Page:Arrian's Voyage Round the Euxine Sea Translated.djvu/141

140 length of an ordinary man. This difference of length appears to have been in the proportion of 25 to 24. The real length of the tadium was the ame among the Romans as it was among the Greeks; but the Greek foot being longer than the Roman, caued the Greeks to reckon fewer feet to the tadium than was done by the Romans.

Even when the length of the mile was reduced, that of the tadium eems to have continued the lame as formerly. Thus Suidas reckons the mile in his time only at even tadia and an half or 4500 feet; by which it is clear, that he means the proportion of 600 feet to a tadium, and thoe Herculean feet, which he had before reckoned at 4800 to a mile.

I have no doubt therefore that 600 feet was the tandard, or legal meaure of the tadium; and in this opinion almot all the early writers agree, except when they peak of meaurements governed by local cutoms. Errors and inconitencies are however frequent, from the ancient writers quoting o often as they appear to have done from memory only; from the Want of a free communication of information, and from the natives of one country not undertanding the language, cutoms, or uages of another. Thus Strabo tells us, that Polybius, who had probably been ued to count 600 Greek feet to the Radium, oberves, that, according to this computation, one third of a itadium was neceary to be added to each mile of eight ftadia, in order to bring it to 'its proper length. This