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 http://www.archive.org/details/historyofromulus01abbo 
 
HISTOHY 
 
 OF 
 
 E O M U L U 8 
 
 BY 
 
 JACOB ABBOTT 
 
 ^ 
 
 (^ 
 
 toiti) €nc|rat)ings 
 
 fi: 
 
 /O797 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE 
 
i\a,i 
 
 \ it 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, 
 
 In the Clerk's OfBce for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 Copyright, 1880, by Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, Austin Abbott, 
 Lyman Abbott, and Edward Abbott. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In writing the series of historical narratives to 
 v^hich the present work pertains, it has been the 
 object of the author to furnish to the reading com- 
 munity of this country an accurate and faithful 
 account of the lives and actions of the several per- 
 sonages that are made successively the subjects of 
 the volumes, following precisely the story which has 
 come down to us from ancient times. The writer 
 has spared no pains to gain access in all cases to the 
 original sources of information, and has confined 
 himself strictly to them. The reader may, therefore, 
 feel assured in perusing any one of these works, that 
 the interest of it is in no degree indebted to the inven 
 tion of the author. No incident, however trivial, is 
 ever added to the original account, nor are ai.'y words 
 even, in any case, attributed to a speaker without 
 express authority. Whatever of interest, therefore, 
 these stories may possess, is due solely to the facts 
 themselves which are recorded in them, and to their 
 being brought together in a plain, simple, and con- 
 nected narrative. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHA.PTBR TAQB 
 
 I. CADMUS 1 '^ 
 
 II, CADMUS'S LETTERS S6 
 
 III. THE STORY OF ^NEAS • • ^^ 
 
 IV. THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY ^9 
 
 V. THE FLIGHT OF ^NEAS 103 
 
 VI. THE LANDING IN LATIUM 131 
 
 Vn. RHEA SILVIA 15' 
 
 VIIL THE TWINS 1^* 
 
 IX. THE FOUNDING OF ROME 202 
 
 X. ORGANIZATION 225 
 
 XL WIVES ' 248 
 
 Xri. THE SABINE WAK i . 270 
 
 Kill. laE CONCLUSION . 295 
 
ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 , PAGl 
 
 'THE HARPIES Fronthpiece. 
 
 JUPITER AND EUROPA 28 
 
 MAP — JOURNEYINGS OF CADMUS 30 
 
 SYMBOLICAL •WRITING 37 
 
 SYMBOLICAL AND PHONETIC WRITING 44 
 
 HIEROGLYPHICS 56 
 
 MAP ORIGIN OF VENUS 61 
 
 ^NEAS DEFENDING THE BODY OF PANDARUS 68 
 
 THE TORTOISE 98 
 
 HELEN , 105 
 
 map wanderings of ^neas 119 
 
 map latium 134 
 
 Silvia's stag 145 
 
 rhea silvia iso 
 
 faustulus and the twins 184 
 
 situation of rome 209 
 
 promising the bracelets 284 
 
 the death of romulus 305 
 
 The Illuminated Title-page, from a design by Gwilt Mapleson 
 presents, in the border, an imitation of the Roman tossplatod par© 
 ment, and in the vignette a view of ruins at Rome. 
 
ROMULUS 
 
 CllAPTEK I. 
 
 Cadmus. 
 
 Dififerent kinds of greatness. 
 
 SOME men are renowned in history on ac- 
 count of the extraordinary powers and 
 capacities which they exhibited in the course 
 of their career, or the intrinsic greatness of 
 the deeds which they performed. Others, 
 without having really achieved any thing in 
 itself very great or wonderful, have become 
 widely known to mankind by reason of the 
 vast consequences w^hich, in the subsequent 
 course of events, resulted from their doings. 
 Men of this latter class are conspicuous rather 
 than great. From among thousands of otlier 
 men equally exalted in character with them- 
 3 elves, they are brought out prominently to 
 the notice of mankind only in consequence of 
 the strong light reflected, by great events sub- 
 
14 EoMtJLus. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Founders of cities. Rome. Interest in respect to its origin. 
 
 eeqiiently occurring, back "upon the position 
 where they happened to stand. 
 
 The celebrity of Romulus seems to be of 
 tliis latter kind. He founded a city. A 
 thousand other men have founded cities ; and 
 in doing their work have evinced perhaps as 
 much courage, sagacity, and mental power as 
 Romulus displayed. The city of Romulus, 
 however, became in the end the queen and 
 mistress of the world. It rose to so exalted a 
 position of influence and power, and retained 
 its ascendency so long, that now for twenty 
 centuries every civilized nation in the western 
 world have felt a strong interest in every thing 
 pertaining to its history, and have been accus- 
 tomed to look back with special curiosity to 
 the circumstances of its origin. In conse- 
 quence of this it has happened that though 
 Romulus, in his actual day, performed no 
 very great exploits, and enjoyed no pre-emi- 
 nence above the thousand other half-savage 
 chieftains of his class, whose names have been 
 long forgotten, and very probably while lie 
 lived never dreamed of any extended fame, 
 yet so brilliant is the illumination which the 
 subsequent events of history have shed upon 
 his position and his doings, that his name and 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus. 15 
 
 The story of iEneas. The Mediterranean sea. 
 
 the incidents of liis life have been brought out 
 very conspicuously to view, and attract very 
 strongly the attention of mankind. 
 
 The history of Rome is usually made to be- 
 gin with the story of ^neas. In order that 
 the reader may understand in what light that 
 romantic tale is to be regarded, it is necessary 
 to premise some statements in respect to the 
 general condition of society in ancient days, 
 and to the nature of the strange narrations, 
 circulated in those early periods among man- 
 kind, out of which in later ages, when the art 
 of writing came to be introduced, learned 
 men compiled and recorded what they termed 
 history. 
 
 The countries which formed the shores of 
 the Mediterranean sea were as verdant and 
 beautiful, in those ancient days, and perhaps 
 as fruitful and as densely populated as in 
 modern times. The same Italy and Greece 
 were there then as now. There were the same 
 blue and beautiful seas, the same mountains, 
 the same picturesque and enchanting shores, 
 the same smiling valleys, and the same serene 
 and genial sky. The level lands were tilled 
 industriously by a rural population corre 
 
16 K OMUL us. [B.C. 1500, 
 
 Italy and Greece in ancient times, and now. 
 
 sponding in all essential points of character 
 with the peasantry of modern times ; and 
 shepherds and herdsmen, then as now, hunted 
 the wild beasts, and watched their flocks and 
 herds, on the declivities of the mountains. In 
 a word, the appearance of the face of nature, 
 and the performance of the great function of 
 the social state, namely, the procuring of food 
 and clothing for man by the artificial cultiva • 
 tion of animal and vegetable life, were sub- 
 stantially the same on the shores of tlie Medi- 
 terranean two thousand years ago as now. 
 Even the plants and the animals themselves 
 which the ancient inhabitants reared, have 
 undergone no essential change. Their sheep 
 and oxen and horses were the same as ours. 
 So were their grapes, their apples, and their 
 corn. 
 
 If, however, we leave the humbler classes 
 and occupations of society, and turn our at- 
 tention to those which represent the refine- 
 ment, the cultivation, and the power, of tlie 
 two respective periods, we shall find that al- 
 most all analogy fails. There v/as an aris- 
 tocracy then as now, ruling over the widely- 
 extended communities of peaceful agricultu- 
 ralists and herdsmen, but the members of it 
 
IJ.C. 1500.J Cadmus. 17 
 
 Ancient chieftains. Their modes of life. 
 
 were entirely different in their character, 
 their tastes, their ideas, and their occupations 
 from the classes which exercise the preroga- 
 tives of government in Em'ope in modern 
 times. The nobles then were military chief- 
 tains, living in 'camps or in walled cities, which 
 they built foi the accommodation of them- 
 selves and tho followers. These chieftains 
 were not barbadians. They were in a certain 
 sense cultivated and refined. They gathered 
 around them in their camps and in their courts 
 orators, poets, statesmen, and officers of every 
 grade, who seem to have possessed the same 
 energy, genius, taste, and in some respects the 
 same scientific skill, which have in all ages 
 and in every clime characterized the upper 
 classes of the Caucasian race. They carried 
 all the arts which were necessary for their 
 purposes and plans to high perfection, and in 
 the invention of tales, ballads and poems, to 
 be recited at their entertainments and feasts, 
 they evinced the most admirable taste and 
 skill ; — a taste and skill which, as they resulted 
 not from the operation and influence of arti- 
 ficial rules, but from the unerring instinct of 
 genius, have never been surpassed. In fact, 
 the poetical inventions of those early days, far 
 
 B 
 
18 EoMULUs. [B.C. 1500, 
 
 Religious ideaa of the ancient Greeks and Romans. 
 
 from having been produced in conformity 
 with rules, were entirely precedent to rules, in 
 the order of time. Kules were formed from 
 them ; for they at length became established 
 themselves in the estimation of mankind, aa 
 models, and on their authority as models, 
 the whole theory of rhetorical and poetical 
 beauty now mainly reposes. 
 
 The people of those days formed no idea of 
 a spiritual world, or of a spiritual divinity. 
 They however imagined, that heroes of former 
 days still continued to live and to reign in 
 certain semi-heavenly regions among the sum- 
 mits of their blue and beautiful mountains, 
 and that they were invested there with attri- 
 butes in some respects divine. In addition to 
 these divinities, the fertile fancy of those 
 ancient times filled the earth, the air, the sea, 
 and the sky with imaginary beings, all most 
 graceful and beautiful in their forms, and 
 poetical in their functions, — and made them 
 the subjects, too, of innumerable legends ani 
 tales, as graceful, poetical, and beautiful as 
 themselves. Every grove, and fountain, and 
 river, — every lofty summit among the moun- 
 tains, and every rock and promontory along 
 Uie shores of the sea, — every cave, every val 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus. lO' 
 
 Ancient studies of nature. Purpose of tnein. 
 
 ley, every water-fall, had its imaginary occu- 
 pant, — the genius of the spot ; so that every 
 natural object which attracted public notice at 
 all, was the subject of some picturesque and 
 romantic story. In a word, nature was not 
 exj^lored then as now, for the purpose of as- 
 certaining and recording cold and scientific 
 realities, — but to be admired, and embellish- 
 ed, and animated ; — and to be peopled, every- 
 where, with exquisitely beautiful, though ima- 
 ginary and supernatural, life and action. 
 
 What the genius of imagination and ro- 
 mance did thus in ancient times with the 
 scenery of nature, it did also on the field of 
 history. Men explored that field not at all to 
 learn sober and actual realities, but to find 
 something that they might embellish and 
 adorn, and animate with supernatural and 
 marvelous life. What the sober realities 
 might have actually been, was of no interest 
 or moment to them whatever. There were no 
 scholars then as now, living in the midst of 
 libraries, and finding constant employment, 
 and a never-ending pleasure, in researches 
 for the simple investigation of the truth. 
 There was in fact no retirement, no seclusion, 
 no study. Every thing except what related to 
 
'20 KoMULUs. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 History. Ancient poems and tales. 
 
 the mere daily toil of tilling tlie ground bore 
 direct relation to military expeditions, spec- 
 tacles and parades ; and the only field for the 
 exercise of that kind of intellectual ability 
 which is employed in modern times in inves- 
 tigating and recording historic truth, was the 
 invention and recitation of poems, dramas and 
 tales, to amuse great military audiences in 
 camps or public gatherings, convened to wit- 
 ness shows or games, or to celebrate great re- 
 lio-ious festivals. Of course under such cir- 
 cumstances there would be no interest felt in 
 truth as truth. Eomance and fable would be 
 far more serviceable for such ends than re- 
 ality. 
 
 Still it is obvious that such tales as were in- 
 vented to amuse for the purposes w^e have de 
 Bcribed, w^ould have a deeper interest for 
 ihose who listened to them, if founded in 
 some measure upon fact, and connected in 
 respect to the scene of their occurrence, with 
 real localities. A prince and his court sitting 
 at their tables in the palace or the tent, at the 
 close of a feast, would listen with greater in- 
 terest to a story that purported to be an ac- 
 count of the deeds and the marvelous adven- 
 tures of their ov/n ancestors, than to one thai 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus. 21 
 
 How far founded in fact. Cadmus. 
 
 was wliollj and avowedly imaginary. The 
 inventors of these tales would of conrse gen- 
 erally choose such subjects, and their narra- 
 tions would generally consist therefore rather 
 of embellishments of actual transactions, than 
 of inventions wholly original. Their heroes 
 were consequently real men ; the principal 
 actions ascribed to them were real actions, 
 and the places referred to were real localities. 
 Thus there was a semblance of truth and real- 
 ity in all these tales which added greatly to 
 tlie interest of them ; while there were no 
 means of ascertaining the real truth, and thus 
 spoiling the story by making the falsehood or 
 improbability of it evident and glaring. 
 
