a hundred millions

aes, aeris (often used in plur. nom. and acc.; abl. aeribus, Cato ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 27 Müll., and Lucr. 2, 636; gen. AERVM, Inscr. Orell. 3551), n. [cf. Germ. Eisen = iron, Erz = copper; Goth. aiz = copper, gold; Angl.Sax. ar, ær = ore, copper, brass; Eng. iron, ore; Lat. aurum; with the com. notion of brightness; cf. aurora, etc.].

Any crude metal dug out of the earth, except gold and silver; esp.,

Aes Cyprium, whence cuprum, copper: scoria aeris, copper dross or scoria, Plin. 34, 11, 24, § 107:

aeris flos,

flowers of copper, id. 34, 11, 24, § 107:

squama aeris,

scales of copper, Cels. 2, 12 init.:

aes fundere,

Plin. 33, 5, 30, § 94:

conflare et temperare,

id. 7, 56, 57, § 197:

India neque aes neque plumbum habet,

id. 34, 17, 48, § 163:

aurum et argentum et aes,

Vulg. Ex. 25, 3.—

An alloy, for the most part of copper and tin, bronze (brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, was hardly known to the ancients. For their bronze coins the Greeks adhered to copper and tin till B.C. 400, after which they added lead. Silver is rare in Greek bronze coins. The Romans admitted lead into their bronze coins, but gradually reduced the quantity, and, under Calig., Nero, Vesp., and Domit., issued pure copper coins, and then reverted to the mixture of lead. In the bronze mirrors now existing, which are nearly all Etruscan, silver predominated to give a highly reflecting surface. The antique bronze had about 87 parts of copper to 13 of tin. An analysis of several objects has given the following centesimal parts: statua ex aere, Cic. Phil. 9, 6:

simulacrum ex aere factum,

Plin. 34, 4, 9, § 15:

valvas ex aere factitavere,

id. 34, 3, 7, § 13.—Hence:

ducere aliquem ex aere,

to cast one's image in bronze, id. 7, 37, 38, § 125; and in the same sense poet.:

ducere aera,

Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 240:

aes Corinthium,

Plin. 34, 2, 3, §§ 5-8; v. Corinthius.—

Meton.

(Esp. in the poets.) For everything made or prepared from copper, bronze, etc. ( statues, tables of laws, money), and (as the ancients had the art of hardening and tempering copper and bronze) weapons, armor, utensils of husbandry: aes sonit, franguntur hastae, the trumpet sounds, Enn. ap. Non. 504, 32 (Trag. v. 213 Vahl.):

Et prior aeris erat quam ferri cognitus usus: Aere solum terrae tractabant, aereque belli Miscebant fluctus et vulnera vasta serebant, etc.,

Lucr. 5, 1287:

quae ille in aes incidit, in quo populi jussa perpetuasque leges esse voluit,

Cic. Phil. 1, 17; cf. id. Fam. 12, 1; Tac. A. 11, 14; 12, 53; id. H. 4, 40: aere ( with the trumpet, horn) ciere viros, Verg. A. 6, 165:

non tuba directi, non aeris cornua flexi,

Ov. M. 1, 98 (hence also rectum aes, the tuba, in contr. with the crooked buccina, Juv. 2, 118); a brazen prow, Verg. A. 1, 35; the brazen age, Hor. Epod. 16, 64.—In plur.: aera, Cato ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 27 Müll.; Verg. A. 2, 734; Hor. C. 4, 8, 2 al.—

Money: the first Roman money consisted of small rude masses of copper, called aes rude, Plin. 33, 3, 13, § 43; afterwards as coined:

aes signatum,

Cic. Leg. 3, 3; Plin. 33, 3, 13, § 43;

so aes alone: si aes habent, dant mercem,

Plaut. As. 1, 3, 49:

ancilla aere suo empta,

Ter. Phorm. 3, 2, 26: aes circumforaneum. borrowed from the brokers in the forum, Cic. Att. 2, 1: Hic meret aera liber Sosiis, earns them money, Hor. A. P. [p. 61] 345:

gravis aere dextra,

Verg. E. 1, 36:

effusum est aes tuum,

Vulg. Ez. 16, 36:

neque in zona aes (tollerent),

ib. Maarc. 6, 8:

