CHAPTER III. COINS OF GOLD.

 The next crime committed against the welfare of mankind was on the part of him who was the first to coin a denarius of gold, a crime the author of which is equally unknown. The 257 Roman people made no use of impressed silver even before the period of the defeat of King Pyrrhus.

 

King Servius was the first to make an impress upon copper¹. Before his time, according to Tim?us, at Rome, the raw metal only was used. The form of a sheep was the first figure impressed upon money, and to this fact it owes its name, “pecunia,” from “pecus,” a sheep.

 

Silver was not impressed with a mark until the year of the City 485, the year of the consulship² of Ogulnius and Fabius, five years before the First Punic War; at which time it was ordained³ that the value of the denarius should be ten asses⁴ of copper. The weight, however, of the libra of copper was diminished during the First Punic War, the republic not having means to meet its expenditure⁵: in consequence of which, an ordinance⁶ was made that the as should in future be struck of two ounces weight. By this contrivance a saving of five-sixths was effected, and the public debt was liquidated⁷. The impression upon these copper coins was a two-faced Janus on one side, and the beak⁸ of a ship of war on the other. At a later period, when Hannibal was pressing hard upon Rome, in the dictatorship of Q. Fabius Maximus, asses of one ounce weight were struck, and it was ordained that the value of the denarius should be sixteen asses, by which last reduction of the weight of the as the republic made a clear gain of one half. Still, however, so far as the pay of the soldiers is concerned, one denarius has always been given for every ten asses. The impressions upon the coins of silver were two-horse and four-horse chariots, and hence it is that they received the names of “bigati” and “quadrigati.”

 

The first golden coin was struck sixty-two years after that of silver.

 

But the invention of money opened a new field to human avarice⁹, by giving rise to the practice of lending money at interest, while the owner passes a life of idleness: and it was with no slow advances that, not merely avarice, but a perfect 258 hunger for gold became inflamed¹⁰ with a sort of rage for acquiring. Septimuleius, the familiar friend of Caius Gracchus, not only cut off the latter’s head, upon which a price had been set of its weight in gold, but, before bringing it to Opimius, poured molten lead into the mouth, and so not only was guilty of the crime of parricide¹¹, but added to his criminality by cheating the state. And the Roman name was rendered infamous¹² by avarice, when King Mithridates caused molten gold to be poured into the mouth of Aquilius, the Roman general, whom he had taken prisoner.

 

One cannot but feel ashamed, on looking at those new-fangled names which are invented every now and then, from the Greek language, by which to designate vessels¹³ of silver, filagreed or inlaid with gold, and the various other practices by which such articles of luxury, when only gilded¹⁴, are made to sell at a higher price than they would have done if made of solid gold. Spartacus forbade any one of his followers¹⁵ to introduce either gold or silver into the camp—so much more nobleness of mind was there in those days, even in runaway¹⁶ slaves.

 

I am much surprised that the Roman people has always imposed upon conquered nations a tribute in silver, and not in gold. From Carthage, after its conquest under Hannibal, a ransom¹⁷ was exacted in the shape of a yearly payment, for fifty years, of silver, eight hundred thousand pounds’ weight in all, but no gold. And yet it does not appear that this could have arisen from there being so little gold then in use throughout the world. Midas and Cr?sus, before this, had possessed¹⁸ gold to an endless amount: Cyrus, on his conquest of Asia, had found a booty consisting of twenty-four thousand pounds’ weight of gold, in addition to vessels and other articles of wrought¹⁹ gold, as well as leaves of trees, a plane-tree, and a vine, all made of that metal. In this conquest, he carried off five hundred thousand talents of silver, as well as 259 the vase[200] of Semiramis, the weight of which alone amounted to fifteen talents.

 

Saulaces, king of Colchis, the land of the Golden Fleece, had golden arches to his palace, and silver supports, columns, and pilasters, all of which he had come into possession of on the conquest of Sesostris, king of Egypt; a monarch²⁰ so haughty²¹, that every year, it is said, it was his practice to select one of his vassal²² kings by lot, and yoking²³ him to his car, celebrate his triumph afresh.

