em- 
 perors. Tacitus, in the Life of Agricola, 
 gives in very few words a lively defcription of 
 the mifery of people, and the uncomfortable- 
 nefs of living in thofe deplorable times. Our 
 anceftors, fays he, faw in former ages to what 
 an height liberty might be carried, and we in 
 this fee all the extremities of flavery, being fur- 
 rounded with informers that debar us the ufe 
 both of our ears and tongues q . 
 
 After having given this account of the ex- 
 actions of the Romans, it may not be amifs 
 to fay fomething of their Publicans, whofe 
 infolence, greedinefs, and extortions, under 
 the colour of law and fhelter of an authority 
 that commanded rcfpect, made ravages in the 
 bofom of the Empire as in a conquered coun- 
 try, and acted over again all the tyranny 
 which it was the fate of people fubdued by 
 force of arms to endure. Hiftorians have not 
 omitted on fome occafions to tranfmit to us 
 particular accounts of their violences and ra- 
 pines. Titus Livius takes notice of the mif- 
 demeanors which they were guilty of, and the 
 
 P Commune eft vitium ; hie vivimus ambitiosa 
 Paupertate omnes. Quid te moror ? omnia Romas 
 
 Cum pretio Sat. 3. 
 
 ' Sicut vetus aetas vidit quid ultimum in libertare eflet, 
 ita nos quid in lervitute, adempto per inquilitiones audien- 
 di loquendique commercio. 
 
 hardfhips"
 
 of the R O M A N S. 125 
 
 hardships that the people fuffercd from them 
 during the fecond Carthaginian war; which 
 the State was obliged to wink at in a conjun- 
 fture when their neceflities were great, and 
 their all was in danger. I lhall confine my- 
 felf to a fingle inftance. 
 
 L. Pomponius and M. Pofthumius having 
 undertaken to fupply the troops with provi- 
 fions, which they were to carry by fea to the 
 army, in order to procure reimburfements to 
 which they had no right, took it into their 
 head, not only to trump up and pretend to 
 ihipwrecks that never happened, but alfo to 
 caufe real ones for the better concealing of the 
 other that were purely fictitious. For this pur- 
 pofe they put what they thought proper on 
 board fome old leaky fhips, which their fea- 
 men took care fliould founder, having little 
 lhallops in readinefs to fave the crew. The 
 latter of thefe partners in the undertaking be- 
 ing cited to Rome on account of this artifice, 
 had recourfe to violence and force for his im- 
 punity, and with the affiftance of his crea- 
 tures and partifans, drove away the people of 
 Rome that were afiembled before the Capitol 
 in order to judge his caufe r . 
 
 * Tit. Liv. I 5. Decad 3. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 126 <//&<? REVENUES 
 
 CHAP. xvni. 
 
 Of the Releajes and Abatements of Taxef 
 made to the Roman People. 
 
 JUlius Caefar eafed the people of Italy very 
 much, and made them confiderable lar- 
 gefles a . 
 
 Auguftus, after he had reduced Egypt in- 
 to the form of a Province, brought lo much 
 money to Rome, that the people were ex- 
 ceedingly eafed by it ; for eftates rofe in their 
 price and value, the rate of intereft leflened, 
 and Auguftus himfelf readily lent his money, 
 upon good fecurity being given to pay him 
 double the fum b . 
 
 Tacitus relates, that Tiberius Casfar having 
 declared that Cappadocia was able to pay the 
 hundredth penny of all that was fold by whole- 
 fale or retale, vouchfafed however to leflen the 
 impoft one half, after he had taken away that 
 Kingdom from Archelaus, and reduced it in- 
 to a Province. Syria and Judsea petitioned at 
 the fame time to have an abatement made as to 
 their tribute c . 
 
 In the reign of the fame Emperor, twelve 
 towns having been laid in ruins by the violence 
 of an earthquake, this Prince difcharged them 
 of all fubfidies, excifes and impofts for five 
 years ; and moreover gave them confiderable 
 
 a Suetonius in Julio, C. 32. 
 
 * Idem in Anvufto, C. 41. 
 
 * Annul \. 7 f 
 
 fumi
 
 of the ROMANS. 127 
 
 fums to help them to rebuild their houfes and 
 recover their lofifes. 
 
 The city of Sard is having been infefted and 
 laid wafte by a terrible contagion, he excufed 
 the inhabitants for fire years from paying any 
 impofts or tributes d . 
 
 The fame Tiberius gave a very lharp repri- 
 mand to ^Emilius Rectius governor of Egypt, 
 who had fent him a great fum of money that 
 had been levied without his order. / would, 
 fays he, have myjheep Jbeered^ but not flayed e : 
 words very remarkable, and related alfo with 
 a fmall variation by Tacitus and Suetonius f . 
 Tiberius lent the people of Rome money for 
 three years without any intereft, and by that 
 means regained in fome meafure their good 
 graces and confidence e . 
 
 Caligula paid all the legacies which his pre- 
 deceffor Tiberius had left to the people of 
 Rome. He mewed favour to Italy, and re- 
 mitted the hundredth penny payable out of 
 eftates fold by auction in that country h . He 
 made confiderable prefents and grants to feve- 
 ral private perfons that had been ruined by 
 fire. He reftored entire Kingdoms to Princes 
 that had been difpoflefled of them, with all 
 their revenues j and even went fo far as to 
 make reftitution of what had been been re- 
 ceived after the time that thofe Kings had been 
 turned out of their dominions, as he did to the 
 King of Comagena. 
 
 * Ibid. L 2. 
 
 * Dion Ce.ffi.us. 
 
 * Boni paftcris eft oves tondere, non deglubere. 
 
 * Tacitus, 1. 5. 
 
 * Suttmiut in Caligula, c. 16 & 17. 
 
 The
 
 128 Of the RE v E N u E & 
 
 The Emperor Claudius exempted the Trp* 
 jans from all impofts, excifes, and falt-duties 
 for ever j . 
 
 Nero in the five firft years of his reign eafed 
 the people in point of taxes, and took off the 
 moft burdenfome of the excifes. He was even 
 inclined to abolifh all the duties in general that 
 were levied upon the provifions, merchandife, 
 and commodities, as well fuch as were of the 
 growth and produce of the country, as what 
 were imported from abroad k : but the Senate 
 difluaded him from putting that defign in ex- 
 ecution. He difchareed all fuitors in the 
 Courts of judicature of the duties they ufed to 
 pay for the trial and determination of their 
 caufes, and regulated the fees of Advocates* 
 He thought the law Papia gave too great en- 
 couragement to fuch as made difcoveries and 
 gave informations of eftates, effects, run goods 
 and other dues belonging or forfeited to the 
 Prince's Exchequer : the reward of fuch in- 
 formation as fixed by that law amounted to 
 a moiety of the value of the merchandife or 
 other things informed of and difcovered 5 he 
 reduced it to a quarter part. 
 
 Germanicus leffened the fubfidies and tribute 
 that ufed to be paid by Cappadocia, to make, 
 as Tacitus fays, the Roman yoke fit the lighter 
 upon that Province '. 
 
 Galba caufed all that had got exorbitant 
 grants from Nero, or had been concerned in 
 the difiipation of the Treafury in his time, to 
 be profecuted : but nothing was got from them, 
 
 1 Suetonius in Claudia, c. 18. 
 
 k Idem in Nerone, c. 7. 
 
 1 Quo mitius Imperium Romanum fpenrctur. 
 
 becaufe
 
 ROMANS. 129 
 
 becaufe they were not able to refund ; thofa 
 whom Nero had loaded with his favours and 
 cxceffive bounties being reduced to as great 
 indigence as thofe whom he had robbed and 
 plundered to enrich them -, a circumflance ob- 
 ferved by Tacitus, and very remarkable in- 
 deed m . Galba was naturally frugal and par- 
 fimonious, but with regard to the public mo- 
 ney, he was, as the fame Hiftorian fays, down- 
 right covetous n . 
 
 Vefpafian, to keep the Sarmatians quiet du* 
 ring the diflenfions that infefted mod parts of 
 the Empire, took off the fubfidies and tribute 
 they ufed to pay . 
 
 Ammianus Marcellinus relates, that Julian 
 the Apoftate hindered the tribute ufually laid 
 On the Provinces of Gaul from being raifed to 
 an higher rate by Florentinus p . 
 
 This Emperor, according to rhe fame Hi- 
 ftorian, took particular care, above all things, 
 that nobody mould be opprefFed or over* 
 charged by the impofts *. 
 
 The Sarmatians indeed offered the Emperor 
 Conftantius to pay all the fubfidies and tributes 
 that they owed ; and under his government 
 impofts and tributes were exceedingly multi- 
 plied r : but his fucceffor Julian diminimed 
 
 Juftiffimura vifum eft inde repeti pecuniam ubi inopise 
 caufa erat, grande gaudium quod tarn pauperes fbrent qui- 
 bus donaffct Nero, quam quibus abftulifict. L. 17. 
 
 n Galba pecunise aliens non appstcns, fuse parcuj, pub- 
 iicae avarus. Lib. 1 7. 
 " Ttcitus, I. 19. 
 f Lib. 17. 
 
 * Obfef vabat diligcntcr ne quern tributonun farcina prae- 
 gravaret. L. 18. 
 
 1 Utrn, 1. 19. 
 
 K them
 
 136 Of the REVENUES 
 
 them confiderably, and remitted a great part 
 of them to eafe an over-burdened people f . 
 
 Good Emperors frequently eafed thofe that 
 contributed to the tallies and fubfidies upon 
 land, and remitted the arrears which were 
 due e . 
 
 We read in Caffiodorus, that the Provinces 
 of Gaul fubject to Theodoric King of the 
 Oftro-Goths, had all the excifes and impofts 
 charged upon them remitted, becaufe they 
 had been harrafied and plundered by the ene- 
 my : and this good Minifter of a good Prince 
 has preferved and tranfmitted to us an Ordi- 
 nance, wherein the farmers of the Revenue are 
 very ftridly and exprefsly enjoined to levy the 
 taxes upon the people without either exactions 
 or violence u . 
 
 The inhabitants of Syracufe were treated in 
 the fame gracious and gentle manner by Ala- 
 ric : and this King of the Goths writing to 
 them makes ufe of thefe admirable exprefiions. 
 Tou have a Prince wbofe favours and kindnefs 
 naturalize him in a manner with regard to you 9 
 and (what isjlillmore agreeable to fubjefts) wbofe 
 inclination to do good increafes in proportion as he 
 advances in years y . This Prince caufed refti- 
 tution to be made to the people of the Pro- 
 vinces of the Empire that were reduced into 
 
 f Indifta funt tributa admodura levia, coronarium in- 
 dultum, remifla debits, multa diuturnitate congefta, aequa- 
 ta fifci jurgia cum privatis, veftigalia. civitatibus reftituta 
 cum fundis, abfque iis quos jure vendiderc poteftatcs. 
 
 1 C. L. 10. Tit. 2. /. 3. 
 
 " Caffiador. Var. 1. 3. c. 40. Ibid. 1. 12. C. 8. 
 
 v Habetis Principem, qui vobifcum bcneficiis probatnr 
 exortus, & quod fubjeftis dulcius eft, augetur ingenio be- 
 cevolQ cum statis augmento. Var. 1. 9. c. 10. 
 
 hit
 
 of the ROMANS. 131 
 
 his fubjeftion, of all that had been levied up- 
 on them more than the ordinary duties *. 
 
 There is in Cafliodorus a Declaration of 
 Theodoric, forbidding all the officers and 
 farmers of his Revenue to exact fubfidies and 
 tributes upon the foot by which they had been 
 regulated, and on which they had been paid 
 formerly x : and we need only cpen the wri- 
 tings of that great Chancellor, to find fome 
 monument or other of this nature-. 
 
 Theodoric at one time orders the Director 
 general of his Demefne to re.-nit all the refiduc 
 and arrears of former years : and adds thefe 
 words, which do him no little honour. What* 
 ever we remit our people out of motives of com- 
 pafjion and humanity, redounds in the end more 
 amply to our advantage. For the riches of a 
 Prince increaje in the fame proportion as he eafetb 
 bis fubjeffs -, and hs is abundantly paid for the 
 little fondnefs he /hews for the mean and preca- 
 rious trcafures that confift in money, by tbofe of 
 a nobler kind, which he gains by the weight of. 
 bis reputation, and lays up in the efteem of man- 
 kind y. 
 
 At another time this Prince remits the tailL's 
 and fubfidies on confiderations ftill more mov- 
 ing. If no relief, fays he, be given to a p erf on 
 that is fatigued and crouches already under a 
 burden, he muft needs fink atlafl, and fall down 
 without any pojfibility of rifing z . 
 
 * Caffiod. Var. 1. 6. c. iz, 14. 
 
 * Ibid. 1.4.0. 18. 
 
 y Illud amplius noflris utilitatibus app'.icamus, quod mi- 
 fericordi humanitate concedimus. Rcgnantis cairn facukas 
 tune fit ditior cum remittit & acqunic nobiies thefauros 
 famas, neglefta viiitate pecuniae. Cujpodor. Var. 1. i. c. 6. 
 
 z Si feffus onere minime relevetur, neceiluatc cogitur 
 jacere proftratus. Hid. 1. A. c. 36. 
 
 K 2 We
 
 132 Of the REVENUES 
 
 We meet in another place with a teftimcr'' 
 equally glorious to the Prince who gives .., 
 and to the Minifter that deferved it. Theo- 
 doric acquaints Cafliodorus with the fatisfaction 
 he had received in finding that he had caufed 
 his orders to be executed exactly in the Pro- 
 vinces* and that he had in other refpects faith- 
 fully performed on his part whatever he had 
 promifed ; that is, that nobody had ever fuf- 
 fered any injuftice during his adminiftration . 
 Here the people are alfo excufed from pay- 
 ing the tailles and fubfidics, by reafon of the 
 expence which they were at on account of the 
 quarters and marches of the foldiers of the ar- 
 my through the country. Be eafy> have m 
 anxiety, fays he to them i you are got out of 
 the bands of tbe farmers and exdfemen, the 
 marches of the troops excufe you from all taxes, 
 lake instruments of iron into your hands , but yet 
 fucb as are proper to plough and cultivate your 
 lands ', arm yourfelves, but with goads to prick 
 your oxen forward^ not with weapons to repel 
 violence b . 
 
 During the reign of Theodoric, poverty 
 was a never-failing plea, and a kind of natu- 
 ral privilege, which not only exempted them 
 from thofe exorbitant duties which the inability 
 of a poor man, baulking the greedinefs of 
 the farmers and excifemen, fnatches as it were 
 from their clutches : but which difcharged them 
 likcwife entirely from every thing that the vi- 
 
 Ibid. 1. 12. c. t. 
 
 k Nolite cfle folliciti, evafiftia exigentium manus, tribu- 
 & vobis prsefens adimit apparatus. Arripite ferrum, fed 
 tinde agros excolatis ; iumite cufpidcs, bourn ftimulos, non 
 furoris. Ibid, 1. 12. c. 5. 
 
 olenteft
 
 cfthe ROMANS. 133 
 
 olenteft thirft of the vileft lucre finds dill 
 means to fqueeze out of fuch wretches as are 
 worth nothing. Take heed y fays this Prince to 
 the farmers of his Revenue, in directing his 
 difcourfe to his Great Treasurer, that you do 
 not become a ivorfc plague to the people than the 
 peftilence, if you attempt to {trip fuch as have 
 been plundered already, and are quite naked and 
 dejlitute c . 
 
 It was not the cuftom in this Prince's reign 
 to lay upon others the duties and taxes from 
 which fome were out of his ufual humanity 
 difcharged : he thought it deteftable that a 
 grace mewed or a recompence given to a de- 
 ferving perfon fhould turn to the prejudice of 
 the innocent d . 
 
 The tallies or fubfidics upon lands were ge- 
 nerally remitted to towns that had endured 
 fieges, or been hindered from cultivating their 
 lands by the ravages of the enemy e . 
 
 Some merchants and mariners that were 
 bringing corn from Sicily, having met with a 
 ftorm and fuffered fhipwreck, allowances were 
 made them for all the corn that was loft f . 
 
 Lampridius, Spartianus, Capitolinus, Vo- 
 pifcus, Procopius, Zonaras, and the Tripar* 
 
 c Cave nc gravior Has pcftibus, fi adhuc nudare. veliar 
 exutos ; calamitates non pavcfcant qui arma timuerunt, ra- 
 pinas non fcntiant poft praedones. Cajfiod Var. 1. \z. c. 7. 
 
 d Non iafcrri a quoquam volumus quod alteri noftra hu- 
 manitate remifimus, ne quod didlu nefas eft, bene meriti 
 munus innocentis contingat cfle difpendium. Ibid. 1. 2. 
 c. 17. 
 
 Quid enim ab agri domino exigas quern eum non co* 
 luifle cognofcas. Ibid. 1. 3. c. 32. 
 
 f Crudelitatis genus eft ultra naufragium fzevire, & illos 
 ad difpendia cogere, quibus inopem vitara immitia peri- 
 oula probaatur conceffifle. 
 
 K 3 tite
 
 134 Qf the REVENUES 
 
 tite Hiftory, are full of the like examples, 
 which it would be too long to enumerate and 
 recount particularly. It may be fufficient to 
 obferve in the general, that all the impofts and 
 excifes which had been laid in the dreary times 
 and tyrannical reigns before mentioned, were 
 at laft fupprefied by a law of the Theodofian 
 Code, which is the ninth of the famous Tide, 
 De infirmandis Us qutz fub tyrannis afta funt. 
 
 * * [The fame motives of equity which ferve 
 for the ground and foundation of this law, make 
 the Emperor Jufiinian fay, that the impofts and 
 excifes which the, misfortunes of war have intro- 
 duced into a State, ought to be taken off and 
 abolifhed in the calm and tranquillity of peace g .] 
 
 After all, it is certain that fubfidies or pub- 
 lic revenues are things of indifpenfable necefii- 
 ty ; and we muft recur at laft to that juft way 
 of reafoning exprefled by Tacitus in thefe 
 words. 'There is no fecuring the quiet of nations 
 without arms ; there are no arms to be had 
 without money, nor can troops be maintained 
 without pay ', and there can be no pay without 
 fubfidies h . There is nothing to be faid to this 
 political dilemma, 
 
 * * * Quod belli calamltas introduxit, hoc pacts /exitas 
 fipit. L unic. Cod. De Caduc. tollendis. 
 
 h Nee quies gentium fine armis, nee arma fine ftipen- 
 diis, ncc ftspendia line tributis haberi queunt. ' 
 
 CHAP.
 
 of the R O M A N S. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Of the moft confiderable differences between 
 the Re-venues of the Romans and thofe of 
 France. 
 
 AMONG the Romans they could not 
 feize any man's perfon and put him in 
 prifon on account of the Taille ; but could 
 only come upon the land and fell his eftate. 
 In France, the practice is directly contrary ; 
 they imprifon people that do not pay, and ne- 
 ver feize upon or fell the eftate, unlefs it be in 
 Provinces where the Taille is real and charged 
 upon lands. 
 
 Such as did not pay their fubfidies at the 
 terms that were prefcribed and fixed, were 
 fometimes condemned to pay double : which 
 is not the cuftom in France. 
 
 The Tallies were levied by a third part of 
 the annual afieffment at a time, or every four 
 months : and it is for this reafon that the ac- 
 quittances given for them were ftiled, Qua- 
 drimeftres breves. In France they are levied 
 quarterly, that is to fay, every three months. 
 
 The afTeflment for the Tallies was made in 
 the Roman Empire fmce the time of Conftan- 
 tine the Great, but every fifteen years : but 
 in France it is made every year. 
 
 The public or Imperial Demefne among the 
 
 Romans might be alienated irrevocably, and 
 
 in a term of years was fecured by perfcription 
 
 againft all claims of the Exchequer; but in 
 
 K 4 France
 
 136 Of the REVENUES 
 
 France- it is inalienable, except with the refer- 
 vation of a right of redemption for ever, or 
 of reverfion, .upon the defect of heirs male : 
 but under the firft and fecond race of the 
 Kings, it was alienated irredeemably. 
 
 Among the Romans, the Patricians and 
 Nobles were fubject to the Taille ; but in 
 France the Nobility, Gentry, and Clergy are 
 exempt from that tax. 
 
 In that Republic the commiflions for levy- 
 ing the Tailles were fent in the beginning of 
 September : but among the French, they are 
 iffued out in the beginning of the year. 
 
 Among the Romans fome perfons were 
 obliged to pay in gold, others in filver, and 
 others again in brafs money ; and the pay- 
 ments were pretty often made in bullion, or 
 in thefe different metals uncoined : which is 
 not practifed in France, 
 
 In that Kingdom, when a fhipwreck hap- 
 pens, all goods that are faved or thrown on 
 ihore after fuch an unhappy accident, belong 
 to the King's Demefne, if not claimed by the 
 owner within a year and a day : but the Ex- 
 chequer ha4 no pretenfions of this nature 
 among the Romans. 
 
