Latin Texts & Translations

It is one of the properties of oil to impart warmth to the body, and to protect it against the action of cold; while at the same time it promotes coolness in the head when heated. The Greeks, those parents of all vices, have abused it by mak- ing it minister to luxury, and employing it commonly in the gymnasium: indeed, it is a well-known fact that the gover- nors of those establishments have sold the scrapings ^[Note] of the oil used there for a sum of eighty thousand sesterces. The majesty of the Roman sway has conferred high honour upon the olive: crowned with it, the troops of the Equestrian order are wont to defile upon the ides of July; ^[Note] it is used, too, by the victor in the minor triumphs of the ovation. ^[Note] At Athens,

also, they are in the habit of crowning the conqueror with olive; and at Olympia, the Greeks employ the wild olive ^[Note] for a similar purpose.