ceased not until a multitude were collected nearly equal in numbers to the whole population of the largest cities of our land. In the words of the learned Forsyth,- "Here sat the conquerors of the world, coolly to enjoy the tortures and death of men who had never offended them. Two aqueducts were scarcely sufficient to wash off the human blood which a few hours' sport shed in these imperial shambles. Twice, in one day, came the senators and matrons of Rome to the butchery; a virgin always gave the signal for slaughter, and, when glutted with bloodshed, these ladies sat down in the wet and steaming arena, to a luxurious supper."

And here this question seems forced upon us: Has man a native appetite for scenes like these? an inborn thirst to feast his eyes on human suffering and blood? If not, how happens it that such things should ever have existed, or what is more, that any system of faith bearing the holy name of religion should ever sanction such atrocities, and its sacred rites be used to consecrate the place and the occasion of such unhallowed orgies? The history of the matter is this. The gladiatorial shows at Rome, owed their origin to that common tenet of the early oriental and Grecian mythology and philosophy, which taught that the souls of the dead, polluted by sins committed while living, were purified and made finally happy, by being retained for a time in a state of purgation and suffering. The Greek and Latin poets and philosophers are full of this idea, and hence arose those numerous and costly sacrifices to the gods, by means of which it was supposed that they were rendered propitious to the souls of the departed, and induced to lessen the amount as well as to shorten the duration of their sufferings, while, at the same time, these spirits themselves were not only prevented from returning again to earth in such a way, as, under the form of ghosts, to frighten and annoy the living, but that, also, by being admitted to the favor and companionship of the gods, they might, by their influence and intercession at the court of Heaven, secure important benefits for their friends and favorites on earth. The Grecian Jews seem to have imbibed these ideas from the Pagans, among whom they dwelt, as early as the time when the book of Maccabees was written; and from the same source, too, has been derived the doctrine of Purgatory, and the sacrifice of the Mass, for the souls of the dead; in other words, of the bread and wine, which is held to be the real body and blood of Christ himself. A doc

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trine on which, as the chief corner-stone, has been reared the immense wealth, and power, and influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

Homer stated correctly the great principle of all sacrifices, when he said, "That meat and drink offerings conciliate the gods with men, when they err and sin." Hence, Pagan and savage nations, believing their gods to be as revengeful and blood-thirsty as themselves, sacrificed human beings to them when they thought that the flesh of beasts would not appease them, or secure their favor. The practice of thus offering prisoners of war in honor of the chiefs who had been slain in battle, prevailed not only in the time of Homer, but also at a later period, among the Romans, and even existed among the Aborigines of our own land. To this, at Rome, there succeeded the custom of sacrificing slaves at the funerals of all persons of distinction; and, either to amuse the spectators, or because it seemed barbarous to massacre defenceless men, weapons were given them that thus they might save their own lives by killing their opponents. The first exhibition of this kind was given by two of the Brutus family, about two centuries and a half before Christ, and consisted of but three pairs of gladiators. After this, as the people acquired a taste for these shows, they rapidly increased in frequency and in the number of gladiators exhibited, and were often given by candidates for office and by the Roman emperors, as a most direct and powerful means of gaining popularity. The first citizens had bands of these trained assassins to execute their deeds of private vengeance; and at length they became so numerous, that, in the case of the conspiracy of Cataline, and the rebellion of Spartacus, they exposed the city to serious danger. The capture of some elephants, during the first war with Carthage, led to the custom of bringing wild beasts upon the arena. Thus originated the Coliseum of Rome; and so strong did the mania for these bloody combats become, that, in the time of Nero, upwards of four hundred senators and six hundred knights engaged at once, in contest; and even women of quality contended publicly. In the reign of Honorius, however, while the Emperor was giving magnificent games, an Asiatic Monk, by the name of Telemachus, rushed into the arena, to part the combatants, and end the bloody spectacle. The people overwhelmed him with a shower of stones, but he was afterwards honored as a saint; and Honorius issued laws for the total abolition of these human sacrifices.

Still, they did not entirely cease, until, in the year 500, near a century after Honorius, they were finally abolished by Theodoric. During the dark ages the Coliseum was sometimes used as a fortress, and a portion of its outer wall was employed in the erection of several palaces. Benedict the Fourteenth, however, saved it from further pillage, by consecrating it, and erecting a cross and shrines in the arena, on account of the great number of the early Christians, whose blood was shed there. Some of the succeeding Popes have also made commendable efforts to preserve it from downfall and ruin.

There is one species of luxurious indulgence, which, in ancient times, exerted so important an influence on the character and habits of the people, that it may be well to give it a passing notice. I refer to the practice of frequent bathing; which, during the time of the emperors, led to the erection of some of the largest, most sumptuous, and magnificent structures, that have ever been reared.