 At Rome the State or Prince was always in 
 the condition of a plaintiff: fo that if any bo- 
 dy had. a fuit againft the Exchequer, he was 
 cither put into pofieflion or continued in pof- 
 fefilon of the thing in queftion, till a defini- 
 tive fentence was given in the caufe. The ve- 
 ry reverfe of this is the cuftom in France : 
 the King never fues or pleads but with his 
 hand full, that is, as being in pofieffion, and 
 never a$ a petitioner or demandant. 
 
 The
 
 of tbe R O M A N S. 137 
 
 The Droit d'Aubaine takes place in France, 
 even with regard to the inhabitants of coun- 
 tries that are in alliance with that Crown, the 
 Dutch only excepted t but among the Ro- 
 mans, all their allies that died within their do- 
 minions might difpofe of their effects by will, 
 and their right heirs fucceeded to their eftates. 
 
 * * [Tbe Romans made great provifions, and 
 laid up large magazine* of corn for the fufte- 
 nance of tbe people : and the Emperors iffued out 
 doles from time to time, and diftributed gratis 
 fucb quantities thereof as were fufficient to Jub- 
 fift above two hundred thoufand people. 
 
 The Romans, in order to provide for the fub- 
 fiflence of the poor citizens, and for better fecu- 
 ring the countries they had conquered % fent colo- 
 nies thither, and drew thence very confiderable 
 advantages, as well by means of the troops which 
 they raifed there on occafions, as on account of 
 the large fupplies of money which tbofe colonies 
 furni/hed them with in any exigence or necejjity of 
 their affairs. The ufe of colonies is not known 
 in France, nor ever praclifed, but with regard 
 to America. 
 
 Tbe Romans likewife diftributed lands among 
 the poor citizens. In fettling the Jhare to be al- 
 lotted to particular perfons, they had a regard to 
 each man y s ability : and they a/ked nothing at all 
 from the common people, but to take care to fur- 
 nijh the Commonwealth with fubjetJs. This is not 
 praclifed in France ; nor do I remember to have 
 met with the leaft trace of fucb a cuftom in any 
 other country. 
 
 The Romans drew their greateft revenue from 
 their viclories and conquefts. But now- a days 9 
 
 * * * Sigonius de Jure Italiae & Provincianijn. 
 
 fc
 
 138 Of the REVENUES 
 
 by the manner in which places are fortified, and 
 by the articles of capitulation, which are always 
 for thefecurity and advantage of the inhabit ant 'j, 
 towns and plates that furrender, necejjarily en- 
 hance the expence of the war, without contribu- 
 ting any great matter to eafe or make amends for 
 its charges, unlefs perhaps in the cafe of frontier 
 towns i thegarrifons whereof may pojjibly be main- 
 tained by means of contributions.'} 
 
 Among the Romans, the Treafury never 
 paid any impofts, tolls, duties of entry, or 
 cuftoms of import for whatever was defigned 
 for the ufe of the Prince's houfhold b . In 
 France, the wine defigned for the King's ta- 
 ble, the fait, and every thing elfe for the fer- 
 vice and ufe of his houfhold pay the duties. 
 
 The provifions and munitions defigned for 
 the armies and foldiery were free of all duties c . 
 In France they are fubjeft to them, and have 
 no more exemption than others. 
 
 Among the Romans, monopolies, that is 
 to fay, the fole and exclufive right of felling 
 certain kinds of merchandife and commodi- 
 ties, were granted at firft upon the payment 
 of a certain fine, but were afterwards abo- 
 lifhed d . The very name of a monopoly be- 
 came at laft fo very odious to the Romans, 
 that the Emperor Tiberius being minded to 
 ufe the word, durft not do it, till after he had 
 afked leave of the Senate. 
 
 The Ordinances of the Kings of France are 
 very exprefs in forbidding all monopolies. 
 * * [But tbefe are derogated from in the cafe of 
 
 b L. 8. //. $. 19. ff. De Publicanis. 
 
 D. L. 8. 
 
 * L. xnic. C. De Monopoliis* 
 
 Booh
 
 of the R O M A N S. 139 
 
 Books and Bookfelkrs, (to whom Authors lave 
 fold the property they have in their works} to 
 whom the Prince ft ill grants exc lufive privileges ; 
 and in favour of fome Companies with regard to 
 fome foreign commodities.] 
 
 The lands of the Imperial Demefne, and 
 thofe that belonged to the Churches were all 
 fubjedl to the charges of the State among the 
 Romans : but in France thofe of the Demefne 
 are liable to none. 
 
 Among the Romans, when the Exchequer 
 fold the lands of a private perfon, the abfolute 
 property thereof was transferred e : but this is 
 not the practice in France. 
 
 The nafty, unfeemly, and tyrannical excifes 
 which the avarice of the Romans invented, 
 never were heard of, and are utterly unknown 
 in France. 
 
 The Kings of France generally give away 
 all the confifcations that accrue to them; but 
 it was not fo much as allowable to petition for 
 them among the Romans f . 
 
 The treafure of the Exchequer receives no 
 accefiion in France from teftamentary fuccef- 
 fions, which contributed fo much to fill it a- 
 mong the Romans. 
 
 It was not allowed among them to borrow 
 any money from the officers of the revenue * ; 
 whereas nothing is more common in France. 
 
 Sometimes they forced the public farmers 
 of the revenue to continue their farms, after 
 their leafes were expired, upon the foot of their 
 
 e L. 2. y 3. Cod. De Quadrien. przfcriptione. 
 f C. De petitione bonorum fublata. 
 g L. i. & 12. 2. C. De his qui ex publicis rationibus 
 pecuniam acceperunt. 
 
 former
 
 Of the R E v E N u E s 
 
 Former articles h . I have never found any in- 
 fiance of fuch a practice in France. 
 
 Judgments given and fentences pronounced 
 by Courts of judicature againft the Exchequer 
 among the Romans might be reviewed, re- 
 tracted and reverfed by them any time within 
 three years *. In France the farmers of the 
 King's revenue are obliged to proceed in the 
 ufual forms, by exceptions, and petitions. 
 
 The bonds arfd recognizances of fuch as 
 were condemned to pay any fum to the Ro- 
 man Exchequer, were only obligatory upon 
 them for their particular mare, except in cafe 
 of the infolvency of the other parties k . In 
 France thefe bonds oblige each perfon for the 
 whole fum. 
 
 Among the Romans the binding of each 
 partner in a farm of the revenue for the whole 
 ium due on account of the failles and other 
 impofts, was not in ufe. It takes place how- 
 ever in France, in cafe of not making up the 
 tax-rolls, of infolvency on the part of the 
 collectors, and of omiflions in the levies. 
 
 The farmers general among the Romans 
 were frequently perfons of illuftrious and no- 
 ble families. We read in Tacitus, that Ger- 
 manicus, eldeft fon to the Emperor, went to 
 levy the taxes in the Provinces of Gaul, when 
 the legions mutinied l . The Publicans in France 
 are not very fond of pretending to be of fo 
 good families ; and the goods of fortune ufu- 
 
 k l.tad.f. De Publicanis. 
 
 1 L. unic. C. De fententiis adverfus fifcum retraftandis. 
 
 * L. Aufeitur. . ult.jf. De jure fifci. 
 
 1 T*t. Annal, 1. i. " 
 
 ally
 
 rftbe ROMANS. 141 
 
 ally ferve to make them amends for their de- 
 fects in birth and quality. 
 
 Among the Romans, in cafe there was the 
 leaft doubt in any affair wherein the Exche- 
 quer was concerned, the law directed that fen- 
 tence mould be given againft it m : and Pliny 
 in his Panegyric fays, that Trajan caufed this 
 law to be ftrictly obferved n . In France they 
 are much more jealous of the Prince's rights, 
 and have good reafon to be fo ; for it is the 
 firft and moft important point of juftice to 
 maintain ; the rights of the Crown, and not 
 give them or let them be invaded and taken 
 away either out of vanity, or in a view of 
 gaining the favour of the people, as the .Ro- 
 man Emperors did, who as they were raifed 
 to the throne only by election, had confequent- 
 \j no better way to maintain themfelves in the 
 pofieffion of it, but by flattering the pafllons 
 and gratifying the interefts of particular per- 
 fons. 
 
 It looks as if the Romans had always 
 * * [more care than is generally taken in France 
 to have] money ready on all emergencies and 
 neccfiities of their affairs to anfwer the occa- 
 fions of the State. Such was the Aurum vi- 
 cefimanum mentioned by Pliny ; fuch was the 
 fhree thoufand pounds of gold which Julius 
 Csefar feized on, as Suetonius relates ; and 
 fuch in fine was the money that Appian fpeaks 
 of, which had been defigned for the wars of 
 the Gauls. 
 
 The Emperors that moft diftinguifhed 
 themfelves by their wifdom and abilities, werq 
 
 ,. iQ.ff. DejurefifcK 
 
 ? Sub bono Principe fifci fsepiCme caufa cadit. 
 
 very
 
 42 Of the REVENUES 
 
 very faving of the public money : they laid 
 it down for a maxim that they could not ma- 
 nage their revenue with too much ceconomy 
 and frugality ; fmce if they fquandered it 
 away out of any ambitious or other views, 
 they fhould be obliged to have recourfe to vi- 
 olent and opprefiive meafures to bring frefh 
 fupplies into their treafury. 
 
 The Emperors generally kept immenfe fums 
 in referve. Julius Caefar by his will left eve- 
 ry Roman citizen a legacy of three hundred 
 fefterces. Auguftus left a thoufand crowns to 
 every foldier of the Pnetorian bands, which 
 were not lefs in number than ten thoufand men 5 
 and three hundred crowns to every one of 
 thofe that ferved in the legions p . He be- 
 queathed likewife feveral other legacies, fome 
 of which amounted to twenty thoufand fef- 
 terces. This Prince had drawn up with hia 
 own hand, a particular account of all the re- 
 venues of the Empire q . 
 
 When Tiberius Casfar died, there was found 
 in the Treafury near an hundred millions of 
 money , which Caligula his fucceffor took care 
 to fquander away in lefs than three years time 5 
 an extravagance for which his nephew Nero 
 thought him worthy of his admiration r . 
 
 There muft certainly have been a vaft deal 
 of money in the Exchequer at the time of 
 Flavius Vefpafian's death, if we confider the 
 length of his reign, his exceffive avarice, and 
 the great number of excifes and impofts that 
 
 fiuif. Annal. 1. 2. 
 
 P Suetonius in Julio 83. Idem in Augufto 102. 
 
 * Dion Cajfius, Tacit. Annal. 
 
 * Xipbilivus. Suttonius in Nerone, c. 30. 
 
 he
 
 of tbe R O M A N S. 143 
 
 he had levied upon the people of the Empire. 
 Titus that fucceeded him muft confequently 
 have had fufficient means to gratify and in- 
 dulge the generofity of his nature, and the 
 ftrong inclination which he had to be bounti- 
 ful, and which made him look upon every day 
 as loft, that had not been diftinguilhed by 
 fome remarkable aft of his beneficence f . 
 
 The avarice of his father had put him in a 
 condition and fupplied him wherewithal to be 
 liberal : and if he owed his virtues to nobody 
 but himfelf, he owed however to Flavius Vef- 
 pafian's faving talents the exceeding pleafure 
 he felt in making every day of his reign fome 
 perfon or other happy ; a pleafure, the value 
 of which he feemed well to underftand, when 
 he fa id, That no perfon whatever ought to go 
 away difcontented from the Prince's frefence or 
 converfation '. 
 
 There was alfo among the Romans an ce- 
 conomy that may be confidered as a kind of 
 fund, which without any real addition to thofe 
 of the Republic, was however a great refource 
 for it on occafion, and enabled private perlbns 
 to aflift it with very confiderable and feafona- 
 ble fupplies. I fpeak of the regulation made 
 by the Agrarian Law, concerning the parti- 
 tion and diftribution of lands. According to 
 the terms of that law, nobody could enjoy and 
 hold above five hundred acres of land, nor 
 more than an hundred head of large cattle, or 
 above five hundred of fmall. The number 
 too of flaves or freed- men, which every one 
 
 f Amid diem perdidi. Sueton. in Tito, c. 8, 
 1 Non oportet quemquam a fermonc Principis triflem 
 difcedere. Suetonius in Tito, c. 8. 
 
 might
 
 144 Of the REVENUES 
 
 might have, was regulated, for fear the mul- 
 titude of flaves mould increafe beyond mea- 
 fure, and exceed the proportion that it ought 
 to bear to the number of the freemen. This 
 law, though very wife in its inftitution, was 
 the fource of almoft all the feditions that in- 
 fefted Rome, and proved at laft a main caufe 
 of the ruin of that flourifhing Republic v . 
 
 CHAP. XX* 
 
 Of the Superintendants of the Revenue 
 among the Romans. 
 
 T Hough the officers of the revenue feem 
 to be very different in France, from 
 thofe who had the management of it among 
 the Romans, yet thefe laft bore a good deal 
 of refemblance to the French, in refpect of 
 their functions. 
 
 The Romans had among them Superinten- 
 dants of the revenue, whofe names frequently 
 varied : but authors do not well agree with 
 one another as to the time when this office was 
 erected. 
 
 Ulpian following the authority of Grac- 
 chus Junius, fays, that in the reigns of Ro- 
 mulus and Numa, there were two Superinten- 
 dants of the revenue, and that they were cho- 
 fen by the votes of the people. He adds how- 
 ever, that the more common opinion was, 
 that they owed their inftitution to Tullus Ho- 
 
 r 7. Liviui, dfpian. 1, i. ?< $ell. Civil, c. z. 
 
 ftilius -
 
 of the R O M A N S. 145 
 
 ftilius : but Dionyfius of Halicarnaflus doth 
 not fay a word upon the fubject a . 
 
 Pomponius relates, that they were not efta- 
 blifhed till the revenue came to be increafed 
 confiderably b : and he places them later in 
 time than the Kings, the Confuls, the Cenfors, 
 the Dictators, the Tribunes of the people, and 
 the -flidiles. Livy fays nothing at all of their 
 creation. 
 
 Tacitus feems to agree with Ulpian, and 
 fays, that they were inftituted under the 
 Kings c . At firft the Confuls had the power 
 of naming them : but the people afterwards 
 affumed the choice of thefe officers to them- 
 felves ; which happened about fixty three years 
 after the Monarchical Government was abo- 
 liflied. 
 
 Livy obferves, that the Patricians were at 
 firft the only perfons capable of being ad- 
 vanced to this office ; and fays, that Valerius 
 Pofthumius and ^Emilius Mamercus were the 
 firft of the Plebeian Order that were ever in- 
 vefted with it : which happened, according to 
 Tacitus's account, a little before the fiege of 
 Veii d . 
 
 Thefe officers went along with the troops 
 into the field, and were not unlike the Inten- 
 dants of the army in France j only they had 
 
 * L. \.ff. DeofEcio Quseftons. 
 
 b L. z.jf. De origine Juris, . 22. 
 
 c Quasftores fub Regibus etiam inftituti funt, quod lex 
 Curiata oftendit ab Lucio Brnto reperta ; manfuque Confu- 
 libus poteftas deligendi eos, donee cum quoque honorera 
 populus mandaret. Annul. 1. 9. 
 
 * L.^n. 31. 
 
 L the
 
 146 Of the REVENUES 
 
 the abfolute difpofal of all the money, and re- 
 gulated all the expences of the war e . 
 
 The bufmefs of their pod increafmg, two 
 more were afterwards created ; whofe particu- 
 lar province was to take care of affairs at 
 Rome, and they never ftirred from the city f . 
 In procefs of time, they created likewife four 
 others p. In fhort, fome years after, Sylla 
 created twenty, in order to fill up twenty 
 places, that were vacant in the Senate h . This 
 poft was given at firft gratis ; till Dolabella 
 got an ordinance to be made, that fuch as 
 Ihould be advanced to it, fhould pay every 
 year out of their own purfe, the charges of 
 the combats of gladiators : but fome time af- 
 ter they were eaied of this expence. Plutarch 
 in the Life of Valerius Publicola fays, that he 
 allowed the people to create two Superinten- 
 jdants of the revenue, the firft of which were 
 Publius Verrimius and Marcus Minutius, with 
 the power of compelling all the citizens to 
 contribute towards the charges of the war, in 
 proportion to their refpedtive abilities ; and 
 that they levied at that time an hundred and 
 twenty thoufund fefterces of brafs, which were 
 depoftted in the temple of Saturn. This mews 
 that there is a good deal of uncertainty as t0 
 the original of thefe Superintendants. 
 
 Crcati funt Quasftores Pofthumius & Mamercus, ut 
 rem militarem comitarentur. Annul. 1. 9. 
 
 f Deinde glifcentibus negotiis, duo additi qui Rom* 
 curarent. Tacit. Annul. 1. 9. 
 
 * Mox duplicator numerus ftipendiaria jam Italics, & 
 accidentibus Provinciarum veftigalibus. Ibid. 
 
 h Poft lege Syllae, viginti creati fupplendo Senatui, cui 
 judicia tradiderat Sylla. Ibid. 
 
 However
 
 of the ROMANS. 147 
 
 However it was, two of them only refided 
 conftantJy at Rome, and thefe took care to 
 enter in the public Regifter an account of all 
 receipts and difburfements of money. The 
 others were either in the Armies or in the Pro- 
 vinces, employed in the management of the 
 public revenues, the impofts, and the money 
 that was made of the booty taken from the 
 enemy j . They carried along with them a 
 Secretary or Regifter, who entered all the ac- 
 counts, and ferved for a kind of Comptroller. 
 Thefe officers were called Quadftors till the 
 time of Auguftus Casfar, who allowed the Se- 
 nate to create and chufe at Rome, Superinten- 
 dants of the revenue. The Senate, as Sueto- 
 nius relates, transferred all the power and au- 
 thority of that office upon the Prsetors, and 
 the Prsetorians k . Tacitus fays however, that 
 Auguftus gave leave for the chufing of the 
 Prefects to be Super! ntendants ; but that bri- 
 bery being ufed to gain fuffrages in this ele- 
 ction, and the corruption fpreading, they were 
 afterwards drawn by lot , and ?.t Jaft, as the 
 Jot fell frequently upon perfons not well qua- 
 lified for the poft, the Emperor Claudius re- 
 vived the office of Quasftors . They did not 
 long enjoy their power upon this re-eftablifh- 
 ment , for the charge foon pafled again into 
 the hands of the Praefects and Prsetors ; and 
 continued a good while in the hands of the 
 latter, whatever Pancirollus fays to the contra- 
 ry : for it is certain that before the reign of 
 Vefpafian and his return to Rome, the Super- 
 
 * Plln. Jun. 1. 2. Ep. 4. 
 k Button, in Augujlo, c. 3. 
 
 Annul. 1. 13. 
 
 L 2 intendancy
 
 Of tbe REVENUES 
 
 intendancy of the revenue was entrusted again 
 to the care of the Praetors m . 
 
 The Quaeftors were afterwards re-inftated in 
 their office , for Aulus Gellius relates, that in 
 his time the chief direction of the revenue was 
 in the hands of the Praefect of the Treafury, 
 and that it had been transferred from the Quae- 
 ftors to this Magiftrate . Now, as Aulus 
 Gellius lived in the reigns of Adrian and the 
 Antonini, it is very probable that the Super- 
 intendants were confirmed under thofe Empe- 
 rors. 
 
 Thefe Superintendants were called Prczfefti 
 sErarii) and had a contentious jurifdiction ; 
 for they judged and decided all caufes relating 
 to the Exchequer . 
 
 Vopifcus fays, that they were ftill fubfifting 
 in the time of the Emperor Aurelian : which 
 however muft be underftood of thofe Praefects 
 or Superintendants that refided at Rome, and 
 never quitted the city p. Dion Cafiius relates, 
 that Auguftus revoked their commiffion, and 
 fent Procurators fifcal in their (lead, who were 
 ftiled Procurators Ctzfaris. Thefe >laft took 
 care of levying the tailles or fubfidies upon 
 land, the taxes and impofts of all kinds, and 
 in general, all the rights and dues of the Im- 
 perial Demefne 4 . They were judges of all 
 
 m Praetores aerarii (nam tune a Przetoribus tra&abatur 
 ^rarium) publicam pauperutem quefti modum publicis 
 cxpenfis poilulaverunt. Tacit. Hiji. 1. 4. 
 
 n Per Quaeflorem intelligi nunc oportet Praefeftum ^Era- 
 rio ; nam cura .rarii a Quasftoribus ad Praefedlum tranflau 
 eft. A. GelLL 13. c 23. 
 
