53
Is it because the Etruscans called Veians fought against Romulus for a long time, and he took this city last of allThis is quite contrary to the traditional account (Cf. for example, Livy, vi. 21-23), according to which Veii was not captured until 396 b.c. and sold at auction many captives together with their king, taunting him for his stupidity and folly? But since the Etruscans were originally Lydians, and Sardis was the capital city of the Lydians, they offered the Veians for sale under this name: and even to this day they preserve the custom in sport.
54
Why do they call the meat-markets macella and macellae?
54
Is this word corrupted from mageiroi (cooks) and has it prevailed, as many others have, by force of habit? For c and g have a close relationship in Latin, and it was only after many years that they made use of g, which Spurius Carvilius Cf. 278 e, infra. introduced. And l, again, is substituted lispingly for r when people make a slip in the pronunciation of r because of the indistinctness of their enunciation.
54
Or must this problem also be solved by history? For the story goes that there once lived in Rome a violent man, a robber, Macellus by name, who despoiled many people and was with great difficulty caught and punished: from his wealth the public meat-market was built, and it acquired its name from him.
55
Why is it that on the Ides of January the flute-players are allowed to walk about the city wearing the raiment of women Cf. Livy, ix. 30; Ovid, Fasti, vi. 653 ff.; Valerius Maximus, ii. 5. 4; see also Classical Weekly, 1921, p. 51.?