Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

FIMBRIAE. FISCUS g37
explained by reference to CoMlMImssvUA. (Gains, ii. likewise made of gold thread and other costly
(i0, iii. 201; Rosshirt, Grz2diwiien, &c. ~ 99; materials. Of this kind was the ornament, con.
Rein, DCsR Wsm. Priivatreclht; IHeinecc. Syntagina. sistins of a hundred golden tassels, which sured. Haubold.) [G. L.] rounded the mythical shield of Jupiter, the alyis
FIDUCIA'RIA ACTIO. [ACTIo.] uocavoevsoal, and which depended from the girdle
FIGLT'NA ARS. [FICTIIE.] of Juno. (Hom. 11. ii. 448, v. 738, xiv. 181,
FIGLINAE. [FICTILE.] xvii. 593.)
FI'GULUS. [FICTILE.] In consequence of the tendency of wool to form
FILIUSFAMILIAS. [FAmI1LrA.] itself into separate bundles like tassels (,vuavnr8bv,
FI/MBRIAE (~cpooeoio; Ionice, o6arvot, Greg. Aelian, II. A. xvi. 11), the poets speak of the
Corinth.), thrums; tassels; a fringe. golden fleece as consisting of them (Pind. Pyt/s. iv.
When the weaver had finished any garment on 4 11; Apoll. Rhod. iv. 1146); and Cicero, declaimthe loom [TELA], the thrums, i. e. the extremities ing against the effeminacy of Gabinius, applies the
of the threads of the warp, hung in a row at the same expression to his curling locks of hair (in
bottom. In this state they were frequently left, Pis. 11). [J. Y.]
being considered ornamental. Often also, to pre- FINITO'RES. [AGaIMENSORES.]
vent them from ravelling, and to give a still more FI'NIUM tREGUNDO'RUM ACTIO. If the
artificial and ornamental appearance, they were boundaries of contiguous estates were accidentally
separated into bumdles, each of which was twisted confused, each of the parties interested in the re(rpsperTrois vSdoiLs, Brunck, 4enae. i. 4] 6), and establishment of the boundaries might have an
tied in one or more knots. The thrunis were thus, action against the other for that purpose. This
by a very simple process, transformed into e. row of action belonged to the class of duplicia judicia.
tassels. The linen shirts, found in Egyptian tombs, [FAMeILIAE ERCISCUNDoE ACTIO.] In this action
sometimes show this ornament among their lower each party was bound to account for the fruits and
edge, and illustrate, in a very interesting manner, profits which he had received fiomr any part of the
the description of these garments by I-lerodotus land which did not belong to him, and also to
(ii. 81). Among the Greeks and Romans fringes account for any injury which it had sustained
were seldom worn except by females (cpocs-'orbv through his culpa. Each party was also entitled
XLCova, Brunck, ii. 525; Jacobs, &c. ad loc.; to compensation for improvements made in the porPollux, vii. 64; Sueton. Jul. 45). Of their manner tion of land which did not belong to him. (Dig. 10.
of displaying them the best idea may be formed by tit. 1.) There is an article entitled' Ueber die
tile inspection of the annexed woodcut, taken from Gr'nzscheidungsklage' by Rudorff in the Zeita small bronze, representing a Roman lady who sca-sift fiJb Geschici tlicie Rechtswissensclhcft, vol. x.
wears an inner and an outer tunic, the latter being [AGJER.] [G. L.]
fringed, and over these a large shawl or pallium. FISCA'LES. [GLADIATORES.]
FISCUS. The following is Savigny's account
of the origin and meaning of this ternn:In the republican period, the state was designated by the term Aerarium, in so far as it was
viewed with respect to its having property, which
ultimately resolved itself into receipts into, and
*1 \W/ I\X~payments made out of, the public chest. Onl the
Io establishment of the imperial power, there was a
division of the provinces between the senate, as.~ 2 ",,\.i! / the representative of the old republic, and the
Caesar; and there was consequently a division of
the most important branches of public income and
expenditure. The property of the senate retained.
the name of Aerariumn, and that of the Caesar, as:/?/~gklu K such, received the name of Fiscus. The private
property of the Caesar (res parivata Principis, ratio
Caesaris) was quite distinct from that of the Fiscus.
The word Fiscus signified a wicker-basket, or pannier, in which the Romans were accustomed to
keep and carry about large sums of money (Cic.
Verr. i. 8; Phaedr. Flab. ii. 7); and hence Fiscus camne to signify any person's treasure or money
chest. The importance of the imperial Fiscus sooin
led to the practice of appropriating the name to
that property which the Caesar claimed as Caesar,
and the word Fiscus, without any adjunct, was
Among barbarous nations the amictus was often used in this sense (es fisci est, Juv. Sato iv. 54).
worn by men with a fringe, as is seen very con- Ultimately the word came to signify generally the
spicuoulsly in the group of Sarmatians at p. 213 property of the state, the Caesar having concenBy crossing the bundles of thrums, and tying trated in himself all the sovereign power, and thus
them at the points of intersection, a kind of net- the word Fisculs finally had the same signification
work was produced, and we are informed of a as Aerarium in the republican period. It does not
fringe of this description, which was, moreover, appear at what time the Aerarium was merged in
hung with bells. (Diod. xviii. 26.) The ancients the Fiscus, though the distinction of name and of
also manufactured fringes separately, and sewed thing continued at least to the time of Hadrian.
them to the borders of their garments. They were In the later periods the words Aerarium and Fis