 L. Cum quidam . ff. De his quibus indignis, &c. 
 
 f L. 13. & 43. 
 
 * L. 12. 5. L. Ubi caufs fifcales. I. 3. C. tod. 
 
 difputes
 
 of the R O M A N S. 
 
 difputes and differences, wherein the Exche- 
 quer was any way interefted or concerned ; 
 and fometimes alfo they had fmall Govern- 
 ments. Thus we find that Pontius Pilate was 
 at the fame time Governor of Judaea, and the 
 Emperor's Procurator fifcal in the Province. 
 
 Such were the various names and employ- 
 ments which the Superintendants of the reve- 
 nue bore till the reign of Conftantine the 
 Great, who fupprefled all thofe names or titles 
 of office, and created two other charges of 
 Superintendant , one of which was ftiled Comes 
 facrarum largitionum, and the other went under 
 the denomination of Comes rerum privatarum. 
 The firft had the adminiftration of all the pub- 
 lic money ; the fecond had the direction of the 
 Imperial Demefne. The former paid the boun- 
 ties and largefles of the Emperor, which be- 
 fore Aurelian's time were distributed by cer- 
 tain officers called Qua/lores Candidate ; to 
 whom fucceeded the Quczftores jErarii, who 
 were inftituted (as we are informed by Lam- 
 pridius) by the Emperor Alexander Severus, 
 and continued tifl the time of Conftantine. 
 This great officer was ftiled Comes, a new title 
 of honour created by the laft mentioned Em- 
 peror, and annexed by him to the principal 
 and moft diftinguilhed offices of the Imperial 
 Houfhold, fuch as that of Comes domejlicorum 
 equitum & peditum. He was called Comes lar- 
 gitionum, becaufe the greateft expence in which 
 the Emperors were involved after the change 
 of the Commonwealth into a Monarchy, was 
 the largefles which they were obliged to make 
 from time to time, to gain and preferve the 
 good-will of the people r . 
 
 * Zojimus, 1. 2. 
 
 L 3 Thifc
 
 j jo Of the REVENUES 
 
 This officer was honoured with the ftile of 
 IlluftriouSi a diftinguifhed title, which was 
 only given to the twelve principal officers of 
 the Crown, as may be fcen in the Notitia Im- 
 perii. The arms of his office were a red book 
 upon a table, on the back whereof was repre- 
 fented a golden head of the Emperor between 
 the edges which were of gold ; the cover of 
 the book was of filver, with borders of gold 
 in the angles and extremities : underneath was 
 engraved the word Largitiones^ with feveral 
 pieces of gold and filver coin , and fame vef- 
 lels or little coffers that feemed full 'of the 
 like pieces. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 Of the Officers employed under the Super- 
 intcndant of the Revenue. 
 
 THERE ...were in the Provinces feveral 
 officers to receive and execute the Su- 
 perintend am 's orders, who were diftinguifhed 
 by the name of Palatml '. 
 
 There were alfo fix officers called Comites 
 lirgitionutn, whofe diftrifts were allotted in 
 the Eafr, in Egypt, Thrace and Macedonia : 
 they paid the troops, and had only the title 
 of Perfeftiffimi b . Their jurifdiction was much 
 of the fame nature as that which the Court of 
 Aides and the Chamber of the Treafury en- 
 
 * L. i. C. De offic. facrarum largitionum. 
 
 * L. 3 C. De diverfis officiis. 
 
 * L. 3. C. Dq miliuri vcQ*. 
 
 joy
 
 of the ROMANS. 
 
 joy at prefent in France c . They went like, 
 wife by the name of Rationales, and were en- 
 trufted with the care of levying the imports 
 and excifes. 
 
 It may not be improper juft to take notice 
 on this occafion, that there were among the 
 Romans five titles, which regulated the ranks 
 of the perfons to whom they were given, or 
 to whofe office they were annexed. The firft 
 was that of Illuflris ; the fecond that of Spefta- 
 bilis ; the third that of Clarijfiwus ; the fourth 
 that of Perfettiflimus ; and the fifth that of 
 Egregius* 
 
 The officers, honoured and diftinguifhed 
 by the title of Comites largitionum^ fucceeded 
 to the Procurators C&faris, which had been 
 inftituted by Auguftus d . 
 
 The Superintendant had likewife under him 
 feveral Intendants or Commiffioners of trade 
 and commerce, called Comites commerciorum. 
 They were the perfons that provided and 
 bought the furniture, goods, fluffs, and jewels 
 for the Emperor's houfhold : and are called in 
 the Code by the name of Negotiatores e . 
 
 There were four Directors or Intendants of 
 commerce ; one in the Eaft, who ferved alfo 
 for Egypt ; one in Myfia ; another for Scy- 
 thia and Pontus ; and the fourth in Illyria. 
 Thefe are likewife ftiled Merchants in the 
 Code f . 
 
 c L. Ubi caufae fifcales agi debeant. 
 L. 13. C. Finium regundorum. 
 d Dion Caflius, 1. 53. 
 
 e L. Negotiatores. C. De excufat. munerum. 
 f L. 5. C. De Epifcopali, & L. i. C, DC mercatoribus. 
 
 L 4 The
 
 152 Of the REVENUES 
 
 The Director of commerce in the Eaft 
 purchafed filk, precious ftones and wool ; a 
 pound of filk was at that time worth a pound 
 of gold. He bought alfo drugs and perfumes 
 in Egypt ?. 
 
 Thefe Intendants of commerce had falaries 
 from the State. There was only one of them 
 in the Weft, who was fixed and refided in IU 
 lyria h . 
 
 The Treafurers or Receivers general of the 
 revenue depended alfo on the Superintendant *. 
 The offices of thefe general Receivers were 
 called Metropoles or Stationes. A purchafer 
 had all manner of fecurity in what he bought, 
 not only with regard to the officers of the ge- 
 neral Receipt for the diftrict in which the 
 thing fold was fituated, but likewife with re- 
 gard to all others. If the Exchequer fuc- 
 ceeded ro a creditor who had dwellings in dif-r 
 ferent general Receipts, the fureties were clear- 
 ed and recognizances cancelled, Thefe Re- 
 ceivers or Treafurers were called Thefaurarii k . 
 
 The Great Mafter or Director general of the 
 mines was likewife fubordinate to the Super- 
 intendant of the revenue. This officer took 
 eare of the payment of all that was due to the 
 Emperor on account of metals that were got 
 out of the mines ' *, and he received for the 
 gold that was found on the fides of rivers or 
 dug in the mines, at the rate of feven or eight 
 
 * L. 2. Qua: yendi non poflunt. Vofifeus in AurtL Plin. 
 
 ! 3- 
 
 1 L. unic. C. De An non is. 
 
 i Joftpb. Antiq. Judaic. L. i. C. De Compenf. 
 
 k L. i. C. Ne fifcus. L. Diu. C. De Sufceptoribus & 
 Arcariis, &f L. i c . C. Tbead. De diverfis officiis, 
 
 \ -C. z. D, L. Per annos. C. De Metallis. 
 
 fcruples
 
 of the ROMANS. 
 
 fcruples (*'. e. feven or eight four and twentieths 
 of an ounce) in the pound. The payment of 
 this duty was made in gold dud, and not in 
 gold refined m . The firft was called Aurum in 
 Balucca ; the fecond fort was filled Aurum obri- 
 zum ; and the fcrapings or parings of gold 
 were termed Aurigia. 
 
 The Great Mafter or Intendant of the mines 
 was created and refided generally in Illyria, 
 where there were abundance of mines that af- 
 forded great quantities of gold n . Cafliodorus 
 writes, that they were difcovered and firft be- 
 gan to be worked in the 59 2d year after the 
 foundation of Rome : and Pliny fays, that in 
 Nero's time they got out of them above fifty 
 pounds of gold a day . This officer had fe- 
 veral clerks or agents under him, who were 
 employed in Myfia, Macedonia, and Dacia. 
 
 In the Weft, this Director of the mines was 
 called Comes auri p : and the Emperor Valen- 
 tinian writing to him, gives him the title of 
 Laudabilitas tua. 
 
 The Intendant of the Treafury in Egypt, 
 who is ftiled Comes rational^ Mgypti* depend- 
 ed in like manner upon the Superintendant of 
 the revenue. He had the management and or- 
 dering of the Efcheats, the duties on commo- 
 dities exported and imported, and of all kinds 
 of merchandife that came from Arabia ; which 
 coft an infinite deal of money, according to 
 
 L. i. C. De Metallis. L. Pollux. 
 
 n Tit. Liv. Decad. 6. 1. 5. 
 
 L. 33. c. 4. L. Procurators. C. De metallariis* 
 
 L. 7. C. Theod. De Metallis. 
 F , ( . C. DC metal. Largit. 
 
 Pliny 5
 
 154 Of the REVENUES 
 
 Pliny n ; and the duties whereof, in proportion 
 amounted to very confiderable fums r . 
 
 There were in the Weft eleven of thefe In- 
 tendants called Rationales^ or Procurators* C<z- 
 faris. In the Eaft there was none but the In- 
 tendant of Egypt ; for the bufinefs of the 
 charge was done by the Provincial officers 
 ft i led Ccmites largitionum. Tacitus takes no- 
 tice of feverai inftances to this purpofe ' . 
 
 7'he Intendant of the linnen was alfo fubor- 
 dinate to the Superintendant of the revenue. 
 This poft took in a vaft diftrict : and the of- 
 ficer inverted with it in the Weft was called 
 Comes Veftiarii \ 
 
 Befides thefe there were alfo Great Mafters 
 of the Wardrobe, ftiled Rei privates Magiftri : 
 who were alfo under the direction, and fubject 
 to the orders, of thl* Superintendant of the re- 
 venue u . 
 
 The Intendants of the manufactures, who 
 were called Procuratores Gynectzorum^ and had 
 the infpe&ion over all the workmen employed 
 in making the Emperor's fluffs, were alfo un- 
 der the direction of the Superintendant of the 
 revenue v . 
 
 There were in the Weft fifteen of thefe 
 manufacturies of (luffs, and confequently fif- 
 teen Intendants. 
 
 i Plufqaam millies centena millia fcftertium abfumebant. 
 Plin. 1. 22. c. 1 8- 
 
 r Millies quinquagies centena millium aureomm & am- 
 plius. Ibid. 
 
 f L 4. 1 8. iz. Lamprid. in Alexandra. 
 
 1 L. Stquis ex corpore, C. De Murilegiis. 
 L. Vcflis. . \.jjf. De auro 8c argento legato. 
 
 * L. 2. C. De Murilegiis. L. Privatae. C. 
 
 v L. i.C. De Vefte. 
 
 The
 
 of the R O M A N S. 155 
 
 The Intendants of the Dye-houfes depended 
 likewife on the Superintendant of the revenue. 
 There were feveral of them, and they were 
 calied Procurators Baphiorum. There was one 
 particularly fixed at Tyre in Syria. Thefe In- 
 tendants and the workmen employed in the 
 dying manufacture gave fecurity at their ad- 
 mittance into their office or bufinefs w . 
 
 The Intendants of the Mint were in like 
 manner fubordinate to the Superintendant, ac- 
 cording to Caffiodorus. They were ftiled 
 Procuratores Monctarum, or JEris Magiftra- 
 tus x . 
 
 To fay in this place fomething of their mo- 
 ney : Six Aurel fotidi made an ounce, and fe- 
 venty two made a pound of gold, which con- 
 fided of twelve ounces. Conftantine the Great 
 caufed a crofs to be engraved on the reverfe 
 of his coin, and raifed the ounce of gold to 
 feven Solidi v . 
 
 Lampridius relates, that the Emperor Hett- 
 ogabalus had caufed pieces of gold to be coined 
 that weighed two pounds ; but that Alexander 
 Severus called them in, and had them all 
 melted down to be coined into fmaller pieces 
 of the value of half a Solidus y or half a crown, 
 and of the third part of a Solidus of gold, for 
 the convenience of the people, and the more 
 ready and eafy payment of the tallies and fub- 
 fidies, becaufe a great many perfons fubjecl: 
 to thofe taxes were to pay only the third part 
 
 w L. 2. C. Privatae. C. De Murilegiis. Lamprid. in 
 Alexandra. D. L. ^. L. 19. <vet. C. De vefte holoferica. 
 Eufebius Hijlor. Ecclefiaft. 
 
 1 L. i. C. De Annonis. 
 
 * L. 2. Cod. Vhcodof. De pondere auri. L. vet. C. De 
 veteri poteftate. L. i. C. Ikeod. 
 
 or
 
 156 Of the REVENUES 
 
 or the half of a Solidus of gold ; amounting 
 the one to the eighteenth, and the other to the 
 twelfth part of the ounce of gold z . 
 
 The pound of filver weighed a Mina> and 
 contained ninety-fix drachms, or ninety-four 
 Denarii. It was divided like that of gold in- 
 to twelve ounces, the ounce into two Stateres 
 or half ounces, the Stater into two Sicilici, and 
 the Sicilicus into two drachms a . 
 
 A Solidus, or crown of gold called Solidus 
 or Aureus, was equal in value to two ounces 
 of filver : but the Emperor Valentinian funk 
 the filver, and ordered that five Solidi of gold 
 fhould pafs in payments for the value of twelve 
 ounces or a pound of filver b . 
 
 The ounce of filver was worth ten pounds 
 of brafs ; and twenty pounds of brafs money 
 was equal in value to a Solidus of gold c . 
 
 The heads of the Emperors were engraved 
 upon their coin. The coiners and their chjl - 
 dren were tied down to the mint in which they 
 worked. Thefe mintmen, in the Emperor 
 Aurelian's time, coined falfe money, murdered 
 their Intendant, and raifed an infurreclion. 
 The people of the Provinces were obliged to 
 furnifli coal for the forges of the mint. It is 
 hot certainly known how many mints there 
 were in the Eaft, but there were fix in the 
 Weft d . 
 
 z In Alexandro, /. 3. De militari vcfle. L. Jubemus. 
 C. De erogat. militaris annonae. 
 
 * Plin. 1. 33. c 9. 
 
 b L. Quoties. C. De fufceptor. L. i. De argenti prctio. 
 c L. i De collat. zeris. 
 
 * 1. 2. Cod. < Theod. De ponderib. fcff. L. alt. De veteris 
 jiummi poteft. L. i. C. Edicimus, =f L. ttlt. De Murileg. 
 fcfr. Stiidai, Aurehus Viftor, Pfpijcuf, Eutropiiis, L. z. 
 De excuftt. murfcrum. 
 
 The
 
 of the R O M A N S. 157 
 
 The Intendants of the Imperial carriages 
 were fubject to the orders of the Superinten- 
 dant of the revenue : they were called Prcepo* 
 fiti Baftagarum c . 
 
 The Directors of the flax, called Procura- 
 pjres Umificwrum or Lympharii^ were alfo fub- 
 ordinate to the Superintendant. Their fun- 
 ction or bufinefs was to gather the flax, to 
 keep it, and to buy it, before it was worked 
 in any manner ' : they were looked upon as 
 little better than flaves. It is uncertain how 
 many there were of thefe Directors in the 
 Eaft ; but there were two in the Weft, the 
 one at Vienna, the other at Ravenna. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 Of the Offices that depended on the 
 intendant of the Reve?iue. 
 
 THERE were under the Superinten- 
 dant eleven Offices, which the Romans 
 termed Scrimaria. 
 
 The firft was the office for the receipt of 
 gold, called Scriniujn Canonum. Canon here 
 imports the fame thing as tribute ; and is the 
 quantity of gold which was taken out of the 
 taxes raifed upon the people, and carried to 
 the General Receiver's office or to the Exche- 
 quer, and what is called in, France the mare of 
 
 e Baftaga eft onuj transferendi res publicas vel Principis. 
 L. 3. Cod. De Cohortalibus. 
 
 f L. i. C. De (juibus muneribus. L. Siquh. C. De Mu- 
 rileg. 
 
 the
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 the Royal Treafury. The Przfeftus Pralorii 
 kept part of the taxes in his hands to pay the 
 local charges a . 
 
 The firft Commiflioner of the office of the 
 Receipt of gold, had the title given him of 
 Perfeftijjlmus. The fecond was called Ducena- 
 rius, that is to fay, commander of two hun- 
 dred men, clerks or foldiers. The third was 
 ftiled Centenarius, as having one hundred men 
 under him. Next to thefe were the Secreta- 
 ries, called Epiftolares, who upon the Super- 
 intendant*s orders wrote all the letters about 
 levying the taxes and duties that were fent to 
 the Governors of the Provinces. They had 
 all falaries from the State, and were ten in 
 number, but there were two of them above 
 the reft. The fixth Commiffioner of this of- 
 fice was fent every year into Phoenicia, to hin- 
 der the clandeftine commerce for purple b . 
 
 The fecond office confifted of Regifters, 
 Comptrollers, or Keepers of the Rolls, ftiled 
 Tabularii c . 
 
 The function and bufmefs of thefe officers 
 confifted in drawing up the bonds, leafes, re- 
 cognizances, and other inftruments for every 
 thing that any way related to the revenue, the 
 acquittances for fuch as were accountable to the 
 Exchequer and paid their afieffments for the 
 tailles. There were a vaft number of people 
 employed in this office. The chief of them 
 was called Primicerius, and bore the title of 
 Perfeftiffimus. The fecond was called Cents - 
 
 Juftln. -EJift. 4. . i. L Placet. L. i C. De Prse- 
 diis. L. ult. De Canone. AW//. 162. $. i. 
 b L. Vet C. De veftibus holofericis. 
 c L. 3. C. De Tabulariis, & L. g.ff. De Legatis. 
 
 narius,
 
 of the ROMANS. 159 
 
 tiarius, becaufe he had an hundred perfons un- 
 der him ; and was diftinguilhed with the fame 
 title of honour as the firft. 
 
 There were nine other officers or Clerks, 
 who were employed in the difpatches of the 
 office, and had different falaries or ftipends ac- 
 cording to the degrees of their pofts d . 
 
 The third office was compofed of Commif- 
 fioners appointed to take care of the accounts, 
 and called Numerarii. They drew up the 
 ftate of the revenue, with the accounts of re- 
 ceipt and expence ; called all that were charged 
 with any receipt to account ; and exercifed al- 
 moft all the functions of the officers of the 
 Cbambre des Comptes at Paris. There were fe- 
 veral degrees of officers in this office ; they 
 were advanced to them gradually, and when 
 they came at laft to be chief or firft Commif- 
 fioners, they had the privilege of being ex- 
 empted from furnifhing horfes, and fending to 
 the war any of that young militia which were 
 called Tirones e . 
 
 The fourth office was that of the Com mi f- 
 fioners appointed to take care of the gold bul- 
 lion : and all the gold that was in ingots, or 
 uncoined, was entered in the Books or Regi- 
 fters of this office f . We fee by 3 law of the 
 Emperor Gratian's, that there were four ranks 
 or claffes of Commiffioners or Clerks in this 
 office. The firft kept an account of the gold 
 in bullion ; the chief of thefe was called Pri- 
 micerius Maffis, and was honoured with the ti- 
 tle of Perfeftiffimus of the third rank. He 
 
 d L. 7. C. De Palat. facr. largitionum. 
 
 e L. Palat. C De Palar. facr. largitionum. 
 
 f L. Qaintus. $ ult.Jf. De auro & argento legato. 
 
 that
 
 160 Of the RE v E N u E s 
 
 that was at the head of the fecond clafs, had 
 likewife the title of Perfettiffimus. The firft 
 of the third clafs was called fertiocerMS, and 
 he of the fourth Quartocerius. Befides thefe, 
 and inferior to them in place and dignity, there 
 were fix other officers, and four Secretaries, 
 whofe employment was to write letters to the 
 Governors of Provinces. 
 
 The fecond clafs of this office was compofed 
 of fuch as were concerned in manufacturing 
 gold Huffs for the fervice of the Emperor. 
 
 In the third clafs an account was kept of all 
 the fpecies of gold that were coined every day : 
 And in fine, the fourth clafs was compofed of 
 goldfmiths employed in making rings, brace- 
 lets, and other ornaments, veflels, and all 
 kinds of plate in gold g . 
 
 The fifth office confifted of fuch as diftri- 
 buted and kept accounts of the gold affigned 
 for the charge and expence of die Exprefles 
 which the Emperors and the Generals had oc- 
 cafion to fend into the Provinces and to the 
 armies. It was (tiled the Scrinium auri ad Re- 
 fponfum^ becaufe the orders of the Emperor 
 and the Minifters were termed Refpenfa ; and 
 it is for this reafon that fervire ad Refponfum 
 fignifies to exercife the function of a Courier 
 of the Cabinet h . There were in this office a 
 great many Commiffioners, Clerks, or Offi- 
 cers, fome of which had the title of PerfeBif- 
 fimi. 
 
 The fixth office was that of the Wardrobe. 
 There were in it three claffes of writers and 
 officers. 
 
