vîii THE ANNALES PONTIFICUM.
names of the consuls, together with the principal events of
the year.4
The Annales Maximi, or, as they are more rarely called, the
Annales Pontificum, belonged to this kind of annals: they were
authentic and comprehensive documents, the object of which
was to record whatever was deemed worthy of remembrance.
Ciccro and Servius say5, that the pontifix entered the most
important events in an Album6, which was exhibited in his
house, and where it may be supposed that many persons took
copies for their own use; as in fact we know was done in the
case of Cn. Flavius, who set up a copy of the Fasti in the
Forum. Now Cicero says that these annals had been pre-
served from the commencement of the Roman state down to
the pontificate of P. Mucius7; but this is a rash assertion,
which we will not impute to him as an intentional misstate-
ment. We must not, however, allow ourselves to be misled;
for though the pontifical annals had doubtless been kept from
very early times, it can be demonstrated that those of the most
ancient periods existed as late as the time of Cicero. We cannot,
in short, infer from his words, that in his time the Romans still
possessed authentic annals, continued uninterruptedly from the
beginning of the Roman state. Cicero does not by any means
say this, but only states that it had been a custom observed
from the beginning to record the events : he no where asserts
that the records existed complete in his own day. Vopiscus
says that they were kept from the death of Romulus, and
accordingly began with Numa. This, however, is nothing
but the opinion of an unlearned person : as the pontificate was
traced to Numa, it was necessary to refer the annals to the
same time.
It is certain, that the pontifical annals, such as they existed
in later times, were not the ancient and original ones, but
were restored and made up, as well as might be, and that it
was only the constant use and regular continuation of them
that established the belief that they were transmitted in their
original form from time immemorial. These annals were kept
4 See vol. i. p, 263. 5 De Orat. ii. 12; Servius on Virg. Aen. i. 373.
6 Album is a table, or board, covered with gypsum (a proof of the difficulty
of finding a suitable writing material), on which the contents of the public
documents were painted. Such was the case also with the edιctum praetorium,
and many other documents.—N. 7 Mucius was consul, B.c. 133.
THE ANNALES PONTIFICUM. iχ
as long as there were pontiffs, for the pontiffs were the re-
positoιies of the laws and fixed the chronology, and thus were
the natural keepers of historical records. But if annals had
existed, which went back even no further than the earliest
history of the commonwealth, and began from the banishment
of the kings, it is inconceivable how they could have recorded
the most absurd and contradictory things. Besides, would not
Fabius have made use of them? Would not Livy have con-
sulted them, where he says8, that the battle of Regillus was
placed by some in the year 255, and by others in the
year 258?9
Thus if, on the one hand, we cannot doubt that the earliest
history of Rome was founded on an authentic basis, on the
other hand, we cannot believe that the pontifical annals were
preserved from the remotest times. My own opinion is, that
Livy made the above-mentioned mistake in the introduction
to the sixth book, because he found no pontifical annals of an
earlier date than the destruction of Rome by the Gauls, and
thence drew the sweeping conclusion, that no annals existed,
although many others may have escaped destruction; for
example, those kept by private persons living on the Capi-
toline and others. We have, in fact, the most unexceptionable
evidence that many very ancient annals were preserved10; but
that the pontifical annals did not go beyond the burning of
Rome by the Gauls11, may be seen from the passage of Cicero,
in which he speaks12 of the eclipse of the sun, which happened
fourteen or fifteen years before the destruction of the city, and
on which Mr. Edward Heis of Cologne has written, at my
suggestion, a beautiful and elaborate treatise.13 This eclipse,
which was visible in Gades at sunset, had been mentioned in
the pontifical annals as quite a remarkable phenomenon, and
was connected with the passage of the Gauls across the Alps,
which took place about the same time. Now Cicero says, that
the preceding eclipses were calculated backwards up to the
one, during which Romulus was carried up to heaven. This
calculating backward shows, that an attempt was made to
snpply the loss of actual observations. Such eclipses in-
8 ii. 21. 9 Compare vol.i. p 556; vol.ii. p.3. 10 VoLii. p.2, foil.
11 The house of the pontιfex maximus was situated in the lower part of the
city, and was probably destroyed. In the Gallic conflagration, not even the
twelve tables were saved; how, then, could it have been possible to save those
Alba?—N. 12 De Re Publ. i. 16. 13 Compare tol. ɪ. p.251, note 675.