etiam aureos nummos aes dicimus,

Dig. 50, 16, 159.—Hence,

Aes alienum, lit. the money of another; hence, in reference to him who has it, the sum owed, a debt, Plaut. Curc. 3, 1, 2:

habere aes alienum,

Cic. Fam. 5, 6:

aes alienum amicorum suscipere,

to take upon one's self, id. Off. 2, 16:

contrahere,

to run up, id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 8:

facere,

id. Att. 13, 46:

conflare,

Sall. C. 14, 2; 24, 3:

in aes alienum incidere,

to fall into debt, Cic. Cat. 2, 9:

in aere alieno esse,

to be in debt, id. Verr. 2, 2, 4, § 6; so,

aere alieno oppressum esse,

id. Font. 1; so Vulg. 1 Reg. 22, 2:

laborare ex aere alieno,

Caes. B. C. 3, 22:

liberare se aere alieno,

to get quit of, Cic. Att. 6, 2; so,

aes alienum dissolvere,

id. Sull. 56:

aere alieno exire,

to get out of, id. Phil. 11, 6.—

In aere meo est, trop., he is, as it were, among my effects, he is my friend (only in the language of common conversation):

in animo habui te in aere meo esse propter Lamiae nostri conjunctionem,

Cic. Fam. 13, 62; 15, 14.—

Alicujus aeris esse, to be of some value, Gell. 18, 5.—

In aere suo censeri, to be esteemed according to its own worth, Sen. Ep. 87.—

Sometimes = as, the unit of the standard of money (cf. as); hence, aes grave, the old heary money (as weighed, not counted out):

denis milibus aeris gravis reos condemnavit,

Liv. 5, 12:

indicibus dena milia aeris gravis, quae tum divitiae habebantur, data,

id. 4, 60; so, aes alone and in the gen. sing., instead of assium:

aeris miliens, triciens,

a hundred millions, three millions, Cic. Rep. 3, 10:

qui milibus aeris quinquaginta census fuisset,

Liv. 24, 11.—Also for coins that are smaller than an as (quadrans, triens, etc.):

nec pueri credunt, nisi qui nondum aere, i. e. quadrante, lavantur (those who bathed paid each a quadrans),

Juv. 2, 152 (cf.:

dum tu quadrante lavatum Rex ibis,

Hor. S. 1, 3, 137).—

Wages, pay.

A soldier's pay = stipendium:

negabant danda esse aera militibus,

Liv. 5, 4. And soon after: annua aera habes: annuam operam ede.— Hence in plur., = stipendia, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 13, § 33.—

Reward, payment, in gen., Juv. 6, 125: nullum in bonis numero, quod ad aes exit, that has in view or aims at pay, reward, Sen. Ep. 88.—

In plur.: aera, counters; hence also the items of a computed sum (for which, later, a sing. form aera, ae (q. v.), came into use): si aera singula probāsti, summam, quae ex his confecta sit, non probare? Cic. ap. Non. 3, 18.

sestertĭus, a, um, num. adj. [contr. from semis-tertius], two and a half; only in the phrases sestertius nummus and milia sestertia; v. I. A. and I. B. 1. infra.— Mostly as subst.

sestertĭus (written also with the characters HS.; v. B. 4. infra), ii, m. (sc. nummus); also in full: sestertius nummus; gen. plur. sestertiūm; rarely sestertiorum or sestertiūm nummūm, a sesterce, a small silver coin, originally equal to two and a half asses, or one fourth of a denarius. When the as was reduced in weight, during the Punic wars, the denarius was made equal to sixteen asses, and the sestertius continued to be one fourth of the denarius. Its value, up to the time of Augustus, was twopence and half a farthing sterling, or four and one tenth cents; afterwards about one eighth less. The sestertius was the ordinary coin of the Romans, by which the largest sums were reckoned. The sestertium (1000 sestertii) was equal (up to the time of Augustus, afterwards about one eighth less) to

1 d. sterling, or $42.94 in United States coin (v. Zumpt, Gram. § 842; Dict. of Ant. s. v. as, sestertius).