 "We cannot well have a better illustration 
 of these principles than is afforded by the 
 story of Cadmus, an adventurer who was said 
 to have brought the knowledge of alphabetic 
 writing into Greece from some countries 
 farther eastward. In modern times there is a 
 very strong interest felt in ascertaining the 
 exact truth on this subject. The art of writ- 
 ing w^ith al^^habetic characters was so great 
 an invention, and it has exerted so vast an in- 
 iluence on the condition and progress of man- 
 Idnd since it was introduced, that a vei-y 
 
22 KoMULus. [B.C. 1500 
 
 luterest felt in resjtect to the origin of writing. 
 
 strong interest is now felt in every thing that 
 can be ascertained as actually fact, in respect 
 to its origin. If it were possible now to de- 
 termine under what circumstances the method 
 of representing the elements of sound by 
 v/ritten characters was first devised, to dis- 
 cover who it was that first conceived the idea, 
 and what led him to make the attempt, what 
 difiiculties he encountered, to v/hat purposes 
 he first applied his invention, and to what re- 
 sults it led, the whole world would take a 
 very strong interest in the revelation. The 
 essential point, however, to be observed, is 
 that it is the real truth in respect to the sub- 
 ject that the world are now interested in 
 knowing. Were a romance writer to invent 
 a tale in respect to the origin of writing, how- 
 ever ingenious and entertaining it might be 
 in its details, it would excite in the learned 
 world at the present day no interest whatever. 
 There is in fact no account at present ex- 
 isting in respect to the actual origin of alp^ia- 
 betic characters, though there is an account 
 of the circumstances under which the art 
 was brought into Europe from Asia, where it 
 seems to have been originally invented. We 
 v/ill give the facts, first in their simple form, 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus. 23 
 
 True story of Cadmus. His father Agenor Europa. 
 
 and then the narrative in the form in which 
 it was related in ancient times, as embellished 
 hy the ancient story-tellers. 
 
 The facts then, as now generally under 
 stood and believed, are, that there was a cer- 
 tain king in some country in Africa, named 
 Agenor, Vv^ho lived about 1500 years before 
 Christ. lie had a daughter named Europa, 
 and several sons. Among his sons was one 
 named Cadmus. Europa was a beautiful gir], 
 and after a time a wandering adventurer from 
 some part of the northern shores of the Med- 
 iterranean sea, came into Africa, and was so 
 much pleased witli her that he resolved if 
 iDossible, to obtain her for his wife. He did 
 not dare to make proposals openly, and he 
 accordingly disguised himself and mingled 
 with the servants upon Agenor's farm. In this 
 disguise he succeeded in making acquaint- 
 ance with Europa, and finally persuaded her 
 to elope with him. The pair accordingly fled, 
 and crossing the Mediterranean they went to 
 Crete, an island near the northern shores of 
 the sea, and there they lived together. 
 
 The father, when he found that his daugh- 
 ter had deceived him and gone away, waa 
 very indignant, and sent Cadmus and hia 
 
U KoMULTJS. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Telephassa. The pursuit of Europa. Fruitless result. 
 
 brothers in pursuit of her. The mother of 
 Eiiroj^a, whose name was Telephassa, though 
 less indignant perhaps than the father, waa 
 overwhelmed with grief at the loss of her 
 child, and determined to accompany her sons 
 in the search. She accordingly took leave 
 of her husband and of her native land, and 
 set out with Cadmus and her other sons on 
 the long journey in search of her lost child. 
 Agenor charged his sons never to come home 
 again unless they brought Europa with them. 
 Cadmus, with his mother and brothers, 
 traveled slowly toward the northward, along 
 the eastern shores of the Mediterranean sea, 
 inquiring everywhere for the fugitive. They 
 passed through Syria and Phenicia, into Asia 
 Minor, and from Asia Minor into Greece. 
 At length Telephassa, worn down, perhaps, 
 by fatigue, disappointment, and grief, died. 
 Cadmus and his brothers soon after became 
 discouraged ; and at last, weary with their 
 wanderings, and prevented by their father's 
 injunction from returning without Europa, 
 they determined to settle in Greece. In at- 
 tempting to establish themselves there, how- 
 ever, they became involved in various con- 
 flicts, first with wild beasts, and afterward 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus. 25 
 
 Cadmus settles ia Greece. Thebes. Arts introduced by him. 
 
 with men, the natives of the land, who seemed 
 to spring up, as it were, from the ground, to 
 oppose them. They contrived, however, at 
 length, by fomenting quarrels among their 
 enemies, and taking sides with one party 
 Bgainst the rest, to get a permanent footing 
 in Greece, and Cadmus finally founded a city 
 there, which he called Thebes. 
 
 In establishing the institutions and govern- 
 ment of Thebes, and in arranging the organi- 
 zation of the people into a social state, Cadmus 
 introduced among them several arts, which, 
 in that part of the country, had been before 
 miknown. One of these arts was the use of 
 copper, which metal he taught his new sub • 
 jects to procure from the ore obtained in 
 mines. There were several others ; but the 
 most important of all was that he taught them 
 sixteen letters representing elementary voca' 
 sounds, by means of which inscriptions ol 
 words could be carved upon monuments, oi 
 'a2">on tablets of metal or of stone. 
 
 It is not supposed that the idea of rep- 
 'esenting the elements of vocal sounds by 
 characters originated with Cadmus, or that 
 he invented the characters himself. He 
 brought them with him undoubtedly, but 
 
26 Romulus. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 The ancient legend of Cadmus. Jupiter. 
 
 whether from Egypt or Phenicia, can not now 
 be known. 
 
 Such are the facts of the case, as now gen - 
 erally understood and believed! Let us now 
 compare this simple narration with the ro- 
 mantic tale which the early story-tellers made 
 from it. The legend, as they relate it, is as 
 follows. 
 
 Jupiter was a prince born and bred among 
 the summits of Mount Ida, in Crete. His 
 father's name was Saturn. Saturn had made 
 an agreement that he would cause all his sons 
 to be slain, as soon as they were born. This 
 was to appease his brother, who was his rival, 
 and who consented that Saturn should con- 
 tinue to reign only on that condition. 
 
 Jupiter's mother, however, was very un- 
 willing that her boys should be thus cruelly 
 put to death, and she contrived to conceal 
 three of them, and save them. Tlie three 
 thus preserved were brought up among tlie 
 solitudes of tlie mountains, w^atched and at- 
 tended by nymphs, and nursed by a goat. 
 After they grew up, they engaged from time 
 to time in various wars, and met with various 
 wonderfu I adventures, until at length Jupiter, 
 tlie oldest of them, succeeded, by means of 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus. 27 
 
 Alventures of Jupiter. Wis love for Europa, 
 
 tliunderbolts which he caused to be forged 
 for his use, in vast subterranean cayems be- 
 neath Mount Etna and Mount Yesuvius, con- 
 quered all his enemies, and became universal 
 king. He, however, divided his empire be- 
 tween himself and his brothers, giving to 
 them respectively the command of the sea 
 and of the subterranean regions, wdiile he 
 reserved the earth and the heavenly regions 
 for himself. 
 
 He established his usual abode among the 
 mountains of Northern Greece, but he often 
 made excursions to and fro upon the earth, 
 appearing in various disguises, and meeting 
 with a grea-t number of strange and marvel- 
 ous adventures. In the course of these wan- 
 derings he found his way at one time into 
 Egypt, and to the dominions of Agenor, — and 
 there he saw Agenor's beautiful daughter, 
 Europa. He immediately determined to make 
 her his bride ; and to secure this object he 
 assumed the form of a very finely shaped and 
 beautiful bull, and in this guise joined him- 
 self to Agenor's herds of cattle. Europa 
 soon saw him there. She was much pleased 
 with the beauty of his form, and finding him 
 gentle and kind in disposition, she approached 
 
28 
 
 His elopement. 
 
 E/ OMUL US. 
 
 [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Jupiter and Europa in Crete. 
 
 him, patted his glossy neck and sides, and in 
 other similar ways gratified the prince hy 
 marks of her admiration and pleasure. She 
 
 Jupiter and Europa. 
 
 was at length induced hy some secret and 
 magical influence which the prince exerted 
 over her, to mount upon his hack, and allow 
 herself to he home away. The hull ran with 
 his hurden to the shore, and plunged into 
 the waves. He swam across the sea to Crete,^ 
 
 See Map, p. 30. 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus. iO 
 
 I'he expedition of Cadmua. His various wanderings. 
 
 and there, resuming his proper form, lie 
 made the princess his bride. 
 
 Agenor and Telephassa, when they found 
 that their daughter was gone, were in great 
 distress, and Agenor immediately determined 
 to send his sons on an expedition in pursuit 
 of her. The names of his sons were Cadmus, 
 Phoenix, Cylix, Thasus, and Phineus. Cad- 
 mus, as the oldest son, was to be the director 
 of the expedition. Telephassa, the mother, 
 resolved to accompany them, so overwhelmed 
 was she with affliction at the loss of her 
 daughter. Agenor himself was almost equally 
 oppressed with the calamity which had over- 
 whelmed them, and he charged his sons never 
 to come home again until they could bring 
 Europa with them. 
 
 Telephassa and her sons wandered for a 
 time in the countries east of the Mediterra- 
 nean sea, without being able to obtain any 
 tidings of the fugitive. At length they passed 
 mto Asia Minor, and from Asia Minor into 
 Thrace, a country lying north of the ^gean 
 Sea. Finding no traces of their sister in any 
 of these countries, the sons of Agenor became 
 discouraged, and resolved to make no farther 
 search ; and Telephassa, exhausted with anxi- 
 
80 
 
 Romulus. 
 
 [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Death of Telephassa. 
 
 Visit to the oracle at Delphi. 
 
 ety and fatigue, and now overwhelmed with 
 the thought that all hope must he finally 
 abandoned, sank down and died. 
 
 The JouRNEYiNGs OF Cadmus. 
 
 Cadmus and his brothers were much af- 
 fected at their mother's death. They made 
 arrangements for her burial, in a manner be- 
 fitting her high rank and station, and when 
 the funeral solemnities had been perforned, 
 Cadmus repaired to the oracle at Delphi, 
 which was situated in the northern part of 
 
B.C. 1500.J Cadmus. 31 
 
 The directions of the oracle. Cadmus finds his guide. 
 
 Greece, not very far from Tlirace, in order 
 tliat lie might inquire there whether there 
 was any thing more that he conlcl do to re- 
 cover his lost sister, and if so to learn what 
 course he was to j)ursue. The oracle replied to 
 ]iim that he must search for his sister no more, 
 but instead of it turn his attention wholly to 
 the work of establishing a home and a king- 
 dom for himself, in Greece. To this end he 
 was to travel on in a direction indicated^ until 
 he met with a cow of a certain kind, described 
 by the oracle, and then to follow the c.w 
 wherever she might lead the way, until at 
 length, becoming fatigued, she should stop 
 and lie down. Upon the spot where the cow 
 should lie down he was to build a city and 
 make it his capital. 
 
 Cadmus obeyed these directions of the ora- 
 cle. He left Delphi and went on, attended, 
 as he had been in all his wanderings, by a 
 troop of companions and followers, until at 
 length in the herds of one of the people of 
 the country, named Pelagon, he found a cow 
 answering to the description of the oracle 
 Taking this cow for his guide, he follov/ed 
 wherever she led the way. She conducted 
 him toward the southward and eastward foi 
 
32 EoMULUs. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 rhe place for his dty determined. The fountain of Dirce. 
 
 thirty or forty miles, and at length wearied, 
 apparently, by her long journey, she lay 
 down. Cadmus knew immediately that tliia 
 was the spot where his city was to stand. 
 
 He began immediately to make arrange- 
 ments for the building of the city, but he de- 
 termined first to offer the cow that had been 
 his divinely appointed guide to the spot, as a 
 sacrifice to Minerva, whom he always consid- 
 ered as his guardian goddess. 
 
 Near the spot where the cow lay down there 
 was a small stream which issued from a foun- 
 tain not far distant, called the fountain of 
 Dirce. Cadmus sent some of nis men to tiie 
 place to obtain some water which it was ne- 
 cessary to use in the ceremonies of the sacri- 
 fice. It happened, however, that this fountain 
 was a sacred one, having been consecrated to 
 Mars, — and there was a great dragon, a son 
 of Mars, stationed there to guard it. The 
 men whom Cadmus sent did not return, and 
 accordingly Cadmus himself, after waiting a 
 suitable time, proceeded to the spot to as- 
 certain the cause of the delay. He found 
 that the dragon had killed his men, and at 
 the time when he arrived at the spot, the mon- 
 ster was greedily devouring the bodies. Cad- 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus. 33 
 
 The dragon's teeth. Thebea built. Cadmia. 
 
 miis immediately attacked the dragon and 
 slew him, and then tore his teeth out cf his 
 head, as trophies of his victory. Minerva had 
 assisted Cadmus in this combat, and when it 
 was ended she directed him to plant the teeth 
 of the dragon in the ground. Cadmus did so, 
 and immediately a host of armed men sprung 
 up from the place where he had planted them. 
 Cadmus threw a stone among these armed 
 men, when they immediately began to con- 
 tend together in a desperate conflict, until at 
 length all but Ryq of them were slain. These 
 -G.Ye then joined themselves to Cadmus, and 
 helped him to build his city. 
 
 He went on very successfully after this. 
 The city which ho built was Thebes, which 
 afterward became greatly celebrated. The 
 citadel which he erected within, he called, 
 from his own name, Cadmia. 
 
