But the most wonderful thing of all is, that this kind of luxurious gratification should have made its way into the camp even: at all events, the eagles and the standards, dusty as they are, and bristling with their sharpened points, are anointed on festive[767] days. I only wish it could, by any possibility, be stated who it was that first taught us this practice. It was, no doubt, under the corrupting influence of such temptations as these, that our eagles achieved the conquest[768] of the world: thus do we seek to obtain their patronage and sanction for our vices, and make them our precedent for using unguents even beneath the casque.[769] CHAP. 5.—WHEN UNGUENTS WERE FIRST USED BY THE ROMANS. I cannot exactly say at what period the use of unguents first found its way to Rome. It is a well-known fact, that when King Antiochus and Asia[770] were subdued, an edict was published in the year of the City 565, in the censorship of P. Licinius Crassus and L. Julius Cæsar, forbidding any one to sell exotics;[771] for by that name unguents were then called. But, in the name of Hercules! at the present day, there are some persons who even go so far as to put them in their drink, and the bitterness produced thereby is prized to a high degree, in order that by their lavishness on these odours they may thus gratify the senses of two parts[772] of the body at the same moment.[773] It is a well-known historical fact, that L. Plotius,[774] the brother of L. Plancus, who was twice consul and censor, after being proscribed by the Triumvirs, was betrayed in his place of concealment at Salernum by the smell of his unguents, a disgrace which more than outweighed all the guilt[775] attending his proscription. For who is there that can be of opinion that such men as this do not richly deserve to come to a violent end? CHAP. 6.—THE PALM-TREE. In other respects, Egypt is the country that is the best suited of all for the production of unguents; and next to it, Campania,[776] from its abundance of roses. (4.) Judæa, too, is greatly renowned for its perfumes, and even still more so for its palm-trees,[777] the nature of which I shall take this opportunity of enlarging upon. There are some found in Europe also. They are not uncommon in Italy, but are quite barren there.[778] The palms on the coast of Spain bear fruit, but it is sour.[779] The fruit of those of Africa is sweet, but quickly becomes vapid and loses its flavour; which, however is not the case with the fruit of those that grow in the East.[780] From these trees a wine is made, and bread by some nations,[781] and they afford an aliment for numerous quadrupeds. It will be with very fair reason then, that we shall confine our description to the palm-tree of foreign countries. There are none in Italy that grow spontaneously,[782] nor, in fact, in any other part of the world, with the exception of the warm countries: indeed, it is only in the very hottest climates that this tree will bear fruit.