In gen.:

sestertius, quod duobus semis additur (dupondius enim et semis antiquus sestertius est) et veteris consuetudinis, ut retro aere dicerent, ita ut semis tertius, quartus semis pronunciarent, ab semis tertius sestertius dicitur,

Varr. L. L. 5, § 173 Müll.: nostri quartam denarii partem, quod efficie [p. 1686] batur ex duobus assibus et tertio semisse, sestertium nominaverunt, Vitr. 3, 1 med.; Cic. Div. in Caecil. 10, 30:

taxatio in libras sestertii singuli et in penuriā bini,

Plin. 18, 13, 34, § 130.—Freq. joined with nummus:

mille nongentos quinquaginta sestertios nummos,

Col. 3, 3, 9.— Gen. plur. sestertiūm: quid verum sit, intellego;

sed alias ita loquor, ut concessum est, ut hoc vel pro deum dico vel pro deorum, alias, ut necesse est, cum triumvirum non virorum, cum sestertiūm nummūm non nummorum, quod in his consuetudo varia non est,

Cic. Or. 46, 56:

sestertiūm sexagena milia nummūm,

Varr. R. R. 3, 6, 1; cited ap. Plin. 10, 20, 23, § 45.—Rarely, sestertiorum:

duo milia sestertiorum,

Col. 3, 3, 13.—

In partic.

As adj. in neutr. plur., with milia (in Varr. and Col.):

ut asinus venierit sestertiis milibus LX. (= sexaginta milibus sestertium),

Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 14:

grex centenarius facile quadragena milia sestertia ut reddat,

id. ib. 3, 6, 6:

hos numquam minus dena milia sestertia ex melle recipere,

id. ib. 3, 6, 11:

Hirrius ex aedificiis duodena milia sestertia capiebat,

id. ib. 3, 17, 3:

sestertiis octo milibus,

Col. 3, 3, 8; 3, 3, 9; 3, 3, 10.—

To express more than two complete thousands sestertia is used as plurale tantum, with distrib. numerals (rare before the Aug. per.):

si qui vilicus ex eo fundo, qui sestertia dena meritasset... domino XX. milia nummūm pro X. miserit (= decem milia sestertiūm),

Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 50, § 119:

candidati apud eum HS. quingena deposuerunt (= quindecim milia sestertiūm),

id. Att. 4, 15, 7:

capit ille ex suis praediis sexcena sestertia, ego centena ex meis,

id. Par. 6, 3, 49:

bis dena super sestertia nummum,

Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 33:

Tiberius Hortalo se respondisse ait, daturum liberis ejus ducena sestertia singulis,

Tac. A. 2, 38:

princeps capiendis pecuniis posuit modum usque ad dena sestertia,

id. ib. 11, 7.—Rarely with card. numerals:

sestertia centum,

Sall. C. 30, 6:

septem donat sestertia,

Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 80:

centum sestertia,

Mart. 6, 20, 1:

sex sestertia,

id. 6, 30, 1; cf.:

ne cui jus esset nisi qui... HS. CCCC. census fuisset,

Plin. 33, 2, 8, § 32.—

Millions of sesterces were expressed in three ways:

By the words centena (or centum) milia sestertiūm, preceded by a numeral adverb (rare): miliens centena milia sestertium, a hundred millions, etc., Plin. 12, 18, 41, § 84.—

With ellips. of the words centena milia, the gen. plur. sestertiūm being preceded by the numeral adv. (rare;

once in Cic.): HS. (i. e. sestertium) quater decies P. Tadio numerata Athenis... planum faciam (i.e. sestertiūm quater decies centena milia, = 1,400,000 sesterces),

Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 39, § 100 (where B. and K. after Orell. read. ex conj., sestertium; v. Kühner, Gram. § 229, 5 b.).—

With sestertium, declined as subst. neutr., and the numeral adverbs from decies upward (also with ellips. of centena or centum milia; sestertium here = centum milia sestertiūm. The origin of this usage, which became general, has been much disputed, and it is usual to explain it, after Non. p. 495 (cf. Quint. 1, 6, 18), as a grammatical blunder, by which the gen. plur. sestertium has been mistaken for a neutr. sing., Zumpt, Gram. § 873; but it more probably grew out of the adj. use of sestertium with mille, supra; v. Fischer, Gram. 2, p. 269; cf. Neue, Formenl. 1, p. 116; Kühner, Gram. § 209).