 L. Scrinii. C. De Palat. facr. largit. 
 h Procipius De bello Vandalico. 
 
 i. Such
 
 of the ROMANS. i6l> 
 
 l . Such as took care of the cloathing of the 
 troops, and kept an account of the cloaths 
 which the people were obliged to furnifh for 
 the foldiers, and of thofe which were ifiued 
 out of the office, and delivered to the Colo- 
 nels and Generals of the army. 
 
 2 . Such as had the charge of the Wardrobes 
 pf the Emperor and the Emprefs. 
 3. The Writers who entered in books what- 
 ever the other Clerks or Commiflioners dic- 
 tated. 
 
 The feventh office was that of the Empe- 
 ror's filver plate, and was ftiled Scrinium ab 
 urgent o. 
 
 In the eighth office were the workmen em- 
 ployed in making gold rings, and a fort of 
 filver money, called MUliarenfis, of the value 
 of a tenth part of a crown or Solidus of gold , 
 and worth about two pence of our money. 
 As it ferved for the payment of the troops, 
 there was a vaft quantity of it coined. 
 
 The ninth office was compoled, i . Of fuch 
 as kept accounts of the quantity and number 
 Of the pieces of gold and filver that were 
 coined at the mint. 2. Of thofe that went by 
 the name of Vafcular'ri^ and made the Prince's 
 plate. 3. Of the money-changers, called Ar* 
 gentarii. \. Of fuch as engraved, carved, and 
 wrought the plate, who were ftiled Barbarica* 
 rii. There were abundance of places and em- 
 ployments in this office k . 
 
 The tenth office was compofed of the Re- 
 gifters that wrote down and entered all the 
 
 * Suidas, Cedrenus in Leone Iconomach. 
 k L. penult. Jf. De auro & argento legato. 
 L. Scriniis. C. De Palat. facr. largitionum. 
 
 M Acls
 
 t62 Of the REVENUES 
 
 Acts of the Superintendant of the revenue, 
 and the Judgments which he gave in cafes that 
 came before him. There was likewife a great 
 number of officers employed in this bufmefs. 
 In fine, the eleventh office was that of the 
 officers (Hied Mittendarii, who were difpatched 
 on occafion into the Provinces to prefs the 
 Governors to levy the fubfidies and taxes. 
 Thefe officers were very numerous ; and a- 
 mongft the reft there was one that had the di- 
 rection of the carriages and vehicles -, that fet- 
 tled and prefcribed the roads to be taken ; 
 and that fent his orders to the feamen, and 
 the guides or furnifhers of horfes and beafts of 
 burden '. 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 v?*' \ J'J'J^Jt' jfV;'ip*i"'- > i* ''* .a/ii.'" iil if >A 
 
 Of the Superintendant of tbe Demefne. 
 
 THE Superintendant of the Imperial 
 Demefne was called Comes rerum priva* 
 tarum. Spartianus fays, that this office was 
 erected by the Emperor Severus a . He had 
 the adminiftration and direction of all the De- 
 mefne, the efcheats, confifcations, and other 
 rights and dues belonging to the Exchequer * 
 particularly of all grants, inftruments and let- 
 
 1 D. L. 7. C. De Palat. facr. largit. 
 L. ult. C. De exadl. tribut. 
 L. 7. $. i . Qaod cujus univerf. nomine. 
 Interfeftis innumeris Albini partium viris, omnium 
 bona publicata funt, aerariam auxerunt, tumque primum 
 torivatarum rerum procuratio conftituta eft. L. 4. C. DC 
 fundis Reipub. L 1 1. C. I. 
 
 ten
 
 of the R O M A N S. 
 
 ters that concerned the Demefne in Afia, Cap- 
 padocia, Pontus, Mefopotamia, &c. b 
 
 This Superintendant was dignified with the 
 title of Illuftrious. His jurifdidion took in 
 every thing that any way related to his charge, 
 or affefted the Demefne. Before he was graced 
 with the honourable tide of Comes, he was 
 fiiled the Procurator Cafaris. He was alfo 
 called Magifter rei private. He took cogni- 
 zance of the violation of tombs and fepul- 
 chres, of incefts, of the corruption of judges, 
 of the exactions, extortions and violences of 
 apparitors and ferjeants, and of every thing 
 that concerned the navigation of rivers. He 
 payed the workmen employed in the Empe- 
 ror's fervice, and made all the difburfements 
 For the expence as well of his houlhold, as of 
 that of the Emprefs r . 
 
 He had a great many fubaltern officers un- 
 der his direction in the Provinces, called Pro- 
 cur at ores Rationales d . 
 
 Though the denominations Mrarium and 
 Fifcus are very often confounded and ufed in- 
 diftinclly by authors, yet the office of the Su- 
 perintendant of the revenue for the receipt of 
 money was properly called the Mrariv.m^ or 
 Treafury, and that of the Superintendant of 
 the Demefne Fifcus, or the Exchequer. This 
 laft had in the Provinces officers that kept re_ 
 
 b L. Hi quibus. L, Omnes C. De fundis patrimonial. 
 Novell. 20 & 30. L. ult. De collat. fundorum patrimon. 
 
 * CaJpoJar. 1. 6. c. 8. L. l. ff. Procurator. Ofaris. 
 L. Ad rifcum. C. L. Qui contra C. De inceilis nupriis. 
 'Novell. I 24. . 2. iff antepenult. Caffiod. 1. 4 c 9. 
 
 d L. Procurator. C. De edendo. L. Sup. crear,dis. C 
 De jure fifci. 
 
 M 2-
 
 Of the REVENUES 
 
 gifters of all his acts, proceedings, and deci- 
 (ions ; and in the Court of his jurifdidtion, 
 there was a certain number of Advocates, who 
 were diftinguifhed with the title of ClariJJlmi e . 
 The arms of the Superintendant of the De- 
 mefne were a book laid upon a table covered 
 with a carpet. On the left of it was repre- 
 fented the Treafury-cheft, and all the field was 
 filled with pieces of gold coin, and veflels 
 that appeared full of various kinds of money. 
 
 , >2twj 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 Of the Officers that depended on the Super- 
 intendant of the Demefne. 
 
 TH E Superintendant of the Demefne had 
 a great many officers under him in the 
 Provinces, called Comitcs Rationales, or fim- 
 ply Rationales, or Procurators. 
 
 The function of thefe officers confifted in 
 bringing in, annexing, and incorporating to 
 the Demefne the goods, eftates, and dues be- 
 longing to the Exchequer ; particularly fuch 
 as had devolved to it by confiscation. 
 
 If the detainers thereof did not appear with- 
 in thirty days after a Sub-pawa or aflignation 
 ferved upon them, thefe officers feized the goods 
 and entered on the eftates a : the poflefibr how- 
 ever, if he appeared afterwards and applied to 
 
 Plin. Jan. in Panegyrico. L. 2. . Hoc Sntcrdiftum. 
 . Ubi caufe fifcales. L. 4. C. DC numerariis. 
 f L. ult. Cod. De Delat. 
 
 the
 
 of the ROMANS. 165 
 
 the Court, was heard, upon paying four crowns 
 of gold for his neglect or contumacy in not 
 appearing on the aifignation. 
 
 When they made a difcovery of any goods 
 that belonged to the Exchequer, they drew 
 up exact declarations thereof fpecifying all the 
 particulars, and incorporated them into the 
 Imperial Demefne, by putting upon them the 
 Emperor*s arms . It was then ftrictly for- 
 bidden all perfons to petition, apply or folli- 
 cit for grants thereof. 
 
 Thefe officers were judges of all caufes, 
 wherein the Demefne and every thing relating 
 to it was interefled or concerned ; but the Ad- 
 vocate of the Exchequer was necefiarily to be 
 prefent. With regard to criminal affairs where- 
 in the farmers of the revenue were concerned, 
 it was the Governor of the Province that took 
 cognizance and decided in fuch cafes c . 
 
 Thcfe fubaltern officers had ferjeants and 
 apparitors under them ; and were paid their 
 ftipends and falaries by the Treafury. They 
 had the care and direction of the goods, lands 
 and revenues formerly appropriated to the 
 worfhip and fervice of falfe Deities, and after- 
 wards applied or given to Chriftian Churches ; 
 with an entire and abfoiute jurifdiction over 
 fuch eftates d . 
 
 They had an authority over the waggoners 
 and carriers of the Imperial houfhold, and 
 
 k L. Si quando. C. De bonis vacantibus toto. Tit. C. 
 De pethione bonorum fublata. 
 
 e L. Ad fifcum. C. Ubi caufae fifcales. L. ult. C. Si 
 adverfus fifcum. L. Cum aliquid. C. Ubi caufae fifcales. 
 
 * L. In fifcalibus & deexacl. tribut. L. Officiates. C. De 
 Epifcopis & Clericis. L. penult. C. Ubi caufs fifcales. 
 L' 4. C. De fundis rei privatae. 
 
 M over
 
 i66 Of the REVENUES 
 
 over the Prince's flocks and herds of cattle, 
 and ftuds of horfes e . 
 
 The Infpectors or Matters of the Forefts 
 were alfo fubordinate to the Superintendant of 
 the Demefne. He had likewifc the infpection 
 over the accounts of the Sacred Demefne in- 
 ftituted by the Emperor Anaftafius, as we are 
 told in the Bafilica : and even the Great Con- 
 ftable, or the Emperor's Matter of the Horfe, 
 was fubject to his orders f . 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Of the Officers called Palatini, depending 
 on the Superintendant of tie Demejne. 
 
 TH E Serjeants or Apparitors ftiled Pala- 
 tint had the care of the Emperor's pa- 
 trimony, and of the effects or eftates that were 
 confifcated or belonged to the Exchequer a . 
 They were diftributed into four offices. 
 
 The firft was for the ordering and ma- 
 nagement of eftates given and granted to the 
 Churches ; and was ftiled the Scrinium Benefi- 
 ciorum. This was the office likewife for enter- 
 ing and regiftering privileges . 
 
 The fecond office was compofed of fuch as 
 were charged with getting in the fines that 
 
 e L. unic. C De grcge Domi. 
 
 f L. ult. Cod Tbeod De privilegiis Corporatorum. Z. i. 
 C. De pafcuis publicis, &V. 
 
 * L. I . &T ult C. DC Palat. facrarum largit. 
 k L. ult. 5. Quam. C. De Quadri. prob. 
 L. 4 ff. De condit. Princip. 
 
 were
 
 cftbe ROMANS. 167 
 
 were payable for long leafes, and the annual 
 
 rents of eftates c . 
 
 The third was the office of difcharges, 
 
 where they delivered out all acquittances. 
 
 This was termed Scrinium Securitatum d . 
 
 The fourth was that of the private bounties 
 and largefies, Scrinium largitionum privatarum % 
 In this office was kept an account of all that 
 the Emperor gave away, and alfo of the wages 
 and falaries that he paid to his own officers 
 and to thofe of the Emprefs. In this office 
 Jikewife were paid the new-year's-gifts to the 
 Advocates on the firft day of January ; and 
 nobody could be admitted into this office, 
 without an order in writing under the Empe- 
 ror's own hand f . 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 Of divers fubaltern Officers employed like- 
 wife in the Revenue. 
 
 TH E Decuriones or Magiftrates of towns 
 had a great hand in the management of 
 the revenue : they were like our Aldermen 
 and Common- Council of Corporations ; and 
 neither they nor their children could alter their 
 condition and way of life, nor change their 
 dwelling by removing to any other country or 
 
 c L. 9. 10. C. De fund, patrim. 
 
 * L. i, 2, 3, 4. C. De Apochis. CaJJiodor. 1. ir. c. 2. 
 
 L. Palatines. C. De Palat. facrar. largitionum. 
 f Z,. Scriniis. C. De diverfis Officiis. 
 
 M 4 place
 
 i68 Of the REVENUES 
 
 place of habitation a . If they died without 
 leaving any . children behind them to enjoy 
 their effects and inherit their eftates, a fourth 
 part of what they left belonged to the Corpo- 
 ration 13 . 
 
 They farmed out the lands of the Demefne, 
 and fet the public works to the cheapeft un- 
 dertaker. 
 
 The firft ten of them levied the tailles and 
 fubfidies, and were bound to have the pay- 
 ments compleat, or in cafe of failure to fup- 
 ply the deficiency c . 
 
 They had the care and management of all 
 etfates and effects left by will to the Repub- 
 lic. They were charged with laying in provi- 
 fions of corn, and with the regulation and or- 
 dering of the fubfidies. They fettled the af- 
 feffments and fixed the quotas of the contri- 
 butors *, and thofe among them, to whofe par 
 ticular province thefe affefiments belonged, 
 were diftinguifhed by the names of Cenfttores 
 Peraquatores d . 
 
 Thefe Cenfttores had the adminiftration of 
 all the public revenues : they paid the falaries 
 of the Phyficians, Grammarians, Orators and 
 Philofophers ; and they were alfo the perfons 
 that chofe them, in the prefence of the Go- 
 vernor of the Province c . 
 
 Befides thefe, there were alfo Collectors of 
 the tailles or fubfidies upon land, called Ex-> 
 
 Novell. 38. De Decurionibus. 
 k L. i & 2. C. Quando & Quibus, quarto, pars. 
 * L. final. L. 1 5* 3.^". De muneribus & honoribus. 
 ^ Ibid. 
 L. 2 fc? $.ff. De adminiftrat. C. DC Cenfitor. & Pei> 
 
 efforts
 
 of the ROMANS. ,69 
 
 aftores or Subfcrtytorcs. They were picked 
 by the T)ecuriones or Magiftrates of Corpora- 
 tions either out of the body of Cenjl tores or of 
 the People. Thefe Collectors, in the prefencc 
 of the Magiftrates of a town, took an ac- 
 count of the lands which each particular per- 
 fon pofieffed, and of what every one was to 
 pay ' : but the Magiftrates, in cafe the Colle- 
 ctors proved infolvent, were anfwerable to 
 make good the deficiency. They fettled alfo 
 and levied the perfonal tallies and rates. 
 
 The manner of laying and levying the fub~ 
 fidies and other taxes upon land, at leaft as 
 far as the Code enables us to form a notion of 
 the matter, was as follows. 
 
 In the month of Auguft, the Emperor 
 gave the Prafefti Pratorii a computation con- 
 taining the fum of money and quantity of pro- 
 vifions that he mould want for the enfuing 
 year. Purfuant to this calculation the PrafeRi 
 Prtztorii, who were ufually four, drew up each 
 of them commifiions for what his respective 
 diftric~t was t furnifh 5 and then having made 
 repartitions thereof into the feveral Govern- 
 ments depending upon them, they directed 
 them to the Governors. This cuftom has a 
 good deal of refemblance with what is practi- 
 fed in France with regard to the King's efta- 
 blimments, which are delivered to the Recei- 
 vers general in order to raife the money. 
 
 Thefe Commifiions or Briefs of the tallies 
 or fubfidies were ftiled Delegationes or Delega- 
 toria. The Governors in their turn made an- 
 other fubdivifion of the grofs fum i and fent 
 
 f I, Exa&ores. C. De Sufceptoribus. 
 
 them
 
 170 Of the REVENUES 
 
 them to the Decuriones or Magiftrates of towns 
 in their Government. Thefe made choice of 
 affefibrs to fix the rates of particulars; and 
 then the rolls were delivered to the Collectors to 
 get in the money ; which was conftantly paid 
 at three terms, the firft of September, the firft 
 of January, and the firft of May *. 
 
 When the money was received, it was fent 
 from the particular towns (which were called 
 Metrocenua, and anfwered to what is termed 
 Elections in France) to the capital city of the 
 Province, the place of the Governor's ordina- 
 ry refidence, diftinguifhed on that account by 
 the term of Metropolis. It was in this Capi- 
 tal, that the general office of Receipt was al- 
 ways kept. One part of this money was ap- 
 pointed for difcharging the local eftablifhment 
 and charges of the Province ; another part 
 was carried to the cheft of the Prafeftus Pnz- 
 toriii and applied to the bufmefs and occafions 
 of his poft ; and the reft was paid into the 
 Treafury called Sacrum &rarium. 
 
 With regard to provifions, as corn, wine, 
 barley, bacon, hay, ftraw, &c. when they 
 were levied, they were put into magazines, 
 built exprefsly for that purpofe, and under the 
 direction of the Prafettus Pratorii. 
 
 We are informed by Julius Capitol inus, in 
 his Life of the younger Gordianus, that Mifi- 
 theus, one of the Prafefti Pratorii, had laid in 
 fuch large magazines of corn, bacon, vinegar 
 and ftraw in the capital towns of the Provinces 
 under his Prefecture, that they were fufficient 
 to fupply and maintain an army for a year. 
 
 * L. I fcf 2. C, De indiftionibus. 
 If. 7. 15. C. DC crogatione militaris Annonae. 
 
 And
 
 of the R O M A N S. 171 
 
 And Spartian relates, that the Emperor Seve- 
 rus left at his death the ftorehoufes and gra- 
 naries fo plentifully provided, that there were 
 provifions enough for feven years, at the rate 
 of a consumption of feventy-five thoufand 
 bufhels of 'corn a day, and fuch a quantity 
 of oil, that it was enough to fupply all Italy 
 for five years. 
 
 As for what accrued to the Demefne from 
 confifcations, forfeitures, feizures, efcheats, fuc- 
 ceflions that had no certain heir, cafualties and 
 the like, it was all carried to the receipt of 
 the Exchequer, which was under the direction 
 of the Superintendant of the Demefne. 
 
 There were a great many other officers em- 
 ployed in the collection and getting in of the 
 revenue : as the Treafurers, 'Thefaurarn, who 
 were the Receivers general ; the Cafhiers, 
 called Arcarii) who had the chefts of ready 
 money in their keeping ; fuch as were con- 
 cerned in getting it in, who were ftiled Oftni- 
 ones or Opiniatores ; fuch as were fent to prefs 
 the remittance of the money, named Canoni- 
 cani ; fuch as ferved to guard and convoy 
 them, called for that reafon Perfecutores ; fuch 
 as ordered and iflued out warrants for feizure 
 or diftreining, who were termed Compulfores 5 
 the weighers of the money, called Zigoftata ; 
 the Clerks that kept the books and regifters 
 of the fubfidies or tax-rolls, Cenfuales ; and 
 the Receivers, of which there were two in eve- 
 ry Province, that went by the denomination 
 of Sujctptorgs. 
 
 The E N D of the Treatife of tbe Re- 
 venue of tbe Romans.
 
 '73 
 
 TREATISE 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 FALSE MONEY 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 ROMANS, * ; 
 
 According to the Principles of the 
 CIVIL LAW. 
 
 Sovereign Princes have ever confidered 
 the power of coining money as one of 
 the faireft rights of their Crown : and 
 have accordingly in all ages decreed very fe- 
 vere penalties againft fuch as have invaded it 
 in any refpect. The Roman Emperors were 
 not lefs rigid than others in this point : and as 
 the wifdom of their laws is now the admira- 
 tion of the moft civilized and beft regulated 
 nations, we mall here give an account of the 
 ordinances they have made upon this fubjecl:. 
 To do it methodically, we mail divide this 
 Treatife into two parts. In the firft we mail 
 explain the different manners in which the 
 crime of falfifying or counterfeiting the coin 
 may Be incurred ; and what there is particular 
 in this crime. In the fecond we mall fpeak 
 of the penalties denounced and enacted againft 
 falfe coiners and their accomplices. 
 
 PART
 
 J74- Of the FALSE MONEY 
 
 PART I. 
 
 OF all the feveral kinds of forgery, that 
 which is practifed with regard to the 
 coin, is undoubtedly of the nnoft criminal and 
 pernicious nature. For as it belongs only to 
 Crowned Heads to coin money, the coining of 
 any by a man's private authority, or the al- 
 tering of that which hath been ftruck by the 
 Prince's orders and commiflion, is a fort of 
 afpiring to the throne, and violating the Ma- 
 jefty of the Sovereign in the moft fenfible part, 
 and is univerfally deemed to merit the appel- 
 lation and pains of the crime of High Trea- 
 fon. 
 
 According to the Roman Laws, the crime 
 of falfifying the coin was committed in feven 
 different manners, i. By the coining of fpe- 
 cies of money in other places than thofe 
 which were appointed by the Prince for this 
 purpofe, tho* the pieces coined were of a good 
 alloy and a juft weight a ; unlefs the coiners 
 thereof had procured a fpecial permiffion from 
 the Emperor for their warrant. In truth, there 
 was a time when the Prince granted fome pri-' 
 vate perfons a commiflion to coin money 
 wherever they thought fit : but as thefe grants 
 were found to be prejudicial to the State, and 
 to interrupt the courfe of commerce, Theodo- 
 fius the Great revoked them all, and forbad 
 fuch as had obtained them to make ufe of their 
 privilege any longer, on pain of being treated 
 
 L. 3. Co& Weed. Tit. De falfa Monetsu 
 
 as
 
 of the ROMANS. 
 
 as falfe coiners b . We do not want examples 
 of the like grants in the hiftory of France 5 
 efpecially in the times when our Kings, being 
 not yet firmly feated in their throne, thought 
 it beft to yield up part of their rights, to pre- 
 ferve the reft : but they were all at laft revoked 
 for the fame reafons. Choppin relates, that 
 Robert, Count of Beauvais, furrendered his 
 right to the King, in confederation of the fum 
 of fix thoufand livres. But it would be ex- 
 ceeding the limits we have fet ourfelves in this 
 treatife, to enlarge further upon this fubjeft. 
 
