Spectacles and Eyeglasses

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The testimony as to their use by the Romans during their supremacy is of a less conclusive character. The statement frequently made that the Emperor Nero used a concave jewel to assist his sight rests upon some obscure sentences in Pliny. That author says Nero could see nothing distinctly without winking and having it brought close to his eyes. (bk. II, Chap. 54, Riley's Trans.) In another place, speaking of the emerald, smaragdus, he says In form these are mostly concave, so as to te unite the rays of light and the powers of vision. When the surface of the smaragdus is flat, it reflects the image of objects in the same manner as a mirror. The Emperor Nero used to view the combats of gladiators upon (with, or by means of) a smaragdus. (bk. 37, Chap.