 Such were the legends which were related 
 in ancient poems and tales ; and it is obvious 
 ihat such narratives must have been composed 
 ':o entertain groups of listeners whose main 
 desire was to be excited and amused, and not 
 to be instructed. The stories were believed, 
 no doubt, and the feith which the hearer felt 
 in their truth added of course very greatly to 
 
 O 
 
34 RoMULTjs. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Ancient ideas of probability. Belief in supernatural tales. 
 
 the interest whicli they awakened in "his mind. 
 The stories are amusing to us ; but it is im- 
 possible for us to share in the deep and sol- 
 emn emotion with which the ancient audiences 
 listened to them, for we have not the power, 
 as they had, of believing them. Such tales 
 related in respect to the great actors on the 
 stage in modern times, would awaken no in- 
 terest, for there is too general a diffusion both 
 cf historical and philosophical knowledge to 
 render it possible for any one to suppose them 
 to be true. But those for whom the story of 
 Europa was invented, had no means of knov<" 
 ing hov/ wide t]ie Mediterranean sea mighi 
 be, and whether a bull might not swim acros? 
 it. They did not know but that Mars might 
 have a dragon for a son, and that the teeth of 
 such a dragon might not, when sown in the 
 ground, spring up in the form of a troop of 
 armed men. They listened therefore to the 
 tale with an interest all the more earnest and 
 solemn on account of the marvelousness of 
 the recital. They repeated it word for word 
 to one another, around their camp-fires, at their 
 teasts, in their journeyings, — and when watch- 
 ing their flocks at midnight, among the soli- 
 tudes of the mountains. Thus the tales wero 
 
B.C.1500.] Cadmus. 35 
 
 Final recording of the ancient tales. 
 
 handed down from generation to generation, 
 until at length the use of the letters of Cad- 
 mus became so far facilitated, that continuous 
 narrations could be expressed bj means of 
 them ; and then they were put permanently 
 upon record in many forms, and were thus 
 transmitted without any farther change to the 
 present age. 
 
30 KoMTJLus. [L\a 1600. 
 
 Two modes of writing. Symbols. Exampte. 
 
 ChapteeII. 
 
 Cadmtts's Letters. 
 
 nflHERE are two modes essentially distinct 
 -*- from eacli oilier, by whicli ideas may be 
 communicated tbroiigli the medium of inscrip- 
 tions addressed to the eye. These two modes 
 are, first, by synnbolical^ and secondly, by 
 •phonetiG characters. Each of these two sys- 
 tems assumes, in fact, within itself, quite a 
 variety of distinct forms, though it is only the 
 general characteristics which distinguish the 
 two great classes from each other, that we 
 shall have occasion particularly to notice 
 here. 
 
 Symbolical writing consists of characters 
 intended severally to denote ideas or things^ 
 and not words. A good example of true 
 symbolical writing is to be found in a cer- 
 tain figure often employed among the archi- 
 tectural decorations of churches, as an em- 
 blem of the Deity. It consists of a triangle 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus's Letters. 
 
 37 
 
 Example. 
 
 Symbol of the Deity. 
 
 Ancient Symbols. 
 
 representing the Trinity 
 with the figure of an eye 
 in the middle of it. The 
 eye is intended to denote 
 the divine omniscience. 
 Such a character as this, is 
 ohviously the symbol of an 
 idea, not the representative of a word. It 
 may be read Jehovah, or God, or the Deity, 
 or by any other word or phrase by which men 
 are accustomed to denote the Supreme Being. 
 It represents, in fine, the idea, and not any 
 particular word by which the idea is ex- 
 pressed. 
 
 The first attempts of men to preserve rec- 
 ords of facts by means of inscriptions, have, 
 in all ages, and among all nations, been of 
 this character. At first, the inscriptions so 
 made were strictly pictures, in which the 
 whole scene intended to be commemorated 
 was represented, in rude carvings. In process 
 of time substitutions and abridgments were 
 adopted in lieu of fuU representations, and 
 these grew at length into a system of hiero- 
 glyphical characters, some natural, and others 
 more or less arbitrary, but all denoting ideas 
 or things, and not the sounds of words. These 
 
38 K OMUL us. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 The Egyptian hieroglyphics phonetic. NaturU symbols. 
 
 characters are of the kind usually tmderstoocl 
 by the word hieroglyphics ; though that word 
 can not now with strict accuracy be applied a a 
 a distinctive appellation, since it has been as- 
 certained in modern times that a large portion 
 of the Egyptian hieroglyphics are of such a 
 nature as brings them within the second of 
 the two classes which we are here describing ; 
 that is, the several delineations represent the 
 sounds and syllables of words, instead of 
 being symbols of ideas or things. 
 
 It happened that in some cases in this spe- 
 cies of writing, as used in ancient times, the 
 characters which were employed presented in 
 their form some natural resemblance to the 
 thing signified, and in other cases they were 
 wholly arbitrary. Thus, the figure of a scep- 
 ter denoted a king, that of a lion, strength ; 
 and two warriors, one with a shield, and the 
 -other advancing toward the first with a bow 
 and arrow, represented a battle. We use in 
 fact a symbol similar to the last-mentioned 
 •one at the present day, upon maps, where we 
 often see a character formed by two swords 
 crossed,, employed to represent a battle. 
 
 The ancient Mexicans had a mode of writ- 
 mg which seems to have been symbolical in 
 
B.C. 1500.J Oadmus's Lettees. 39 
 
 Mexican record. Arbitrary symbols, 
 
 its character, and their characters had, many 
 of them at least, a natural signification. The 
 different cities and towns were represented by 
 drawings of such simple objects as were char- 
 acteristic of them respectively ; as a plant, a 
 tree, an article of manufacture, or any other 
 object by which the place in question was 
 most easily and naturally to be distinguished 
 from other places. In one of their inscrip- 
 tions, for example, there was a character rep- 
 resenting a king, and before it four heads. 
 Each of the heads was accompanied by the 
 symbol of the capital of a province, as above 
 described. The meaning of the whole inscrip- 
 tion was that in a certain tumult or insurrec- 
 tion ihe king caused the governors of the four 
 cities to be beheaded. 
 
 But though, in this symbolical mode of 
 writing, a great many ideas and events could 
 be represented thus, by means of signs or 
 symbols having a greater or less resemblance 
 to the thing signified, yet in many cases the 
 characters used were wholly arbitrary. They 
 were in this respect like the character which 
 we use to denote dolla/rs^ as a prefix to a num- 
 ber expressing money ; for this character is a 
 sort of symbol, that is, it represents a thing 
 
40 Romulus. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Advantages of the symbolical mode of writing. 
 
 ratlier than a word. Our numerals, too, 1, 2, 
 3, &c., are in some respects of the character 
 of symbols. That is, they stand directly for 
 the numbers themselves, and not for the 
 sounds of the words by which the numbers 
 are expressed. Hence, although the people 
 of different European nations understand them 
 all alike, they read them, in words, very dif- 
 ferently. The Englishman reads them by one 
 set of words, the Spaniard by another, and 
 the German and the Italian by others still. 
 
 The symbolical mode of writing possesses 
 some advantages which must not be over- 
 looked. It speaks directly to the eye, and 
 is m.ore full of meaning than the Phonetic 
 method, though the meaning is necessarily 
 more vague and indistinct, in some respects, 
 while it is less so in others. For example, 
 in an advertising newspaper, the simple fig- 
 ure of a house, or of a ship, or of a loco- 
 motive engine, at the head of an advertise- 
 ment, is a sort of hieroglyphic, which says 
 much more plainly and distinctly, and in 
 much shorter time, than any combination of 
 letters could do, that what follows it is an 
 advertisement relating to a house, or a vessel, 
 or a railroad. In the same manner, the au- 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus's Letters. '41 
 
 The meaning of them more easily understood. 
 
 cient representations on moniiments and col- 
 umns would communicate, perhaps more rap* 
 i ily and readily to the passer-by, an idea of 
 the battles, the sieges, the marches, and the 
 other great exploits of the monarchs whose 
 history they were intended to record, than an 
 inscription in words would have done. 
 
 Another advantage of the symbolical rep- 
 resentations as used in ancient times, was 
 that their meaning could be more readily 
 explained, and would be more easily remem- 
 bered, and so explained again, than written 
 words. To learn to read literal writing in 
 any language, is a work of very great labor. 
 It is, in fact, generally found that it must be 
 commenced early in life, or it can not be ac- 
 complished at all. An inscription, therefore, 
 in words, on a Mexican monument, that a 
 certain king suppressed an insurrection, and 
 beheaded the governors of four of his prov- 
 inces, would be wholly blind and unintelli- 
 gible to the mass of the population of such a 
 country; and if the learned sculptor who 
 inscribed it, were to attempt to explain it to 
 \hem, letter by letter, they would forget the 
 beginning of the lesson before reaching the 
 end of it, — and could never be expected to 
 
42 Romulus. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Comparison of the two systema. 
 
 attempt extending the knowledge by making 
 known the interpretation which they had re- 
 ceived to others in their turn. But the royal 
 scepter, with the four heads before it, each of 
 the heads accompanied by the appropriate 
 symbol of the city to which the possessor of 
 it belonged, formed a symbolical congeries 
 which expressed its meaning at once, and 
 very plainly, to the eye. The most ignorant 
 and uncultivated could readily understand it. 
 Once understanding it, too, they could never 
 easily forget it ; and they could, without any 
 difficulty, explain it fully to others as ignorant 
 and uncultivated as themselves. 
 
 It might seem, at first view, that a symbol- 
 ical mode of writing must be more simple in 
 its character than the system now in use, in- 
 asmuch as by that plan each idea or object 
 would be expressed by one character alone, 
 w^hereas, by our mode of writing, several 
 characters, sometimes as many as eight or 
 ten, are required to express a word, which 
 word, after all, represents only one single 
 object or idea. But notwithstanding this ap- 
 parent simplicity, the system of symbolical 
 writing proved to be, when extensively em- 
 ployed, extremely complicated and intricato. 
 
B.0. 1500.] Cadmus's Leiters. 43 
 
 Further comparison of the two systemfl. 
 
 It is true that each idea required but one 
 character, but the number of ideas and ob- 
 jects, and of words expressive of their rela- 
 tions to one another, is so vast, that the sys- 
 tem of representing them by independent 
 symbols, soon lost itself in an endless intricacy 
 of detail. Then, besides, — notwithstanding 
 what has been said of the facility with which 
 symbolical inscriptions could be interpreted, 
 — they were, after all, extremely difficult to 
 be understood without interpretation. An 
 inscription once explained, the explanation 
 was easily understood and remembered ; but 
 it was very difficult to understand one in- 
 tended to express any new communication. 
 The system was, therefore, well adapted to 
 commemorate what was already known, but 
 was of little service as a mode of communi- ^ 
 eating knowledge anew. 
 
 We come now to consider the second grand 
 class of written characters, namely, the j[>]io-- 
 netie^ the class which Cadmus introduced into" 
 Greece, and the one almost universally adopt- 
 ed among all the European nations at the 
 present day. It is called Phonetic, from a 
 Greek word denoting sounds because the 
 characters which are used do not denote 
 
44 Romulus. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Two modes of representing the idea of a battle. 
 
 directly the thing itself which is signified, but 
 the sounds made in speaking the word which 
 signifies it. Take, for in- 
 stance, the two modes of 
 representing a conflict be- 
 tween two contending ar- 
 mies, one by the symbolic 
 delineation of two swords 
 crossed, and the other by 
 the phonetic delineation of 
 R/MTTri! iF ^^® letters of the word bat- 
 tle. They are both inscrip- 
 tions. The beginning of 
 the first represents the handle of the sword, 
 a part, as it were, of the thing signified. The 
 beginning of the second, the letter Z>, repre- 
 sents the pressing of the lips together, by 
 which we commence pronouncing the word. 
 Thus the one mode is symbolical^ and the 
 other phonetic. 
 
 On considering the two methods, as exem- 
 plified in this simple instance, we shall ob- 
 serve that what has already been pointed out 
 as characteristic of the two modes is here seen 
 to be true. The idea is conveyed in the sym- 
 bolical mode by one character, while by the 
 phonetic it requires no less than six. This 
 
B.C. 1500.] Oadmus's Letters. 45 
 
 Great ad"antages of the phonetic mode of writing. 
 
 seems at first view to indicate a great advan • 
 tage possessed by tlie symbolical system. 
 But on reflection tbis advantage is found en- 
 tirely to disappear. For tbe symbolical char- 
 acter, though it is only one, will answer for 
 only the single idea which it denotes. Neither 
 itself nor any of its elements will aid us in 
 forming a s}anbol for any other idea ; and as 
 the ideas, objects, and relations which it is 
 necessary to be able to express, in order to 
 make free and full communications in any 
 language, are from fifty to a hundred thou- 
 sand, — the step which we have taken, though 
 very simple in itself, is the beginning of a 
 course which must lead to the most endless 
 intricacy and complication. Whereas in the 
 six phonetic characters of the word battle, v/e 
 have elements which can be used again and 
 again, in the expression of thousands of other 
 ideas. In fact, as the phonetic characters 
 w^hich are found necessary in most languages 
 arc only about twenty-four, we have in that 
 dingle word accomplished one quarter of tho 
 whole task, so far as the delineation of char- 
 acters is concerned, that is necessary for ex- 
 ■Dressing by writing any possible combination 
 of ideas which human language can convey. 
 
4:G Romulus. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Uncertainty of the origin of phonetic writing. 
 
 At what time and in what manner the tran- 
 sition was made among the ancient nations 
 from the symbolic to the phonetic mode of 
 writing, is not now known. "VYheu in the 
 flourishing periods of the Grecian and Roman 
 states, learned men explored the literary 
 records of the various nations of the East, 
 writings were found in all, which were ex- 
 pressed in phonetic characters, and the alpha- 
 bets of these characters were found to be so 
 analogous to each other, in the names and 
 order, and in some respects in the forms, of 
 the letters, as to indicate strongly something 
 like community of origin. All the attempts, 
 however, which have been made to ascertain 
 the origin of the system, have wholly failed, 
 and no account of them goes farther back 
 than to the time when Cadmus brought them 
 from Phenicia or Egypt into Greece. 
 
 The letters which Cadmus brought were in 
 number sixteen. The following table presents 
 a view of his alphabet, presenting in the sev- 
 eral columns, the letters themselves as subse- 
 quently written in Greece, the Greek names 
 given to them, and their power as represented 
 by the letters now in use. The forms, it wir 
 be seen, have been but little changed. 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus's Letters. 
 
