27. The body should be warm, rather than cold, when stepping into the bath; and after it, the skin should be thoroughly dried with a coarse towel. It is best to continue friction until there is a sensation of warmth or "glow" throughout the entire surface. This reaction is the test of the good effects of the bath. If reaction is still incomplete, a short walk may be taken, especially in the sunshine. It is very congenial, however, both to health and comfort, to rest for a short time directly after bathing, or to take some light refreshment. This is better than severe exercise or a full meal. [Sidenote: 28. Bathing among the ancients? Baths of Rome?] 28. BATHING AMONG THE ANCIENTS.--The Romans and other nations of antiquity made great use of the vapor-bath as a means of preserving the health, but more particularly as a luxury. Their method was not unlike that employed in northern Europe at the present day. The public baths of Rome and other cities are among the grandest and most interesting monuments of ancient luxury and splendor; and from their ruins have been recovered some of the most beautiful works of art. {50} [Sidenote: 29. After the bath? Swimming among the ancients?] 29. The Thermæ, as the baths of Rome were called, were of great extent, built very substantially, and ornamented at vast expense. They were practically free to all, the cost of a bath having been less than a cent. It is related that some persons bathed seven times a day. After the bath their bodies were anointed with perfumed oil. If the weather was fine, they passed directly from the Thermæ into the gymnasium, and engaged in some gentle exercise previous to taking the midday meal. Between two and three in the afternoon was the favorite hour for this ancient luxury. Swimming was a favorite exercise, and a knowledge of it was regarded as necessary to every educated man. Their common expression, when speaking of an ignorant person, was, "He can neither read nor swim." [Sidenote: 30. The Sun-bath? The story of Pliny?] 30. THE SUN-BATH.--Some also were accustomed daily to anoint themselves, and lie or walk in apartments arranged for the purpose, with naked bodies exposed to the direct rays of the sun. There is an interesting allusion to this practice, in a letter of the younger Pliny to the historian Tacitus, describing the destruction of Pompeii by an eruption of Vesuvius. "My uncle," (Pliny the elder,) "was at that time in command of the fleet at Misenum. On the 24th of August, about one in the afternoon, my mother desired him to notice a cloud which seemed of unusual shape and dimensions. He had just returned from _taking the benefit of the sun_, and after a cold bath, and a slight repast, had retired to his study." Then follows a description of the destruction of Pompeii, and the death of the elder Pliny. [Sidenote: 31. Benefit of the sun? Effect upon plants? Skin?]