400

ORPHAN HOUSES.

suggests, that Trajan in his benevolent establishment hadalso an eye upon those lads to furnish recruits for his army.This is extremely likely, and does not detract in the slight-est degree, from his benevolent intentions.

The munificence of Trajan also furnished an example foropulent individuals to pursue the same track his luminousmind had chalked out; accordingly the same plate perpetuatesthe bequest of one Cornelius, who gave 3600 sesterces,being the interest of 72,000 sesterces, to be employed inmaintaining eighteen legitimate males, and one legitimatefemale child, at the rate before mentioned. Pliny alsofollowed these illustrious examples, and founded from hisown property pensions for the maintenance of poor children ;this is confirmed by an inscription still extant. He alsomentions the same circumstance in his letters. AntoninusPius also made an establishment for poor girls, who, afterhis consort, were called puella■ Faustiniana, as did alsoAntoninus Philosophus the same, from the name of the Em-press called Fausliniante; and by way of distinction fromthose of Antoninus Pius, nova: puella Faustiniance. Alex-ander Severus formed an institution for boys and girls,whom he named after his mother mammeeani and mam-meEuna.

The superior management of these establishments isbelieved to have been intrusted to great public functionariesin each of the provinces where they were made. It is knownthat in each of the Italian states in the Roman provinces,there was an officer of rank, who besides his other titles,was called procurator ad alimenta. That this office was ofthe first distinction is proved by the circumstance that theEmperor Pertinax , whilst young, held it in the towns andvillages on the Via Ancilia, and in his latter years, in Rome itself. Didius Julianas, also, before he became Emperor ,after having filled the honourable offices of prator and con-sul, the next to the imperial dignity, and after he had beengovernor of Germany , was therewith invested.

It has been observed, that the first time the word orphan-house occurs, is in the laws of the Emperor Justinian , underthe name of orphanotrophium; at later periods they oftenoccur by name.

In the court of Constantine, and his successors at Byzan-tium , the office of inspector of orphans was denominatedorphanotrophi, and there it was considered so honourable,that it was held by the brother of the Emperor Michael IV .(Paphlago,) in the beginning of the eleventh century.

We much regret, that if there were similar establishments