 47 
 
 Cadmus's alphabet. 
 
 Difficulties attending the introduction of IL 
 
 Greek letters. 
 
 Greek names. 
 
 English represontatirei. 
 
 A 
 
 Alpha 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 Beta 
 
 B 
 
 r 
 
 Gamma 
 
 G 
 
 J 
 
 Delta 
 
 D 
 
 E 
 
 Epsilon 
 
 E 
 
 I 
 
 Iota 
 
 I 
 
 A 
 
 Lamda 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 Mu 
 
 M 
 
 N 
 
 Nu 
 
 N 
 
 
 
 micron 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 Pi 
 
 P 
 
 p 
 
 Rho 
 
 R 
 
 ^ 
 
 Sigma 
 
 S 
 
 T 
 
 Tau 
 
 T 
 
 r 
 
 Upsilon 
 
 U 
 
 The phonetic alphabet of Cadmus, thougti 
 80 vastly superior to any system of symbolical 
 hieroglyphics, for all purposes where any 
 thing like verbal accuracy was desired, was 
 still very slow in coming into general use. It 
 was of course, at first, very difficult to write it, 
 and very diflicult to read it when written. 
 There was a very great practical obstacle, too, 
 in the way of its general introduction, in the 
 v^ant of any suitable materials for writing. 
 To cut letters with a chisel and a mallet upon 
 
48 Romulus. [B.C. 1500, 
 
 Different modes of writing. 
 
 fi surface of marble is a very slow and toil- 
 some process. To diminisli this labor the an- 
 cients contrived tables of brass, copper, lead, 
 find sometimes of wood, and cut the inscrip- 
 tions upon them by the use of various tools 
 and implements. Still it is obvious, that by 
 such methods as these the art of writing could 
 only be used to an extremely limited extent, 
 such as for brief inscriptions in registers and 
 upon monuments, where a very few words 
 would express all that it was necessary to re- 
 cord. 
 
 In process of time, however, the plan of 
 painting the letters by means of a black dye 
 upon a smooth surface, w^as introduced. The 
 surface employed to receive these inscriptions 
 was, at first, the skin of some animal prepared 
 for this purpose, and the dye used for ink, 
 was a colored liquid obtained from a certain 
 fish. This method of writing, though in some 
 respects more convenient than the others, was 
 still slow, and the materials were expensive ; 
 and it was a long time before the new art was 
 employed for any thing like continuous com- 
 position. Cadmus is supposed to have come 
 into Greece about the year 1550 before Christ; 
 and it was not until about 650 before Christ, 
 
B.C. 1500] (Jadmtts's Letters. 49 
 
 The art of writing at first very little used. 
 
 — that is, nearly nine hundred years later, that 
 the art of writing was resorted to in Greece to 
 record laws. 
 
 The evidences that writing was very little 
 used in any way during this long period of 
 nine hundred years, are furnished in various 
 allusions contained in poems and narratives 
 that were composed during those times, and 
 committed to writing afterward. In the 
 poems of Homer, for instance, there is no al- 
 lusion, from the beginning to the end, to any 
 monument or tomb containing any inscription 
 whatever ; although many occasions occur in 
 which such inscriptions would have been 
 made, if the events described were real, and 
 the art of writing had been generally known, 
 or would have been imagined to be made, if 
 the narratives were invented. In one case a 
 ship-master takes a cargo on board, and he is 
 represented as having to remember all the 
 articles, instead of making a record of them. 
 Another case still more striking is adduced. 
 In the course of the contest around the walls 
 of Troy, the Grecian leaders are described at 
 one time as drawing lots to determine which 
 of them should fight a certain Trojan cham- 
 pion. The lots were prepared, being mado 
 
 D 
 
50 EoMULus. [B.C. 150D. 
 
 Proofs of this Story of the lots. 
 
 of some substance that could be marked, and 
 when ready, were distributed to the several 
 leaders. Each one of the leaders then marked 
 his lot in some way, taking care to remembei 
 what character he had made upon it. The 
 lots were then all put into a helmet, and the 
 helmet was given to a herald, who was to 
 shake it about in such a manner, if possible, 
 as to throw out one of the lots and leave the 
 others in. The leader whose lot it was that 
 should be thus shaken out, was to be consid- 
 ered as the one designated by the decision, to 
 fight the Trojan champion. 
 
 J^ow, in executing this plan, the herald, 
 when he had shaken out a lot, and had taken 
 it up from the ground, is represented, in the 
 narrative, as not knowing whose it was, and 
 as carrying it around, accordingly^, to all the 
 different leaders, to find the one who could 
 recognize it as his own. A certain chief 
 named Ajax recognized it, and in this way he 
 was designated for the combat. Now it is 
 Bupposed, that if these men had been able to 
 write, that they would have inscribed theii 
 own names upon the lots, instead of marking 
 them with unmeaning characters. And even 
 if they werp not practiced writers themselves^ 
 
B.C. 1500.] Oadmus's Letters. 51 
 
 Other instances The invention of papyrus. 
 
 some secretary or scribe would have been 
 called u]DorL to act for tliem on such an occa- 
 sion as thisj if tlie art of writing bad been at 
 that time so generally known as to be custom- 
 arily employed on public occasions. From 
 these and similar indications which are found, 
 on a careful examination, in the Homeric 
 poems, learned men have concluded that they 
 were composed and repeated orally, at a pe- 
 riod of the world when the art of writing was 
 very little known, and that they were handed 
 down from generation to generation, through 
 the memory of those who repeated them, un- 
 til at last the art of writing became estab- 
 lished among mankind, when they were at 
 length put permanently upon record. 
 
 It seems that writins; was not much em- 
 ployed for any of the ordinary and private 
 I'Urposes of life by the people of Greece until 
 the article called papyrus was introduced 
 among them. This took place about the year 
 600 before Christ, when laws began first to 
 be written. Papyrus, like the art of writing 
 upon it, came originally from Egypt. It was 
 obtained from a tree which it seems grew only 
 in that country. The tree flourished in tho 
 low lands along the margin of the I^ile. It 
 
52 E OMUL ITS. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Mode of manufacturing papyrus. Volumeb. 
 
 grew to the height of about ten feet. The 
 paper obtained from it was formed from a 
 sort of inner bark, which consisted of thin 
 sheets or pellicles growing around the wood. 
 The paper was manufactured in the following 
 manner. A sheet of the thin bark as taken 
 from the tree, was laid flat upon a board, and 
 then a cross layer was laid over it, the mate- 
 rials having been previously moistened with 
 water made slightly glutinous. The sheet 
 thus formed was pressed and dried in the sun. 
 The placing of two layers of the bark in this 
 manner across each other was intended to 
 strengthen the texture of the sheet, for the 
 fibers, it was found, were very easily separated 
 and torn so long as they lay wholly in one 
 direction. The sheet when dry was finished 
 by smoothing the surface, and prepared to re- 
 ceive inscriptions made by means of a pen 
 fashioned from a reed or a quill. 
 
 In forming the papyrus into books it was 
 customary to use a long sheet or web of it, and 
 roll it upon a stick, as is the custom in respect 
 to maps at the present day. The writing was 
 in columns, each of which formed a sort of 
 page, the reader holding the ends of the roll in 
 his two hands, and reading at the part which 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus's Letters. 53 
 
 Mode of using ancient books. Ink. 
 
 was open between them. Of course, as liv 
 advanced, he continually unrolled on one side, 
 and rolled up upon the other. Eolls of parch- 
 ment were often made in the same manner. 
 
 The term volume used in respect to modern 
 books, had its origin in this ancient practice 
 of writing upon long rolls. The modern prac- 
 tice is certainly much to be preferred, though 
 the ancient one was far less inconvenient 
 than might at first be supposed. The long 
 sheet was rolled upon a wooden billet, which 
 gave to the volume a certain firmness and 
 solidity, and afibrded it great protection. 
 The ends of this roller 23rojected beyond the 
 edges of the sheet, and were terminated in 
 knobs or bosses, which guarded in some meas- 
 ure the edges of the papyrus or of the parch- 
 ment. The whole volume was also inclosed 
 in a parchment case, on the outside of which 
 the title of the work was conspicuously re- 
 corded. Many of these ancient rolls havo 
 been found at ITerculaneum. 
 
 For ink, various colored liquids were used, 
 generally black, but sometimes red and some- 
 times green. The black ink was sometimes 
 manufactured from a species of lampblack or 
 ivorv black, such as is often used in modern 
 
54 EoMULus. [B.C. 16i>0 
 
 Ink found at Herculaneum. 
 
 times for painting. Some specimens of tha 
 inkstands whicli were used in ancient times 
 Lave been found at Herculaneum, and one of 
 them contained ink, whicli though too thick 
 to flow readily from the pen, it was still pos* 
 Bible to write with. It was of about the con- 
 sistence of oil. 
 
 These rolls of papyrus and parchment, bow- 
 ever, were only used for important writings 
 which it was intended permanently to pre- 
 serve. For ordinary occasions tablets of wax 
 and other similar materials were used, upon 
 which the writer traced the characters with 
 the point of a steel instrument called a style. 
 The head of the style was smooth and roimded, 
 so that a,ny words which the writer wished to 
 erase might be obliterated by smoothing over 
 again, with it, the wax on whicli they had 
 been written. 
 
 Such is a brief history of the rise and pro- 
 gress of the art of writing in the States of 
 Greece. Whether the phonetic j)rincipl() 
 which Cadmus introduced was brought origi- 
 nally from Egypt, or from the counti-ies on 
 the eastern shore of the Mediterranean sea, 
 can not now be ascertained. It has generally 
 been supposed among mankind, at least until 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus's Letters. 55 
 
 Recent discoveries in respect to the Egyptian hieroglyphics. 
 
 within a recent period, tliat the art of phonetic 
 wi-iting did not originate in Egypt, for the 
 inscriptions on all the ancient monuments in 
 that conntry are of snch a character that it 
 lias always been snpposed that they were 
 symbolical characters altogether, and that no 
 traces of any phonetic writing existed in that 
 Land. Within the present century, however, 
 the discovery has been made that a large 
 portion of these hieroglyphics are phonetic in 
 their character ; and that the learned world in 
 attemj)ting for so many centuries, in vain, to 
 affix symbolical meanings to them, had been 
 altogether upon the wrong track. The delin- 
 eations, though they consist almost wholly of 
 the forms of plants and animals, and of other 
 natural and artificial objects, are not symbol- 
 ical representations of ideas, but letters, rep- 
 resenting sounds and words. They are thus 
 precisely similar, in principle, to the letters 
 of Cadmus, though wholly different from them 
 in form. 
 
 To enable the reader to obtain a clearer 
 idea of the nature of this discovery, we give 
 on the adjoining page some specimens of 
 Egyptian inscriptions found in various parts 
 of the country, and which are interpreted to 
 
56 
 
 Romulus. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Specimen of Egyptian hieroglypliics. 
 
 
 KEY 
 
 D 
 
 c 
 
 m 
 a 
 
 it 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 a, 
 o 
 
 A 
 A 
 
 t 
 r 
 
 A 
 
B.C. 1500.] Cadmus's Letters. 57 
 
 Explanation of the figures. 
 
 express the name Cleopatra, a very common 
 name for princesses of the royal line in Egypt 
 (luring the dynasty of the Ptolemy's. We 
 mark the various figures forming the inscrip- 
 tion, with the letters which modern interpre- 
 ters have assigned to them. It will be seen 
 that they all spell, rudely indeed, but yet tol- 
 erably distinctly, the name C leopatea. 
 
 By a careful examination of these speci 
 mens, it will be seen that the order of placing 
 the letters, if such hieroglyphical characters 
 can be so called, is not regular, and the let- 
 ter «, which is denoted by a bird in some 
 of the specimens, is represented differently in 
 others. There are also two characters at the 
 close of each inscription which are not repre- 
 sented by any letter, the one being of the 
 form of an egg, and the other a semicircle. 
 These last are supposed to denote the sex of 
 the sovereign whose name they are connected 
 with, as they are found in many cases in in- 
 scriptions commemorative of princesses and 
 queens. They are accordingly specimens of 
 symbolic characters, while all the others in the 
 name are phonetic. 
 
 It seems therefore not improbable that the 
 principle of forming a written language by 
 
58 KoMFLUs. [B.C. 1500. 
 
 Closes in Egypt. Importance of the art of writing. 
 
 means of cliaracters representing the sounda 
 of which the words of the spoken language 
 are composed, was of Egyptian origin ; and 
 that it was carried in very early times to the 
 countries on the eastern shore of the Mediter- 
 ranean sea, and there improved upon by the 
 adoption of a class of characters more simple 
 than, the hieroglyphics of Egypt, and of a 
 form more convenient for a regular linear ar- 
 rangement in writing. Moses, who spent his 
 early life in Egypt, and who was said to be 
 learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, 
 may have acquired the art of writing there. 
 
 However this may be, and whatever may 
 be the uncertainty which hangs over the early 
 history of this art, one thing is certain, and 
 that is, that the discovery of the art of writ- 
 ing, including that of printing, which is only 
 the consummation and perfection of it,— the 
 art by which man can record language, and 
 give life and power to the record to speak to 
 the eye permanently and forever — to go to 
 every nation — to address itself simultaneously 
 to millions of minds, and to endure through 
 all time, is by far the greatest discovery, in 
 respect to the enlargement which it makes of 
 human powers, that has ever been made. 
 
