What, then, are these scarves? The answer to this question is supplied by Flavius Vopiscus in his Life of Aurelian, who, he says, 'was the first to grant _oraria_ to the Roman people, to be worn as favours.'[28] Now, the references which we have just made to Ambrose and Augustine—not to mention others which might equally well be quoted—show that the _oraria_, whatever may have been the method in which they were worn, must have been narrow strips of some kind of cloth. These peculiar scarves, which are to be seen on certain monuments, do not appear on any effigy dating before the time of Aurelian; the natural inference, therefore, is that the scarves which we see thus represented are actually the _oraria_, granted to the Roman people by that emperor and his successors. If this argument be not valid, then it is impossible to say either what these scarves really are, or what was the true appearance of the civil _orarium_. It is probable that considerable laxity existed in the manner of wearing the ecclesiastical _orarium_, for the fourth Council of Toledo thought it necessary to enact a special canon to regulate the method in which this vestment should be disposed. The fortieth act of this assembly restricts the number of _oraria_ to one, and enjoins that deacons should wear the _orarium_ over the left shoulder, leaving the right side free so as to facilitate the execution of their duties in Divine service.[29] This act also provides that the diaconal _orarium_ should be plain, not ornamented with gold or embroidery. It will be noticed that this Toletan council favoured the derivation of the word _orarium_ from _orare_. The wearing of the _orarium_ was still further regulated by two of the councils which met at Braga. The second council of Braga (563 A.D.) decreed that 'since in some churches of this province the deacons wear their _oraria_ hidden under the tunic, so that they cannot be distinguished from the subdeacons, for the future they must be placed over their shoulders.'[30] The fourth council (675 A.D.) made an important decree regulating the wearing of the _orarium_ by priests, which has been since followed universally. The vestment was to be passed round the neck, over each shoulder, crossed in front, and secured in this position under the girdle of the _alba_.[31] The last enactment of importance is that of the council of Mayence (813 A.D.), which ordered that priests should wear their _oraria_ 'without intermission.'[32]