History of Rome and of the Roman people, from its origin to the Invasion of the Barbarians; . that money is merely asymbol, of only the value which theState chooses to assign, he diminishedthe weight of the aureus,^ cut down apound to ninety-six denarii of silverinstead of eighty-four and doubled thealloy, makhig it ten per cent, instead of ^ These gains wereslow and small ; he sought for swifter measures. He had askedor rather extorted the gifts of privateindividuals and of the provinces for therebuilding of Eome.^ These provinginsufficient, he pillaged throughout theEmpire all public pr
History of Rome and of the Roman people, from its origin to the Invasion of the Barbarians; . that money is merely asymbol, of only the value which theState chooses to assign, he diminishedthe weight of the aureus,^ cut down apound to ninety-six denarii of silverinstead of eighty-four and doubled thealloy, makhig it ten per cent, instead of ^ These gains wereslow and small ; he sought for swifter measures. He had askedor rather extorted the gifts of privateindividuals and of the provinces for therebuilding of Eome.^ These provinginsufficient, he pillaged throughout theEmpire all public properties, which areusually feebly protected. In Greece andAsia, he seized the j^recious offerings and the images of thegods from the temples.* At Eome, he took all the gold wliichthe Eoman nation had consecrated to its tutelary gods in itsprosperity and its reverses ; he even ordered the statues of thePenates to be melted down. After robbery comes taxation ; ^ thegenius of finance, which was hereafter to develop such fertilityof invention, revealed to him a new source of profit : he made. Denier of Nero. See vol. ii. p. 30, ii. 3. According to Letronne. the aureus of Cfesar weighed 125,66grains; that of Xero 115,31». Pliny says (xxxiii. 3, 4) that Nero reduced the aureus to oneforty-fifth of a pound, but that would be the weight of 7 gr. 280, and no gold coin of theemperor fell so low. (Saglio, Diet, des Ant., vol. i. p. 563, see word Aureus.) - Lenorniant, la Monnaie dans lAntiquité, vol. iii. p. 30. ^ Suet., 3S, and Dion, Ixii. 18. ^ This sacrilege caused a revolution in Pergamus, where the citizens preventul the agent ofNero from bearing away their statues and pictures. (Tac, Ann., xvi. 23.) lîhodos alsorefused to allow herself to be robbed. (Dion Chrys., Oral., 31.) Tac, Ann., xv. 45. -520 THE CiESAKS AND THE FLAVII, 14 TO 96 sumptuary laws ; he forbade the use of purple and violet, andtlicii stealthily encouraged merchants to sell them that he mightconfiscate the e
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