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 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY 
 
 Boston and New York 
 
BATTLE BETWEEN CONSTANTINE AND MAXENTIUS 
 
THE STORY OF 
 THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 An Elementary History of Rome 
 
 BY 
 
 EYA MARCH TAPPAN, Ph.D. 
 
 Author of "European Hero Stories," " The Story of the Greek People," " American 
 
 Hero Stories ," " Our Country's Story" " England's Story," etc. 
 
 Editor of" The Children's Hour" 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 
 (Cbe fiiticrsi&e press "ffambnflijE 
 1911 
 
PREFACE 
 
 There is little that is of more practical value to the young 
 folk of to-day than the history of Rome. How a village king- 
 dom became a mighty republic, how the republic became a 
 world-embracing empire, how that empire, the dread and 
 pride of its millions of subjects, fell so low as to become the 
 sport of its own soldiers — all this is, indeed, a tale of mar- 
 vel. But the history of Rome is more than a mere story. 
 Many of the difficulties and many of the advantages of the 
 Roman Republic are akin to those of the American Repub- 
 lic. The solution of such problems as have already presented 
 themselves in the United States is even now demanding the 
 highest wisdom of the land. Other problems will arise in the 
 near future. Roman history is a mighty object lesson, of 
 value to every citizen of our Republic, of especial value to 
 the children into whose hands the government will so speed- 
 ily pass. What is learned in years of maturity is an addi- 
 tion to one's mental equipment; what is learned in child- 
 hood becomes a part of the mind itself. That those who 
 read this book may find it of interest to-day, of service to- 
 morrow, is the wish of the author. 
 
 Eva March Tappan. 
 
 March 1, 1910. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 THE FIRST PERIOD: ROME AS A KINGDOM 
 
 I. The Legends of the Seven Kings of Rome . . 1 
 
 II. The Legends of the Seven Kings of Rome, continued 10 
 
 THE SECOND PERIOD: ROME AS A REPUBLIC 
 
 III. The Attempts of Tarqtjinius to regain his Kingdom 25 
 
 IV. How the Plebeians won their Rights ... 32 
 V. How Rome became Ruler of Italy . . . .43 
 
 VI. The Romans of the Early Republic and their Ways 61 
 
 VII. How the Romans conquered Carthage ... 72 
 
 VIII. Rome becomes the Capital of the World . . 99 
 
 IX. The Gracchi; the Rise of Marius .... 108 
 
 X. The Rule of Sulla 123 
 
 XL The Rise of Pompey 136 
 
 XII. CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 151 
 
 THE THIRD PERIOD: ROME AS AN EMPIRE 
 
 XIII. The Reign of Augustus 169 
 
 XIV. The Rest of the Twelve Cesars .... 182 
 XV. The Five Good Emperors 200 
 
 XVI. From Marcus Aurelius to Diocletian . . . 209 
 
 XVII. Reigns of Diocletian and Constantine . . . 215 
 
 XVIII. The Last Centuries of the Empire . . . 223 
 
IMPORTANT DATES IN ROMAN HISTORY 
 
 B. C. 
 
 753(?) Rome is founded. 
 
 509 The beginning of the Republic. 
 
 390 Capture of Rome by the Gauls. 
 
 266 The whole of Italy is in the hands of Rome. 
 
 146 Destruction of Carthage. 
 
 44 Murder of Julius Caesar. 
 
 27 Octavianus receives the title of Augustus. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 70 Destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 313 The Christians are granted toleration by the Edict of Milan. 
 
 330 Constantinople becomes the capital of the Empire in the East. 
 
 395 Division of the Empire. 
 
 476 The Empire in the West is ruled by a deputy of the Emperor in 
 
 the East. 
 
 800 Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the West. 
 1453 The Turks capture Constantinople. 
 
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THE FIRST PERIOD 
 
 ROME AS A KINGDOM 
 
 I 
 
 THE LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 
 
 In Troy, a famous town of Asia Minor, there once lived a 
 man named iE-ne'as. For ten long years the Greeks, fierce 
 enemies of the Trojans, had been trying to take the city; and 
 at length they succeeded, m k 
 They set fire to it, and soon v^ 
 the whole town was in flames. 
 iEneas fought as long as 
 there was any hope in fight- 
 ing, then he took his aged 
 father on his shoulders, and 
 keeping fast hold of the hand 
 of his little son As-ca'ni-us,- 
 he fled through the burning 
 streets and over the ruins of 
 the walls to the country. 
 Many of his friends joined 
 him, and they hid away to- 
 gether among the mountains. 
 After a while the gods told 
 ./Eneas to build some boats and set out on the sea, for he 
 
 FLIGHT OF .ENEAS 
 (From a Painting in the Vatican at Rome) 
 
 Raphael 
 
2 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 and his companions must make a new home for themselves 
 in Italy. 
 
 They obeyed and set sail, and after many troubles and 
 adventures they reached the Italian shores. iEneas married 
 La-vin'i-a, the daughter of the king of La'ti-um, 1 and after- 
 ward became ruler of that province. He built a town which 
 he named La-vin'i-um, in honor of his wife. After he died, 
 Ascanius ruled ; but he soon found that his town was becom- 
 ing too crowded. He concluded, therefore, to leave it and 
 build another on a ridge of a neighboring hill. This he named 
 Al'ba Lon'ga, or the long white city. 
 
 For three hundred years the descendants of Ascanius ruled 
 in Latium. Then there was trouble. The rightful king was 
 Nu'mi-tor, but his brother A-mu'li-us stole the kingdom and 
 murdered Numitor's son. There was also a daughter, Rhe'a 
 Syl'vi-a, but Amulius disposed of her by making her a priest- 
 ess of the goddess Ves'ta. One day Amulius was told that his 
 niece had twin sons whose father was the war god Mars. "If 
 they are allowed to live, they will grow up and claim the 
 kingdom," thought Amulius; so he put Rhea Sylvia to death 
 and ordered one of his men to throw the boys into the river 
 Ti'ber. The man obeyed, but the river had overflowed its 
 banks, and when it went down again, it left the two babies 
 on dry land at the foot of the Pal'a-tine Hill, not drowned by 
 any means, but exceedingly hungry and crying with all their 
 might. A she wolf coming for a drink heard the crying and 
 went to the children. She seemed to think they were some 
 
 1 Pronounce La'shi-um. Note that c, s, and t, preceded by an accented vowel 
 and followed by i with another vowel, take the sound of sh. 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 3 
 
 new kind of cub, for she carried them to her den and nursed 
 them there for some time. At length they were discovered 
 by a shepherd named Faus'tu-lus. He frightened the wolf 
 away and carried the babies home to his wife. When Rom'- 
 u-lus and Re'mus, as they were called, had grown up, Faus- 
 tulus told them that they 
 were not his children, but 
 the grandsons of Numi- 
 tor, and that Numitor 
 was the rightful king. 
 Then the young men and 
 their shepherd friends 
 overcame the wicked 
 Amulius. He was put to 
 death, and the kingdom 
 was given back to Numi- 
 tor. 
 
 The two brothers de- THE FINDING 0F romttlus and remus 
 termined to form a kingdom for themselves, and to build a 
 city near the place where they had been thrown into the 
 water. But now there was trouble, for it was fitting that the 
 elder brother should give his name to the city, and they were 
 twins ! ' ' Let the gods decide, ' ' they said. So Romulus climbed 
 the Palatine Hill and Remus the Av'en-tine, and they 
 watched all day and all night; but the gods gave them no 
 sign. Just at sunrise, however, Remus saw six vultures fly 
 across the sky. His followers shouted with delight and hailed 
 him as king. While they were still shouting, the friends of 
 Romulus cried out joyfully; for, behold, Romulus had seen 
 
4 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 a flight of twelve vultures! But who could say whether it 
 was worth more to see six birds first or twelve birds second ? 
 
 The question seems to have been settled in some way in 
 favor of Romulus, for he began to build on the Palatine 
 Hill a wall for a town. Remus jumped over it and said scorn- 
 fully, "That is what your enemies will do." "And this is the 
 way they will fare, "retorted Romulus, and struck his brother 
 angrily. Remus fell down dead, and all his life Romulus 
 grieved for the brother whom he had slain in a moment of 
 anger. 
 
 The walls were completed and the place was named Rome ; 
 but it needed people. "I will admit as citizens whoever 
 choose to come," said Romulus; and at this, there came 
 crowds of men who had fled from their enemies or from jus- 
 tice. Romulus took them in and protected them. 
 
 Rome became strong, but the men of the neighboring 
 states looked upon it scornfully and would not allow their 
 daughters to marry Romans. ' ' If you want wives to match 
 your men," they said to Romulus, "you would better open 
 an asylum for women slaves and thieves and outcasts." 
 
 Romulus kept his temper, and a little later he even invited 
 his scornful neighbors to some games in honor of Nep'tune. 
 All were curious to see the new city, and they did not wait for 
 any urging. The Sa'bines especially came in full numbers and 
 brought their wives and children also. The Romans enter- 
 tained them hospitably, and soon the guests were all eagerly 
 watching the games. Suddenly the Romans rushed upon 
 their visitors, seized the young maidens among them, and 
 carried them away to become their wives. 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 5 
 
 Then the Romans fought with one tribe after another, — 
 with the Sabines last of all, because these people waited till 
 they were fully prepared to fight. The most important thing 
 for the Sabines to do was to take the Roman citadel, that 
 is, the strong fortress which Romulus had built on a hill 
 to protect the city, and they secretly asked the young girl 
 Tar-pe'i-a, ' daughter of the Roman commander, what reward 
 she would demand to let them in. "Give me what you wear 
 on your left arms," she replied, pointing to their heavy golden 
 bracelets. They agreed and she opened the gate. But they 
 also carried their shields upon their left arms, and they felt 
 such scorn for the disloyal maiden that they threw these upon 
 her, and so crushed her to death. That is why the cliff on one 
 side of the ledge on which the citadel stood is called the Tar- 
 peian Rock. For many years afterward, traitors were pun- 
 ished by being hurled from this very cliff. 
 
 When the Sabines were once within the city, a savage fight 
 followed between them and the Romans ; but now the stolen 
 women had a word to say. Their husbands had treated them 
 kindly and they had become fond of their new homes. They 
 ran fearlessly into the battle, straight between the angry 
 fighters, and begged on the one side their fathers, and on the 
 other their husbands, not to murder one another. The men 
 were so amazed that they stopped fighting, and after a parley 
 they agreed to make peace and even to dwell together as one 
 nation. 
 
 Many of the ideas and customs of Rome, which were 
 
 1 Pronounce Tar-pe'ya. Note that i preceded by an accented vowel, and fol- 
 lowed by an unaccented one, has the sound of y in yes. 
 
STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 SABINE WOMEN STOPPING THE FIGHT 
 (From a Painting in the Louvre, Paris) 
 
 handed down from the time of Romulus, were quite different 
 from those of to-day. For instance, the father of a family 
 owned his wife and children as much as he owned his sword 
 or his house, and he could do what he liked with them. If he 
 wished to sell them as slaves, or even to put them to death, 
 there was no law to prevent. 
 
 A group of families claiming to be the descendants of a 
 common ancestor was known as a gens, or clan. The head of 
 each gens was called a pater, the Latin word for father, and 
 therefore the members of these early clans came to be known 
 as pa-tri'cians. They were the aristocrats of Rome. All 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 7 
 
 the patricians were divided into three large groups called 
 tribes, each tribe consisting of ten smaller groups called 
 cu ri-ce. 
 
 Besides these patricians there were slaves and clients. The 
 slaves were few in number and were chiefly house servants. 
 The clients were for the most part strangers who had come to 
 Rome, or else freedmen, that is, slaves who had become 
 free. They depended upon some patrician to act as their 
 patron, that is, to befriend them in whatever way a man of 
 power and standing could aid one of lower rank. In return, 
 they acted as humble friends to him. If they were poor, 
 they worked on his land ; if they became rich, they made him 
 generous gifts. The patricians were not all wealthy by any 
 means, and to make money in trade seemed to them a dis- 
 grace. Through their clients, however, they could carry on 
 trade without humiliating themselves. 
 
 Besides patricians, slaves, and clients, there was a great 
 multitude of people in Rome who were known as ple-be'ians, 
 from plebs, a Latin word meaning common folk. They were 
 people, or the descendants of people, who had come to Rome 
 later than the patrician families. Some were freedmen, some 
 had fled to the city for refuge, and some had probably been 
 conquered in war. They were not forbidden to carry on 
 trade, but most of them worked on the land. 
 
 The patricians had many rights which the plebeians did 
 not share. The patrician alone might marry into a patrician 
 family, or leave his property by will to whomever he chose. 
 No plebeian was allowed these rights. The patrician was the 
 only voter, and he alone was allowed to hold office. Neither 
 
8 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 slaves, clients, nor plebeians were regarded as citizens. The 
 patrician was the only citizen. 
 
 The government of Rome was carried on by the king, the 
 senate, and the citizens. The king acted as priest, ruler, and 
 commander; that is, he was the religious head of the Romans, 
 he governed them in time of peace, and he led them to battle 
 in time of war. He had a right to name his successor. The 
 senate was composed of elderly men selected from the heads 
 of the patrician families. It took its name from the Latin 
 word senex, meaning an old man. No resolution could become 
 law without its approval. The senate also acted as special 
 adviser to the king; and if he died without naming a succes- 
 sor, it had power to nominate a sovereign. The citizens, — 
 that is, the patricians, — took part in the government by 
 voting in the assembly of the curia? known as the co-mi'ti-a 
 cu-ri-a'ta. Each of the thirty curia? had one vote. Laws 
 might be proposed in this assembly either by the assembly 
 itself or by the king, but, as has been said, they must be 
 approved by the senate. No king, whether named by the 
 preceding ruler or nominated by the senate, could take pos- 
 session of the throne until the comitia curiata had given its 
 consent. 
 
 These were some of the customs that are said to have flour- 
 ished in early Rome. The little village grew in power and in 
 number of inhabitants until Romulus had become an old 
 man. When the time had drawn near for him to be taken to 
 the gods, he called his people to a sacred festival. A terrible 
 thunderstorm arose, and it became so dark that they could 
 not see one another's faces. When the light had come again, 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 9 
 
 the royal seat was vacant; Romulus had vanished. His peo- 
 ple mourned for him, but after a while a man who was held 
 in much esteem among them declared that their lost ruler 
 had appeared to him in a vision as one of the gods. "The 
 king bade me tell you," said the man, "that the gods decree 
 Rome to become the capital of the world, and that if you cul- 
 tivate the art of war, no human power will be able to with- 
 stand you. Then he vanished into the heavens." The Ro- 
 mans believed the story, and after this they worshiped 
 Romulus as a god. 
 
 This is the legend of the founding of Rome. The Roman 
 poets and orators were never tired of referring to it, and in the 
 magnificent temple of Ju'pi-ter, called the Capitol, which in 
 later days stood on the Tarpeian Rock, there was a large 
 statue of the wolf and the twin brothers. 
 
10 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 HUT URN 
 (In the Vatican Museum) 
 
 II 
 
 THE LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 
 
 {Continued) 
 
 Besides the story of Romulus and Remus, the Romans had 
 many other legends about the early days of their city. Ac- 
 cording to these legends, Romulus was the first of seven 
 kings. It took a whole year to choose his successor, for the 
 Romans wanted a Roman and the Sabines wanted a Sabine. 
 At length they came to an exceedingly wise agreement; the 
 Romans were to choose the king, but he was to be of the 
 Sabine race. They chose a wise, just man named Nu'ma 
 Pom-pil'i-us. He saw that his subjects were brave, but that 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 11 
 
 they were a rude, savage people who needed to be taught 
 everything except how to fight. 
 
 First of all, he made treaties with the tribes around, 
 in order that there might be a time of peace. Then he 
 set to work to instruct his people how to worship the gods. 
 They believed that the goddess E-ge'ri-a used to come to 
 him in a certain shady grove and tell him what to teach 
 them, and therefore they paid close attention to his words. 
 He appointed priests to 
 carry on the worship of 
 Jupiter, Mars, and some 
 of the other gods, and 
 gave them salaries and 
 handsome robes. The 
 priests of Mars wore 
 richly embroidered tunics 
 and carried shields. They 
 used to march through 
 the city in procession, 
 singing hymns to the 
 war-god and carrying on 
 a solemn dance. 
 
 Numa had it carefully 
 written out in just what 
 manner the worship of 
 each god was to be car- 
 ried on, what sacrifices 
 were to be offered, and 
 in what manner. He gave the charge of this worship to the 
 
 MARS 
 (In the Ludovisi Villa at Home) 
 
12 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 pon'ti-fex max'i-mus, 1 or high priest, and taught him also 
 how to tell the will of the gods from flashes of lightning and 
 the flight of birds. 
 
 Thus far, the Romans had been busy chiefly with fighting, 
 but Numa divided among them the lands which Romulus 
 had won, and encouraged them to cultivate the ground. He 
 marked out their fields with stones ; and to make them feel it 
 
 a crime to remove these stones, he 
 set up an altar on the Cap'i-to-line 
 Hill in honor of Ter'mi-nus, the god 
 of boundaries. He also built a tem- 
 ple in honor of Ja'nus. In time of 
 war its doors were open, but in 
 peace they were closed; and it is 
 the greatest glory of the reign of 
 Numa that while he was on the 
 throne the gates were always closed. 
 The gates of this temple were 
 flung open, however, almost as 
 soon as Numa died, and a new 
 king, Tul'lus Hos-til'i-us, was 
 chosen. He believed that his peo- 
 ple would become slow and dull if 
 they gave up fighting, and there- 
 fore he seized the first excuse for a war, and in a little while 
 the Romans and the people of Alba Longa were drawn up on 
 the field of battle. While both lines were awaiting the signal 
 to make an attack, the Alban general asked to speak with 
 
 ETRUSCAN WARRIOR 
 (From a Bronze Statuette) 
 
 1 See picture on page 170. 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 13 
 
 King Tullus. "The E-trus'cans who dwell all about us," 
 he said, "are a very powerful people both by land and by 
 sea. Now when we and you are exhausted by fighting, 
 they may fall upon us and destroy both parties. Can we not 
 come to terms in some other way than by war?" 
 
 Tullus would have much preferred to fight, but he could not 
 help seeing that this was a sensible speech, and after a while 
 a plan was made that must have disappointed the Etrus- 
 cans if they had been 
 hoping to get any 
 gain from the quar- 
 rel. It chanced that 
 in the Roman army 
 were three brothers 
 of the Ho-ra'tian 
 family born at one 
 birth. They were 
 known as the Ho- 
 ra'ti-i. In the Al- 
 ban army were their 
 three cousins, also 
 
 born at one birth, of the Cu-ri-a'tian family. They were 
 known as the Cu-ri-a'ti-i. The leaders of the armies agreed 
 that these six should meet in combat, three on a side, and 
 the nation whose champions won should be looked upon as the 
 victors. "Be brave," cried both parties to their respective 
 champions. "Remember that your gods, your country, your 
 parents, that all your countrymen, both here and at home, 
 are watching you." The champions took their stand between 
 
 Lebarbier 
 CONTEST BETWEEN THE HORATII AND CURIATII 
 
14 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 the two lines. The signal was given, and in a moment their 
 swords were flashing. The encounter was so fierce that al- 
 most at once two of the Horatii fell dead and the three 
 Curiatii were wounded. Hurt as they were, they were toge- 
 ther more than a match for the remaining one of the Horatii ; 
 but he had no idea of allowing all three to attack him at 
 once. He ran away and they pursued. He who was least 
 wounded came up to Ho-ra'ti-us first. The Roman suddenly 
 turned upon him and slew him. He did the same with the 
 other two as they came up; and so it was that the Romans 
 became the victors. 
 
 The Roman army shouted for joy, and soon set out upon 
 the return home. First came men bearing the armor and 
 weapons of the Curiatii. Next came Horatius, and after him 
 the rest of the army. When they reached the city gates, the 
 people poured out to welcome them; but the sister of Hora- 
 tius gave a great wail of sorrow, for on her brother's shoulders 
 she recognized the coat of one of the Curiatii to whom she 
 had been betrothed, a coat which she herself had wrought. 
 Horatius drew his sword and ran it through her body, crying, 
 "So perish every Roman woman who shall mourn an enemy." 
 Every one was dismayed. The murder of the maiden must be 
 punished, but how could they put to death the man who had 
 just saved them from being subject to the Albans? Finally 
 Horatius was brought to trial. His father pleaded so earnestly 
 for his son's life that the champion was pardoned; but many 
 sacrifices were offered to the gods that his sin might be for- 
 given. 
 
 The Albans were not very faithful subjects, and at length 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 15 
 
 Tullus commanded them to remove to Rome. He sent sol- 
 diers to tear down their homes, and with pitiful weeping and 
 wailing, the poor people caught up whatever they valued 
 most of their household treasures and went in sorrowful 
 groups to Rome. The temples of the gods were left standing, 
 but everything else in Alba Longa was destroyed. 
 
 Tullus fought other wars, and was so successful that he 
 began to feel it quite beneath so great a man as he to pay any 
 service to the gods or even to deal justly and lawfully with 
 his people. The gods were angry, and they sent a pestilence 
 upon people 
 and king. 
 Then Tullus 
 was ready 
 enough to 
 offer up sacri- 
 fices. Unluck- 
 ily for him, 
 he had neg- 
 lected this 
 duty for so 
 long that he 
 did not know 
 
 how to observe the rites properly. Jupiter was angry, and 
 with a flash of lightning he burned the king and his house to 
 ashes. 
 
 The next king was An'cus Mar'ti-us. He was a grandson of 
 Numa Pompilius; and he seemed to have the good traits of 
 both Numa and Tullus. First of all, he had the rules for the 
 
 OFFERING UP A SACRIFICE 
 
16 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 proper worship of the gods carefully written on tablets and 
 set out where every one could read them. He paid such atten- 
 tion to his religious duties that the neighboring nations 
 thought there was an excellent chance for them to attack the 
 city while the Roman king was saying prayers and offering up 
 sacrifices. They made a mistake, for King Ancus could fight 
 as well as pray. He conquered his enemies and strengthened 
 the fortifications of Rome. Just across the river Tiber was 
 the hill Ja-nic'u-lum, and Ancus did not forget to fortify this, 
 lest some enemy should capture it and so be able to take the 
 town. In order to join this hill to the city, he built a wooden 
 bridge across the Tiber, and at the mouth of the river he 
 founded a colony which he called Os'ti-a, the Latin name for 
 mouths. 
 
 King Ancus committed only one act that seemed foolish : 
 when he came to die, he made one Lu'ci-us Tar-quin'i-us 
 Pris'cus guardian of his two sons. This man was rich and 
 -ambitious, and he had come to Rome on purpose to win 
 power. When he was on his way to the city for the first time, 
 with his wife Tan'a-quil beside him in the chariot, and had 
 come as far as the hill Janiculum, an eagle suddenly swooped 
 down, caught his hat from his head and wheeled about in the 
 air with it, then dropped down and placed it on his head 
 again. Tanaquil was skilled in reading the nights of birds and 
 other omens, and she cried out with delight, "The eagle is the 
 bird of Jupiter, and most surely some lofty station in life is 
 awaiting you." Tarquinius bought a house in Rome and 
 tried by every means in his power to win the favor of the 
 king and the chief men, and he was most successful. 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 17 
 
 Now when Ancus was dead and the people were about to 
 choose a new ruler, Tarquinius Priscus sent the two sons of 
 Ancus away on a hunting trip, and then he made a speech to 
 the assembly, telling them why they would do well to make 
 him king. He seems to have convinced them, for he was 
 chosen sovereign. No one could say that he did not do well 
 by his kingdom, for he conquered the tribes roundabout, and 
 even the powerful Etruscans acknowledged him as their king, 
 and sent him a crown and sceptre and ivory 
 chair, an embroidered tunic, a purple toga, or 
 robe, and twelve bundles of rods called fasces, 
 in each of which was an axe. This last was to 
 signify that he had power to punish and to put 
 to death. The men who carried the rods and 
 axes were known as lictors; and when the king 
 appeared in public, twelve of them always 
 marched in single file before him. 
 
 After the enemies of the Romans had been 
 subdued, Tarquinius set to work to improve 
 the city. In honor of Jupiter, he built a splen- 
 did temple which was called the Capitol. The 
 height on which it stood received the name of lictor 
 the Capitoline Hill. He also built directly across the city a 
 famous underground sewer called the Clo-a'ca Max'i-ma, or 
 great sewer, to drain the swamps between the hills, and he 
 marked out the Circus Maximus, or great circus, where games 
 were held. 
 
 One night the king and queen were aroused from their 
 sleep to see a wonderful sight. A little boy, the son of one of 
 
18 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 their slaves, lay fast asleep, and around his head was blazing 
 a beautiful and harmless flame. Queen Tanaquil forbade the 
 servants to disturb the child, and she said to her husband, 
 "Of course that fire is a mark of the favor of the gods, and 
 the boy is surely destined for some noble position. Let us 
 bring him up with the best of care, and if ever we are in the 
 darkness of adversity, he will be a light to us." From that 
 time Tarquinius treated the boy as his own son, and when 
 
 he was grown up, he 
 showed himself so 
 truly kingly that the 
 king gave him his 
 daughter in marriage. 
 The sons of Ancus 
 seem to have been 
 waiting patiently, ex- 
 pecting that the crown would be theirs at the death of 
 Tarquinius; but when they saw that the king's favor was 
 given to the boy Ser'vi-us Tul'li-us, they were angry and 
 indignant, and a little later they hired two bold and daring 
 shepherds to assassinate Tarquinius. Probably the sons of 
 Ancus would have been able to seize the crown if Queen 
 Tanaquil had not been so quick-witted. She opened the win- 
 dow and addressed the people. "Be of good cheer," she said. 
 "The king is only stunned, and I hope you will soon see him 
 again. In the mean time, he wishes you to obey Servius 
 Tullius in his place." Then to Servius she said, "Now is your 
 time. If you are a man, the kingdom is yours, not theirs who 
 have brought about the murder of the king." Servius seated 
 
 CLOACA MAXIMA 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 19 
 
 himself upon the throne and gave judgment in some cases, 
 while in others he pretended to consult the king. By the 
 time that the king's death was known, Servius had gained so 
 much power that he easily held the kingdom. He was just 
 and kind to his people. He never forgot that his mother had 
 been a slave, and he was so strong a friend to the poorer folk 
 that it is no wonder they called him the good king Servius. 
 
 In some ways the reign of Servius Tullius was almost a 
 revolution. First of all, he planned for a larger army. It had 
 always been regarded as an honor to defend the state, and 
 therefore only patricians had been privileged to serve as sol- 
 diers. Servius, however, obliged all landowners to join the 
 army. He divided them, not into patricians and plebeians, 
 but into five classes according to the 
 amount of land which they held. 
 The largest landowners were re- 
 quired to provide themselves with 
 horses to form the cavalry ; the next 
 largest had to obtain full suits of ar- 
 mor, helmets, coats of mail, shields, 
 and greaves, or protectors for the 
 legs. The poorer people provided 
 less armor. The patricians as a class 
 were more wealthy than the ple- 
 beians; in general, therefore, the 
 former continued to serve as cav- 
 alry, while the latter made up the infantry. 
 
 To make it easier to form the army, Servius paid no at- 
 tention to the old division of the patricians into three tribes; 
 
 ROMAN SOLDIER WITH 
 SCALE ARMOR 
 
20 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 instead, he divided the city into four wards, or districts, 
 classing all landowners living in one district, whether patri- 
 cians or plebeians, as of one tribe. 
 
 Servius built a wall entirely around the city, parts of which 
 remain to this day. He also established the census, a list of 
 the people of the state, their children, and the amount of 
 their property. This census was taken every five years. It 
 closed with a sacrifice to the gods called a lustrum, or purifica- 
 tion, and soon the period of five years came to be called a lus- 
 trum. 
 
 The place where the soldiers used to come together to drill 
 was a plain just outside the walls of the city called the Cam- 
 pus Martius, or Field 
 of Mars. The troops 
 were divided into 
 groups of one hun- 
 dred, and as the Latin 
 word for hundred is 
 centum, the meeting 
 of these groups came 
 to be called the comi- 
 tia cen-tu-ri-a'ta, or as- 
 sembly of the centuries. 
 Servius was loved 
 by his people, but 
 there was one man 
 whom he feared, Lu- 
 cius, the son of Tarquinius. Lucius had married the daughter 
 of Servius ; but she was a wicked woman and plotted that her 
 
 TTTLLIA DRIVING OVER THE BODY OF HER FATHER 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 21 
 
 husband should seize her father's crown. One day Lucius 
 went in royal robes to the forum, or public square, and de- 
 clared that he, and not the son of a slave, was the rightful 
 king. He caught hold of the aged Servius and flung him 
 down the steps of the senate house, and then sent men to 
 murder him. The wicked 
 daughter of Servius 
 heard what had been 
 done, and she hastened 
 to the forum to salute 
 her husband as king. 
 He bade her withdraw 
 from such a tumult, and 
 she obeyed, ordering her 
 charioteer to drive her 
 chariot over the bleeding 
 body of her father lying 
 in the road. 
 
 So it was that a sec- 
 ond Lucius Tarquinius 
 became king. He was 
 so cruel and haughty 
 that the people called him Tarquinius Su-per'bus, or Tarquin 
 the Proud, and if he had not always kept a bodyguard around 
 him, some one would surely have murdered him. One day 
 when he was at the height of his power, a strange woman 
 came before him with nine books, and asked him to buy 
 them. Her price was so high that he only laughed scornfully. 
 She went away and burned three of the books, then returned 
 
 MOUNTED OFFICER 
 {From a Statue in Naples) 
 
22 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 and offered him the six at the same price that she had asked 
 for the nine. "The woman is surely mad," Tarquinius de- 
 clared. She made no reply, but went away again, and a 
 little later offered him the last three books, but still at the 
 same price. The affair was so remarkable that Tarquinius 
 began to think the books must have been sent by the gods. 
 He paid the price and took them. They proved to be pro- 
 phecies about the future of the city. They were preserved 
 with the utmost care and were consulted whenever the city 
 seemed to be in danger. The strange woman was the Sib'yl 
 of Cu'mse. She vanished and was never seen again. The 
 books were known as the Sib'yl-line Books, and were 
 counted among the greatest treasures of Rome. 
 
 Tarquinius was successful in war, but he could not subdue 
 the Ga'bi-i. This his false son Sex'tus undertook to do for 
 him. He fled to them covered with blood and begged them 
 to protect him from his father. They treated him kindly, 
 and gave -him command of a band of soldiers. In the first 
 engagement, Sextus and his band put the Romans to flight — 
 for this was what he and Tarquinius had agreed upon. Now 
 the Gabii were so sure that Sextus was true to them that they 
 made him leader of their whole army. Then Sextus treach- 
 erously surrendered the town to the Romans. 
 
 Tarquinius had done so many evil deeds that it is small 
 wonder he became afraid the gods would punish him. A 
 serpent gliding out of a wooden pillar frightened him, and 
 he sent two of his sons to the oracle of the Greeks at Del'phi 
 to ask what the sight foreboded. With them went their 
 cousin, who was called Bru'tus, or the fool, because he pre- 
 
LEGENDS OF THE SEVEN KINGS OF ROME 23 
 
 tended to be foolish lest Tarquinius should put him to death. 
 The two sons had a question of their own to ask: Who 
 would reign after their father? The or- 
 acle replied, "He who first kisses his mo- 
 ther." When they returned to Rome, 
 Brutus pretended to stumble and fell. No 
 one noticed that he slyly kissed the 
 ground, and no one knew until afterwards 
 that he said to himself, ' ' The earth is the 
 .mother of us all." 
 
 Sextus, who had deceived the Gabii, 
 was the worst of the three sons. One day 
 he insulted so grievously the good Lu-cre'- 
 ti-a, wife of one of his cousins, that she 
 called upon her father and her husband 
 to avenge her, and then in grief and shame 
 she plunged a knife into her heart. At 
 this Brutus stood out boldly before the 
 people and recounted the evil deeds of Tarquinius and his 
 sons. He pleaded with the Romans to drive the tyrant from 
 the throne, and they agreed. Moreover, they declared that 
 never again should a king reign over them, and they even 
 decreed that if any one should venture to say he wished a 
 return of the kingly rule, he should be put to death as an 
 enemy to the state. This took place in 509 B.C. That date 
 marks the end of the kingdom, for Rome now became a re- 
 public. 
 
 ARMY-LEADER IN 
 HIS MANTLE 
 
•:^AC 
 
 ROMAN BOXER 
 (Bronze atatue discovered in Rome in 1885) 
 
THE SECOND PERIOD 
 
 ROME AS A REPUBLIC 
 
 I 
 
 THE ATTEMPTS OF TARQUINIUS TO REGAIN HIS 
 
 KINGDOM 
 
 The Romans had refused to be under a king, and they were 
 afraid that if any one man were made chief ruler, he would 
 become too powerful. They decided, therefore, to elect two 
 rulers instead of one, and for a term of one year only. These 
 two were called consuls. They wore robes with borders of 
 deep violet and sat in seats of honor known as curule chairs. 
 These chairs were either made of ivory or richly ornamented 
 with it, but, however handsome and honorable they may 
 have been, they must have seemed rather uncomfortable, 
 for they had neither arms nor back. According to law, neither 
 consul could give a command if the other objected. This was 
 all very well when matters were going on smoothly, but in time 
 of danger, if an enemy were at the gate, for instance, the two 
 consuls might have quite different schemes for defense, and 
 while they were trying to convince each other, the enemy 
 might force his way into the city. The Romans were too 
 keen not to provide for this, and they decreed that if great 
 public danger arose, a dictator should be appointed. He was 
 
26 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 to hold power for six months only, but during that time even 
 the consuls were to obey his commands. 
 
 Brutus was one of the first consuls; but it was not long 
 before he must have wished he was only a private citizen, for 
 his two sons were brought before him to be punished. They 
 
 BRUTUS CONDEMNING HIS SONS TO DEATH 
 (From a Painting in the Louvre) 
 
 had conspired to bring back King Tarquinius. Brutus must 
 have been heartbroken, but he gave sentence according to 
 law, and sat by sternly while his own sons, together with the 
 other conspirators, were flogged and then beheaded. 
 
 Tarquinius still hoped to regain his crown, and he induced 
 one tribe after another to take up his cause and fight for him. 
 In one of the battles Brutus was slain. His fellow consul, 
 
THE ATTEMPTS OF TARQUINIUS 27 
 
 Pub'li-us Va-le'ri-us, was now left sole ruler; and the people 
 began to be afraid that he would try to make himself king. It 
 was dangerous even to be suspected of such a desire, and he 
 did all in his power to show that he never thought of such a 
 thing. He built his house at the foot of a hill instead of on 
 top, as he had begun; he had the axes removed from the bun- 
 dles of rods that were borne before him by the lictors; and, 
 far more important than these acts, he had a law passed that 
 a Roman citizen who was sentenced by any one except a dic- 
 tator to be put to death, 
 or to be flogged, might 
 appeal to the assembly of 
 the centuries. This was 
 named the Va-le'ri-an 
 Law. 
 
 Tarquinius had not 
 given up hope of the 
 throne, and now he per- 
 suaded Lars Por'se-na of 
 Clu'si-um to become his 
 ally. Then there was dis- 
 may in Rome, for Porsena 
 was a powerful king and 
 could call out many thou- 
 sands of men. His great 
 army came marching to- 
 ward the city. From the 
 Tarpeian Rock, men could see one little village after another 
 burst into flames. The countryfolk seized whatever was 
 
 THE CLIFFS OF THE CAPITOLINE HILL 
 (Known as the Tarpeian Rock) 
 
28 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 dearest to them and fled to the protection of the city walls. 
 Lars . Porsena came nearer; he captured Janiculum; and so 
 great was the alarm of the Roman soldiers that they ran 
 headlong across the bridge and into the town, as frightened 
 as the women and children of the country. 
 
 Out spake the Consul roundly: 
 
 "The bridge must straight go down, 
 For, since Janiculum is lost, 
 
 Naught else can save the town." ' 
 
 Then a brave Roman named Horatius stepped forward and 
 spoke to the Consul: 
 
 "Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, 
 
 With all the speed ye may; 
 I, with two more to help me, 
 
 Will hold the foe in play. 
 In yon strait path a thousand 
 
 May well be stopped by three. 
 Now who will stand on either hand. 
 
 And keep the bridge with me?" 
 
 Then out spake Spu'ri-us Lar'ti-us ; 
 A Ram'ni-an proud was he : 
 "Lo, I will stand at thy right hand, 
 And keep the bridge with thee." 
 And out spake strong Her-min'i-us; 
 Of Tit'i-an blood was he : 
 "I will abide on thy left side, 
 
 And keep the bridge with thee." 
 
 Soon Porsena and his followers were shouting with laugh- 
 ter to see "the dauntless three" take their stand to drive 
 back an army. There was terrible fighting; but all the while 
 
 1 Horatius, by T. B. Macaulay. 
 
THE ATTEMPTS OF TARQUINIUS 29 
 
 the Romans, — consul, fathers, and plebeians, were breaking 
 down the bridge. It was ready to crumble. 
 
 "Come back, come back, Horatius!" 
 
 Loud cried the Fathers all. 
 "Back, Lartius! back, Herminius! 
 Back, ere the ruin fall!" 
 
 Lartius and Herminius darted back over the swaying timbers, 
 and Horatius stood alone on the farther shore between the 
 
 HORATIUS KEEPING THE BRIDGE 
 
 river and his sixty thousand foes. Then he sprang into the 
 flood, wounded, and weighed down by his armor as he was. 
 And when above the surges 
 
 They saw his crest appear, 
 All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, 
 And even the ranks of Tus'ca-ny 
 Could scarce forbear to cheer. 
 
30 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 He swam bravely to the landing-place; he had saved his 
 country. 
 
 And wives still pray to Ju'no 
 
 For boys with hearts as bold 
 As his who kept the bridge so well 
 
 In the brave days of old. 
 
 Even after this, there was sore trouble in Rome, for Lars 
 Porsena besieged the town and famine set in. Then Ga'i-us 
 Mu'ci-us, a noble young Roman, made his way into the 
 enemy's camp to kill the king. By mistake, he slew, not the 
 king, but his secretary. When he was brought before Lars 
 Porsena, he was threatened with being burned alive if he 
 did not reveal whatever plots had been made. He stretched 
 forth his right hand and held it in the fire that was burning 
 
 on the altar. " See," he said 
 to the king, " how little those 
 think of the body who have 
 glory in view." Lars Porsena 
 was too brave a man not to 
 appreciate bravery, and he 
 ordered the young man to 
 be sent home unharmed. 
 Mucius told him that three 
 hundred other youths were 
 sworn to have his life; and 
 Lars Porsena soon asked the 
 Romans to make a treaty of 
 peace with him. Caius Mu- 
 cius was richly rewarded by his countrymen, and the name 
 
 MUCIUS HOLDING HIS HAND IN THE FIRE 
 
THE ATTEMPTS OF TARQUINIUS 31 
 
 Scsev'o-la, or the left-handed, was given him in memory of 
 his deed. 
 
 Tarquinius now induced the powerful Latins to help him. 
 At Lake Re-gil'lus there was a fierce battle between the 
 Romans on one side and the Latins and Etruscans on the 
 other. The Romans were getting the worst of it when sud- 
 denly the twin gods, Cas'tor and Pol'lux, appeared among 
 them. The armor of the gods and also their steeds were white 
 as snow, and they had come to the aid of the Romans. 
 
 And forthwith all the ranks of Rome 
 Were bold and of good cheer; 
 
 and soon the battle was won. Tarquinius Superbus gave no 
 further trouble, and Rome never had another king. 
 
32 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 ROMAN HELMETS 
 
 IV 
 
 HOW THE PLEBEIANS WON THEIR RIGHTS 
 
 The preceding stories of gods and kings and heroes are told 
 of the first two hundred and fifty years after the supposed 
 date of the founding of Rome, that is, from 753 b. c. to 496 
 b. c. In one way they are false. For instance, there never 
 was a god Mars to be the father of Romulus and Remus ; and 
 no nation ever suddenly gave up fighting and began to spend 
 the time in cultivating the ground, as the legends say was 
 done in the days of Numa. Indeed, there is no authentic 
 history of Rome with definite dates until at earliest 390 b. c. 
 Nevertheless, even in the most impossible of these stories 
 there is always some bit of truth for a foundation. By search- 
 ing for this, we learn that Rome was founded by the Latins 
 to protect them from the Etruscans; that after much hard 
 fighting, two other villages united with the Romans, took the 
 level space between the two hills for their forum, or public 
 square, and built on the Capitoline Hill a strong citadel, or 
 fort, which should serve to defend them both; and that later 
 they were joined by other settlers who lived on the Cse'li-an 
 Hill. Rome is said to have been founded 753 b. c. A century 
 
HOW THE PLEBEIANS WON THEIR RIGHTS 33 
 
 and a half later, the city walls, then nearly five miles in 
 length, inclosed seven hills, the Qui-ri'nal, Vim'i-nal, Es'- 
 
 RUINS OF THE ROMAN FORUM 
 
 qui-line, Caelian, Aventine, Palatine, and Capitoline. That 
 is why Rome is often spoken of as the seven-hilled city. 
 
 The chief reason why Rome grew so rapidly was because it 
 had so excellent a location. There were other groups of hills 
 in Italy and other settlements on them, but in these other 
 groups, the hills were higher and farther apart, and the set- 
 tlements could be independent of one another and did not 
 have to unite; therefore they increased in size slowly. In 
 another way the location of Rome was most desirable. It 
 was beside the Tiber, and for that reason the Romans could 
 carry on trade with all the districts through which the Tiber 
 and its branches flowed. Moreover, it was far enough from 
 
34 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 the sea to be safe from the attacks of pirates. No other town 
 in Italy had so many advantages. 
 
 There was one great disadvantage, however, and this was 
 that the people were not united. Servius Tullius had done a 
 good deal to bring them together when he admitted all land- 
 owners to the army, but the old distinction of patricians and 
 plebeians was by no means forgotten, and the patricians still 
 had many privileges which were not shared by the plebeians. 
 
 In all the fighting between the Romans and the friends of 
 Tarquinius, the plebeians had suffered most. When there 
 was warfare in the summer, most of the patricians could have 
 their land cared for by slaves; but the plebeian had to go to 
 the army and leave his farm with no one to cultivate it or 
 gather in the crops. He was fortunate if the enemy did not 
 destroy the crops altogether, steal the cattle, and burn the 
 house. The plebeian was required to pay taxes, but he re- 
 ceived no pay for his service in the army, and no one thought 
 of asking the state to make good his losses. The result was that 
 the plebeian must either starve or borrow of some patrician. 
 
 Borrowing was dangerous business in Rome. If a man did 
 not pay his debt within thirty days of the appointed time, 
 the law was that he should be imprisoned, loaded down with 
 chains, and fed on bread and water for thirty days. If he 
 did not pay then, he might be sold as a slave or even put to 
 death. One day, fifteen years after Tarquinius was driven 
 out, an old man came into the forum. His clothes were 
 nothing but rags, and he was thin and pale. The people 
 gathered around him. "I know him," said more than one 
 of them. "He was an officer and a brave soldier. See on 
 
HOW THE PLEBEIANS WON THEIR RIGHTS 35 
 
 his breast the scars of his wounds." The old man told 
 them his pitiful story. "While I was in the army," he said, 
 ' ' the enemy destroyed my crops, drove away my cattle, and 
 burned my house. I had to pay a tax, and the only thing to 
 do was to borrow money. I could not repay it, and my credi- 
 tor beat me. Behold!" He threw off his robe from his shoul- 
 ders, and the crowd saw the bloody marks of the whip. The 
 plebeians were furious. "Call the senate together," they de- 
 manded, "and make laws that are just to us." The senators 
 were so frightened that they did not know whether 
 there was more danger in staying at home or going 
 to the senate house, but at length they came together 
 and began to discuss what should be done. 
 Suddenly some Latin horsemen galloped up 
 to the city. "The enemy is at hand!" they 
 cried. "Call out the army." But the plebe- 
 ians would not be called out. "Why should 
 we fight for Rome?" they demanded, "when 
 warfare brings us nothing but debt and 
 ruin? Let those fight who gain by war." 
 One of the consuls promised that if 
 they would join the army, he would pro- 
 pose a just law for debtors. The plebe- 
 ians trusted him, and the enemy was 
 driven away; but the other consul, Ap'pi-us Clau'di-us, led 
 the senate to refuse to make any change in the laws. Then 
 the plebeians were angry indeed. "Why should we stay in 
 Rome?" they said to one another. "Why not leave the city 
 and found a city of our own?" They decided to do this, and 
 
 ROMAN SOLDIER 
 
36 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 one day they set out for a hill a few miles away and made 
 ready to build themselves houses. 
 
