Moses, Henry [Editor]: A collection of antique vases, altars, paterae, tripods, candelabra, sarcophagi, &c.: from various museums and collections (Mailand, 1814)

IAMPS. 35

tator's sepulchral lamp. The will of Masvius is one among
the many of this kind which have been preserved. I set free
Saccus my slave, with Eutychia and Irene my female slaves,
on condition that each of them in their turn shall, from
month to month, supply with oil the lamp which shall burn
in my tomb.

A notion formerly prevailed that the lamps which have
been preserved from the ruins of time were confined to se-
pulchral uses, and some antiquaries* have maintained the
opinion that the ancients had " the secret of making lamps
that were inextinguishable," alleging several that had been
found burning on the opening of tombs fifteen or sixteen
hundred years old; but these relations have long since been
treated as fables. Passerif, who published engravings of
a collection of 322 lamps belonging to the Museum at Pe-
saro, has written with considerable learning and ability con-
cerning the use of lamps; and in his classification of them
has arranged them into sacred, public, domestic, and se-
pulchral. But though lamps were doubtless employed to
all these purposes J, yet to distinguish, either by their form
or their ornaments, the one kind from the other, to select
those which adorned the temples of the gods, and gave bril-
liancy to the pomp of religious festivals and ceremonies;
to determine upon those which were designed for domestic
accommodation or splendour; or to point out the charac-

* Licetus de Lucem. Antiq.

f Lucernse fictiles Musei Passerii, 3 torn. fol. Pisaur. 1739.

% Polyb. lib. xxxiv. c. 3. Juvenal. Sat, 12. Mart, lib. x. ep.6.