hose parasites, who practise the most useful of all arts, the art of
flattery; who eagerly applaud each word, and every action, of their
immortal patron; gaze with rapture on his marble columns and variegated
pavements; and strenuously praise the pomp and elegance which he is
taught to consider as a part of his personal merit. At the Roman tables,
the birds, the _squirrels_ or the fish, which appear of an uncommon
size, are contemplated with curious attention; a pair of scales is
accurately applied, to ascertain their real weight; and, while the
more rational guests are disgusted by the vain and tedious repetition,
notaries are summoned to attest, by an authentic record, the truth of
such a marvelous event. Another method of introduction into the houses
and society of the great, is derived from the profession of gaming, or,
as it is more politely styled, of play. The confederates are united by
a strict and indissoluble bond of friendship, or rather of conspiracy;
a superior degree of skill in the _Tesserarian_ art (which may be
interpreted the game of dice and tables) is a sure road to wealth
and reputation. A master of that sublime science, who in a supper, or
assembly, is placed below a magistrate, displays in his countenance the
surprise and indignation which Cato might be supposed to feel, when
he was refused the praetorship by the votes of a capricious people. The
acquisition of knowledge seldom engages the curiosity of nobles, who
abhor the fatigue, and disdain the advantages, of study; and the only
books which they peruse are the Satires of Juvenal, and the verbose and
fabulous histories of Marius Maximus. The libraries, which they have
inherited from their fathers, are secluded, like dreary sepulchres, from
the light of day. But the costly instruments of the theatre, flutes, and
enormous lyres, and hydraulic organs, are constructed for their use; and
the harmony of vocal and instrumental music is incessantly repeated in
the palaces of Rome. In those palaces, sound is preferred to sense, and
the care of the body to that of the mind. It is allowed as a salutary
maxim, that the light and frivolous suspicion of a contagious malady, is
of sufficient weight to excuse the visits of the most intimate friends;
and even the servants, who are despatched to make the decent inquiries,
are not suffered to return home, till they have undergone the
ceremony of a previous ablution. Yet this selfish and unmanly delicacy
occasionall