 2. People incurred the guilt of the crime 
 of falfe coining, if they ftruck even in the 
 Royal Mints any ingots of gold that were 
 brought them by private men without the 
 Prince's orders c . On occafion of this law it 
 may not be improper to remark, that the Ro- 
 man Emperors were jealous of gold to fuch a 
 degree, as frequently to forbid the ufe of it to 
 their fubjecls. Procopius and Zonaras relate, 
 that there was an univerfal prohibition in all 
 the Provinces of the Roman Empire of coin- 
 ing gold. Theodofius the Great made a law, 
 that no Magiftrate whatever, except the or- 
 dinary Confuls, mould make any diftribution 
 or prefent in gold, whenever they gave plays 
 to the people, or took poffefiion of their dig- 
 nities and employments d . At laft Juftinian 
 forbad the Confuls themfelves to throw any 
 gold to the people in the public ceremonies e , 
 and the Emperors referved this right to them- 
 
 * Ibid L. 10. Tit. De falfa Moneta. 
 L 7 & 8. Cod. Theod. Tit. eod 
 L, i. Cod.Theod. Tit. De expenfis ludoruin. 
 l. 105. 
 
 felves
 
 f 76 Of tie FALSE MONEY 
 
 felves alone, as a diftinguifhing mark of the 
 Imperial Majefty. As for ingots of filver, 
 private men were allowed to carry them to 
 the Mints, and there have them coined. This 
 appears clearly from the two laws, the feventh 
 and the eighth juft before quoted. 
 
 3. The crime of falfe coining was commit- 
 ted by the coining of fpecies, that were falfc 
 either in their matter or weight f . 
 
 4. It was incurred likewife by falfifying the 
 Emperor's image or the infcription put with it 
 upon his coin g . 
 
 5. By melting down the fpecies that were 
 coined, fince by that means the circulation of 
 money was interrupted, and commerce fuf- 
 fered a prejudice h . 
 
 6. By refining or altering the money called 
 Majorina Pecunia. This money was a compo- 
 fition of filver and copper, and the refiners 
 who melted it made ufe of Aqua regia to fepa- 
 rate the filver from the copper . 
 
 7. When fuch as coined money by the 
 Prince's exprefs permiffion, made it either 
 weaker, lighter, and leis weighty than it ought 
 to have been ; or when they clipped, filed, or 
 any way wafted that which had been already 
 made and legally damped, in order to leflen 
 the juft weight which it ought to have k . 
 
 ' L. 2. Cod Tbeod Tit. De falfa Moncta. 
 
 * L. uxica Cod. Tbeod. Tit. Siquis folidi circulum cir- 
 cumciderit. 
 
 k L. i. Cod. Tbeod. Tit. Siquis pecunias conflaverit. 
 
 1 Leg. 6. Cod. Theod. Tit. De falfa Moneta. 
 
 k Leg. unica Cod. Tbtod. Tit. Siquis folidi circulum cir- 
 cumciderit. 
 
 I mail
 
 of tie ROMANS. 177 
 
 I fhall but juft take notice of fome particu- 
 lar circumftances attending the crime of falfe 
 coining. 
 
 1. As this crime is of a public nature, all 
 the world was allowed to accufe and impeach 
 fuch as were guilty of it, and to prcfecute not 
 only the falfe coiners themfelves, but all fuch 
 as harboured and concealed them, or knowing 
 their guilt did not denounce them to the Ma- 
 giftrates. 
 
 2. The accufers or denouncers of fuch as 
 were guilty of this crime, had recompences 
 according to the diverfity of their condition ; 
 free perfons were exempted from all real tri- 
 butes, or taxes upon lands ; flaves obtained 
 their liberty and the right of denizenfhip ; 
 their matter being firft indemnified for the lofs 
 of his fervant. 
 
 3. A man condemned for the crime of falfe 
 coining was debarred the liberty of appealing 
 to the Emperor. 
 
 4. Whoever was entrufted with the cuftody 
 of a falfe cciner, was condemned to death if 
 he let him efcape ! . 
 
 5. Amneflics, or general edicts for the par- 
 don or abolition of crimes, did not extend to 
 falfe coiners in . 
 
 1 Leg. 2. Cod. <n>eoJ. Tit. De falfa Moneta. 
 
 " Leg. 6. CW. Hyeod. Tit. DC mdulgentia criminunx. 
 
 -uL-V.^3 ^ 
 - OW> TITlij 3i { -- 
 
 N PART
 
 178 Of the FALSE MONEY 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Of the Punifotnents denounced and inflitfed 
 uponfalje Coiners and their Accomplices. 
 
 TH E punifhments decreed againft falfc 
 coiners were different, according to the 
 times and different conditions of perfons. In 
 the time of the Commonwealth, falfe coiners 
 were condemned to the beads, if they were 
 Free ; and punifhed with death, if they were 
 flaves n . It looks as if Cornelius Sylla the 
 Dictator was the author of this law, which 
 was called Lex Cornelia nummaria. 
 
 When Ulpian fays, that faife comers were, 
 condemned to the beads, it is only to be un- 
 derdood of men that were of the very dregs 
 of the people -, for with regard to fuch as 
 were didinguifhed by their birth or employ- 
 ments, they were fentenced to perpetual ba- 
 nifhment, and their edates were confifcated. 
 This we are affured of by the lawyer Paulus. 
 From that time to the reign of Condantine 
 the Great, there are no Conditutions upon this 
 fubject to be found in the Roman Law . 
 
 In Condantine's time, falfe coiners appeared 
 in much greater numbers than ever before ; 
 and accordingly almod all the laws made a* 
 gaind them are the acts of that Emperor. He 
 applied himfelf particularly to exterminate 
 thefe public peds, who only fought their own 
 
 Ulpian. Leg. 3. Digeft. ad Leg. Corotl* PC falfis. - 
 ? Scntent, Lib. 5. Tit. 25. 
 
 private
 
 of the ROMANS. 179 
 
 private intereft, in the ruin of their fellow 
 citizens. By the law which he published in 
 the year 319, he orders, that if any Magi- 
 ftrate of a corporation fhall be convicled of 
 this crime of falfe coining, he fhall be banifhed 
 to one of the remoteft towns of the Empire ; 
 and referves to himfelf the power of difpofing 
 of his eftate : in cafe the guilty perfon was a 
 man of the dregs of the people, he orders him 
 to be banifhed for ever, and his effects con- 
 fifcated ; and if he were a flave, directs him 
 to be punifhed with death. Nothing was en- 
 aclred in this law againft perfons of condition. 
 But as the punimments impofed by this Jaw 
 were not adequate to the evil, nor able to put 
 a flop to the crime, the Emperor had recourfe 
 to a more violent remedy, and in A. D. 321, 
 made a law to punim all falfe coiners of any 
 condition whatfoever with death. In the year 
 326, he renewed this very law, and to the 
 penalty of death added that of confifcation of 
 eftate, which had not been mentioned in the 
 former law ?. 
 
 By thefe laws falfe coiners are indeed con- 
 demned to a capital punifhment, but the kind 
 of it is not determined : nor are they to be 
 underftood generally of all perfons guilty of 
 that crime, but only of fuch as worked upon 
 filver. As for fuch as coined gold upon falfe 
 dyes, Conftantine condemned them to be 
 burnt, by the law which he published 'in. 
 A.D. 317.'. 
 
 . 
 i Leg. 
 
 comcide 
 
 Leg. i, 2, & 3. Cod. Theed. Tit. De falfa Moneta. , 
 
 . unic. Cod. Theott. Tit. SiquiS iblidi clrculum cir- 
 erit. 
 
 N 2 It
 
 Of the FALSE MONEY 
 
 It happened at this time that Conftantine or- 
 dering new money to be coined, gave dire- 
 ctions for the pieces of the new coin to be 
 ftruck of the fame weight as the old ones, 
 but fomething lefs in fize, fixing upon them 
 the fame value. This money was not favour- 
 ably received by the people, and fell into fuch 
 difcredit, that they refufed publickly to take 
 it in payment upon the fame foot as the an- 
 cient. This manner of proceeding was re- 
 fented by the Prince as an high affront and in- 
 dignity, and therefore Conftantine thought fit 
 by the law a little before quoted, to decree 
 burning or any other capital punifhment a- 
 gainft fuch as mould refufe to take the faid 
 money at the value he had fixed upon it, on 
 pretence that it was of a fmaller form than 
 the old coin : the reafon which he afligns for 
 it is, that money ought to be valued by the 
 weight and not by the form, and confequently 
 pieces of the fame weight ought to pafs at 
 the fame value. Things changed afterwards 
 very much ; and as in the courfe of time the re- 
 fpect which they bore to the Prince was car- 
 ried almoft to the point of a fervile adoration, 
 the people made a much greater account of 
 the money newly coined, than they did of the 
 old pieces ; which obliged the Emperor Va- 
 lentinian I. to make a law to reftore the cre- 
 dit and eftablifh the currency of the old coin r . 
 Conftantine impofeth the fame punifliment of 
 burning or any other kind of death, upon fuch a$ 
 Ihould clip the rim or border of the piece, in or- 
 
 * C*/ Juftin. 'Tit. D$ rctcris aunyfoutis poteftate.
 
 of the ROMANS. 181 
 
 der to di minim the quantity thereof r , Cuja- 
 cius relates upon this occafion, that there was 
 at Byzantium or Conftantinople a man named 
 Alexander^ ib dexterous in this practice, that 
 he was furnamed Alexander the Clipper. In the 
 year 343, Conftantius confirms the law of 
 Conftantine, and promifes a recompence to 
 fuch as mould denounce and impeach the guil- 
 ty, but without fpecifying any particular re- 
 ward. The fame Emperor decrees the punim- 
 ment of death againft the founders, whom he 
 ftiles Flaturarii^ that melted, refined, or altered 
 the filver called, as we have faid, Majorina 
 Pecunia : . 
 
 We have put in the number of falfe coiners 
 fuch as coined ingots of gold which private 
 men had carried to the mints without the 
 Prince's order. The Emperor Valentinian was 
 pleafed to enact farther, that all the gold fo. 
 coined mould be forfeited, and paid into the 
 Imperial Exchequer. Four years after he mo- 
 derated the rigor of this law, and contented 
 himfelf with confifcating two ounces in every 
 pound of gold u . In the year 356, Conftan- 
 tius (for that was the time when this law was 
 afcribed to Conftantine) declares all fuch to 
 be guilty of facrilege as mould be convicted 
 of having melted down any pieces of the coin, 
 or of having carried them out of the Empire -, 
 and in confequence thereof orders them to be 
 punilhed with death v . By the fame law he 
 
 f Leg. unic. Cod Tbtod. Tit. Si quis folidi circulurn cir- 
 cumciderit. 
 
 1 Leg. 5 fcf 6. Cod. Theod. Tit. De falfa Moncta. 
 
 * Ibid. L. 6 y 3. Cod. Theod. Tit. De falfa Moneta. 
 
 * Leg. i. Cod. Tbeod, Tit. Siquis pecunias conflaverit. 
 
 N 3 utterly
 
 Of the FA LSE MONEY 
 
 utterly forbids the buying or felling of the 
 current fpecies, becaufe money is not a mer- 
 cantile commodity, but the price of commo- 
 dities. In fine, he prohibits the making ufe 
 of fuch as are not current in commerce j and 
 in cafe any of them be found in a merchant's 
 houfe, he orders them to be confifcated, with 
 all the eftate and effects of the infringer of this 
 ordinance. 
 
 All the punifhments here mentioned, how 
 fevere foever they were, did not however de- 
 ter or intimidate the falfe coiners. 
 
 The Emperors imagined, that the refpect 
 which people naturally have for the Royal au- 
 thority, might ferve more effectually to con- 
 tain them within their duty : and therefore in 
 A. D. 389, Valentinian, Theodofius and Ar- 
 cadius declared falfe coiners to be guilty of the 
 crime of high treafon v . Let us now fee in 
 what manner the accomplices of falfe coiners 
 were punifhed. 
 
 There are two ways in which a man may 
 be an accomplice with them ; either by hav- 
 ing a fhare in the coining of the falfe money, 
 or in putting off and vending it. Agairtft the 
 accomplices of the firft kind, Conftantine de- 
 nounces the fentence of death or perpetual ba- 
 nifhment, according to the quality and condi- 
 tion of the perfons x . The law runs in the 
 following terms. Our pleafure is, that all fuch 
 as foall be affifting in the coining of falfe money, 
 whether Jlaves, plowmen, or others, employed in 
 tilling the ground or dwelling in the houfe where 
 
 w Leg 9. Cod Tbeod. Tit. De falfa Moneta. 
 * Ibid. L, z. Cod. Tbeod. Tit. De iali'a Moneta.
 
 of the ROMANS. 183 
 
 it hath been coined, Jhall lye -purified with death, 
 as well as tbofe that Jhall coin it, and the ground 
 or the houfe Jhall be confifcated. With regard to 
 the -proprietor of the ground, if he had any 
 knowledge thereof, our fleafure is that he be ba- 
 nifhedfor ever, and all bis eftate. and effects con- 
 fifcated. If the crime be committed without his, 
 knowledge, he Jhall efcape for his perfon, but with 
 the forfeiture of his ground or houfe -, but in cafe 
 be knew of it, and immediately gave notice there- 
 cf to the Magiftrate, he foall be exempt from all 
 penalties whatever. This law was made 
 A. D. 321. Eight years after, the fame Em- 
 peror foftened the feverity of this law, at leaft 
 fo far as related to the proprietor of the ground 
 or houfe, where the falfe money was coined : 
 he ordered that the proprietor being guilty of 
 negligence, (as if he was dwelling upon the 
 ipot, and yet had not taken care to inform 
 himfelf of what parTed in his own ground) 
 fliould incur the penalties denounced by the 
 foregoing law ; but excufeth him from all 
 manner of punifhment, in cafe he lived at fo 
 remote a diftance, that he could not eafily 
 know what was doing on his grounds. He 
 likewife declares that widows mall not be lia- 
 ble to the penalties decreed by the faid law, 
 though they live near their grounds or houfes 
 where the money was coined, provided ftill 
 that they are not accomplices therein. With 
 regard to Minors and Pupils, he exempts them 
 from all penalties, even though they were not 
 ignorant of what was doing, becaufe they do 
 not really underftand the nature of what they 
 fee ; but he throws the punifbment upon their 
 tutors or guardians, becaufe they ought to be 
 N 4 acquainted
 
 184 Of the FAL s MON E Y 
 
 acquainted with every thing that paffes on the 
 cftate of their pupils , ib that they were, 
 ebliged to indemnify the pupil from all the 
 lofies that he might fuffer on this account ?. 
 Abating thefe alterations, he enjoins that his 
 firft law mould be obferved according to its 
 form and tenor. 
 
 There is no doubt but the utterers and put- 
 ters off of falfe money partake in the crimes 
 of falfe coiners, when they do it knowingly z ; 
 Gonftantine accordingly treats them in the fame 
 manner, /. <?. he condemns them to be burnt, 
 or to any other kind of death which the Ma- 
 giftrate mould think fit to inflict. 
 
 With regard to fuch as put off falfe money 
 without knowing it, they were not on account 
 of their ignorance exempted from the penal* 
 ties decreed againft fuch as put off falfe mo- 
 ney ; for from their very putting it off, they 
 were prefumed to have coined it, and confe- 
 quently were deemed falfe coiners. In order 
 to clear themfelves, they were obliged to de- 
 clare the perfon from whom they had received 
 it, that fo iniquity might be traced up to its 
 fource, and thofe who had coined it might be 
 difcovered : they were alfo obliged to prove, 
 that they did not know it to be falie money. 
 This is the opinion of Cujacius and Perefius \ 
 In fine, to lefTen the number of falfe coiners 
 as much as was pofiible, Conftantine orders, 
 that all perfons who worked at the mints in 
 
 y Leg. 4. Cod. Thcod. Ttt. De falfa Moneta. 
 z Leg. unifd Cod. Tbeod. Siquis folidi circulum circum- 
 ciderit. 
 
 a leg. 26. Digejl De jure fifci. Leg. 4. Cod. ad Leg. 
 De falfis, & Leg. 5. Dt furtk & lervo corrupto. 
 
 the
 
 of the ROM AN 5. 
 
 the coinage of money, Ihould not afterwards 
 be allowed to quit that profefiion, or be ad- 
 vanced to any poft or dignity that would take 
 them off from it, for fear that when they had 
 once quitted that bufinefs, and were reduced 
 to a private life, they might employ them- 
 fclves in coining falfe money b . 
 
 This is the fubftance of what I have found 
 moft particular in the Roman Law, upon the 
 fubject of falfe money. All the laws that I 
 have here cited, except the Cornelian law ~De 
 re nummaria, were made in the fpace of fe- 
 venty two years, i. e. from the time of Con- 
 ftantine to Theodofius the younger ; a plain 
 proof that falfe coiners were very numerous 
 in thofe days. Juftinian hath adopted part 
 of them, and inferted them in his Code : nor 
 were falfe coiners treated a jot more favour- 
 ably in his reign, than in thofe of the Em- 
 perors his predeceflbrs ; on the contrary he 
 condemns them all to be burnt without ex- 
 ception c ; whereas this kind of punifhment 
 feemed to have been inflicted only upon fuch 
 as coined falfe pieces of gold ; the others be- 
 ing punifhed fimply with death. 
 
 I cannot finifh this Treatife without taking 
 notice of a law that is to be feen in the Jufti- 
 nian Code d , and which, though it does not 
 relate directly to the particular fubject here 
 treated of, deferves however to be remarked, 
 and the rather becaufe it relates to money in 
 general. The Emperors Valentinian and Va- 
 lens order by this law, the price of every 
 
 b Leg. i . Cod. "[head. Tit. De Murilegulis & Monetariis. 
 
 c Leg. 2. Tit. De falfa Moneta. 
 
 * Tit. De veteris numifmatis poteftate. 
 
 thing
 
 186 Of tie FALSE MONEY, Gfc. 
 
 thing fhall diminish in proportion to the dimi- 
 nution of the coin. This is the explanation 
 given of it by Cujacius. This law carries 
 with it fuch evident marks of equity, that we 
 cannot help owning it to be juft and reafon- 
 abfe ; and fuch a regulation might be of ufe 
 in this Kingdom, where the contrary happens 
 but too frequently. 
 
 END if the Treatife of the Falfe Money 
 of the Romans.
 
 [ i8 7 1 
 THE 
 
 MANNER 
 
 OF DISTINGUISHING 
 
 ANTIQUE MEDALS 
 
 From fuch as are COUNTERFEIT. 
 
 AS the diftinguifhing of Antique Me- 
 dals from fuch as are counterfeit, is 
 the firft point of knowledge neceflary 
 for a Virtuofo, that attempts to form col- 
 lections of Medals , it cannot but feem a juft 
 matter of wonder, that in the multitude of 
 authors which have for near an hundred years 
 pad wrote upon the Science of Medals, there 
 fliould not be fo much as one that hath fet 
 himfelf to lay down any clear and fure rules 
 to enable people to diftinguifli the true from 
 the falfe. 
 
 It muft be owned indeed that F. Jobert the 
 Jefuit, in his book of the Science of Medals, 
 hath as it were by the by, and in very few 
 words, touched (lightly upon the fubjecl: which 
 I now undertake to clear : but this part of his 
 work is fo very fuperfkial, that it is plain 
 enough he fpoke of it purely to avoid the re- 
 proach
 
 l88 fbe Manner of diftinguifiing 
 
 proach of having omitted fo eflential an arti- 
 cle in a work defigned to take in all the parts 
 of the Medtllic Science. 
 
 It never was however more neceflary to 
 furnifh Virtuofos and curious perfons with 
 means to guard againft the various artifices of 
 falfe coiners, than at a time when France is 
 and hath been for feveral years over- run with 
 a prodigious number of falfe Medals, which 
 have been brought to us and are flill bringing 
 every day from Italy. This confideration hath 
 induced me to conceive myfelf authorized to 
 communicate to the public fome new obferva- 
 tions which I have made upon the art of dif- 
 dnguifhing Antique Medals from fuch as are 
 counterfeit. I flatter myfelf that Virtuofos, 
 who are not yet far advanced in the fcience 
 of the mechanifm of Medals, will not be dif- 
 pleafed with the helps I fhall offer towards 
 opening their eyes, and thereby faving them 
 abundance of ufelefs expences. The love of 
 what is true and genuine, which I wifh to in- 
 fpire into them, is the only motive that hath 
 made me undertake this work. 
 
