Sive quod es Liber, vestis quoque libera per te Sumitur et vitae liberioris iter[153]. We know indeed that in the late Republic and Empire other days were used for this ceremony: Virgil took his toga on Oct. 15, Octavian on Oct. 18, Tiberius on April 24, Nero on July 7[154]; but it is likely that this day was in earlier times the regular one, in spite of the inconvenience of a disparity of age thence resulting amongst the tirones. For whether or no the _toga libera_ has any real connexion with the Liberalia, this was the time when the army was called out for the year, and when the tirones would be required to present themselves[155]. Ovid tells us that on this day the rustic population flocked into the city for the Liberalia, and the opportunity was doubtless taken to make known the list of tirones, as the boys were called when the toga was assumed and they were ready for military service. They sacrificed, it appears, before leaving home and again on the Capitol, either to Pubertas or Liber, or both[156]. On this day also, according to Ovid, and also on the previous one, some kind of a procession ‘went to the Argei’[157]; by which word is meant, we may be almost sure, the Argeorum sacella. There were in various parts of the four regions of the Servian city a number of sacella or sacraria, which were called Argei, Argea, or Argeorum sacella. What these were we never shall know for certain; but we may be fairly sure that their number was twenty-four, six for each region; the same number as that of the rush puppets or simulacra also called Argei, which were thrown into the Tiber by the Vestal Virgins on May 15. The identity of the name and number leads to the belief that there was a connexion between these sacella and the simulacra; but the very difficult questions which arose about both must be postponed till we have before us the whole of the ceremonial, i. e. that of May 15 as well as that of March 17. About this last we know nothing and can at best attempt to infer its character from the ceremony in May, of which we fortunately have some particulars on which we can fully rely. KAL. XIV APR. (MARCH 19). NP CAER. VAT. N. MAFF. QUINQ[VATRUS]. (CAER. MAFF. PRAEN. VAT. FARN.) QUINQUATRIA. (RUST. PHIL. SILV.) A note is appended in Praen., which is thus completed by Mommsen with the help of a Verrian gloss (Fest. 254). [RECTIUS TAMEN ALII PUTARUNT DICTUM AB EO QUOD HIC DIES EST POST DIEM V IDUS. QUO]D IN LATIO POST [IDUS DIES SIMILI FERE RATIONE DECLI]NARENTUR. FERIAE MARTI (VAT.) [SALI] FACIUNT IN COMITIO SALTUS [ADSTANTIBUS PO]NTIFICIBUS ET TRIB[UNIS] CELER[UM]. Praen., in which we find yet another note: ARTIFICUM DIES [QUOD MINERVAE] AEDIS IN AVENTINO EO DIE EST [DEDICATA].