of the dome-shaped bracket clock, and in the older examples the characteristic dome or canopy is preserved. The first time-keepers of this type had oaken cases—indeed oak was never entirely abandoned; but when walnut began to come into favour a few years later that beautifully marked wood was almost invariably used for the choicest and most costly specimens. Thus in 1698 the dean and chapter of St Paul’s cathedral paid the then very substantial price of £14 for an inlaid walnut long-cased eight-day clock to stand in one of the vestries. The rapidity with which the new style came into use is suggested by the fact that while very few long clocks can be certainly dated before 1690, between that year and the end of the century there are many examples. Throughout the 18th century they were made in myriads all over England, and since they were a prized possession it is not surprising that innumerable examples have survived. Vary as they may in height and girth, in wood and dial, they are all essentially alike. In their earlier years their faces were usually of brass engraved with cherubs’ heads or conventional designs, but eventually the less rich white face grew common. There are two varieties—the eight-day and the thirty-hour. The latter is but little esteemed, notwithstanding that it is often as decorative as the more expensive clock. The favourite walnut case of the late 17th and early 18th century gave place in the course of a generation to mahogany, which retained its primacy until the introduction of cheaper clocks brought about the supersession of the long-cased variety. Many of these cases were made in lacquer when that material was in vogue; satinwood and other costly foreign timbers were also used for bandings and inlay. The most elegant of the “grandfather” cases are, however, the narrow-waisted forms of the William and Mary period in walnut inlay, the head framed in twisted pilasters. Long clocks of the old type are still made in small numbers and at high prices; they usually contain chimes. During the later period of their popularity the heads of long clocks were often filled in with painted disks representing the moon, by which its course could be followed. Such conceits as ships moving on waves or time with wings were also in favour. The northern parts of France likewise produced tall clocks, usually in oaken cases; those with Louis Quinze shaped panels are often very decorative. French love of applied ornament was, however, generally inimical to the rather uncompromising squareness of the English case, and the great Louis Quinze and Louis Seize cabinetmakers made some magnificent and monumental clocks, many of which were “long” only as regards the case, the pendulum being comparatively short, while sometimes the case acted merely as a pedestal for a bracket-clock fixed on the top. These pieces were usually mounted very elaborately in gilt bronze, cast and chased, and French bracket and chamber clocks were usually of gilded metal or marble, or a combination of the two; this essentially late 18th-century type still persists. English bracket clocks contemporary with them were most frequently of simple square or arched form in mahogany. The “grandfather” case was also made in the Low Countries, of generous height, very swelling and bulbous.
See F. J. Britten, Old Clocks and Watches and their Makers (2nd edition, London, 1904); Mathieu Planchon, L’Horloge, son histoire retrospective, pittoresque et artistique (Paris, 1899). (J. P.-B.)
CLODIA, VIA, an ancient high-road of Italy. Its course, for
the first 11 m., was the same as that of the Via Cassia; it then
diverged to the N.N.W. and ran on the W. side of the Lacus
Sabatinus, past Forum Clodii and Blera. At Forum Cassii it
may have rejoined the Via Cassia, and it seems to have taken
the same line as the latter as far as Florentia (Florence). But
beyond Florentia, between Luca (Lucca) and Luna, we find
another Forum Clodii, and the Antonine Itinerary gives the
route from Luca to Rome as being by the Via Clodia—wrongly
as regards the portion from Florentia southwards, but perhaps
rightly as regards that from Luca to Florentia. In that case
the Clodius whose name the road bears, possibly C. Clodius
Vestalis (c. 43 B.C.), was responsible for the construction of the
first portion and of that from Florentia to Luca (and Luna), and
the founder of the two Fora Clodii. The name seems, in imperial
times, to have to some extent driven out that of the Cassia, and
both roads were administered, with other minor roads, by the
same curator.
See Ch. Hülsen in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie, iv. 63; cf. Cassia, Via. (T. As.)