B.C. 1200.] Story OF ^NEAs. 59 
 
 Story of iEneas remained long unwritten. 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 The Story of ^neas. 
 
 lESIDES the intrinsic interest and impor- 
 tance of the facts stated in the last chap- 
 ter, to the student of history, there was a 
 special reason for calling the attention of the 
 reader to them here, that he might know in 
 what light the story of the destruction of Troy, 
 and of the wanderings of ^neas, the great 
 ancestor of Homulus, which we now proceed 
 to relate, is properly to be regarded. The 
 events connected with the destruction of Troy, 
 took place, if they ever occurred at all, about 
 the year twelve hicndred before Christ. Ho- 
 mer is supposed to have lived and composed 
 his poems about the year nine hundred ; and 
 the art of writing is thought to have been first 
 employed for the purpose of recording contin- 
 uous compositions, about the year six hundred, 
 The story of ^neas then, so far as it has any 
 claims to historical truth, is a tale which was 
 handed down by oral tradition, among story- 
 tellers for three hund]*ed years, and then waij 
 
60 EoMULUs. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 Mother of ^neas. Her origin. 
 
 clotJied ill yerse, and handed down in that 
 form orally by the memory of the reciters of 
 it, in generations successive for three hundred 
 years more, before it was recorded ; and dur- 
 ing the whole period of this transmission, the 
 interest felt in it was not the desire for ascer- 
 taining and communicating historic truth, but 
 simply for entertaining companies of listeners 
 with the details of a romantic story. The 
 story, therefore, can not be relied upon as his- 
 torically true ; but it is no less important on 
 that account, that all well-informed persons 
 should know what it is. 
 
 The mother of ^neas (as the story goes), 
 was a celebrated goddess. Her name was 
 Aphrodite ;* though among the Komans she 
 afterward received the name of Yenus. Aph- 
 rodite was not born of a mother, like ordinary 
 mortals, but sprang mysteriously and super- 
 naturally from a foam which gathered on a 
 certain occasion upon the surface of the sea 
 At the commencement of her existence slie 
 crept out upon the shores of an island that 
 was near, — the island of Cythera, — which, lies 
 Bouth of the Peloponnesus. 
 
 * Pronounced in four syllables, Aph-ro-di4i? 
 
B.C. 1200.] Story of ZEneas. 
 
 61 
 
 Early history of Venus. 
 
 Her magical powers. 
 
 Origin of Venus. 
 
 She was the goddess of love, of beauty, and 
 of fruitfuhiess ; and so extraordinary were the 
 magical powers which were inherent from 
 the beginning, in her very nature, that as she 
 walked along upon the sands of the shore, 
 when she first emerged from the sea, plants 
 and flowers of the richest verdure and beauty 
 sprang up at her feet wherever she stepped. 
 She was, besides, in her own person, inexpres- 
 sibly beautiful ; and in addition to the natural 
 influence of her charms, she was endued with 
 the supernatural power of inspiring the senti- 
 ment of love in all who beheld her. 
 
 From Cythera the goddess made her way 
 over by sea to Cyprus, where she remained for 
 some time, amid the gorgeous and magnificent 
 scenery of that enchanting island. Here she 
 
(52 Romulus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 Her children Eros and Anteros. She goes to Olympus. 
 
 had two cliildren, beautiful boys. Their names 
 were Eros and Anteros. Each of these chil- 
 dren remained perj^etually a child, and Eros, 
 in later times called Cupid, became the god 
 of "love bestowed," while Anteros was the 
 God of "love returned." After this the 
 mother and the bojs roamed about the world, 
 ■ — now in the heavenly regions above, and 
 now among mortals on the plains and in the 
 valleys below : they sometimes appeared 
 openly, in their true forms, sometimes they 
 assumed disguises, and sometimes they were 
 wholly invisible ; but whether seen or unseen, 
 they were always busy in performing their 
 functions — the mother inspiring everywhere, 
 in the minds both of gods and men, the ten- 
 derest sentiments of beauty and desire, — 
 while Eros, awakened love in the heart of one 
 person for another, and Anteros made it his 
 duty to tease and punish those who thus be- 
 came objects of affection, if they did not re- 
 turn the love. 
 
 After some time. Aphrodite and her boys 
 found their way to the heavenly regions of 
 Mount Olympus, where the great divinities 
 resided,^" and there they soon produced great 
 
 * See Map, page 61. 
 
B.C. 1200.] Story OF JEneas. 63 
 
 AphrotUte'a love for Anchiscs. The golden apple. 
 
 trouble, by enldiidling the flames of love in 
 the hearts of the divinities themselves, caus- 
 ing them, by her magic pov/er, to fall in love not 
 only with one another, but also with mortal 
 men and women on the earth below. In re- 
 taliation upon Aphrodite for this mischief, 
 Jupiter, by his supreme power, inspired Aph- 
 rodite herself with a sentiment of love. The 
 object of her affection was Anchises, a hand- 
 some youth, of the royal family of Troy, who 
 lived among the mountains of Ida, not far 
 from the city. 
 
 The way in which it happened that the af- 
 fection of Aphrodite turned toward an inhab- 
 itant of Mount Ida was this. There had been 
 at one time a marriage among the divinities, 
 and a certain goddess who had not been in- 
 vited to the wedding, conceived the design 
 of avenging herself for the neglect, by pro- 
 voking a quarrel among those who were there. 
 She, accordingly, caused a beautiful golden 
 apple to be made, with an inscription marked 
 upon it, "For the most beautiful." This 
 apple she threw in among the guests assem- 
 bled at the wedding. The goddesses all 
 claimed the prize, and a very earnest dispute 
 arose among them in respect to it. Jupiter 
 
64 lioMULTJs. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 The award of Paris. Venus's residence at Mt. Ida. 
 
 sent the several claimants, under the charge 
 of a special messenger, to Mount Ida, to a 
 handsome and accomplished young shepherd 
 there, named Paris — ^who was, in fact, a prince 
 in disguise — ^that they might exhibit them- 
 selves to him, and submit the question of the 
 right to the apple to his award. The contend- 
 ing goddesses appeared accordingly before 
 Paris, and each attempted to bribe him to de- 
 cide in her favor, by offering him some pe- 
 culiar and tempting reward. Paris gave the 
 apple to Aphrodite, and she was so pleased 
 with the result, that she took Paris under her 
 special protection, and made the solitudes of 
 Mount Ida one of her favorite retreats. 
 
 Here she saw and became acquainted with 
 Anchises, who was, as has already been said, 
 a noble, or prince, by descent, though he had 
 for some time been dwelling away from the 
 city, and among the mountains, rearing flocks 
 and herds. Here Aphrodite saw him, and 
 wlien Jupiter inspired her with a sudden sus- 
 ceptibility to the power of love, the shepherd 
 Anchises was the object toward which lier 
 affections turned. She accordingly went to 
 Mount Ida, and giving herself up to him, she 
 lived with him for some time among the 
 
B.C. 1200.] Stoky OF JEneas. 65 
 
 Aphrodite's asnimed character. She leaves Anchises. 
 
 mountains as his bride, ^neas was their 
 eon. 
 
 Aphrodite did not, however, appear to An- 
 chises in lier true character, but assumed, 
 instead, the form and the disguise of a Phry- 
 gian princess. Phrjgia was a kingdom of 
 Asia Minor, not very far from Troy. She con- 
 tinued this disguise as long as she remained 
 with Anchises at Mount Ida ; at length, how- 
 ever, she concluded to leave him, and to 
 return to Olympus, and at her parting she 
 made herself known. She, however, charged 
 Anchises never to reveal to any person who 
 she was, declaring that ^neas, whom she 
 was going to leave with his father when she 
 went away, would be destroyed by a stroke 
 of lightning from heaven, if the real truth in 
 respect to his mother were ever revealed. 
 
 When Aphrodite had gone, Anchises, hav- 
 ing now no longer any one at home to attend 
 to the rearing of the child, send him to Dar- 
 danus, a city to the northward of Troy, where 
 he was brought up in the house of his sister, 
 the daughter of Anchises, who was married 
 and settled there. His having a sister old 
 enough to be married, would seem to show 
 that youth was not one of the attractions of 
 
 E 
 
OG EoMULus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 Childhood of ^neas. The Trojan war. Achilles. 
 
 Ancliises in Aphrodite's eyes, ^neas re- 
 mained with his sister until he was old enough 
 to be of service in the care of flocks and herds, 
 and then returned again to his former resi- 
 dence among the pasturages of the mountains. 
 His mother, though she had left him, did not 
 forget her child ; but watched over him con- 
 tinually, and interposed directly to aid or to 
 protect him, whenever her aid was required 
 by the occurrence of any emergency of diffi- 
 culty or danger. 
 
 At length the Trojan war broke out. For 
 a time, however, ^neas took no part in it. 
 He was jealous of the attentions which Priam, 
 the king of Troy, paid to other young men, 
 and fancied that he himself was overlooked, 
 and that the services that he might render 
 were undervalued. He remained, therefore, 
 at his home among the mountains, occupying 
 himself with his flocks and herds ; and he 
 might, perhaps, have continued in these peace- 
 ful avocations to the end of the war, had it 
 not been that Achilles, one of the most formi- 
 dable of the Grecian leaders, in one of his 
 forays in the country around Troy, in search 
 of provisions, came upon J^neas's territory, 
 and attacked him while tending his flocks 
 
B.C. 1200.] Stoky OF Ji:NEAs. 69 
 
 .■Eneas engages in the war. Story of Pandarus. 
 
 upon the mountain side. Acliilles seized tlie 
 flocks and herds, and drove ^neas and his 
 fellow-herdsmen away. They w^ould, in fact, 
 all have been killed, had not Aphrodite in- 
 terposed to protect her son and save his life. 
 
 The loss of his flocks and herds, and the 
 injury which he himself had received, aroused 
 ^neas's indignation and anger against the 
 Greeks. He immediately raised an armed 
 force of Dardanians, and thenceforth took an 
 active i:)art in the war. He became one of 
 the most distinguished among the combatants, 
 for his prowess and his bravery ; and being 
 always assisted by his mother in his conflicts, 
 and rescued by her when in danger, he per- 
 formed prodigies of strength and valor. 
 
 At one time he pressed forward into the 
 thickest of the battle to rescue a Trojan leader 
 named Pandarus, who was beset by his foes 
 and brought into very imminent danger, 
 ^neas did not succeed in saving his friend. 
 Pandarus was killed, ^neas, however, flew 
 to the spot, and by means of the most extra 
 ordinary feats of strength and valor he drove 
 the Greeks away from the body. They at- 
 tacked it on every side, but ^neas, wheeling 
 around it, and fighting now on thia side an J 
 
70 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 iSneas reBCued by his mother. Her magic vail. 
 
 now on that, drove tliem all away. They re~ 
 tired to a little distance and then began to 
 throw in a shower of spears and darts and ar- 
 rows npon him. ^neas defended himself 
 and the body of his friend from these missiles 
 for a time, with his shield. At length, how- 
 ever, he was struck in the thigh with a pon- 
 derous stone which one of the Greek warriors 
 hurled at him, — a stone so heavy that two 
 men of ordinary strength w^ould have been 
 required to lift it. ^neas was felled to the 
 ground by the blow. He sank down, resting 
 upon his arm, faint and dizzy, and being thus 
 made helpless w^ould have immediately been 
 overpowered and killed by his assailants had 
 not his mother interposed. She came imme- 
 diately to rescue him. She spread her vail 
 over him, which had the magic power of ren- 
 dering harmless all blows which were aimed 
 at what was covered by it, and then taking 
 him up in her arms she bore him off through 
 the midst of his enemies unharmed. The 
 swords, spears, and javelins which were aimed 
 at him were rendered powerless by the magic 
 vail. 
 
 Aphrodite, however, flying thus with her 
 wounded son, mother-like, left herself exposed 
 
B.C.1200.] Story OF ^NEAs. 71 
 
 Venus i8 wounded. Iris conveys her away. 
 
 in her anxiety to protect him. Diomedes, the 
 cliief of the pursuers, following headlong on^ 
 aimed a lance at Yenus herself. The lance 
 struck Yenus in the hand, and inflicted a very 
 severe and painful wound. It did not, how- 
 ever, stop her flight. She pressed swiftly on, 
 while Diomedes, satisfied with his revenge, 
 gave up the pursuit, but called out to Aphro- 
 dite as she disappeared from view, bidding 
 her learn from the lesson which he had given 
 her that it w^ould be best for her thenceforth 
 to remain in her own appropriate sphere, and 
 not come down to the earth and interfere in 
 the contests of mortal men. 
 
 Aphrodite, after conveying ^neas to a place 
 of safety, fled, herself, faint and bleeding, to 
 the mountains, where, after ascending to the 
 region of mists and clouds, Iris, the beautiful 
 goddess of the rainbow, came to her aid. Iria 
 found her faint and pale from the loss of blood ; 
 she did all in her power to soothe and comfort 
 the wounded goddess, and then led her far- 
 ther still among the mountains to a place 
 where they found Mars, the god of w^ar, stand- 
 ing with his chariot. Mars was Aphrodite's 
 brother. He took compassion upon his sister 
 in her distress, and lent Iris his chariot and 
 
72 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 Single combat between iEneas and Achilles. 
 
 norses, to convey Aphrodite home. Aphro 
 dite ascended into the chariot, and Iris took 
 the reins ; and thus they rode through the air 
 to the mountains of Olympus. Here the gods 
 and goddesses of heaven gathered around 
 their unhappy sister, bound up lier wound, 
 and expressed great sympathy for her in her 
 sufferings, uttering at the same time many 
 piteous complaints against the merciless vio- 
 lence and inhumanity of men. Such is the 
 ancient tale of ^neas and his mother. 
 
