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is called the list of dignities, but not the square script. The names of the other military units were inscribed on a board; and among the Romans, the wide and thick piece of wood is called a matricium; for the ancients used wood and bark and linden tablets for writing. There is also a linden board, on which the words of freedom were accustomed to be written. And among the same people, the linden wood is tilia; whence a book is a codex. A codex is properly called a log among them, and a book is a liber. A liber is properly the bark; these things and a matricium, and they call carpenters matricarii. Whence even now the so-called scriba of the praetor is carried before the consuls. But later in time, Ptolemy, on the advice of Aristarchus the grammarian to embrace the protection of the Romans, was the first to send papyrus, astonishing Rome. He is nevertheless outdone in reputation by Attalus of Pergamum, with Crates the grammarian leading the effort in rivalry with Aristarchus, his competitor; for having scraped sheep skins thin, he sent to the Romans what are called membrana among them; and in memory of the one who sent them, even now the Romans call the membrana Pergamene. 1.29 It should be known that among the Romans the basket is satura in sacred rites, and epularia at feasts, which many out of ignorance call apalaria. For it is the custom for Romans to call feasts epulae. 1.30 It was decided that the senate should no longer assemble in the forum, but in the Palatium, and it is the custom for Romans to call such a meeting a conventus, instead of a "coming together." But there is need of silence for the many who are deliberating; from the concern for silence—and they call it silentium in their native tongue—they decided to name them silentiarii. And when almost everything had been changed, the office of the so-called magister remained; and a certain order of fifty men in number obeyed him, who were called frumentarii and curiosi, that is, grain-collectors and inspectors; and the grain-collectors were in charge of the abundance of provisions in the Palatium, while the inspectors were in charge of the public post. 1.31 Clavularius, a driver; for they call the tiller a clavus. 1.32 Velox, swift, who is even now also called veredarius. And veredi seem to be for the Italians the draft horses .... which is, to pull the vehicle; whence also they aspirate it when writing the name raedae, derived from the adverb radios (easily); for those who speak of the veredi apart from the raedae are very much mistaken. 1.33 Antiquarii, who according to the Greeks are calligraphers. 1.34 And this Numa arranged for Italy, which was being disturbed by barbarian tumults, to be called Magna Graecia and for all the famous philosophers to come forth from it, I mean Empedocles the natural philosopher and many others before Aristotle. 1.35 That in the time of Numa and before him the priests of old were shorn with bronze scissors, but not with iron ones; for iron, according to the Pythagoreans, is dedicated to matter; for it is both black itself and for this reason close to formlessness, much-worked and much-used but not impassive. 1.36 That after Augustus, in the ranks of the Palatium, there was also found a body of sixty patricians with whom the arms fallen from heaven were guarded; and moreover, thirty others with whom the Sibylline oracles were guarded. 1.37 That the later rulers of the Roman state were formerly priests is unknown to none of all, Tyrrhenus having migrated from Lydia to the west, and having taught the rites of the Lydians to those then called Etruscans—and it was a Sicanian nation—who happened to be renamed Thusci from their practice of sacrifice-divination; and we know that we have mentioned these things at length in the first treatise written by us concerning the months. For King Numa took the insignia of the rulers from the Thusci and introduced them to the state,