 It is not only in our days, that the tempta- 
 tion of gain and the defire of impofing on 
 Virtuofos, has put fome able workmen upon 
 attempting to counterfeit Antique Medals. 
 
 William du Cboul, who lived about two 
 hundred years ago, and who is one of the 
 firft Virtuofos that wrote upon the monuments 
 of Greece and Rome, has in his book Of the 
 Religion of the old Romans, printed the ftamps 
 of two Medals of Agrippa, one of great brafs, 
 on the reverfe whereof appears the Pantheon ; 
 the other of filver, which had on the reverfe 
 
 a Neptune
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c. 
 
 a Neptune in a chariot drawn by two fea- 
 horfes, with this Legend, Aequoris hie omni- 
 fotens. Thefe two Medals were certainly 
 falfe. 
 
 Anthony Lepois, who was cotemporary with 
 du Cboul, and wrote (in French) very amply 
 upon the fubject of Medals, after the manner 
 of the age wherein he lived, cites likewife fe- 
 veral others of the fame kind ; fuch as a Sci- 
 pio Africanus of brafs, the Pens Aelius on the 
 reverfe of Adrian, and a Pefcennius Niger of. 
 gold, which hath not been met with fince 
 that time, &c. This mews us evidently, that 
 as foon as ever there appeared in France or in> 
 other countries, any Virtuofos that began to 
 make collections of Medals, there darted up 
 immediately a parcel of cheats that endea- 
 voured to fpoil and corrupt this noble curiofity 
 in its infancy. 
 
 Soon after this the famous falfifyers of Me- 
 dals known by the names of the Paduan and 
 the Parmefan made their appearance in Italy. 
 Holland too afforded one named Carteron, and 
 fome others equally fkilful, who difperfed 
 among the Virtuofos an infinite number of 
 falfe Medals ; moft of them indeed exquifitely 
 wrought, but ftill far behind the Antique in 
 force and delicacy. The greateft part of thefe 
 Medals are now known by the name of the 
 Paduan : and they are the firft I mail fpeak 
 of in this Treatife, which I have divided into 
 ten Articles. 
 
 In the firft, I treat of the Medals above, 
 mentioned, which are the modern Coins known 
 by the name of thy Paduan, 
 
 In
 
 The Manner of diftlnguijhing 
 
 In the fecond, of Medals caft upon fuch ai 
 are modern Coins. 
 
 In the third, of Medals caft upon Antiques. 
 
 In the fourth, of Antique Medals touched 
 over again, and altered in the heads and fi- 
 gures. 
 
 In the fifth, of Medals that are flruck with 
 the hammer, and fuch as are encafted or joined 
 together. 
 
 In the fixth, of Medals that have cracks 
 and countermarks. 
 
 In the feventh, of Medals that are plated 
 over, and of fuch as are mifcoined. 
 
 In the eighth, of caft Medals that are An- 
 tique, and of Medallions compofed of diffe- 
 rent kinds of copper. 
 
 In the ninth, of Medals that have been in- 
 vented by falfe coiners, and of thofe whereof 
 there are few counterfeits to be found. 
 
 The tenth Article contains what I had fur- 
 ther to fay in relation to the fubjecl of this 
 work. 
 
 I give an account fas will appear in each 
 Article) of the various manners which have 
 been taken to counterfeit Medals ; and I have 
 endeavoured to lay down rules for diftingu idl- 
 ing the true from the falfe, whatever artifice 
 hath been ufed to impofe upon the world in 
 this point. 
 
 I am going undoubtedly to lay open one of 
 the greateft myfteries of iniquity that ever en- 
 tered into the heart of man to conceive, in or- 
 der to impofe upon others : and I own fincere- 
 ly, that when I began to take notice of all 
 the rocks with which one is encompaffed in 
 the Science of Medals, I have been tempted 
 
 a thoufand
 
 Antique MEDALS, fc. 191 
 
 a thoufand times to refolve upon giving over 
 the ftudy -, and nothing but the force of a 
 violent inclination, which I could not eafily 
 command, could have engaged me to perfift 
 in it to fuch a degree, and carry on my ob- 
 fervations to fuch a point, as I have done. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Of Medals of modern Cain, moft of which are 
 known by the name of the Paduan. 
 
 rbL; 
 
 The Medals which are called in general the 
 Paduan, are Medals (truck in modern Dies, 
 which the moft expert workmen either of Ita- 
 ly or of other countries engraved with a greac 
 deal of art and tafte, in endeavouring to the 
 utmoft of their power, to imitate the Antique 
 which they copied from true Medals. We 
 have a prodigious quantity of thefe modem 
 pieces, not to be furpaffed in their beauty and 
 noblenefs by any thing but the Antique itfelf. 
 Fine collections enough may be formed of 
 them, as well in Medallions or in Greek Me- 
 dals of gold, filver, and brafs, as in Roman 
 Medals, equally in all the three metals.; but 
 efpecially in Medallions of copper and the 
 great brafs. Mod of the copper medallions 
 of the Roman Empire which are fpurious, 
 have been copied after the Antique ; there are 
 alfo engraved upon them feveral new reverfes, 
 which were never feen upon Antique -Medals, 
 but which the forgers took care to found upon 
 fome hiftorical fads. 
 
 The twelve firft Emperors have been coun- 
 terfeited ; an . infinite number of times in great 
 
 brafs ;
 
 the Manner of dijlinguijliing 
 
 brafs ; the counterfeiters chiefly applied them- 
 felves to imitate the heads which were the ra- 
 reft in their kind, fuch as thofe of 'Tiberius, 
 Otbo, (of which there is not an Antique Latin 
 one to be found but what is of the colony of 
 Antioch, or of Egyptian make in the three 
 fizes of brafs) Vitellius^ Pertinax, and the two 
 Gordlam of Africa^ the Agrippina of Claudius, 
 the Domitia (which is hardly ever to be met 
 with) the three tffves of Trajan* s family^ the 
 Anna Fauftina^ and Tranqmllina. It would 
 be no difficult matter for a Virtuofo, who hath 
 had the looking over a few Cabinets well 
 chofen, to avoid being bit by this kind of 
 Medals : but as the generality of them refide 
 in the provinces at a diftance from Paris, and 
 hardly ever come to a place which is in a 
 manner the fountain-head of the Science of 
 Medals, as well as of all the polite Arts, they 
 are confcquently out of the way, and have 
 no opportunity of making their advantage of 
 thofe lights which our learned Antiquaries 
 communicate with equal readinefs and polite- 
 nefs, 
 
 . ; I have feen feveral of them, who after ha- 
 ying pa(Ted a good part of their lives in a 
 province, and applied themfelves all the time 
 to get together Cabinets of Medals, were not 
 yet, after feveral years application to this fub- 
 jeft, able to diftinguifh a modern Coin from 
 an Antique. What I here advance is fo true, 
 that the Virtuofos of Paris agree unanimoufly, 
 that among all the fcarce Medals of the Ca- 
 binets in the Provinces or in foreign countries, 
 which have been fent thither to be fold, after 
 the death of thofe that formed them, even in 
 
 thoft
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c. 19$ 
 
 thofc feries which have been mod celebrated, 
 it hath been conftantly foitnd, that moft of the 
 great Pieces were counterfeit. 
 
 It is not however difficult to di (cover thofe 
 which I am fpeaking of in this article, if a 
 Virtuofo (who hath not yet formed to himfelf 1 
 that diftinguifliing eye which makes one very 
 rarely miftake) will be careful to obferve the 
 following rules. 
 
 1. All the Medals of great brafs, which 
 are called the Paduans^ and which are the on- 
 ly ones treated of in this Article, are gene- 
 rally of a flank much kfs thick than the An- 
 tiques. 
 
 2. They are neither fo worn nor fo pared 
 and eaten away as the others. 
 
 3. The letters on them feem modern, that 
 is, of the fame character as thofe of the Me- 
 dals of our time. 
 
 4. They never have any varnifh, unlefs it 
 be counterfeit, and then it is very eafy to dif- 
 cover it ; for it is ufually black, greafy, and 
 Ihining, and is found foft upon pricking it l 
 whereas the antique varni(h is extremely bright, 
 and as hard as the Medal itfelf. 
 
 5. The borders of them have been always 
 filed ; which is difcovered in a manner more 
 or lefs fenfible, if one confiders them with any 
 kind of attention. 
 
 Laftly, thefe Medals are always very round, 
 whereas the others are never fo regularly 
 round, efpecially fmce the reign of Trajan. 
 Thus much for what relates in general to the 
 Medals in great brafs of modern coin. 
 
 The Medallions of the fame metal are like- 
 
 wife eafy to diftinguifli , and this by ths very. 
 
 Q fame
 
 ^he Manner of diftmguijbing 
 
 fame rules. One (hall run no great hazard at 
 firft in looking upon all that one lhall meet 
 with from Julius Csefar to Adrian's time, as 
 infinitely to be fufpected. There are fcarce 
 any true ones to be found that were ftruck du- 
 ring thofe firft fourteen reigns of the Roman 
 Empire ; fo that all of that time may be con- 
 fidered as counterfeit pieces, except a very 
 fmall number, which are not to be found truly 
 Antique, except in the choiceft Cabinets. 
 
 Thofe of the following reigns are not a jot 
 harder to be diftinguiflied : they bear the ve^ 
 ry fame marks of impofture as the counterfeit 
 ones of great brafs ; they have the fame make, 
 the fame varnifh, the fame borders, in a word, 
 the fame appearance to the eye. 
 
 The Imperial Medals of filver or gold, and 
 the Greek Medals of modern coin, are eafy 
 Co be difcovered, of whatever metal they arc 
 compofed. If the borders of them are fome- 
 times more likely to impofe on people, the 
 letters eafily bewray the counterfeit, as they 
 diftinguifh the true Medal : and the firft point 
 of knowledge that a man ought to acquire, is 
 that of the character or form of the letters ; 
 which is no difficult matter, if a Virtuofo, 
 who hath an inclination for the Science of Me- 
 dals, will but uie a little application for that 
 purpofe. For in what manner foever a Me- 
 dial is counterfeited, whether it be of modern 
 coining, caft upon an antique or a modern, 
 touched over again or ftruck with the ham- 
 mer, the letters on them are always falfc. This 
 (I muft here acknowledge) is the principal, or 
 rather the only art to diftinguifh a fufpedted 
 Medal, when one hath not yet acquired that 
 
 fure
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c. 
 
 fure tafte of the work and coinage of the An- 
 cients, which enables one to diftinguifh im- 
 mediately what is genuine from what is coun- 
 terfeit. 
 
 .' -> - *> i--ifp./ij y r.*>. 
 ARTICLE H. 
 a& 
 
 Of Medals caft upon fucb as are of modern 
 coining, 
 
 The Medals caft upon fuch as are of mo* 
 dern coining are fo very numerous, that all 
 Cabinets, which have not been formed by a 
 mafterly hand, are full of them* It is indeed 
 much eafier to counterfeit them in this man- 
 ner, than if they were cart upon an Antique* 
 Moft of the fcarce Antique Medals, which are 
 the only ones that cheats find an interefl in coun- 
 terfeiting, are worn, and have left part of their 
 charms on the road (except thole of goldj 
 which are almoft always fair and well prc- 
 ferved) whereas the Medals of the Paduan ~re 
 ftill in all their beauty, and take much better 
 in a mould than thofe which time hath injured 
 and difabled. Hence comes the facility which 
 falfe coiners (that have not fkill enough to 
 engrave) have found in caft ing thefe kinds of 
 Medals. They are fometimes mere hard to 
 be difcovered than the original counterfeits 
 upoa which they are formed, b?caufe in caft- 
 ing them one may give them whatever thick-* 
 nefs one pleafes. In the fecond place, they 
 fill up the cavities which the fand hath left in 
 them with maftic ; they touch the letters on 
 them over again* repairing them entirely with 
 the burin-, and then lay over all thefe cheats 
 Da a varniih
 
 10,6 The Manner of diftinguijhing 
 
 a varnifh which compleats their difguife. It 
 ought not therefore to appear any thing ex- 
 traordinary, if moft Virtuofos, fuch efpecial- 
 ly as are only beginning to dabble in the Sci- 
 ence, mould be trepanned into this fort of 
 Medals. 
 
 ; They are not however more difficult to be 
 unmafked, than thofe of modern coining, pro- 
 vided we do but obferve the fame rules for 
 difcovering them ; and keep ftill in our mind, 
 that thefe kinds of Medals are lighter than, 
 thofe which have been ftruck, becaufe the fire 
 rarifies the metal that is melted, whereas that 
 which is beaten muft be condenfed, and be- 
 come confequently more weighty ; and that 
 the letters on them will not be genuine ; and 
 moreover the maftic and falfe varnilh will dif- 
 cover themfelves vifibly enough to the eye. 
 
 Such as are caft upon modern coins in gold 
 and filver, are ftill more eafy to be difcovered 
 than thofe in brafs ; becaufe there is no dif- 
 .guifing them either with maftic or with a falfe 
 varnifh. They mew then, as it may be faid, 
 their turpitude plainly ; and a Virtuofo muft 
 certainly be a mere novice in the Science, if 
 he is capable of being miftaken in them. 
 
 Moft of the reverfes of all kinds of falfe 
 Medals ferve often enough to impofe on peo- 
 ple , and accordingly we fee that it is ufually 
 rhe firft rule by which Virtuofos examine a 
 Medal. The generality of them lay it down 
 (or a maxim, that the borders juftify the field 
 of the Medal, and that the field fervcs in its 
 turn to juftify the borders : but after all, no- 
 thing is more uncertain and fallacious than this 
 rule in fome refpecT:. We have in truth a 
 
 great
 
 Antique MEDALS, Gfr . 
 
 great number of filver Medals, the reverfes 
 whereof were filed and rounded in the times 
 of the Romans, in order to be afterwards in- 
 chafed or fet either about certain vefiels or 
 fome other monuments of the like nature, 
 which are ftill found fometimes. Thefe have 
 been often looked upon as fufpected pieces, 
 and the generality of Virtuofos ftill miftruft 
 them, though they are certainly antique. 
 
 Befides, there is an infinite number of falfe 
 Medals, that have their borders pricked and 
 eaten, as if they had fufFered the injuries of 
 many ages ; which is done in the following 
 manner. They cover the borders of a falfe 
 Medal with wax, and then prick the wax in 
 feveral places : they fill the holes, which the 
 inftrument they ufed in pricking it hath made, 
 with aqua fortis, which eats into and waftes the 
 borders of the Medal, as much and fometimes 
 more than if they had been of the firft anti- 
 quity. It is therefore impoffible for them in 
 this cafe to juftify the field of the Medal ; fo 
 that in the general nothing is lefs decifive than 
 the border ; fince for the reafons that I have 
 here alledged, a Medal that hath them filed 
 may very well be an Antique, and one that 
 hath them eaten and worn, as an antique Me- 
 dal mould naturally have them, may poflibly 
 prove to be fpurious. 
 
 03 A R T 1^
 
 It 98 *fhe Manner of diftinguifting 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 Medals caft upon Antiques. 
 
 The Medals, of which I am to treat in 
 this Article, that are caft upon Antiques, are 
 lefs eafy to be difcovered, than either thofe of 
 the Paduan, or fuch as are caft upon modern 
 pieces v becaufe when cheats fet about cafting 
 thefe Medals, they take care to chufe for the 
 print of the mould an Antique Medal, the 
 birft preferved that they can find, and fuch 
 an one produces pieces well enough imitated 
 to impofe frequently upon the moft knowing 
 Medalifts. They may caft them in this man- 
 ner of all fizes and metals ; and when a Ikil- 
 ful falfe coiner hath touched over and repaired 
 thefe kinds of Medals with his burin, they 
 appear frequently as natural as the Antiques : 
 and the rather, in that, as they only counter- 
 feit fuch heads and reverfes as are rare, the 
 workmen, in order to impofe the better on 
 people, take care to ufe for their matter fome 
 anrique common Medals that were coined at 
 the lame time with thofe whick they counter- 
 feit, that fo the filver may be of the fame 
 ftandard. For example : a workman who 
 hath a mind to counterfeit the Triumphal Arch 
 of Septimius Severus, which is a reverfe very 
 rare in filver, will take care to melt down a 
 common filver Medal of the fame Emperor, 
 to ferve for the matter of which he makes his 
 falfe piece, and thus by the equality of the 
 ftandard of the filver, render it more likely 
 to be miftaken, 
 
 It
 
 'Antique MEDALS, &c. 
 
 It muft be owned that thele kinds of Me- 
 dals are generally lefs eafy to be difcovered 
 than the former ; becaufc having been (as I 
 have obferved a little before) caft upon the 
 beft preferved and mod perfect Antique Me- 
 dals, they retain the tafte of their model, and 
 have really an air and appearance that may 
 very well impofe on Virtuofos. And accor- 
 dingly we fee moft of them deceived in fome 
 cafes of this nature, but more efpecially with 
 regard to Imperial Medals in filver, which is 
 the eafieft fort of any to imitate by reafon of 
 the fmallnefs of the volume. There are very 
 few Cabinets in which there are not fome of 
 thefe Medals ; fuch was the Pacatian of the 
 late Father Stephen Chamillard ; fuch alfo at 
 prefent is the famous Medal in fine filver of 
 Magma Urbica^ in the Cabinet of the late Ab- 
 be Leroy at Paris, which impofed upon abun- 
 dance of Virtuofo's, which Father Banduri has 
 cited in his Catalogue as a fingular and the on- 
 ly piece of its kind, and which hath been late- 
 ly difcovered to be a Medal caft and repaired 
 with a great deal of art and (kill, and confe- 
 quently a counterfeit. 
 
 Antiquaries ought to be extremely on their 
 guard with regard to this fort of Medals, on 
 account of the great refemblance which they 
 bear to the Antiques. They muft more par- 
 ticularly rniftruft all the large heads in filver. 
 The wives belonging to Trajan, the Pertinax y 
 Didits JulianuS) Pefcennius Niger, the two Gor- 
 dians of Africa ^ the Tranquillitia, and the Cor- 
 nelia Sttpera have been imitated a thoufand and 
 a thoufand times 5 and I have found by ex- 
 perience, that out of twenty Medals of thefe 
 O 4 rare,
 
 *The M anner of dljlingutjhing 
 
 rare kinds, which one fees in the Cabinets of 
 the Provinces of France, one can hardly meet 
 with fo much as one or two that are genuine. 
 
 In order to difcover thefe Medals, it is ne- 
 ceflary to examine two things : i . the letters : 
 2. the field of the Medal. When a Medal 
 hath not been ftruck in a Die, as all money 
 is now-a-days, and as the Antique Medals 
 were, excepting only a few of brafs, which I 
 fhall fpeak of in their proper place, the let- 
 ters on them are more irregular, they do not 
 come forward from the field of the Medal 
 with the fame elegance and plainnefs as thofe 
 on Antiques , they are more faded \ and if 
 the burin hath been at work upon them, we 
 difcover its touches, and find that they have 
 been altered. We muft follow a legend clofely 
 from one end to the other, and examine whe- 
 ther all the letters are of the fame tafte and 
 entirely uniform, whether none of them limp, 
 and whether they all come forward with the 
 fame equality ; for if there be a defect as to 
 any of thefe conditions, the Medal ought juft- 
 ly to be fufpected. 
 
 The field mould likewife ferve to determine 
 and afcertain the fate of a Medal when it hath 
 been caft : it is never fo even, as when a Me- 
 dal hath been ftruck : one may always fee in 
 it a certain hollownefs, and fome cavities 
 caufed by the fand. Thefe defects cannot be 
 concealed and covered, as in medals of brafs, 
 by maftic and falfe varnim j they muft of 
 neceflity appear plainly and vifibly upon Me- 
 dals of gold and filver ; and then the difcern- 
 ing eye goes a great way towards diftinguifh- 
 jng them immediately at the firft glance 5 
 ? efpc-
 
 Antique MEDALS, Sfo. 201 
 
 efpecially when one hath acquired it to a con- 
 fiderable degree, and in a perfection which 
 makes it fcarce poflible to be miftaken. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 Antique Medals refitted^ the Heads and Figure) 
 ivbereof are changed. 
 