 Then the patricians were disturbed, for they had lost the 
 cultivators of the ground. "Let them go," said Appius Clau- 
 dius scornfully; "we have no need of the rabble." Fortu- 
 nately, the other chief men were wiser, and it was decided to 
 send three patricians to try to persuade them to return. But 
 they would not be persuaded. Then Me-ne'ni-us A-grip'pa 
 told them a little story. "Once upon a time," he said, "the 
 members of the body resolved that they would no longer 
 support the belly, which did nothing at all, but lay at ease 
 while they toiled. 'We will not carry it,' said the feet. 'We 
 will do no more work for it,' cried the hands. 'And we will 
 not chew a morsel for it, even if food is placed between us,' 
 declared the teeth. They kept their word, and the belly suf- 
 fered ; but they suffered with it, and soon they, too, began to 
 waste away." 
 
 The plebeians understood the meaning of the fable. They 
 talked together, and finally they said to the patricians, "We 
 will return to Rome if you will agree, first, to forgive the 
 debtors who cannot pay; second, to free those who have been 
 made slaves; and, third, to have two trib'unes appointed to 
 see that the patrician magistrates do not wrong us." The 
 patricians agreed to these terms, and they and the plebeians 
 made a treaty as formally as if they had been two nations. 
 The hill where this meeting was held received the name of 
 the Sacred Mountain. At its summit an altar was built and 
 sacrifices were offered to Jupiter. 
 
 It was not long before the number of plebeian tribunes was 
 
HOW THE PLEBEIANS WON THEIR RIGHTS 37 
 
 increased to ten; and, moreover, plebeian os'diles were also 
 chosen who aided the tribunes and cared for the streets and 
 public records, and superintended the public games. 
 
 It was a great gain to the plebe- 
 ians to have tribunes, but their 
 troubles were not over by any 
 means. Many of them were ex- 
 ceedingly poor, and those whose 
 debts had been forgiven had nothing 
 to make a start with, and were al- 
 most as wretched as they had been 
 in the first place. This was all the 
 harder to bear because the patri- 
 cians had a large amount of pro- 
 perty which the plebeians felt 
 ought fairly to be shared with 
 them. This property was in land 
 which had been taken in war. The 
 plebeians said, "We have fought to 
 win the land, and we ought to have 
 a part of it." This was not so easy 
 a thing to bring about, because the patricians held possession 
 of it and were not at all inclined to give it up. They culti- 
 vated it or used it for pasturage of their flocks and herds as 
 they chose. They were supposed to pay the state for its use, 
 but the collectors were patricians and seldom troubled them. 
 If the owner of flocks and herds can have free pasturage for 
 them, he can hardly help becoming rich. The patricians, 
 then, were growing richer, while the plebeians were growing 
 
 AN .EDILE GIVIN.G THE SIG- 
 NAL FOR A CHARIOT RACE 
 
38 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 poorer. The plebeians could not even get employment on the 
 land, for they were liable to be called away to war at any 
 moment; and the patricians naturally preferred slaves who 
 could be kept at their work. 
 
 Some, even among the patricians, saw how unfair this was, 
 
 and one of 
 them, Spu- 
 riusCas'si-us, 
 proposed that 
 the patricians 
 be obliged to 
 pay a fair 
 rental for the 
 land which 
 they were 
 using, and 
 that part of 
 the state 
 lands be di- 
 vided into 
 small farms and given to needy Romans and Latins. Then 
 there was anger among the patricians. "Spurius Cassius is 
 trying to make himself popular and become king," they de- 
 clared; and even the plebeians were not especially grateful, 
 for, although the Latins had become their allies, they did not 
 like the idea of giving them Roman lands. This land law, or 
 A-gra'ri-an Law, may possibly have been passed, but it was 
 never carried out. 
 
 Nevertheless, the plebeians were slowly increasing in 
 
 VINTAGE FESTIVAL 
 
HOW THE PLEBEIANS WON THEIR RIGHTS 39 
 
 power. Their next gain came about by the passing of a law 
 proposed by the tribune, Pub-lil'i-us. The tribunes had al- 
 ways been elected by the assembly of the centuries. Each 
 century had one vote; but as more than half the centuries 
 were made up of wealthy men, no one who would not be 
 inclined to favor the rich rather than the poor could become 
 a tribune. Publilius proposed that the tribunes be elected 
 by a plebeian assembly of tribes, or meeting of plebeians 
 who were land-owners. In this assembly of tribes which 
 he proposed, every vote would be of the same value. This 
 law was finally passed, and now the plebeians were free 
 to elect their own tribunes. They had nothing to do with 
 making the laws; but if they did not obey those made by 
 the patricians, the tribunes could protect them from unjust 
 punishment. 
 
 The Romans had a great respect for law, but the laws of 
 Rome had never been written. An unjust judge could declare 
 that the law said whatever he wished it to say, and the ac- 
 cused man had no way of proving that the judge was false. 
 "Give us written laws," demanded the plebeians. "Put 
 them up in the forum, that every man may know if he is 
 breaking them." The patricians refused this demand, and 
 they continued to refuse it for ten long years. The plebeians 
 persisted, and at the end of that time the patricians yielded. 
 Instead of consuls and tribunes, ten men, the de-cem'vi-ri, 
 were chosen to rule the state and also to decide what the laws 
 were. This was done. The laws were engraved on tablets of 
 bronze, and these tablets, the "Twelve Tables," were set up 
 in the forum where everyone could read them. Copies of the 
 
40 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 laws were made to use in the schools, and every boy had to 
 learn them by heart. 
 
 The Romans meant to elect new decemviri each year, but 
 a proud and insolent man named Appius Claudius, grandson 
 of the Appius Claudius who so despised the plebeians, con- 
 trived to get himself reelected and to make the other nine 
 yield to whatever he chose to do. He suspected that a brave 
 old soldier was plotting against him, and he had the old man 
 murdered. He wanted to get possession of a free-born maiden 
 named Vir-gin'i-a, and therefore he declared as a judge that 
 
 she was the slave 
 of one of his fol- 
 lowers. Then her 
 father caught up a 
 knife and plunged 
 it into her heart. 
 "This is the only 
 way," he cried, 
 "to keep you 
 from slavery and 
 shame." With the 
 bloody knife still 
 in his hand, he 
 and a great com- 
 pany of citizens hastened to the army and told the terrible 
 story. Then the soldiers left their generals and marched 
 straight back to the city. Once more the plebeians went forth 
 to the Sacred Mountain; and now Appius Claudius was in 
 terror, for they declared that they would not return unless 
 
 DEATH OF VIRGINIA 
 
HOW THE PLEBEIANS WON THEIR RIGHTS 41 
 
 more power and better protection were given them, and they 
 demanded that he and the other decemviri be burned alive. 
 They finally agreed, however, to return, provided they might 
 have tribunes again. Eight of the "wicked ten" were ban- 
 ished. Appius Claudius and one other committed suicide. 
 
 The plebeians had their tribunes; and a little later the 
 "Va-le'ri-o-Ho-ra'tian Laws," so named from the consuls 
 Valerius and Horatius, who secured their passage, gave the 
 tribunes the right to sit at the door of the senate house, listen 
 to whatever went on, and say, Veto (I forbid it) , to any meas- 
 ure of which they did not approve. More than this, they de- 
 creed that whatever resolutions the plebeian assembly of 
 tribes passed should become laws. This was in 449 b. c. 
 
 The plebeians were gaming in power rapidly. They could 
 pass resolutions which would become laws; they could elect 
 their own tribunes, and those tribunes could listen to what- 
 ever went on in the senate house. Before long, they were al- 
 lowed to marry among the patricians. There was one office, 
 that of consul, which the patricians were determined they 
 should never hold. They did succeed, however, in holding a 
 new office, that of "military tribune with consular power," 
 which was really almost the same as that of consul. The 
 patricians could not prevent this, but they elected some new 
 patrician officers called censors and gave them much of the 
 power which the consuls had held. These censors not only 
 numbered the people and # took an account of their property, 
 but they had a right to reduce the rank of a man if they de- 
 cided that he had been cruel to his family, or extravagant, or 
 dishonest, or was in any way unworthy. They could also in- 
 
42 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 crease his taxes, for they could set whatever valuation they 
 chose upon his vineyards and olive trees and carriages and 
 jewels and slaves. Indeed, while the censor held office and 
 wore his scarlet robe, he was almost as independent in his 
 way as a dictator. 
 
 The plebeians had felt that it was a victory when they had 
 won the right to be military tribunes with consular power, 
 but now that these censors held so much of the "consular 
 power," they kept on with the fight to become consuls; and 
 at last a law was passed which really gave them more power 
 than the patricians, for it decreed that one consul must be a 
 plebeian, and both might be. For a while the plebeians had 
 to keep close watch to hold on to their rights, but by 300 
 b. c. the struggle had come to an end, and patricians and 
 plebeians had equal rights in the state. 
 
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 43 
 
 W^IMMMJgMMM^MMM 
 
 ^J^y£JL^im ^^J±r^JLl 
 
 CAPITAL FROM THE TEMPLE OF VESTA 
 (On the frieze above are depicted the instruments of the sacrifices) 
 
 V 
 
 HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 
 
 While the plebeians were struggling for their share in the 
 government of the city, and the patricians were doing their 
 best to keep it out of their hands, there was some danger that 
 no city would be left for either of them to govern. They held 
 Rome and a little land around it; but the Latins and the Her'- 
 
44 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 ni-cans were their only allies, and all the other tribes of Italy 
 were their enemies. No one would have expected the little 
 settlement on the Tiber to become strong enough to rule 
 Italy, but that is just what was coming to pass. 
 
 It took a long while to bring this about and a great deal of 
 fighting; though this fighting was not always what we should 
 call war in these days. Their enemies, especially the ^E'qui- 
 ans and the Vol'sci-ans, were so near that whenever they 
 had a good chance, they made sudden raids upon the Roman 
 lands, did all the damage they could, and then hurried home. 
 The Romans did the same thing in return. 
 Sometimes there were real battles, and a 
 city was taken by one party or the other. 
 Not much is known of these wars except 
 "' that the Romans were finally victorious; 
 
 Vvi but there are two or three fine old stories 
 about them that ought not to be forgotten. 
 One is the story of a valiant soldier named 
 ■/i\~T Caius Mar'ci-us. The Romans were be- 
 
 /( ' '- ' sieging Co-ri'o-li, a town held by the Vol- 
 
 scians, when the Volscians suddenly threw 
 j-^e^ — open the gates and dashed out upon them. 
 The young Caius Marcius and his follow- 
 ers repelled their attack, rushed in through 
 the open gates, caught up firebrands, and set fire to the 
 houses nearest the wall. Then the Volscian women and chil- 
 dren wailed, and the men cried out in terror, for they were 
 in the hands of their enemies. In memory of this exploit, 
 the Romans gave the young hero the name of Co-ri-o-la'- 
 
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 45 
 
 nus, and after this he was known as Caius Marcius Corio- 
 lanus. 
 
 A little later there was a famine in Rome. Corn was 
 brought from Sicily, and the senators were discussing at what 
 price it should be sold to the plebeians. Coriolanus had from 
 the first been indignant that the plebeians should be gaining 
 power in the state, and he said, "If the plebeians want corn 
 at the old rates, let them give up their tribunes and restore to 
 the senators their own proper rights." The plebeians learned 
 of this speech, and they were so angry that Coriolanus had 
 to flee to the Volscians. He offered to lead them against 
 Rome. They were delighted to have so famous a leader, and 
 he set out with a large army. He took one Roman town after 
 another, and pitched his camp only a few miles from Rome. 
 Then the Romans were in great alarm. They sent some of 
 the senators, old friends of Coriolanus, to ask him to make 
 peace; but he refused. Then the priests went to him, wear- 
 ing their robes of office and bearing the images of the gods; 
 but he still refused. Suddenly a friend told him that a great 
 company of noble ladies was approaching the camp. "And 
 unless my eyes deceive me," said the friend, "your mother 
 and wife and children are at their head." Coriolanus sprang 
 from his seat. Before him stood his mother, with his wife 
 on one side, and his children on the other. He would have 
 thrown his arms about his mother's neck, but she drew back. 
 "First let me know," she said sternly, "whether I am com- 
 ing to my son or to an enemy. Is it possible that you can 
 lay waste this land which gave you birth and has cared for 
 you? Look at your wife and children, and think that if you 
 
46 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 persist, they must either die or become slaves." The whole 
 company of women moaned and lamented and begged him 
 
 to spare the city. 
 His children and 
 his wife kissed 
 him and em- 
 braced him and 
 begged for mercy. 
 At last Coriola- 
 nus yielded. He 
 turned to his mo- 
 ther and said 
 sadly, "Mother, 
 this is a happy 
 victory for you 
 and for Rome, 
 but it is shame 
 and ruin for your son." He withdrew his troops and re- 
 turned to the Volscians. Some say that in their anger they 
 put him to death, and some say that he remained an exile 
 among them as long as he lived. 
 
 From the wars with the iEquians comes the story of Lu- 
 cius Quinc'ti-us, called Cin-cin-na'tus, or the curly-haired. 
 He was a patrician, but he was poor, and he and his wife 
 lived contentedly on their little farm just beyond the Tiber. 
 One warm day he had thrown off his toga, and, wearing only 
 his tunic, was busily ploughing when some men from Rome 
 came into the field. They greeted one another in friendly 
 fashion. Then the men spoke to him formally. "Listen to 
 
 Vignon 
 
 CORIOLANUS YIELDS TO HIS MOTHER'S PRAYERS 
 
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 47 
 
 the commands of the senate," they said, "for we are its am- 
 bassadors." Cincinnatus wiped off the dust and sweat, his 
 wife brought his toga, and when he had put it on, the ambas- 
 sadors saluted him with reverence as dictator. A vessel was 
 moored at the river bank, waiting to carry him across to the 
 city. On the opposite shore stood his three sons, his rela- 
 tives, and friends, and nearly all the patricians of Rome. 
 They were in grievous trouble, for the iEquians had shut up 
 the consul and his troops in a narrow valley, and no one could 
 form any plan for rescuing them. The Romans believed that 
 Cincinnatus was the one man who would know what to do, 
 and therefore they had made him dictator. Cincinnatus knew 
 how to think fast, and before night he had decided upon a 
 plan. He ordered every man in Rome to come to the Campus 
 Martius, with his weapons, food for five days, and twelve 
 long, sharp stakes. At sunset they set out on a rapid march 
 and reached the enemy at midnight. Cincinnatus arranged 
 his men in a line around the camp. "When the signal is 
 given," he said, "let each man dig a trench in front of him 
 and also drive down his stakes." In the morning the iEquians 
 found that they were shut in by a ditch, a palisade, and a line 
 of valiant soldiers, and they were forced to surrender. The 
 dictator set up two spears in the ground and tied a third 
 spear across their tops. This was called a yoke, and under it 
 the whole iEquian army was made to march to show that 
 they had become subject to the Roman people. The consul 
 and his men saluted Cincinnatus and voted him a golden 
 crown of a pound's weight. Then they set off for the city. 
 First came the iEquian leaders, led as captives ; then the mili- 
 
48 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 tary standards, and Cincinnatus in his chariot. Behind him 
 marched the army with the spoils of the enemy. There was 
 great rejoicing in Rome. Before every house along the way 
 was a table spread with food; and as the soldiers marched 
 through the city, they feasted and sang songs of victory. 
 Honors were showered upon Cincinnatus; but just as soon as 
 
 he was free, he laid 
 down the dictatorship 
 and went back quietly 
 to his little farm 
 across the Tiber. 
 
 From the wars with 
 the Etruscans comes 
 another good story, 
 that of Ca-mil'lus. 
 These Etruscans were 
 an interesting nation. 
 They built strong 
 walls and dikes and 
 handsome temples. 
 They owned many 
 ships and traded with 
 the peoples who lived 
 about the Med-i-ter- 
 ra'ne-an Sea. They 
 made statues and 
 paintings and jewelry. They were rich and powerful ; but 
 their power was growing less, for they had been beaten at 
 sea by the Greeks and attacked on land by the Gauls. 
 
 GATE OF AN OLD ETRUSCAN CITY 
 
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 49 
 
 These Gauls had come into Italy from what is now France, 
 and had taken possession of the country to the north of the 
 Etruscans. Now was the chance for the Romans. The patri- 
 cians were eager to make war upon the Etruscans, for this 
 was not long after Spurius Cassius had proposed the Agra- 
 rian Law, which has been mentioned before, and they were 
 afraid the plebeians would insist upon its being carried out. 
 If they were making war, they would have no time to think 
 about land laws; therefore the Romans laid siege to Ve'i-i, 
 one of the twelve Etruscan cities. They knew how to fight 
 in the field, but they were not wise in conducting sieges, 
 and year after year passed without the capture of the city. 
 Men had to be kept in service the year round, and for the 
 first time wages were given to Roman soldiers. Toward the 
 end of one summer, so the legend runs, the waters of the Al- 
 ban Lake suddenly began to rise, though no rain had fallen. 
 The Romans were alarmed, for they feared this was a sign 
 that the gods were angry with them. They prayed and they 
 offered sacrifices, but the waters continued to rise. Finally 
 some one heard that a soothsayer of Veii had laughed at the 
 labors of the Romans, and declared it to be decreed by 
 the Fates that Veii should not fall until the Alban Lake was 
 drained. The Romans sent to the Greek oracle at Delphi to 
 ask the god A-pol'lo if this was true, and there they received 
 the same answer. "Let the water out," commanded the 
 oracle, "but not to flow into the sea. Rather make courses 
 for it in your fields until it is spent." Then the Romans 
 bored through the side of the hill and let the water out. They 
 cut through hard rock for three miles and made a tunnel about 
 
50 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 three feet wide and five feet high. Through this the water 
 
 flowed, then into courses in the fields until it had been spent. 
 
 The Romans pressed in through this tunnel, and Veii was 
 
 taken. 
 Camillus took one town after another in E-tru'ri-a, the 
 
 country of the Etruscans, until at length he stood before 
 
 Fa-le'ri-i. There was 
 every reason to fear 
 that this city would 
 be as hard to cap- 
 ture as Veii had 
 been, for it was built 
 high upon an emi- 
 nence between two 
 great ravines. One 
 day, however, a man 
 appeared at the tent 
 of Camillus with a 
 little band of school- 
 boys. "These boys 
 are the sons of the 
 chief men of Fale- 
 rii," he said, "and 
 I am their tutor. 
 I deliver them up to 
 you, and with them 
 in your power, you 
 
 RAVINE ABOVE WHICH STOOD FALERTI J r . 
 
 can easily force their 
 fathers to surrender." The treacherous man expected to 
 
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 51 
 
 receive a great reward; but Camillus replied indignantly, 
 "We do not make war_with boys. When I win, I win by 
 bravery, labor, and arms." Then he stripped the wicked 
 tutor, tied his hands behind his back, and giving the boys 
 rods, told them to drive him back to the town. 
 
 On learning of this, the Fa-le'ri-ans declared that they 
 were willing to surrender to so just and honorable a com- 
 mander. So it was that Falerii fell into the hands of the Ro- 
 mans. The senate paid special honors to Camillus, because 
 he had taken the city of the Etruscans less by warfare than 
 by justice and good faith. Other cities of Etruria were taken 
 by the Romans, and finally they made a peace of twenty 
 years with the Etruscans. 
 
 When the people of Veii had seen that their city was about 
 to fall, they had sent messengers to Rome to ask for peace. 
 The senate had refused. Then one of the messengers had said, 
 "In the Book of the Fates it is written that our city shall fall; 
 but it is also written that if Veii falls, Rome, too, shall be de- 
 stroyed." The senators had paid no attention to this pro- 
 phecy, but they were soon to remember it ; for Rome was about 
 to fall. The fierce and barbarous Gauls, as has been said, were 
 coming down upon Etruria from the north. The Romans be- 
 came the allies of the Etruscans; but they did not prove to be 
 especially valuable allies, for when they reached the river 
 Al'li-a, a sudden fright seized upon them and they ran away 
 so fast as to get into one another's way. Some of them lost 
 their heads so completely that they ran to some hostile town 
 rather than toward Rome. This defeat at the river Allia in 
 390 b.c. was the worst that the Romans had ever known. 
 
12 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 The Gauls pushed on to Rome. So few Roman soldiers 
 remained that there was not a hope of saving the city. Most 
 of the people fled ; but a few of the strongest young men and 
 senators and their families shut themselves up in the citadel, 
 to hold that if possible, and carry on the Roman name. The 
 old men would not go with them to use up the scanty food. 
 They put on their richest robes, and those who had held office 
 arrayed themselves in the handsome garments worn by vic- 
 tors riding in triumph, and seated themselves in the Sen- 
 ate Chamber on their ivory chairs. The enemy pressed into 
 the forum, and there they saw these silent, dignified old men, 
 as calm and motionless as statues. The Gauls stood gazing 
 half in reverence and half in fear. Then one of them stroked 
 the long white beard of a senator, and the old Roman struck 
 him with his ivory sceptre. At this the Gauls struck blow 
 after blow. They killed every one that could be found, plun- 
 dered the houses and set them afire. 
 
 But the brave young warriors held the citadel, and seven 
 months later, they still held it, for it stood on a steep rock 
 and the Gauls had not found the way to it. At length they 
 discovered the path, and one dark night they climbed up in 
 single file so quietly that the foremost man succeeded in 
 reaching the top without being heard by the sentinels. The 
 Romans, however, had watchmen with keener ears than the 
 sentinels, for a flock of geese had been spared by the hungry 
 people because they were sacred to Juno, and they now set 
 up a cackling. Mar'cus Man'li-us, the commander, sprang 
 from his bed, snatched up his arms, and struck with his 
 shield the foremost Gaul. The Gaul fell headlong, carrying 
 
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 53 
 
 others with him. The Romans hurled down stones and jave- 
 lins. The Gauls 
 who were not 
 killed fled, and 
 the Capitol was 
 saved. 
 
 Soon the Gauls 
 heard that ene- 
 mies were invad- 
 ing their own 
 country, and 
 they offered to 
 leave Rome if the 
 Romans would 
 give them one 
 thousand pounds 
 of gold. The Ro- 
 mans were 
 obliged to agree, 
 and even when 
 they saw that 
 the weights of 
 the scales were 
 false, they could 
 only complain. 
 
 Bren'nus, leader of the Gauls, threw his sword into the scales 
 beside the weights and cried insolently, "Woe to the van- 
 quished!" But unexpected help was coming to the van- 
 quished. After the fall of Veii, the enemies of Camillus had 
 
 THE GEESE OF THE CAPITOL 
 
54 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 caused him to be accused of taking for himself some of the 
 treasures of the place, and he had indignantly left Rome. 
 Now in their time of distress, the Romans who had fled from 
 their city begged him to become their commander and lead 
 them back against the Gauls. "If such is the wish of my 
 countrymen in the Capitol," he replied. The men shut up in 
 the Capitol were glad enough not only to ask him to return, 
 but to elect him dictator. This was how it came about that 
 just when Brennus was saying, "Woe to the vanquished!" 
 Camillus appeared with his force and cried, "Rome is not 
 ransomed with gold, but with steel!" The Gauls were so 
 taken by surprise that they were easily routed. 
 
 The Gauls had been driven away, but the houses of the 
 Romans were only heaps of ruins and cinders. It is small 
 
 wonder that they were dismayed. 
 "Let us go to Veii," they cried, "and 
 make that our home." According to 
 the custom of victors, they had either 
 slain the people of Veii or sold them 
 as slaves, and the vacant city stood 
 ready for them. Camillus, however, 
 finally persuaded them not to desert 
 their homes and the places sacred to 
 the rites of the gods, and they set to 
 work to rebuild the city. The poor 
 plebeians were obliged to borrow mo- 
 ney, and soon many of them were in 
 great distress. The good Marcus 
 Manlius helped them in every way that he could. He sold 
 
 ROMAN SOLDIERS WITH 
 
 SHIELDS 
 
 (From Column of Trajan) 
 
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 55 
 
 his property and paid the debts of many poor people. It 
 was whispered that he was trying to win the favor of the 
 crowd that he might be made king, and he was put to death. 
 The Gauls came again more than once, but they were finally 
 so harassed by one Lucius Fu'ri-us Camillus, a nephew of 
 the first Camillus, that they fled, and Rome was free from 
 them. The houses and temples were rebuilt; but there was 
 one loss which nothing could make up, and that was of the 
 old records kept by the priests of what had taken place in the 
 city from year to year. These were burned with the temples, 
 and that is why we have only legends for the history of the 
 early days of Rome. 
 
 Rome had now fought with the iEquians, Volscians, 
 Etruscans, and Gauls; but lying to the southeast was the 
 land of the Sam-ni'tes, and between them and the Romans, 
 war arose. The Samnites were a bold, hardy race of moun- 
 taineers. They attacked Cap'u-a, one of the cities founded 
 by the Greeks in Italy; and Capua begged Rome to come to 
 her aid. This war was bitter while it lasted, for the Samnites 
 were almost as strong as the Romans. Rome was glad when 
 peace was made, for she was now having trouble, not with 
 her enemies, but with her old allies, the Latins. They were 
 willing and glad to be friends with Rome, but they did not 
 wish to be under her command. "We are as strong as you," 
 they said, "and where there is equal strength, should there 
 not be an equal share in the government? Let half of the 
 senate and one of the consuls be Latins, and we are ready to 
 call ourselves Romans and take Rome for our fatherland." 
 
 The proud Roman senators were angry and scornful. "If 
 
56 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 a Latin should be permitted to enter our senate," one of 
 them cried, "I would come with my sword and strike him 
 down with my own hand." War followed. The greatest 
 battle was fought near Mt. Ve-su'vi-us. There is a legend 
 that on the night before the battle each consul dreamed that 
 the side would win whose general should of his own will give 
 his life for his country. Both consuls were eager to sacrifice 
 themselves; but they agreed that the one whose troops first 
 began to give way should be the victim. The troops of De'- 
 ci-us Mus were the first to fall back. Then Decius cast his 
 spear upon the ground and, standing upon it, cried aloud, "Ye 
 gods, I beg that you will grant victory to the Roman people ; 
 and as a sacrifice I now give myself up to death." He 
 mounted his horse and dashed into the midst of the enemy 
 and was slain. 
 
 The other consul, Ti'tus Manlius, made an even greater 
 sacrifice for his country. The two armies were so nearly 
 matched that the Romans needed to take every care. Orders 
 were given that there should be no single combats; but one 
 of the Latins called to the son of Manlius: "Come forth, 
 come forth, and I will show you how much better a Latin 
 can fight than a Roman." The young man forgot his father's 
 commands, galloped forth, and slew his enemy. He and his 
 troop hastened to tell the consul of the victory. But the con- 
 sul ordered the trumpet to be blown to call the assembly 
 together, and told them of his son's disobedience. "I must 
 forget either the state or myself," he said sadly. Then he 
 ordered his son to be bound to a stake and beheaded. It was 
 by such stern patriotism as this that Rome won her victories. 
 
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 57 
 
 The Latins were obliged to yield, and they waited anx- 
 iously to see how Rome would treat them. Rome was exceed- 
 ingly wise. She made a separate treaty with every city; she 
 allowed them to trade with her, but 
 not with one another; and she pro- 
 mised each city that if its people 
 proved faithful to her, they should 
 some day be counted as Roman citi- 
 zens. 
 
 It was not long, however, before 
 Rome, too, had to meet defeat. The 
 Samnites attacked a town friendly to 
 her. The Roman troops hurried to 
 the rescue, but on the way they were 
 caught by the enemy in a narrow 
 valley called the Cau'dine Forks and 
 were all taken prisoners. The father of 
 Ga'vi-us Pon'ti-us, the Sam'nite general, was a feeble old 
 man, but of great wisdom; and Pontius sent a wagon to 
 bring him to the camp to advise what to do with the captives. 
 "There is no middle course," said the old man. "You must 
 either let them go free, and so win the friendship of the 
 Romans; or else you must slay every man of them, and so 
 weaken the Roman state that it cannot harm you." Unfor- 
 tunately for himself, Pontius did not follow his father's ad- 
 vice, but thought he had discovered a "middle course." He 
 made the Roman consuls agree to a disgraceful peace, took 
 away all arms from the troops, and sent the whole army 
 under the yoke. 
 
 SAMNITE FOOTMAN 
 (From a Vaae) 
 
58 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 When the Romans heard of this, they put on mourning, 
 closed their shops, and postponed their festivals. "Such a 
 treaty must never be kept," they declared. "No consuls 
 had any right to make it." "Either keep it or else put your 
 troops back into the valley," retorted the Samnites. "Their 
 weapons shall be given back, and we will see how the matter 
 will end." The Romans refused, and so the war went on. 
 Before long Pontius found that the advice of his father had 
 been wise; for the Romans won a decisive victory, captured 
 Pontius, and put him to death. At length the Samnites had 
 to yield. 
 
 The peace with the Samnites did not last long, for the 
 Romans were becoming so strong that the Gauls and Etrus- 
 cans gladly united with the Samnites to try to conquer them. 
 At Sen-ti'num the Romans in 295 b. c. won a decisive victory, 
 although it was five years longer before the resolute Samnites 
 sued for peace. 
 
 It was now plain that Rome was to be mistress of Italy. 
 Even the wealthy Greek towns in the south were under her 
 rule except Ta-ren'tum, and with that she had a treaty. One 
 of the terms of this treaty was that no Roman vessel should 
 enter the harbor of Tarentum. One summer noon the peo- 
 ple of the place were sitting in their theatre. The seats ran 
 up the hillside and gave a view of the bay. Suddenly the 
 whole audience left their places and hurried to the shore, for 
 they had caught sight of ten Roman vessels sailing toward 
 their city. The Ta-ren'tines had an excellent navy and were 
 good sailors. They sailed out to meet the Romans, and it 
 was not long before they had sunk four Roman ships and 
 
HOW ROME BECAME RULER OF ITALY 59 
 
 taken many captives. When envoys were sent from Rome 
 to demand an explanation, the Tarentines insulted them and 
 laughed at the mistakes they made in trying to talk Greek. 
 War followed. The Tarentines persuaded Pyr'rhus, king of 
 E-pi'rus, to come to their aid. Fortunately for him, he 
 brought twenty elephants with him. Neither the Romans 
 nor their horses were accustomed to elephants, and Pyr- 
 rhus won the battle of Her-a-cle'a in 280 b. c. Nevertheless, 
 the Romans fought so bravely 
 and Pyrrhus lost so many 
 men, that he declared a few 
 more such victories would 
 ruin him. He sent to the Ro- 
 mans his most eloquent am- 
 bassador to discuss making 
 peace. The Romans would 
 have yielded to his request 
 had it not been for one Ap- 
 pius Claudius Cse'cus, a man 
 who had formerly been con- 
 sul and also censor. 
 
 He was now old and blind; but notwithstanding this, he 
 entered the senate and in a burning speech begged the sena- 
 tors never to make peace so long as Pyrrhus was in Italy. 
 The envoy of Pyrrhus returned to his master. "The Roman 
 senate is an assembly of kings," he declared. Still, Pyrrhus 
 did not give up at once. He spent two years in Sicily, help- 
 ing the Greek colonies of the island against the Car-tha- 
 gin'i-ans of northern Africa; then he met the Romans at 
 
 WAR ELEPHANT 
 
60 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Ben-e-ven'tum in 275 b. c, and was so completely overcome 
 that he had to return to Epirus. Tarentum yielded, and soon 
 the other Greek cities fell into the hands of the Romans. An 
 Italian "city" meant not only the town itself within the 
 walls, but also the district surrounding the town, so that in 
 conquering the Italian cities Rome had conquered the whole 
 country. From the "toe" of Italy to the tiny rivers Ru'bi- 
 con and Ma'cra, the whole land was in the power of the 
 Romans. 
 
THE ROMANS OF THE EARLY REPUBLIC 61 
 
 mm-^^m 
 
 
 —JE 
 
 
 M 
 
 MARBLE ALTAE SHOWING LEGENDS OF OLD ROME 
 (Found at Ostia) 
 
 VI 
 
 THE ROMANS OF THE EARLY REPUBLIC AND 
 THEIR WAYS 
 
 Even if there were no truth in the old stories of Rome, they 
 would, nevertheless, tell us much about the character of the 
 Romans. People are always inclined to become like those 
 whom they admire, and therefore the best Romans must 
 have been like the heroes of the legends. They were, then, 
 
62 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 dignified and somewhat stern in manner, with great respect 
 for the law and strong love of country. So long as the father 
 lived, the son must yield to him in all private matters; but as 
 a citizen the son was free, and if he happened to hold a 
 higher office in the state than his father, the father must 
 show him due honor. There is a story that a famous old gen- 
 eral, Fa'bi-us Cunc-ta'tor, had a brilliant son who was made 
 consul. This office put him at the head of the army, and the 
 father was, therefore, under him. The general rode up to 
 greet his son as usual, but the son bade him dismount before 
 he ventured to address a consul. The old general whom all 
 Rome delighted to honor was greatly pleased and said, "My 
 son, I wished to see whether you would remember the respect 
 due you as consul of the Roman people." 
 
 In the earlier times, the Romans lived very simply. Their 
 houses were at first a single room with a hole in the roof to let 
 the smoke out, and a hole in the floor to drain off the rain 
 that leaked in through the roof. The walls were black with 
 the smoke that did not go out. This room, the a'tri-um, was 
 the living-room of the home. Here the wife and her daughters 
 spun and wove. Here was an altar with images of the ances- 
 tors of the family who were worshiped as household gods, 
 and were supposed to protect the home. Here were a table, a 
 bed, a hearth for the open fire, and not much besides. Up to 
 the time when Tarentum was captured, even those who were 
 well-to-do lived in houses that had simply added to this 
 atrium a few rooms for sleeping, although as Rome increased 
 in wealth and power, the houses of the rich grew more spacious 
 and more elegant. 
 
THE ROMANS OF THE EARLY REPUBLIC 63 
 
 The food was as simple as the house. The early Romans 
 ate peas, beans, onions, and other vegetables, and a sort of 
 porridge made of wheat; but meat was not often used. 
 
 The dress of a Roman consisted chiefly of a toga. This was 
 a long oval scarf, perhaps ten feet 
 wide. It was folded lengthwise and 
 draped over the left shoulder, un- 
 der the right, and over the left 
 again. One end hung down in the 
 back, while the other was tucked 
 into the fold or loop in front. Ar- 
 ranging the toga was an important 
 matter. A man would have been 
 laughed at from one end of the 
 town to the other who ventured 
 out into the streets with his toga 
 draped over the right shoulder in- 
 stead of the left. Under the toga, 
 the Roman wore a tunic, or kind 
 of shirt without sleeves. If the 
 weather was cold, he put on one or 
 two extra tunics, and perhaps a sort 
 of mantle. Hats were not worn un- 
 less a man was traveling and the 
 sun was uncomfortably warm. In 
 the house the Roman wore sandals 
 on his bare feet, but for the street he had shoes somewhat 
 like those of to-day. The tunic and toga were made of white 
 woolen cloth, but members of the senate were allowed to 
 
 ROMAN IN A TOGA 
 
 (From a Statue in the Museum at 
 
 Naples) 
 
64 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 have a broad purple stripe running down the front of the 
 tunic. Slaves wore tunics and sometimes, in cold weather, 
 cloaks; but they were never permitted to wear the toga, for 
 that was regarded as the special dress of the Roman citizen. 
 The Roman boy wore a toga with a broad purple border 
 until he was about seventeen. Then his father and a com- 
 pany of friends led him to the forum to enroll his name as 
 a citizen, and after this he was permitted to 
 wear the "manly toga," as it was called. 
 
 The Roman woman wore a tunic and 
 vest, and over these another tunic long 
 enough to touch the floor. This was the 
 stola. It was kept in place by a girdle. 
 When the Roman lady went out of doors, 
 she put on a palla, or shawl of white 
 woolen, draping it in much the same fash- 
 ion as the toga of the men. 
 
 Children were sent to school, usually in 
 the care of some trusty slave who was to 
 see that they behaved well in the streets. 
 It is not probable that in early times they 
 learned much of books besides reading, 
 writing, and a little arithmetic ; but they 
 were taught to ride, swim, and use arms, 
 in order that they might be of value in de- 
 fending the state, and they were most care- 
 fully trained to be honest and truthful, to 
 worship the gods, to love their country, 
 and above all things to be strictly obedient. If a child dis- 
 
 A EOMAN LADY 
 (From a Marble Statue 
 Found in a Roman Tomb) 
 
THE ROMANS OF THE EARLY REPUBLIC 65 
 
 obeyed his father, the father might sell him as a slave or even 
 put him to death. If a man broke the law of the state, his fel- 
 low-citizens thought he had forfeited all right to live. 
 
 The Romans 
 believed that the 
 spirits of the dead 
 lingered around 
 their tombs. If 
 these spirits re- 
 ceived due honor 
 from their de- 
 scendants, t h e y 
 were happy and 
 kept loving watch 
 over the home. If 
 they were neg- 
 lected, they were 
 miserable and be- 
 came mischievous 
 and dangerous. 
 The goddess of the hearth was Vesta, and the fire on the 
 hearth was her symbol. Each family paid respect to Vesta 
 at their own fireside; but besides this, a public temple was 
 built in her honor, and there six maidens watched her sacred 
 fires that they might never be permitted to go out. The 
 Romans worshiped Jupiter as father of the gods. The god 
 of war was Mars; the god of property and commerce was 
 Her'cu-les. These four were the principal gods of the early 
 Romans, but there were hosts of others. There was Juno, 
 
 SCHOOL OF VESTAL VIRGINS 
 
66 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 wife of Jupiter; Neptune, god of the waters; Mi-ner'va the 
 wise; Ve'nus the beautiful; the two-faced Janus, whose tem- 
 ple was open in war and closed in 
 peace — indeed, there was a god for 
 every action. When a Roman was 
 about to carry his corn into the 
 barn, he offered a sacrifice to the 
 god of carrying corn into barns and 
 prayed that he might do it success- 
 fully. 
 
 The worship of the Romans was 
 practiced as a sort of barter be- 
 tween themselves and the gods. 
 They believed that if they did not 
 worship the gods, some evil would 
 come upon them; but that if they 
 offered up prayers and sacrifices, they would get favors. 
 They thought that it was especially pleasing to the gods to 
 watch athletic games; and therefore if a Roman magistrate 
 wished to make sure of good harvests for the people, or if a 
 military commander was in danger of defeat, he would pro- 
 mise the gods that if they would help him, he would celebrate 
 games, or athletic contests, in their honor, such as wrestling 
 and racing. When any important business was to be under- 
 taken, the augur, who interpreted the will of the gods, was 
 always consulted. He went to some high place, prayed, and 
 offered up sacrifices, then seated himself with his face to the 
 east to watch the sky. There were many fixed rules for inter- 
 preting what he might see or hear. For instance, it was a good 
 
 JUNO 
 (In the Ludovisi Villa, Rome) 
 
THE ROMANS OF THE EARLY REPUBLIC 67 
 
 sign if a raven croaked on the right; but if a crow appeared, 
 it must croak on the left to bring good luck. Thunder on the 
 left was fortunate for everything but holding the comitia. A 
 flight of birds in one part of the sky was favorable to any 
 proposed plan, but in another part, unfavorable. There were 
 other omens than these appearances in the sky. To spill salt 
 or stumble or sneeze was sure to bring bad luck unless the 
 suppliant made some gift to the gods to ward off their dis- 
 pleasure. 
 
 In celebrating a marriage, the 
 augur was always called upon to 
 "take the auspices," that is, to 
 watch the various omens and see 
 whether they were favorable. 
 This was done before sunrise, 
 for the wedding ceremonies re- 
 quired a whole day. The guests 
 came together at the house of 
 the parents of the bride and lis- 
 tened eagerly while the augur 
 reported what he had seen, and 
 explained its meaning. Then all 
 eyes were turned upon the bride 
 
 and bridegroom, for the words of marriage were now to be 
 spoken. The bride wore a snow-white tunic. Her hair had 
 been parted into six locks with the point of a spear, and over 
 it was thrown a red veil. After the words of marriage had 
 been said, some woman friend of the bride's family led the 
 couple to the altar. They walked around it hand in hand 
 
 A ROMAN AUGUR 
 
STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 and offered up a cow, a pig, and a sheep. Then the guests 
 cried, "Feliciter! Feliciter!" that is, "Good wishes!" or 
 
 "May you be hap- 
 py!" and the feast 
 began. At nightfall 
 the bride pretended 
 to cling to her mo- 
 ther, while the bride- 
 groom tore her away 
 and carried her to her 
 new home. This show 
 of force was perhaps 
 in memory of the 
 stealing of the Sabine 
 women in the days of 
 Romulus. The jour- 
 ney to the home of 
 the bridegroom was 
 not a solitary one by any means, for anybody followed who 
 chose. Torch-bearers led the procession, men played on flutes, 
 and the people sang songs. There were always many boys in 
 the company, for the bridegroom carried a supply of nuts to 
 scatter among them. This was to show that he was throwing 
 away all childish things. At the threshold the bride paused, 
 for there the evil goddesses called the Furies were supposed 
 to dwell. If she were to stumble, it would be a most unlucky 
 omen; and therefore she was always lifted into the atrium. 
 On the following day the wedding guests came together 
 again, for now it was the turn of the bridegroom to give a 
 
 A ROMAN BRIDE 
 
THE ROMANS OF THE EARLY REPUBLIC 69 
 
 feast. The household gods were not forgotten, and the bride 
 offered a sacrifice to them to show that she was now a mem- 
 ber of her husband's family and joined in the worship of his 
 ancestors. 
 
 It is no wonder that the Romans wanted the gods to favor 
 their enterprises, for they undertook works of great magni- 
 tude. As has been said before, they did not hesitate to set to 
 work to drain a lake by means of a tunnel, the building of 
 which would be no small undertaking even with modern 
 machinery. The Cloaca Maxima, the great sewer built by 
 Tarquinius Priscus, 
 is twenty-five cen- 
 turies old and still 
 does its work. They 
 built channels under 
 ground and mighty 
 aqueducts on lofty 
 arches above ground 
 to bring fresh water 
 into the city. In the 
 reign of Tarquinius 
 Priscus, they built 
 the Circus Maximus, 
 — a race-course in a 
 valley, with seats ris- 
 ing in tiers on the 
 slopes of the hills. This was large enough to hold many thou- 
 sand spectators. The Romans were also famous builders of 
 roads. If a city came under their rule, they immediately 
 
 FESTIVAL IN HONOR OF FLORA, THE GODDESS 
 OF FLOWERS 
 
70 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 CHARIOT RACE, CIRCUS MAXIMUS 
 
 Wagner 
 
 built a direct road to it. The most famous of the Roman 
 roads is the one leading from Rome to Capua. It is called 
 the Vi'a Ap'pi-a, or Ap'pi-an Way, because it was built while 
 Appius Claudius Caecus was censor. The roadway was first 
 covered with broken stone and cement; then upon this were 
 laid exceedingly large blocks of hard rock, cut so smooth and 
 square that the pavement seems almost as if made in one 
 piece. 
 