Nom. and acc.:

quom ei testamento sestertium milies relinquatur,

Cic. Off. 3, 24, 93:

nonne sestertium centies et octogies... Romae in quaestu reliquisti?

id. Pis. 35, 86:

sestertium sexagies, quod advexerat Domitius,

Caes. B. C. 1, 23, 4:

sestertium quadringenties aerario illatum est,

Tac. A. 13, 31:

sestertium deciens numeratum esse,

Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 7, § 20; 2, 3, 70, § 163:

quadringenties sestertium, quod debuisti,

id. Phil. 2, 37, 93; id. Off. 3, 24, 93; Nep. Att. 14, 2:

sestertium ducenties ex eā praedā redactum esse,

Liv. 45, 43, 8; Val. Max. 9, 1, 6:

sestertium milies in culinam congerere,

Sen. Cons. ad Helv. 10, 3:

quater milies sestertium suum vidit,

id. Ben. 2, 27, 1; Plin. 18, 6, 7, § 37; Tac. A. 6, 45; 12, 22; 12, 53; 13, 31; id. H. 4, 47; Suet. Calig. 37; id. Galb. 5.—Sometimes with ellips. of sestertium:

dissipatio, per quam Antonius septies miliens avertit,

Cic. Phil. 5, 4, 11.—

Gen.:

syngrapha sestertii centies per legatos facta,

Cic. Phil. 2, 37, 95:

argenti ad summam sestertii decies in aerarium rettulit,

Liv. 45, 4, 1:

sestertii milies servus,

Sen. Q. N. 1, 16, 1:

liberalitas decies sestertii,

Tac. A. 2, 37; 2, 86:

centies sestertii largitio,

id. ib. 12, 58; 12, 53; Plin. Ep. 10, 3 (5), 2.—

Abl.:

quadragies sestertio villam venisse,

Varr. R. R. 3, 17, 3:

sexagies sestertio, tricies sestertio,

Val. Max. 9, 1, 4:

centies sestertio cenavit uno die,

Sen. Cons. ad Helv. 9, 11:

pantomimae decies sestertio nubunt,

id. ib. 12, 5; id. Ben. 4, 36, 1; Plin. 8, 48, 74, § 196:

accepto quinquagies sestertio,

Tac. A. 3, 17; 6, 17; 16, 13; id. H. 4, 42; Plin. Ep. 3, 19, 7; Suet. Caes. 50; id. Tib. 48; id. Calig. 38, 4.—The sign HS., i.e. II. and semis, stands for sestertius, sestertia, and sestertium, in all the uses described above; when it is necessary, to avoid ambiguity, its meanings are distinguished thus: HS. XX. stands for sestertii viginti; HS. X̅X̅., with a line over the numeral, = sestertia vicena, or 20,000 sesterces; H̅S̅. X̅X̅., with lines over both signs, = sestertium vicies, or 2,000,000 sesterces (Kühner, Gram. § 229 Anm. 1). But in recent edd. the numerals are usu. written in full, when the meaning would otherwise be doubtful.—

Transf., in gen.

Nummo sestertio or sestertio nummo, for a small sum, for a trifle (good prose):

ecquis est, qui bona C. Rabirii Postumi nummo sestertio sibi addici velit? Tua, Postume, nummo sestertio a me addicuntur,

Cic. Rab. Post. 17, 45; Val. Max. 5, 2, 10:

C. Matienus damnatus sestertio nummo veniit,

Liv. Epit. 55:

quae maxima inter vos habentur, divitiae, gratia, potentia, sestertio nummo aestiman da sunt,

Sen. Ep. 95, 59; Val. Max. 8, 2, 3.—

Money, a sum of money:

sestertio amplo comparare,

for a large sum, Sol. 27 (40) fin. —

In the times of the emperors, also, a copper coin, worth four asses, Plin. 34, 2, 2, § 4; cf. Eckhel. Doctr. Num. 6, p. 283.—

ses-tertĭum, ii, n., in econom. lang., as a measure of dimension, two and a half feet deep:

ipsum agrum sat erit bipalio vertere: quod vocant rustici sestertium,

Col. Arb. 1, 5 (for which:

siccus ager bipalio subigi debet, quae est altitudo pastinationis, cum in duos pedes et semissem convertitur humus,

id. ib. 3, 5, 3).