Objects such as this, once worn around the neck of a citizen of the Roman Empire, remind us of what a vital, lively place the classical world really was. The gesture made by this golden fist-- the thumb thrust between the first and second fingers--carries overt sexual overtones. It was surely worn centuries ago as a talisman to insure success in love. To hold it today is to realize that the essentials of human existence, the basic emotional and physical patterns of life, have changed but little with the passage of time.