CLODIUS,[1] PUBLIUS (c. 93–52 B.C.), surnamed Pulcher,
Roman politician. He took part in the third Mithradatic war
under his brother-in-law Lucius Licinius Lucullus, but considering
himself treated with insufficient respect, he stirred up a revolt;
another brother-in-law, Q. Marcius Rex, governor of Cilicia, gave
him the command of his fleet, but he was captured by pirates.
On his release he repaired to Syria, where he nearly lost his life
during a mutiny instigated by himself. Returning to Rome
in 65, he prosecuted Catiline for extortion, but was bribed by
him to procure acquittal. There seems no reason to believe that
Clodius was implicated in the Catilinarian conspiracy; indeed,
according to Plutarch (Cicero, 29), he rendered Cicero every
assistance and acted as one of his body-guard. The affair of
the mysteries of the Bona Dea, however, caused a breach
between Clodius and Cicero in December 62. Clodius, dressed
as a woman (men were not admitted to the mysteries), entered
the house of Caesar, where the mysteries were being celebrated,
in order to carry on an intrigue with Caesar’s wife. He was
detected and brought to trial, but escaped condemnation by
bribing the jury. Cicero’s violent attacks on this occasion
inspired Clodius with the desire for revenge. On his return from
Sicily (where he had been quaestor in 61) he renounced his
patrician rank, and, having with the connivance of Caesar been
adopted by a certain P. Fonteius, was elected tribune of the
people (10th of December 59). His first act was to bring forward
certain laws calculated to secure him the popular favour. Corn,
instead of being sold at a low rate, was to be distributed gratuitously
once a month; the right of taking the omens on a fixed
day and (if they were declared unfavourable) of preventing the
assembly of the comitia, possessed by every magistrate by the
terms of the Lex Aelia Fufia, was abolished; the old clubs or
gilds of workmen were re-established; the censors were forbidden
to exclude any citizen from the senate or inflict any punishment
upon him unless he had been publicly accused and condemned.
He then contrived to get rid of Cicero (q.v.) and the younger
Cato (q.v.), who was sent to Cyprus as praetor to take possession
of the island and the royal treasures. Cicero’s property was
confiscated by order of Clodius, his house on the Palatine burned
down, and its site put up to auction. It was purchased by
Clodius himself, who, not wishing to appear in the matter, put
up some one to bid for him. After the departure of Caesar for
Gaul, Clodius became practically master of Rome with the aid
of armed ruffians and a system of secret societies. In 57 one of
the tribunes proposed the recall of Cicero, and Clodius resorted
to force to prevent the passing of the decree, but was foiled
by Titus Annius Milo (q.v.), who brought up an armed band
sufficiently strong to hold him in check. Clodius subsequently
attacked the workmen who were rebuilding Cicero’s house at
the public cost, assaulted Cicero himself in the street, and set
fire to the house of Q. Cicero. In 56, when curule aedile, he
impeached Milo for public violence (de vi), when defending his
house against the attacks of Clodius, and also charged him with
keeping armed bands in his service. Judicial proceedings were
hindered by outbreaks of disturbance, and the matter was
finally dropped. In 53, when Milo was a candidate for the
consulship, and Clodius for the praetorship, the rivals collected
armed bands and fights took place in the streets of Rome, and
on the 20th of January 52 Clodius was slain near Bovillae.
His sister, Clodia, wife of Q. Caecilius Metellus Celer, was notorious for her numerous love affairs. It is now generally admitted that she was the Lesbia of Catullus (Teuffel-Schwabe, Hist. of Roman Lit., Eng. tr., 214, 3). For her intrigue with M. Caelius Rufus, whom she afterwards pursued with unrelenting
- ↑ It is suggested (W. M. Lindsay, The Latin Language, p. 41) that he changed his name Claudius into the plebeian form Clodius, in order to gain the favour of the mob.
