Page:Arrian's Voyage Round the Euxine Sea Translated.djvu/142

Rh This mut have arien from a want of conidering the difference between the Greek and the Roman foot, the former being to the latter in the proportion of 25 to 24, which correponds with the additional quantity required by Polybius, in order to upply the deficiency in the mile. It is not however clear whether the error was in Polybius or in Strabo, ince in another paage of the former author, now extant in his original works, he fays, that the ditances from one city or river to another "were ditinctly and accurately marked by the Romans, and divided into portions of eight tadia each." This indicates that the Romans in his time allowed eight tadia to a mile, and no more; which indeed Strabo admits to be the general cutom, and is confirmed by this paage of Polybius, who in this place gives no account of any additional quantity neceary to make up the mile.

If then Polybius reckoned 600 feet to the Radium, as he appears to have done by Strabo's account, he mut, in the paage lat cited, have meant Greek feet; otherwie the mile would have been one-third of a tadium, or about 208 Roman feet, hort of its proper length.

Plutarch, or thoe from whom he derived his information, eems to have been milled in the ame way. He tells us, "that Caius Gracchus caued all the roads to be divided into miles, each mile containing a little les than eight tadia, and erected pillars of tone to mark thee diviions." By