," vii.

CHAPTER VI.

IN THE REIGN OF THE CAESARS--TO THE DEATH OF NERO.

Augustus--His illnesses--Antonius Musa--Maecenas--Tiberius--
Caligula--Claudius--Nero--Seneca--Astrology--Archiater--Women
poisoners--Oculists in Rome.

Long before the settlement of the constitutional status of Augustus in
27 B.C., he had undertaken many reforms. In 34 B.C., Agrippa, under the
influence of Augustus, had improved the water supply of Rome by
restoring the Aqua Marcia, and Augustus had repaired and enlarged the
cloacae, and repaired the principal streets. Road commissions were
appointed 27 B.C. The Aqua Virgo was built 19 B.C. Many of the
_collegia_, or guilds, founded for the promotion of the interests of
professions and trades had been misused for political purposes, and
Augustus deprived many of them of their charters. _Curae_, or
commissions, were appointed to superintend public works, streets and the
water-supply; and the Tiber was dredged, cleansed and widened, and its
liability to overflow reduced. No new building could be built more than
70 ft. high. Augustus also established fire brigades. It has been said
that he found the city built of brick and left it built of marble.

He revived many old religious customs, such as the Augury of Public
Health, and identified himself closely with the rites and customs of the
people. He inculcated that sense of duty which the Romans called
_pietas_, and attempted to improve the morals of the citizens by the
enactment of sumptuary laws; the philosophers hoped to do good in the
same direction by appealing to the intellect and reason, a method that
was equally ineffectual. Marriages and an increased birth-rate were
encouraged, and parents were honoured and given special privileges. The
wisdom and prudence of Augustus were strangely accompanied by credulity
and superstition. He was a profound believer in omens, and attached
great importance to astrology. His horoscope showed that he was born
under the sign of Capricorn.

He suffered from various illnesses, although in his younger days he
looked handsome and athletic. He carefully nursed his health against his
many infirmities, avoiding chiefly the free use of the bath; but he was
often rubbed with oil, and sweated in a stove, after which he was bathed
in tepid water, warmed either by a fire, or by being exposed to the heat
of the sun. When, on account of his nerves, he was obliged to have
recourse to sea-water, o