 The one aim of the Romans was to make Rome powerful; 
 and the chief object of these roads was to enable them to 
 march bodies of soldiers to any given place without delay. 
 Therefore they did not trouble themselves to search out easy 
 grades for their roads; they made them as straight as pos- 
 sible. If a valley was in the way, they built lofty viaducts 
 across it. If a mountain stood before them, they dug a tunnel 
 through it. If it had not been for these roads, the Romans 
 could never have held Italy under their rule; but every con- 
 quered city knew that at the suspicion of a revolt, the terrible 
 
THE ROMANS OF THE EARLY REPUBLIC 71 
 
 Roman troops would come down upon them, and that the 
 punishments of Rome were swift and severe. 
 
 Another method by which Rome kept her conquests was 
 by a much pleasanter means than fighting or threatening, 
 that is, by founding colonies. When Rome overcame a dis- 
 trict, part of the land was always given to Roman citizens 
 who would go there to found colonies. These colonies were 
 not mere military camps; they were founded by men who 
 had come to live quietly on their farms. They governed the 
 colonies as Rome was governed, and they practiced the man- 
 ners and customs of Rome. The result was that the con- 
 quered people soon learned to talk Latin and to understand 
 Roman ways of living and thinking and ruling. Just as far 
 as possible the Romans made it difficult for these conquered 
 towns to have much to do with one another, but easy to have 
 dealings with Rome. As their people came to know more of 
 Rome, they could hardly help learning to admire her and 
 wishing to become citizens. So it was that Rome held fast 
 whatever country came into her hands. It is wonderful that 
 a tiny settlement surrounded by enemies should have been 
 able to grow into a state strong enough to overcome all these 
 enemies. It is still more wonderful that having overcome 
 them, she should have succeeded in making them not only 
 obedient to her rule, but proud of being governed by a city 
 that they had come to look upon with respect and admira- 
 tion. 
 
72 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 A SQUARE IN MODERN ROME 
 Statue of Marcus Aurelius in centre 
 
 VII 
 
 HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 
 
 Italy is shaped like a boot, and the toe of the boot points 
 across Sicily and the Mediterranean to Africa where the 
 city of Car'thage once stood. Carthage was founded about 
 one hundred years earlier than Rome. The land about it was 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 73 
 
 most fertile, and it had an excellent harbor. The Carthagin- 
 ians were famous merchants, and they had a large number of 
 trading vessels. They loaded these with gold, ivory, linen, 
 precious stones, and slaves from Africa; embroideries and 
 purple cloth and glass from the eastern coast of the Mediter- 
 ranean; iron from the little island of El'ba; wax from Cor'- 
 si-ca; gold from Spain; and oil and wine from Sicily; and 
 these products they carried from port to port. Chiefly 
 through this trading, Carthage had become wealthy: her 
 rule extended over all northern Africa to the westward, and 
 over several large islands; southern Spain paid her tribute; 
 her trading posts and colonies were so thickly scattered over 
 the Mediterranean shores that the Cartha- 
 ginians declared this sea to be only a Car- 
 thaginian lake, wherein no one might venture 
 to wash his hands without their permission. 
 They could well defend their claims, for they 
 had, besides trading vessels, a powerful navy 
 of warships. 
 
 Just between Carthage and the "toe" of 
 Italy lies the island of Sicily, only ninety 
 miles from the African shores. The Cartha- 
 ginians traded with Sicily, and finally 
 planted colonies on the western coast. On 
 the eastern coast were some Greek colonies, 
 settled soon after the founding of Rome. 
 The Greeks were traders as well as the 
 Carthaginians, and the two peoples carried on a constant 
 warfare. In the midst of this enmity, some military adven- 
 
 CARTHAGINIAN 
 FOOT SOLDIER 
 
74 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 turers from Italy took possession of Mes-sa'na (Mes-si'na), 
 the Si-cil'i-an town nearest Italy. The Greeks attempted to 
 drive them away, and the Italians asked the Romans for aid. 
 "We are Mam'er- tines (sons of Mars)," they said, "and you, 
 too, are descended from Mars. We have come for help to 
 our brothers." The Romans did not wish to help these 
 pirates; but if aid was refused, they would ask the Cartha- 
 ginians to be- 
 come their al- 
 lies, and Mes- 
 sana would 
 become a Car- 
 thaginian town. 
 That would 
 never do, de- 
 clared the Ro- 
 mans ; and so 
 the first war with Carthage began. Carthage had been 
 founded by Phce-nic'i-ans, whom the Romans called Pce'ni. 
 Therefore the wars with Carthage were known as the Pu'- 
 nic Wars. 
 
 For nearly twenty years the Romans had paid no atten- 
 tion to their navy, and they were now almost without war- 
 ships. They borrowed a few from the Greek colonies in south- 
 ern Italy and succeeded in landing troops on the shores of 
 Sicily. It was not easy to win a victory over the Romans, 
 and they were as successful in Sicily as elsewhere. They 
 began to dream of more than winning a few Sicilian cities 
 and taking some land and treasure. Why not go on and 
 
 SLINGERS IN CARTHAGINIAN ARMY 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 75 
 
 conquer the whole island? There was one extremely good 
 reason "why not," and that was their lack of warships. 
 While they were in Sicily, the Carthaginians had been send- 
 ing their ships of war along the Italian coast, and what the 
 Romans had gained in Sicily they had lost at home. More- 
 over, even if they captured the island, they could not hope 
 to keep it if they had no navy with which to meet the attacks 
 of the Carthaginians. "We must build warships," the Romans 
 declared; but that was more easily said than done, for no one 
 knew how. The ships of war of those days — galleys, they 
 were called — were moved by both sails and oars, but the 
 Romans did not understand how to sail against the wind; 
 therefore, in a naval battle, where it was necessary to move 
 rapidly, they depended chiefly upon the use of oars. The 
 oarsmen sat in tiers, one above another, the higher tier using 
 longer oars than the one below. The Romans could borrow 
 of the Etruscans and the Greeks galleys with two or three 
 banks of oars; but these would be helpless before the Car- 
 thaginian galleys with five banks. 
 
 People as determined as the Romans can usually find a 
 way out of a difficulty. A Carthaginian warship was wrecked 
 on their coast, and they thought they could make this serve 
 as a model. They began to cut down trees. In sixty days, if 
 we may trust the old story, a forest had been made into a 
 fleet of one hundred and twenty warships. The Romans had 
 not forgotten that the ships must have men; and while the 
 shore resounded with the noise of hammers and axes and 
 saws, soldiers were sitting on tiers of benches, practicing a 
 sort of dry land rowing. At length the ships were ready; but 
 
76 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 they must have been rather clumsy, and even the rowing 
 practice can hardly have made very skillful sailors. 
 
 Probably the Carthaginians laughed scornfully when they 
 had their first view of the enemy's fleet. Probably, too, they 
 wondered why the ignorant Romans came out to battle 
 without lowering their masts, as the custom was, and what 
 could be the use of a queer contrivance shaped like a draw- 
 bridge and 
 held up to the 
 masts by 
 ropes running 
 over pulleys. 
 They found 
 out before 
 long ; for as 
 soon as a Ro- 
 man vessel 
 was brought 
 near a Car- 
 thagi ni a n 
 galley, down 
 fell the draw- 
 bridge, and a 
 heavy spike 
 
 at the end pierced the enemy's deck, holding the two ships 
 together. Over the drawbridge rushed the fierce Roman sol- 
 diers. It was not long before they had taken nearly half the 
 Carthaginian fleet. The rest had fled. 
 
 Then the Romans began to dream of a time when the 
 
 A SEA FIGHT 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 77 
 
 Mediterranean should be, not a Carthaginian, but a Roman 
 lake. Du-il'li-us, the consul who had won this battle, was 
 most highly honored. The senate decreed that a pillar 
 adorned with the beaks of the ships which he had captured 
 should be set up in the forum in memory of his victory; and 
 that as long as he lived he should be escorted home from 
 evening visits to his friends by torches and music. 
 
 The Romans won another great naval victory; then the 
 consul Reg'u-lus led them to the coast of Africa. There they 
 burned and robbed and destroyed. If it had not been for the 
 wisdom of a Greek who was in Africa, Carthage might have 
 been conquered at once. "You have cavalry and elephants," 
 he said to the Carthaginians, "but you try to use them on 
 the hills. Choose a level battlefield and you will win." They 
 begged him to lead them. He did so and won. Regulus was 
 taken prisoner. 
 
 Meantime the war was going on in Sicily. The Romans 
 had learned to meet the charge of elephants, and now they 
 not only won a victory by repulsing the animals, but captured 
 them and carried them to Rome. A number of Carthaginian 
 nobles were taken captive in this same battle, and the Cartha- 
 ginians sent Regulus to Rome to propose an exchange of pris- 
 oners and to offer terms of peace. They thought this would 
 surely be brought about because they had made him 'promise 
 to return if the Romans refused their offers. They did not 
 know how brave and unselfish he was. He did not think it 
 would be for the gain of Rome to exchange prisoners, or 
 to make a treaty with Carthage, and he persuaded the sen- 
 ate not to consent to it. Then he took his last look at his 
 
78 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 beloved home city, kept his word, and went back to the tor- 
 ture and death that he knew were awaiting him in Carthage. 
 For twenty-four years the war went on. Then peace was 
 
 made. The 
 Carthagin- 
 i a n s paid 
 Rome a large 
 sum of mo- 
 ney, surren- 
 dered their 
 prisoners, 
 and gave up 
 all claim to 
 Sicily. Both 
 nations were 
 exhausted, 
 and they 
 were glad to 
 have the war 
 
 REGULUS LEAVING ROME FOR CARTHAGE COHie tO an 
 
 end for a 
 time, but neither expected the peace to last for many years. 
 
 The first question for Rome to settle was how to govern 
 Sicily. Up to this time she had used two methods of govern- 
 ment for conquered peoples. The Latins she treated almost 
 like equals. She gave them some of the rights of citizens and 
 also the hope that if they were faithful to her, they should 
 some time become full citizens. The other tribes of Italy she 
 allowed to govern their own cities, but required them to be 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 79 
 
 obedient to her. Sicily she made into what was called a 
 "province"; that is, a district ruled by magistrates sent from 
 Rome. She collected taxes from the islanders, but she gave 
 them no hope that they could ever become Roman citizens. 
 
 Rome soon gained a second province, for she forced Car- 
 thage to yield Sar-diu'i-a and Corsica to her. These she ruled 
 in the same way as Sicily, that is, as if the people were not 
 allies but subjects. She was rapidly increasing in power on 
 the water as well as on the land, and now no one could dis- 
 pute her rule of the western Mediterranean. 
 
 She was also gaining power to the eastward. For a long 
 time the people of Il-lyr'i-a, on the eastern shores of the 
 Ad-ri-at'ic, had been a nation of pirates. If a rich merchant 
 vessel sailed into the Adriatic Sea, it was quite likely to meet 
 a fleet of pirate ships darting out upon it from behind some 
 promontory. These pirates made the I-o'ni-an Sea almost as 
 unsafe as the Adriatic and even attacked the coast cities 
 of Italy and Greece. The Romans broke up this piracy 
 completely, and so won the gratitude of the Greeks. 
 
 The Romans now began to think about pushing to the 
 north ; and they founded colonies on the land that they had 
 taken from the Gauls long before. They had already built 
 the great road called the Fla-min'i-an Way, and now they 
 extended it much farther north. The Gauls were alarmed, 
 and they made ready to come down upon Rome. Now it was 
 the turn of the Romans to be frightened, for they remem- 
 bered an old prophecy that some day Gauls would occupy a 
 part of the Roman territory. There is a tradition that to 
 fulfill this prophecy and so make themselves safe, they seized 
 
80 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 DYING GAUL 
 (Sometimes called Dying Gladiator) 
 
 two Gauls and buried them alive in the city. Then they did 
 something decidedly more reasonable; they sent for the 
 
 troops that were 
 away from 
 Rome, and with 
 their help the 
 Gallic forces 
 were almost ut- 
 terly destroyed. 
 In the strug- 
 gle of Rome with 
 Carthage, Rome 
 had one great 
 advantage; 
 namely, most of her soldiers were citizens or hoped to be- 
 come citizens, and were eager that she should win. The 
 soldiers of Carthage, on the contrary, were hired to fight. 
 They cared little whether Carthage or Rome was the win- 
 ner, provided they had their pay. After they were sent 
 home from Sicily, there was no pay ready, for the treasury 
 was empty. Then the Carthaginians saw what a mistake 
 they had made in not being as fair as the Romans to the 
 countries that they had conquered, for the soldiers had little 
 trouble in persuading the Carthaginian colonies to revolt. 
 A savage war followed; and if Carthage had not had an 
 especially brilliant general, she might possibly have been 
 destroyed without the attacks of the Romans. 
 
 This general's name was Ha-mil'car. He had met the Ro- 
 mans in Sicily, and had fought successfully against them. He 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 81 
 
 was wise as well as brave, and he had insisted upon asking 
 for peace, because he saw that Carthage must have time to 
 train soldiers before she could hope to stand against Rome. 
 Money, too, was needed; and it was decided that the best 
 way to get it was for Hamilcar to go to Spain and gain firm 
 hold of the southern part of the country and also develop the 
 mines of gold and silver. 
 
 He was soon ready to start, the augurs declared that the 
 omens were favorable, and he was about to offer up a final 
 sacrifice to the gods when a thought struck him. His little 
 nine-year old son Han'ni-bal was watching the preparations 
 for the sacrifice when his father called him and asked, "Do 
 you wish to go to the war with me?" "Yes," the boy cried 
 eagerly. "Then lay your hand upon the sacrifice," said Ha- 
 milcar, "and swear that you will never be a friend to the 
 Roman people." "I swear that I will never be a friend to 
 the Roman people," the child repeated solemnly; and he 
 never forgot his oath. 
 
 The vessels set sail for Spain. Hamilcar understood how 
 to deal with the natives, and by his wisdom and kindness 
 more than by warfare, he gained for Carthage the country as 
 far north as the Ta'gus River. Nine years later, he was slain 
 in battle. The Carthaginians would have been glad to give 
 the command of the army into the hands of the brilliant 
 young Hannibal; but he was only nineteen, so they gave it 
 to Hamilcar's son-in-law, Has'dru-bal. Seven years later, 
 Hasdrubal was killed; and now Hannibal, though only 
 twenty-six years of age, was put at the head of the Car- 
 thaginian forces in Spain. 
 
82 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Two years later, he felt that he was prepared to conquer 
 Rome. He began by besieging Sa-gun'tum, a Greek colony in 
 Spain. Saguntum had made a treaty with Rome, and Rome 
 sent Hannibal a formal warning not to harass the friends of 
 the Roman people. Hannibal paid no more attention to it 
 than to the wind, but pushed on the siege. The day came 
 when the people of Saguntum saw that they must yield. 
 They meant that the Carthaginians should gain as little as 
 possible by the surrender, so they built a great fire, and into 
 it they tossed all their most valuable possessions. Then in 
 
 utter despair they threw them- 
 selves into the flames. 
 
 Of course the Romans did 
 not bear tamely such treat- 
 ment of their allies. They sent 
 ambassadors to Carthage to 
 demand the surrender of Han- 
 nibal and his principal officers. 
 The Carthaginians would not 
 give them up. Then the chief 
 ambassador gathered up the 
 folds of his toga as if some- 
 thing were wrapped in it, and 
 cried , ' ' Here are peace and war ; 
 which do you choose?" "Give 
 us whichever you will," was the reply. The Roman shook 
 out his toga, and said, "Then we give you war." "We wel- 
 come it with all our hearts," cried several of the councillors. 
 Hannibal was in Spain meanwhile. He sent for African 
 
 HANNIBAL 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 83 
 
 troops to defend Spain, and despatched Spanish troops to 
 defend Africa. Each army was then among strangers, and 
 it would not be easy for the soldiers to succeed in any possible 
 revolt. After the safety of Carthage and of Spain had been 
 provided for, Hannibal was 
 ready to attempt to con- 
 quer Rome. He did not be- 
 lieve that the Romans 
 would ever be overcome by 
 sea fights and attacks here 
 and there upon the coast 
 cities. He thought that it 
 would be far wiser to go 
 from Spain by land and 
 come down into Italy from 
 the north, and so be in the 
 very heart of the Roman 
 possessions. He did not 
 expect to have to meet the 
 
 forces of Rome without allies, for he believed that the Gauls 
 would be willing to help him, and he thought that although 
 the conquered Italian states would probably be afraid to join 
 him at first, yet they would surely be on his side as soon as 
 they saw that he was on the way to success. With such 
 thoughts as these in mind, Hannibal brought together ninety 
 thousand infantry, twelve thousand cavalry, and thirty- 
 seven elephants, and set off for Italy. 
 
 Across the river I-be'rus he went and then through the 
 gorges of the Pyr'e-nees. This was rather a slow journey, for 
 
 LIGHT FOOTMAN IN CARTHAGINIAN ARMY 
 
84 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 he had to conquer as he marched. Beyond the Pyrenees were 
 the Gauls, and they made ready to meet him with arms. He 
 sent envoys to say to their princes, "I shall be glad to receive 
 you in my camp; or if you wish, I will come to yours. I am 
 here as your friend, not as your enemy; and I do not intend 
 to draw my sword until I reach Italy." He presented them 
 with generous gifts, and they willingly allowed him to pass 
 through their lands. 
 
 Soon he came to the wide and rapid river Rhone. How 
 should so many thousand men be carried across? This ques- 
 tion did not trouble Hannibal in the least. He bribed the 
 people on the right bank to lend him all their boats and even 
 to build more. So the Gauls set to work to make "dug-outs," 
 and the soldiers themselves made all sorts of queer and shape- 
 less craft. No one cared how they looked so long as they 
 would float and carry either men or baggage. On the farther 
 bank was a hostile tribe of Gauls. Hannibal did not wish to 
 do any unnecessary fighting, so one dark night he sent some 
 troops farther up the river. They crossed, and in the darkness 
 slipped around behind the Gauls. In the morning Hannibal 
 kept close watch, and at length he saw the signal of his men, a 
 thread of smoke rising slowly across the sky. 
 
 His boats were ready; and soon the savage Gauls were at 
 the water's edge, for the Carthaginian troops were springing 
 ashore from their boats. The Gauls shook their shields above 
 their heads, brandished their weapons, and shouted war 
 songs. Suddenly they heard cries of terror from their rear, 
 for Hannibal's troops that had crossed farther up stream 
 were upon them. With enemies before them and enemies 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 85 
 
 HANNIBAL CROSSING THE RHONE 
 
 behind them, they were helpless. They ran away, and Han- 
 nibal did not pursue them. 
 
 Hannibal pressed on until he was at the foot of the Alps. 
 It is no wonder that his men were terrified at the thought of 
 trying to cross the snow-covered mountains. People from 
 some of the barbarous tribes appeared with wreaths on their 
 heads and waved branches of trees to show that they were 
 friendly. They offered to lead the army up the Alps; and 
 after a while Hannibal concluded to follow them. These 
 false guides led them into a narrow defile where the path was 
 only a ledge with a precipice above and a furious river below. 
 While they were struggling to make their way along the path, 
 the savage people climbed the cliffs above them and rolled 
 
STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 down masses of rock. Finally, the army succeeded in getting 
 through the defile. They thought this was as bad as any- 
 thing could be, but they did not know what sufferings lay 
 before them. 
 
 On the ninth day they reached a plain on the summit of a 
 ridge of the Alps. The ground was covered with snow, and it 
 
 was bitterly 
 cold; but 
 Hannibal 
 stood gazing 
 down upon 
 the Italian 
 plains and 
 felt as if he 
 had already 
 won the vic- 
 tory. "The 
 rest of the 
 way will be 
 smooth and 
 down hill," 
 he said to 
 his soldiers, 
 "and after one or two battles Rome will be in our hands." 
 
 The way was certainly down hill, for the side of the Alps 
 nearer Rome is far steeper than the route by which they 
 had come up. There was no question that it was smooth, for 
 it was over bare ice wet with the slush of melting snow ; and 
 the men slipped and slid and tumbled and floundered about 
 
 HANNIBAL CROSSING THE ALPS 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 87 
 
 helplessly. Then they set to work to build a road — no small 
 task, for it must be strong enough to support the elephants. 
 There were no idlers; the men were working for their lives, 
 and in a few days both men and elephants were in northern 
 Italy. 
 
 But meanwhile what had the Romans been doing to de- 
 fend their country? They had done what they supposed was 
 wise, for they never dreamed that Hannibal would attempt 
 to march through Gaul and come down upon them from the 
 north. They sent one army to Sicily, thence to Africa; and 
 another under Publius Cor-ne'li-us Scip'i-o to Spain. On the 
 way to Spain Scipio learned that Hannibal had already 
 crossed the Pyrenees, and pursued him as far as the Rhone. 
 There he found that the Carthaginian general was three days 
 ahead. He understood then what Hannibal was planning to 
 do. The Romans now sent troops to northern Italy by rapid 
 marches, for news had come that the Gauls were joining the 
 lines of the Carthaginians. 
 
 The two armies met on the banks of the Ti-ci'nus River. 
 The Romans were much troubled; for a wolf entered the 
 camp and escaped, and a swarm of bees settled on a tree 
 beneath which the general's tent was pitched, and they 
 feared that these were omens of evil. The Carthaginians, on 
 the other hand, were happy and eager for battle. Their com- 
 mander had taken his stand before them, promising them 
 land and money and citizenship. After this he had taken a 
 lamb in one hand and a stone in the other, and calling the 
 gods as witnesses to his truth, he had slain the lamb as a 
 sacrifice. Then came the battle of the Ticinus. Hannibal 
 
88 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 was victorious there and also later on, in the battles fought 
 at the Tre'bi-a River and at Lake Tras-i-me'nus. 
 
 The people of Rome were in great distress. Crowds stood 
 at the gates to get the first news from their friends in the 
 army. The senate sat from sunrise to sunset for several days; 
 and while they were in session, word came that Hannibal was 
 winning still more battles. A dictator was chosen, Quin'tus 
 Fabius Maximus. He saw to it that sacrifices should be of- 
 fered and games and temples vowed to the gods. He strength- 
 ened the walls of Rome, cut down the bridges over the Tiber, 
 and also burned the houses and destroyed the growing corn 
 where Hannibal was expected to march. Then he set out to 
 pursue the invader. 
 
 Hannibal had meanwhile crossed Italy to the Adriatic 
 shores, and was moving slowly southward, plundering as he 
 went. Fabius did not dare to engage in open battle, for if he 
 lost, Rome could hardly be saved; but he kept close watch of 
 Hannibal, cut off scattered parties of soldiers, and harassed 
 the Carthaginian army in every way possible. The Romans 
 could not have acted more wisely, but the soldiers were al- 
 most frantic. Hannibal was destroying their homes, and the 
 dictator would not permit them to strike a blow. They 
 angrily called him "Cunctator," the delayer. They even 
 declared that he was a traitor to Rome. The Roman people 
 believed that they had made a mistake in choosing him as 
 dictator, and they now chose another commander as "co- 
 dictator." This co-dictator attempted a battle; but if Fabius 
 had not hurried to his assistance, the army would have been 
 lost. Then the Romans began to see that Fabius had been 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 89 
 
 wiser than they. They hailed him as savior of his country, 
 and his nickname of Cunctator became a title of honor. 
 
 The following year the Romans raised new troops, and 
 now they thought they might venture to meet Hannibal in 
 battle. They had twice as many men as he; but the hitherto 
 invincible Romans had met their match, for at Can'nas in 
 A-pu'li-a they experienced the most terrible defeat that 
 Rome had ever known. Hannibal sent his brother home to 
 Carthage to report the news of the victory. It was so amaz- 
 ing that the Carthaginians would hardly believe him, and to 
 prove his story he poured out a peck of gold rings in the ves- 
 tibule of the senate house. "These are from the fingers of 
 the Roman nobles who were slain at Cannse," he said. 
 
 There was rejoicing in Carthage, but Rome was almost in 
 despair. The first thought of many was to flee, to leave 
 Rome, even to leave Italy; but the senate closed the city 
 gates. Every one thought that Hannibal would attack Rome, 
 but he did not. One of his officers urged him to do so, but he 
 refused. "You know how to gain a victory, but not how to 
 use one," muttered the officer as he turned away. 
 
 Hannibal himself had lost an immense number of men, not 
 only in battle, but by the sufferings and dangers of the march 
 from Spain. He begged Carthage for more men and for 
 money to pay his troops; but his countrymen were inclined 
 to think that if he could win such victories as he had already 
 won, he had troops enough, and that as for gold, so successful 
 a commander ought to be able to capture it from the enemy ; 
 therefore they were slow in helping him. He was disap- 
 pointed that so few of the Italian cities joined him. Capua 
 
90 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 and Syr'a-cuse were the only places of importance that would 
 form an alliance with him, and the alliance with Capua 
 proved in some ways an injury. He spent the winter within 
 its walls. His soldiers drank and feasted; and when spring 
 came, they were not so ready to continue the war as they 
 would have been in the previous autumn. The Romans, 
 however, would not give him the chance that he wanted to 
 
 continue the 
 war, for they 
 had become 
 wiser than at 
 first and would 
 not meet him in 
 the open field. 
 They were also 
 becoming 
 
 5l|? stronger; but 
 
 the longer the 
 
 Carthaginian 
 
 army waited, 
 
 N the weaker it 
 
 ^ became. 
 
 The alliance 
 with Syracuse 
 did not last 
 long, for the 
 Romans soon 
 
 laid siege to the city. On the land side they moved up 
 wooden towers higher than the city walls, and from these 
 
 TOWER 
 (It was UBed by the Romans in besieging a town) 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 91 
 
 soldiers could shoot, or they could throw out a sort of draw- 
 bridge and cross over to the top of the walls. They had 
 battering-rams, 
 — long beams 
 with iron heads, 
 that swung 
 against the 
 walls with ter- 
 rible force. 
 They also used 
 machines for 
 throwing darts, 
 and others for 
 hurling great 
 stones. On the 
 other hand, the 
 people in the 
 town defended 
 themselves by 
 letting down 
 monstrous pin- 
 cers to catch 
 hold of the Roman battering-rams, and tongs to seize the 
 men who were climbing up on the scaling ladders, and they 
 threw darts and stones and firebrands. On the ocean side 
 was a fleet of Roman vessels which carried wooden towers 
 and battering-rams like those of the land forces. There 
 was small chance for a town besieged by land and by sea; 
 but a wise man named x\r-chi-me'des, who lived in Syra- 
 
 RAM AND TONGS 
 
92 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 cuse, invented many machines to defend the city. The 
 description of one, given by the Latin author Liv'y, who 
 was born a century and a half later, sounds much like a 
 chapter from Jules Verne. According to Livy, this machine 
 acted somewhat like the old-fashioned well-sweep, only instead 
 of a bucket it had a heavy iron grapple. If a ship came a little 
 too near the walls, the beam bent over it, and the grapple 
 caught up its prow, then suddenly dropped it. When at- 
 tacked in this fashion, the ship usually took in so great a 
 quantity of water as to swamp it. The tradition has been 
 handed down that Archimedes set the Roman fleet afire by 
 arranging mirrors to reflect the sun's rays. In spite of his 
 
 masterly defense, the 
 Romans captured 
 the city. The Ro- 
 man commander had 
 great respect for the 
 ability of Archime- 
 des ; and to make sure 
 that he would not be 
 harmed, he sent a 
 soldier to bring him 
 to the camp. In the 
 midst of ruin and 
 massacre, the philo- 
 sopher sat calmly 
 working on a problem 
 in geometry. "Don't disturb my circles," he said to the sol- 
 dier, hardly deigning even to look up. The soldier was angry 
 
 ARCHIMEDES AND THE KOMAN SOLDIERS 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 93 
 
 and killed him. The Romans also regained Capua. In pun- 
 ishment for its joining Hannibal, they beheaded fifty- three 
 citizens and sold many others as slaves and took away its 
 privilege of self-government. 
 
 The loss of Capua was only the beginning of Hannibal's 
 misfortunes. The other cities that had joined him were 
 alarmed when they saw that he did not conquer Italy so 
 rapidly as they had expected, and one after another they 
 began to do their best to induce Rome to pardon them for 
 revolting against her. A second misfortune for Carthage 
 came when the Romans, meeting Hannibal's brother on his 
 way from Spain to Italy with more troops, defeated the 
 troops at the Me-tau'rus River and killed the commander. 
 Third, Publius Cornelius Scipio, son of the Scipio who fought 
 at the Trebia, was sent to Spain. It is said that at that time 
 there was so little hope of success in Spain that no Roman 
 general of reputation was willing to go there; so Scipio, a 
 young man of twenty-seven years, offered himself. However 
 that may be, he drove the Carthaginians out of the country 
 and induced the Spaniards to stand by the Romans. 
 
 Meanwhile, little was being done in Italy. The wise men 
 of the olden times used to argue about what would happen ' 
 if an irresistible force should meet an immovable body. This 
 seemed to be the state of affairs in Italy, with the Romans as 
 the irresistible force and the Carthaginians as the immovable 
 body; for the Romans could not drive out Hannibal, and he 
 could not conquer Rome. Even Hannibal saw, after his 
 brother had failed to reach him with more troops, that he had 
 no further hope of conquest. He had little more opportunity, 
 
94 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 however, to try to overcome Rome; for the young general, 
 Scipio, was making trouble in Africa, and Hannibal was re- 
 called to that country. 
 
 Scipio had by this time concluded that since he had recon- 
 quered Spain, the best thing for him to do was to attack 
 Africa. Then, he felt sure, the Carthaginians would be 
 
 TRIREME 
 
 (Galley with three banks of oars) 
 
 obliged to send for Hannibal. The senate did not agree with 
 him, and Fabius Cunctator heartily disapproved of the plan. 
 Scipio had become consul, however, and finally the senate 
 yielded, but so unwillingly that they would not grant him a 
 proper number of troops. The common folk had the utmost 
 confidence in him; and when he called for volunteers, they 
 promptly filled up his lines. 
 
 Scipio crossed the Mediterranean to Africa and laid siege 
 to U'ti-ca. In those times it was thought fair to trick an 
 enemy in every possible way, and Scipio set to work to per- 
 suade some of the allies of the Carthaginians that he was 
 thinking seriously about making peace. These allies were 
 perfectly willing to make peace for themselves, if they had 
 a chance, and desert the Carthaginians. Scipio's real plan 
 was, however, far from making peace ; but he was finding out 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 95 
 
 all that he could about the arrangement of the camps. Then, 
 one dark night, he set fire to the camps of his opponents. 
 They ran wildly from their huts ; but the Romans were guard- 
 ing every way of escape, and the whole Carthaginian army 
 in Africa was destro3 r ed. 
 
 It was after this disaster that the Carthaginians ordered 
 Hannibal to bring his troops home to defend their capital. 
 So it was that Hannibal left Italy. He did no good by return- 
 ing home, however, for he had a terrible battle with Scipio at 
 Za'ma, and this second Carthaginian army was destroyed. 
 
 Then Carthage begged for peace. It was granted; but the 
 conquered city was required to pay an enormous sum of 
 money, to agree 
 never to make war 
 anywhere without 
 the consent of Rome, 
 to give up all ele- 
 phants, prisoners, 
 and deserters, and 
 all ships of war ex- 
 cept ten tri'remes, 
 that is, galleys with 
 three banks of oars. 
 For seventeen years 
 Hannibal had been 
 trying to conquer 
 Rome, and all his 
 
 struggles had come to nothing but this. The Romans towed 
 the great Carthaginian warships out of the harbor and burned 
 
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 gjygi'?wF*Jfc9l Hn 
 
 
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 r«#Ra 
 
 
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 j :'-X'-. a - -"- -i.'.B^'WSt' 
 
 VICTORIOUS GENERAL THANKING HIS ARMY 
 
96 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 them; and the Carthaginians looked on, grieving as if their 
 city itself were in flames. The deserters were all put to 
 death. The Latins among them were beheaded, the Romans 
 crucified. 
 
 Scipio returned to Rome through Italy. All along his way 
 the roads were lined with people who cheered and shouted 
 in their delight that the war was over at last. It was the 
 
 custom among the Romans 
 for a victorious general to 
 have a "triumph," that is, 
 to ride through the city to 
 the Capitol with a proces- 
 sion of banners, captives in 
 chains, and wagons loaded 
 with the arms and treasures 
 of the enemy. The triumph 
 of Scipio was the most mag- 
 nificent that had yet been 
 seen. The name Af-ri-ca'nus 
 was given him in honor of 
 his conquest of the Cartha- 
 ginians. 
 
 Time passed, and Hannibal 
 showed such ability as a 
 statesman that Carthage soon began to prosper. The Ro- 
 mans were startled and demanded that he should be given 
 up to them. To escape them, he fled from his country and 
 became an exile. 
 
 In the two Carthaginian wars, Rome had lost more than 
 
 SCIPIO AFRICAKUS 
 (From a Bronze Bust in tlie Museum at Naples) 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 97 
 
 a quarter of a million of her citizens. Hundreds of cities and 
 villages had been destroyed. It had been for so long a time 
 useless to try to cultivate the fields, that great numbers of 
 farmers had given up the attempt, and had crowded into the 
 walled towns. In the midst of so much bloodshed and re- 
 venge, the Romans had become far more harsh and cruel 
 than before. On the other hand, Rome had humbled her 
 rival ; she had built so large a navy that no nation could op- 
 pose her on the sea; and she had gained Spain and overcome 
 Carthage. She had become by far the most powerful of the 
 states of the Mediterranean. Her citizens must have often 
 recalled the prediction said to have been made by Romulus 
 when, after his death, he appeared in a vision: "The gods 
 decree Rome to become the capital of the world." 
 
THE ALBAN HILLS 
 From the Human Campagna 
 
THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD 99 
 
 VIII 
 
 ROME BECOMES THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD 
 
 At the time when the Romans conquered Hannibal, "the 
 world" meant the countries circling around the Mediterra- 
 nean Sea. In all the lands lying to the west of Italy, the Ro- 
 mans now held the chief power. Toward the east they had 
 already taken one step when they suppressed the pirates of 
 the Adriatic Sea and agreed to protect the Greek cities along 
 the Adriatic coast. 
 
 In earlier times Greece could have protected her own cities, 
 but the condition of affairs in the East had changed greatly 
 since those days. About the time when the Romans were 
 subduing the Latins, Al-ex-an'der the Great began his con- 
 quests. His father, Philip II, had left him Mac-e-do'ni-a and 
 Greece; but this was a small realm compared with what he 
 meant to win, and he began a wonderful series of victories. 
 When he died, he ruled not only Macedonia and Greece, but 
 also Asia Minor, Syr'i-a, Egypt, Persia, and part of India. 
 This empire was divided among his generals. Possibly Alex- 
 ander himself could have governed this enormous domain, 
 but his generals could not. They and their successors quar- 
 reled and fought, and finally the vast empire broke up into 
 three kingdoms: 1. Egypt. 2. Syria and Asia Minor. 3. 
 Macedonia and Greece. 
 
100 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 While the Romans were contending with Hannibal, the 
 king of Macedonia, Philip V., who was an ally of the Cartha- 
 ginians, attacked some Greek cities which were under the 
 protection of Rome. This led to the First Macedonian War. 
 After Hannibal was subdued, war broke out with Philip again, 
 and with most excellent reason. He and King An-ti'o-chus 
 of Syria plotted to divide Egypt between them. If this plan 
 should succeed, Philip would control the Greek cities on the 
 shores of the iE-ge'an Sea. A vast amount of trading was 
 carried on in the iEgean Sea, the Black Sea, and the eastern 
 part of the Mediterranean, and from this part of the world 
 came much of the grain needed in Italy. If Philip was suc- 
 cessful, then he, an enemy of Rome, could shut off a large 
 part of her food whenever he chose. This was enough to 
 arouse the interest of the Romans. Philip did not trouble 
 himself about what the Romans might think, but attacked 
 Egypt and Athens. The king of Egypt was a boy, and his 
 guardians appealed to Rome for help. As for Athens, that 
 had for some time been an ally of the Romans. Rome warned 
 Philip not to harass the friends of her people. Philip replied 
 that he should prefer peace, but that if they wished to fight, 
 they would learn that Macedonia was as powerful as Rome. 
 Then the armies of Philip and the Romans met in Greece 
 at the Cyn-os-ceph'a-la?, or dogs' heads, two ranges of hills 
 facing each other and shaped like the heads of dogs. Philip 
 was thoroughly defeated by the Roman general Flam-i-ni'nus. 
 
 Flamininu'fe went to Cor'inth to announce his victory to the 
 Greeks. They were celebrating the Isth'mi-an games in honor 
 of the gods, when the blast of a trumpet was heard, the signal 
 
THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD 101 
 
 for silence. A herald went forward and proclaimed, "The 
 senate and people of Rome and Titus Quinctius Flamininus, 
 their general, have subdued King Philip and the Macedoni- 
 ans, and do now restore liberty to all states which have been 
 under subjection to King Philip." "Again, again!" cried 
 the people, for some had not fully heard and others could 
 not believe the good news. The herald declared his procla- 
 mation a second time. Then from the thousands of joyful 
 Greeks there arose such a shout of joy that, according to an 
 old historian, the crows overhead fell into the theatre from 
 the shock. The games were hurried through. No one. cared 
 for them or thought of them, for everybody was eager to 
 come near Flamininus and touch his hand. The brave young 
 general was not accustomed to run from his enemies, but 
 when he saw the whole assembly throwing garlands and rib- 
 bons and rushing to embrace him, he did run from them and 
 hid away to keep from being suffocated by his grateful ad- 
 mirers. 
 
 Although Flamininus had called Greece free, it was really 
 only free from Philip, and was in the power of the Romans. 
 Antiochus, king of Syria, was not pleased with the result of 
 this war. He was then in Greece, and he declared that he 
 meant to free the Greeks from the Romans. That was easier 
 said than done, and in a short time he was hurrying across 
 the Hel'les-pont to escape from the Roman legions. The 
 brother of Scipio Africanus overcame him at Mag-ne'si-a in 
 Asia Minor, and therefore took the surname of A-si-at'i-cus 
 in honor of his victory. By the treaty of peace which followed, 
 Antiochus had to give up much of Asia Minor to the Romans. 
 
102 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 They demanded, also, that he should give up his guest Han- 
 nibal, for when Hannibal was forced to leave Carthage, he had 
 fled to Antiochus. Hannibal now made his way to Bi-thyn'i-a; 
 but there, too, the Romans pursued him. When he saw that 
 he could no longer escape them, he poisoned himself rather 
 than fall into their hands. Thus perished Hannibal, one of 
 the greatest generals of ancient times. 
 
 Macedonia was not yet subdued, for although Philip had 
 died, his son Per'seus had long been plotting revenge and 
 was eager for a chance to meet the Romans. They met at 
 Pyd'na, and Perseus was defeated. Rome had overcome the 
 East as well as the West, and now Macedonia, Greece, and 
 Asia Minor were in her power. 
 
 There were two ways in which Rome might govern her new 
 
 possessions. One was to send 
 Roman governors to them and 
 make laws for them directly. 
 The other way was to divide 
 them into small kingdoms and 
 let them fight together and 
 weaken one another. Rome fol- 
 lowed the second course, and 
 after a while there was always 
 an opportunity for Rome to 
 step in, settle their quarrels, 
 and take the rule herself. 
 
 In conquering these lands, 
 Rome usually claimed that she was giving freedom to the 
 people. They were not always pleased with her "freedom." 
 
 BUGLE PLAYER IN ROMAN ARMY 
 
THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD 103 
 
 The people of Corinth, in particular, had no idea of accept- 
 ing the Romans as rulers, and persisted in making war upon 
 Spar'ta, although the Romans sent envoys to protest against 
 their so doing. The foolish Co-rin'thi-ans hooted and yelled 
 and insulted the envoys in every way, finally driving them 
 from the assembly. One of the leaders made a violent speech, 
 saying that he wished to be a friend of the Romans, but 
 ''had no taste for them as masters." It is little wonder that 
 the Roman legions were sent swiftly to Corinth. Then the 
 Corinthians learned what it was to resist Rome and insult 
 her messengers, for the citizens were either killed or sold as 
 slaves, shiploads of statues and paintings were sent to Rome, 
 and enough to load many more ships were destroyed by the 
 soldiers. Then the city was torn down and burned. 
 
 The Romans were growing more powerful every day. They 
 were making new conquests, but they did not forget to keep 
 close watch of the old ones. About the time when Corinth 
 began to be rebellious, Mas-i-nis'sa, king of Nu-mid'i-a, 
 attacked Carthage, and Carthage appealed to Rome for 
 help. The Romans sent envoys, but Masinissa was an ally 
 of Rome, and they decided everything in his favor. One of 
 these envoys was Marcus Por'ci-us Ca'to. He was a brilliant 
 commander and he had first been made consul, then censor. 
 He was much troubled because so many of the Romans were 
 giving up the plain, simple ways of their fathers and were 
 beginning to like luxury and to avoid work. Cato cultivated 
 his land with his own hands ; he never wore costly garments ; 
 and even when he was consul, he drank the same wine as his 
 slaves. He declared once that he could not live with a man 
 
104 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 whose palate was more sensitive than his heart. When he 
 became censor, the people who liked luxury trembled; and 
 they soon found that they had good reason, for Cato had a 
 list made of the carriages, jewelry, rich clothing, and expen- 
 sive furniture of each household and its real cost. Then he 
 counted the value as ten times as much and taxed it heavily 
 on that valuation. 
 
 This was the man who was sent to Carthage. His eyes 
 were wide open to see all that there was to be seen; and 
 when he returned to Rome, he reported to the senate, "Car- 
 thage is not so humble as you imagine. It is a wealthy city; 
 it is well supplied with arms and stores and whatever is 
 needed in warfare, and it is full of men able to bear arms. 
 They are not a weaker, but a more skillful enemy to us than 
 they were." Then he let fall from the folds of his toga some 
 figs that he had brought from Africa, and cried, "Remember 
 that the country in which these grew is only three days' sail 
 from Rome." After this, whenever he made a speech in the 
 senate, no matter what the subject was, he always ended by 
 saying, "And my opinion is that Carthage must be de- 
 stroyed." Another senator, who did not agree with Cato, 
 always ended Ms speeches in mimicry of him with, "And 
 my opinion is that Carthage must be left standing." 
 
 It was not long before the Romans sided with the censor. 
 Naturally, when Masinissa attacked the Carthaginians a 
 second time, they did not call upon Rome, who had failed to 
 defend them and had stood by their enemy, but did their 
 best to defend themselves. They did not succeed, and now 
 they were terrified at the thought of how Rome might punish 
 
THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD 
 
 105 
 
 them for breaking the treaty. They sent envoys to Rome to 
 try to excuse themselves and make their peace with her. 
 Rome demanded three hundred boys of the chief families as 
 hostages. These were sent. Then Rome said, "Give up all 
 your arms." Two hundred thousand suits of armor and great 
 quantities of weapons were surrendered. "Tear down your 
 city and make a 
 new settlement 
 ten miles from 
 the ocean," was 
 Rome's next 
 command. The 
 Carthaginian en- 
 voys begged for 
 mercy, but Rome 
 rarely showed 
 mercy. The Car- 
 thaginians in de- 
 spair determined 
 to fight to the 
 death. They 
 worked night 
 and day to make shields and weapons and engines of war; 
 and even the women worked with them at the fortifications, 
 and cut off their long hair to make bowstrings. When the 
 Romans came to carry out their cruel decree, they found it 
 no easy thing to do. For nearly three years their siege of 
 the city went on. Then Publius Scipio iEm-i-li-a'nus was 
 put in command. He made a line of fortifications across 
 
 CARTHAGINIAN WOMEN 
 (Preparing for the Romans) 
 
106 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 the isthmus which connects the site of Carthage with the main- 
 land, and thus shut off the land supplies from the city. He 
 built a wall across the mouth of the harbor, but the Cartha- 
 ginians dug a canal and brought out 
 their galleys. He built another wall, 
 he stormed the town and scaled the 
 walls; and even then the starving 
 people resisted so desperately that 
 the Romans had to fight on roofs, 
 on planks and beams, even in 
 rooms. Not until the city was fully 
 in the hands of the Romans, would 
 the fifty thousand Carthaginians 
 surrender who remained alive. 
 These were sold as slaves. The Ro- 
 mans took for the state the im- 
 mense quantity of gold and silver 
 that remained even then. The sol- 
 diers seized whatever they chose of 
 all that was left. Then the town 
 was burned, its site was ploughed 
 up, and it was solemnly declared 
 that a curse would rest upon him 
 who tried to rebuild the city. So 
 it was that Carthage was destroyed, and its territories be- 
 came a Roman province under the name of Africa with 
 Utica as the chief city. 
 