 Thefe are a kind of Medals, which are 
 doubtleis the more likely to impofe on peo- 
 ple, becaufe there feems lefs reafon to miftruft 
 them : and I readily agree, that a man muft 
 be very well verfed in the mechanifm of Me- 
 dals to be able to keep himfelf from being de- 
 ceived by thofe of this kind. They are Antique 
 Medals, to which they fubftitute new legends, 
 and counterfeit the heads and reverfes on them 
 with an art that is really wonderful. A Vir- 
 tuofo fancies himfelf perfectly fecure when he 
 purchafes Medals of this kind, of which peo- 
 ple are the lefs diffident, becaufe they are re- 
 ally Antique : but they are not lefs fpurious 
 on that account, becaufe they are different 
 Medals in the main from what they reprefent. 
 It is eafy enough to imagine, that it is only 
 the rareft heads, and the great reverfes, which 
 are thus diflinguilhed. The greateft part of 
 theie Medals come to us from Italy, where 
 they began to counterfeit them in this manner, 
 when they perceived that the other kinds of 
 falfe Medals were too well known to be mif- 
 taken. 
 
 Thereupon they formed the defign of taking 
 a common Antique Medal, and turning it in- 
 to a rare Medal ; of difguifing, for inftance, 
 
 a Clau-
 
 *02 ^he Manner of diftinguifoing 
 
 a Claudius in brafs of the Colony of Antioch 
 into an Otbo ; a Fauftina the mother, a Medal- 
 lion of p9tm or yellow copper, into a Titiana ; 
 a Julia of Severus in filver, into a Didia Cla- 
 ra ; a Macrinus of Cologne, into a Pefcennius 
 Niger -, an Orbiana of great brafs, into an ^4- 
 i0 Fauftina ', a Mammaa, into a Tranquillina , 
 a P;7*/> the Father, or Vafaian of great brafs, 
 into an Mmilian ; and fo with regard to o- 
 thers. 
 
 When the Heads are not fo nearly refem- 
 bling one another, as thofe are which I have 
 here mentioned, though the difficulty of coun- 
 terfeiting may feem greater in fuch a cafe, 
 yet it doth not put a ftop to the impofture. 
 Able cheats know very well how to retouch 
 them with the burin, fo as to make them 
 alike. They generally make ufe of a Mar cut 
 Aurdius of brafs to turn it into a Pertinax : 
 bat as rhofe two Emperors are not very like 
 one another, they take care to chufe a Marcus 
 Aurelkis on the reverfe of his confecration, 
 which is a reverfe that we meet with too in 
 Pertinate ; they thicken the beard of Marcus 
 Aurelius ; they make the nofe bigger, and 
 when the name is changed with addrefs and 
 (kill, fuch a piece, which hath a genuine re- 
 verfe, and other marks of antiquity befides, 
 is very capable of cheating and deceiving a 
 Virtuofo, who would be delighted to purchafe 
 an head of this confequence. 
 
 All thefe Antique Medals thus difguifed are 
 very common in Cabinets, efpecially in the 
 fenes of great and middle brafs, which the 
 varnifh always beft difguifes. It is therefore 
 the intereft of perfons who are forming coJ- 
 ~\; led ions
 
 Antique MEDALS, Gfr. 203 
 
 lections of Medals, to apply themfelves early 
 to unveil and difcover this trick and impofture, 
 which confifts almoft always in the letters ; 
 for it is not an eafy matter to atchieve. There 
 are in Italy fome workmen that have pafied 
 all their lives at this kind of play, and are 
 perfect mafters of the art of taking out of a 
 Medal the letters which are prejudicial to their 
 defign, and of engraving others in their ftead, 
 which appear fo natural, that moft Virtuofos 
 are impoied on by them. I have feen very 
 ikilful Medalifls, that knew very well how to 
 diftinguifli the true from the falle, divided in 
 their fentiments about a Titiana of pot in, of 
 Egyptian coining, which after all was only a 
 Favftina difguifed. The C&fonia in gold, of 
 the late M. L/ebret's Cabinet, was of this kind j 
 as foon as it arrived at Paris, it was difco- 
 vered to be an Agri-ppina the Mother, on the 
 reverfe of Caligula ; and her name had been 
 taken out to fubftitute in its (lead that of Cce- 
 fonia ; and to make of it by help of this al- 
 teration, a Medal which had impofed on all 
 the Antiquaries of Provence. 
 
 I law a little while ago in the hands of the 
 Bimop of Die, a Claudius of this kind of 
 make, counterfeited into an Otho of the Co- 
 lony of Antioch, which this Prelate (who 
 ought to be confidered as one of our beft An- 
 tiquaries) had firft difcovered not to be genu- 
 ine, but of this kind of make, and which was 
 wrought with a furprizing art. Thefe kinds 
 of Medals are chiefly to be difcovered by the 
 letters ; which muft be examined with all the 
 rigour that I have prefcribed at the latter end 
 of the foregoing Article. 
 
 Betides
 
 04 The Manner of diftmguljhing 
 
 Befides the heads, they likewife touch over 
 again and refit the reverfes. A Medal may 
 be fine on the fide of the head, and yet be 
 eaten, worn, and fpoiled on the fide of the 
 reverfe : now if it be a reverfe that is rare, 
 and the Medal is of brafs, they work it over 
 again with the burin, and revive all the fi- 
 gures of it by hollowing a little into the field 
 of the Medal. We muft then take notice, 
 that thefe kinds of reverfes refitted in this 
 manner have no relief, and do not come for- 
 ward out of the field ; and it is chiefly by this 
 mark that they are to be difco^ered. 
 
 There are alfo a great many Medals (I am 
 ftill fpeaking of thofe of brafs) that have fome 
 rare reverfes which are fair and feem well pre- 
 ferved, but which however are entirely po- 
 ftic. There are likewife Antique Medals, the 
 heads of which they do not ufually touch ; 
 but only hollow the reverfe, which they fill 
 with a maftic of fuch a colour as time hath 
 given to the Medal, and faften it fo firmly 
 to the metaJ that there is no feparating them 
 without force and violence. They then en- 
 grave upon thefe reverfes whatever figures or 
 other ornaments they have a mind to put upon 
 them, in order to make of them the rareft 
 and the beft preferved Medals : they varnifh 
 them on both fides, and in this condition they 
 are the more capable of impofing on people, 
 in that a purchafer, feeing that the head is ge- 
 nuine, doth not always think of examining 
 the reverfe with the exactnefs that is requifite. 
 Part however of the fined reverfes of Med?.ls 
 in the great brafs have been more or lefs re- 
 touched and refitted in this manner : though 
 
 ih is, they
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c . 205 
 
 they are not all refitted entirely, and there are 
 abundance of them that have only fome parts 
 retouched -, it is ftill in this cafe, according to 
 my way of thinking, a very great defect in 
 a Medal, and leflens its merit and value ex- 
 ceedingly. 
 
 There are few feries in great brafs, but we 
 may find in them great plenty of thefe Me- 
 dals. In order to know and diftinguifh them, 
 one muft have a long acquaintance and be 
 well verfed in Medals, and have formed 
 fure tafte with regard to the coinage of the 
 Romans , and then thefe kinds of pieces can- 
 not efcape one. In the mean time, a Virtu- 
 ofo ought ever to miftruft a Medal when he 
 fees it covered with a falfe varnifh, and mould 
 prick the moft fufpicious parts of it with the 
 burin, to fee whether they make refiftance, or 
 whether they are of maftic ; he muft be more 
 efpecially careful to examine whether all the 
 parts of a reverfe form an uniform whole ; 
 fuch as we may imagine a Medal ought to be, 
 when it hath been coined in a Die, engraved 
 with art and exactnefs : and if he perceives 
 any inequalities therein, he ought to fufpeft 
 the Medal. When we are making a pur- 
 chafe in this way, we ought to have recourfe 
 to an able Connoijfeur, who will not let us be 
 impofed on , or at leaft be fure of the probity 
 and judgment of the feller : and little or no 
 rifque is run in either of thefe two cafes. 
 
 A R T I-
 
 2o6 tTZtf Manner o 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 Of Mtd&ls ftruck with the Hammer^ and fuck 
 as are encafled or joined together. 
 
 The Medals that we term hammered, are 
 very much of the fame kind with thole that I 
 have been fpeaking of juft before. They are 
 likewife common Antique Medals, which 
 flaould be well preferved. They file the re- 
 veries of them all over, and then ilrike new 
 ones in their Head with a modern Die, which 
 imitates the Antique well enough : which 13 
 done by kying the fide of the head (which 
 they do not touch over at all) upon feveral 
 Folds of thick paper, that it may not be flat- 
 tened ; and then they put the modern Die 
 upon the reverie of the Medal, and make it 
 take the impreffion or ftamp by ftrokes of the 
 hammer. As thefe reverfcs, hammered in this 
 manner, come forward from a coin* they are 
 very neat and uniform, and imitate the An- 
 tique more or lefs according to the Ikill and 
 abilities of the Engraver. Thefe kinds of 
 reveries generally ftrike people with their ra- 
 rity ; the greateft part ot them not being to 
 be found upon true and legitimate Medals. 
 Such are Aquas Claudiam ex fotttibus^ &c. on 
 the reverie of Claudius , Pontem delium on 
 the reverie of Adrian ; Expeditio Judaica, 
 which I have feen on the reverfe of the fame 
 Emperor, and other the like memorials. In 
 this cafe then it is the Medals themfelves that 
 difcover their falfity ; becaufe it is generally 
 known that moft of thefe reverfes are mere 
 
 fictions,
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c. 207 
 
 and never really exifted upon An- 
 tique Medals ; which ought to engage a Vir- 
 tuofo to know exactly the Medals which are 
 found to be Antiques, efpecially in the kind 
 to which he takes. It is moreover eafy enough, 
 if one is never fo little ufed to Medals, to dif- 
 tinguilh fuch as are hammered, by the ever 
 fenfible difference of the coinage of the head 
 from that of the reverfe, which makes a con- 
 trail eafy enough to be obferved. 
 
 After having treated of hammered Medals, 
 it is natural that fuch as we term incafted 
 mould be confidered in their order. They are 
 two halves of common Medals joined toge- 
 ther, and making one that is rare and curious. 
 It is ordinarily upon Medals of brafe and fil- 
 ver that this new fraud is practifed. For in- 
 fiance, they make ufe of an Antoninus, and 
 hollow its reverfe all over: they then prepare 
 an head of Fauftina, and fit it to this reverfe ; 
 which being joined together make one rare 
 Medal. If it be a Medal of brafs, they 
 take care to chufe two brais Medals of the 
 fame colour and the fame varnifh. There are 
 fome of thefe Medals that are joined together 
 in this manner io very dextroufly and with fo 
 much exactnefs, that nothing almoft, but the 
 abfolute afiurance one hath that they are in- 
 cafted, can enable one to difcover them ; and 
 the rather, becaufe the borders of the Medal 
 which is hollowed ftill remain. 
 
 I have feen a good number of Medals in. 
 filver of the family of Septimius Severus, 
 which had two heads, and which were only 
 Medals incafted neatly. It requires likewife a. 
 great attention to diltinguim and know thefe 
 
 pieces :
 
 Manner of dijlinguijhlng 
 
 pieces: but when Virtuofos examine them 
 carefully, and having a notion beforehand of 
 the trick> are, as I fuppofe, on their guard 
 againft it, they will always be able to difco- 
 ratetis. ver fome marks of fraud about the ingraikd 
 rims of the coin, which are apt to bewray the 
 impofture. 
 
 Thefe Medals are moft of them compofed 
 of two heads : but there are alfo fome of them 
 that have reverfes clapped to them in the 
 fame manner ; fuch as the Amphitheatre of 
 Titus Vefpafian, which is found fometimes in 
 great brafs on the reverfe of a Domitian. 
 
 Though thefe pieces are formed of a head 
 and a reverfe that are both antique, they are 
 not the more valuable on that account : they 
 are ftill fpurious and counterfeit Medals ; and 
 we ought to reject them with as much con- 
 tempt as we would all the other forts of falfe 
 Medals that I have already mentioned. No- 
 thing is really fine and beautiful but truth ; no- 
 thing but truth is amiable. 
 
 There are alfo fome Medals, as well of brafs 
 as filver, that are two half Medals foldered to- 
 gether by workmen who had not Ikill and 
 dexterity enough to incaft them : but they are 
 eafily known by the bare inflection of the 
 border or edge, which is always filed, and 
 ihews itfelf plainly enough at the firft exami- 
 nation of the two pieces. 
 
 We muft not however confound thefe in- 
 cafted Medals with an infinite quantity of An- 
 tique Medals that we have in the three metals 
 and of all fizes, which have reverfes that do 
 not belong to the heads they reprefent. Such 
 miftakes happened at the very time of the 
 
 Medals
 
 Antique MEDALS, &V. 
 
 Medals being coined, through the fault of the 
 workmen employed in ftriking them, who 
 taking one Die for another, tacked often to 
 an Emperor or an Emprefs, a reverfe of a 
 former reign, or one that belonged to fome 
 other different head. There are few Cabinets 
 but have fome of thefe Medals in them : I 
 have feveral of them in my feries of great brafs, 
 which I have quoted on another occafion, and 
 it is needlefs for me to repeat here what I then 
 obferved. I have begun to draw up a Cata- 
 logue of this kind of Medals, which I may 
 pofilbly publilh fome time or other, though 
 for this only reafon, that nothing ought to be 
 unknown in the Science of Medals, and thefe 
 pieces are ftill very curious, even on account 
 of the very defect of their coinage* 
 
 Thefe reverfes thus tranfpofed from one 
 Medal to another are very frequent in the fmall 
 brafs at the beginning of the lower Medallic 
 Empire ; I mean under the reign of Gallie- 
 nus. The thirty Tyrants that rofe up one af- 
 ter another in this Prince's time, made moft 
 of them only their appearance on the ftage* 
 and were immediately crumed and deftroyed 
 by rivals that got into their place, and made 
 in their turn their exit in as fhort a time as the 
 others. The officers and workmen of the 
 Mints in the Provinces ufurped by thefe fhort- 
 lived Tyrants, had fometimes hardly time 
 enough to engrave the heads of their new 
 mafters ; and fo joined to them reverfes of the 
 precedent reigns. Hence is it that we fee the 
 Pacator Orbis on the reverfe of a Medal of 
 Marius, who reigned only three days ; and an 
 infinite number of other the like infcriptions, 
 P which
 
 2io *The Manner of dijllnguijhlng 
 
 which it is neceffary to be acquainted with be- 
 forehand, that we may not be puzzled or 
 ftoppecl every moment in the explanation of 
 fuch Medals. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 Of Medals that have Cracks and Counter- 
 marks. 
 
 <\ il 
 
 The cracks that are to be feen on a great 
 number of Antique Medals, moft commonly 
 upon thofe of great brafs, which by the ex- 
 tent and broadnefs of their flank were moft 
 fubjecl: to this accident, have given occafion. 
 to falfe coiners to imitate this defect, that by 
 the help of a well counterfeited crack, they 
 might make their falfe Medal pafs the eafier. 
 The greateft part of fpurious Medals have this 
 equivocal mark of Antiquity, efpecially, as 
 I have juft before obferved, thofe of great 
 brafs ; becaufe the broader a Medal is, the 
 more is it fubjeft to fplit and fly in pieces. 
 Now it is plain that nothing but the force of 
 the Coin can make a Medal crack. We fee 
 very few, or indeed next to none of our mo- 
 dern coin with this mark, becaufe a fingle 
 ftroke or prefiure of the Prefs gives them the 
 flamp and impreflion that they bear : whereas 
 the Ancients, who coined their money with 
 repeated ftrokes of hammers (as is proved ir- 
 refragably by an infinite number of Medals, 
 in which we may obferve the heads, reverfes 
 and legends to have been marked or ftamped 
 at leveral times) were very liable to have their 
 Medal or Coin cracked. This put it into the 
 
 head
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c. 2 1 1 
 
 head of modern falfe coiners to imitate thefe 
 cracks upon abundance of counterfeit Medals, 
 as well fuch as were coined (as thofs of the 
 Paduan were) as fuch as were only caft. In 
 order therefore to know whether the crack 
 hath been added fince the coinage, we muft 
 examine it on both fides, and fee whether it 
 be equal and uniform in its fhape, whether it 
 be natural, whether it winds and goes on gra- 
 dually leffening till it ends in certain imper- 
 ceivable filaments ; and then if we find in it 
 all thefe conditions, we may very well con- 
 clude that the Medal is Antique, or rather that 
 the flank is fo ; for the Medal may otherwifc 
 have fome of the defects which I have given 
 an account of in this Treatife. 
 
 If on the contrary, the crack is broad at its 
 beginning and ftrait, and does not terminate 
 in the manner I have related above, we ought 
 from thence to judge that it hath been added 
 and made by the file, and in fuch cafe we need 
 not look out for any other marks of the falfity 
 of the Medal. 
 
 The Medals which are counrermarked, are 
 pieces that have an antique Impreffion, which 
 was ftamped upon them when the Directors 
 and Officers of the Mint of the Empire 
 changed the denomination of their current 
 value 5 juft as we fee fome fols counter-marked 
 with a flower-de-luce at the time when thefe 
 pieces were altered in their value under the 
 feign of Louis the Great. We fee upon abun- 
 dance of Medals of great and middle brafs 
 thefe countermarks in various fafliions. In the 
 High Empire we ufaally find thefe letters, 
 N, P, R/O, B 5 or thefe, N, C, A, P, R. 
 P' 2 Thefe
 
 a 12 The Manner of diftinguijhtng 
 
 Thefe laft have been explained by thefe words, 
 Nobis conceffa a populo Romano. I have a 
 Claudius of great brafs, on the reverfe of 
 which is the Triumphal Arch of his father 
 Draftis, with this countermark, M P. There 
 are fome that have on them the name of Au- 
 guftus A U G, and others with the Senatus- 
 Confulto S. C. &c. 
 
 There is no manner of doubt but that all 
 the Medals of brafs thus countermarked are 
 Antiques ; and I have never yet found that 
 any falfe countermarks were ever coined. It 
 is therefore a fure fign that a Medal is genu- 
 ine, when it hath fuch a countermark upon it : 
 all that remains further to be done, is to exa- 
 mine whether it be otherwife genuine in all its 
 parts, and whether it be not a common Me- 
 dal retouched or refitted with the burin, and 
 converted into a rare Medal ; juft as I have 
 fometimes feen the Agrippina of Germanicus 
 countermarked, and with the reverfe of Sena- 
 tuf-confuUo converted into the Agrippina of 
 Claudius. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 Of Medals that are plated, and of fuch as are 
 mifcoined. 
 
 The Medals of gold and filver which they 
 term plated, feem to be exempt from all fuf- 
 picion : they are pieces of falfe money which 
 were counterfeited among the Ancients, and 
 put off for good and current coin. Nobody 
 will find any great difficulty in believing that 
 there have always been falfe coiners, from the 
 
 time
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c. 
 
 time that nations were formed into focieties 
 under a civil government, and the ufe of gold 
 and filver money was introduced and fettled. 
 This cheat hath been perpetually practifed 
 down to our time, and in all probability will 
 not end but with the world. But it muft be 
 owned, that among the Romans the falfe 
 coiners were very clever and ingenious cheats, 
 and were particularly excellent engravers. As 
 all the gold and filver coins of the Empire 
 were made in all the perfection of workman- 
 Ihip, it was abfolutely neceffary to imitate and 
 come up to them in the counterfeit pieces, in 
 order to pafs them off in the world. We ac- 
 cordingly fee them imitated to fuch a degree, 
 that we are often obliged to prick the pieces, 
 when they are not cut or pared, to difcover 
 whether they are plated, that is, whether they 
 are copper within. 
 
 The coining of counterfeit Medals was in 
 thofe days extremely difficult to be pradifed. 
 It was not then to be done, as it is now, with 
 little more than mixing a little gold with cop- 
 per, or with barely whitening over a piece of 
 bafe metal. The falfe coiners among the Ro- 
 mans covered their pieces with a leaf of pure 
 gold or filver, thick enough not to wear off 
 or difcover itfelf till after they had been long 
 ufed in commerce, and fo comprefied with 
 the copper of the infide at the time of their 
 being coined, that it was impoflible to diftin- 
 guifh them in any way but by cutting or 
 piercing them with a burin or fome other in- 
 ftrument. 
 
 This circumftance is fufficient to fhew us 
 
 that money was fcarce in the Roman Empire, 
 
 P 3 fince
 
 Manner of diftinguijhing 
 
 fince a workman ran the hazard of being pu- 
 nifhed with all the feverity of the laws for the 
 fake of counterfeiting a filver Medal, which 
 is hardly now-a-days worth ten-pence, and 
 was at that time of a much lower value. 
 
 We may confequently be aflured that a Me- 
 dal 13 undoubtedly Antique, when we find it 
 plated, and was coined at the very time it was 
 fo plated. As thefe pieces were coined in a 
 hurry, and always in fubterraneous places, they 
 are very fubjec~b to have faults in the legends, 
 which render them for the moft part fingular, 
 either by the tranfpofition of the letters, or by 
 fome other defects. We mould examine them 
 with attention, and we mail find after all that 
 there are few of them, efpecially in filver, but 
 what are fit enough to enter into a feries. 
 
