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

756 MENSSURA. MENSURA.The followinb table of supposed varieties of the 2. The itinerary measurements are of two kinds,
stadium is from lHussey's Ancient W-rihts, s{c. according as they are obtained by measuring the
distance from one place to another, or the distance
~S ~ade assigned to Arirsto- Ii. from one mile-stone to another on a Roman road.
S:ade assigned t o Aro-109 1 26992 Both ilethods have the advantage of the diminutle earth's surface - ion of error which always results from determining
Mean geographical stide -) a lesser magnitude from a greater, but both are
comllputed by Madsjor 9 168 1 6 subject to uncertainty from turnings in the road,
Riennmell - - - J and from the improbability of the mile-stones
Olyvmpic Stnae -- - 202 O 9 having been laid down with minute accuracy; and
Stade of 7L to the 10Ro-b1 2 24 two other serious objections apply to the former
mann mcle- e - - 215 2 2.4 mode, namely, the difficulty of determining the
Stade of 7 to the Roman points where the measurement began and ended,
mile of 7 to the Roman 231 5124 and the changes which may have taken place in
the direction of the road. Both methods, howBut, although the stadiumo and the foot connected ever, have been tried; the former by Cassini, who
with it were single definite measures throughout measured the distance from Nimes to Narbonne,
Greece, yet we find, in the Eastern countries, and by Riecioli and Grimaldi, who measured that
Babylon, Syria, and Egypt, and in some neigh- between Modena and Bologna, and the latter by
bouring Greek states, feet longer than the Olympic Cassini, between Aix and Arles.
(not shorter, as Rennell's itinerary stadium would 3. The measurement of buildings is rather a
require), the origin of which is to be explained by verification of the value of the foot as obtained from
the co-existence, in the Babylonian system, of a other sources than an independent evidence. It
royal or sacred and a comnson, foot and cubit, which very seldom happens that we know the number of
were so related to one another that thle royalc zubit ancient feet contained in the building measured.
was three finger-breadths longer than the coMsnzoso. We have one such example in the Parthenon,
(Herod. i. 178: see further under PES.) which was called Hecatompedon (hundred-footed,
In proceeding to determine the Greek and Roman Plutarch, Pericl. 13, Cato,.5) from the widths
foot, the most convenient plan is first to fix the of its front; but even in this case we cannot tell
latter, and then to derive the former frome it. exactly, till we know something of the length of
I. Tie Romnan foot. There are five different the Greek foot, to what precise part of the front
ways of determining the length of the Roman foot. this me asrreneLat applies. Again, there is the
These are, 1. From ancient measures still ill ex- obelisk in the Piazza del Popolo at Rome, and the
istence, including feet laid down on sepulchral Flaminian obelisk, the heights of which are given
monumients, and foot rules found in the ruins of by Pliny (LI. N. xxxvi. 9. s. 14). But the actual
various cities of the Roman empire; 2. From heights of these obelisks, as compared with Pliny,
measurements of known distances along roads, both would give a value for the foot altogether different
between mlil~ stones and between places; 3. From from that obtained froml other sources. Indeed
measurements of buildings and obelisks; 4. From the numbers in Pliny are undoubtedly corrupt, and,
the contents of certain measures of capacity; and 5. as they stand, it is only the deferfence of height
From measurements of a degree on the earth's sur- between the two that can be of any service, and
face. (For a full historical account of these systems, even this gives a result by no means satisfactory.
see the treatises of Wurm, Hussey, and Bickh.) An ingenious emendation by Stuart would remove
1. It might appear, at first thoughts, that an- the difficulty; but it is obvious that a passage
cient measures in actual existence would at on~ce which requires a conjectural emendation camlnot be
give the required information. But these mea- taken as an independent authority. There is
sures are found to differ among themselves. They another nmode of dedtcing the value of the foot from
are of two kinds, foot-measures cut upon grave- buildings, of the dimensions of which we have nlo
stones, and brass or iron measures intended in information. The building is measured, and the
all probability for actual use. From the nature length thus obtained is divided by the supposed
of the case the latter would probably be more value of the ancient foot (as derived from other
exact than the former, and in fact the measures on evidence), and if a remainder be left, this value of
the grave-stones are rudely cut, and their sub- the foot is corrected so that there may be no redivisions are of unequal length, so that they save mainder. It is assumed in this process that no
no pretensions to minute accuracy; but on the fractions of feet were allowed in the dimensions
other hand, it would be absurd to suppose that of the building) and also that the plans were worked
they'would have been made very far wrong. We out with the most minute exactness, both of which
may safely conclude that they would have about assumptions are not very probable. In fact these
as much accuracy as a measure hastily cut on measurements have given different values for the
stone by a mason from the foot-rule used by him foot. " Modern architects," says Mr. Hussey, " do
in llworking. Four such measures are preserved in not allow that such calculations could be depended
the capitol at Rome. They are called the Statilian, on in modern buildings, for determining the true
Cossutian, Aebutian, and Capponian feet. They length of the measures by which they were planned.
have been repeatedly measured, but unfortunately Nor are the dimensions of the parts of buildings
the different measurements gave different results. of the middle ages in our own country, as Gothic
The brass and iron foot-rlfles, of which seveial churches and cathedrals, found to agree exactly, so
exist, do not precisely agree in length. There was as to give whole numbers of the standard measure."
anciently a standard foot-measure kept in the On the other hand, these measurements, like those
capitol, called the pes zonetaltis, which was pro- on roads, have the advantage of involving, in all
bably lost at the burning of the capitol tinder probability, very small errors, and of the dininaVitellius or Titus. tion of the error by division..