clitoris with his fingers and makes the upper part of his mistress thigh
resound under his hands." The aquarioli or water boys also included
pandering in their tour of duty (Juvenal, Sat. vi, 331) "some water
carrier will come, hired for the purpose," and many Roman ladies had
their own slaves accompany them to the baths to assist in the toilette:
(Martial, vii, 3.4) "a slave girt about the loins with a pouch of black
leather stands by you whenever you are washed all over with warn water,"
here, the mistress is taking no chances, her rights are as carefully
guarded as though the slave were infibulated in place of having his
generous virility concealed within a leather pouch. (Claudianus, 18,
106) "he combed his mistress' hair, and often, when she bathed, naked,
he would bring water, to his lady, in a silver ewer." Several of the
emperors attempted to correct these evils by executive order and
legislation, Hadrian (Spartianus, Life of Hadrian, chap. 18) "he assigned
separate baths for the two sexes"; Marcus Aurelius (Capitolinus, Life of
Marcus Antoninus, chap. 23) "he abolished the mixed baths and restrained
the loose habits of the Roman ladies and the young nobles," and Alexander
Severus (Lampridius, Life of Alex. Severus, chap. 24.) "he forbade the
opening of mixed baths at Rome, a practice which, though previously
prohibited, Heliogabalus had allowed to be observed," but,
notwithstanding their absolute authority, their efforts along those lines
met with little better success than have those of more recent times. The
pages of Martial and Juvenal reek with the festering sores of the society
of that period, but Charidemus and Hedylus still dishonor the cities of
the modern world. Tatian, writing in the second century, says (Orat. ad
Graecos): "paederastia is practiced by the barbarians generally, but is
held in pre-eminent esteem by the Romans, who endeavor to get together
troupes of boys, as it were of brood mares," and Justin Martyr (Apologia,
1), has this to say: "first, because we behold nearly all men seducing to
fornication, not merely girls, but males also. And just as our fathers