 The thicknefs and relief of gold and filver 
 Medals having given occafion for falfe coiners 
 to plate them the more eafily, there was found 
 at laft fo great a quantity of thefe plated 
 pieces, that when in the reign of the fons of 
 Conftantine the Great, the current coin of the 
 Empire (which had fcarce been any thing but 
 of bafe metal from the time of the Emperor 
 Garacalla) was reformed, and money of pure 
 filver was coined, it was thought neceflary 
 for the public fecurity to diminim it to half 
 its former weight or thereabouts, and to make 
 it fo thin, that it would be impoffible any 
 longer to falfify it ; which was conceived to 
 be the moft effectual way that could be taken 
 to prevent the like cheat for the future. Not- 
 withftanding this precaution, I have feen a 
 plated Valentinian of gold in the Cabinet of 
 M, Mahudel, who is the only Ajitiquary that 
 
 I know
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c. 
 
 1 know in France, who hath taken the pains 
 and care to collecl: aJJ the fingularities imagi- 
 nable that are to be found in the point of An- 
 tique Medals, as well with regard to their fa- 
 brick, as in relation to Hiftory ; and he hath 
 indeed a collection of them that is the only 
 one in its kind. 
 
 The Medals then of filver which are plated 
 may be admitted undoubtedly for Antiques : 
 it is not practicable to refit the letters on them, 
 as may be done upon Medals that are of a 
 good alloy ; becaufe the Medal being covered 
 only with a leaf of filver, it will not bear be- 
 ing worked over again. Some other method 
 was then to be taken by ingenious artifts, if 
 they were minded to go on with their fraud 
 in counterfeiting this kind of Medals ; and 
 fome of them, to pufh it to the utmoft point 
 it was capable of reaching, bethought them- 
 felves of piercing fome falfe but well counter- 
 feited Medals of filver with a red-hot needle, 
 the fire of which taints and reddens the Me- 
 dals on the infide, and makes fuch as do not 
 examine the matter clofely, fancy it to be 
 plated. When we meet with this kind of 
 Medals thus pierced and imagined to be pla- 
 ted, we muft, if we are not fkilful enough to 
 difcover the fpurioufnefs of the Medal, take 
 care to prick it either in the field or in the 
 borders, and by that experiment fatisfy our- 
 felves, whether it be really plated and confe- 
 quently Antique. 
 
 Medals that were by accident mifcoined, 
 
 I am perfuaded never were counterfeited, and 
 
 they may all be looked upon as pieces certainly 
 
 Antique, Thofe which we call fo are Medals 
 
 P 4 that
 
 i6 Tfo Manner of diftinguijhing 
 
 that have the fame head on both fides, in re- 
 lief on one fide, and hollow on the other. 
 This defeft is owing to the hurry and preci- 
 pitation of the coiner, who before he had ta- 
 ken off the Medal which had been ftruck im-- 
 mediately before, clapped on it a new flank, 
 which having the Die above it, and the Me- 
 dal, which had not been taken away, under- 
 neath it, received on both fides the imprefllon 
 of the fame head in relief and in hollow, but 
 always ftruck more imperfectly on the fide of 
 the hollow, the effort being much weaker on 
 the fide of the Medal than on that of the Die. 
 Thefe Medals, which are rare, ferve in Cabi- 
 nets only for matter of curiofity : there are fe- 
 veral of them in gold and filver, and fome of 
 brafs, efpecially of the middle : I do not re- 
 member that I ever faw one in great brafs. 
 We meet fometimes with rare heads of this 
 kind: fuch is a Pertinax of filver, which I 
 have feen formerly in the Cabinet of the late 
 Monfieur de Pont-Care, Firft Prefident of the 
 Parliament of Normandy, who would have 
 left his heirs the fined feries of Imperial Me- 
 dals of filver in Europe, if M. Abbe de 
 Rothelin had not formed one of them that fur- 
 paffeth it infinitely. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 Of cajt Medals that are Antique^ and of Me* 
 dalliom compofed of different Coppers. 
 
 Though I have advanced that all Antique 
 Medals were ftruck with the hammer, and 
 that fuch as are caft ought to looked upon as 
 
 fpurious
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c. 217 
 
 fpurious pieces, formed either upon the An- 
 tique or upon the Modern j it is neverthelefs 
 very certain, that there are fome Medals of 
 brafs which have been caft, and yet are really 
 Antiques. I do not propofe to fpeak here 
 of thofe pieces of an enormous fize, which re- 
 prefent the Head of Rome, and which ferved 
 for weights among the Romans ; nor yet of 
 thofe which are almoft like them in weight, 
 on which we fee the heads of the Ptolomies 
 Kings of Egypt, which were defigned for the 
 fame ufe, and which could not have been made 
 without the help of a mould , but only of the 
 Medals which are to be met with in all Cabi- 
 nets, and which have been caft. Such are 
 moft of the Medals and Medallions of yellow 
 copper of the fame fafhion, which were made 
 in the reigns of the Emperors ; and fome o- 
 thers which are Greek, either the make of An- 
 tioch or of fome other Grecian Colonies, which 
 are alfo caft, but in a mould and of a make 
 fo vifibly antique, that it is utterly impoflible 
 to miftake them. It is true indeed, that a raw 
 unexperienced Virtuofo will be apt to reject 
 thefe Medals -, but when a man hath once 
 formed a fure and difcerning tafte with regard 
 to the workmanmip of the Ancients, he will 
 treat them no more as fufpicbus. 
 
 I do not know any of the Latin Medals but 
 thofe of the Pofthumi in great and middle 
 brafs, among which we can find any that are 
 caft. Indeed moft of the Medals of thofe two 
 Tyrants are vifibly fo ; but with fuch an air 
 and tafte of the Antique, as immediately fa- 
 tisfies and convinces a Virtuofo that is a Con- 
 noiffeur, There was not ho vever at that time 
 
 any,
 
 a 1 8 'fhe Manner of diftinguiflnng 
 
 any want of able and ingenious engravers inGaul ; 
 as appears evidently from a good part of the 
 brafs Medals of the reigns of the Pofthumi, 
 and particularly thofe of Pofthumus the father, 
 which are of a tafte, a neatnefs, and a delica- 
 cy worthy of the fined reigns of the Empire. 
 A Virtuofo muft not reject without diftindtion 
 all the caft Medals, particularly thofe which I 
 have here mentioned ; for with regard to the 
 reft, they ought certainly to be looked upon 
 as very fufpicious. 
 
 The rareft pieces that we have in point of 
 Antique Medals, are thofe which we call Me- 
 dallions ; which were not the current money 
 of the Empire, as all other kinds of Medals 
 were. Thefe Medallions were ftruck to ferve 
 as public memorials of tranfadions and events, 
 and were either distributed and thrown among 
 the people at Plays, Triumphs, and the like 
 ceremonies, or given to foreign Embafiadors 
 and Princes. The Romans ftiled thefe pieces 
 Mi/ilia, and the Italians call them Medaglioni^ 
 a name which we have borrowed from them to 
 exprefs and fignify Medals of the largeft fize. 
 
 There are, as I have oblerved already, an 
 infinite number of Medallions that are ipuri- 
 ous, whether they be of modern coining, or 
 only caft. Befides the rules which I have laid 
 down above for the furer difcovery of them, 
 we may be careful to mind whether they are 
 not compofed of different coppers, and in this 
 cafe they are Antiques. The make of thefe 
 pieces lies in their being compofed of different 
 coppers, which are not incorporated together, 
 but one- of them only inchafes the other, and 
 which are ftmck with the fame Die. We 
 \fuL may
 
 Antique ME D AL s, &c. 219 
 
 may obferve in them, that the characters or 
 letters of the legend eat fometimes into both 
 the metals, and at other times they are only 
 upon the inner, to which the firft circle of me- 
 tal ferves only for a border. Thefe pieces are 
 certainly Antique, and not to be fufpected in 
 the leaft ; fo that I mail not attempt to fay 
 more upon their fubject : the only misfortune 
 is, that we meet with very few of them. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 Of Medals that are merely invented, and of fuck 
 as have been very Seldom counterfeited. 
 
 I mall here only in fome meafure point out 
 the Medals which have been invented as the 
 fancies of workmen fuggefted to them, in or- 
 der to impofe on unexperienced Virtuofos, who 
 are delighted to purchafe Medals of a fingular 
 kind, though fuch as never appeared in Anti- 
 quity. Such are the Greek Medals of Pria- 
 mus, Paris and Helena, of JEneas, Hercules, 
 and feveral other Kings, Generals or Philofo- 
 phers, that in their times filled the Univerfe 
 with their renown, but whofe memory there 
 was never any care taken to tranfmit by the 
 help of Medals to pofterity. There are like- 
 wife fome Lalin ones of Annibal, Scipio, Ci- 
 cero, and other the like heroes of the Repub- 
 lics of Carthage and Rome, which are of the 
 fame clafs. 
 
 All thefe pieces, which it is very well 
 known never exifted among the Ancients, car- 
 ry likewife with them fuch vifible marks of 
 fpurjoufnefs, having been moft of them caft, 
 
 that
 
 22O tfbe Manner of diftinguifking 
 
 that it would be an unpardonable blunder not 
 to know them ; and it is entirely needlefs for 
 me to enlarge further on their account, becaufe 
 a Virtuofo that enters the lifts of the Medallic 
 Science, is immediately made acquainted with 
 the fpurioufnefs of all thefe Heads. 
 
 The Confulary Medals, feries of which are 
 generally only formed in filver, becaufe there 
 are few of them to be met with in brafs, and 
 ftill fewer in gold, never were counterfeited 
 fo frequently as thofe of the Grecian Kings 
 and the Roman Emperors. As there appeared 
 much lefs eagernefs in the queft of thefe kind 
 of Medals, whereof there are but few fine fe- 
 ries, the falfe coiners did not take fo much 
 pains to counterfeit them, as they did with re- 
 gard to the others. To this reafon may be 
 added another, that there are very few of them 
 found fo perfectly well prcferved as to be fit 
 to form a fine mould, except fuch as were re- 
 newed by order of the Emperor Trajan, and 
 a very few others. All thefe Medals are hard- 
 ly worth more than their weight, which did 
 not give encouragement enough to falfe coiners 
 to counterfeit and imitate them. I do not 
 think that there are any of them of modern 
 coining ; but I (hall not offer to maintain that 
 one may not meet with fome that are caft ; 
 however, a Virtuofo that gives into the tafte 
 of the Confulary Medals runs much lefs ha- 
 zard of being deceived, than he does in the 
 other collections. 
 
 The Medals which were coined in the Ro- 
 man Colonies are undeniably the moft curious 
 monuments that are left us of the ruins of the 
 
 Roman
 
 Antique MEDALS, fr. 221 
 
 Roman Empire. They have likewife been 
 lefs fubject to be counterfeited than the Confu- 
 lary Medals, by reafon of the clumfinefs and 
 coarfenefs of their work, which it would be 
 in a manner impofilble to imitate. We find 
 very few of them that are fine, and a man 
 has great luck, when in thofe which he pur- 
 chafes of this kind, he finds the figures on 
 them tolerably preferved, and the legends in 
 a condition to be read. This is the mofl learn- 
 ed kind of Medals that we have ; but the 
 moft uncouth and difagreeable with regard to 
 the workmanfhip or beauty of the pieces, 
 which confequently are the leaft eafy of any 
 to be counterfeited, becaufe an ingenious work- 
 man will never be capable of imitating any 
 thing but what is very fine. We may then 
 confider all the Medals of Colonies as genuine 
 and really Antiques ; and I do not remember 
 that I ever faw any of them that are fpurious. 
 If we do in fact meet with fome Greek ones, 
 fuch as thofe of the Colony of Antioch, of 
 Samofata, or others of that kind, which feeni 
 to have been caft, they are not lefs Antiques 
 on that account, as I have obferved in the 
 foregoing Article. 
 
 The Medals or Coins called Quinarit, which 
 is the fmalleft kind that we have, have : been 
 counterfeited as much as the reft of the Impe- 
 rial Medals. There are found abundance of. 
 them that are caft, as well in gold as in filver :; 
 it is neceflfary even to examine them with more', 
 rigor and exa&nefs than the ordinary Medals, 
 becaufe they are ftill rarer. There are but' 
 few of thefe Medals to be feen in the various 
 
 Cabi-
 
 The Manner of diftingmfting 
 
 Cabinets which have been formed : M. Vail- 
 lane had collected a feries of them for the 
 Duke of Maine, which is now mixed with 
 others in the Cabinet of Abbe de Rothelin, who 
 hath formed a collection of them that is the 
 only one in its kind. 
 
 Among the filver Medals of the Confulary 
 Families, there are found fome pieces that 
 have their borders or edges notched and in- 
 dented. We meet likewife with fome of this 
 fort among the heads of the firft Roman Em- 
 perors, as of Julius Casfar, Mark Anthony, 
 and Auguftus. Thefe Medals were, at the 
 time of their being ftruck, adjufted in this 
 manner by the Directors and workmen of the 
 Roman Mints, to mew that they were true 
 and lawful money, and not liable to be plated. 
 Thefe Medals are certainly Antiques, and ne- 
 ver were counterfeited. 
 
 The Medals that are filled Conturniati, from 
 the Italian word which exprefleth the manner 
 in which they were ftruck, are of two forts. 
 There are fome of them Greek ones, which 
 are generally and with reafon believed to have 
 been coined in Greece, in honour of the great 
 men they reprefent ; and there are others that 
 were ftruck for fome Roman Emperors ; and 
 it is thefe laft that are moft eafily met with, 
 and ulbally ranged in the feries of great brafs. 
 Antiquaries are much divided in their opinions 
 as to the time when thefe Medals were coined. 
 Some maintain that they were revived by the 
 Emperor Gallienus, when he revived all the 
 Confecrations of his predecefibrs : others, and 
 I believe with better reafons on their fide, put 
 
 off
 
 Antique MEDALS, fifc. 223 
 
 off the time of their being ftruck till the reign 
 of Valentinian. However it be in that point, 
 thefe Medals, which are of the moft fingular 
 fabrick, and the leaft capable of being imi- 
 tated, have not, as far as I have been able to 
 obferve, ever been imitated : only I have feen 
 fome of them, the figures whereof had been 
 effaced by time, and which had been retouched 
 or wrought over again with the burin ; as is 
 eafy enough to be difcovered by the very 
 marks of the burin, which are ftill frefh and 
 plainly to be obferved. All thefe Medals arc 
 of little worth, and they are ranked among 
 the great brafs, purely becaufe one finds a 
 pleafure in getting together every thing that 
 belongs in any refpecl: to a collection of Me- 
 dals. 
 
 The laft kind of Antique Medals, fome of 
 which have been preferved to our times, are 
 Medals of lead. Falfe coiners have in thefe 
 latter ages of the world, made counterfeit ones 
 of this kind : but they are hardly worth the 
 pains of being looked, and ought rather to be 
 thrown away with contempt. The Antiques 
 that we have left of them are very few in 
 number ; but I have feen fome of thofe of 
 Antoninus and another Emperor. They are 
 eafy to be known by the lead, which is whi- 
 tifh and of a dirty colour ; as well as by their 
 make, which it is much more difficult to imi- 
 tate in lead than in any other metal. 
 
 ARTI-
 
 224 The Manner of diftinguijhlng 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 Among the Medals that compofe all the 
 Cabinets of Virtuofos, there are feveral pieces 
 which are found ro be Antiques in one fort of 
 metal, or in one fize, and yet none of the 
 like are to be found in other feries of diffe- 
 rent metals and fizes. It muft not however 
 be from hence imagined, that becaufe we have 
 not as yet difcovered them, we fliall never 
 find any Antiques of thofe forts ; reafon and 
 experience joining to prove the contrary. 
 There is no manner of doubt to be made, 
 but that when they ftruck Medals for an Em- 
 peror, or for fome perfon of his family, they 
 ftruck fome in all the three metals, of gold, 
 filver, and brafs, and likewife of different 
 fizes ; though even to this time there are fome 
 feries, in which feveral Heads are wanting. 
 We have no Otho ftruck at Rome by the con- 
 tent and authority of the Senate, becaufe the 
 Senate did not declare in favour of this Prince. 
 That illuftrious Body, before they acknow- 
 ledged him for their Sovereign, and in con- 
 fequence thereof caufed brafs money to be 
 coined in his name, thought it proper to wait 
 and fee the conclufion of the Civil War which 
 was raifed between him and Vitellius his Com- 
 petitor for the Empire. But this reafon, which 
 holds as to brafs Medals with regard to Otho 
 and Pefcennius Niger, cannot take place in 
 refpeft of other reigns, fince (as I have ob- 
 ferved before) they did not coin only for one 
 
 fort
 
 Antique MEDALS, &ct 
 
 Ibrt of Medals ; and when we have difco- 
 vered any of one fort, we may reafonably ex- 
 pect to find in time thofe of another which 
 have been wanting hitherto. 
 
 The earth hath not yet given up all the 
 treafures it holds of Medals, which the ruins 
 of fo many ages have depofited within her 
 bowels. Twenty years ago the Annia Fanftind 
 of filver, which was luckily found by M. Lai- 
 4 and hath fince pafied into Abbe Rothelin's 
 Cabinet, was not fo much as known ; and 
 though two centuries had palled fince the cu- 
 rious world had begun to form Cabinets of 
 Medals* it had all that while efcaped the 
 fearches of Antiquaries. The Orliana of gold! 
 is hardly known as yet, and M. Vaillant hath 
 afierted that there was no fuch thing : yet 
 fome time ago a fair one well preferVed was 
 difcovered, and is now in the King of France's 
 Cabinet. Lucky difcoveries of this kind are 
 made pretty frequently : and there are few/ 
 Virtuofos zealous and diligent in their fearches, 
 but meet in time with pieces that are fingular, 
 and even fuch as are the only ones in their 
 kind. I had myfelf two years ago in Nor- 
 mandy, the good fortune to find a noble Me- 
 dallion in brafs of the Emperor Adrian, upon 
 the reverfe of which is COS. III. with the 
 (he- wolf and the two children. This piece 
 had been ever before unknown. 
 
 I found likewife a little while ago a Medal 
 Hill more fingular : it is an Alexander Severus 
 of great brafs, with a reverfe, the legend where- 
 of is POTESTAS PERPETUA, with the fi- 
 gure of Security in a fitting pofture. The Medal 
 is not at all to be queftioned : and though we 
 . have
 
 226 *be Manner of dlftinguifoing 
 
 have not yet feen this very title infcribed to 
 any Roman Emperor, we ought not however 
 to be furprized to fee it given to this Prince, 
 fince we find on the reverfe of his Medals in 
 filver, PERPETUITATI AUG. an in- 
 fcription never found on any Medals but thofe 
 of this Prince. Abbe de Rothelin hath found 
 likewife two filver Medals of the fame Em- 
 peror, with the Legend PIETAS MILI- 
 TUM : It is the figure of a woman holding 
 generally one or two military enfigns. 
 
 Thefe Medals, as alfo a good number of 
 others, which I might quote, as well with re- 
 gard to the Heads as the Reverfes, will not 
 in all probability long remain the only ones 
 of their kind ; and it was not the cuftom to 
 coin fo inconfiderable a number thereof, as to 
 make us defpair of ever feeing them multi- 
 plied. Their degree of rarity indeed will 
 fubfift till new difcoveries are made of others : 
 and thus, though we have not feen a Pefcen- 
 nius, the Gordians of Africa, a Maximus, or 
 a Paulina, &c. in gold, it is not impoffible 
 but we may difcover fome hereafter ; fince 
 when they were ftriking Medals in filver and 
 brafs, it is natural enough to think, that they 
 might at the fame time coin fome in gold ; 
 and fo likewife as to others. 
 
 After the account I have here given of 
 the prodigious number of falfe Medals of all 
 kinds that are fcattered up and down in al- 
 moft all the Cabinets of Europe, it will fcarce 
 be believed that any of them fhould be ex- 
 empt from fo general a contagion. There 
 are however fome large Cabintts which have 
 been formed 'by able Connoiffeurs, that are 
 
 compofcd
 
 Antique MEDALS, &c. 227 
 
 compofed only of genuine Medals, which 
 Hiftorians and other learried men may fafely 
 make the fubject of their difquifitions. Such 
 is the King of France's Cabinet , fuch too is 
 that of Abbe de Rothelin ; it is at this No- 
 bleman's we meet with one of the fined fan- 
 claries of Medals, at the fan^e time with the 
 man in the world the moft capable of explain- 
 ing them, and of laying open all the myfle- 
 ries of the Medallic Science. 
 
 The END.
 
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