 At a later period in the history of the war, 
 ^neas had a grand combat with Achilles, 
 who was the most terrible of all the Grecian 
 warriors, and was regarded as the grand 
 champion of their cause. The two armies 
 were drawn up in battle array. A vast open 
 space was left between them on the open 
 plain. Into this space the two combatants 
 advanced, yEneas on the one side and Achillea 
 on the other, in full view of all the troops, 
 and of the throngs of spectators assembled to 
 witness the proceedings. 
 
 A "very strong and an universal interest was 
 felt in the approaching combat, ^neas, be- 
 sides the prodigious strength and bravery for 
 which he was renowned, was to be divinely 
 
B.C.1200.] Stokt OF ^NEAs. 73 
 
 The charmed life of Achilles. His shield. 
 
 aided, it was known, by the protection of hie 
 mother, who was always at hand to guide and 
 support him in the conflict, and to succor him 
 in danger. Achilles, on the other hand, pos- 
 sessed a charmed life. He had been dipped 
 by his mother Thetis, when an infant, in the 
 river Styx, to render him invulnerable and 
 immortal ; and the immersion produced the 
 effect intended in respect to all those parts ot 
 tlie body which the water laved. As, how 
 ever, Thetis held the child by the ankles when 
 she plunged liim in, the ankles remained un 
 affected by the magic influence of the water. 
 All the other ]3arts of the body were rendered 
 incajDable of receiving a wound. 
 
 Achilles had a very beautiful and costly 
 shield which his mother had caused to be 
 made for him. It was formed of five plates 
 of metal. The outermost plates on each side 
 were of brass ; in the centre was a plate of 
 gold ; and between the central plate of gold 
 and the outer ones of brass were two other 
 plates, one on each side, made of some third 
 aietal The workmanship of this shield was 
 of the most elaborate and beautiful character 
 The mother of Achilles had given this weapon 
 to her son when he left home to join tlio 
 
74 EoMULus. [-B.C. 1200. 
 
 The meeting of ^neas and Achilles on the field. 
 
 Greeks in the Trojan war, not trusting entirely 
 it seems to his magical invulnerability. 
 
 The armies looked on with great interest aa 
 these two chamj)ions advanced to meet each 
 other, while all the gods and goddesses sur- 
 veyed the scene with almost equal interest, 
 from their abodes above. Some joined Yenus 
 in the sympathy which she felt for her son, 
 while others espoused the cause of Achilles. 
 When the two combatants had approached 
 each other, they paused before commencing 
 the conflict, as is usual in such cases, and sur- 
 veyed each other with looks of anger and de- 
 fiance. At length Achilles spoke. He began 
 to upbraid ^neas for his infatuation and folly 
 in engaging in the war, and especially for 
 coming forward to put his life at hazard by 
 encountering such a champion as was now 
 before him. "What can you gain," said he, 
 " even if you conquer in this warfare ? You 
 can never be king, even if you succeed in 
 saving the city. I know you claim to be 
 descended from the royal line ; but Priam has 
 8on3 who are the direct and immediate heirs, 
 and your claims can never be allowed. Then, 
 besides, what folly to attempt to contend witb 
 me ! Me, the strongest, bravest, and mosi 
 
B.C. 1200.] Stoky OF ^NEAs. 75 
 
 The harangues of the combatants. 
 
 terrible of the Greeks, and the special favorite 
 of many deities." With this introduction 
 Achilles went on to set forth the greatness of 
 his pedigree, and the loftiness of his preten- 
 Bions to superiority over all others in personal 
 prowess and valor, in a manner very eloquent 
 indeed, and in a style which it seems was very 
 much admired in those days as evincing only 
 a proper spirit and energy, — though in our 
 times such a harangue would be very apt to 
 be regarded as only a vainglorious and 
 empty boasting. 
 
 ^neas replied, — retorting with vauntinga 
 on his side no less spirited and energetic than 
 those which Achilles had expressed. He 
 gave a long account of his pedigree, and of 
 his various claims to lofty consideration. He, 
 however, said, in conclusion, that it was idle 
 and useless for them to waste their time in 
 such a w^ar of words, and so he hurled his 
 spear at Achilles with all his force, as a token 
 of the commencement of the battle. 
 
 The spear struck the shield of Achilles, and 
 impinged upon it w^ith such force that it pen 
 etrated through two of the plates of metal 
 which composed the shield, and reached the 
 central plate of gold, where the force witb 
 
•76 EoMULUs. [B.C. 120a 
 
 The battle begun. Narrow escape. 
 
 which it had been throwa being spent, it was 
 arrested and fell to the ground. Achilles 
 then exerting his utmost strength threw liis 
 spear in return, ^neas crouched down to 
 avoid the shock of the weapon, holding his 
 shield at the same time above his head, and 
 bracing himself with all his force against the 
 approaching concussion. Tiie spear struck 
 the shield near the upper edge of it, as it w^as 
 held in yEneas's hands. It passed directly 
 through the plates of which the shield was 
 composed, and then continuing its course, it 
 glided dow^n just over ^neas's back, and 
 planted itself deep in the ground behind him, 
 and stood there quivering, ^neas crept ont 
 from beneath it with a look of horror. 
 
 Immediately after throwing his spear, and 
 perceiving that it had failed of its intended 
 effect, Achilles drew his sword and rushed 
 forward to engage ^neas, hand to hand.. 
 JEneas himself recovering in an instant from 
 the consternation which his narrow escape 
 from impalement had awakened, seized an 
 enormous stone, heavier, as Homer represents 
 it, than any tw^o ordinary men could lift, and 
 was about to hurl it at his advancing foe. 
 when suddenly the -whole combat was termi- 
 
B.C. 1200.] Stoky OF ^NEAs. 77 
 
 Sudden termination of the combat. 
 
 nated by a very unexpected interposition. It 
 seems that the various gods and goddesses, 
 from their celestial abodes among the sum- 
 mits of Olympus, had assembled in invisiblo 
 forms to witness this combat — some sympa- 
 thizing with and upholding one of the comba- 
 tants, and some the other. ]^eptune was on 
 ^neas's side ; and accordingly when he saw 
 how imminent the danger was which threat- 
 ened ^neas, when Achilles came rushing 
 upon him with his uplifted sword, he at once 
 resolved to interfere. He immediately rushed, 
 himself, between the combatants. He brought 
 a sudden and supernatural mist over the 
 scene, such as the God of the Sea has always 
 at his command ; and this mist at once con- 
 cealed ^neas from Achilles 's view. IS'ep- 
 tune drew the spear out of the ground, and 
 released it too from the shield which remained 
 still pinned down by it ; and then threw the 
 spear down at Achilles's feet. He next seized 
 ^neas, and lifting him high above the ground 
 he bore him away in an invisible form over 
 the heads of soldiers and horsemen that had 
 been drawn up in long lines around the field 
 of combat. When the mist passed away 
 Achilles saw his spear lying at his feet, and 
 
78 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 The tales of the JEnei i. 
 
 on looking around liim found that liis enemy 
 
 was gone. 
 
 Such are the marvelous tales which were 
 told by the ancient narrators, of the prowess 
 and exploits of JEneas under the walls of 
 Troy, and of the interpositions which were 
 put forth to save him in moments of desperate 
 danger, by beings supernatural and divine. 
 These tales were in those days believed as 
 sober history. That which was marvelous 
 and philosophically incredible in them, was 
 sacredly sheltered from question by mingling 
 itself with the prevailing principles of reli- 
 gious faith. The tales were thus believed, 
 and handed down traditionally from genera- 
 tion to generation, and admired and loved by 
 all who heard and repeated them, partly on 
 account of their romantic and poetical beauty, 
 and partly on account of the sublime and sa- 
 cred revelations which they contained, in 
 respect to the divinities of the spiritual world. 
 
B.C. 1200.] DESTiiucTioN OF Troy. 79 
 
 Termination of the siege of Troy. 
 
 Cjiaptek IY. 
 The Destkuction of Tkoy. 
 
 AFTER the final conquest and destruction 
 of Troy, -^neas, in tlie course of liia 
 wanderings, stopped, it was said, at Car- 
 thage, on his way to Italy, and there, accord- 
 ing to ancient story, he gave the following 
 account of the circumstances attending the 
 capture and the sacking of the city, and his 
 own escape from the scene. 
 
 One day, after the war had been continued 
 with various success for a long period of time, 
 the sentinels on the walls and towers of the 
 city began to observe extraordinary move 
 ments in the camp of the besiegers, which 
 seemed to indicate preparations for breaking 
 up the camp and going away. Tents were 
 struck. Men were busy passing to and fro, 
 arranging arms and military stores, as if for 
 transportation. A fleet of ships was drawn 
 up along the shore, which was not far distant, 
 and a great scene of activity manifested itself 
 upon the bank, indicating an approaching 
 
80 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 Appearances observed by the besieged. 
 
 embarkation. In a word, the tidings soon 
 Bpread throiigliout tlie city, tliat the Greeks 
 had at h)ngth become weary of the protracted 
 contest, and were making preparations to 
 withdraw from the field. These proceedings 
 were watched, of course, with great interest 
 from the walls of the city, and at length the 
 inhabitants, to their inexpressible joy, found 
 their anticipations and hopes, as they thought, 
 fully realized. The camp of the Greeks was 
 gradually broken up, and at last entirely 
 abandoned. The various bodies of troops 
 were drawn off one by one to the shore, where 
 they were embarked on board the ships, and 
 then sailed away. As soon as this result was 
 made sure, the Trojans threw open the gates 
 of the city, and came out in throngs, — soldiers 
 and citizens, men, women and children togeth- 
 er, — to explore the abandoned encampmentj 
 and to rejoice over the departure of their ter- 
 rible enemies. 
 
 The first thins: which attracted their atten- 
 tion was an immense wooden horse, which 
 stood upon the ground that the Greek en- 
 campment had occupied. The Trojans im- 
 mediately gathered, one and all, around the 
 monster, full of wonder and curiosity, ^neas, 
 
B.C. 1200.] Destkuction of Trot. 81 
 
 The wooden horse. Its probable size. 
 
 in narrating tlie story, says that the imago 
 was as large as a mountain ; but, as he after- 
 ward relates that the people drew it on 
 wheels within the walls of the city, and espe- 
 cially as he represents them as attaching the 
 ropes for this pm-pose to the neck of the im- 
 age, instead of to its fore-legs, which would 
 have furnished the only proper points of at- 
 tachment if the effigy had been of any very 
 extraordinary size, he must have had a very 
 small mountain in mind in making the com- 
 parison. Or, which is perhajDS more proba- 
 ble, he used the term only in a vague meta- 
 phorical sense, as we do now when we speak 
 of the waves of the ocean as running moun- 
 tain high, when it is well ascertained that the 
 crests of the billows, even in the most violent 
 and most protracted storms, never rise more 
 than twenty feet above the general level. 
 
 At all events, the image was large enough 
 to excite the wonder of all the beholders. 
 The Trojan people gathered around it, wholly 
 unable to understand for what purpose the 
 Greeks could have constructed such a mon- 
 ster, to leave behind them on their departure 
 from Troy. After the first emotions of aston- 
 ishment and wonder which the spectacle awa- 
 
 F 
 
82 Romulus. [B.C. 1200 
 
 Various opinions in respect to the disposal of it. 
 
 kenecl, had somewhat subsided, there followed 
 a consultation in respect to the disposal which 
 was to be made of the prodigy. The opinions 
 on this point were very various. One com 
 mander was disposed to consider the image 
 a sacred prize, and recommended that they 
 should convey it into the city, and deposit it 
 in the citadel, as a trophy of victory. An- 
 other, dissenting decidedly from this counsel, 
 said that he strongly suspected some latent 
 treachery, and he proposed to build a fire 
 under the body of the monster, and burn the 
 image itself and all contrivances for mischief 
 which might be contained in it, together. A 
 third recommended that they should hew it 
 open, and see for themselves what there might 
 be within. One of the Trojan leaders named 
 Laocoon, who, just at this juncture, came to 
 the spot, remonstrated loudly and earnestly 
 against having any thing to do w^ith so mys- 
 terious and suspicious a prize, and, by way 
 of expressing the strong animosity which he 
 felt toward it, he hurled his spear with all 
 his force against the monster's side. The 
 spear stood trembling in the wood, producing 
 a deep hollow sound by the concussion. 
 What the decision would have been in re- 
 
B.C. 1200.J JJe&tkuctiox of Tkoy. 83 
 
 Sudden appearance of a captive. His wretched condition, 
 
 Bpect to the disposal of the horse, if this con- 
 sultation and debate had gone on, it is impos- 
 sible to say, as the farther consideration of 
 the subject was all at once interrupted, by 
 new occurrences which here suddenly inter- 
 vened, and which, after engrossing for a time 
 the whole attention of the company assembled, 
 finally controlled the decision of the question. 
 A crowd of peasants and shepherds were seen 
 coming from the mountains, with much ex 
 citement, and loud shouts and outcries, bring 
 ing with them a captive Greek whom they 
 had secured and bound. As the peasants 
 came up with their prisoner, the Trojans gath- 
 ered eagerly round them, full of excitement 
 and threats of violence, all thirsting, appa- 
 rently, for their victim's blood. He, on his 
 part, filled the air with the most piteous lam- 
 entations and cries for mercy. 
 