 

At the games celebrated²⁴ by Caius Antonius the stage was made of silver. The Emperor Caius had a scaffold introduced into the Circus, upon which there were one hundred and twenty-four thousand pounds’ weight of silver. His successor, Claudius, on the occasion of his triumph over Britain, announced by the inscriptions²⁵ that among the coronets of gold, there was one weighing seven thousand pounds, contributed by Nearer Spain, and another of nine thousand pounds, presented by Gallia Comata. Nero, who succeeded him, covered the Theatre of Pompey with gold for one day, the occasion on which he displayed it to Tiridates, king of Armenia. And yet how small was this theatre in comparison with that Golden Palace of his, with which he environed our city.

 

The first statue of solid gold was erected²⁶ in the Temple of the goddess Ana?tis, a divinity held in the highest veneration²⁷. This statue was carried off during the wars of Antonius with the people of Parthia; and a witty²⁸ saying is told, with reference to it, of one of the veterans of the Roman army, a native of Bononia. Entertaining on one occasion the late Emperor Augustus at dinner, he was asked by that prince whether he was aware that the person who committed the violence of carrying off the statue, had been struck with blindness and paralysis²⁹, and then expired. To this he made answer, 260 that at that very moment Augustus was making his dinner off of one of her legs, for he himself was the very man, and to that bit of plunder³⁰ he had been indebted for all his fortune.

1 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

2 consulship   

领事的职位或任期

参考例句：

3 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句

4 asses   

n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人

参考例句：

• Sometimes I got to kick asses to make this place run right. 有时我为了把这个地方搞得像个样子，也不得不踢踢别人的屁股。 来自教父部分
• Those were wild asses maybe, or zebras flying around in herds. 那些也许是野驴或斑马在成群地奔跑。

5 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

6 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

7 liquidated   

v.清算( liquidate的过去式和过去分词 )；清除（某人）；清偿；变卖

参考例句：

• All his supporters were expelled, exiled, or liquidated. 他的支持者全都被驱逐、流放或消灭了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• That can be liquidated at market value any time. 那可按市价随时得到偿付。 来自辞典例句

8 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

9 avarice   

n.贪婪；贪心

参考例句：

• Avarice is the bane to happiness.贪婪是损毁幸福的祸根。
• Their avarice knows no bounds and you can never satisfy them.他们贪得无厌，你永远无法满足他们。

10 inflamed   

adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。
• Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 parricide   

n.杀父母；杀亲罪

参考例句：

• In ancient Greek stories,Oedipus was a parricide.在古希腊故事里，俄狄浦斯是个杀父者。
• There's a case of parricide immediately after,which will take them some time.在您之后，立刻就要办一件弑父案。

12 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

13 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

15 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

16 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

17 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

18 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

19 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

20 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

21 haughty   

adj.傲慢的，高傲的

参考例句：

• He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
• They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。

22 vassal   

n.附庸的；属下；adj.奴仆的

参考例句：

• Wales was a vassal kingdom at that time.那时威尔士是个附庸国。
• The vassal swore that he would be loyal to the king forever.这位封臣宣誓他将永远忠诚于国王。

23 yoking   

配轭，矿区的分界

参考例句：

• The farmer was yoking his oxen to a plough. 农夫正在用轭把牛套到犁上。
• The farmer continued solidly yoking his oxen. 农夫继续不动声色地给牛驾轭。

24 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

25 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

26 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

27 veneration   

n.尊敬，崇拜

参考例句：

• I acquired lasting respect for tradition and veneration for the past.我开始对传统和历史产生了持久的敬慕。
• My father venerated General Eisenhower.我父亲十分敬仰艾森豪威尔将军。

28 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

29 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

30 plunder   

vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠

参考例句：

• The thieves hid their plunder in the cave.贼把赃物藏在山洞里。
• Trade should not serve as a means of economic plunder.贸易不应当成为经济掠夺的手段。