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προσγραφὴ τῶν ἀξιωμάτων λέγεται, οὐ μὴν ἡ τετράγωνος γραμμή. τὰ τῶν ἄλλων στρατευμάτων ὀνόματα ἐπὶ σανίδος ἀπεγράφετο· λέγεται δὲ παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις ματρίκιον τὸ πλατὺ καὶ παχὺ ξύλον· οἱ γὰρ ἀρχαῖοι ξύλοις καὶ φλοιοῖς καὶ φιλυρίνοις πίναξι πρὸς γραφὴν ἐκέχρηντο. ἐστὶ δὲ καὶ σανὶς φιλυρίνη, ἐφ' ἧς τὰ ῥήματα τῆς ἐλευθερίας εἴωθε γράφεσθαι. τιλία δὲ παρὰ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἡ φιλύρα τὸ ξύλον· ὅθεν κῶδιξ τὸ βιβλίον. κῶδιξ δὲ κυρίως ὁ φιτρὸς παρ' αὐτοῖς καλεῖται, καὶ λίβερ τὸ βιβλίον. λίβερ δὲ ὁ φλοιός ἐστι κυρίως· ταῦτα καὶ ματρίκιον, καὶ ματρικαρίους τοὺς ξυλουργοὺς καλοῦσιν. ὅθεν ἔτι καὶ νῦν πρὸ τῶν ὑπάτων ἐπιφέρεται ὁ λεγόμενος τοῦ πραίτωρος σκρίβας. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον ὁ Πτολεμαῖος συμβουλεύοντος αὐτῷ Ἀριστάρχου τοῦ γραμματικοῦ τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἀσπάσασθαι προστασίαν πρῶτος χάρτην ἀποστείλας τὴν Ῥώμην ἐξένισεν. ἀντευδοκιμεῖται δὲ ὅμως παρὰ τοῦ Περγαμηνοῦ Ἀττάλου, Κράτητος τοῦ γραμματικοῦ ἡγησαμένου τῆς σπουδῆς πρὸς ἔριν Ἀριστάρχου τοῦ ἀντιτέχνου αὐτοῦ· δέρματα γὰρ τὰ ἐκ προβάτων ἀποξέσας εἰς λεπτὸν ἔστειλε τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις τὰ λεγόμενα παρ' αὐτοῖς μέμβρανα· εἰς μνήμην δὲ τοῦ ἀποστείλαντος ἔτι καὶ νῦν Ῥωμαῖοι τὰ μέμβρανα Περγαμηνὰ καλοῦσιν. 1.29 Ἰστέον δὲ Ῥωμαίοις τὸ κανοῦν ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἱερῶν σατούραν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν εὐωχιῶν ἐπουλαρίαν, ἣν ἀπαλαρίαν οἱ πολλοὶ ἐξ ἀγνοίας προσαγορεύουσιν. ἐπούλας γὰρ τὰς εὐωχίας Ῥωμαίοις ἔθος καλεῖν. 1.30 Ἐδόκει μὲν μηκέτι ἐπ' ἀγορᾶς, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ Παλατίῳ τὴν βουλὴν συνάγεσθαι, τὴν δὲ τοιαύτην σύνοδον κομβέντον ἔθος Ῥωμαίοις καλεῖν, ἀντὶ τοῦ συνέλευσιν. σιγῆς δὲ τοῖς πολλοῖς βουλευομένοις δεῖ· ἐκ τῆς περὶ τὴν σιγὴν σπουδῆς-σιλέντιον δ' αὐτὴν πατρίως καλοῦσιν-σιλεντιαρίους ἔκριναν ὀνομάζειν αὐτούς. πάντων δὲ σχεδὸν ἐναλλαγέντων διέμεινε τὸ τοῦ λεγομένου μαγίστρου φρόντισμα· ἐπείθετο δὲ αὐτῷ τάξις τις πεντήκοντα τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἀνδρῶν, οἳ φρουμεντάριοι καὶ κουρίωσοι προσηγορεύοντο, οἷον σιτῶναι καὶ περίεργοι· καὶ οἱ μὲν σιτῶναι τῆς εὐθηνίας τῶν ἐν τῷ Παλατίῳ ἀντείχοντο, οἱ δὲ περίεργοι ἡγοῦντο τοῦ δημοσίου δρόμου. 1.31 Κλαβουλάριος ὀχηματικός· κλάβον γὰρ τὸν οἴακα καλοῦσιν. 1.32 Βήλωξ, ὀξύς, ὃς καὶ βεραιδαρικὸς ἔτι καὶ νῦν λέγεται. βεραίδους δὲ Ἰταλοῖς εἶναι δοκεῖ τοὺς ὑποζυγίους ἵππους .... ὅπερ ἐστίν, ἕλκειν τὸ ὄχημα· ὅθεν καὶ δασύνουσι γράφοντες τὸ ῥαίδας ὄνομα ἐκ τοῦ ῥᾳδίως ἐπιρρήματος παρηγμένον· οἱ γὰρ βεραίδους τοὺς ῥαίδας ἐκτὸς λέγοντες σφόδρα πλανῶνται. 1.33 Ἀντικουάριοι οἱ κατὰ Ἕλληνας καλλιγράφοι. 1.34 Ὁ δὲ Νουμᾶς οὗτος βαρβαρικοῖς ταραττομένην θορύβοις τὴν Ἰταλίαν μεγάλην Ἑλλάδα ᾠκονόμησε κληθῆναι πάντας τε τοὺς κλεινοὺς τῶν φιλοσόφων ἐξ αὐτῆς προελθεῖν, Ἐμπεδοκλέα λέγω τὸν φυσικὸν καὶ ἄλλους πολλοὺς πρὸ Ἀριστοτέλους. 1.35 Ὅτι ἐπὶ τοῦ Νουμᾶ καὶ πρὸ τούτου οἱ πάλαι ἱερεῖς χαλκαῖς ψαλίσιν, ἀλλ' οὐ σιδηραῖς ἀπεκείροντο· ὁ γὰρ σίδηρος κατὰ τοὺς Πυθαγορείους τῇ ὕλῃ ἀνάκειται· μέλας γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐγγὺς ἀνείδεος, πολύκμητός τε καὶ πολύχρηστος ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπαθής ἐστιν. 1.36 Ὅτι μετὰ τὸν Αὔγουστον ἐν ταῖς τοῦ Παλατίου τάξεσιν ηὑρίσκετο καὶ σύστημα πατρικίων ἑξήκοντα παρ' οἷς τὰ διοπετῆ ὅπλα ἐφυλάττετο· ἔτι δὲ μὴν καὶ ἄλλοι τριάκοντα, παρ' οἷς ἐφυλάττοντο οἱ σιβύλλειοι χρησμοί. 1.37 Ἱερέας γενέσθαι τὸ πρὶν τοὺς ὕστερον ἄρχοντας τοῦ Ῥωμαίων πολιτεύματος οὐδενὶ τῶν πάντων ἠγνόηται, Τυρρηνοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν ἑσπέραν ἐκ τῆς Λυδίας μεταστάντος, τοὺς τότε καλουμένους Ἐτρούσκους- ἔθνος δὲ ἦν Σικανόν-τὰς Λυδῶν τελετὰς διδάξαντος, οὓς ἐκ τῆς θυοσκοπίας Θούσκους συμβέβηκε μετονομασθῆναι· καὶ τούτων εἰς πλάτος ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῆς περὶ μηνῶν γραφείσης ἡμῖν πραγματείας ἴσμεν μνημονεύσαντες. τὰ γὰρ ἐπίσημα τῶν ἀρχόντων ἀπὸ Θούσκων λαβὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς Νουμᾶς τῇ πολιτείᾳ εἰσήγαγεν,