 His distress and wretchedness, and the 
 earnest entreaties which he uttered, seemed 
 at length to soften the hearts of his enemies, 
 and finally, the violence of the crowd around 
 tlie captive became somewhat appeased, and 
 was succeeded by a disposition to question 
 him, and hear what he had to say. The 
 Greek told them, in answer to their interro-- 
 
84 EoMULLS. [B.C. 1200, 
 
 Sinon's account of the departure of the Greeks. 
 
 gations, that his name was Sinon, and that he 
 was a fugitive from his own countrymen tho 
 Greeks, who had been intending to kill him. 
 He said that the Greek leaders had long been 
 desirous of abandoning the siege of Troj, 
 and that they had made many attempts to 
 embark their troops and sail away, but that 
 the winds and seas had risen against them on 
 every such attempt, and defeated their de- 
 sign. They then sent to consult the oracle of 
 Apollo, to learn what was the cause of the 
 displeasure and hostility thus manifested 
 against them by the god of the sea. The ora- 
 cle replied, that they could not depart from 
 Troy, till they had first made an atoning and 
 propitiatory offering by the sacrifice of a man, 
 such an one as Apollo himself might desig- 
 nate. When this answer was returned, the 
 whole army, as Sinon said, was thrown into a 
 state of consternation. 'No one knew but that 
 the fatal designation might fall on him. The 
 leaders were, however, earnestly determined 
 on carrying the measure into effect. Ulysses 
 called upon Calchas, the priest of Apollo, to 
 point out the man who was to die. Calchas 
 waited day after day, for ten days, before the 
 divine intimation was made to him in respect 
 
B.C. 1200.] Destruction of Tkot. 85 
 
 His story of the proposed sacrifice. Hia escape. 
 
 to the individual who -was to sufier. At 
 length he said that Sinon was the destined 
 victim. His comrades, Sinon said, rejoicing 
 in their own escaj)e from so terrible a doom, 
 eagerly assented to the priest's decision, and 
 immediately made preparations for the cere 
 mony. The altar was reared. The victim 
 was adorned for the sacrifice, and the gar 
 lands, according to the accustomed usage, 
 were bound upon his temples. He contrived, 
 however, he said, at the last moment, to make 
 his escape. He broke the bands with which 
 he had been bound, and fled into a morass 
 near the shore, where he remained concealed 
 in inaccessible thickets until the Greeks had 
 sailed away. He then came forth and was at 
 length seized and bound by the shepherds 
 of the mountains, who found him wandering 
 about, in extreme destitution and misery. Si- 
 non concluded his tale by the most piteous 
 lamentations, on his wretched lot. The Ti'o- 
 jans, he supposed, would kill him, and the 
 Greeks, on their return to his native land, in 
 their anger against him for having made his 
 escape from them, would destroy his wife and 
 children. 
 
 The air and manner with which Sinon told 
 
S6 E OMUL us. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 Priam'd address to him. Sinon's account of the horse. 
 
 this story seemed so sincere, and so natural 
 and unaffected were the expressions of wretch- 
 edness and despair with which he ended his 
 narrative, that the Trojan leaders had no sus- 
 picion that it was not true. Their compassion 
 was moved for the wretched fugitive, and they 
 determined to spare his life. Priam, the aged 
 king, who was present at the scene, in the 
 midst of the Trojan generals, ordered the 
 cords with which the peasants had bound the 
 captive to be sundered, that he might stand 
 before them free. The king spoke to him, 
 too, in a kind and encouraging manner. " For- 
 get your countrymeil," said he. " They are 
 gone. Plenceforth you shall be one of us. 
 We will take care of you." " And now," he 
 continued, " tell us what this monstrous image 
 means. Why did the Greeks make it, and 
 why have they left it here ?" 
 
 Sinon, as if grateful for the generosity with 
 which his life had been spared, professed him- 
 self ready to give his benefactors the fullest 
 information. He told them that the wooden 
 iiorse had been built by the Greeks to replace 
 a certain image of Pallas which they had 
 previously taken and borne away from Troy, 
 it was to replace this image, Sinon said, that 
 
B.C. 1200.] Desteuction OF Teot. 87 
 
 Effect produced by Sinon's story. 
 
 the Greeks had built the wooden horse ; and 
 their purpose in making the image of this 
 monstrous size was to prevent the possibility 
 of the Trojans taking it into the city, and 
 thus appropriating to themselves the benefit 
 of its protecting efficacy and virtue. 
 
 The Trojans listened with breathless inter- 
 est to all that Sinon said, and readily believ- 
 ed his story; so admirably well did he coun- 
 terfeit, by his words and his demeanor, all the 
 marks and tokens of honest sincerity in what 
 he said of others, as well of grief and des2:)air 
 in respect to his own unhappy lot. The cur- 
 rent of opinion which had begun before to set 
 strongly in favor of destroying the horse, was 
 wholly turned, and all began at once to look 
 iil^oii the colossal image as an object of sacred 
 veneration, and to begin to form plans for 
 transporting it within the limits of the city. 
 Whatever remaining doubts any of them 
 might have felt on the subject were dispelled 
 by the occurrence of a most extraordinary 
 phenomenon just at this stage of the affair, 
 which was understood by all to be a divine 
 judgment upon Laocoon for his sacreligious 
 temerity in striking his spear into the horse's 
 side. Tt had been determined to offer a sacri- 
 
88 EoMULTJS. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 The serpents and Laocoon. 
 
 fice to ]^eptune. Lots were drawn to deter- 
 mine who should perform the rite. The lot 
 fell upm Laocoon. He began to make prep- 
 arations to perform the duty, assisted by his 
 two yonng sons, when suddenly two immense 
 serpents appeared, coming up from the sea. 
 They came swimming over the surface of the 
 water, with their heads elevated above the 
 waves, until they reached the shore, and then 
 gliding swiftly along, they advanced across 
 the plain, their bodies brilliantly spotted and 
 glittering in the sun, their eyes flashing, and 
 their forked and venomous tongues darting 
 threats and defiance as they came. The people 
 fled in dismay. The serpents, disregarding 
 all others, made their way directly toward 
 the affrighted children of Laocoon, and twin- 
 ing around them they soon heid the writhing 
 and struggling limbs of their shrieking victims 
 hopelessly entangled in their deadly convo- 
 lutions. 
 
 Laocoon, who was himself at a little distance 
 from the spot, when the serpents came, as soon 
 as he saw the danger and heard the agonizing 
 cries of his boys, seized a weapon and ran to 
 rescue them. Listead, however, of being able 
 to save his children, he only involved himself 
 
E.G. 1200.] Destruction OF Teoy. 89 
 
 Aucient statue of Laocoon. Its history. 
 
 ill their dreadful fate. Tlie serpents seized 
 hiin as soon as he came within their reach, 
 and taking two turns around his neck and 
 two around his body, and binding in a re- 
 morseless gripe the forms of the fainting and 
 dying boys with other convolutions, they 
 raised their heads high above the group of 
 victims w^hich they thus enfolded, and hissed 
 and darted out their forked tongues in token of 
 defiance and victory. When at length their 
 work was done, tliey glided away and took 
 refuge in a temple that was near, and coiled 
 themselves up for repose beneath the feet of 
 the statue of a goddess that stood in the shrine. 
 The story of Laocoon has become celebrated 
 among all mankind in modern times by means 
 of a statue representing the catastrophe, which 
 was found two or three centuries ago among 
 the ruins of an ancient edifice at Rome. Tliis 
 statue was mentioned by an old Roman writer, 
 Pliny, who gave an account of it wdiile it yet 
 stood in its place in the ancient city. He 
 fcaid that it was the work of three artists, a 
 father and two sons, who combined their in- 
 dustry and skill to carve in one group, and 
 with immense labor and care, the representa- 
 tion of Laocoon himself, the two boys, and 
 
90 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200, 
 
 The statue now deposited in the Vatican. De&cription of it. 
 
 the two serpents, making five living beings 
 intertwined intricately together, and all carved 
 from one single block of marble. On the de> 
 cline and fall of Rome this statue was iost 
 among the ruins of the city, and for many 
 centuries it was known to mankind only 
 through the description of Pliny. At lengtli 
 it was brought to light again, having been 
 discovered about three centuries ago, under 
 the ruins of the very edifice in which Pliny 
 had described it as standing. It immediately 
 became the object of great interest and atten- 
 tion to the whole world. It was deposited in 
 the Yatican ; a great reward w^as paid to the 
 owner of the ground on which it w^as discov- 
 ered ; drawings and casts of it, without num- 
 ber, have been made ; and the original stands 
 in the Yatican now, an object of universal in- 
 terest, as one of the most celebrated sculp- 
 tures of ancient or modern times. 
 
 Laocoon himself forms the center of the 
 group, with the serpents twined around him, 
 while he struggles, with a fearful expression 
 of terror and anguish in his countenance, in 
 the vain attempt to release himself from their 
 hold. One of the serpents has bitten one of 
 the boys in the side, and the wounded child 
 
B.C. 1200.] Destruction of Tkot. 91 
 
 Effect produced upou the Trojans by Laocoou's fate. 
 
 sinks under the effects of tlie poison. The 
 other boy, in an agony of terror, is struggling, 
 hopelessly, to release his foot from the convo- 
 lutions with which one of the serpents has en- 
 circled it. The exj^ression of the whole group 
 is exciting and painful, and yet notwith- 
 standing this, there is combined with it a cer- 
 tain mysterious grace and beauty which 
 charms every eye, and makes the composition 
 the wonder of mankind. 
 
 But to return to the story. The peojDle un- 
 derstood this awful visitation to be the judg- 
 ment of heaven against Laocoon for his sacri- 
 legious presumption in daring to thrust his 
 spear into the side of the image before them, 
 and which they were now very sure they were 
 to consider as something supernatural and 
 divine. They determined with one accord to 
 take it into the city. 
 
 They immediately began to make prepara- 
 tions for the transportation of it. They raised 
 it from the ground, and fitted to the feet some 
 sort of machinery of wheels or rollers, suitable 
 to the nature of the ground, and strong enough 
 to bear the weiaiht of the colossal mass. The^ 
 attached long ropes to the neck of the image , 
 and extended them forward upon the ground r 
 
92 Romulus. [B.C. 1200, 
 
 Tlie Trojans draw the horse into the city. 
 
 and then brought np large companies of citi- 
 zens and soldiers to man them. They arranged 
 a procession, consisting of the generals of the 
 army, and of the great civil dignitaries of the 
 state ; and in addition to these were groups 
 of singing boys and girls, adorned with wreaths 
 and garlands, who were appointed to chant 
 sacred hymns to solemnize the occasion. 
 They widened the access to the city, too, by 
 tearing down a portion of the wall so as to 
 open a sufficient space to enable the monster 
 to get in. When all was ready the ropes were 
 manned, the signal was given, the jDonderous 
 mass began to move, and though it encoun- 
 tered in its progress many difficulties, obstruc- 
 tions, and delays, in due time it was safely 
 deposited in the court of a great public edifice 
 within the city. The wall was then repaired, 
 the day passed away, the night came on, the 
 gates were shut, and the curiosity and wonder 
 of the people within being gradually satisfied, 
 they at length dispersed to their several homes 
 and retired to rest. At midnight the uncon- 
 scious effigy stood silent and alone where its 
 worshipers had left it, while the whole pop- 
 ulation of the city were sunk in slumber, ex- 
 cept tlie sentinels who had been stationed ag 
 
U.C. 1200.] Destbuction of Teoy. 
 
 The Greeks admitted to the city. 
 
 usual to keep guard at the gates, or to watch 
 upon tJie towers and battlements above them. 
 In the mean time the Greek fleet, which had 
 sailed away nnder pretense of finally aban 
 doning the country, had proceeded only to the 
 island of Tenedos, which was about a league 
 from the shore, and there they had concealed 
 themselves during the day. As soon as night 
 came on they returned to the main land, and 
 disembarking with the utmost silence and se- 
 crecy, they made their way back again under 
 cover of the darkness, as near as they dared 
 to come to the gates of the city. In the mean 
 time Sinon had arisen stealthily from the 
 sleep which he had feigned to deceive those 
 to whose charge he had been committed, and 
 creeping cautiously through the streets he 
 repaired to the place where the wooden horse 
 had been deposited, and there opened a secret 
 door in the side of the image, and liberated a 
 band of armed and desperate men who had 
 been concealed within. These men, as soon 
 as they had descended to the ground and had 
 adjusted their armor, rushed to the city walls, 
 surprised and killed the sentinels and watch- 
 men, tlirew open the gates, and gave the whole 
 body of their comrades that were lurking 
 
94 K OMUL OS. [B.C. 1200, 
 
 iEneas awakened by the din. His meeting with Pantheus. 
 
 outside the walls, in tlie silence and darkness 
 of the niglit, an unobstructed admission. 
 
 ^neas was asleep in his house while these 
 things were transpiring. The house where he 
 lived was in a retired and quiet situation, but 
 he was awakened from his sleep by distant 
 outcries and din, and springing from his 
 couch, and hastily resuming his dress, he as- 
 cended to the roof of the house to ascertain 
 the cause of the alarm. He saw flames as- 
 cending from various edifices in the quarter 
 of the city where the Greeks had come in. 
 He listened. He could distinctly hear the 
 shouts of men, and the notes of trumpets 
 sounding the alarm. He immediately seized 
 his armor and rushed forth into the streets, 
 arousing the inhabitants around him from 
 their slumbers by his shouts, and calling upon 
 them to arm themselves and follow him. 
 
 In the midst of this excitement, there sud- 
 denly appeared before him, coming from the 
 scene of the conflict, a Trojan friend, named 
 Pantheus, who was hastening away from the 
 danger, perfectly bewildered with excitement 
 and agitation. He was leading with him hia 
 little son, who was likewise pale with terror, 
 ^neas asked Pantheus what had happened 
 
B.C. 1200.] Destkuction of Trost. 95 
 
 His surprise and terror. 
 
