History of Sanitation

HISTORY OF SANITATION 55 and philosophers lectured, as well as porticos and vesti- bules for the idle, and libraries for the studious. They were decorated with the finest objects of art, both in paint- ing and sculpture, covered with precious marbles and adorned with fountains and shaded walks. It may be said that they began and ended with the Empire, for it was not until the time of Augustus that these magnificent structures were commenced. M. Agrippa was the first who afforded these luxuries to his countrymen by bequeathing to them the thermæ and gardens which he had erected in the Campus Martius. The Pantheon, now existing at Rome, served originally as a vestibule to these baths; and, as it was considered too magnificent for the purpose, it is supposed that Agrippa added the portico and consecrated it as a temple, for which use it still serves. The example set by Agrippa was followed by Nero and afterward by Titus, the ruins of whose thermæ are still visible, covering a vast extent, partly under ground and partly above the Esquiline Hill. Previous to the erection of these establishments for the use of the population, it was customary, for those who sought the favor of the people, to give them a day’s bathing free of ex- pense. Thus, accord- ing to Divi Cas- sius, Faustus, the son of Sulla, fur- nished warm baths andoil gratis to the people for one day; and Augustus, on one occasion, furnished warm baths and barbers to the people for Ground Plan of Thermæ of Caracalla. From an old woodcut