[Illustration:  FIG. 89.—­STOCKS FOR GLADIATORS. (Remains from Pompeii.)]

[Illustration:  FIG. 90.—­GLADIATORS FIGHTING.]

But the great entertainment of the amphitheatre was the combats of men with men.  After the beast-fights, which were held in the mornings, and amounted in estimation to a matinee, there followed the fights of the gladiators.  Outside the building are being sold the books which catalogue the pairings, together with some record of the men, the name of their training-school, and a statement as to the weapons with which they will fight and as to whether they have made previous appearances.  At the appointed time the procession enters from one end of the arena, and the combatants parade and salute the emperor, if he is present, or the presiding officer.  Their weapons are examined, and there is a preliminary sham-fight, partly for exhibition of skill and to influence bets, partly for practice.  The men then return to their places, a trumpet blows, and a pair commences the real fighting.  Sometimes a man is in full and heavy armour from head to foot; sometimes he is lightly equipped with a half-shield and a spear; sometimes he carries only a sharp three-pronged spear and a casting-net, in which he endeavours to enmesh an enemy fully armed.  Besides combats on foot, there may be fights upon horseback, or even in chariots of the kind then best known in Britain.  To encourage the participants, and to lend more spirit to the scene, there is a blowing of horns and trumpets while the fight proceeds.  All around the people are shouting their comments and their advice; they applaud and adjure and curse.  “Get up to him!” “Kill him!” and the like are heard on every side.  A man falls, not dead, but disabled, and the spectators shout “He has it.”  He holds up his finger in sign of defeat, but he utters no cry.  Shall he be killed, or shall he not?  The answer depends on the president or “giver” of the exhibition.  He looks round, and if he perceives that the great majority are giving an upward flick of the thumb, and hears them call “Give him the steel!” the man is doomed; if, on the contrary, handkerchiefs are waved, his life is spared.  A good fight or a good record may save him to fight again another day.  The formal presentation of a wooden sword would mean that he was discharged for life from the necessity of further fighting.  If his enemy’s dagger must be pressed into his throat, or if he has been slain outright, there is a passage under the middle of the side of the amphitheatre through which the body will be dragged by a hook into the mortuary.  Another combat follows between another pair—­sometimes between two sides—­and should the arena become too sodden with blood, it is raked over and fresh sand is scattered.