 Scipio had a splendid triumph on his return to Rome. 
 Some years later he was sent to Spain, for Nu-man'ti-a had 
 
 A SLAVE 
 (In the Lateran Museum at Rome) 
 
THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD 107 
 
 revolted against the Roman sway. For nine years the city 
 withstood a siege, then famine set in and it was obliged to 
 surrender. This city, too, was torn down. 
 
 Carthage fell in 146 b. c, and Numantia thirteen years 
 later. The Mediterranean Sea had now become a "Roman 
 lake," for the Romans ruled all the countries around it. 
 These countries made up "the world," as has been said be- 
 fore; therefore the old prophecy had come to pass: Rome 
 had become the capital of the world. 
 
108 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF VESTA 
 
 IX 
 
 THE GRACCHI; THE RISE OF MARIUS 
 
 No nation is the same at the end of a war as at its beginning. 
 The Romans had been carrying on warfare for a long period, 
 and they were quite different people from the Romans of 
 earlier times. They now tried to imitate the ways of the 
 East, and especially of Greece. It had become the fashion to 
 look down upon everything Roman and to think everything 
 Grecian far superior. The Latin language now seemed to 
 the Romans common and unpolished. They learned Greek 
 and sent their sons to Greece for the last years of their educa- 
 tion. They scorned the old simple ways and delighted in the 
 Eastern fashions of living in luxury and spending a great 
 deal of money for amusements. 
 
THE GRACCHI; THE RISE OF MARIUS 109 
 
 The victories of the Romans had brought a vast amount of 
 wealth to Rome, for all the lands that she had conquered 
 were obliged to pay tribute to her. There were new oppor- 
 tunities for men to make large fortunes ; for instance, if a man 
 succeeded in getting himself appointed governor of a pro- 
 vince, he did not often try to rule the province for the good 
 of the people, but got as much money from them as possible, 
 and it made small difference to him whether by fair means or 
 foul. Then 
 he returned 
 to Rome to 
 try to make 
 more display 
 than any one 
 else. Occa- 
 sionally, an 
 unjust gover- 
 nor was pro- 
 secuted on his 
 return; but 
 this was small 
 
 comangcr 
 
 gain to the slave market at eome 
 
 suffering pro- 
 vincials, for now the governors wrung all the more from 
 them to make sure of having enough money to bribe their 
 judges if they were brought to account. 
 
 A Roman was no longer satisfied to live on a little farm 
 and till it with his own hands like Cincinnatus; he must 
 own a wide estate and have it cultivated for him. So many 
 
110 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 wanted these large estates that land became dear, and a poor 
 man could not buy even a small farm. He could not easily 
 get work to do on one of these large places, because most of 
 them were now cared for by slaves. It was a common custom 
 to sell as slaves the people of a conquered city; and the Ro- 
 mans had taken so many cities that slaves had become ex- 
 ceedingly cheap. It was far less expensive to buy them than 
 to pay wages to free men. But how did the poor men live? 
 Some went to the towns and hung upon some wealthy men 
 for their support. Some became soldiers and fought, not to 
 save then country or to strengthen her power, but merely 
 to get their wages and the plunder of conquered cities. 
 
 There was little hope of any one's becoming a senator un- 
 less he was rich. The Romans were divided into two classes : 
 the rich, who cared for little but display and amusements, 
 and the poor, who were becoming more and more anxious to 
 be idle and luxurious, and who did not care who supported 
 them if they could only get rid of work. The rich were grow- 
 ing richer, and the poor were growing poorer, and both cared 
 chiefly for living idly and comfortably and being amused. 
 
 In their amusements the Romans were as stern and cruel 
 as in their warfare. Their entertainments were chiefly the 
 theatre and the gladiatorial combats. Their first knowledge 
 of the theatre came from an educated Greek of Tarentum 
 named Liv'i-us An-dro-ni'cus. When the Romans captured 
 Tarentum, they brought him to Rome as a slave. He learned 
 Latin and translated some Greek plays. This was a new 
 diversion for the Romans. They gave him a building on the 
 Aventine Hill and went in crowds to see him act. From his 
 
THE GRACCHI; THE RISE OF MARIUS 111 
 
 times, the Romans had liked the drama; that is, they liked 
 comedy, and they wanted plays that were amusing and full 
 of jests, often the coarser the bet- 
 ter. Tragedy seemed to them dull 
 and stupid ; and, indeed, it is no won- 
 der that a man who had seen the 
 destruction of Carthage or Corinth 
 should think a tragedy as acted on 
 the stage a rather tame proceeding. 
 The Romans had always been 
 stern, and now they had become 
 cruel and often brutal. In the ath- 
 letic contests they were no . longer 
 satisfied with racing and wrestling; 
 they demanded to see real fights and 
 the spilling of real blood. At first 
 they were entertained by watching 
 battles between wild beasts, lions, 
 leopards, panthers, and elephants, sometimes hundreds of 
 them fighting together in the same arena; but this soon 
 ceased to be interesting. Those who are cruel to animals 
 always become cruel to people; and the Romans soon 
 wanted the excitement of seeing men fight and die. It was 
 an old custom among the Etruscans to have combats be- 
 tween prisoners at the grave of a warrior. This was intro- 
 duced into Rome, and the Romans found it so entertaining 
 that they soon ceased to limit it to funerals or to single pairs 
 of combatants. These fighters were called glad'i-a-tors, from 
 gladius, the Latin word for sword. At first the gladiators were 
 
 AN ACTOR 
 (From a Statue in the Vatican) 
 
112 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 all slaves and criminals. Sometimes they were promised 
 freedom if they fought for a certain number of years and were 
 not slain. These men fought savagely, but not always skill- 
 fully, and the Romans were soon a little bored by seeing 
 fighting done in a clumsy fashion. Schools were established 
 where gladiators were trained to fight, and from which they 
 could be obtained at any moment. Not only slaves, but some 
 of the wild, reckless men of Rome went to these schools. 
 
 'THUMBS DOWN' 
 
 At the close of a gladiatorial combat, the victor stood 
 proudly beside the vanquished and waited for the spectators 
 to say what should be done with him. If the man had made 
 a brave fight, they stretched out their hands with the thumbs 
 up; but if he had shown himself awkward or cowardly, the 
 
THE GRACCHI; THE RISE OF MARIUS 113 
 
 thumbs were pointed down, and he was put to death on the 
 instant. The citizens who watched the gladiatorial shows 
 year after year became more and more brutal. Toward 
 one another they had to keep up some appearance of cour- 
 tesy, but they had no feeling whatever for their slaves. 
 These slaves were often of much finer breeding and edu- 
 cation than their masters and had been used to living more 
 luxuriously; but when a shipload of them arrived at Rome, 
 their purchaser drove them off in chains to his farm, branded 
 them with his name or mark with red-hot irons, and set 
 them at hard labor. If the work of a slave was not satis- 
 factory, or if his master became angry with him, he was 
 flogged or tortured or even crucified. If he was sick, no one 
 paid any at- 
 t e n t i o n to 
 him, for it 
 was cheaper 
 to buy an- 
 other slave 
 than to care 
 for a sick 
 man. Even 
 the good 
 Cato , who 
 tried so hard 
 to lead the 
 people back 
 
 to the simple ways of their forefathers, looked upon his slaves 
 as little more than machines, and when they could work 
 
 GLADIATORS GOING TO CIRCUS 
 
114 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 no longer, he either sold them or turned them off to live or 
 die as they might. 
 
 There was also much misery among the freemen of Italy. 
 This was increased by the change from tilling the soil to 
 raising sheep. Sheep-raising needs much land and few work- 
 men. For a long while it had been hard for a poor man 
 to find employment, and it was becoming doubly hard, 
 now that so few workmen were needed. Rome had grown 
 wealthy and powerful, but her citizens were fast becoming 
 idle, extravagant, and dissolute. 
 
 Many people were troubled and anxious about this state 
 of affairs, but one man believed that he knew what ought 
 to be done to better matters. This was one of the nobles, 
 Ti-be'ri-us Grac'chus, grandson of Scipio Africanus. His 
 father had died when he and his brother Caius were chil- 
 dren, but he had a wise mother, Cor-ne'li-a, who brought up 
 her sons with the greatest care. The story is told that a 
 friend who was visiting her displayed some beautiful jewels 
 and asked to see hers. Cornelia put her off for a little until 
 the children came in from school. Then she said to her 
 friend, "These are my jewels." 
 
 Tiberius Gracchus had seen for himself how the poor 
 were suffering because the great landowners held so much 
 land and worked it with slaves. There was an old law that 
 no one should have more than two hundred and fifty acres 
 of the public land ; but the poor could not see to it that the 
 law was enforced and the rich would not. Tiberius pro- 
 posed a new law, which was in reality almost the same as 
 the old one; but there was little hope of its being passed. 
 
THE GRACCHI ; THE RISE OF MARIUS 115 
 
 The rich men who held vast estates of this public land were 
 indignant. Often the land which they held had been in 
 their families for many years, and they had come to feel 
 that it must 
 be their own. 
 They did not 
 care to re- 
 member that 
 if it was not 
 just to take 
 the land in 
 the first 
 place, hold- 
 ing it a long 
 while had 
 not made 
 
 the act any more just. Tiberius was an eloquent speaker, 
 and he pleaded most earnestly for the poor. He said: "The 
 wild beasts of Italy have their caves to retire to; but the 
 brave men who spill their blood in her cause have nothing 
 left but air and light. . . . The private soldiers fight and 
 die to advance the wealth and luxury of the great; and 
 they are called masters of the world, while they have not a 
 foot of ground in their possession." 
 
 But no matter how eloquently Tiberius spoke, the sena- 
 tors could not be brought to look at the matter as he did. 
 That was not so very important, for if the ten tribunes, 
 of whom Tiberius was one, agreed to propose this law to 
 the assembly of tribes, or meeting of plebeians who were 
 
 CORNELIA AND HER JEWELS 
 
 Schopin 
 
116 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 landowners, there was little doubt that it would be passed. 
 But no law could even be proposed unless all ten of the 
 tribunes desired it. The senators induced one of the ten 
 to refuse to present it. Legally, Tiberius could do nothing 
 more; but he reasoned that when a man refused to agree 
 to so good a law, he was not fit to be tribune, and he in- 
 duced the assembly to pass a vote putting the man out of 
 office. When the tribune refused to give up his office, then 
 by orders of Tiberius, he was pulled down from his place. 
 
 However good this new law may have been, it was ex- 
 ceedingly difficult to carry it out, and, what was worse, 
 Tiberius had broken the laws in passing it. As long as he 
 was a tribune, he was safe; and therefore, although this, too, 
 was illegal, he tried to get himself elected tribune for the 
 following year. The nobles were angry and indignant. They 
 rushed out of the senate house. A riot followed, and Ti- 
 berius was slain. Before this, the different parties in Rome 
 had tried their best to get their own way; but this was the 
 first time that they had tried to get what they wanted un- 
 lawfully and with violence. If the government of any country 
 allows lawbreakers to go unpunished, or even if the citizens 
 are permitted to uphold the laws by unlawful means, that 
 country is sure to become weak. So it was that the act of 
 kind, honest, mistaken Tiberius Gracchus in 133 b. c. was 
 the beginning of the downfall of the republic. 
 
 Ten years later, Tiberius's brother, Caius Sem-pro'ni-us 
 Gracchus, proposed that a law should be passed requir- 
 ing the state to sell grain to the people at much less than 
 the usual price. Then he won over the merchants, bank- 
 
THE GRACCHI; THE RISE OF MARIUS 117 
 
 ers, and other business men by getting laws passed giving 
 them instead of the nobles control of the courts. The com- 
 mon people and the men whose property was in money 
 were friends of Caius; but the senators, whose property 
 was chiefly in land, were his enemies, for they were afraid 
 he would propose a land law, or agrarian law, like that 
 brought forward by his brother Tiberius. They had good 
 reason to be afraid, for this is exactly what he did do. 
 Then he founded colonies at Tarentum and Capua. No 
 one objected to his founding colonies; but when he pro- 
 posed that the Latins should have all the rights of Roman 
 citizens, the proud people of Rome were indignant. Be- 
 fore long, there was a riot and Caius was slain. 
 
 The brothers were dead, and no one came forward to 
 care for the rights of the poor. The slaves, too, were be- 
 coming more and more wretched, if that were possible. 
 In Sicily they were especially miserable, and at length they 
 revolted. They fought like demons, for they knew well 
 that if they were captured, torture and death would await 
 them. Four times they overcame the armies of the Ro- 
 mans; but at last they had to yield. Then followed terri- 
 ble scenes of suffering. Thousands of these prisoners were 
 thrown from cliffs or were crucified. 
 
 The poor freemen of Rome were hardly happier than the 
 slaves, for in that city gold was the only power. No one 
 could hope to win even a just cause in the courts unless he 
 had gold with which to bribe the judges. Ju-gur'tha of 
 Numidia said of Rome, "0 city, you would sell yourself 
 if you could only find a buyer." 
 
118 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Jugurtha had good reason to make this speech. Masi- 
 nissa, king of Numidia, had died and Jugurtha had seized 
 the kingdom. The rightful heirs appealed to Rome for 
 help. Rome sent generals and soldiers to regain the king- 
 dom and punish Jugurtha, but for a long time he found it 
 an easy matter to bribe the generals. At length, however, 
 he was conquered by a commander named Caius Ma'ri-us. 
 He was brought to Rome and had to walk in chains at the 
 triumph of Marius. When the procession was about to 
 ascend to the Capitol, he was thrust into the Mamertine 
 dungeons and left to die of hunger. 
 
 This Caius Marius was the son of some hard-working 
 country folk. He entered the army as a young man and 
 was so brave and obedient that his general, the famous 
 Scipio Africanus, began to take special notice of him. One 
 evening some one asked Scipio, "When you are gone, where 
 will the Romans find another general equally great?" 
 "Here, perhaps," replied Scipio, laying his hand kindly 
 upon the shoiilder of Marius. The young soldier was too 
 excited to sleep that night. Such words as these, coming 
 from so famous a general, seemed to him like the predic- 
 tion of an oracle. He pushed onward with all his might, 
 and before long he became a tribune. While he held this 
 office, he carried a law that lessened the power of the no- 
 bles. Then the common folk admired him. Soon he op- 
 posed a law which the common folk wanted, but which he 
 thought not best for them; and now the nobles were in- 
 clined to admire him. Both parties began to say, "That 
 
THE GRACCHI; THE RISE OF MARIUS 119 
 
 young Marius is a bold, sturdy fellow. He does what he 
 thinks best and fears no one." 
 
 As an officer in the army, Marius was so wise that the 
 other officers respected him, and so simple in all his ways 
 that the common soldiers loved him. If the soldiers had 
 only dry bread for their dinner, the commander, too, dined 
 upon dry bread. If they were digging a trench or throw- 
 ing up a bulwark, they often found Marius among them 
 working as hard as they. They wrote to their friends at 
 Rome about the brave and 
 honest general, and when he 
 wished to be elected consul, he 
 had little difficulty in getting 
 the office. He was now at the 
 head of the army, and a strong, 
 powerful army he made it. He 
 trained the soldiers to take long 
 marches, to carry their bag- 
 gage, and to care for their own 
 food. "Marius's mules," the 
 jesters of Rome called them. 
 
 The soldiers needed all the 
 training they could get, for soon 
 the Romans were obliged to 
 carry on war, not to increase 
 their power or to punish rebellious states, but to defend 
 their own state. For many years they had felt no fear of 
 attacks by any foreign nation ; but now there came tidings 
 from the north that a vast company of barbarians were 
 
 LEGIONARY ON THE MARCH 
 
120 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 marching toward Italy. "There are at least three hundred 
 thousand," the rumors said, "and in battle they fight like 
 furies. Their war cries are like the roars of wild beasts, so 
 horrible that no man can describe them." 
 
 These barbarians were called Cim'bri and Teu'ton-es. 
 They belonged to the German race whose home had been 
 on the shores of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. They 
 had wandered southward as far as Gaul, or what is now 
 France, and there they had burned and plundered and 
 killed. Then they had come still farther south. Some Ro- 
 man forces 
 met them in 
 battle be- 
 yond the 
 Alps and 
 were defeat- 
 ed as badly 
 as their coun- 
 trymen had 
 been at Can- 
 naj. The 
 most morti- 
 fying part of 
 this defeat 
 was that 
 a barbari- 
 an tribe of 
 Switzerland, that had joined the others, compelled a Roman 
 army to pass under the yoke. At this the Romans were 
 
 ' 
 
 Mmk- 
 
 71 "tHf^' 
 
 mm i ' J^Sl 
 
 
 Wm *h 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ROMAN ARMY PASSING UNDER THE YOKE 
 
THE GRACCHI; THE RISE OF MARIUS 121 
 
 fairly terrified. Barbarians had burned their city once; they 
 might do it a second time. Prayers and sacrifices were 
 offered, and no man who was able to bear arms was al- 
 lowed to leave Italy. Just at this time Marius returned 
 from his victory over Jugurtha. "Marius will save us," cried 
 the people. "Let us make him consul again." This was 
 contrary to the custom, but the Romans were so alarmed 
 that they thought only of choosing a general who could 
 overcome the barbarians; therefore Marius was elected. 
 He was elected year after year, for the barbarians delayed 
 and the fear of them increased. 
 
 At length, in 102 b. c, they started for Italy. Marius had 
 not wasted the time of their delay; he had trained his soldiers 
 more and more perfectly, and had kept them busy digging 
 canals and doing other work, so that instead of growing 
 weak, they had become stronger and more ready for battles. 
 The battles came. Marius defeated the barbarians and de- 
 stroyed their whole army except sixty thousand, who were 
 sent to Rome to be sold as slaves. In this battle, two com- 
 panies, or cohorts, of Italians had been so fearless and valiant 
 that as a reward he made them all Roman citizens. Of 
 course he had no right to do any such thing; but "the din of 
 battle was so loud that I could not hear the laws," he said. 
 
 When Marius returned to Rome, the people were almost 
 ready to worship him as a god. "Romulus founded our 
 city," they cried. "Camillus saved it, and now Marius has 
 saved it a second time." They were eager to give him what- 
 ever he wanted, and he was beginning to think himself so 
 great a man that no honor and no power could be more than 
 
122 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 he deserved. Just at this time there was another revolt of the 
 slaves in Sicily, and with the same result — defeat, torture, 
 
 and crucifixion. Before the 
 revolt was fully quieted, 
 there was trouble in Rome, 
 and Marius, stupidly, per- 
 haps, rather than wickedly, 
 united with some men who 
 were trying to overthrow 
 the government. He had 
 been consul five times, but 
 he was eager for even greater 
 honors, and he was not at 
 all particular by what means 
 they might be won. He was 
 the ablest general of his age, 
 but he had no idea how to 
 behave in political life. He 
 seems to have tried to keep 
 free from the crimes of his 
 allies, but to have been more than willing to profit by them. 
 Finally, he became so unpopular that he himself saw that 
 Rome was no place for him. He declared that some time 
 before this he had vowed to offer sacrifices to the mother of 
 the gods, and he set sail for Asia to keep his vow. 
 
 HEAD, SUPPOSED TO BE THAT OF 
 
 MARIUS 
 
 (In the Ufflzi Gallery, Florence) 
 
THE RULE OF SULLA 
 
 123 
 
 SARCOPHAGUS 
 The Bas Relief showing Roman Soldiers triumphing over their Prisoners 
 
 THE RULE OF SULLA 
 
 When Marius returned to Rome, he found the city in diffi- 
 culties. Thus far, she had ruled the peoples of Italy with a 
 high hand. If she chose to grant privileges to one city and not 
 
124 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 to another, she did so, and those who were less favored could 
 not help themselves. 
 
 The Romans were the only people who had full citizenship. 
 If a Roman was condemned to die or to be flogged, he had the 
 right of appealing to the people. Away from Rome, if a petty 
 Roman officer flogged a non-citizen or killed him, he was in 
 small danger of punishment; but in the farthest corners of 
 the realm, it was a protection to a man to be able to declare 
 himself a Roman citizen. Some years later than this time, a 
 Roman captain in Je-ru'sa-lem bound the apostle Paul and 
 ordered him to be scourged; but one of his 
 officials whispered, "This man is a Roman," 
 and then the captain was greatly alarmed be- 
 cause he had ventured even to bind a Roman. 
 It is no wonder that the Italians were eager 
 to become citizens. Many of them had fought 
 for the republic, and they thought it only 
 right that they should have a share in the 
 government. Marcus Livius Dru'sus, a trib- 
 une, came out boldly and proposed that the 
 Italians be made citizens. The Romans were 
 indignant at such a suggestion, and Drusus was 
 murdered in his own house. As soon as the 
 Italians heard of this murder, they saw that 
 standard- the only way to gain what they believed their 
 rights was to fight for them. They fought with 
 such energy and determination that the Romans were greatly 
 alarmed lest the republic be overthrown. Marius took up 
 arms and overcame them in a great battle. The story is told 
 
THE RULE OF SULLA 
 
 125 
 
 that an Italian general tried by sneers and taunts to force 
 him to fight when he did not think it best, and called out, "If 
 you are a great general, Marius, come down and fight." 
 Marius retorted, "If you are a great general, make me come 
 down and fight." 
 
 When the Romans at last learned that they could not resist 
 all Italy, they yielded, but very grudgingly. First, they gave 
 citizenship to those communities that were not fighting 
 against them; then to all Italians who within two months 
 should declare before a magistrate that they wished to be 
 Roman citizens. This struggle was called 
 the Social War, that is, the war of the 
 so'ci-i, or allies. When it was over, nearly 
 all the Italian freemen had become Roman 
 citizens. 
 
 Citizenship was a valuable right, but the 
 people who lived in Rome still remained 
 the real rulers, because those who lived 
 away from the city could not often come 
 to Rome to vote. No one had yet thought 
 of having one man chosen to represent 
 each community. The Italians, then, had 
 gained the right to vote, but they could not 
 exercise it; and it must have been most 
 exasperating to have the idlers and vagabonds of Rome 
 make laws for them simply because these idlers lived in 
 the city and they did not. 
 
 There was a power in Rome which was fast coming to be 
 above the laws, and that was the army. In the earlier days, 
 
 EAGLE-BEARER IN 
 THE ROMAN ARMY 
 
126 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 every citizen was a soldier when need came. He defended 
 his country as he would have defended his own house, and 
 never thought of demanding pay for the service. At the long 
 siege of Veii the soldiers were kept on duty through the year 
 and could give no care to their crops or business, and there- 
 fore, as has been said before, wages were paid them. Under 
 Marius, any citizen might enlist; and now men who had no 
 other way of supporting themselves might always join the 
 army, receive wages, and have a part of whatever plunder 
 might be obtained. They were ready to follow their com- 
 mander wherever he led, for they knew that if he was success- 
 ful, there would always be a share in the booty for them. A 
 new master was growing up in the state, for the successful 
 general with his army was more powerful than the senate 
 with the idle, luxurious folk of the capital. 
 
 When the army of a state is stronger than the law-making 
 power, there is almost sure to be a struggle between the two 
 for the mastery. The time of struggle in Rome was postponed 
 for a while because of amazing events that had come to pass 
 in the East. Mith-ri-da'tes, king of Pon'tus, kept close 
 watch of what was going on in Rome, and when he saw that 
 the Romans were fully occupied with the Social War, he 
 seized the opportunity to get possession of nearly all the 
 lands bordering on the Eux'ine, or Black Sea, and also to 
 capture some of the Roman lands in Asia Minor. He did not 
 have much time for these exploits, but he did have an ex- 
 ceedingly good opportunity, for the magistrates sent to the 
 countries conquered by the Romans had allowed the money- 
 making Italians who followed them to extort money from the 
 
THE RULE OF SULLA 127 
 
 natives and treat them with such cruelty that they were 
 ready to welcome the rule of Mithridates. Even the Greek 
 cities of Asia were glad to throw aside their allegiance to 
 Rome and claim him as a protector. Athens was so happy in 
 the hopeof freedomfrom Romethatshe, too, yielded willingly 
 to this Eastern potentate. When the Social War had come 
 to an end, Mithridates knew that the Roman armies would 
 soon be upon him. "They shall find no friends and helpers 
 here," he said to himself; and by his orders the Italians living 
 in the country were murdered by his officials. 
 
 The Romans now made ready an army to punish Mithri- 
 dates. The senate gave the command to Lucius Cornelius 
 Sul'la, one of the consuls. Sulla had served as lieutenant 
 under Marius in the war against Jugurtha. He had shown a 
 favor to Boc'chus, father-in-law of the usurper, and in return 
 Bocchus had delivered up Jugurtha to the young lieutenant. 
 The honor of the triumphal procession had of course been 
 given to Marius as commander of the army; but so many 
 gave all the glory of the war to the young Sulla that Marius 
 became intensely jealous of him. Sulla had a seal made repre- 
 senting Bocchus in the act of delivering up Jugurtha to 
 him, and used it constantly to seal his letters. Even worse 
 than that, whenever Marius went to the Capitol, he saw 
 gilded figures representing the same scene, which had been 
 presented by Bocchus. 
 
 In the Social War and the wars with the Cimbri and the 
 Teutones, Rome had been in such danger that there was no 
 room for jealousy, and both Marius and Sulla had done their 
 best; but this war with Mithridates would bring to the com- 
 
128 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 manding general glory and wealth, and now to have the man- 
 agement of it given to his own former lieutenant was most ex- 
 asperating to Marius, and he 
 was furiously angry. He was 
 nearly seventy years old, but he 
 went to the Campus Martius, or 
 training ground, every day, and 
 exercised with the young men to 
 prove that he was equal to the 
 toils of a campaign. He per- 
 suaded a tribune to propose a 
 law giving to him, instead of to 
 Sulla, command of the army. 
 Now Sulla's soldiers had some- 
 thing to say, for they were de- 
 voted to their general. The 
 struggle between the law and 
 the army had begun. The army 
 was victorious, for Sulla led his troops into Rome and 
 drove Marius into exile. Then he set off for the war. 
 
 Marius took refuge on a little vessel and sailed down the 
 coast. He was driven ashore by a storm, and had to hide in 
 the woods to escape horsemen who were searching for him. 
 He begged the sailors not to desert him. " When I was a 
 child," he said, "an eagle's nest with seven young ones in it 
 once fell into my lap. The soothsayers declared this meant 
 that I should be seven times consul. Six times I have held 
 the office; the seventh will surely come, and those who have 
 aided me will not fail of their reward." 
 
 SCREEN OF SHIELDS 
 
 (Often used in making an assault. From 
 
 Column of Trajan) 
 
THE RULE OF SULLA 
 
 129 
 
 In spite of the story of the eagles, the sailors deserted him, 
 and he wandered about through bogs and marshes till he 
 came to a cottage. He begged the owner to save him, and 
 the cottager hid him near a river and covered him with reeds. 
 Soon he heard loud talking and the trampling of horses' 
 hoofs; his enemies were again on his track. He threw off his 
 clothes and plunged into the mud of the swamp. He was dis- 
 covered and carried into the nearest town. A proclamation 
 had been sent out that he was to be put to death wherever 
 he might be found, and the magistrates sent a man to kill 
 him. The man came back without his weapon. He had 
 rushed into the gloomy cell with drawn sword, but in the 
 darkness he had seen the flash of the old general's eyes and 
 heard a voice demanding solemnly, "Do 
 you dare to kill Marius?" He had thrown 
 down his sword and fled. 
 
 Then the people cried out that the man 
 who had saved Italy should be set free. 
 They went to the shore with him and put 
 him on board a vessel. He sailed for 
 Africa and landed where Carthage had once 
 stood ; but the Roman governor forbade him 
 to set foot in Africa. "Go and tell him," 
 said Marius, "that you have seen the exile 
 Marius sitting on the ruins of Carthage." 
 A fishing boat was at hand. Marius went 
 on board and fled to a little island off the 
 coast of Africa. Here he heard some good 
 news. The party of the people, led by the consul, Lucius 
 
 ROMAN SOLDIER 
 
130 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Cornelius Cin'na, were in power. Marius collected as many- 
 volunteers as he could in Africa and in Etruria and appeared 
 at the mouth of the Tiber. He burned and plundered and 
 destroyed. He got possession of the grain that was on its 
 way to Rome, and the starving city was forced to yield. 
 
 Then the streets of Rome ran with the blood of her nobles. 
 The heads of consul and senators were fixed to the rostrum, 
 or orator's platform in the forum. Marius was taking a fear- 
 ful revenge for every insult, every slight. It is said that he 
 walked through the streets with a band of soldiers, and that 
 they killed every man whose salutation he did not return. 
 
 The time for the annual election drew near, but Marius 
 and Cinna had put themselves above the law. They did 
 not wait for an election, but simply declared themselves 
 consuls, and no one ventured to contradict them. This 
 was Marius's seventh consulship. He had reached the height 
 of his ambition, but it had brought him neither glory nor 
 happiness. In his long life he should have won a position 
 of honor and hosts of friends. He now held power, but not 
 honor; he had flatterers, but no friends. Sulla would soon 
 return and with him would come a terrible vengeance. 
 Marius was a wretched, miserable old man. He died only 
 a few days after he had seized the consulship. 
 
 While Marius was ruling in Rome, his rival Sulla was 
 carrying on the war with Mithridates. Sulla knew that no 
 matter how powerful his enemies might become, yet if he 
 should return from the war a successful general, with ships 
 full of slaves and the treasures of conquered cities, and es- 
 corted by a devoted army, he could regain all that he might 
 
THE RULE OF SULLA 
 
 131 
 
 have lost. He went first to Epirus, then to At'ti-ca, and 
 laid siege to Athens. The Athenians defended their city 
 valiantly; but 
 Sulla had built 
 a s t o c kade 
 about it, and 
 the time soon 
 came when 
 there was no 
 food for even 
 the soldiers. 
 They boiled 
 the hides of 
 oxen, and with 
 the little nour- 
 ishment that 
 they could get 
 
 from these, they tottered feebly to the walls and tried to 
 resist the enemy. It was in vain. One midnight Sulla's 
 forces burst into the city. Horns and trumpets sounded, 
 soldiers shouted and yelled and ran through the streets 
 with drawn swords, for they had been commanded to cut 
 down all whom they met, men, women, and children; and 
 then they were free to plunder as they would. 
 
 The forces of Mithridates were driven back into Asia, 
 and before long he was begging for peace on the ground 
 that he had once been a friend of Sulla's father! Sulla re- 
 plied that the king had not recalled the friendship till he 
 had lost one hundred and sixty thousand of his troops. At 
 
 BALLISTA : ARTILLERY OF THE ROMANS 
 
 (Tt was used in beBieging cities, and could throw stoneB weighing 500 
 
 to 600 lbs.) 
 
132 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 length, however, peace was made. Cities had been torn 
 down, people had been sold as slaves, and many thou- 
 sands slain. The king was obliged to give up all the terri- 
 tory that he had seized and to pay a great sum to the Ro- 
 mans. 
 
 Sulla was now ready to return to Rome. He sent in ad- 
 vance a long letter to the senate, recounting what he had 
 done for the Roman people. "And in return," he said, 
 
 "my house has been de- 
 stroyed, my friends put 
 to death, and my wife and 
 children have barely es- 
 caped to me. I shall soon 
 be in Rome to take ven- 
 geance upon the guilty." 
 The Romans were terri- 
 fied, but the senators 
 tried their best to main- 
 tain their dignity and sent 
 messengers to say to Sulla 
 that he need have no fear, 
 and if he wanted any protection, he might write to the sen- 
 ate at once. Sulla replied, "I have a devoted army, and I 
 can protect the senate better than it can protect me." 
 Then the Romans knew that he meant to bring his army 
 into the city, and they were more frightened than ever. 
 Their alarm increased, for the Capitol caught fire and 
 burned, and with it the famous Sibylline Books. They had 
 been stored away with the utmost care and fifteen keepers 
 
 CATAPULT 
 
 (A huge bow for throwing sharpened beams, 
 darts, etc.) 
 
THE RULE OF SULLA 
 
 133 
 
 appointed to guard them. In times of great danger, the 
 Romans consulted them. They felt sure now that their 
 destruction foretold the overthrow of the city. 
 
 They had reason to fear. Sulla landed with his army. 
 The people who had favored Marius opposed him, and the 
 Samnites did likewise, for they thought that this was a 
 good opportunity to revenge themselves for the battles 
 lost in former days to the insolent Romans. There was a 
 great contest just without the city walls. Sulla was vic- 
 torious and master of Rome. He called the people together 
 and told them that the government would soon go as it 
 ought. His plan for making it "go as it ought" was to kill 
 every one who opposed him. He sold 
 the property of his enemies or gave it 
 to his friends. He slew tens of thou- 
 sands of Italians who had been of the 
 party of Marius. In Rome itself he had 
 so many persons put to death that a 
 young senator ventured to say to him 
 in the senate, "We do not ask you to 
 spare those whom you have marked out 
 for punishment, but we do beg that you 
 will free from anxiety those whom you 
 have decided to save." "I do not yet 
 know whom I shall save," Sulla replied. 
 ' ' Then let us know whom you intend to 
 destroy," besought the senator. Sulla graciously yielded 
 and published a list of eighty names at once. Each day he 
 added to the number. Then he said, "That is all I re- 
 
 MARBLE HEAD, SUPPOSED 
 
 TO BE THAT OF SULLA 
 
 (In the Vatican) 
 
134 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 member now; the rest must come into some future pro- 
 scription." These lists were put up in the forum and sent 
 to all the Italian cities. Whoever killed a proscribed man 
 received a reward. It is said that forty-seven hundred citi- 
 zens of Rome were slain. 
 
 Some of the men whom Sulla put to death were enemies 
 of him and his party; some were wealthy, and either he or 
 some of his friends wanted their riches. One young man 
 of eighteen was put on the list because his aunt had been 
 the wife of Marius, and his own wife was the daughter of 
 Cinna. Friends interceded for him, and finally Sulla agreed 
 to spare him if he would divorce his wife. It is said that 
 Sulla spared him unwillingly, saying, "In that boy there 
 is many a Marius." The "boy" would not divorce his wife, 
 but he left Rome for a while. This was Caius Ju'li-us Cae'- 
 sar, who afterward became the most famous of all the 
 Romans. 
 
 Sulla meant to rule Rome as he would, but he pre- 
 ferred to have it appear that the Romans had chosen him as 
 ruler. Therefore he went out of the city for a few days, and 
 sent back a letter saying that it seemed to him wise for a 
 dictator to be chosen for an indefinite time until the gov- 
 ernment should be well established again. He made it clear 
 that he expected to be the choice of the people, and they 
 did not dare to refuse him. Then he set to work to make 
 new laws that should give the senate more authority. He 
 feasted the people for many days, and he gave them a great 
 show of gladiators. 
 
 Suddenly he resigned the dictatorship, no one knows 
 
THE RULE OF SULLA 175 
 
 why, and withdrew to his country house. There he occu- 
 pied himself with feasting, with companions, both good 
 and bad, with hunting and fishing, with books, the writ- 
 
 MOSAIC SHOWING THE CIRCUS GAMES 
 (Found at Gerona, Spain, in 18S4) 
 
 ing of his life, and with a close watching of public affairs. 
 A few months later he died. His enemies declared that he 
 should not have the funeral honors usually given to a suc- 
 cessful general; but Cnae'us Pom-pe'i-us, who had been in 
 his army, prevailed upon them to allow it, and his body 
 was borne to the funeral pyre with all the honors that the 
 Romans could pay. 
 
136 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 SARCOPHAGUS OF SCIPIO 
 (In the Vatican) 
 
 XI 
 
 THE RISE OF POMPEY 
 
 Sulla had declared that the government would soon "go 
 as it ought," but it began to seem as if all things were go- 
 ing as they ought not, for there was trouble in every corner 
 of the republic and in Rome itself. Sulla had brought the 
 senate and the nobles into power again, but no one re- 
 spected them or their rule. Before he had been dead many 
 months, there was a revolt in Etruria, and the two con- 
 suls were sent to settle it. But what would Cincinnatus 
 and Coriolanus and Caius Mucius Scaevola and the other 
 old patriots have said to this, — that the consuls were not 
 
THE RISE OF POMPEY 
 
 137 
 
 allowed to set out until they had most solemnly sworn not 
 to permit their armies to fight each other! One of the laws 
 recently passed was that no one should be made consul for 
 two years in succession, but Lep'i-dus, one of the consuls, 
 demanded a second term. This was 
 refused, and then Lepidus and his army 
 made ready to attack Rome; but they 
 were defeated by the other consul and 
 his army. 
 
 The trouble in the West arose be- 
 cause the people of Lu-si-ta'ni-a, which 
 was nearly the Portugal of to-day, 
 revolted against Rome. They wanted 
 a leader, and they invited a Roman 
 general, Quintus Ser-to'ri-us, to be that 
 leader. He had been on the side of Ma- 
 rius and Cinna, though he did all that 
 he could to prevent their cruelty. When 
 Sulla came into power, Sertorius took 
 refuge in Spain. The natives admired 
 him because he was brave, and they 
 liked him because he was kind and 
 thoughtful. If any of them brought 
 him a gift, however small, he never 
 forgot to show his gratitude. One day a countryman cap- 
 tured a snow-white fawn, so pretty that he carried it at once 
 to the general. This fawn became so fond of him that it fol- 
 lowed him wherever he went. The deer was sacred to the 
 goddess Di-a'na, and Sertorius persuaded the people — who 
 
 CONSUL WITH WAS 
 CLOAK 
 
138 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 were very willing to be persuaded — that this fawn was a gift 
 from her to her favorite. They were glad to obey a favor- 
 ite of the gods, and Sertorius set to work to form a good 
 government in Spain and teach the people what the Ro- 
 mans had learned. He trained them as the Roman sol- 
 diers were trained; and he even opened schools for their 
 children where they could be taught as children were taught 
 in Rome. He often visited these schools and gave rewards 
 to the pupils that had done well. 
 
 Many Romans joined him who had fled from the rule of 
 Sulla; he made friends with the Gauls, the Mediterranean 
 pirates, and even with Mithridates; and some people in 
 Rome began to think he was trying to found a rival city. 
 They sent troops against him, but for several years he was 
 more than a match for them. He could always think of 
 some new way of accomplishing what he wished. He once 
 overcame a tribe of savages who lived in caves on a hillside 
 by building up a great mound of dry and crumbly clay. 
 The barbarians laughed and scoffed at him; but when the 
 strong wind began to blow toward the hill, the soldiers gal- 
 loped up and down on the mound and stirred up a thick 
 cloud of dust. This blew straight into the caves, and after 
 two days the barbarians surrendered. 
 
 Sertorius was so strong that at one time the Romans 
 were afraid they had lost Spain. To overcome him they sent 
 the young general, Cnseus Pompeius, now called Pompeius 
 Mag'nus, or Pom'pey the Great, because of his victories 
 over the followers of Marius in Africa and Sicily. Whether 
 Pompey would have succeeded is not known, for some of 
 
THE RISE OF POMPEY 
 
 139 
 
 the Romans in Spain became jealous of Sertorius and mur- 
 dered him at a banquet. Now that the leader was dead, 
 Pompey soon succeeded in making the Roman rule in Spain 
 as strong as ever. 
 
 These were the difficulties of Rome in the West; but 
 there were two matters fully as serious as the troubles in 
 Spain and in the East, and they were much nearer home. 
 One was the War with the Gladiators, and the other was 
 the piracy of the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 The War with the Gladiators began at Capua, where there 
 was a gladiatorial school for Gallic prisoners who had been 
 forced to become gladiators. They es- 
 caped from the town with only some 
 weapons of the arena which they had 
 seized; but soon they captured some 
 weapons of war from a party sent out 
 from Capua against them. They now 
 numbered forty thousand, for slaves and 
 other gladiators had joined them, and 
 they routed the troops sent against 
 them from Rome. Spar'ta-cus had been 
 chosen as their leader. He very sensibly 
 planned to get away from Italy as soon 
 as possible, so his men could make their 
 way to their homes in Gaul and Thrace. 
 The others, however, had quite differ- 
 ent ideas. They had been successful in several engage- 
 ments, and they had wild hopes of staying in Italy and con- 
 quering Rome. 
 
 THRACIAN GLADIATOR 
 (From a Terra Cotta Lamp) 
 
140 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 At first the proud senators had felt annoyed and dis- 
 graced that a band of barbarians should overpower Ro- 
 man troops; but now they began to feel alarmed, and they 
 sent both consuls against them. The consuls met with no 
 success. Then they put the war into the hands of the prae'- 
 tor Marcus Cras'sus. Spartacus marched toward Sicily 
 and paid some pirates to take him and his army, now con- 
 sisting of a hundred and fifty thousand men, to the island. 
 The pirates took the money and sailed away without the 
 army. Then Spartacus made himself as strong as he could 
 in Rhe'gi-um. Crassus dug a trench and built a wall across 
 the peninsula upon which Rhegium stands; but one stormy 
 night, Spartacus filled up the trench with earth and wood 
 and passed it with part of his army. He defeated some 
 Roman troops; but this victory was his ruin, for now his 
 men insisted upon meeting the army of Crassus in open 
 combat. They had their way, but were defeated and Spar- 
 tacus was slain. 
 
 Pompey, meanwhile, was just returning from Spain. He 
 met five thousand of the rebels and cut them down. They 
 had learned too late that it would have been wiser to seek 
 the North. The credit of the war belonged to Crassus, but 
 Pompey wrote to the senate, "Crassus has beaten the gladi- 
 ators in a pitched battle, but I have cut up the war by the 
 roots." When the two generals returned to Rome, both 
 were made consuls; but Pompey was honored with a tri- 
 umph because of his victories in Spain. According to law, 
 neither Crassus nor Pompey should have been chosen con- 
 sul; but Crassus was enormously rich and Pompey was a 
 
THE RISE OF POMPEY 141 
 
 favorite among the people. Moreover, Pompey had pro- 
 mised them that if he was elected, he would have a law 
 passed giving back to the tribunes the power which Sulla 
 had taken away. 
 
 Sulla had passed another most important law, namely, 
 that a man accused of crime must be tried before a jury of 
 senators. Soon an event occurred which made it possible to 
 repeal this law also. This was the trial of Ver'res, governor 
 of the province of Sicily. 
 
 When Rome began to make some of her conquered coun- 
 tries into provinces, she ruled them fairly and kindly; but 
 little by little the rule of the governors had become almost 
 unbelievably cruel and shameless. Verres had taken the 
 greater part of the grain raised by the farmers, sometimes 
 the whole of it. He stole gems, statues, paintings, tapes- 
 try, gold and silver vessels, even columns from the tem- 
 ples. No one in Sicily could hold an office or win a cause 
 without making extravagant presents to this infamous gov- 
 ernor. The farming lands of Sicily began to look like des- 
 erts, for the farmers would not cultivate the ground to have 
 their crops taken away from them. The temples and the 
 finest houses were as bare of their former handsome furnish- 
 ings as if they had been stripped by a band of robbers. Far 
 worse than this were his terrible cruelties, shown not only 
 to the helpless Sicilians, but to Romans. He dared to im- 
 prison Romans without a trial, to scourge them, to put 
 them to death, even by the slave's death of crucifixion. The 
 Roman's great protection, "I am a Roman citizen, "counted 
 for nothing with him. 
 
