sympathy, and help in the emergencies of life, and the desire to give more meaning to their lives, that drew them together.  These motives explain the provisions made for social gatherings, and for the burial of members, which were the characteristic features of most of the organizations.  It is the social side, for instance, which is indicated on a tombstone, found in a little town of central Italy.  After giving the name of the deceased, it reads:  “He bequeathed to his guild, the rag-dealers, a thousand sesterces, from the income of which each year, on the festival of the Parentalia, not less than twelve men shall dine at his tomb."[108] Another in northern Italy reads:  “To Publius Etereius Quadratus, the son of Publius, of the Tribus Quirina, Etereia Aristolais, his mother, has set up a statue, at whose dedication she gave the customary banquet to the union of rag-dealers, and also a sum of money, from the income of which annually, from this time forth, on the birthday of Quadratus, April 9, where his remains have been laid, they should make a sacrifice, and should hold the customary banquet in the temple, and should bring roses in their season and cover and crown the statue; which thing they have undertaken to do."[109] The menu of one of these dinners given in Dacia[110] has come down to us.  It includes lamb and pork, bread, salad, onions, and two kinds of wine.  The cost of the entertainment amounted to one hundred and sixty-nine denarii, or about twenty-seven dollars, a sum which would probably have a purchasing value to-day of from three to four times that amount.

The “temple” or chapel referred to in these inscriptions was usually semicircular, and may have served as a model for the Christian oratories.  The building usually stood in a little grove, and, with its accommodations for official meetings and dinners, served the same purpose as a modern club-house.  Besides the special gatherings for which some deceased member or some rich patron provided, the guild met at fixed times during the year to dine or for other social purposes.  The income of the society, which was made up of the initiation fees and monthly dues of the members, and of donations, was supplemented now and then by a system of fines.  At least, in an African inscription we read:  “In the Curia of Jove.  Done November 27, in the consulship of Maternus and Atticus....  If any one shall wish to be a flamen, he shall give three amphorae of wine, besides bread and salt and provisions.  If any one shall wish to be a magister, he shall give two amphorae of wine....  If any one shall have spoken disrespectfully to a flamen, or laid hands upon him, he shall pay two denarii....  If any one shall have gone to fetch wine, and shall have made away with it, he shall give double the amount."[111]

The provision which burial societies made for their members is illustrated by the following epitaph: