ABSTRACT
The role of music in Roman life and literature was very limited indeed compared with its all-pervading influence in Greek culture. This is reflected in the fact that all the aspects of Greek musical life dealt with in Chapters 1, 2, 3,4, and 5 can be covered in the Roman context in the course of a single chapter, albeit rather a long one. In order to preserve some sort of historical order it is necessary to shift the focus now and again from the role and function of music to the design of instruments, and from instruments to acoustical science, and so on; but I venture to hope that this will not cause much difficulty to the reader.