142 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Verres knew that at the end of his three years of office 
 he would probably be brought before the courts; but that 
 did not alarm him, for he thought he could easily buy up 
 his judges. Indeed, he boasted that there was no reason 
 for him to be troubled ; one third of his gains would give him 
 an immense fortune, and the rest he was perfectly willing 
 to use to buy his acquittal. Unfortunately for his schemes, 
 the Sicilians engaged a young lawyer, Marcus Tullius Cic'e- 
 ro, who had once held an important office in their island, to 
 prosecute him. Cicero drew a vivid picture of the sufferings 
 of the Sicilians, the cruelty and wickedness of Verres. Then 
 he began to call out witnesses. Long before they had all 
 testified, Verres saw that his case was hopeless. He took as 
 much of his wealth as possible and fled to Mas-sil'i-a (Mar- 
 seilles). The corruption of the senate jury was shown so 
 plainly that few could venture to oppose the law providing 
 that one third of a jury should be composed of senators, 
 but the other two thirds should always be of merchants 
 and other men of standing. 
 
 All this time a third war with Mithridates was going on, 
 but with little success to the Romans. There was another 
 trouble, however, nearer home, and that was the piracy in 
 the Mediterranean Sea. It had become a real business. The 
 pirates were masters of four hundred cities. They owned 
 a thousand galleys, many of them gorgeous in purple cano- 
 pies and gilded sterns. They went about boldly with music 
 and feasting, and not only captured ships, but robbed the 
 most sacred temples. They had no respect for the title of 
 Roman citizen, but made raids upon the land and carried 
 
THE RISE OF POMPEY 143 
 
 away even officials in their robes of office. The Romans 
 had been so occupied by the wars on land that they had 
 paid little attention to the water, and the pirates had grown 
 so bold that no vessel would venture to sail on the Tus'can 
 Sea. 
 
 Then the Romans began to arouse themselves. Italy had 
 come to depend upon Sicily and Africa for much of her 
 grain; and there was danger of famine. What should be 
 done ? It was decided to put the whole matter into the 
 hands of Pompey, and to give him for three years the power 
 of a dictator over the Mediterranean Sea and for fifty miles 
 inland. He was to have as much money as he wished, to 
 fit out five hundred galleys, and he was to raise an army 
 of a hundred and twenty-five thousand men. The people 
 were so sure that he would be successful that the price of 
 provisions fell that very day. 
 
 They had put their trust in the right man. Pompey di- 
 vided the Mediterranean Sea into thirteen parts and sent 
 a squadron to each. Within three months the pirates and 
 their strongholds had been captured. Mercy to prisoners 
 was not common in those days, but instead of putting his 
 twenty thousand captives to death, Pompey scattered them 
 among the small towns of Ci-lic'i-a. They were made wel- 
 come by the inhabitants because he was wise enough to 
 give each town a large addition of land. 
 
 The Romans were overjoyed at this victory, and many 
 of them began to say, "Pompey would bring the war with 
 Mithridates to an end. Let us put him in command." The 
 tribune Caius Manilius formally proposed to do this. Julius 
 
144 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Csesar supported him, and Cicero made a brilliant speech 
 in favor of the Ma-nil'i-an Law, as this proposal was called. 
 Some of the Romans shook their heads. "No general has 
 ever held so much power," they said; but the law was passed, 
 and while Pompey was still in the east, he was made com- 
 mander of all the forces outside of Italy. He had the au- 
 thority to make peace or war with any nation. 
 
 This war with Mithridates had begun more than twenty 
 years earlier. Peace had been made twice; but Mithri- 
 dates had taken up arms again, for he had brought together 
 an excellent army and he believed that he could become 
 ruler of Asia. He certainly had good reason to think that 
 the Asiatic peoples would welcome him, for under the Ro- 
 man rule they were most miserable. Sulla had inflicted 
 upon them so enormous a fine that to pay it they had been 
 forced to borrow of the Roman money-lenders. The col- 
 lectors had added interest upon interest, and although the 
 poor people had paid the amount twice over, these collec- 
 tors claimed that they owed six times as much as the orig- 
 inal fine. They had been obliged to strip their temples of 
 the ornaments sacred to the gods, to sell their children into 
 slavery, and even to make themselves slaves to these merci- 
 less creditors. 
 
 The Romans had sent Lucius Li-cin'i-us Lu-cul'lus to this 
 country to wage war with Mithridates. Lucullus made just 
 laws for interest and taxes and forbade creditors to take 
 more than one fourth of a debtor's income. The money- 
 lenders and collectors were indignant and sent angry pro- 
 tests to Rome. The soldiers of Lucullus did not like him, 
 
THE RISE OF POMPEY 
 
 145 
 
 and when they heard of these protests they mutinied. The 
 Romans did not send him reinforcements, and Lucullus 
 lost the reward of his years of toil. This was the condition 
 of affairs when Pompey was sent to take his place. 
 
 Pompey allowed the money-lenders and tax-gatherers to 
 resume their former ill treatment of the natives. Then he 
 set to work to harass the allies of Mithridates. The king 
 was forced to stand alone. His army was destro3 r ed by the 
 Roman leader and he himself barely escaped. Pompey 
 pursued, and Mithridates was 
 driven beyond the Cau'ca-sus 
 Mountains. Pompey made Pon- 
 tus into a Roman province and 
 subdued Syria and Phce-nic'i-a 
 and Ju-dse'a. He besieged Jeru- 
 salem, and finally took it by 
 surprising the Jews on the Sab- 
 bath, when they thought it wrong 
 to fight. In the temple of Jerusa- 
 lem he pushed into the Holy of 
 Holies and was much surprised to 
 find no images of the gods there. 
 
 While Pompey was in these 
 countries, Mithridates was trying to raise an army and 
 follow Hannibal's plan of invading Italy from the north. 
 One day, however, some messengers galloped up to Pom- 
 pey's camp with a packet. On the points of their spears 
 were crowns of laurel, and the soldiers cried, "Open it, open 
 it!" for the laurel meant good news. They would not wait 
 
 MARBLE HEAD, SUPPOSED TO BE 
 
 THAT OP POMPEY 
 
 (In the Vatican) 
 
146 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 to build up a mound of turf for a platform, but heaped 
 together a number of pack saddles. Pompey mounted this 
 pile and read aloud, "Mithridates is dead. He killed him- 
 self on the revolt of his son Phar'na-ces." Then the soldiers 
 shouted with joy. They offered sacrifices to the gods, and 
 were as happy, says the old historian Plu'tarch, "as if ten 
 thousand of their enemies had been slain." 
 
 While Pompey had been subduing the East, Rome had 
 been in a most turbulent condition. The tribunes and the 
 senators were at swords' points; the people hardly knew 
 what they wanted, except that they were bent upon op- 
 posing the senate. Law and order had almost vanished, and 
 everything was in confusion. In the midst of this turmoil 
 a conspiracy was formed which nearly destroyed what lit- 
 tle government there was left. Lucius Ser'gi-us Cat-i-li'na, 
 or Cat'i-line, made a plot to overthrow the state. He was a 
 reckless young noble, and it was easy for him to find many 
 others who were as deeply in debt as he, and were equally 
 ready to seize upon any means, no matter how dishonor- 
 able, to get wealth into their hands. He tried first to have 
 himself elected consul, in order to get possession of some 
 of the revenues of the state; and when he failed, he deter- 
 mined to murder the consuls and other leading men and to 
 burn the city, that in the confusion he might seize whatever 
 he chose. It was not many years before this that the Ro- 
 mans had felt disgraced at having to meet the gladiators 
 in battle, but Catiline planned to invite them to join his 
 army. 
 
 It happened, however, that the orator Cicero was con- 
 
THE RISE OF POMPEY 
 
 147 
 
 CICERO DENOUNCING CATILINE 
 (From the Fresco by Maccari in the Senate House, Rome) 
 
 sul that year. He learned of Catiline's plots, and called the 
 senate together at once in the temple of Jupiter. But when 
 he looked about him, behold, there was Catiline quietly 
 taking his seat among the senators! Then Cicero thundered 
 at him, "In the name of the gods, Catiline, how long will 
 you abuse our patience? Is there no limit to your auda- 
 city?" He went on to tell every detail of the infamous plot. 
 When he paused, Catiline tried to clear himself, but there 
 were cries of "Enemy! Murderer!" and he was forced to 
 be silent. Still, the senate was half afraid to seize him, and 
 he went out of the city to his camp in Etruria. He was after- 
 ward slain in a battle with the Romans. 
 
 Meanwhile, the conspirators who remained in the city 
 were taken prisoners. Cicero now asked the senate to name 
 their punishment. Julius Caesar thought that their prop- 
 
148 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 erty should be seized and they themselves sent to differ- 
 ent Italian cities as prisoners for life. This was a mild pun- 
 ishment for traitors; and when Marcus Porcius Cato, a de- 
 scendant of Cato the Censor, came to speak, he demanded 
 that they should be put to death. The sentence was exe- 
 cuted. The people rejoiced, and when Cicero passed through 
 the forum on his way home, they shouted, "Cicero! Cicero! 
 The Savior of Rome! The Second Founder of the City!" 
 Rome was illuminated; burning torches were placed by the 
 doors of the houses, and women on the roofs held out lamps 
 so that the city should be a blaze of light in honor of the 
 man who had put down so great a conspiracy. 
 
 Unfortunately for Cicero, he was 
 never tired of talking and writing about 
 his own deeds. It was the custom that, 
 at the end of a consul's term of office, 
 he should swear that he had obeyed the 
 laws. Instead of following the usual 
 form, Cicero said, "I swear that I 
 have saved my country and preserved 
 the state. " The people shouted their 
 applause; but Caesar and the tribunes 
 were not at all pleased at Cicero's be- 
 coming so popular. They proposed 
 a law calling back Pompey and his 
 army to suppress him; but Cato spoke 
 against it so eloquently that instead of wishing to sup- 
 press him, the people gave him the title of "Father of 
 his Country." Nevertheless, there were many who did not 
 
 / 
 
 CICERO 
 (From a Marble Bust in the 
 Museum at Madrid, Spain) 
 
THE RISE OF POMPEY 149 
 
 forget that during his consulship Roman citizens had been 
 put to death without a trial. 
 
 At the close of the war with Mithridates, Pompey and his 
 army returned to Rome ; and such a triumph as he had ! In 
 the procession were people from various countries of the 
 East. There were wagons loaded with gold and silver coin, 
 and others without number carrying arms and the beaks of 
 ships. There was the couch of one king, and the throne and 
 sceptre of Mithridates himself. There were great tablets on 
 which were written the names of the kings whom Pompey 
 had conquered and the number of ships that he had taken. 
 There were multitudes of pirates and other prisoners. There 
 were images of those enemies that had been slain, represent- 
 ing them in different battle scenes. The image of Mithridates 
 was nearly twelve feet high and made of solid gold. These 
 came first ; then followed the long lines of captives with scores 
 of conquered generals among them. Last came Pompey him- 
 self, escorted by his officers. He rode in a chariot blazing 
 with jewels. He wore the cloak of Alexander the Great, "if 
 any one can believe that," the historian Appian says cau- 
 tiously. There had never been such a triumph before. For 
 two whole days it lasted, and the people of Rome thronged 
 the streets and gazed and gazed. When the procession 
 reached the Capitoline Hill, they expected the captives to 
 be slain according to custom, but Pompey forbade this. 
 With the exception of two kings who were finally put to 
 death, he sent them back to their own countries. 
 
 But when the triumph was over, the Romans began to 
 wonder what would come next, for though the people were 
 
150 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 increasing in power, they had no leader; and the tribunes and 
 the senate were determined opponents. 
 
 PORTRAIT OF HORACE 
 (Medallion of Third Ceutury) 
 
CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 151 
 
 XII 
 
 CESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 
 
 There were three men in Rome who had made up their 
 minds what should "come next." They were Pompey, 
 Crassus, and Caesar. Pompey had won such victories that 
 the Romans were proud of him, and he had brought about 
 peace after the long war with Mithridates. He had much 
 power, not only because of the devotion of his soldiers, but 
 because when he had arranged a government for the prov- 
 inces which he had conquered, he had put friends of his own 
 into all the chief positions. 
 
 Crassus was strong because he had an enormous fortune. 
 When Sulla sold the property of his enemies, Crassus bought 
 a large amount of it — very cheap, of course. Then, when 
 houses tumbled down or caught fire, he promptly offered to 
 buy them, and the discouraged owners sold them at a low 
 price. Of his many slaves, more than five hundred were 
 architects and builders, so he could repair the houses at 
 small expense. "He gets his wealth from the troubles of 
 others," the Romans said; but he had a pleasant, obliging 
 manner, and that together with his money gave him much 
 influence in Rome. 
 
 The third of these men was Csesar. He was of an old pa- 
 trician family, but he had been a follower of Marius, and a 
 most daring one. As has been said before, he would not di- 
 vorce his wife, Cinna's daughter, to please Sulla; and later, 
 when she died, he pronounced a funeral oration over her, 
 
152 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 although it was not the custom to do this in the case of 
 young women. He even put images and trophies of Marius 
 into the Capitol. The general's old soldiers thronged into 
 
 the building to see them and wept 
 for joy. When Caesar became 
 gedile, he had charge of the public 
 games, and what games they were ! 
 He had wild beasts from Africa, 
 captives from the wars, gladiators 
 by the hundred — and a gladiator 
 is thought to have cost about five 
 hundred dollars. This was all done 
 on borrowed money, and when, 
 somewhat later, he was appointed 
 governor of Farther Spain, his 
 creditors demanded their pay so 
 persistently that he appealed to 
 Crassus for help. He received it, 
 for there was something in this 
 extravagant young man which 
 made people believe that he would some day repay them 
 generously for all that they had spent upon him. 
 
 In Spain he was successful in war and he governed well in 
 peace. He treated the natives so much more fairly than they 
 had been treated before that they were greatly pleased with 
 him. He acted as if he were really interested in them, for he 
 made some plans for teaching them Latin and behaved 
 toward them as if they were good for something besides pay- 
 ing taxes. It is said that he went one day into a Spanish 
 
 CMSA.R 
 From a Bust in the Museum at Naples) 
 
CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 153 
 
 temple and gazed a long while at a statue of Alexander the 
 Great. "When that man was no older than I," he said, "he 
 had conquered many nations, and I have done nothing." 
 
 These three men, Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, the First 
 Tri-um'vi-rate, as they are called, bargained together. The 
 first two were to help Caesar become consul; then he was to 
 pass a law giving land to Pompey's soldiers. This was done. 
 Caesar wanted an army and a chance to make conquests, and 
 he succeeded in being appointed governor of Gaul for five 
 years. But he did not wish to go from Rome without weak- 
 ening the power of the senate as much as possible, therefore 
 one of his supporters presented some laws that would do 
 this. There were two men in the senate whom he could not 
 silence, Cato and Cicero. This same supporter brought it 
 about that Cato should be sent away to govern the island of 
 Cy'prus. Next he proposed that any magistrate who had 
 put Roman citizens to death without trial should be forbid- 
 den to use fire or water within four hundred miles of Rome. 
 This drove Cicero into exile. Then Caesar set out for Gaul. 
 
 Soon wonderful stories began to come back to Rome from 
 Gaul. Trees were cut down in the forests, and in a few days 
 complicated bridges were built. Great chiefs yielded, towns 
 surrendered. There were tales of forced marches, of sur- 
 prises, attacks upon the enemy ; and with it all the picture of 
 the calm, cool commander who in the midst of a retreat had 
 gently whirled a fugitive around and said, "Friend, you are 
 going the wrong way; the enemy are yonder." There were 
 stories, too, of a mysterious island called Brit'ain across the 
 straits from Gaul, whose white cliffs shone over the water. 
 
154 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Caesar made only a short visit to this island; but the following 
 year he crossed the straits again and made a number of 
 tribes in the southern part of the island submit to him. He 
 wrote an account of these visits and of his campaigns in Gaul 
 in such clear, simple language that it is a model of military 
 description. The book is known as Caesar's "Commentaries." 
 Wherever this great man went, he conquered; but after the 
 Gauls had once surrendered, he was so kind that many of 
 them began to wish to learn Roman ways. 
 
 Of course Caesar kept watch on Rome. Crassus and Pom- 
 pey became consuls, and then the three men arranged mat- 
 ters to suit themselves. Caesar was to remain in Gaul five 
 years longer. Crassus was to rule the province of Syria for 
 the same length of time ; and Pompey was to rule Spain for 
 five years. Crassus was soon slain, and now the world was 
 in the hands of Pompey and Caesar. 
 
 But each wanted the whole world, and just as in the times 
 of Jugurtha, the Roman world was for sale. Pompey began 
 to set tables at which whoever chose might eat, and he gave 
 games and gladiatorial contests. Caesar sent masses of gold 
 back to Rome to do the same things. Then Pompey induced 
 the senate to let him govern Spain for ten years instead of 
 five. Caesar was aroused. In five years he would have to 
 return to Rome and disband his army, while Pompey would 
 have his army for five years longer. Nothing would be easier 
 than for him to bring about Caesar's ruin. Pompey had 
 married Caesar's daughter Julia; but just at this time, she 
 died; so there was nothing to hold the two men together. 
 They no longer pretended to be friends or even to belong to 
 
CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 
 
 155 
 
 the same party. Pompey stood by the nobles and the present 
 government. Csesar stood by the people and changes in the 
 government. 
 
 Csesar now asked that he might be made consul; then 
 when he returned to Rome, he would have as much power 
 as Pompey. The senate refused, and commanded him to 
 disband his army. The consul drove out from the senate 
 house the two tribunes who had presented Csesar's request. 
 This was putting an excellent weapon into his hands, for now 
 he could say to his soldiers, "The tribunes of the Roman 
 people have 
 been insulted. 
 We must take 
 up arms to de- 
 fend them." 
 He marched 
 on through 
 Gaul to the 
 littleriver 
 R u'b i-c o n 
 which sepa- 
 rated Gaul 
 from Italy. 
 There he 
 paused. To 
 
 pass that stream with his army would be declaring war 
 against Rome, and he might well hesitate. Suddenly he 
 exclaimed, "The die is cast!" and crossed the river. 
 
 Then there was wild confusion in the land. Whole cities 
 
 CESAR CROSSING THE RUBICON 
 
156 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 fled to Rome, while the people of Rome fled in all directions. 
 "Let every man follow me who prefers his country and lib- 
 erty to the rod of a tyrant!" declared Pompey, and hastened 
 to Greece. The consuls forgot to offer the usual sacrifices; 
 most of the senators caught up whatever they chanced to touch 
 first in their houses, and they hurried away from Rome. 
 
 Before long, various stories of Caesar's kindness found their 
 way to these terrified people. An old friend of his had gone 
 over to Pompey's side; but Caesar had sent him his money 
 and equipage. One man in his despair ordered his slave 
 physician to give him poison; but when 
 he learned that Caesar was merciful, he 
 begged the slave to save him, and was de- 
 lighted to find that instead of poison the 
 physician had given him only a sleeping 
 draught. The poet Ca-tul'lus wrote a 
 satire against Caesar, and this new sort of 
 conqueror invited him to supper — and 
 did not poison him. 
 
 Caesar marched on through Italy. City 
 after city yielded to him without the 
 striking of a blow. When he reached 
 Rome, he did not repeat the massacres of 
 Marius and Sulla, but treated people 
 kindly and justly, even those who ventured to oppose him. 
 He had not ships enough to sail directly against Pompey, but 
 he went to Spain, and there defeated Pompey's troops and 
 added them to his own army. Sicily and Sardinia with 
 their vast exports of wheat were soon in his hands. The 
 
 LIGHT-ARMED SOLDIER 
 
CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 
 
 157 
 
 following year, he started for Greece. He sailed from Brun- 
 du'si-um across the Adriatic Sea to Macedonia. There was 
 the camp of Pompey, well supplied with arms and food, 
 and with twice as many soldiers as Caesar had. Neverthe- 
 less, Caesar made an attack. He was repulsed ; then Pompey 
 sounded a retreat. "This day victory would have declared 
 for the enemy," said Caesar thoughtfully, "if they had had 
 a general who knew how to conquer." 
 
 Caesar now withdrew into Thes'sa-ly, and Pompey pur- 
 sued. On the plains of Phar-sa'lus came the battle which 
 decided who should rule the world. Caesar's friend Marcus 
 An-to'ni-us commanded the left wing and Caesar himself the 
 right, where stood his favorite Tenth Legion of tried and 
 faithful soldiers. Pompey had placed 
 his cavalry on his own left wing, oppo- 
 site Caesar's right. Caesar knew that 
 the cavalry was made up of wealthy 
 young men who were not used 
 wounds and valued 
 their good looks. 
 " Do not throw jav- 
 elins, and do not 
 strike at their legs 
 and thighs," he 
 had commanded 
 his soldiers of the 
 right wing, "but 
 aim at their faces." He was correct in his judgment of the 
 young cavaliers, for at the first charge, they turned their 
 
 ROMAN CAVALRYMAN 
 (From the Arch of Constantine) 
 
158 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 heads and even held their hands up before their faces. Then 
 they ran away as fast as they could go. This ruined Pom- 
 pey's plans and was the beginning of his total defeat. 
 
 Caesar used his victory mercifully. He pardoned many 
 persons of rank, among them Marcus Brutus. The father of 
 Brutus had been slain by Pompey, but Brutus believed that 
 Pompey's cause was the better, and therefore he had joined 
 the troops of the man whom he abhorred. Caesar thought so 
 highly of Brutus that it is said he had ordered his men to let 
 him escape if he would not surrender. Pompey had been so 
 sure of success that he had crowned his tents with myrtle, 
 strewn the beds with flowers, and even set bowls of wine upon 
 the tables, that all things might be ready to celebrate his vic- 
 tory. Now he was a fugitive. He drank from a river and 
 spent the night in a poor fisherman's cabin. He had once 
 6hown kindness to the father of the boy king of Egypt, and 
 therefore he fled to that country. The king's councillors held 
 a meeting. If they received him, Caesar would be angry; if 
 they refused, he might some day become powerful enough to 
 punish them, and, moreover, Caesar might be displeased that 
 they had not delivered Pompey up to him. "The best plan 
 is to invite him to come and then put him to death," urged 
 one of the councillors. "Then you will have done Caesar a 
 favor, and you will have nothing to fear from Pompey. 
 Dead men do not bite." This advice was followed, and Pom- 
 pey was slain as he was landing from a boat. 
 
 Caesar had followed Pompey to Egypt, and the bloody head 
 of his enemy was brought to him at once ; but the wily coun- 
 cillor had not read him aright. Caesar turned away in horror, 
 
CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 
 
 159 
 
 then wept with profound grief and pity. He ordered funeral 
 honors to be paid to the murdered general and afterward 
 punished those who slew him. 
 
 In Egypt there was a contest between the boy king and 
 his sister Cle-o-pa'tra for the throne. Caesar decided in favor 
 of Cleopatra and helped her to establish herself. He then 
 went to Asia, for the son of Mithridates was arousing rebel- 
 lion against Rome. Caesar met him at Ze'la and defeated him 
 so promptly that the conqueror told the whole story in three 
 words, "Veni, vidi, vici " (I came, I saw, I conquered). His 
 opponents had made a last stand at Thap'sus in Africa. He 
 overcame 
 them in a 
 sudden at- 
 tack. Cato, 
 the unflinch- 
 ing defender 
 of the repub- 
 lic, was in 
 Utica at the 
 time of the 
 battle. The 
 cause was 
 lost, and he 
 would not 
 live to be subject to Caesar. He fell upon his sword. 
 
 Then Caesar returned to Rome. The Romans had thought 
 Pompey's triumph a marvel, but Caesar's was far more mag- 
 nificent. Besides the triumph, there were feasts and games 
 
 A ROMAN TRIUMPH 
 
160 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 and gladiatorial shows and combats of wild beasts. There 
 were gifts to the soldiers and to the poor. There was pardon 
 for those who had been Ctesar's most bitter enemies. The 
 senate named him as dictator for ten years and censor for 
 three years. No Roman had ever held so much power. He 
 was called away for a short time to suppress a revolt of the 
 sons of Pompey in Spain. Then he returned to Rome. The 
 senate could not plan honors enough for him. They made 
 him dictator for life ; they gave him the title of ' ' Father of 
 his Country; " they changed the name of the month in which 
 he was born from Quin-ti'lis to Julius (July) ; they stamped 
 their money with his image; they allowed him to wear a 
 crown of laurel at all times, and at public festivals to robe 
 himself in garments worn by conquerors at their triumphs ; 
 they carried his image with those of the gods ; they even 
 dedicated temples and altars to him. 
 
 In the midst of all this flattery, Caesar set to work to rule 
 the world as wisely as possible. He made just laws for settling 
 debts; he sent the poor of the cities to live on farms; he gave 
 land to his veterans and settled them in colonies; he gave 
 citizenship to people of conquered countries, not carelessly, 
 but where he was sure it would be appreciated ; he reformed 
 the calendar, so that the festivals of the gods would come 
 at the same season each year; he planned a vast collection 
 of Greek and Latin books, magnificent public buildings, the 
 draining of the Pon'tine Marshes, an enormous aqueduct for 
 the city, a survey of the state land, the rebuilding of Corinth 
 and Carthage, a digest or code of the Roman laws, a superb 
 artificial harbor, a road along the Ap'en-nines, and a canal 
 
CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 
 
 161 
 
 through the Isthmus of Corinth. Enormous wealth had come 
 into his hands, and he spent it freely upon the state. 
 
 But there were men in Rome who could not forget that, 
 well as Caesar was ruling, he had lawfully no right to rule at 
 all, and that the Ro- 
 man state was no 
 longer a republic. 
 Many believed that 
 he meant to assume 
 the title of king, and 
 the Romans hated 
 the very sound of 
 that word. A con- 
 spiracy was made 
 against him. The 
 leaders were Brutus 
 and Brutus 's friend 
 Cassius; although to 
 both these men, as, 
 
 indeed, to almost all of those who j oined in the plot, Caesar had 
 done many favors. On the 15th of March, 44 B.C., the senate 
 met. The conspirators gathered around him as if to offer 
 some petition. At the signal agreed upon, they drew their 
 swords. Caesar struggled to break through the ring. Then 
 he saw among them Brutus, the friend whom he so admired 
 and loved. He cried, "You, too, Brutus!" drew his robe over 
 his face and fell. 
 
 Brutus tried to explain to the senators why this deed had 
 been done, and to declare that the old days of the republic 
 
 Piloty 
 
 LAST MOMENTS OF C^SAR 
 
162 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 were now to return, but they would not hear him. On the 
 following morning they tried to pacify both Caesar's friends 
 and his murderers by granting to Caesar the honors due to a 
 god, and also bestowing much power and authority upon 
 Brutus and his followers, whom they made governors of 
 provinces. 
 
 Caesar's friend Marcus Antonius had secured Caesar's 
 private papers, and now his will was read. His beautiful 
 
 estate beyond 
 the Tiber was 
 given to the 
 people. Every 
 Roman in the 
 city was to re- 
 ceive a sum 
 equal to four- 
 teen dollars, 
 and generous 
 legacies were 
 left to some 
 of those who 
 murdered 
 him. Mar- 
 cus Antonius 
 delivered the 
 funeral ora- 
 tion. He showed the people Caesar's robe, pierced with the 
 twenty-three sword thrusts, and they were wild with rage. 
 They caught up firebrands and rushed through the city to 
 
 
 
 mim^m 
 
 
 
 i' -2'i 
 
 j 1 yps§ 
 
 l^W;mxn 
 
 MARC JS ANTONIUS DELIVERING THE FUNERAL ORATION 
 OVER C^SAR 
 
CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 163 
 
 find the murderers and burn their houses. Then they went 
 back to the forum to make a funeral pyre. They piled up 
 benches and sticks of wood, and threw upon the heap crowns 
 and trophies and other' treasures. All night they stood by 
 the pyre. So it was that Caesar's body was burned. Mean- 
 while, Brutus and the other conspirators had escaped from 
 Rome. 
 
 Caesar's soldiers were eager to avenge his death, and at 
 first they sought Antonius as their leader. This was just 
 what he wanted, for he had planned to gain the chief power 
 for himself. Caesar had made his grand-nephew, Caius Julius 
 Caesar Oc-ta-vi-a'nus, his heir. This nephew was only eigh- 
 teen, and when he demanded his rights, Antonius treated him 
 like a troublesome child. Octavianus was hardly more than 
 a boy, but he was wise, and Caesar's old soldiers liked him. 
 Cicero had been recalled, and in the senate house he made 
 fourteen burning speeches against Antonius. Three hundred 
 years before this, De-mos'the-nes, the most famous of Greek 
 orators, had made some thrilling speeches against King 
 Philip of Macedonia. These were called Phi-lip'pics, and 
 now the same name was given to these orations of Cicero. 
 They influenced the senate to decide in favor of Octavianus. 
 This was the beginning of war between the senate and Octa- 
 vianus on one side, and Antonius on the other. Antonius 
 had no army, but his friend, Marcus iE-mil'i-us Lepidus, was 
 governor in Spain and part of Gaul, and he had an army. 
 A battle followed, and Antonius was defeated. 
 
 Octavianus was made consul. He then asked Antonius 
 and Lepidus to meet him on a little island in the river Rhine. 
 
164 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 For three days these men, the Second Triumvirate, talked 
 and planned. There was much to decide, for they were divid- 
 ing the world among them. At length they agreed that Oc- 
 tavianus should rule in the West; Lepidus in Africa; and 
 Antonius in the East. They concluded that the only way to 
 make themselves safe was to kill all those who would be 
 likely to oppose them. Hundreds were proscribed, and 
 among them was Cicero. By his efforts, the senate had de- 
 clared in favor of Octavi- 
 anus, and the young man 
 had often called him "Fa- 
 ther" ; but Antonius would 
 come to no agreement 
 whatever unless Octavia- 
 nus would give up Cicero, 
 and finally he yielded. Lep- 
 idus gave up his brother, 
 and Antonius his uncle. 
 
 Cicero heard of this 
 proscription, and fled. He 
 went on board a vessel to 
 go to Brutus in Macedo- 
 nia, then left the sea and 
 walked a long way toward 
 Rome, then took to the 
 sea again, then went to his summer home. Here his servants 
 got him into his litter and carried him toward the sea. But 
 the assassins came upon him, and a few minutes later they 
 had murdered the greatest orator of Rome. 
 
 MARCUS BRUTUS 
 (In the Capitoline Museum at Rome) 
 
CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 
 
 165 
 
 Octavianus, Antonius, and Lepidus had slain their enemies 
 in Rome, but Brutus and Cassius had collected a great army 
 in Macedonia, and they must be overcome. Two battles 
 were fought at Phi-lip'pi; Brutus and Cassius were defeated, 
 and both committed suicide. 
 
 The Roman world was in the hands of Antonius, Octavi- 
 anus, and Lepidus; but now Antonius and Octavianus were 
 strong enough to support themselves without Lepidus; and 
 they asserted that he had been plotting to unite with Sex'ti-us, 
 son of Pompey, against them, and he was dropped from the 
 Triumvirate. It was decided that Octavianus was to rule 
 Rome and the West, while Antonius was to rule the East. 
 
 Antonius went 
 to the East to 
 put his territo- 
 ries in order. He 
 heard that Cleo- 
 patra, queen of 
 Egypt, had given 
 some aid to his 
 opponents, and 
 he commanded 
 her to meet him 
 in Cilicia. She 
 took her time 
 about obeying, 
 and when she ap- 
 peared at the little river on which was the place of meeting, 
 she came in great magnificence. She was rowed up the 
 
 FETE AT THE COURT OF CLEOPATRA 
 
166 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 stream in a most beautiful galley. The stern was covered 
 with gold, and the sails were of purple silk. The silver oars 
 kept time to the music of flutes and harps and pipes. Clouds 
 of fragrant incense floated down the stream. It is no wonder 
 that the shores were thronged with people, gazing at such a 
 sight as they had never seen before, and every one eager to 
 get a glimpse of the famous queen. She reclined under a 
 canopy most exquisitely embroidered with gold. She was 
 dressed as Venus, and her maids represented the Graces 
 and sea-nymphs. Little boys in the guise of Cupids stood 
 fanning her. 
 
 When Antonius met her, he was delighted. She spoke in a 
 sweet, melodious voice. She was witty and fascinating. She 
 pleased and entertained him; and the ruler of half the world 
 spent his time amusing himself with the queen of Egypt. 
 They feasted and hunted and fished together. The story has 
 been handed down that on one of their fishing excursions 
 Antonius had poor success. He was so mortified that he or- 
 dered one of his men to dive and fasten to his hook fishes 
 taken from the boat. Cleopatra perceived the trick, and on 
 the following day when Antonius drew up his line, the com- 
 pany shouted with amusement, for she had bidden one of her 
 divers fasten a salt fish to his hook. "Go, general," said she, 
 "leave fishing to us petty princes. Your game is cities, 
 kingdoms, and provinces." 
 
 In Rome, everyone was amazed that Antonius should re- 
 main in Egypt. They heard that he no longer behaved like a 
 Roman, but like an Eastern ruler. There were even rumors 
 that he meant to make Al-ex-an'dri-a his capital, and from 
 
CAESAR AND THE TRIUMVIRATES 167 
 
 there go forth to conquer Rome. So it came about that 
 Octavianus and Antonius met in battle off Ac'ti-um on the 
 western coast of Greece. Antonius was defeated, and com- 
 mitted suicide. Cleopatra was taken prisoner. She tried to 
 win over Octavianus as she had won Antonius, but did not 
 succeed. She heard that he intended to carry her to Rome to 
 walk in chains at his triumph, and she killed herself. The 
 story was told that she had an asp brought to her in a basket 
 of fruit, and died of its sting. After this, Egypt was a Roman 
 province, and the Roman world was in the hands of one man, 
 the young Octavianus. 
 
THE CITHAROEDE ("LYRE-PLAYING") APOLLO 
 
THE THIRD PERIOD 
 ROME AS AN EMPIRE 
 
 XIII 
 
 THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS 
 
 Caitts Julius Cesar Octayianus was an exceedingly wise 
 young man. He had seen his uncle lose his life, not because 
 he did not govern well, but because the Romans suspected 
 that he meant to take the title of king. This new ruler be- 
 lieved that it was far more desirable to have power than to 
 have any special title. Moreover, he had learned that a large 
 number of citizens were startled at any suggestion of new 
 laws or abrupt changes, but were contented if the old names 
 and forms of government were kept up. Therefore he called 
 himself simply im-pe-ra'tor, a military title meaning hardly 
 more than commander. He never spoke of his victory over 
 Antonius as the triumph of any party, but merely as the 
 successful ending of an Eastern war. He was made consul; 
 and he voted in the senate just as any consul might do. He 
 wore no royal robes, but the ordinal dress of a Roman. His 
 house was like the dwellings of other men of good position, 
 but not pretentious in any way. The people believed that 
 the government was moving on in the old fashion, the sen- 
 ators held their regular meetings and felt that they were 
 deciding all important matters; and yet, little by little, the 
 
170 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 control of every division of the government was coming into 
 the hands of Octavianus. 
 
 Apparently, he held his power with a loose grasp. Some- 
 times he would offer to give up some of it. Surely, there was 
 
 no reason to be jeal- 
 ous of a ruler who 
 seemed to have no 
 ambition but to do 
 his best to govern 
 well; and so he came 
 to be at the head of 
 one branch of the gov- 
 ernment after an- 
 other. He became 
 censor; prin'ceps, or 
 first senator; and 
 pontifex maximus, or 
 chief priest. Finally, 
 he was given the title 
 of Au-gus'tus, or the 
 Majestic, the Revered, 
 and it is by this title 
 that he is usually 
 spoken of in history. 
 Sex-ti'lis, the name of the month in which his first consu- 
 late began, was changed to August in his honor. 
 
 By this quiet way of controlling the state, the clear-headed 
 imperator, or emperor, was able to bring about what he 
 wanted. One thing that both he and his people wanted was 
 
 AUGUSTUS PONTIFEX MAXIMUS 
 
THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS 171 
 
 peace. He was obliged to carry on warfare to some extent 
 during his reign, but he did not attempt to make the empire 
 larger. He believed rather that Rome had as wide a dominion 
 as she could well govern, but that it ought to be bounded by 
 mountains, rivers, deserts, or seas, that is, by natural bound- 
 aries. As far as possible, he carried out this scheme. He 
 would have liked to take the Elbe for part of the northern 
 boundary ; but the German tribes south of that river rebelled, 
 and the Roman army under Va'rus was utterly destroyed. 
 This almost broke the emperor's heart. It is said that he 
 used to cry out in agony even in his dreams, " O Varus, Varus, 
 give me back my legions ! ' ' The Rhine and the Danube be- 
 came the northern limits of the empire; and if a line be 
 drawn from the mouth of the Rhine to Cape St. Vin'cent in 
 Portugal, and that line be moved on to the southeast until 
 it has gone beyond Syria and Egypt, the boundaries so 
 marked will include little that was not under Roman rule. 
 
 To make the most of what Rome already held was Augus- 
 tus's aim. A glance at the story of the dishonest governor, 
 Verres, shows how badly the provinces needed attention and 
 help. Augustus gave these generously. The newer and less 
 peaceful provinces he kept in his own hands. He appointed 
 a governor for each, paid him a salary, and forbade the op- 
 pression of the natives. If a governor disobeyed, he was 
 punished. The other provinces were left in the hands of the 
 senate, but they were not forgotten, for Augustus kept close 
 watch of their governors and saw that the provincials were 
 fairly treated. He was always ready to listen to any com- 
 plaint from them. After the Social War, a man in Italy or in 
 
172 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 the provinces who had been made a Roman citizen, had a 
 right to vote, but in reality he was ruled by the people who 
 lived in Rome, as has been said before, because they alone 
 could conveniently be present at the assemblies. Now that 
 Augustus had become the one power in Rome, it was gradu- 
 ally coming about that the citizens in Rome had no more 
 power than those hundreds of miles away, for the emperor 
 ruled them all. 
 
 The Romans thought it an important part of a ruler's 
 duty to amuse them, and this duty Augustus never neglected. 
 Unfortunately, their favorite amusement was the gladiatorial 
 contest. The emperor made most liberal arrangements for 
 this. He provided wild beasts by the hundred and gladiators 
 by the thousand. "Bread and the games of the circus!" was 
 the cry of the people of Rome, and the state supplied both. 
 
 The laws of 
 Caius Grac- 
 chus, passed 
 more than a 
 century ear- 
 lier, allowed 
 every Ro- 
 man citizen 
 to buy grain 
 of the state 
 at half price 
 or less. The 
 
 THE PANTHEON . ., , , 
 
 privilege had 
 been continued, and the number who depended upon this 
 
 
 MM 
 
 till 
 
 (fe» 
 
 
 
 
 mSBm 
 
 
 
 tmBHe 
 :i> BB 
 
 Mr: H wt 
 
 "■ M 
 
 
 Mm ^Bi iKy<Sili 
 
 
 —^&. \ 
 
 = a ^sssSs*=syCBy^^ i ^^^^B 
 
THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS 
 
 173 
 
 charity had increased until in the time of Augustus it is pro- 
 bable that fully half of Rome received their food or part of 
 it from the government. Of course some of these people were 
 not able to earn their support; but the others deliberately 
 preferred to ask bread of the state rather than earn it. 
 There was the same old desire of the poor to avoid work ; and 
 with it went the eagerness of the rich to find new luxuries. 
 
 Augustus was interested in architecture, and he put up 
 many temples, for men were forgetting their old reverence for 
 the gods, and he wished to do all that he could to restore it. 
 
 Anyone walk- 
 ing through 
 the city 
 w o u 1 d see 
 handsome 
 buildings, 
 such as the 
 Capitol, the 
 Pan'the-on, 
 or temple of 
 all the gods, 
 the senate 
 house, and 
 ba-sil'i-ca, or 
 hall of jus- 
 tice. There were now several handsome forums in the city; 
 and these public squares, as well as the temples, were adorned 
 with statues. There were beautiful parks and public gardens, 
 and along the Campus Martius were porticoes, whose roofs 
 
 A PERFECT COPT OF AN ANCIENT COUNTRY HOUSE 
 (The Casino del Ligorio, Vatican Gardens) 
 
174 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 were upheld by columns, and here people might walk in the 
 shade. On the Palatine Hill were the luxurious homes of the 
 wealthy; but the city as a whole must have been a vast col- 
 lection of little houses and shops, with lanes, rather than 
 streets, winding in and out among them. 
 
 The homes of the wealthy were most splendid. Even those 
 that were in town were so surrounded by gardens and trees 
 
 WOMEN'S COURT IN THE HOUSE OF A 'WEALTHY ROMAN 
 
 Jimdanrjtr 
 
 and vineyards that one within them might fancy himself 
 many miles away from a city. The houses were full of luxury 
 and gorgeousness, even though they were not always in the 
 best of taste. The vestibule was often adorned with busts 
 and statues, perhaps brought from some conquered city. 
 
THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS 
 
 175 
 
 The walls were painted with some bright color and frescoed. 
 There were tables veneered with plates of gold, silver, or 
 ivory, chairs of cedar, floors of marble or of mosaic work, 
 couches on which to recline at meals, sometimes of bronze, 
 and sometimes of wood inlaid with ivory or gold. The beds 
 had silver legs, mattresses stuffed with down, silken pillows, 
 and richly embroidered purple coverlets. There were beauti- 
 ful ornaments, vases, and exquisite work in glass. There 
 were most graceful lamps of terra cotta, bronze, or gold. 
 
 At their meals the Romans loaded the table as nations do 
 that have more money than good taste, and a slave who 
 could cook perfectly was worth one thousand times as much 
 
 as an ordinary 
 slave. Vegeta- 
 bles, eggs, fish, 
 fowls of many 
 sorts, peacocks, 
 and wild boars 
 roasted whole, 
 pastries and 
 fruits were used ; 
 but the Roman 
 idea of a lux- 
 urious meal was 
 one at which 
 many strange 
 the cup of friendship dishes appeared. 
 
 The farther 
 these were brought and the rarer they were, the more deli- 
 
176 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 cious they were supposed to be. A dinner of six or seven 
 elaborate courses followed by much drinking of wine was not 
 thought to be a sufficient entertainment for guests, and they 
 were amused by rope-dancers, conjurers, and singers. 
 
 To learn Greek was so much the fashion that a Greek 
 slave was usually chosen to attend boys to school that he 
 might talk with them in his own language. They learned 
 chiefly reading, writing, and arithmetic. In the reading 
 class, the boys repeated together after the teacher, first the 
 letters, then the syllables of a word, and finally the whole 
 word. The books were of parchment folded into leaves or 
 scrolls of pa-py'rus. The text had been copied on them by 
 slaves. When it was time for the writing lesson, the boys 
 took their tablets covered with wax and followed with a 
 sharp point, or sti'lus, the letters that the teacher had traced. 
 When they could do this well, they were allowed to make 
 letters on the wax for themselves ; and when they could write 
 fairly well, they were promoted to use pens made of reeds, 
 ink, and paper made from papyrus. Arithmetic they learned 
 from an ab'a-cus, on whose wires little balls were strung. 
 When the boys grew older, they attended more advanced 
 schools, and in these the masterpieces of Greek literature 
 were taught. Then many of them went on further and stud- 
 ied oratory. They must have Greek teachers, and those who 
 could afford the expense went to Greece to complete their 
 education. 
 
 The emperor was interested in literature, and the greatest 
 of all the Latin writers lived during his reign. They were 
 Vir'gil, Hor'ace, Livy, and Ov'id. Virgil, or Publius Vir- 
 
THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS 
 
 177 
 
 gil'i-us Ma'ro, wrote a long poem, the M-ne'id, or story of 
 .<Eneas and his coming to Italy after the fall of Troy. The 
 
 Romans had been so well 
 pleased with his shorter 
 poems that when they heard 
 of his plan to write the 
 iEneid, they were delighted. 
 They had a long time to wait 
 before seeing the book, for 
 Virgil was not at all strong, 
 and it was seven years be- 
 fore it was half done. Then 
 the emperor asked him to 
 read what he had written. 
 He read first about the night 
 when the Greeks slid softly 
 down from the wooden horse 
 and Troy was taken and 
 burned ; then he read about 
 iEneas's stay in Carthage; and last, about his visit to the 
 land of the dead. Here, the poem says, was the young Mar- 
 cel'lus, whom the fates would "only show to the earth" and 
 then snatch away. 
 
