Vita Romanorum
The Lex Oppia
Vrbi nostrae secundi Punici belli finis et Philippus Macedoniae rex devictus licentioris vitae fiduciam dedit. quo tempore matronae Brutorum domum ausae sunt obsidere, qui abrogationi legis Oppiae intercedere parati erant, quam feminae tolli cupiebant, quia his nec veste varii coloris uti nec auri plus semunciam habere nec iuncto vehiculo propius urbem mille passus nisi sacrificii gratia vehi permittebat. et quidem optinuerunt ut ius per continuos xx annos servatum aboleretur: non enim providerunt saeculi illius viri ad quem cultum tenderet insoliti coetus pertinax studium aut quo se usque effusura esset legum victrix audacia. quod si animi muliebris apparatus intueri potuissent, quibus cottidie aliquid novitatis sumptuosius adiectum est, in ipso introitu ruenti luxuriae obstitissent. sed quid ego de feminis ulterius loquar, quas et imbecillitas mentis et graviorum operum negata adfectatio omne studium ad curiosiorem sui cultum hortatur conferre, cum temporum superiorum et nominis et animi excellentis viros in hoc priscae continentiae ignotum deverticulum prolapsos videam? idque iurgio ipsorum pateat.
Valerius Maximus, Facta et Dicta Memorabilia 9.1.3
The elder Cato had been particularly vehement in his opposition to the repeal of the lex Oppia. He saw giving in to the women’s demands as the thin end of the wedge: “If your womenfolk win this fight, what limit will there be to their aspirations? Even with all the laws which your ancestors passed to curb their extravagance and keep them subject to their husbands, you can hardly keep them under control. If you allow them to tear down and remove these restraints one by one, and eventually become their husbands’ equals, do you suppose that you will be able to tolerate them? From the moment that they become your equals, they will become your masters etc.” (Livy, History of Rome 34.2-3). What would he have thought of the tasteless dedication to pretentious excess shown by Lollia Paulina, Caligula’s third wife? Her grandfather had founded the family fortune by corrupt administration in the eastern provinces, and she would bedeck herself with emeralds and pearls whenever she attended even the most modest gathering, taking the receipts with her to show them to anyone who doubted that her jewelry had cost 40 million sesterces (Pliny, Historia Naturalis 9.117, reporting his personal observation). [A New York restaurant has recently offered a cocktail containing a diamond and costing $10,000. Especially since a jeweler is consulted in advance, thus depriving the drink of the spontaneity which would enhance the effect of such sensational consumption, some people may think this pathetically vulgar.]
