The people thus cut off from society, and rendered murderers per force, were fully justified in considering the whole Roman state their enemy ; nor was it sur prising that they were sometimes willing to revenge themselves upon their op pressors. Spartacus, a gladiator, gave a bold but unavailing example to his bre thren, by rushing out of an amphitheatre at Verona, at the head of those collected there for public exhibition, declaring war against the Romans, and assembling so great a force, as to make the citizens of Rome tremble. Similar apprehensions were entertained at intervals by enlight ened people, and Cicero observed, " The shows of gladiators may possibly to some persons seem barbarous and inhuman ; and, indeed, as the case now stands, I cannot say that the censure is unjust. But in those times, when only guilty persons composed the number of combatants, the ear, perhaps might receive many bet ter instructions ; but it is impossible that any thing which affects our eyes should fortify us with more success against the assaults of grief and death." Still he had the good sense to propose a law, prohibit ing all candidates for offices from exhibit ing gladiators within two years before they became such. Julius Czesar limited their number in Rome. Augustus or dained that not more than sixty pairs of combatants should fight at one exhibition, and that there should be only two of the latter in a year. During the reign of Ti berius it was decreed, that gladiators were not to be brought before the public by persons worth less than 400,000 ses terces. Constantine the Great bad the humanity and courage to abolish the cus. tom, after it had prevailed near six hun dred years ; but it revived under Con stantius Theodosius and Valentinian, and was finally suppressed by the Emperor Honorius.
The guilty persons alluded to by Cice ro must apply to those slaves whose mas ters sold them, for disobedience or mal practices, to the Lanistx, who, instructing them in the arts of attack and defence, hired them to any rich man disposed to exhibit them. Had they been entirely confined to this class of people, we might have been less inclined to censure the custom ; but when we reflect that honest and courageous soldiers were condemned to undergo the lash of their captors, and afterwards perish by the swords of slaves, or each other, we cannot fail of being as tonished that the high-spirited Roman should expose himself to their vengeance, by voluntarily entering the arena with them, there to meet almost certain death. Strange, however, as it appears, freemen fought for hire under the term of aucto rati ; and even knights, nobles, and sena tors, who had wasted their property by extravagance, have deigned to become gladiators. Augustus, offended at their conduct, forbid the senatorian order and knights to enter the lists as such ; but preceding princes, less influenced by a sense of honour, permitted them to act as they pleased. The contagion at length extended to the females of Rome ; and, lastly, dwarfs were taught the use of the sword, and fighting with the women, or each other, furnished a new description of diversion. Kennet classes the various sorts of gladiators under the terms of the Retiarii, the Secutores, the Myrmyllones, the Thracians, the Samnites, the Esseda rii, and the Andabatze ; the Gladiatores Meridiani fought in the afternoon ; the Gladiatores Fiscales were paid from the Emperor's private treasury ; the Gladia toresyostulatitii were men of consummate art in their profession ; the Gladiatores Catervarii fought in small companies; and the Gladiatores Ordinarii were not parti cularly distinguished, but fought in a com mon way.
The dress of the Retiarius was a short habit, and a hat tied under the chin. His means of offence were a weapon called a fuscina, and a net. With the latter in his right hand, he endeavoured to entangle his adversary, and with the fuscina in the left he aimed mortal blows at him ; but as this description ofgladiator was invariably opposed to a Secutor, armed with a scy meter, a buckler, and a helmet, the Reti arius had no means of escape, if he failed in casting his net, except by flight round the arena, during which he adjusted it for a new trial.
The best gladiators were Thracians. Those men, with their faulchion and small round shields, possessed more national fe rocity and cruelty than any of their oppo nents. Kennet says, original of the Samnite gladiators is given by Livy. The Campanians (says he) bearing a great ha tred to the Samnites, they armed a part of their gladiators after the fashion of that country, and called them Samnites. They wore a shield, broad at the top, to defend the breast and shoulders, and growing more narrow towards the bottom, that it might be moved with the greater convenience. They had a sort of belt coming over their breasts, a greave on their left foot, and a crested helmet on their heads." The Epedarii sometimes engaged from chariots, and at others on foot ; and the Andabatx, mounted on horses, fought with a helmet which cover ed their faces and eyes.
The exhibition of gladiators was an nounced to the public by bills affixed in the public places, sometimes accompanied by paintings of the intended combat, or the most celebrated combatants ; and when the time mentioned had arrived, and the people assembled, the gladiators marched slowly round the arena ; they were then matched, by persons appointed for that purpose, as equally as possible, and they proceeded to prepare for the contest by fencing with blunted swords, &c. ; after which the trumpets were sounded, and the battles began in serious earnest. When a severe wound was gi. yen, the gladiator who inflicted it, and the people, exclaimed, He has it.' If that proved decisive, the vanquished person resigned his weapon, and acknowledged himself conquered. But this submission was not alone sufficient to save his life the people were to decide his fate. He therefore turned to them, and supplicated for mercy, which was granted, or refused, according to their opinion of his skill and courage. Several learned authors have differed as to the exact manner in which the hands and fingers were placed, to ex press praise or disapprobation on those occasions. According to Juvenal, the bending of the thumbs back authorised the conqueror to kill his adversary as a coward. The Emperor might, however, interfere, if he was present, and save the gladiator ; it is supposed, besides, that his entrance at the instant of defeat was fa vourable to the vanquished party, as far as his life was concerned.