 "Fling lilies with o'erflowing hands, and let 
 Me strew his grave with violets," 
 
 Virgil repeated. Marcellus was the name of a favorite nephew 
 whom the emperor had adopted to be his successor. The 
 young man had died only a little while before this, and the 
 
 VIRGIL 
 
 (Enlarged from a Gem) 
 
178 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 emperor was grateful that his name had been made immor- 
 tal by the poet. In his will, Virgil directed the Mneid to 
 be burned because he had not yet made it as perfect as he 
 wished, but Augustus forbade that such a thing should be 
 done. He gave the manuscript to three friends of Virgil, all 
 of them poets, telling them to strike out any phrase that they 
 thought Virgil would have omitted on revision, but to add 
 nothing. So it was that the Mneid was saved. 
 
 Horace, or Quintus Horatius Flac'cus, had studied in 
 Greece, according to the fashion, and when a young man, had 
 fought in the army of Brutus. Virgil intro- 
 duced him to Mse-ce'- 
 nas, a wealthy states- 
 man who knew how 
 to be a warm friend. 
 Through Maecenas he 
 met the emperor, and 
 here he was sure to 
 
 URNS FOE THE ASHES OF THE DEAD r- j • .• tt 
 
 ,„ . . „ _ . _ . , , , . find appreciation. He 
 
 (Found in a Roman Tomb. They are richly carved in r ir 
 
 white marble) wrote no lengthy 
 
 poem, but many short ones, graceful odes to Maecenas, to 
 Virgil, to the emperor, to the state, to a beautiful fountain. 
 He understands so well how people feel that one might 
 almost fancy his poems were written yesterday. He thor- 
 oughly likes a jest or an unexpected turn. In one poem, a 
 usurer, or money-lender, tells how he longs to live in the 
 country. "Happy is the man," he says, "who dwells on his 
 own farm, far away from the troubles of the city. He can 
 train his vines, or graft his trees, or shear his sheep, or lie 
 
THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS 
 
 179 
 
 on the soft grass and hear the birds sing and the little 
 streams murmur." Then Horace ends, "So said the money- 
 lender. He called in all his money on the fifteenth of the 
 month to buy a home in the 
 country — but he forgot the 
 country and loaned it again 
 on the first of the following 
 month." When Maecenas was 
 dying, he said to Augustus, 
 "Take care of Horace as if 
 he were myself"; but Horace 
 lived only a few months 
 longer than his good friend. 
 
 Livy, or Titus Livius, liked 
 to think and talk of the days 
 before the aristocratic no- 
 tions of the Romans were 
 overthrown by Caesar, and 
 Augustus playfully called 
 him a follower of Pompey. 
 Livy's great work was a his- 
 tory of the Roman people; 
 and in his preface he says that it will be reward enough for 
 his labor in writing it if he can only forget for a while the 
 troubles of his own times. This sounds rather mournful, but 
 the history is charming. In reading it we almost feel that 
 we are listening to Livy himself, for he writes his stories of 
 the olden times as if he were telling them to a group 
 of friends. He describes something that pleases him as if he 
 
 v^^g^jjm^^gmm'ii^' 
 
 SCROLLS, WRITING UTENSILS, AND 
 
 BOOKCASE 
 
 (Relief from a Roman Sarcophagus) 
 
180 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 were sure that his readers would enjoy it with him; and he 
 is as grieved over a lost battle of a century earlier as if the 
 defeated general were his own dear friend. 
 
 Even when Ovid, or Publius O-vid'i-us Na'so, was a small 
 boy, he was eager to write poetry. His father wished him to 
 become an orator and win some high position in the govern- 
 ment, and the boy tried his 
 best to learn to argue. His 
 teacher said that he spoke in a 
 poetical sort of prose and did 
 not arrange his arguments well. 
 After a while a fortune was left 
 him, and then he was free to 
 write as much poetry as he 
 chose. He was liked by the em- 
 peror, and life moved on most 
 pleasantly. He wrote the Met- 
 a-mor'pho-ses, or stories of the 
 gods. One is the tale of the visit 
 of Jupiter and Mercury to Bau'- 
 cis and Phi-le'mon. It is so 
 simply and naturally told that 
 we can almost see old Baucis 
 building a fire on the hearth, 
 putting a piece of a broken dish 
 under one leg of the table so 
 it will stand even, then rubbing 
 the board with mint to make 
 it smell sweet. Ovid was revising his manuscript one even- 
 
 
 OVID 
 (From a Marble Statue by Ferrari) 
 
THE REIGN OF AUGUSTUS 
 
 181 
 
 ing when an order for his banishment to the mouth of the 
 Danube suddenly arrived from the emperor. No one ever 
 knew why this was 
 done. Ovid was torn 
 from his family and 
 sent to spend the 
 rest of his life among 
 the barbarians. In 
 his despair he burned 
 the Metamorphoses, 
 but fortunately his 
 friends had made 
 copies of it long be- 
 fore. He died in 
 exile. 
 
 It is because these 
 great writers lived in 
 the times of Augustus that his reign is called the Golden, or 
 Au-gus'tan, Age of Latin literature. The reign is also marked 
 by the closing of the gates of the temple of Janus. In war 
 times these were always open; and the Romans had car- 
 ried on wars so constantly that the gates had been closed 
 only twice in seven hundred years. While Augustus ruled, 
 they were closed three times. It was during one of these 
 times when the world was at peace that Jesus was born in 
 Bethlehem. 
 
 Hillen 
 AUGUSTUS AND HIS FRIENDS 
 
182 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 A STATUE OF ANTINOUS IN THE GUISE OF BACCHUS 
 
 (A youth of unusual beauty, page of the Emperor Hadrian, and a favorite subject of 
 
 Roman sculptors) 
 
 XIV 
 
 THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 
 
 Augustus had finally chosen his step-son Tiberius to succeed 
 him. The senate requested him to accept the office, but Ti- 
 berius pretended to be unwilling. He said that with so many- 
 illustrious patriots in Rome, he hoped they would not throw 
 
THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 183 
 
 the whole care and responsibility upon one. The senators 
 did not dare to take him at his word, so they wept and wailed 
 and embraced his knees and begged him to become their 
 emperor. He replied that he was not equal to the weight of 
 the whole government, but that if they wished to intrust 
 him with some special part, he would undertake it. One sen- 
 ator was unwise enough to ask what part he desired. Tibe- 
 rius showed his anger at this so plainly that the frightened 
 man hastened to say that 
 he only asked in order to be 
 convinced out of Tiberius's 
 own mouth that the empire 
 could not be divided, but 
 must be governed by the 
 mind of one person. 
 
 There were some legions 
 of soldiers far away on the 
 Rhine who were not afraid 
 to say boldly that they did 
 not want Tiberius for em- 
 peror, but their own com- 
 mander, Ger-man'i-cus, a 
 nephew of Tiberius. Ger- 
 manicus was loyal. He made 
 an earnest speech to his 
 soldiers and persuaded them to be true to Tiberius. He was 
 at the place where Varus had suffered so terrible a defeat, 
 and he succeeded in recovering one of the Roman eagles, the 
 standards used in the army, which had been captured from 
 
 TIBERIUS 
 (In the Lateran Museum, Rome) 
 
184 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Varus. The Germans, however, were not subdued, but for 
 some reason Tiberius recalled Germanicus and sent him to 
 the East. He died of poison, given him, it is thought, at 
 the command of the emperor. 
 
 For several years Tiberius seemed to be trying to govern 
 his country well, but he was jealous of Germanicus, and 
 after Germanicus was dead, he was suspicious of every one. 
 Any act or word that could be reported as showing the least 
 slight to the emperor was punished by death. The victim's 
 property was confiscated, and the informer received a share. 
 While Drusus, son of the emperor, was ill, a wealthy Roman 
 wrote a poem about him. An informer asserted that to look 
 forward to the death of one of the emperor's family and to 
 think of a possible reward for a poem on the subject was 
 deserving of the most severe punishment, and the poet was 
 slain. 
 
 Tiberius was keen enough to see the falseness of his flat- 
 terers, and so suspicious that he trusted no one. Finally he 
 left Rome altogether and went to the beautiful island of 
 Ca'pre-se (now called Capri) to spend the rest of his life. He 
 chose a worthless man named Se-ja'nus to carry out his or- 
 ders in Rome. Sejanus was so elated by this that he fancied 
 he might become emperor if Tiberius's heirs were only dead. 
 Therefore he poisoned Drusus and others; but at length he 
 himself was put to death for plotting to murder the emperor. 
 
 At last Tiberius became so ill that his physician assured 
 the court he could not live more than two days. All flocked 
 about Ca-lig'u-la, son of Germanicus, for he was to be the 
 next ruler, and each was eager to come first to congratulate 
 
THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 185 
 
 him and so win his favor. Suddenly a message was brought, 
 "Tiberius is much better and has called for food." The whole 
 assembly trembled with fear, and Caligula expected nothing 
 else than to be put to death; but the servants of Tiberius 
 smothered the sick man. Thus his days ended. 
 
 It was while Tiberius was reigning that the crucifixion of 
 Jesus took place in the far-away province of Judaea. 
 
 The senate now recognized as emperor Caligula, the son 
 of Germanicus and grandnephew of Tiberius. His name was 
 Caius Caesar, but when he was a little boy, his mother took 
 him to his father's camp dressed like a very small soldier. 
 He wore caligce, or half-boots with heavy nails, such as were 
 worn by the common soldiers, and the men gave him the pet 
 name of Caligula, or little boot; and even after he became 
 emperor, he was always called by this nickname. 
 
 Caligula was half mad, and he had a wild reign. There 
 was no limit to his insane freaks. One day he had a great 
 crowd of people seized at random and thrown into the water 
 because, as he said, he wanted to see something unusual. The 
 gladiatorial contests became more savage than ever. When 
 he longed to see more people slain, he sometimes drove the 
 spectators into the arena with the wild beasts. He plundered 
 Gaul and set sail for Britain, but turned back before he was 
 fairly at sea and ordered his soldiers to pick up shells to 
 carry to Rome. He declared his favorite horse to be a consul, 
 and he used to invite it to his table and present it with gilt 
 corn in a golden basin. Then the horse was led back to his 
 golden manger in his ivory stable. Caligula meant to destroy 
 the works of Ho'mer, Virgil, and Livy; and he meant to 
 
186 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 murder the greater part of the senate; but a conspiracy was 
 formed against him and he was slain. 
 
 Caligula had been afraid of assassination, and to protect 
 himself he had formed a bodyguard, or praetorian guard, as 
 it was called, of six thousand soldiers. These soldiers had 
 become very powerful, and when Caligula died, they de- 
 clared that his uncle Claudius, the brother of Germanicus, 
 should be their emperor. People had thought Claudius was 
 almost an imbecile, and he had been wise enough to do 
 nothing to prevent them from thinking so, that no one might 
 consider it worth while to murder him. After he was made 
 emperor, however, he was not afraid to be himself. He built 
 for Rome an aqueduct and a most excellent harbor. He re- 
 quested the senate to allow the nobles of Germany to become 
 senators, and when they hesitated, he reminded them that 
 Romulus admitted other tribes. "My own ancestor," he 
 said, "was a Sabine, but he was received into Rome and 
 made a patrician." The senate yielded. 
 
 Tiberius had threatened to invade Britain, and Claudius 
 determined to conquer the island. He sent first a skilful 
 general, and then he himself followed. Southern Britain was 
 subdued, and the British chief Ca-rac'ta-cus was carried to 
 Rome as a captive. The Romans looked upon him as a 
 savage barbarian, but he was calm and dignified, and when 
 there was opportunity for him to speak to the emperor, he 
 declared that he, too, was a prince and was descended from 
 illustrious ancestors. "I had men and arms, horses, and 
 riches," he said, "and where is the wonder if I was unwilling 
 to part with them? If you Romans aim at ruling all man- 
 
THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 187 
 
 kind, it does not follow that all men should take the yoke 
 upon them." In some way Claudius was persuaded to set 
 him and his family free. They bowed in gratitude before 
 him, then before his wife Ag-rip-pi'na, who sat on a throne 
 near that of the emperor. She had married him in order that 
 her son Ne'ro by a former husband might succeed him. He 
 had yielded to her will and had adopted Nero, but Agrip- 
 
 NERO AFTER THE BURNING OF ROME 
 
 Pilot!/ 
 
 pina became tired of waiting for her husband to die, and she 
 poisoned him. 
 
 Nero became emperor at the age of seventeen. In spite of 
 the wickedness of his mother, he had been carefully trained, 
 
188 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 for the writer Sen'e-ca had been his teacher. Seneca tried his 
 best to make him kind and good. "Life is short, therefore 
 live peaceably with all men," he said. "Live so that all will 
 love you, and then they will mourn for you when you die." 
 For a few years Nero obeyed him. This did not please Agrip- 
 pina, and she threatened to induce the soldiers to make 
 Nero's half-brother emperor. Then Nero slew both the half- 
 brother and his mother. When he had been reigning ten 
 years, a fire broke out in Rome which swept away the greater 
 part of the city. Nero did all that he could to help the people 
 who had lost everything. He put up buildings for them, 
 threw open his gardens that they might have a refuge, and 
 ordered grain to be sold at an extremely low price. Never- 
 theless, it was said that he had kindled the fire and had 
 played on his lyre and sung while it was burning. Whether 
 this was true or not, Nero was frightened and looked about 
 him for some one to blame. 
 
 The religion of Christ had been preached in Rome, and 
 there were many Christians in the city. The Romans could 
 not understand a worship without images or temples, and 
 they looked upon the followers of Jesus as heathen. The 
 Christians believed it wrong to join in the worship of the 
 gods and in the Roman festivals in their honor, and therefore 
 the Romans called them, "Men who hate their fellow-men." 
 It had become a custom to worship the emperor as a god and 
 to burn incense before his statue. Christians could not take 
 part in this, and therefore the Romans said they were not 
 loyal, and if any misfortune came upon the state, it was often 
 laid to their neglect of what was due to the gods. Nero laid 
 
THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 189 
 
 the burning of the city to them and put large numbers of 
 them to death. Some he crucified; some he covered with the 
 skins of wild beasts and then set savage dogs upon them; 
 some he smeared with pitch and burned at night to light his 
 gardens. Even the angry and suffering Romans pitied them. 
 After the fire the city was rebuilt. Money and treasures 
 and statues of the gods were taken from the temples or 
 wherever they 
 could be found, 
 whether in the 
 provinces or in 
 Italy itself, and 
 brought to Rome 
 to beautify the 
 new city. Nero 
 built himself a 
 magnificent house 
 with a portico a 
 mile long. Its ves- 
 tibule was lofty 
 enough to give 
 room to a statue 
 of the emperor 
 one hundred and twenty feet high. His banqueting room had 
 pipes by which perfumes might be showered over the guests, 
 and the ceiling was so curiously made that at a touch flowers 
 were scattered among them. Everything was crusted with 
 gems and mother-of-pearl. Around the house stretched vine- 
 yards and woods and fields and pools so beautifully laid out 
 
 THE ROMAN FORUM IN THE TIME OF NERO 
 
190 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 and giving such extensive views that the historian Tac'i-tus 
 declared they were more wonderful than the buildings. 
 Nero called his dwelling his Golden House. When it was 
 
 finished, he boasted that at last he 
 had a home that was fit for a man 
 to live in. 
 
 Nero grew worse and worse — if 
 a man as bad as he could grow any- 
 worse. Plots were formed against 
 him, and he put Seneca to death on 
 the charge of having joined in one 
 of them. The armies in the prov- 
 inces revolted, the praetorian guard 
 refused to protect him, and finally 
 the senate decreed that he should 
 be scourged to death. When he 
 heard of this, he took his own life. 
 Who should be made emperor? 
 There were no more of the family of Caesar, and any one 
 who had influence enough might hope to win the prize. 
 The troops in Spain declared that Gal'ba, their general, 
 should rule, and the senate thought it wise to agree with 
 them. But in Rome there was one O'tho who was a favorite 
 with the praetorian guard. He hoped to be adopted by 
 Galba and to succeed him. Galba adopted some one else; 
 then the guard killed him and proclaimed Otho emperor. 
 This was satisfactory to the army in the East ; but the army 
 in Gaul and Spain declared that their general Vi-tel'li-us 
 should become emperor. Part of Vitellius's army were on 
 
 HEAD OF NERO 
 (In the Capitoline Museum, Rome) 
 
THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 191 
 
 their way back to Italy. They met Otho and defeated him, 
 and he took his own life. Vitellius was then in power; but 
 there was also an army in Syria to be pleased. They claimed 
 the throne for their general, Ves-pa'si-an, and at length 
 Vitellius was put to death and Vespasian was made emperor. 
 Vespasian was an honest old soldier who meant to do his 
 best for the Romans. He had no easy position, for Rome 
 was in disorder, there was a revolt in the region of the Rhine, 
 and there was war in Juda?a. He set to work first to make 
 Rome orderly. He paid sincere respect to the senate, he 
 lived simply 
 and reasona- 
 bly, and he 
 saw to it that 
 the laws were 
 obeyed. He 
 suppressed 
 the revolt of 
 the Gauls. 
 The war in 
 Judaea he left 
 for his son 
 Titus to cany 
 on. Titus be- 
 sieged Jerusa- 
 lem. Though 
 
 t n e Jews Jerusalem taken by titus 
 
 fought to the 
 
 last to defend their temple and the Holy City, the Romans 
 
192 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 were victorious. The Jewish historian Jo-se'phus had fought 
 Vespasian boldly, but had returned to Rome with him and 
 received pardon. He went back to Jerusalem and tried his 
 best to persuade his countrymen to surrender, but they 
 would not. Afterward he wrote an account of the sufferings 
 of the people and the capture of the city which is almost too 
 terrible to read. The wonderful temple, its front covered 
 with plates of gold of amazing weight and of such brilliancy 
 that no one could look at it when the light shone upon it at 
 sunrise, fell into the hands of the Romans. They took what 
 they would, then set to work to destroy the city. Three 
 towers were left to show the strength of the fortifications 
 that the Romans had demolished, then all that remained 
 was so completely overthrown that, as Josephus wrote, no 
 one would have known it had ever been inhabited. It is 
 thought that one million of Jews perished. Those that were 
 left were scattered through many countries. 
 
 The soldier emperor had a care also for the things of the 
 mind. The famous Quin-til'i-an taught rhetoric ar>d oratory 
 in Rome, and Vespasian was so pleased with hit, teaching 
 that he gave him a salary from the imperial treasury. Quin- 
 tilian had a little son whom he dearly loved, and his best 
 work is a book about oratory which he composed for the boy 
 to read when he should be old enough. The child died, and 
 Quintilian wrote piteously, "What shall I do ? I have lost 
 the only comfort of my declining years." 
 
 In the tumults before Vespasian was firmly seated upon 
 the throne, the temple on the Capitoline Hill had been de- 
 stroyed. He rebuilt it, and also a new forum. He began the 
 
THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 193 
 
 most prodigious structure of all ancient times, the Fla'vi-an 
 amphitheatre, in which hunts of wild beasts and gladiatorial 
 fights were to be shown. This was afterwards called the 
 
 THE RUINS OF THE COLOSSEUM 
 
 Col-os-se'um, because of its vast size. Vespasian died before 
 it was completed, leaving the empire to his son Titus. 
 
 Titus, too, was a builder. One of his most famous struc- 
 tures was a magnificent bathhouse. Among the Romans of 
 this age, bathing was made a luxurious pleasure, and the 
 bathhouses were immense buildings sometimes more than a 
 quarter of a mile in length. They were adorned with statues, 
 often made by the greatest sculptors. There were stately 
 columns, walls faced with precious marbles and adorned with 
 the richest of mosaics. Seneca said of them, "We are dissatis- 
 fied if we do not tread on gems in our baths." The bath itself 
 was much like the present ' ' Turkish ' ' bath ; and as the house 
 
194 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 was large enough to admit several thousand, it required a 
 vast number of apartments. But this was only the beginning, 
 for there were libraries, rooms for exercising, for resting, for 
 conversing with one's friends, and halls in which a poet or an 
 orator might find an audience. It was an immense casino, a 
 "gigantic clubhouse," as it has been called. There was often 
 a stadium for games with raised seats for spectators; there 
 were long colonnades and beautiful grounds with fountains 
 
 
 PAPYRUS MANUSCRIPT FOUND AT HERCULANEUM 
 (It contains the Fragment of a Poem) 
 
 and shady walks where the bathers might stroll about as 
 
 they would. It was during these times that the poet Ju've-nal 
 
 wrote of the earlier days of Rome : — 
 
 "It was not then a Roman's anxious thought 
 Where largest tortoise-shells were to be bought, 
 Where pearls might of the greatest price be had, 
 And shining jewels to adorn his bed, 
 That he at vast expense might loll his head. 
 Plain was his couch, and only rich his mind ; 
 Contentedly he slept, as cheaply as he dined." 
 
 Titus completed the Colosseum which his father had be- 
 gun. In this more than eighty thousand spectators often 
 
THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 195 
 
 gathered. The vast arena could be flooded by underground 
 pipes almost in an instant, and thus afford an excellent op- 
 portunity for displays of mock naval battles. There were 
 sixty or eighty ascending rows of seats made of marble and 
 richly cushioned. A canopy gave protection from the sun 
 and the rain. In this building the people of Rome sat and 
 watched the bloody death of thousands of men and wild 
 beasts. 
 
 The Romans were so used to bloodshed that they seem to 
 have seldom felt compassion for suffering. Titus grieved 
 that he had 
 "lost a day" 
 when during 
 its hours he 
 had done no 
 one a kind- 
 ness, and he 
 was so good 
 and just and 
 generous that 
 his people 
 called him 
 "the delight 
 of mankind"; 
 but even he 
 was so har- 
 dened to suf- 
 fering that after the fall of Jerusalem he had twenty-five 
 hundred Jews burned to death or slain in contests with wild 
 
 '■■ '" ' '■ 'j&%% 
 
 
 
 Jf'*^ 
 
 
 5> ; t^r-^ 
 
 DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII 
 
 Sc/i u/'in 
 
196 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 beasts or with one another — and this was in honor of his 
 brother Do-mi'ti-an's birthday! 
 
 During the reign of Titus, a second great fire swept over 
 Rome. There was, too, a terrible eruption of Mount Vesuvius 
 which buried the cities of Her-cu-la'ne-um and Pom-pe'i-i. 
 The elder Plin'y, a famous author, lost his life in this eruption; 
 his nephew, who is spoken of as the younger Pliny, was a 
 young man of eighteen at the time of the disaster. He wrote 
 to the historian Tacitus a long letter about the awful calam- 
 ity. He believed that the end of all things had come and 
 that he was "perishing with the world itself." 
 
 ARCH OF TITUS 
 
 Titus was succeeded by his brother Domitian. During the 
 reign of the latter, his general A-gric'o-la conquered Britain 
 
THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 197 
 
 far into what is now Scotland, and built a wall from the Forth 
 to the Clyde to keep off the savage tribes of the north. He 
 planned to conquer Ireland; but Domitian had become 
 jealous of his successful general and recalled him. The 
 Da'ci-ans, who lived along the 
 Danube, revolted, and Domitian 
 himself went forth to quiet 
 them. It was said that he never 
 met the enemy, and that his 
 forces were worsted in several 
 engagements. Nevertheless, he 
 returned to Rome in great glory 
 and gave himself a triumph. 
 He had no real captives to walk 
 in the procession, for the excel- 
 lent reason that he had not 
 succeeded in taking any; but 
 he bought large numbers of 
 slaves and dressed them to re- 
 present the people whom he had 
 failed to conquer. To free Rome 
 from the attacks of these tribes, 
 he humbled himself to give them 
 every year a certain weight of 
 gold. Pliny the younger de- 
 clared that whenever Domitian celebrated a triumph, the 
 Romans might be sure that not they, but their enemies, had 
 gained something. Domitian drove away from the city all 
 the literary men and philosophers. One of the most interest- 
 
 DOMITIAN 
 (In the Vatican) 
 
198 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 ing of the latter was Ep-ic-te'tus. He was born a slave, but 
 had become free by some means. He lived in a little hut, 
 which was furnished with a bed and a lamp and nothing 
 more; but he spoke so wisely about matters of life and 
 thought that people were always eager to listen to him. His 
 favorite maxim was, "Bear and forbear." 
 
 Domitian governed the provinces firmly and wisely. He 
 enforced the religious observances of the state and punished 
 severely those who violated them. At the death of an em- 
 peror, it had become the custom among the Romans to declare 
 that he had joined the gods and to offer up prayers to him. 
 Domitian had no idea of waiting for these honors until he 
 was dead. He set up statues of himself and commanded 
 his subjects to burn incense before them. This, of course, 
 neither the Jews nor the Christians could do; and therefore 
 he persecuted them savagely. It was at this time that the 
 apostle John was banished to the island of Pat'mos. 
 
 Early in Domitian's reign, part of his army and many 
 senators conspired against him, and from that time he was 
 suspicious of everyone and put many to death because of his 
 fears. At last he was assassinated. It is said that his own 
 wife joined in the plot against him. The senate decreed that 
 his name should be struck out of their annals and erased 
 from the various monuments. 
 
 These emperors, Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, 
 Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, 
 and Domitian, are often spoken of as the "Twelve Caesars," 
 but for no better reason than that the historian Sue-to 'ni-us, 
 a friend of Pliny's, wrote the biographies of these twelve and 
 
THE REST OF THE TWELVE CAESARS 199 
 
 no more. " Caesar" had come to be regarded as a title rather 
 than a family name, and signified " emperor " or " sovereign." 
 Of these twelve, only three, Augustus, Vespasian, and per- 
 haps Titus, died a natural death; and only one, Vespasian, 
 was succeeded by his own son. 
 
200 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Si 9b. 
 
 SECTION OF A FRIEZE FROM THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO 
 
 XV 
 THE FIVE GOOD EMPERORS 
 
 The rule of the "Twelve Caesars" extended over nearly one 
 hundred and fifty years. During the greater part of this time, 
 the provinces suffered little from the cruelty of the emperors, 
 but the history of the city is one long story of tyranny and 
 bloodshed. It is a relief to read that these Twelve were fol- 
 lowed by honest, faithful men, the "Five Good Emperors," 
 who did all that they could for the best good of the empire. 
 
 The first of these five rulers was Ner'va, a kind-hearted, 
 elderly man. He recalled those who had been exiled; he 
 lessened the taxes of the people; and he put an end to the 
 wretched business of the informers, who were always on the 
 watch to report the utterance of a word against the emperor. 
 Indeed, he was so gentle and forgiving that one senator said, 
 "It is ill to have a prince under whom no one may do any- 
 thing; but worse to have one who lets everyone do as he 
 will." The murderers of Domitian had not been punished, 
 and now the praetorian guard took the matter into their own 
 hands and put to death without a trial as many of them as 
 
THE FIVE GOOD EMPERORS 
 
 201 
 
 could be found. Nerva was not able to punish this rebellion 
 against his authority, and he decided to adopt an energetic 
 young general of Spanish 
 birth named Tra'jan, and 
 let him share in the gov- 
 ernment. A few months 
 later Nerva died. 
 
 Trajan was near the 
 Rhine with the army 
 when it was announced 
 to him that he had be- 
 come emperor. He went 
 on fortifying the frontier, 
 and a year passed before 
 he appeared in Rome. 
 Then he walked quietly 
 and without guards to the 
 palace of the Caesars. 
 
 Trajan proved to be an 
 ideal emperor in the eyes 
 of the Romans, and they 
 gave him the title of Op'- 
 ti-mus, or best. He scorned 
 
 the thought of paying tribute to the Dacians, as Domitian 
 had done. He suppressed them; and in remembrance of 
 his victories he laid out a new forum with one library for 
 Latin books and another for Greek, a magnificent basilica, 
 statues, and a triumphal arch. In the centre of this forum he 
 placed a column about which wound a band of sculpture 
 
202 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 telling the story of the Dacian War. At the summit of the 
 column was the statue of the emperor himself. 
 
 Trajan did not agree with Augustus that the empire was 
 large enough. He carried on war in the East and made large 
 conquests to the southeast of the Black Sea. 
 
 Under this vigorous ruler, baths, theatres, and other hand- 
 some structures were built not only in Rome, but scattered 
 through the provinces. He looked out for the roads and 
 
 COLUMN AND FORUM OF TRAJAN 
 
 bridges; he made arrangements for caring for poor children; 
 and he loaned money at less than half the usual rates to 
 landowners who wished to improve their property. 
 
 This many-sided emperor enjoyed being with literary men. 
 Pliny the Younger, who wrote the account of the eruption 
 of Mount Vesuvius, was one of his correspondents. Plutarch, 
 
THE FIVE GOOD EMPERORS 203 
 
 too, lived during the reign, and wrote his "Lives," the biog- 
 raphies of forty-six Greeks and Romans, told so simply and 
 naturally and with so many anecdotes that every generation 
 since they were written has found them well worth reading. 
 
 The Romans would have been glad if Trajan had left a son 
 to rule them as well as he had done. After his death his wife 
 announced that in his illness he had adopted a young relative, 
 named Ha'dri-an, and he became emperor. 
 
 Hadrian believed that the empire was as large as could be 
 well managed, and he even gave up some of the lands over- 
 powered by Trajan in the East. Then he set out to become 
 acquainted with every corner of his realm, and, followed by 
 his legions, he traveled from one country to another. Some- 
 times he rode on horseback, but far oftener he marched with 
 his soldiers. He drilled them severely, but he took care for 
 their rights; and whatever came to them as rations, cheese, 
 bread, and sour wine, he always tasted for himself. On 
 through Gaul he journeyed, then to Britain. There he found 
 a flourishing province with plenty of grain for home use and 
 for export, with potteries, roads, cities, handsome villas, and 
 elaborate baths. He built a wall south of Agricola's, running 
 from near the mouth of the Tyne River to Solway Firth, 
 close to what is now the dividing line between England and 
 Scotland. On this wall there were watchtowers, and at in- 
 tervals of every four miles a fort. Leaving Britain, Hadrian 
 passed southward through Gaul again, then visited Spain, 
 northern Africa, the countries beyond the Ti'gris and Eu- 
 phrates rivers, Athens, Carthage, and so back to Rome. He 
 had gone to Athens when a boy of ten and had spent five 
 
204 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 years there in study. He must have had pleasant recollec- 
 tions of the city, for he seemed eager to do something for it. 
 In other places on his way he had erected public build- 
 ings, temples, 
 and theatres; 
 but in Athens he 
 not only reared 
 many of these, 
 but completed 
 a superb temple 
 to Jupiter, begun 
 long before, 
 which became 
 wo n d e rf ully 
 beautiful with 
 his lavish gifts of 
 statues, paint- 
 ings, and deco- 
 rations of gold 
 and ivory. He 
 also erected a 
 famous arch 
 which is still 
 standing. 
 
 The greater 
 part of fifteen 
 years Hadrian 
 spent in journeying about his empire. Before his time the 
 provincials had been obliged to provide post-wagons free 
 
 ARCH OF HADRIAN, ATHENS 
 
THE FIVE GOOD EMPERORS 
 
 205 
 
 for the use of the government ; but Hadrian saw how heavy 
 a burden this was, and he paid his own traveling expenses. 
 
 The founding of a colony on the former site of Jerusalem 
 aroused the Jews to make a desperate struggle against their 
 conquerors. After they were subdued, he forbade their enter- 
 ing the city save on one day in each year, the anniversary of 
 its overthrow. 
 
 Hadrian spent his last years in Rome, or at a splendid 
 villa which 
 he had built 
 a few miles 
 outside the 
 city. He built 
 also temples 
 and a vast 
 mausoleum 
 for his own 
 tomb. This 
 was a round 
 building 
 faced with 
 white mar- 
 ble, and encircled by rows of pillars and statues. It is now 
 known as the Castle of Saint Angelo. He adopted as his son 
 and successor a Gaul named An-to-ni'nus, and bade him 
 adopt Marcus Au-re'li-us, a young man of seventeen, and 
 also a little boy, Lucius Ve'rus, who was ten years younger. 
 Antoninus was so respectful to the memory of Hadrian 
 that the Romans gave him the title of Pi'us, that is, the duti- 
 
 HADRIAN'S TOMB 
 (Now called Castle of St. Angelo) 
 
206 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 ful; and he is known in history as Antoninus Pius. For 
 twenty-three years he reigned, or rather he and the young 
 
 Marcus Aurelius reigned 
 together. He was kind and 
 dignified as a private citi- 
 zen; and he did not change 
 when he became emperor. 
 His one care seemed to be 
 how to secure the best good 
 of his subjects. 
 
 At the death of Antoninus 
 Pius, Marcus Aurelius An- 
 toninus became emperor. 
 He shared his rule with Ve- 
 rus until the death of the 
 latter. For nineteen years 
 he reigned, and the greater 
 part of the time, this stu- 
 dent who would have been 
 so glad to spend the years in reading and thinking was 
 obliged to spend them at the head of the army. The bar- 
 barians along the frontiers of the empire were pushed upon 
 by other barbarians beyond them, and they were pressing 
 toward Italy. The soldiers returning from the East brought 
 pestilence with them. The land was filled with sickness and 
 the treasury was low. There was no strength to subdue the 
 barbarians; the most that could be done was to try to check 
 their advance. From one part of the frontier to another the 
 weary emperor went, always planning how to protect his 
 
 AMTONINUS PIUS 
 
THE FIVE GOOD EMPERORS 
 
 207 
 
 realm and how to rule it well. He was a student of Epictetus, 
 and he himself 
 was a philoso- 
 pher. When he 
 had a moment of 
 leisure, he often 
 occupied it in 
 writing thoughts 
 that would help 
 him to keep good 
 and true in the 
 troubles that 
 thronged about 
 him. When he 
 was in camp near 
 the Danube, he 
 found a few min- 
 utes to write how 
 much he had 
 
 learned from Antoninus Pius, how much from each of those 
 who taught him as a boy, and in how many things he found 
 himself singularly fortunate. He wrote many wise and sen- 
 sible thoughts like the following : — 
 
 "What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee. 
 
 "Consider how much more pain is brought on us by the anger and 
 vexation caused by such acts than by the acts themselves at which we 
 are angry and vexed. 
 
 "The best way of avenging yourself is not to become lik e the wrong- 
 doer." 
 
 MARCUS AURELIUS 
 
208 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Through the reign of the Five Good Emperors, eighty-four 
 years, there had been good government in Rome; but if 
 earnest, faithful Marcus Aurelius could have looked forward 
 a few years, he might well have feared for the future of the 
 empire. 
 
MARCUS AURELIUS TO DIOCLETIAN 209 
 
 XVI 
 
 FROM MARCUS AURELIUS TO DIOCLETIAN 
 
 So wise a man as Marcus Aurelius must have seen that there 
 were several reasons why the empire was not so strong as it 
 had been in the earlier times. In the first place, there was a 
 lack of citizens. Vast numbers had been slain in the wars, and 
 the custom of casting infants out to perish had become so 
 common that the places of these men had not been filled. 
 Then, too, there was no stable government. If an emperor 
 respected the senate, he deferred to its wishes; if not, he went 
 very much his own way. It is hard to feel devotion to a 
 country with an unstable government, and patriotism had 
 almost disappeared. 
 
 Again, the Romans scorned work; and slaves had been so 
 cheap that work had been left to them while the masters 
 lived in idleness. Land was in the hands of the few rather 
 than the many. Grain could be brought to Italy cheaper 
 than it could be raised there, and the small farmers had 
 gradually given up their farms and joined the crowds of idle 
 folk in the city, doing no work, and depending upon the 
 government for food and amusement. Everyone wanted 
 luxuries, such as silks and spices; and they must be brought 
 from the East. The chief manufactures of the Mediterranean 
 countries were leather and wool, and the East did not care 
 for these. In consequence, Rome had to pay in silver or gold 
 for all her Eastern imports. Therefore, the silver and gold 
 were going out of the country rapidly. More did not come 
 
210 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 in, for the wealth of Rome had come not from production, 
 but from conquest, and now the conquests had ceased. 
 
 Taxes were high; there was no definite arrangement by 
 which when one emperor died, the people could be sure who 
 would succeed him. The conquered nations had small inter- 
 est in Rome, and from the Romans themselves they had 
 learned how to wage war to the death when they wished to 
 rebel. Moreover, beyond this ring of conquered nations 
 there were hordes of barbarians crowding nearer and nearer 
 to the Roman boundaries, and the best strength of the empire 
 was constantly called upon to check their advance. If there 
 was a fire, a famine, or an earthquake with loss of people and 
 property, there was no way to make the loss good. 
 
 A long succession of strong, wise rulers might have done 
 much to make the empire strong and united ; but the first one 
 to follow the good Marcus Aurelius was his son Com'mo-dus, 
 and a more un worth y son of a worthy man never lived. His 
 chief pleasure was gladiatorial contests ; and he was not sat- 
 isfied with seeing bloodshed, he must cause it with his own 
 weapons. More than seven hundred times the emperor of 
 Rome degraded himself by entering the arena and contending 
 with wild beasts, or with men armed with weapons of lead or 
 tin. The senate meekly bestowed upon him various titles 
 of honor, but the one that pleased him most was the ' ' Roman 
 Hercules." 
 
 He was followed by Per'ti-nax, who would gladly have 
 brought about many reforms; but the praetorians did not 
 wish a ruler of that stamp, and they actually auctioned off 
 the Roman empire. One wealthy man offered eight hundred 
 
MARCUS AURELIUS TO DIOCLETIAN 211 
 
 dollars to each soldier of the guard; but a second offered a 
 thousand dollars, and it was knocked down to him. Each of 
 the armies in other parts of the realm declared its own general 
 to be emperor. The strongest of all these candidates was 
 Lucius Sep-tim'i-us Se-ve'rus. He won the prize, and the 
 purchaser of the empire was slain. 
 
 Much of the reign of Severus was spent in trying to thrust 
 the barbarians back from the frontier. The deed by which 
 he is most clearly remembered is his disbanding of the old 
 praetorian guard of Italians and forming another. This new 
 guard consisted of fifty thousand men, and they were of all 
 nationalities. The chief power was held by these foreign 
 soldiers; and therefore Rome was already in the hands of 
 strangers, though no one realized it. A man might do what- 
 ever he chose if only he could win over the soldiers. It was 
 easy to win them if one had gold enough, and taxing the peo- 
 ple would bring in gold. The emperor Car-a-cal'la, son ol 
 Severus, was so in need of money for this purpose that to 
 increase the taxes he admitted to citizenship all freeborn 
 people throughout the empire. 
 
 Of the many men who sat on the imperial throne between 
 180 a. d. and 268 a. d., few are worthy of notice. One was a 
 young boy from Syria ; one an ignorant peasant ; at one time 
 there were actually thirty generals, the Thirty Tyrants, as 
 they are called, each of whom claimed the right to rule. The 
 soldiers put anyone in power who had made them gifts or 
 whom they fancied for the moment; and when they were 
 tired of him, they murdered him and put in some one else. 
 The better an emperor was, the sooner he was put to death. 
 
212 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Alexander Severus did all that a man could do to control the 
 soldiers and rule the country well; but of course in such a 
 condition his reign was short. 
 
 Matters began to look darker and darker. The army was 
 the only power in the empire. A soldier's first duty is to 
 obey ; and as this army had no idea of obeying anything but 
 their own will, they were not valuable soldiers. Unfortu- 
 nately for Rome, her enemies grew strong as her soldiers 
 grew weak, and the Romans were defeated in battle after 
 battle. Rome never needed loyal defenders worse, for the 
 Germans on the Rhine and the Danube were pushing into 
 the Roman lands; and Persia, on the east, had become a 
 
 powerful 
 kingdom. In 
 Rome itself 
 there was no 
 government 
 at all, for no 
 one could 
 hope to be- 
 come emperor 
 who was not 
 a general of 
 one army or 
 another, and 
 no army 
 would recog- 
 nize any general but its own. The whole empire was in 
 confusion. It did not seem as if order could be restored for 
 
 RUINS AT PALMYRA 
 (Colonnade and Triumphal Arch) 
 
MARCUS AURELIUS TO DIOCLETIAN 213 
 
 even a moment ; but it came about that once more five good 
 men in succession held the throne and ruled so wisely and 
 with so strong a hand that for a few years the fate of the 
 empire seemed more hopeful. 
 
 Au-re'li-an, one of these five, made the famous capture of 
 Pal-my'ra. This was a wealthy city on an oasis in the Syrian 
 desert. Its ruler was Ze-no'bi-a, a woman who was every 
 inch a queen. 
 She was 
 finely edu- 
 cated; she 
 could ride or 
 walk at the 
 head of the 
 troops ; and 
 she could 
 com m and 
 them. It was 
 said that sev- 
 eral of her 
 h u s b a n d ' s 
 victories were 
 due to her 
 excellent 
 
 generalship. Some of these victories had been won over the 
 Persian king, and the Romans had shown much gratitude. 
 At her husband's death, she took the throne. The Romans 
 objected and sent an army against her, which she promptly 
 defeated. It was thought that she was planning an empire 
 
 THE.APPIAN WAT 
 (As it looked during tbe Empire) 
 
 Boulaiiger 
 
214 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 that should rival Rome, and Aurelian himself took up arms to 
 overthrow Palmyra. He wrote home, "The Roman people 
 speak with contempt of the war which I am waging against 
 a woman. They are ignorant both of the character and of 
 the power of Zenobia." After a siege Palmyra surrendered 
 and was destroyed. Zenobia was captured and taken to 
 Rome. There she was sumptuously dressed, bound with 
 golden fetters, and loaded with glittering jewels of many 
 colors. About her neck was wound a golden chain so heavy 
 that a slave had to help her carry it; and in these trappings 
 she walked through the streets of Rome in the triumph 
 of Aurelian. After this, Aurelian gave her a handsome resi- 
 dence twenty miles from the city, and there she and her 
 children lived. 
 
 The end of the reign of the five emperors came in the year 
 284 a. d. The throne fell next to Di-o-cle'ti-an, who made so 
 many changes that he seemed almost the "founder of a new 
 empire." 
 
DIOCLETIAN AND CONSTANTINE 
 
 215 
 
 POCKET KNIFE OF A ROMAN 
 
 XVII 
 
 REIGNS OF DIOCLETIAN AND CONSTANTINE 
 
 No one who thought for a moment about the state of the 
 empire could have helped seeing that remedies must be found 
 at once for at least two of its troubles. In the first place, the 
 lives of the emperors must be protected so they should not 
 be slain at the whim of the soldiers. Second, the barbarians 
 who were pressing upon the boundaries must be thrust back. 
 Diocletian saw this, and discovered, or thought he had dis- 
 covered a certain remedy. Whether certain or not, it was 
 surely an original one. He chose three generals to aid him in 
 the government. To one of these he gave the title of Augus- 
 tus, which he himself bore. The other two were called Ccesars. 
 His plan was that the four should work together, each ruling 
 a division of the empire. When an Augustus died, a Caesar 
 was to be promoted to take his place and another Caesar to 
 be chosen. 
 
 There were three reasons why this arrangement seemed to 
 Diocletian a most excellent plan. One was that the succession 
 to the throne was provided for. The second was that the four 
 men could divide the realm among them, and so it would be 
 
216 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 well cared for and protected. The third was that it would 
 prevent assassination, for the murder of one or two or even 
 three of the four would not change the government in the 
 least; and it would not be easy to plot to kill four men in 
 different parts of the vast empire at the same moment. 
 
 All went on smoothly for a while, but it was soon found 
 that keeping up four courts and four sets of officials was an 
 expensive matter. Diocletian had taken Egypt, Asia, and 
 Thrace for his share, and had chosen Nic-o-me'di-a, near the 
 Bos'pho-rus, as his capital. Here he lived in the utmost 
 luxury and splendor. The emperor Augustus had gone about 
 among the people in familiar fashion, had lived simply, and 
 had dressed like other well-to-do Romans. The emperor 
 Diocletian dressed in robes of silk and gold and even orna- 
 mented his shoes with the most precious gems. Instead of 
 the people's meeting their emperor easily and familiarly, 
 there were numerous officials to be passed before anyone 
 could reach the presence chamber. There the visitor was 
 required to throw himself upon the ground at the feet of the 
 ruler. Moreover, this ruler wore a crown, a thing which 
 neither Julius nor Augustus would have ventured to do. 
 Augustus had kept up all the old forms of the republic and 
 had done his best to make the people feel that they were the 
 real rulers, and he was only one of themselves. Diocletian 
 dropped the old forms and did everything to remove him- 
 self from the people and induce them to feel that he was not 
 a mere man, but a creature far above them and of finer clay 
 than they. 
 
 To keep up this expensive court, and those of the other 
 
DIOCLETIAN AND CONSTANTINE 
 
 217 
 
 rulers, required money, as has been said before, and money 
 must be obtained by increasing the taxes of the people. These 
 taxes were already severe, and soon there was rebellion on 
 the part of the peasants in Gaul. These peasants were sub- 
 dued by arms, but they felt that they were burdened beyond 
 what was just and right, and they were angry and discon- 
 tented. 
 
 Diocletian was inclined to permit the Christians to carry 
 on their worship as they would, but Ga-le'ri-us, one of the 
 Caesars, was strongly opposed to them. At length Diocletian 
 
 CHRISTIAN MARTYRS IN THE COLOSSEUM 
 
 yielded to him and passed severe laws against them. Their 
 churches were leveled to the ground, and they themselves 
 were tortured, thrown to wild beasts in the arena, or put to 
 death in other ways. 
 
218 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 While this persecution was still going on, the Roman world 
 was amazed to learn that both Diocletian and Max-im'i-an, 
 the second Augustus, had given up the throne and intended 
 to spend the rest of their lives as private citizens. Diocletian 
 withdrew to Dal-ma'ti-a, and there on the shore of the Adri- 
 atic Sea he built himself a palace. Maximian soon regretted 
 his abdication and wrote to Diocletian to ask if they could 
 not by working together get possession of the sovereignty 
 again. Diocletian gave him little comfort, for he replied, 
 "Were you but to come to Sa-lo'na and see the vegetables 
 which I raise in my garden with my own hands, j T ou would 
 no longer talk to me of empire." 
 
 The persecution of the Christians continued for seven 
 years after the retirement of Diocletian. Galerius finally 
 published an edict putting an end to it. He was then in his 
 last sickness, and it is said that in his sufferings he besought 
 the Christians to pray to their God for him. 
 
 When Diocletian and Maximian gave up the throne, 
 Galerius and Con-stan'ti-us became Augusti. So far the 
 plan of Diocletian had worked smoothly ; but when Constan- 
 tius died, the soldiers put aside all Diocletian's plans and 
 declared that their commander, Con-stan-ti'nus, or Con'- 
 stan-tine, should be emperor. There were, however, several 
 other claimants to the throne, of whom the most active was 
 Max-en'ti-us. It was several years, therefore, before Con- 
 stantine became the undisputed ruler of the empire. 
 
 Instead of persecuting the Christians, Constantine took 
 the cross for his standard. He declared that one day at noon, 
 during his struggle with his rival, Maxentius, he saw a cross 
 
DIOCLETIAN AND CONSTANTINE 
 
 219 
 
 Raphael 
 
 THE VISION OF CONSTANTINE 
 (From a Painting in the Vatican) 
 
 in the sky above the sun, and on it was written, in Greek, 
 In this sign thou shalt conquer, or, as it was translated into 
 Latin, In hoc signo vinces. On the following day, he dis- 
 played a cross to his soldiers. From its shorter beam hung 
 a banner of purple silk, flashing with jewels and showing 
 images of him and his children. On the top of the upright 
 beam was a golden crown marked jjc, the Greek letters which 
 stand for the cross and also for the Ch-r of " Christ." On this 
 
220 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 day he fought with Maxentius the battle of Mil'vi-an Bridge, 
 one of his most important engagements, and won a great 
 victory. Henceforth his army followed the cross in all their 
 battles. One year later, Constantine published an edict (the 
 Edict of Mil'an) allowing everyone in his realm to practice 
 whatever religion he might choose. Little by little he gave 
 the Christians more rights. Their numbers increased rapidly, 
 for few people had now any faith in the gods, and they had 
 suffered so much that they were glad to learn of a God in 
 whom they could believe. 
 
 So it was that the empire gained a new faith. It was not 
 long before it gained a new capital, for Constantine decided 
 to take By-zan'ti-um on the Bosphorus for his chief city. He 
 was a wise man, and he had several good reasons for doing 
 this. Perhaps the strongest of all was that he meant to rule 
 the empire without paying any attention to the Roman 
 senate or the nobles ; and this would be much easier to do in 
 the East where people had always been accustomed to bowing 
 down to their rulers. Another reason was that in Byzantium 
 the emperor would be nearer his most dangerous enemies, 
 the barbarians north of the Danube and the Persians. He 
 would also be nearer the mass of his people. Now that Rome 
 ruled Greece and Asia Minor, Byzantium was in a most 
 excellent location for carrying on trade, since all the com- 
 merce of the countries around the Black Sea must pass 
 through the Bosphorus. The new city was given the name 
 of Con-stan-ti-no'ple, or city of Constantine. It is said that 
 more than twelve million dollars was spent on walls, porti- 
 coes, and aqueducts alone. Baths, theatres, forum, circus, 
 
DIOCLETIAN AND CONSTANTINE 
 
 221 
 
 churches, palaces, all sprang up within a short time. The 
 
 city was adorned with the works of the greatest artists, for 
 
 the builder 
 
 was the mas- 
 
 ter of the 
 
 world, and 
 
 he took from 
 
 the cities of 
 
 Greece and 
 
 Asia Minor 
 
 the finest 
 
 statues and 
 
 most perfect 
 
 or naments 
 
 that were in 
 
 existence. 
 
 The next thing to do was to make the government as strong 
 as possible, or rather, to prevent anyone's interfering with 
 what Constantine thought best to do, for he himself proposed 
 to be the government. He had decided that the surest way 
 to prevent revolts was not to allow any one man to have too 
 much power. Therefore he made many generals and gave 
 each one fewer soldiers than had been the custom; and 
 he divided the provinces into small districts. This way of 
 ruling prevented rebellions, but it was expensive, for there 
 were very many officials to be paid, and therefore the taxes 
 of the people rose still higher. Those who had fertile lands 
 far enough from the frontiers to be well protected could 
 generally pay what was demanded ; but men near the bound- 
 
 AECH OF CONSTANTINE 
 (Built in Commemoration of the Victory at Milvian Bridge) 
 
222 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 aries whose fields were sometimes devastated by barbarians 
 could not pay, and gradually they abandoned their lands. 
 The result of this was that after a while the country at a 
 safe distance from the boundaries was cultivated; but that 
 which was near the borders of the empire was left wild. 
 
 After Constantine's death, first his sons and then his 
 nephew ruled the empire. This nephew was JuTi-an. He is 
 called "the Apostate," because he gave up Christianity and 
 tried to bring his people back to the worship of the old gods. 
 The days of the persecutions had passed, but Julian gave the 
 chief offices to those who would carry on the old worship. 
 He forbade Christians to teach in the schools, and he made 
 them rebuild the temples that had been ruined. He made 
 several campaigns against the Persians, and in one of these 
 he was fatally wounded. His successor was a Christian. 
 With Julian died the last imperial worshipper of the gods. 
 
LAST CENTURIES OF THE EMPIRE 223 
 
 RUIN OF A ROMAN AQUEDUCT 
 
 XVIII 
 
 THE LAST CENTURIES OF THE EMPIRE 
 
 The Persians were determined enemies, but Rome had far 
 more powerful ones to meet, and these were the Germans, 
 who have already been mentioned several times. They were 
 a wild, barbarous people, divided into many different tribes. 
 They lived beyond the Rhine and the Danube. They were 
 tall and large. They had light hair and keen, fierce blue eyes. 
 They were brave and strong, and they only laughed at cold 
 and weariness. They wore the skins of wild beasts and some- 
 times a coarse sort of linen, or else the gorgeous garments 
 which they had captured or bought of the provincials. 
 
 These were the people who had attacked Rome even in 
 the days when it was a republic. Marius defeated the Ger- 
 man Cimbri and Teutones in 102 b. c, and ever since then 
 the Romans had been continually driving away one tribe or 
 
224 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 another of them. For many years the empire had been grow- 
 ing weaker, and all this time the Germans had been growing 
 stronger and bolder, and they never left the Romans in peace. 
 Sometimes a few of them stole into the Roman domains and 
 drove off some cattle. Sometimes they came in larger num- 
 bers and destroyed houses and crops throughout a whole 
 province. Sometimes they came peacefully and with the 
 emperor's permission and made settlements on Roman lands. 
 Sometimes they became allies of the Romans. 
 
 As time passed, they learned much of the ways of the 
 Romans, not only their methods of warfare, but also their 
 customs of living. Wild and rude as the Germans were, 
 they had an exceedingly fine trait, — they were anxious to 
 learn, and when they discovered a better way of doing any- 
 thing than their own, they were eager to adopt it. The more 
 these barbarians saw and heard of Italy, the more they were 
 charmed by that warm, sunny country, and by the rich, 
 splendid life of the Romans. It is no wonder that they were 
 determined, whether by fair means or foul, to break into the 
 empire. Those of the German tribes that succeeded in doing 
 this became devoted to their adopted country. Many of them 
 joined the Roman legions and were as anxious as any of 
 the Romans to save the land from its enemies, — even 
 from the barbarians of their own race. 
 
 In the fourth century, a tribe of Germans called Vis'i-goths, 
 or Western Goths, lived to the north just beyond the Danube. 
 They came to the Romans in great distress. "A fearful peo- 
 ple, the Huns, are upon us," they said, "and we cannot resist 
 them. Only let us cross the Danube. Grant us homes in 
 
LAST CENTURIES OF THE EMPIRE 
 
 225 
 
 Thrace, and we will obey the Roman laws and guard the 
 empire from the horrible savages." 
 
 It was difficult to decide what reply to make to this peti- 
 tion. If the answer was "No," the Visigoths might come, 
 nevertheless, in vast numbers and as enemies rather than 
 suppliants. On the other hand, to allow hundreds of thou- 
 sands of armed men to cross the boundary river was a dan- 
 gerous thing to do. Va'lens, emperor in the East (for the 
 empire was now divided, and there was one emperor in the 
 East and another in the West), 
 made the blunder of trying to do 
 things by halves. He told the Goths 
 that they might come and that he 
 would provide food; but they must 
 surrender their weapons and give 
 up the children of their chief men as 
 hostages. They agreed to this. Next 
 came the passing of the river. It 
 was no easy matter, for there were 
 nearly a million of the Goths ; but at 
 length it was completed. The children of the leaders were car- 
 ried to distant parts of the empire to be educated as Romans; 
 and the rest of the people encamped on Roman territory. 
 
 Then came trouble. The Visigoths were to be supplied 
 with food, that is, they were to be allowed to buy it. The 
 generals in command thought this an excellent opportunity 
 to fill their purses. Therefore they provided the poorest and 
 vilest of food, but charged an exorbitant price for it. The 
 Goths were enraged, and they were not so helpless as the 
 
 A LARGE GOLD MEDALLION 
 OF YALENS 
 
226 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 generals supposed, for it seems that at the crossing of the 
 river many of the shrewd barbarians had bribed the Roman 
 officers to allow them to retain their weapons. Before the 
 Romans fully realized this, the Eastern Goths, or Os'tro-goths, 
 also begged to be allowed to cross the Danube, for they, too, 
 were pursued by the dreadful Huns. The emperor was 
 thoroughly alarmed now, and he answered, "No." Never- 
 theless, the Ostrogoths came. The emperor was too fright- 
 ened to dare to wait for a sufficient number of troops. He 
 met the invaders in battle. The Roman army was destroyed 
 and he was slain. 
 
 These Germans were jubilant. They had learned that they, 
 whom the Romans looked upon as savages and barbarians, 
 could overcome the famous legions. Matters were in their 
 own hands. They marched on to the southward, plundering 
 and destroying as they went, until they were very close to 
 Constantinople. 
 
 Valens's nephew, who had become emperor in the West, 
 was wise enough to see that he needed the help of a thor- 
 oughly efficient commander, and he appointed a Spaniard 
 named The-o-do'si-us as emperor in the East. Theodosius 
 eventually united the two parts of the empire into one, over 
 which he ruled. Seeing that he could not drive the Ger- 
 mans out of the empire, he called them allies, paid them to 
 defend the frontier, and treated them with respect, but set- 
 tled them in districts as far apart as possible. Many of 
 them became faithful friends of Rome. Others were restless 
 and ambitious, and only waited for a leader to rebel against 
 the power of the empire. 
 
LAST CENTURIES OF THE EMPIRE 
 
 227 
 
 This leader was found in Al'a-ric. Under his command 
 they pillaged Greece; then they fixed their eyes upon Rome. 
 The great Theodosius was dead, and the realm was now in 
 the hands of his two sons, Ar-ca'di-us in the East and Ho-no'- 
 ri-us in the West. The guardian of Honorius was a general 
 named Stil'i-cho. He himself was a 
 German, for it was now nothing 
 unusual for the best generals and 
 statesmen in Rome to be of German 
 blood. So skilful was Stilicho that 
 by using both his wits and his wea- 
 pons he managed to keep the Goths 
 from sweeping over Italy. This was 
 no easy task, especially as the peo- 
 ple who lived near the boundaries 
 had been so distressed by enormous 
 taxes that they almost looked upon 
 the Goths as deliverers and made 
 little resistance to them. Honorius 
 had fled for his life, but when once 
 in a safe retreat, he had proclaimed 
 that his breast had "never been 
 susceptible of fear." After the dan- 
 ger was over, he went back to Rome 
 to celebrate the return of peace. Then this sagacious young 
 man concluded that Stilicho would be so elated by his success 
 that he probably would try to make himself emperor; and he 
 put to death the only man who could resist the invaders. 
 
 As soon as Alaric learned of the death of Stilicho, he 
 
 HONORIUS IN MILITARY DRESS 
 
228 
 
 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 marched into Italy and besieged Rome. It was forced to 
 yield. Messengers hurried to Ra-ven'na where Honorius 
 was amusing himself. "Rome has perished!" they cried. 
 
 ALARIC IN ROME 
 
 "Why, she was eating from my hand only an hour ago!" 
 exclaimed the emperor; for he was taking so little interest in 
 the fate of his empire that he thought "Rome" was his fa- 
 vorite hen, to whom he had given that name. Alaric loaded 
 down his army with silks and jewels and gold and silver, but 
 he did not destroy the city. He did not wish to seize it for his 
 countrymen, for he planned to conquer Sicily, and then make 
 a kingdom for them on the African shores. On reaching the 
 southern point of Italy, he was taken ill and died. His fol- 
 lowers turned aside a little river from its course and buried 
 
LAST CENTURIES OF THE EMPIRE 229 
 
 him in its bed. Then the captives who had been forced to do 
 this work were slain, that no one might know where their 
 chief was laid and do his body despite. The Goths did not 
 attack Rome again, but concluded that it was wiser to keep 
 on good terms with the Romans. So they left Italy, and 
 settled on lands in the north of Spain and in southern France. 
 Alaric had captured the sister of Honorius, and she became 
 the wife of At'a-wulf, brother-in-law of the Gothic chieftain. 
 
 Rome was surrounded by enemies. She needed every sol- 
 dier that she could summon, and even before Alaric captured 
 Rome, she had called the legions home from Britain to help 
 her defend her boundaries. Indeed, hardly any boundaries 
 remained, so broken had they become by the flood of new 
 and strange races that had burst through them. 
 
 A strange, horrible people had lately come down upon 
 Europe, — the Huns, from whom the Goths had fled at the 
 Danube. These people were from Asia. They were short and 
 thick-set. They had big heads and swarthy faces, with small, 
 deep-set eyes. Their noses were so short and broad that they 
 were often said to have nostrils but not noses. At first the 
 people of Europe had cried out in horror that they were not 
 men but beasts; then they declared that they were the off- 
 spring of demons. Since defeating the Goths, they had be- 
 come bolder than ever, and now they had a strong leader 
 named At'ti-la. Under him they had fought their way into 
 what is now Austria and Hungary. The Roman emperors in 
 the East paid them tribute; but the time had come when 
 tribute would not satisfy them, and they marched into Gaul, 
 or what is now France, and attacked Or'le-ans. A large part 
 
230 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 of Gaul was in the hands of a vigorous German people called 
 Franks. The Romans, nevertheless, looked upon the country 
 as a province of the empire. At the time of the coming of the 
 Huns, the Roman governor of this province was an able gen- 
 eral named A-e'ti-us. When the Huns attacked Orleans and 
 the citizens were almost in despair, Aetius and his army came 
 to the rescue, and the city was saved. 
 
 Before this time, the Goths and Aetius had been at swords' 
 points; but now they forgot that they had ever been enemies; 
 and Romans, Goths, and Franks joined their forces under 
 Aetius on the plain of Chalons 1 in 451 a. d. Attilawas de- 
 feated. This was one of the fiercest battles ever known. It 
 was also one of the most important. If the Huns had been 
 victors, they would have ravaged the land with fire and 
 sword. More than this, the heathen Huns and not the partly 
 Christianized Goths would have become the strongest power 
 in Europe, and the spread of civilization might have been 
 delayed for scores of years, perhaps for centuries. 
 
 Attila was defeated but not subdued, and after a time of 
 rest he set out for Italy. He captured A-qui-le'i-a, and some 
 of its frightened people fled to a group of marshy islands. 
 Their rough little settlement became in time the powerful 
 and beautiful city of Ven'ice. The Huns spared Rome, but 
 went away loaded with an immense ransom from the terrified 
 city. 
 
 The Van'dals, however, a people nearly related to the 
 Goths, were more greedy. Having wandered into Gaul, they 
 had forced their way into Spain. From Spain they had 
 
 1 Sha-loog'. 
 
LAST CENTURIES OF THE EMPIRE 231 
 
 crossed to Africa, and had overrun the country as far as Car- 
 thage. They became a tribe of pirates, not caring where the 
 wind drove them, provided there was plunder at the end of 
 their voyage. Now they attacked Rome. For two weeks they 
 plundered the city. Then they sailed away with thirty thou- 
 sand captives to be sold as slaves and their vessels loaded to 
 the gunwales with the choicest treasures of Rome. 
 
 For more than half a century, ever since the death of Theo- 
 dosius the Great in 395 a. d., the empire in the East had had 
 one ruler and the empire in the West another. In the fifth 
 century the Gothic soldiers demanded land in Italy for 
 homes, and backed the demand with their swords. The em- 
 peror was a boy whose name was Romulus Augustus ; but he 
 has been nicknamed Au-gus'tu-lus, or the "little Augustus," 
 because of the contrast between the greatness of the Augustus 
 who established the empire and the weakness of this its last 
 emperor. The Goths deposed him and made their leader 
 O-do-a'cer ruler of Italy. Odoacer took the title, not of em- 
 peror, but of patrician, and always claimed to rule as the 
 deputy of the emperor of the East. The year 476, the date of 
 this event, is sometimes spoken of as that of the fall of the 
 Roman empire in the West, because at this time it became 
 only a province of the Roman emperor in the East. 
 
 This "fall" of the Roman empire in the West did not seem 
 at the time a matter of any weight. There was still an em- 
 peror, only he lived in Constantinople instead of in Rome. 
 The troops that he commanded were still called the troops 
 of the empire. It was, however, in reality one of the most im- 
 portant events in history. If the power of Rome had con- 
 
232 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 tinued, the tribes about her would have fallen under her 
 sway instead of having opportunity to develop and become 
 separate nations. Again, now that there was no emperor in 
 Rome, the power of the bishop of Rome, the great city of 
 the West, increased rapidly. Third, it opened the way for 
 a remarkable Gothic leader, The-od'o-ric, afterwards called 
 the Great, to bring the Ostrogoths into Italy and give to 
 that land of many invasions a time of peace and quiet. He 
 succeeded in making himself ruler of Italy. He governed by 
 the old Roman laws; he encouraged education and building 
 and religious progress. He defended the country, and gave 
 the people a feeling of freedom and safety that had not 
 prevailed in the land for more than three centuries. 
 
 In the other countries of western Europe there was much 
 confusion. There were Goths of several tribes, and there 
 were other peoples. There were pagans, Christians, and 
 half-Christianized folks. Even within the Church itself, 
 there were two parties. These warring nations had one aim: 
 they all were eager to press upon Italy. 
 
 Meanwhile, the empire in the East served a most useful 
 purpose, for it kept the tribes of Asia out of Europe. Some- 
 times they were driven back by the forces of the empire, 
 sometimes they were bribed to depart; but, whether van- 
 quished or bribed, they were kept in their own country, and 
 thus Christianity and civilization in Europe, which they 
 would have utterly overwhelmed, had a chance to develop. 
 During the reign of Justinian his famous general Bel-i-sa'ri-us 
 succeeded in recovering Africa, Sicily, and a part of Spain 
 from the barbarians, and in driving the Goths out of Italy. 
 
LAST CENTURIES OF THE EMPIRE 
 
 233 
 
 Before they yielded, they used the mausoleum of Hadrian as 
 a fort. The massive, dignified structure became a clumsy 
 fragment, and the exquisite statues were torn down and 
 hurled upon the besiegers. Justinian is famous not only for 
 the victories of his army but for the collection of Roman laws 
 
 THE EMPEROR 'JUSTINIAN 
 
 which he had made. The Romans were the greatest of law- 
 makers, and this priceless collection has been the basis of the 
 codes of nearly all the chief states of the world. 
 
 In the seventh century, not only the empire in the East, 
 but all southern Europe was threatened by the Turks. They 
 were Mo-ham'med-ans, or followers of Mo-ham'med, an 
 Arabian who declared that God had sent an angel to him to 
 teach him a pure and true religion. After a little, he and his 
 disciples began to force their belief upon the various tribes of 
 Arabia at the point of the sword. After he died, his followers 
 
234 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 conquered Syria, Persia, Egypt, and Northern Africa. They 
 had tried to capture Constantinople, but had failed. They 
 overcame Spain and swept on into France, shouting their 
 battle-cry, "There is one God, and Mohammed is his pro- 
 phet!" From Spain they marched to the north across the 
 Pyrenees and into France. The Mohammedans in the East 
 were pressing upon Asia Minor and Constantinople; those 
 in the West were already in France. It seemed entirely pro- 
 bable that both divisions might march toward Italy and 
 thrust Christianity out of southern Europe. 
 
 Before doing that, however, they must overcome the 
 Franks. These Franks had made rapid gains in political 
 power. They held southern Gaul, Bur'gun-dy, and western 
 Germany. They were strong and prosperous, and they were 
 able to meet the invaders. In 732 the leader of the Franks, 
 Charles Mar-tel', or Charles the Hammer, met the western 
 division of the Mohammedan forces on the plain of Tours. 1 
 He overcame them, and they were driven back to the foot of 
 the Pyrenees. So it was that Europe was saved. 
 
 A fervent belief in the religion of Christ had taken posses- 
 sion of all Europe, and as there was no longer any emperor 
 in Rome, the Pope, as the head of the Christian Church, had 
 become the chief power in Italy. The Pope and the Frankish 
 kings had been on friendly terms for a long while, and when- 
 ever he needed help, he appealed to the king of the Franks. 
 In the ninth century, a German tribe called the Lom'bards 
 seized northern Italy; and the Pope sent for aid to Charles 
 the Great, or Char'le-magne, the reigning sovereign. Char- 
 
 1 Toor. 
 
LAST CENTURIES OF THE EMPIRE 
 
 235 
 
 lemagne soon conquered them and was crowned with the 
 iron crown of Lom'bar-dy. He had already begun to conquer 
 the Saxons who lived 
 on the Elbe and the 
 lower Rhine; and be- 
 fore he died, his rule 
 extended over 
 France, part of Ger- 
 many, northern Italy, 
 and a little strip at 
 the north of Spain. 
 This busy warrior 
 established schools 
 for the boys of his 
 kingdom, built 
 churches and bridges, 
 and even found time 
 to collect the ancient 
 songs of his race. 
 Although he is called 
 Charlemagne, the 
 French for Charles 
 the Great, the Ger- 
 man "Karl der 
 Grosse" would be a 
 much better name 
 for this German 
 prince. In the year 
 800 a. d. the Pope crowned him as emperor. Before this, the 
 
 Piwis fie Charannes 
 CHARLES MARTEL RETURNING VICTORIOUS FROM 
 THE BATTLE OF TOURS 
 (From a Painting in the Town Hall at Poitiers) 
 
236 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE 
 
 Pope and the emperor at Constantinople had disagreed, and 
 now, instead of talking of the Roman empire in the East and 
 in the West as if it were one, people spoke of the Western 
 Empire and the Eastern Empire. This was correct, for they 
 had really become two. 
 
 The custom continued of crowning the king of the Franks 
 as Emperor of the Roman Empire ; but it was an exceedingly 
 shadowy empire. The vast expanse of land ruled by Rome 
 in her flourishing days gradually broke up into separate 
 countries, and the vast crowd of people developed into differ- 
 ent nations. This slow process was the real ' ' fall of the West- 
 ern Empire." 
 
 The fall of the Eastern Empire is marked by a definite 
 date, 1453, for in that year the Turks captured Constan- 
 tinople, and even to this day it is the capital of the Turk- 
 ish Empire. 
 
 Roman history is not a mere tale of conquest, revolution, 
 triumph, and downfall; it is a wonder story of how a tiny 
 kingdom grew to be the ruler of the world. The kingdom 
 becomes a republic, the republic an empire. Nation after 
 nation moves swiftly across the field of vision and disappears, 
 either merged into the all-embracing empire which has taken 
 the world for its province, or so completely destroyed as to 
 be lost in the darkness of the things that are forgotten. There 
 are wars and rumors of wars; there is a moment of peace, and 
 therein occurs the birth of the Holy Child of Bethlehem, 
 whose words are to teach mercy instead of cruelty, and 
 pardon instead of vengeance. 
 
 The empire has vanished, but its laws are written on the 
 
LAST CENTURIES OF THE EMPIRE 237 
 
 statute books of the world, its language is on the lips of 
 many nations, its military camps have become flourishing 
 cities, its roads are mighty avenues of progress, its very fail- 
 ures are valued lessons. This is the Roman wonder story. 
 The mightiest panorama, the most marvelous pageant that 
 the world has ever gazed upon is "the grandeur that was 
 Rome." 
 
INDEX 
 
 Ab'a cus, used by Eoman schoolboys, 176. 
 
 Ac'ti urn, defeat of Antonius off, 167. 
 
 Actor, an, picture, 111. 
 
 Ad ri at'ie Sea, beset by pirates, 79 ; 99 ; 
 crossed by Caesar, 157 ; Diocletian lives 
 near the, 218. 
 
 iE'diles, first chosen, 37; picture, 37. 
 
 M ge'an, Sea, 100. 
 
 Mm i li a'nus. See Scipio, Publius Corne- 
 lius jEmilianus. 
 
 M ne'as, flees from Troy to Italy, 1-2 ; flight 
 of, picture, 1 ; hero of the yEneid, 177. 
 
 JE ne'id, written by Virgil, 177 ; saved by 
 Augustus, 178. 
 
 iE'qui ans, raid the Eoman lands, 44 ; 46 ; 
 conquered by Cincinnatus, 46-48 ; 55. 
 
 A e'ti us, drives the Huns from Orleans 
 and routs them at Chalons, 230. 
 
 Africa, 59, 72, 73, 77, 87 ; Scipio in, 94-95 j 
 Cato visits, 104; name given to Carthage 
 and its territories, 106 ; Marius collects 
 troops in, 129-130; 138, 143; wild beasts 
 brought from, 152 ; 159 ; ruled by Lepi- 
 dus, 164; visited by Hadrian, 203; en- 
 tered by the Vandals, 230-231 ; recovered 
 by Belisarius, 232 ; 234. 
 
 Af ri ca'nus, name given to Scipio, 96. 
 
 A gra'ri an Law, of Spurius Cassius, 38, 49 ; 
 of Tiberius Gracchus, 114-116. 
 
 A gric'o la, conquers Britain, 196-197 ; the 
 wall of, 203. 
 
 A grip'pa. Me ne'ni us, the fable of, 36. 
 
 Ag rip pi'na, wife of Claudius, 187. 
 
 Al'a ric, pillages Greece, and besieges 
 Rome, 227-228; in Rome, picture, 228; 
 death and burial of, 228-229. 
 
 Al'ba Lon'ga, founded by Aseanius, 2 ; 12 ; 
 destroyed by Tullus, 15. 
 
 Alban Lake, is drained, 49-50. 
 
 Albans, remove to Rome, 14-15. 
 
 A] ex an'der the Great, conquests of, 99 ; 
 cloak of, worn by Pompey, 149; Caesar 
 gazes at statue of, 152-153. 
 
 Al ex au'dri a, 166. 
 
 Al'li a (river), defeat of the Romans at the, 
 51. 
 
 Alps (mountains) crossed by Hannibal, 85- 
 87; 120. 
 
 A mu'li us, steals Numitor's kingdom, 2 ; is 
 put to death, 3. 
 
 Amusements of the Romans, 110-113. See 
 also Games and Gladiators. 
 
 Ancestors, honors due to, 65. 
 
 Ancient country house, picture, 173. 
 
 An'cus Mar'ti us, King of Rome, 15-16 ; 17, 
 18. 
 
 An dro ni'cus, Liv'i us, introduces the thea- 
 tre into Rome, 110-111. 
 
 An ti'ochus, King of Syria, 100; overcome 
 by the Romans, 101-102. 
 
 An to ni'nus, is adopted by Hadrian, re- 
 ceives the title of " Pius," 206 ; 207 ; pict- 
 ure, 207. 
 
 Antoninus, Marcus An re'li us, is adopted 
 by Antoninus Pius, 205 ; rules with Verus, 
 is a student of Epictetus, 206-208; 209, 
 210 ; picture, 207. 
 
 An to'ni us, Marcus, at Pharsalus, 157; de- 
 livers Caesar's funeral oration, with pict- 
 ure, 162 ; is defeated by Octavianus. 163 ; 
 joins the Second Triumvirate, 163-134; 
 defeats Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, 
 meets Cleopatra, 165-160; is defeated by 
 Octavianus off Actium and commits sui- 
 cide, 167 ; 169. 
 
 Ap'en nines (mountains), Caesar plans a 
 road along the, 160. 
 
 A pol'lo, 49. 
 
 " Apostate. The," title given to Julian, 222. 
 
 Appian, historian, 149. 
 
 Ap'pi an Way, 70 ; picture, 213. 
 
 Appius Claudius. See Claudius. 
 
 Apu'lia, 89. 
 
 A qui le'i a, captured by Attila, 230. 
 
 Arabia, Mohammed in, 234. 
 
 Ar ca'di us, rules in the East, 227. 
 
240 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Ar ehi me'des, defends Syracuse, 91-93 ; 
 picture, 92. 
 
 Arch of Hadrian, picture, 204. 
 
 Army, Roman, reformed by Servius, 19 ; be- 
 comes stronger than the senate, 125-126. 
 
 Army-leader in his mantle, picture, 23. 
 
 As ca'ni us, 1 ; rules in Latium and founds 
 Alba Longa, 2. 
 
 Asia, Manus goes to, 122 ; cities of, yield to 
 Mithridates, 127 ; Mithridates driven back 
 into, 131 ; hopes to become ruler of, 144; 
 Caesar goes to, 159 ; under Diocletian, 216 ; 
 the home of the Huns, 229 ; tribes kept out 
 of Europe, 232. 
 
 Asia Minor, l ; ruled by Alexander, 99 ; 101 ; 
 in the power of Rome, 102 ; Mithridates 
 seizes Roman land in, 126 ; ruled by 
 Rome, 220 ; robbed to beautify Constanti- 
 nople, 221 ; pressed upon by the Moham- 
 medans, 234. 
 
 A si at'i ens, 101. 
 
 Assembly of tribes, plebeian, wins the right 
 to make laws, 41. See Comitia centuriata 
 and Comitia curiata. 
 
 At'a wulf, marries the sister of Honorius, 
 229. 
 
 Athenians, yield to Sulla, 131. 
 
 Athens, attacked by Philip V, 100; taken 
 by Sulla, 131 ; Hadrian completes a temple 
 and an arch in, 203-204. 
 
 Athletic contests, become cruel, ill. 
 
 A'tri um, 62. 
 
 At'ti ca, overcome by Sulla, 131. 
 
 At'ti la, is driven from Orleans and de- 
 feated at Chalons, 229-230 ; captures 
 Aquileia, 230. 
 
 Augur, interprets the will of the gods, at a 
 marriage, 60-67 ; picture, 67. 
 
 August, named in honor of Augustus, 170. 
 
 An gus'tan Age of Latin literature, 181. 
 
 Au gus'tu Ins, 231. 
 
 An gus'tus, Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus, 
 offices held by, 170; Pontifex maximus, 
 picture, 170 ; refuses to enlarge the em- 
 pire, 171 ; guards the rights of the provin- 
 cials, 171-172; provides amusements for 
 the Romans, 172 ; as a builder, 173 ; litera- 
 ture under, 176-181 ; saves the Mneia\ 
 178; 179; chooses Tiberius as his suc- 
 
 cessor, 182; 1E8, 199, 202, 216. See also 
 Octavianus. 
 
 Augustus (plural Augusti), as a title, 215, 
 
 218. 
 Au re'li an, captures Palmyra, 213-214. 
 Aurelius, Marcus. See Antoninus. 
 Austria, entered by Attila, 229. 
 Av'en tine Hill, Remus watches for omens 
 
 on the, 3 ; 33; site of Andronicus's theatre, 
 
 110. 
 
 Ballista, picture, 131. 
 
 Baltic Sea, 120. 
 
 Basil'ica, 173. 
 
 Bau'cis, 180. 
 
 Bel i sa'ri us, recovers much land from the 
 barbarians and drives the Goths out of 
 Italy, 232. 
 
 Ben e ven'tum, Romans defeat Pyrrhus at, 
 60. 
 
 Bethlehem, 181,236. 
 
 Bithyn'ia, 102. 
 
 Black Sea, 100, 126, 202, 220. 
 
 Boc'chus, 127. 
 
 Borrowing in Rome, the danger of, 34-35. 
 
 Bos'pho rus (straits of), 216, 220. 
 
 Bren'nus, routed by the Romans, 53-54. 
 
 Bride, a Roman, picture, 68. 
 
 Brit'ain, visited by Caesar, 153-154; Caligula 
 sails for, 185; Claudius invades, 186; con- 
 quered by Agricola, 196-197; visited by 
 Hadrian, 203 ; legions recalled from, 229. 
 
 Brim du'si um, Caesar sails from, 157. 
 
 Brutus, kisses the earth, drives Tarquinius 
 from Rome, 22-23 ; condemns his sons to 
 death, with picture, 26. 
 
 Brutus, Marcus, pardoned by Caesar, 158 ; 
 conspires against Caesar, 161-162 ; flees 
 from Rome, 163 ; picture, 164 ; is defeated 
 at Philippi and commits suicide, 165 ; Hor- 
 ace in the army of, 178. 
 
 Bugle player in Roman army, picture, 102. 
 
 Bur'gun dy, held by the Franks, 234. 
 
 Byzan'ti um (Constantinople), is chosen by 
 Constantine as his capital, 220. 
 
 CjEcus, Appius Claudius, prevents peace 
 
 with Pyrrhus, 59; 70. 
 Cae'li an Hill, 32, 33. 
 
INDEX 
 
 241 
 
 " Caesar,'' as a title, 199, 215, 217, 
 
 Cae'sar, Caius Ju'lius, refuses to divorce 
 his wife, 134 ; favors Pompey's leadership 
 in the third war with Mithridates, 143- 
 144 ; would show mercy to Catiline, 147- 
 148 ; becomes one of the First Triumvi- 
 rate, 151-153; picture, 152; in Gaul, 153- 
 154; leads the people's party, 154-155; 
 crosses the Rubicon, with picture, 154-155 ; 
 his kindness to his enemies, defeats 
 Pompey's troops in Spain, 15C ; defeats 
 Pompey at Pharsalus, 157-158 ; pardons 
 Brutus, 158 ; punishes the murderers of 
 Pompey, 158-159 ; favors Cleopatra, 169 ; 
 honored by the senate, 159-160 ; his plans 
 for ruling the world, 160-161 ; his assassi- 
 nation, 101 ; last moments of, picture, 101 ; 
 funeral oration of, 102-163 ; the family of, 
 extinct, 190; 210. 
 
 Caesars, palace of the, 201. 
 
 Ca lig'u la, becomes emperor, 185-186 ; forms 
 the praetorian guard, 185 ; 198- 
 
 Ca mil'lus, takes Falerii, 48-51 ; routs the 
 Gauls, 53-54 ; 121. 
 
 Camillus, Lucius Fu'ri us, nephew of the 
 Camillus who took Falerii, routs the 
 Gauls, 55. 
 
 Campus Martins. 20. 47; visited by Marius, 
 128 ; porticoes of the, 173. 
 
 Can'nae, Romans defeated at, 89, 120. 
 
 Cape Saint Vincent. 171. 
 
 Capitol. 9 ; building of the. 17 ; saved by 
 Marcus Manlius, 52-53; saved by Camil- 
 lus, 54 ; 90 ; 127 ; catches fire, 132 ; trophies 
 of Marius in the, 152 ; 173. 
 
 Capitoline Hill. 12. 17: cliffs of the, picture, 
 27 ; citadel built on the. 32 ; 33 ; 149 ; de- 
 struction of temple on the, 192. 
 
 Ca'pre ae, withdrawal of Tiberius to, l?4. 
 
 Capri, 184. See Caprete. 
 
 Captain, picture of a, 44. 
 
 Cap'ua, attacked by the Samnites, 55; 70; 
 forms an alliance with Hannibal, 89-90; 
 regained by the Romans, 93 ; Caius founds 
 colony at, 117 ; 139. 
 
 Caracal'la, admits to citizenship all that 
 are freeborn, 211. 
 
 Ca rac'ta cus, captured aud carried to Rome, 
 180-187. 
 
 Car'thage, early history of, 72-73; first war 
 with Kome, 74-78; yields Sardinia and Cor- 
 sica to Pome, 79 ; the soldiers of, 80 ; 81 ; in 
 the Second Punic War, 80-95 ; 97, 102 ; 
 visit of Cato to, 104; destroyed by Scipio, 
 104-106; 107, ill, 129; Caesar plans to re- 
 build, 160; Jsneas in, 177; Hadrian visits, 
 203 ; 231. 
 
 Car tha gin'i ans, opposed by Pyrrhus, 59 ; 
 as merchants, 73 ; in the first Punic War, 
 70-78 ; overcome their revolting colonies, 
 80 ; In the Second Punic War, 80-95 ; 96, 
 100 ; attacked by Masiuissa, 104 ; sur- 
 render to Rome, 100. 
 
 Carthaginian wars, losses and gains of 
 Rome in the first two, 96-97 ; effect of vic- 
 tories upon the Romans, 109-114. 
 
 Carthaginian women, picture. 105. 
 
 Cas'sius, conspires against Caesar, 101 ; is 
 defeated at Philippi and commits suicide, 
 
 105. 
 
 Cassias, Spurius, proposes Agrarian Law, 
 
 38; 49. 
 Cas'tor, 31. 
 Catapult, picture, 132. 
 
 Cat i li'na, Lucius Ser'gi us, plots to over- 
 throw the state, 146-148. 
 Cat'i line. See Catilina. 
 Ca'to. Marcus Por'ci us, censor, is sent to 
 
 Carthage, 103-104; feelings of, toward his 
 
 slaves, 113. 
 Cato, Marcus Porcius. descendant of Cato 
 
 the censor, favors the death penalty for 
 
 Catiline, opposes the recall of Pompey, 
 
 148 ; is made governor of Cyprus, 153 ; kills 
 
 himself at Utica, 159. 
 Ca tul'lus, writes a satire against Caesar, 
 
 150,. 
 Cau'ca sus Mountains, 145. 
 Cau'dine Forks, defeat of the Romans at 
 
 the, 57. 
 Censors, powers of the, 41— 12. 
 Cha Ions', Aetius overcomes the Huns at, 
 
 230. 
 Chariot race, picture. 70. 
 Char'lemagne, the extent of his rule, is 
 
 crowned as emperor, 234-235. 
 Charles Martel, routs the Mohammedans at 
 
 Tours, 234; picture, 235. 
 
242 
 
 INDEX 
 
 " Charles tlie Hammer." See Charles Mattel. 
 
 Children, the training of, 64-65. 
 
 Christ, the religion of, preached in Rome, 
 188. 
 
 Christianity, in Southern Europe endan- 
 gered, 234. 
 
 Christian martyrs in the Colosseum, pict- 
 ure, 217. 
 
 Christians, persecuted by Nero, 188-189 ; 
 by Domitian, 198 ; by Diocletian, 217 ; 
 granted religious freedom by Constantine, 
 220; oppressed by Julian, 222; 232. 
 
 Cic'e ro, Marcus Tullius, prosecutes Verres, 
 142; denounces Catiline, with picture, 
 146-148 ; picture, 148 ; arouses enmity, 148- 
 149; driven into exile, 153; the Philippics 
 of, 163 ; proscription and murder of, 164. 
 
 Ci lic'ia, 143, 165. 
 
 Cim'bri, defeated by Marius, 120-121; 127; 
 223. 
 
 Cin cin na'tus, Lucius Quinc'ti us, conquers 
 the ^Equians, 46-48 ; 109, 136. 
 
 Cin'na, Lucius Cornelius, becomes consul 
 with Marius, 129-130 ; 134, 137, 151. 
 
 Circus Maximus, 17, 69. 
 
 Citizen, Roman, the rights of a, under Au- 
 gustus, 172. 
 
 Clau'di us, becomes emperor, invades Bri- 
 tain, frees Caractacus, 186-187 ; 198. 
 
 Claudius, Ap'pi us, decemvir, scorns the 
 plebeians, 35-36 ; suicide of, 40-41. 
 
 Cle opa'tra, becomes queen of Egypt. 159; 
 meets Antonius in Cilicia. 165-166; fete 
 at the court of, picture, 165 ; kills her- 
 self, 167. 
 
 Clients, 7, 8. 
 
 Clo a'ca Max'i ma, 17, 69 ; picture, 18. 
 
 Clu'si um, 27. 
 
 Clyde (river), Agrieola's wall from the Forth 
 to the, 197. 
 
 Cnee'us Pom pe'ius, 135. 
 
 Colonies, influence of, 71. 
 
 Col osse'um, built by Vespasian, the ruins 
 of, picture, 193 ; completed by Titus, 194 ; 
 Christian martyrs in the, picture, 217. 
 
 Column and forum of Trajan, picture, 202. 
 
 Co mi'ti a cen tu ri a'ta, 20. 
 
 Co mi'ti a cu ri a'ta, 8. 
 
 Commentaries, of Caesar, 154. 
 
 Com'mo dus, plays the part of gladiator, is 
 called the " Roman Hercules," 210. 
 
 Con'stan tine, the vision of, with picture, 
 218-219 ; wins a victory at Milvian Bridge, 
 publishes the Edict of Milan, chooses 
 Byzantium for his capital, 220-221 ; 
 strengthens the government, 221-222 ; 
 arch of, picture, 221. 
 
 Constantinople (Byzantium), chosen by 
 Constantine as his capital, 220 ; ap- 
 proached by the Germans, 226 ; 231 ; the 
 Mohammedans fail to capture, 234 ; taken 
 by the Turks, 236. 
 
 Con stan ti'nus, 218. See Constantine. 
 
 Con stan'ti us, becomes Augustus, 218. 
 
 Consul with war cloak, picture, 137. 
 
 Consuls, appointed, 25; may be plebeians, 
 32. 
 
 Cor'inth, 100 ; destroyed by the Romans, 
 103 ; 111 ; Caesar plans to rebuild, 160. 
 
 Co rin'thi ans, insult Roman envoys, 103. 
 
 Co ri o la'nus, Cains Mar'ci us, takes Corioli, 
 44; returns to the Volscians, 45-46; yield3 
 to his mother's prayers, picture, 46 ; 136. 
 
