46.1
He first inhabited a small house in the Suburra,The Suburra lay between the Celian and Esquiline hills. It was one of the most frequented quarters of Rome. but after his advancement to the pontificate, he occupied a palace belonging to the state in the Via Sacra. Many writers say that he liked his residence to be elegant, and his entertainments sumptuous; and that he entirely took down a villa near the grove of Aricia, which he had built from the foundation and finished at a vast expense, because it did not exactly suit his taste, although he had at that time but slender means, and was in debt; and that he carried about in his expeditions tesselated and marble slabs for the floor of his tent.
47.1
They likewise report that he invaded Britain in hopes of finding pearls,Bede, quoting Solinus, we believe, says that excellent pearls were found in the British seas, and that they were of all colors, but principally white. Eccl. Hist. b. i. c. i. the size of which he would compare together, and ascertain the weight by poising them in his hand; that he would purchase, at any cost, gems, carved works, statues, and pictures, executed by the eminent masters of antiquity; and that he would give for young and handy slaves a price so extravagant, that he forbad its being entered in the diary of his expenses.