CHAP. 7.—ORNAMENTS OF THE TEMPLES MADE OF BRASS.
The ancients were in the habit of making the door-sills and
even the doors of the temples of brass. I find it stated, also,
that Cneius Octavius, who obtained a naval triumph over King
Perseus, [Note] erected the double portico to the Flaminian Circus,
which was called the "Corinthian" from the brazen capitals of
the pillars. [Note] It is stated also, that an ordinance was made that
the Temple of Vesta [Note] should be covered with a coating of
Syracusan metal. The capitals, too, of the pillars, which were
placed by M. Agrippa in the Pantheon, are made of similar
metal. Even the opulence, too, of private individuals has
been wrested to similar purposes. Spurius Carvilius, the
quæstor, among the other charges which he brought against
Camillus, [Note] accused him of having brazen doors in his house.