 Co ri'o li, taken by Cains Marcius, 44. 
 
 Cor ne'li a, and her " jewels," 114 ; picture, 
 115. 
 
 Cor'si ca, 73 ; yielded by Carthage to Rome, 
 79. 
 
 Cras'sus, Marcus, defeats the gladiators, 
 becomes consul, 140 ; becomes one of the 
 First Triumvirate, 151-153; is made con- 
 sul, is slain, 154. 
 
 Cu'mae, 22. 
 
 "Cunctator," 88, 94. 
 
 Cup of friendship, the, picture, 175. 
 
 Cu'ri as, 7, 8. 
 
 Cu ri a'ti i, contest with the Horatii, 13-14; 
 picture, 13. 
 
 Cyn os ceph'a lse, battle of, 100. 
 
 Cy'prus, governed by Cato, 153. 
 
 Da'ci ans, revolt against Domitian, 197; re- 
 fused tribute by Trajan, 202. 
 
 Dacian War, 202. 
 
 Dal ma' ti a, Diocletian withdraws to, 218. 
 
 Danube, 171 ; Marcus Aurelius near the, 
 207 ; 212, 220, 223, 224 ; crossed by the 
 Gcths, 226 ; 229. 
 
INDEX 
 
 243 
 
 De eem'vi ri, are chosen, 39. 
 
 " Delight of mankind, " name given to Titus, 
 125. 
 
 Del'phi, 22, 49. 
 
 Demos'the nes, 163. 
 
 Dia'na, 137. 
 
 Di o cle'ti an, becomes emperor, 214; 
 chooses two Augusti and two Caesars, 
 215; lives in splendor at Xieomedia, 216 ; 
 persecutes the Christians, 217 ; withdraws 
 to Dalmatia, failure of his plans of gov- 
 ernment, 218. 
 
 Do mi 'ti an, celebration of his birthday, 166; 
 as a commander, 196 ; picture, 197 ; drives 
 away the philosophers, governs the pro- 
 vinces well, persecutes the Christians, is 
 assassinated, 197-198 ; murderers of, not 
 punished, 200 ; 201. 
 
 Drama, introduced by Livius Andronicus, 
 110-111. 
 
 Dru'sus, Marcus Livius, favors the Italians, 
 124. 
 
 Drusus, son of Tiberius, poisoned by Seja- 
 nus. 184. 
 
 Duil'li us, honors paid to, 77. 
 
 Dying Gaul, picture, 80. 
 
 Eagle-bearer in the Roman army, pict- 
 ure, 125. 
 
 East, the, changes in, 99 ; overcome by 
 Eome, 102 ; the Romans imitate the ways 
 of, 108 ; war with Mithridates in the, 126- 
 127, 130-132; difficulties of Rome in the, 
 139; Pompey in the, 144, 146; Antonius 
 rules in the, 164, 165 ; Germanicus sent to 
 the, 184; 190; Trajan makes war in the, 
 202; Hadrian gives up land in the, 203; 
 pestilence brought from the. 206; luxuries 
 brought from the, 209; 220; Valens em- 
 peror in the, 225; Arcadius rules in the, 
 227; emperors in the, pay tribute to the 
 Huns, 229 ; 231 ; empire in the, keeps out 
 the Asiatic tribes, 232. is threatened by 
 the Turks, 233 ; the Mohammedans in the, 
 234 ; 236. 
 
 Eastern Empire, fall of the, 236. 
 
 Eastern Goths, 226. See Ostrogoths. 
 
 E ge'ri a, appears to Noma. 11. 
 
 Egypt, ruled by Alexander, 99; 100; at- 
 
 tacked by Philip V., 100; Pompeyflees to, 
 158; Caesar makes Cleopatra queen of, 
 159; 165, 166, 171; under Diocletian, 216; 
 234. 
 
 El'ba (island), 73. 
 
 Elbe (river), 171, 235. 
 
 Elephants, brought by Pyrrhus to Heraclea, 
 59 ; repulsed by the Romans, 77 ; taken 
 across the Alps by Hannibal, 87; war- 
 elephant, picture, 59. 
 
 Empire, map, ix. ; weakness of the. 209-210 ; 
 sold at auction, 210-211 ; in confusion, 212 ; 
 pressing dangers of the, 215 ; is granted 
 religious freedom by Constantine, 220; 
 grows weaker and is divided, 225; is 
 united by Theodosius, receives the Ger- 
 mans as allies, 220 ; is divided, 231 ; fall of 
 the, 236. 
 
 Ep ic te'tus, philosopher, 198 ; Marcus Aure- 
 Iius Antoninus, a student of, 207. 
 
 E pi'rus, 59; Pyrrhus returns to, 60; over- 
 come by Sulla, 131. 
 
 Es'qui line (hill), 33. 
 
 E tru'ri a, 50 ; Marius collects troops in, 130 ; 
 revolt in, 136 ; Catiline flees to, 147. 
 
 Etruscan city, gate of an, picture, 48. 
 
 E trus'cans, 13 ; Etruscan warrior, picture, 
 12; acknowledge Tarquinius Priscus as 
 King, 17; aid Tarquinius Superbus, 31; 
 Rome protects the Latins from the, 32 ; 
 wars with the Romans, 48-51; 55; unite 
 with the Samnites, 58; 75; athletie con- 
 tests of the, ill. 
 
 Euphra'tes River. Hadrian goes beyond 
 the, 203. 
 
 Europe, the Huns come down upon, 229; 
 230 ; confusion in western part of, Chris- 
 tianity has a chance to develop in, 232 ; 
 southern part of, threatened by the Turks, 
 233 ; saved by the Franks. 234. 
 
 Eux'ine (sea), 126. See Black Sea. 
 
 Fa'bi rs Maximtjs, Qnin'tus, Cunctator, 
 story of, 62 : " the delayer,'' 88-89, 92. 
 
 Fable, of Menenius Agrippa, 36. 
 
 Fa le'ri an«, surrender to Camillas, 51. 
 
 Fa le'ri i, falls into the hands of the Ro- 
 mans, 50-51 ; ravine below, picture, 50. 
 
 Farther Spain, 152. See Lusitania. 
 
244 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Fasces, 17. 
 
 " Father of his Country," title given to 
 Cicero, 148 ; title given to Caesar, 160. 
 
 Faus'tu lus, 3. 
 
 Fawn, pet of Sertorius, 137-138. 
 
 First Triumvirate, 151-153. 
 
 "Five Good Emperors," the, 200-208. 
 
 Fla min'i an Way, 79. 
 
 Flam i ni'iius. Titus Quinctius, defeats 
 Philip at Cynoscephalse, 100; announces 
 the victory at the Isthmian games, 100-101. 
 
 Fla'vi an amphitheatre, 193. See Colosseum. 
 
 Flora, festival in honor of, picture, C9. 
 
 Forth (river), Agricola's wall from the 
 Clyde to the, 197. 
 
 Fo'rum, ruins of the, picture, 33; in the 
 time of Nero, picture, 189 ; rebuilt by Ves- 
 pasian, 192. 
 
 France, home ot the Gauls, 19; 120; the 
 Goths settle in, entered by the Huns, 229, 
 by the .Mohammedans, 234; ruled by 
 Charlemagne, 235. 
 
 Franks, Gaul held by the, 230; aid in over- 
 coming the Huns at Chalons, 230; over- 
 come the Mohammedans at Tours, 234 ; 
 assist the Pope, 234 ; 236. 
 
 Furies, live on the threshold, 68. 
 
 Ga'bi i, deceived by Sextus, 22, 23. 
 
 Gal'ba, becomes emperor, 190 ; 198. 
 
 Ga le'ri us, opposes the Christians, 217 ; 
 ends their persecution, 218. 
 
 Games, pleasing to the gods, 66. See Isth- 
 mian; picture, 135; the people demand, 
 172. 
 
 Gaul crossed by Hannibal, 87 ; ravaged by 
 Cimbri and Teutones, 120; 139 ; in the 
 hands of Caesar, 153-154 ; Caesar marches 
 through, 155; Caligula plunders, 185; 190; 
 Hadrian journeys through, 203 ; rebellion 
 in, subdued by Diocletian, 217; entered 
 by the Huns, 229 ; held by the Franks, 
 entered by the Vandals, 230 ; 234. 
 
 Gauls. Etruscans attacked by the, 48-49, 51 
 enter Rome, but are driven away, 52-54 
 routed by Lucius Furius Camillus, 55 
 unite with the Samnites, 58; prepare to 
 come down upon Pome, 79 ; buried alive, 
 79-80 ; dying Gaul, picture, 80 ; meet Han- 
 
 nibal, 84-85; join the Carthaginians, 87; 
 suppressed by Vespasian, 191. 
 
 Geese of Juuo, give warning, 52; picture, 
 53. 
 
 Gens, in early Rome, 6. 
 
 Ger man'i cus, loyalty of, 183 ; death of, 184 ; 
 186. 
 
 Germans, 184; push into the Roman lands, 
 212; description of the, 223-224 ; overcome 
 the Roman army, 224-226 ; become allies 
 of the Romans, 226. See Goths, Visigoths, 
 and Ostrogoths. 
 
 Germany, western part of, held by the 
 Franks, 234; under Charlemagne, 235. 
 
 Gladiators, 111-113; going to the Circus, 
 picture, 113 ; war with the, 139-140 ; price 
 of, 152 ; under Augustus, 172 ; Commodus 
 combats with the, 210. 
 
 Golden Age of Latin literature, 181. 
 
 Golden House of Nero, 190. 
 
 Goths, cross the Danube, 225 ; are repulsed 
 by Stilicho, 227 ; settle in Spain and 
 France, 229 ; aid in overcoming the Huns 
 at Chalons, 230; depose Romulus Augus- 
 tus, and make Odoacer ruler of Italy, 231 ; 
 driven from Italy by Belisarius, 232. See 
 Germans, Visigoths and Ostrogoths. 
 
 Grac'chus, Cains Sem pro'ni us, the land 
 law of, 116-117; founds colonies, is slain, 
 117 ; 172. 
 
 Gracchus, Ti be'ri us, the land law of, 114- 
 116. 
 
 Greece, coast cities of, attacked by pirates, 
 79 ; 99, 100, 101 ; in the power of Rome, 
 102 ; the Romans imitate the ways of, 108 ; 
 Roman youth sent to, 108 ; Pompey flees 
 to, 156 ; Caesar starts for, 157 ; 167 ; Horace 
 studies in, 178 ; ruled by Rome, 220 ; 
 robbed to beautify Constantinople, 221 ; 
 pillaged by Alaric, 227. 
 
 Greek, a, advises the Carthaginians, 77. 
 
 Greek, the language, 59 ; fashionable in 
 Rome after the Punic Wars, 108, and dur- 
 ing the reign of Augustus, 176. 
 
 Greeks, Troy captured by the, 1 ; 22 ; Etrus- 
 cans beaten by the, 48 ; attempt to drive 
 the Mamertines from Sicily, 73-74 ; 75 ; 
 freed from piracy by the Romans, 79 ; 100, 
 101, 177, 203. 
 
INDEX 
 
 245 
 
 Ha'driax, travels through the empire, 
 builds a wall across England, completes 
 in Athens a temple to Jupiter, 203-204; 
 builds a mausoleum, 205; the mausoleum 
 of, used as a fort, 233; arch of, picture, 
 204 ; mausoleum of, picture, 205. 
 
 Hadrian's Tomb, picture, 205. 
 
 Ha mil'car, ill Spain, 80-81. 
 
 Han'ni bal, the oath of. leads the Carthagin- 
 ian forces in Spain, SI ; picture, 82 ; 
 inarches to the Adriatic Sea, 82-89; cross- 
 ing the Alps, picture, S6 ; crossing th2 
 Rhone, picture. 88 ; is victorious at Cannae, 
 89; winters in Capua, 89-90 ; meets mis- 
 fortunes, 9.3; is recalled to Africa, 94, is 
 routed at Zama, 95 ; is an able statesman, 
 
 90; 99,100: death Of, 101-102. 
 
 Has'dru bal, commands the Carthaginian 
 forces, is slain, 81. 
 
 Hel'les pout. 101. 
 
 Her a ele'a, Pyrrhus victorious at, 59. 
 
 Her cu la'ne um, destroyed, 196. 
 
 Her'cules, god of property and commerce, 
 65. 
 
 Her min'i us, opposes Porsena, 29. 
 
 Her'ni cans, allies of the Romans, 43-44. 
 
 Holy City, 191. See Jerusalem. 
 
 Holy of Holies, entered by Pompey, 145. 
 
 Ho'mer, poet, 185. 
 
 Hono'ri us, rules in the "West, slays Stilicho, 
 227 ; picture, 227 ; thinks " Rome " was 
 his hen, 228 ; the sister of, captured by 
 Alaric, 229. 
 
 Houses of the early Romans, 62. 
 
 Horace, or Quintus Horatius Flac'cus, poet, 
 178-179. 
 
 Ho ra'ti i, contest with the Curiatii, with 
 picture, 13-14. 
 
 Ho ra'ti us, consul. 41. 
 
 Horatius, keeps the bridge, with picture, 
 28-30. 
 
 Hungary, entered by Atti)a,229. 
 
 Huns, the Visigoths flee from the, 224-225; 
 the Ostrogoths flee from the, 226 : de- 
 scription of the, 229 ; enter Austria, Hun- 
 gary, and Gaul, 229 ; are driven from Or- 
 leans and routed at Chalons, 230 ; Rome is 
 spared by the, 230. 
 
 I bb'rus (river), crossed by Hannibal, 83. 
 
 II lyr'ia, 79. 
 
 Imperator, title taken by Augustus, 109. 
 
 India, partly under rule of Alexander, 99. 
 
 I o'ni an Sea, beset by pirates, 79. 
 
 Ireland, Agricola plans to conquer, 197. 
 
 Isth'mi an games, loo. 
 
 Isthmus of Corinth, Caesar plans a canal 
 through the, 161. 
 
 Italians, ask Romans for aid, 74; become 
 citizens, 124-125; slain by Mithridates, 
 126-127; slain by Sulla, 133. 
 
 Italy, -Eneas in, 2 ; 33, 34, 44, 49 ; Rome be- 
 comes mistress of, 58-60 ; held by the Ro- 
 man roads, 70; Shape of, 72; 73, 74, 78; 
 coast cities of, attacked by pirates, 79, 84 ; 
 entered by Hannibal from the north, 87 ; 
 88, 89, 93, 96, 99, 100 ; sheep-raising in, 114 ; 
 115 ; in danger from the Cimbri and Teu- 
 tones, 119-121; 123, 125, 129, 139, 143,144, 
 145; 155; Caesar marches through, 156; 
 171, 177, 189; 191 ; 206,209 ; barbarians are 
 charmed by, 224 ; protected from the 
 Goths by Stilicho, 227 ; entered by Alaric, 
 227-228 ; the Goths depart from, Alaric 
 dies in, 228-229; Attila sets out for, 230; 
 Gothic soldiers demand land in, Odoacer 
 becomes ruler of, 231 ; ruled by Theodoric, 
 232; Belisarius drives the Goths from, 
 232 ; the Pope becomes the chief power 
 in. the Lombards seize northern, 234; 
 under Charlemagne, 235. 
 
 JANic'r/LUM (hill), 16; captured by Por- 
 
 sena, 28. 
 Ja'nus, the temple of, 12, 66, 181. 
 Jeru'salem, 124; taken by Pompey. 145; 
 
 taken by Titus, with picture, 191-192; 
 
 195 ; colony founded on the site of, 205. 
 Jesus, the birth of, 181 ; crucifixion of, 185. 
 Jews, lose Jerusalem to Pompey, 145 ; lose 
 
 Jerusalem to Titus, 191-192; burned by 
 
 Titus, 195; persecuted by Domitian, 19S ; 
 
 rebel against Hadrian, 205. 
 John, apostle, banished by Domitian, 198. 
 Jo se'phus, at the capture of Jerusalem, 
 
 192. 
 Judse'a, subdued by Pompey, 145; 185; 
 
 conquered by Titus, 191-192. 
 
246 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Ju gur'tha, conquest and death of, 117-118, 
 
 121 ; 127, 154. 
 "Jules Verne," 92. 
 Julia, daughter of Cresar, 154. 
 Ju'll an, " the apostate," 222. 
 Ju'li us, name given to the fifth month of 
 
 the Roman year, 160. 
 Julius, 198. See Ccesar, Cains Julius. 
 Juno, 52; wife of Jupiter, 65-66; picture, 
 
 66. 
 Ju'pi ter, temple of, 9 ; 11 ; destroys Tullus, 
 
 15; 16; Capitol built in honor of, 17; 36; 
 
 father of the gods, 65 ; 66 ; the temple of, 
 
 147 ; 180, 204. 
 Justinian, 232 ; collects the laws of Rome, 
 
 233 ; picture, 233. 
 Ju've nal, poet, quotation from, 194. 
 
 " Kabi der Gkosse," the German name 
 
 of Charlemagne, 235. 
 Kingdom of Rome, beeomes a republic, 
 
 23. 
 Kings, the Roman, legends of, 1-23. 
 
 Lar'ti us, opposes Porsena, 29. 
 
 Latin, learned by conquered peoples, 71 ; 
 despised by the Romans, 108 ; learned by 
 Andronicus, 110 ; in Spain, 152. 
 
 Latins, aid Tarquinius, 31 ; found Rome, 32 ; 
 refused land by the Romans, 38; allies of 
 the Romans, 43-44 ; war with the, 55-57; 
 treated by the Romans almost as equals, 
 78 ; 96, 99 ; refused the rights of Roman 
 citizens, 117. 
 
 La'ti um, 2. 
 
 La vin'i a, 2. 
 
 Lavin'i um, founded by ^Eneas, 2. 
 
 Legionary on the march, picture, 119. 
 
 Lep'i dus, consul, prepares to attack Rome, 
 137. 
 
 Lepidus, Marcus JE mill us, son of the con- 
 sul Lepidus, aids Antonius ; joins the 
 Second Triumvirate, 163-164: defeats Bru- 
 tus and Cassius at Philippi, is dropped 
 from the Second Triumvirate, 165. 
 
 Lictors, with picture, 17. 
 
 Light-armed soldier, picture, 156. 
 
 Light footman in Carthaginian army, pict- 
 ure, .83. 
 
 " Little Augustus," the, nickname of Rom- 
 ulus Augustus. 
 
 Lives, Plutarch's, 203. 
 
 Liv'y, or Titus Livius, historian, 92,179-180, 
 185. 
 
 Lom'bards, are conquered by Charlemagne, 
 234-235. 
 
 Lom'bar dy, conquered by Charlemagne, 
 235. 
 
 Lu'ci us Tar quin'i us Pris'cus, goes to 
 Rome, 16 ; King of Rome, 17-18. 
 
 Lucius Tarquinius Su-per'bus, becomes 
 King of Rome, 20-21; buys the Sibylline 
 Books, 21-22 ; fails to subdue the Gabii, 
 22 ; fears the punishment of the gods, 22 ; 
 is driven from the throne, 23. 
 
 Lu cre'ti a, the death of, 23. 
 
 Lu cul'Ius, Lucius Li cin'i us, rule of, in the 
 East, 144-145. 
 
 Lu si ta'ni a, revolts against Rome, 137. 
 
 Lustrum, 20. 
 
 Macedo'nia, 99, 100; in the power of 
 Rome, 102 ; Caesar enters, 157 ; 163, 164, 
 165. 
 
 Macedonians, 101. 
 
 Macedonian War, First, 100-101. 
 
 Ma'cra (river), limit of the Roman power, 
 60. 
 
 Mse ce'nas^friend of literary men, 178, 179. 
 
 Magne'sia, overthrow of Antiochus at, 
 lol. 
 
 Mam'ertine dungeons, lis. 
 
 Mam'er tines, ask Romans for aid, 74. 
 
 Ma nil'i an Law, 144. 
 
 Ma nil' i us, Caius, 143. 
 
 Man'li us, Mar'cus, saves the Capitol, 52-53 ; 
 helps the plebeians, 54. 
 
 Manlius, Ti'tus, puts his son to death, 56. 
 
 Map, city of Rome, viii. ; Roman Empire, 
 ix. 
 
 Mar cel'lus, nephew of Augustus, mentioned 
 in the JEne&d, 177. 
 
 Ma'ri us, Caius, conquers Jugurtha, 118; the 
 rise of, 118-119; defeats the barbarians, 
 121 ; ambition of, 121-122 ; picture, 122 ; 
 returns from Asia, 123 ; overcomes the 
 Italians, 124-125 ; 126, 127 ; is driven into 
 exile, 128-129 ; returns to Rome, 130 ; death 
 
INDEX 
 
 247 
 
 Of, 130; 133, 134, 137, 138, 151; trophies Of 
 in the Capitol, 152 ; 156 ; defeats the Cim- 
 bri and Teutones, 223. 
 
 Marriage, between patricians and ple- 
 beians, 41 ; ceremonies of, 67-69. 
 
 Mars, 2 ; picture, 11 ; priests of, 11 ; 32 ; god 
 of war, 65 ; 74. 
 
 Marseilles. See Massilia. 
 
 Mas i nis'sa, attacks Carthage, 103, 104. 
 
 Mas sil'i a, 142. 
 
 Mausoleum of Hadrian, 233. 
 
 Max en'ti us, claims the throue, 218 ; is over- 
 come by Constantine at Milvian Bridge, 
 220. 
 
 Max im'i an, resigns the throne, 21S. 
 
 Meals, of the Romans, 175-176. 
 
 Med i ter ra'ne an Sea, 48, 72, 73, 77 ; western 
 part of, ruled by Home, 79 ; crossed by 
 Scipio, 94 ; 97, 99, 100 ; becomes a " Roman 
 lake," 107 ; pirates of the, overcome by 
 Pompey, 142-14 ; countries of the, 209. 
 
 Mercury, 180. 
 
 Mes sa'na, 74. 
 
 Mes si'na, 74. See Messana. 
 
 Metamor'phoses, of Ovid, 180-181. 
 
 Me tau'rus River, 93. 
 
 Mil'an, the Edict of, grants religious free- 
 dom, 220. 
 
 "Military tribune with consular power," 
 office of, may be held by plebeians. 41. 
 
 Mi ner'va, goddess of wisdom, G6. 
 
 Mith ri da'tes, is conquered by the Romans, 
 126-127, 130-132; third war with the Ro- 
 mans, 142, 143-140 ; death Of, 146 ; 149, 151 : 
 
 the son of, defeated by Caesar at Zela, 
 
 159. 
 Mo ham'med, 233, 234. 
 Mo ham'me dans, conquests of the, 233-234 ; 
 
 are repulsed at Tours, 234. 
 Mounted officer, picture, 21. 
 Mils, De'ei us, sacrifices himself for his 
 
 country, 56. 
 
 Xep'tixe, games in honor of, 4; god of 
 
 the waters, 66. 
 Ne'ro, becomes emperor. 187-188 ; after the 
 
 burning of Rome, picture, 187 ; persecutes 
 
 the Christians, taught by Seneca, 188-189 ; 
 
 Roman forum in the time of, picture, 
 
 189 ; house of, 189-190 ; takes his own life, 
 190 1 198 ; picture, 190. 
 er'va, the reign of, 200-201. 
 icome'dia, chosen as his capital by Dio- 
 cletian, 216. 
 orth Sea, 120. 
 
 uman'tia, yields to Rome, 106-107. 
 u'ma Pom pil'i us, King of Rome, 10-12 ; 
 15 ; 32. 
 
 u mid'i a, 103, 117, 118. 
 u'mi tor, 2 ; regains his kingdom, 3. 
 
 Oc'tavia'ntjs, Caius Julius Caesar, de- 
 feats Antonius, is made consul, joins the 
 Second Triumvirate, 163-164 ; defeats 
 Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, rules 
 Rome and the "West, 165 ; defeats An- 
 tonius off Actiuin and becomes ruler of 
 the world, 167; takes the title of imper- 
 ator, 169, of Augustus, 170. 
 
 O do a'cer, made ruler of Italy by the 
 Goths, 231. 
 
 " Op'ti iras,'' title given to Trajan, 201. 
 
 Or'le ans, besieged by the Huns, 229-230. 
 
 Os'ti a, founded, 16. 
 
 Os'tro goths, cross the Danube, overcome 
 the Roman army, 226 ; brought into Italy 
 by Theodoric, 232. 
 
 O'tho, becomes emperor, takes his own life, 
 190-191 ; 198. 
 
 Ov'id, Pub'li us Ovid'i us Na'so, with pict- 
 ure, 180-181. 
 
 Pal'a tixe Hill, 2; Romulus "watches 
 for omens on the, 3-4 ; founds Rome on 
 the, 4 ; 33 ; Roman homes on the, 174. 
 
 Palla,64. 
 
 Pal my'ra, ruins at, picture, 212 ; captured 
 by Aurelian. 213-214. 
 
 Pan'the on. picture, 172 ; 173. 
 
 Papyrus manuscript found at Hercula- 
 neum, picture. 194. 
 
 Pater, the head of a gens, 6. 
 
 Pat'mos, Saint John banished to. 198. 
 
 " Patrician," title taken by Odoacer, 231. 
 
 Pa tri'cians, in early Rome, 6-8. 
 
 Paul, apostle, 124. 
 
 Persecution of the Christians by Nero, 188, 
 189, by Domitian, 198; by Diocletian, 217, 
 218. 
 
248 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Per'seus, defeated at Pydna, 102. 
 
 Persia, ruled by Alexander, 99; becomes 
 powerful, 212 ; 234. 
 
 Persians, Constantine moves nearer to the, 
 220; fought by Julian, 222 ; 223. 
 
 Per'ti nax, emperor of Rome, 210. 
 
 Phar'na ees, son of Mithridates, 146. 
 
 Phar sa'lus, battle of, 157. 
 
 Phi le'mon, 180. 
 
 Philip II, ruler of Macedonia, 99 ; Demos- 
 thenes's Philippics against, 163. 
 
 Philip V, ruler of Macedonia, defeated at 
 Cynoscephalae, 100-101; 102. 
 
 Phi lip'pi, Brutus and Cassius defeated at, 
 165. 
 
 Phi lip'pics, of Demosthenes and of Cicero, 
 163. 
 
 Phce nic'i a, subdued by Pompey, 145. 
 
 Phce nic'i ans, 74. See Carthaginians. 
 
 "Pi'us," title given to Marcus Antoninus, 
 205-206. 
 
 Plebeians, origin of the, 7-8; win their 
 rights, 32-42 ; sufferings of the, in war, 34 ; 
 secede to the Sacred Mountains, return 
 to Rome, 35-30 ; tribunes appointed for, 
 36-37 ; the poverty of the, 37-38 ; gain the 
 right to elect their own tribunes, demand 
 written laws, 39 ; second secession to the 
 Sacred Mt., 40 ; assembly of tribes of the, 
 win the right to make laws, are allowed 
 to marry among the patricians, may be- 
 come "military tribunes with consular 
 powers," 41 ; may become consuls, are 
 full citizens, 42. 
 
 Plin'y, the elder, death of, 196. 
 
 Pliny, the younger, writes to Tacitus, 196 ; 
 197; Suetonius a friend of, 198; corre- 
 sponds with Trajan, 202. 
 
 Plu'tarch, historian and biographer, 146 ; 
 202-203. 
 
 Pce'ni, 74. See Carthaginians. 
 
 Pol'lux, 31. 
 
 Pom pe'i i, destruction of, picture, 195, 
 196. 
 
 Pom pe'i us, Cnae'us, 138. See Pompey. 
 
 Pom'pey, is sent against Sert6rius, 138 ; be- 
 comes consul, 140-141; clears the Medi- 
 terranean Sea of pirates. 143 ; commands 
 the Roman forces in the third war with ' 
 
 Mithridates, 143-146; picture, 145 ; 146, 148, 
 the triumph of, 149 ; becomes one of the 
 First Triumvirate, 151-153 ; is made consul 
 and ruler of Spain, leads the party of the 
 nobles, 154-155 ; flees to Greece, 156 ; re- 
 pulses Caesar in Macedonia, 156-157; is 
 overcome by Caesar at Pharsalus, 157-158 ; 
 is slain in Egypt, 158-159 ; the sons of, re- 
 volt against Caesar, 161 ; 165 ; Livy called 
 a follower of, 179. 
 
 Pon'ti fex maxl mils, 12. 
 
 Pon'tine Marshes, Caesar plans to drain the, 
 160. 
 
 Pon'ti us, Ga'vi us, rejects his father's ad- 
 vice, 57 ; is put to death, 58. 
 
 Pon'tus, 126 ; becomes a Roman province, 
 145. 
 
 Por'se na, Lars, attempts to conquer Rome, 
 27-30. 
 
 Portugal, 137, 171. 
 
 Praetorian guard, formed by Caligula, 186 j 
 refuses to protect Nero, 190; punishes 
 the murderers of Domitian, 200-201 ; dis- 
 banded and a new one formed by Se- 
 verus, 211. 
 
 Pub lil'i us, wins free election of tribunes 
 for the plebeians, 39. 
 
 Pu'nic "Wars, the first war, 74-78, 
 
 Pyd'na, defeat of Perseus at, 102. 
 
 Pyr'e nees (mountains) crossed by Hanni- 
 bal, 83-84, 87 ; crossed by the Mohamme- 
 dans, 234. 
 
 Pyr'rhus, aids the-Tarentines and the Greek 
 colonists, is routed by the Romans, 59-60. 
 
 Quin til'i an, given a salary by Vespa- 
 sian. 192. 
 Quin ti'lis. changed to Julius, 160. 
 Quir'inal (hill), 33. 
 
 Ram and tongs, picture, 91. 
 
 Raven'na, retreat of Honorius, 228. 
 
 Re gil'lus, Lake, battle of, 31. 
 
 Reg'ulus, patriotism of, 77-78; leaving 
 
 home for Carthage, picture, 78. 
 Re'mus, 3-4, 10. 
 Republic, Rome becomes a, 23. 
 Rhe'a Syl'vi a, 2. 
 Rhe'gi um, seized by Spartacus, 140. 
 
INDEX 
 
 249 
 
 Rhine (river), 163,'m, 183, 191, 201, 212, 223, 
 
 235. 
 Rhone (river) crossed by Hannibal, 84 ; 87. 
 Roads, built by the Romans, 69-71. 
 Roman cavalryman, picture, 157. 
 Roman citizenship, 124, 125. 
 Roman Empire, map, ix. 
 Roman forum in the time of Nero, picture, 
 
 189. 
 " Roman Hercules," the, title given to Com- 
 
 modus, 210. 
 Roman lady, picture, 64. 
 Roman soldier, with scale armor, picture, 
 19 ; picture, 35, 129 ; soldiers with shields, 
 
 picture, 54. 
 " Rome," favorite hen of Honorius, 228. 
 Rome, city of, map, viii. 
 Rom'u lus, founds Rome, 3-4 ; seizes the 
 
 Sabine women, 4 ; makes peace with the 
 
 Sabines, 5 ; 6 ; death and prophecy of, 8-9 ; 
 
 10, 12, 68 ; prophecy of, 97 ; 121. 
 Romulus and Remus, the finding of, picture, 
 
 3; 32. 
 Romulus Augustus, last emperor of Rome, 
 
 231. 
 Ru'bi con (river), limit of the Roman 
 
 power, 60 ; crossed by Caesar, with pict- 
 ure, 155. 
 
 Sa'bixes, women of, seized by the Ro- 
 mans, 4; make peace with the Romans, 5 ; 
 women of the, stopping the fight, picture, 
 
 6 ; 10. 
 
 Sacred Mountain, secession of the plebeians 
 
 to the. 36, 40. 
 Sacrifice, offering up a, picture. 15. 
 Sa gun'tum, besieged by Hannibal, 82. 
 Saint Angelo, Castle of, picture, 205. See 
 
 also Mausoleum of Hadrian, 233. 
 Salo'na, Diocletian withdraws to, 218. 
 Sam'nite footman, picture, 57. 
 Samni'tes, attack Capua, 55; defeat the 
 
 Romans at the Caudine Forks, 57 ; are 
 
 subdued by the Romans, 58, 
 Sardin'ia. yielded by Carthage to Rome, 
 
 79; taken by Ca?sar, 156. 
 Saxons, in the power of Charlemagne, 235. 
 Scaev'o la, Ca'i us Mu'ci us, holds his hand 
 
 in the fire, with picture, 30-31 ; 136. 
 
 Schools, under Augustus, 176. 
 
 Scipio, Publius Cornelius, pursues Hannibal 
 
 to the Rhone, is routed at the Ticinus, 87, 
 
 and at the Trebia, 88. 
 Scipio, Publius Cornelius (Afrieanus), 
 
 drives the Carthaginians from Spain, 93 ; 
 
 in Africa, 94-95 ; triumph of, receives the 
 
 name Afrieanus, 96 ; picture, 96 ; 101, 114 ; 
 
 praises Marias, lis. 
 Scipio, Publius Cornelius iEmilianus 
 
 (adopted by the son of Scipio Afrieanus), 
 
 overcomes Carthage. 105-106. 
 Scotland, Agricola penetrates to, 196-197 ; 
 
 203. 
 Screen of shields, picture, 12s. 
 Scrolls, writing utensils, and bookcase, 
 
 picture, 179. 
 Sea fight, picture, 76. 
 Second Triumvirate, formation of the, 
 
 164. 
 Seja'nus, attempts to become emperor, 
 
 1S4. 
 
 Senate, powers of the, 8. 
 
 Sen'e ca, teaches Xero, 188 ; is murdered by 
 Xero, 190 ; 193. 
 
 Sen ti'num, Romans victorious at, 58. 
 
 Serto'rius, Quintus, leads the Lusitanians, 
 137-138 ; murder of, 138-139. 
 
 Seve'rus, Alexander, emperor, 212. 
 
 Severus, Lucius Sep tim'i us, forms a new 
 praetorian guard, 211. 
 
 Sex ti'lis, changed to August, 170. 
 
 Sex'ti us. son of Pompey. 165. 
 
 Sex'tus, deceives the Gabii, 22 ; insults Lu- 
 cretia, 2.3. 
 
 Sheep-raising. 114. 
 
 Sibyl, sells the Sibylline Books to Tarquin- 
 ius. 22-23. 
 
 Sib'yl line Books, 22 ; burning of the, 132. 
 
 Sicilians, prosecute Verres, 141-142. 
 
 Sicily, corn brought from, 45; Pyrrhus in, 
 59; 72. 73, 74; the first Punic War in, 74- 
 75, 77-7S ; becomes a Roman province, 78- 
 79; 80; revolt of the slaves in, 117, 122, 138, 
 140 ; rule of Verres in. 141 ; 143 ; taken by 
 Ccesar, 156 : Alaric plans to conquer, 228 ; 
 recovered by Belisarius, 232. 
 
 Slave, picture, 106. 
 
 Slave market at Rome, picture, 109. 
 
250 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Slaves, 7, 8 ; became cheap, 110 ; treatment 
 of, 113-114; revolt in Sicily, 117, 122. 
 
 Slingers in Carthaginian army, picture, 74. 
 
 Social War, 124-125, 126, 127, 171. 
 
 Solway Firth, 203. 
 
 Spain, 73; Hamilcar in, 81; 87, 89,93; be- 
 longs to Kome, 97 ; Scipio sent to, 100 ; 
 137,138, 139, 140; Caesar in, 152-153; gov- 
 erned by Pompey, 154; Caesar conquers 
 Pompey's troops in, 156; suppresses the 
 revolt of Pompey's sons in, 160; 190; Ha- 
 drian visits, 203 ; the Goths settle in, 230 ; 
 partly recovered by Belisarius, 232; over- 
 come by the Mohammedans, 234 ; Charle- 
 magne's power in, 235. 
 
 Spaniards, stand by the Romans, 93. 
 
 Spar'ta, 103. 
 
 Spar'tacus, leads the gladiators, 139-140. 
 
 Standard-bearer, picture, 124. 
 
 Stil'icho, protects Italy from the Goths, is 
 slain by Honorius, 227. 
 
 Sti'lus, used by Roman schoolboys, 176. 
 
 Stola, 64. 
 
 Sue to'ni us, historian, 198. 
 
 Sul'Ia, Lucius Cornelius, is sent against 
 Mithridates, 127-128, conquers Mithri- 
 dates, 130-132; picture, 133; proscriptions 
 of, 132-134; becomes dictator, 134; retire- 
 ment and death of, 134-135 ; 136, 137, 138 ; 
 fines the Asiatic peoples, 144; 151, 156. 
 
 Switzerland, 120. 
 
 Syr'a cuse, forms an alliance with Hannibal, 
 89-90; is captured by the Romans, 90-92. 
 
 Syr'i a, ruled by Alexander, 99 ; 100, 101 ; 
 subdued by Pompey, 145 ; 171, 191, 211, 
 234. 
 
 Tac'itus, historian, 190; receives letter 
 
 from Pliny the Younger, 196. 
 Ta'gus River, 81. 
 Tan'a quil, 16, 18. 
 Ta ren'tines, conquered by the Romans, 58- 
 
 60; 62. 
 Ta ren'tum, taken by the Romans, 58-60 ; 
 
 110 ; colonies founded at, 117. 
 Tar pe'i a, betrays her country, 5. 
 Tarpeian Rock, 5, 9, 27. 
 Tar qnin'i us Pris'cus, Lu'ci us, comes to 
 
 Rome, 10 ; rule of, 17-1S ; death of, 18 ; 09. 
 
 Tarquinius (Superbus) attempts of, to re- 
 gain his throne, 26-31 ; 34. 
 
 Tenth Legion, at Pharsalus, 157. 
 
 Ter'mi mis, the god of boundaries, 12. 
 
 Teu'to ues, defeated by Marius, 120-121 ; 
 127, 223. 
 
 Thap'sus, victory of Caesar at, 159. 
 
 Theatre, of Androuicus, 110. 
 
 The od'o ric the Great, becomes ruler of 
 Italy, 232. 
 
 The o do'si us, unites the two parts of the 
 empire, 226 ; the death of, 227, 231. 
 
 Thes'sa ly, Caesar withdraws to, 157. 
 
 Thirty Tyrants, claim the throne, 211. 
 
 Thrace, 139; under Diocletian, 216; entered 
 by the Visigoths, 224-225. 
 
 Thracian gladiator, picture, 139. 
 
 " Thumbs down," picture, 112. 
 
 Ti'ber, River, 2, 16, 33, 44, 46, 48 ; Marius ap- 
 pears at the mouth of the, 130 ; 162. 
 
 Tiberius, succeeds Augustus, with picture, 
 181-182 ; opposition to, 183-184; withdraws 
 to Capreae, dies, 184-185; 198. 
 
 Ti ci'nus River, battle of the, 87-88. 
 
 Ti'gris River, Hadrian goes beyond the, 
 203. 
 
 Titus, conquers Judaea, 191-192; Jerusalem 
 taken by, picture, 191 ; as a builder, 193- 
 195 ; 196 ; 198, 199 ; arch Of, picture, 196. 
 
 Toga, worn by the Romans, with picture, 
 63-64. 
 
 Tongs, for defense, picture, 91. 
 
 Tours, the battle of, 234. 
 
 Tower, used in siege of a town, picture, 90. 
 
 Tra'jan, picture, 205 ; becomes emperor, sup- 
 presses the Dacians, enlarges the empire, 
 201-202 ; column and forum of, picture, 
 202 ; enjoys literary men, 202. 
 
 Tras i me'nus, Lake, battle of, 88- 
 
 Tre'bi a River, battle of the, 88. 
 
 Tribes, 7. 
 
 Tribunes, for plebeians appointed, 30-37; 
 right to elect given to plebeians, 39 ; al- 
 lowed to sit at door of Senate house, 41. 
 
 Tri'remes, picture, 94 ; 95. 
 
 Triumph, a Roman, picture, 159. 
 
 Triumvirate, First, 151-153; Second, 101; 
 Lepidus dropped from the, 165. 
 
 Trojans, 1. 
 
INDEX 
 
 251 
 
 Troy, 1, 177. 
 
 Tullia, drives over the body of her father, 
 with picture, 20-21. 
 
 Tul'li us, Ser'vi us, becomes King of Rome, 
 1S-19 ; reforms of, 10-20 ; death of, 21 ; 34. 
 
 Xul'lus Hos til'i us, King of Rome, 12-15; 
 destroyed by the gods, 15. 
 
 Turkish Empire, 236. 
 
 Turks, threaten Southern Europe, 233 j capt- 
 ure Constantinople, 236. 
 
 Tus'ean Sea, 143. 
 
 " Twelve Ca?sars," 198, 200. 
 
 " Twelve Tables," the, 39. 
 
 Tyue River, 203. 
 
 Ukxs for ashes of the dead, picture, 178. 
 U'ti ca, besieged by Scipio Africanus, 94- 
 
 95; becomes the leading city of Africa, 
 
 106 ; Cato kills himself at, 159. 
 
 Va'lens, picture, 225; permits the Goths 
 
 to enter Thrace, is slain by them in battle, 
 
 225-226. 
 Va le'ri an Law, 27. 
 Va le'ri o-Ho ra'tian Laws, passage of the, 
 
 41. 
 Va le'ri us (Lucius), consul, 41. 
 Valerius, Pub'li us, proposes the Valerian 
 
 Law, 27. 
 Yan'dals, enter Gaul. Spain, and Africa, and 
 
 plunder Rome, 230-231. 
 Va'rus, loss of Roman army under, 172, 
 
 1S3, 184. 
 Te'i i, captured by the Romans, 49-50; 53; 
 
 Romans think of dwelling in, 54 ; 126. 
 Yen'ice, founded by fugitives from Aquileia, 
 
 230. 
 "Veni, vidi, vici," Caesar's account of the 
 
 battle of Zela, 159. 
 Ve'nus, goddess of beauty, 66; Cleopatra 
 
 dressed as, 166. 
 Yer'res, the trial of, 141-142 ; 171. 
 Ye'rus, Lucius, adopted by Antoninus Pius, 
 
 rules with Mareus Aurelius Antoninus, 
 
 205, 206. 
 
 Yes pa'si an, becomes emperor, 191; ap- 
 preciates Quintiliau, 192 ; as a builder, 
 pardons .Tosephus, 192-193; 198. 
 
 Yes'ta, goddess of the hearth, 2, 65. 
 
 Vestal virgins, school of, picture, 65. 
 
 Ve su'vi us, Mount, the battle of, 56 ; erup- 
 tion of, 196, 202. 
 
 Yi'a Ap'pi a, 70. 
 
 Victorious general thanking his army, pict- 
 ure, 95. 
 
 Vim'i nal (hill) , 33. 
 
 Vintage festival, picture, 38. 
 
 Vir'gil, or Publius Vir gil'i us Ma'ro, poet, 
 with picture, 176-178 ; 185. 
 
 Vir gin'i a, death of, with picture, 40. 
 
 Vis'igoths, are permitted to enter Thrace, 
 overcome a Roruun army, 224-220 ; ap- 
 proach Constantinople, 226. 
 
 Vi telTi us, becomes emperor, is slain, 190- 
 191 ; 198, 199. 
 
 Vol'sci ans, raid the Roman lands, lose 
 Corioli, 44 ; are led by Coriolanus, 45-46; 
 
 West, the, in the power of Rome, 102 ; diffl- 
 culties of Rome in the, 139 ; Octavianus 
 rules in the, 164 ; 225, 231; fall of the em- 
 pire in the, 231; 232; the Mohammedans 
 in the, 234 ; 236. 
 
 Western Empire, fall of Uie, 236. 
 
 Western Goths, 224. See Visigoths, 
 
 Women's court in the house of a wealthy 
 Roman, picture, 174. 
 I Worship, Roman, 60. 
 
 Yoke, JEquians sent under the, 47 ; Romans 
 sent under the, at the Caudiue Forks, 57 ; 
 Roman army passing under the, with 
 picture, 120. 
 
 Za'ma, battle at. 95. 
 
 Ze'la, Caesar defeats the son of Mithridates 
 
 at, 159. 
 Ze no'bi a, is conquered by Aurelian, 213- 
 214. 
 
taftc IfiitarsiDe |Drcjtf? 
 
 CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS 
 U . S . A