r's earth was
applied to the body. Towels and strigils were employed for rubbing and
scraping after the anointing; the strigil was, as a rule, made of iron.

Natural warm springs used for curative purposes are mentioned by ancient
Greek writers.

_Roman Baths._--Bathing, which was not much in vogue in Rome in the most
ancient times, was more common during the Republic, and became a factor
in the decay of the nation in the time of the Empire. Seneca informs us
that the ancient Romans washed their arms and legs every day and their
whole bodies once a week. The bath-room was near the kitchen in the
Roman house, to be convenient for the supply of hot water. Scipio's bath
was "small and dark after the manner of the ancients." In the time of
Cicero, the use of baths, both public and private, was general, and
hot-water and hot-air baths are both mentioned. It has been computed
that there were 856 baths in Rome in the time of Constantine.

The public baths were at first used only by the poor, but the mother of
Augustus went to the public bath, and in time even the emperors
patronized them. The baths were opened at sunrise and closed at sunset
except in the time of Alexander Severus, when they were open also at
night. The charges for admission were very low. The ringing of a bell
announced that the bath was ready. Baths were taken seven or eight times
in succession when the people were given to luxury, and some of them
wasted almost the whole day there. The voluptuaries of the Empire bathed
not only before the principal meal of the day, but also afterwards to
promote digestion as they thought. The perspiration induced by the bath
took the place of honest sweat induced by work or exercise, and
excessive hot-bathing and perspiring in some cases had a fatal ending.

Galen and Celsus differ in their directions to bathers. Galen
recommended first the hot-air bath, next the hot-water bath, then the
cold bath and finally rubbing; Celsus recommended sweating first in the
tepid chamber, then in the hot chamber, and next the pouring of hot,
then tepid, and lastly, cold water over the head, followed by the use of
the strigil, and anointing and rubbing.

The plan of the baths at Pompeii, which was largely a pleasure resort,
is typical of the public baths that were in general use. These baths had
several entrances, and the principal one led to a covered portico from
which a lavatory opened. The portico ran round three sides of a
courtya