If we turn to the writings of Moses, the oldest in the world, we find that the Most High enjoined on the Israelites, as a matter of religious duty, the practice of frequent and various purifications, by means of water. This, together with the kind and judicious regulations respecting diet, seems to have had a special regard to the preservation and promotion of health. The want of personal cleanliness, together with the use of blood, and of coarse and indigestible flesh, like that of the swine and other unclean animals, as articles of food, was not only highly injurious to those whose systems had suffered the enervating influence of an eastern climate, but also tended directly to produce those cutaneous diseases which, in warm countries, are often so destructive of human life. The history of diseases has shown that, in each past age of the world, there has been some great and prevailing pestilence, which, originating in causes beyond the reach of human wisdom, and either absorbing or stamping with its own peculiar character all other maladies, has extended its sad and desolating influence through the length and the breadth of the habitable earth. As examples of this general fact, we need only refer to the leprosy, the plague, the smallpox, and the cholera. The symptoms and the effects of the leprosy, as well as the proper means of providing for the wretched sufferer, and at the same time securing, as far as possible, the rest of the community from exposure to this highly infectious disease, were minutely pointed out

by the law of Moses. The Levites were often to examine those who were suspected of disease, and subject them to a rigid quarantine, until perfectly cured. Clothes, and even houses which were permanently infected, were to be destroyed without scruple. The persons of those cured, and their clothes, if spared, were to be thoroughly purified with water, from a spring or running stream. Similar purifications of the body were enjoined on all those who would offer sacrifices to God, as well as on those who had touched a dead body, or even a human bone, a grave in the fields, or any thing which might be putrid, or infected with disease; or who had entered a tent or apartment where a corpse was lying.

Thus we find that in the earlier ages of the world, motives of a religious kind, as well as a regard to health, led to the practice of those frequent ablutions which, from that time to the present, has so commonly prevailed in the East, and which forms so important a part of the sacred rites enjoined by the system of Mahomet. Intercourse with the East, arising from both conquest and commerce, led the Romans, not only to introduce the custom of bathing as a means of luxury and health, but also to erect those vast and splendid structures, which enabled those of every class at once to delight their senses, gratify their literary taste, and practice the sacred rites of religion. Another motive for this custom was the scarcity and the high value of linen, arising from the fact, that the arts were yet in their infancy. Hence, cleanliness and health, among the lower classes, who had not the means of procuring frequent changes of garments, could only be preserved by frequent bathing.

In the time of the emperors, not only had the wealthy splendid bathing establishments of their own, but buildings were erected at public expense, for the daily accommodation of all classes of citizens. The number of these public baths, in Rome, is said by some to have been eighty; the most distinguished of which were those of Agrippa, Nero, Titus, Caracalla, and Diocletian. Connected with them were extensive walks, gardens, and pleasure-grounds, and they contained spacious halls for swimming and bathing, others for athletic sports and exercises, and every variety of polite amusement, - and others still, where poets recited their verses, and philosophers delivered their lectures. To these were sometimes added theatres, and temples of the gods.

The baths of Titus, though inferior in size to others, were still superior in point of architecture, and in the richness and beauty of their paintings, and other ornaments. The lower part was used for bathing, and the upper for literary purposes and athletic exercises. There still remain above ground part of the theatre, as also of one of the temples, and of one of the great halls; while below are numerous vaults, long galleries, and spacious ruins, with paintings on the walls, which retain much of their original freshness. To these baths belong the "Seven Halls,” vast vaulted rooms,

of one hundred feet in length by fifteen in breadth, and twenty in depth, which were used as reservoirs, to supply the baths, and sometimes the Coliseum, with water, when naval engagements took place there.

A part of the baths of Diocletian are now changed into a convent, occupied by Carthusian monks. The principal hall, which has been converted into a church, though its side-recesses have been filled, and its pavement raised six feet, is still three hundred and fifty feet long, eighty feet broad, and ninety-six feet high. It was paved, and incrusted with the finest marble, by Benedict the Fourteenth, and is supported by eight pillars, forty feet in height, and five feet in diameter, each of which is one vast piece of solid granThese baths contained three thousand distinct cells, in which it is supposed that, at a very moderate computation, eighteen thousand persons might have been bathing at the same time.

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The baths of Caracalla, however, from their immense size, and the comparative state of preservation in which they' now are, were visited by us with more interest than almost any other remnant of antiquity, except the Coliseum, within the walls of Rome. Their erection occupied the greater part of the reign of the emperor, whose name they bear, and though the pillars and statues, and the great variety of splendid ornaments which once were there, have been removed, still the lofty walls, with some of the mighty arches which rose above them, are yet standing, and the general outline and uses of the principal apartments may be easily discerned. The length of the whole edifice was one thousand eight hundred and forty feet, and its breadth one thousand four hundred and seventy-six. Thus its diameter was greater than the whole circumference of the Coliseum, and it covered a space of ground more than sixty-two acres in extent. It was