 Pantheus in reply explained to liim in Lurried 
 and broken words, that armed men, treacher- 
 ously concealed within the wooden horse, had 
 issued forth from their concealment, and had 
 opened the gates of the city, and let the 
 whole horde of their ferocious and desperate 
 enemies in ; that the sentinels and guards 
 who had been stationed at the gates had been 
 killed ; and that the Greek troops had full 
 possession of the city, and were barricading 
 the streets and setting fire to the buildings on 
 every side. "All is lost," said he, " our cause 
 is ruined, and Troy is no more." 
 
 The announcing of these tidings filled 
 ^neas and those who had joined him with a 
 sj)ecies of phrensy. They resolved to press 
 forward into the combat, and there, if they 
 must perish themselves, to carry down as 
 many as possible of their enemies with them 
 to destruction. They pressed on, therefore, 
 through the gloomy streets, guiding their way 
 toward the scene of action by the glare of the 
 fires upon the sky, and by the sounds of the 
 distant tumult and din. 
 
 They soon found themselves in the midst 
 of scenes of dreadful terror and confusion, — 
 the scenes, in fact, which are usually exhib- 
 
96 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 Adventures of ^neas and Pantheua, The tortoise. 
 
 ited in the midnight sacking of a city. They 
 met with various adventures during the time 
 that they continued their desperate but hope- 
 less resistance. They encountered a party of 
 Greeks, and overpowered and slew them, and 
 then, seizing the armor which their fallen ene- 
 mies had worn, they disguised themselves in 
 it, in hopes to deceive the main body of the 
 Greeks by this means, so as to mingle among 
 them unobserved, and thus attack and de- 
 stroy such small parties as they might meet 
 without being themselves attacked by the 
 rest. They saw the princess Cassandra, the 
 young daughter of king Priam, dragged away 
 by Greek soldiers from a temple where she 
 had sought refuge. They immediately un- 
 dertook to resci.e her, and were at once at- 
 tacked both by the Greek party who had the 
 princess in charge, and also by the Trojan 
 soldiers, who shot arrows and darts down 
 upon them from the roofs above, supposing, 
 from the armor and the plumes which they 
 wore, that they were enemies. They saw 
 the royal palace besieged, and the tortoise 
 formed for scaling the walls of it. The tu- 
 mult and din, and the frightful glare of lurid 
 flames by which the city was illuminated, 
 
B.C. 1200.J Destruction OF Tkoy. 99 
 
 The position of ^neaa. The tower,, 
 
 formed a scene of inconceivable confusion and 
 terror. 
 
 ^neas watched the progress of the assault 
 upon the palace from the top of certain lofty 
 roofs, to which he ascended for the purpose. 
 Here there was a slender tower, which bad 
 been built for a watch-tower, and had been 
 carried up to such a height that, from the 
 summit of it, the watchmen stationed there 
 could survey all the environs of the city, and 
 on one side look off to some distance over the 
 sea. This tower ^neas and the Trojans who 
 were with him contrived to cut off at its base, 
 and throw over upon the throngs of Grecians 
 that were thundering at the palace gates be- 
 below. Great numbers were killed by the 
 falling ruins, and the tortoise was broken 
 d'/wn. The Greeks, however, soon formed an- 
 other tortoise, by means of which some of the 
 soldiers scaled the walls, while others broke 
 down the gates with battering rams and en- 
 gines ; and thus the palace, the sacred and 
 last remaining stronghold of the city, was 
 thrown open to the ferocious and frantic 
 horde of its assailants. 
 
 The sacking of the palace presented an 
 awful spectacle to the view of ^neas and his 
 
100 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200 
 
 The sacking of the palace. Priam. 
 
 companions, as they looked down upon it 
 from the roofs and battlements around. As 
 the walls, one after another, fell in under the 
 resistless blows dealt by the engines that were 
 brought against them, the interior halls, and 
 the most retired and private apartments, w^ere 
 thrown open to view — all illuminated by the 
 glare of the surrounding conflagrations. 
 
 Shrieks and wailing, and every other species 
 of outcry that comes from grief, terror, and 
 despair, arose from within ; and such specta- 
 tors as had the heart to look continuously 
 upon the spectacle, could see wretched men 
 running to and fro, and virgins clinging to 
 altars for protection, and frantic mothers 
 vainly endeavoring to find hiding-places for 
 themselves and their helpless children. 
 
 Priam the king, who was at this time old 
 and infirm, was aroused from his slumbers by 
 the dreadful din, and immediately began to 
 seize his armor, and to prepare himself for 
 rushing into the fight. His wife, however, 
 Hecuba, begged and entreated him to desist. 
 She saw that all was lost, and that any far- 
 ther attempts at resistance would only exas- 
 perate their enemies, and render their own 
 destruction the more inevitable. She per- 
 
B.C. 1200.] Destruction of Troy. 101 
 
 Priam and Hecuba at the altar. 
 
 suaded tlie king, therefore, to give up hia 
 weapons and go with her to an altar, in one 
 of the courts of the palace, — a place which it 
 would be sacrilege for their enemies to violate 
 — and there patiently and submissively to 
 a*\'ait the end. Priam yielded to the queen's 
 solicitations, and went with her to the place 
 of refuge which she had chosen; — and the 
 plan which they thus adopted, might very 
 probably have been successful in saving 
 their lives, had it not been for an unex- 
 pected occurrence which suddenly inter- 
 vened, and which led to a fatal result. While 
 they were seated by the altar, in attitudes of 
 submission and su23pliance, they were sud- 
 denly aroused by the rushing toward them 
 of one of their sons, who came in, wounded and 
 bleeding from some scene of combat, and pur- 
 sued by angry and ferocious foes. The spent 
 and fainting warrior sank down at the feet of 
 his father and mother, and lay there dying 
 and weltering in the blood which flowed from 
 his wounds. The aged king was aroused to 
 madness at this spectacle. He leaped to his 
 feet, seized a .javelin, and thundering out at 
 the same time the most loud and bitter impre- 
 cations against the murderers of his son, ho 
 
102 KoMULus. [B.C. 1200 
 
 The death of Priam. The despair of the Trojana. 
 
 hmied the weapon toward them as they ad 
 vanced. The javelin struck the shield of the 
 leader of the assailants, and rebounded from 
 it without producing any other effect than to 
 enrage still more the furious spirit which it 
 was meant to destroy. The assailant rushed 
 forward, seized the aged father by the hair, 
 dragged him slipping, as he went, in the blood 
 of his son, up to the altar, and there plunged 
 a sword into his body, burying it to the hilt, 
 — and then threw him down, convulsed and 
 dying, upon the body of his dying child. 
 
 Thus Priam fell, and with him the last 
 hope of the people of Troy. The city in full 
 possession of their enemies, the paliice and 
 citadel sacked and destroyed, and the king 
 slain, they saw that there was nothing now 
 left for which they had any wish to contend 
 
B.C. 1200.] Flight OF iENEAs. 103 
 
 -(Eneas's reflecliona. lie daiermines to go homo. 
 
 ClIAPTEK Y. 
 
 The Flight of iENEAs. 
 
 /li'll^EAS, from Lis station upon tlie battle- 
 -^-■— ^ ments of a neighboring edifice, wit- 
 nessed the taking of the palace and the death 
 of Priam. He immediately gave nj) all for 
 lost, and turned his thoughts at once to the 
 sole question of the means of saving himself 
 and his family from impending destruction. 
 He thought of his father, Anchises, who at 
 this time lived with him in the city, and was 
 nearly of the same age as Priam the king, 
 v/hom he had just seen so cruelly slain. He 
 thought of his wife too, whom he had left at 
 home, and of his little son Ascanius, and lie 
 began now to be overwhelmed with the ap- 
 prehension, that the besiegers had found tlieir 
 way to his dwelling, and w^ere, perhaps, at 
 that very moment plundering and destroying 
 it, and perj^etrating cruel deeds of violence 
 and outrage upon his wife and family. He 
 determined immediately to hasten home. 
 He looked around to see who of his com • 
 
104 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 iEneas js left at last alone. He goes away 
 
 panions remained with Iiiin. There was not 
 one. They had all gone and left him alone- 
 Some had leaped down from the battlements 
 and made their escape to other parts of the 
 citj. Some had fallen in the attempt to leap, 
 and had perished in the flames that were 
 burning among the buildings beneath them. 
 Others still had been reached by darts and 
 arrows from below, and had tumbled head- 
 long from their lofty height into the street be - 
 neath them. The Greeks, too, had left that 
 part of the city. When the destruction of 
 the palace had been effected, there was no 
 longer any motive to remain, and they had 
 gone away, one band after another, with loud 
 shouts of exultation and defiance, to seek new 
 combats in other quarters of the city, ^neas 
 listened to the sounds of their voices, as they 
 gradually died away upon his ear. Thus, in 
 one way and another, all had gone, and 
 ^ncas found himself alone, 
 
 ^neas contrived to find his way back safe! y 
 to the street, and then stealthily choosing \\\^ 
 way, and vigilantly watching against the dan- 
 gers that surrounded him, he advanced cau- 
 tiously among the ruins of the palace, in the 
 direction toward his own home. Ho had not 
 
B.C.1200.] Flight of .Eneas. 
 
 105 
 
 He sees the princess Helen. 
 
 Story of Helen. 
 
 proceeded far before he saw a female figure 
 lurking in the shadow of an altar near which 
 he had to pass. It proved to be the princess 
 Helen. 
 
 i^^^ 
 
 ■illiririilinii.,-..'^ <£ ^.-S^^ 
 
 Helen. 
 
 Helen was a Grrecian princess, formerly the 
 wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, hut she had 
 eloped from Grreece some years before, with 
 Paris, the son of Priam, king of Troy, and 
 this elopement had been the whole cause of 
 the Trojan war. In the first instance, Mene- 
 
106 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 iEncas determines to destroy her. His reflectione. 
 
 laus, accompanied by anotliei' Grecian cliief^ 
 tain, went to Troy and demanded that Helen 
 should be given up again to her proper hus- 
 band. Paris refused to surrender her. Mene- 
 laus then returned to Greece and organized a 
 grand expedition to proceed to Troy and re- 
 capture the queen. This was the origin of the 
 war. The people, therefore, looked upon. 
 Helen as the cause, whether innocent or 
 guilty, of all theii calamities. 
 
 When ^neas, therefore, who was, as may 
 well be sujDposed, in no very amiable or gentle 
 tem]3er, as he hurried along away from the 
 smoking ruins of the ]3alace toward his home, 
 saw Helen endeavoring to screen herself from 
 the destruction which she had been the means 
 of bringing upon all that he held dear, he was 
 aroused to a phrensy of anger against her, and 
 determined to avenge the wrongs of his coun 
 try by lier destruction. "I will kill her," said 
 he to himself, as he rushed forward toward 
 the spot where she was concealed. " There is 
 no great glory it is true in wreaking ven- 
 geance on a woman, or in bringing her to the 
 punishment which her crimes deserve. Still 
 I will kill her, and I shall be commended for 
 the deed. She shall not, after bringing 
 
B.C. 1200.] Flight OF ^NEAS. 107 
 
 The a]>parition of Aphrodite. Iler words. 
 
 ruin upon us, escape herself, and go back 
 to Greece in safety and be a queen there 
 again." 
 
 As JEneas said these words, rushing for- 
 ward at the same time, sword in hand, he was 
 suddenly intercepted and brought to a stand 
 by the apparition of his mother, the goddess 
 Aphrodite, who all at once stood in the way 
 before him. She stopped him, took him by 
 the hand, urged him to restrain his useless 
 anger, and calmed and quieted him with 
 soothing words. " It is not Helen," said she, 
 '' that has caused the destruction of Troy. It 
 is through the irresistible and irrevocable de- 
 crees of the gods that the city has fallen. It 
 is useless for you to struggle against inevita- 
 ble destiny, or to attemjit to take vengeance 
 on mere human means and instrumentalities. 
 Think no more of Helen. Think of your fam- 
 ily. Your aged father, your helpless wife, 
 your little son, — where are they? Even now 
 while you are wasting time here in vain at- 
 tempts to take vengeance on Helen for what 
 the gods have done, all that are near and dear 
 to you are surrounded by ferocious enemies 
 thirsting for their blood. Fly to them and 
 save them. I shall accompany you, though 
 
108 ICoMTJLus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 Ilia mothei'B magical protection. He reaches his homo. 
 
 tinseen, and will protect yon and them from 
 every impending danger." 
 
 As soon as Aphrodite had spoken these 
 words she disappeared from view, ^neas, 
 following her injunctions, went directly to- 
 ward his home ; and he found as he passed 
 along the streets that the way was opened for 
 him, by mysterious movements among the 
 armed bands which were passing in every di- 
 rection about the city, in such a manner as to 
 convince him that his mother was really ac- 
 companying him, and protecting his w^ay by 
 her supernatural powers. 
 
 "When he reached home the first person 
 whom he saw was Anchises his father. Ho 
 told Anchises that all was lost, and that noth- 
 ing now remained for them but to seek 
 safety for themselves by flying to the moun- 
 tains behind the city. But Anchises refused 
 t) go. "You who are young," said he, "and 
 who have enough of life before you to be 
 worth preserving, may fly. As for me I will 
 not attempt to save the little remnant that re- 
 mains to me, to be spent, if saved, in misera- 
 ble exile. If the powers of heaven had in- 
 tended that I should have lived any longer, 
 they would have spared my native city, — ^my 
 
RC.1200.] Flight of ^neas. 109 
 
 The aetermiiiation of Ancliisos. Creusa's entreaties. 
 
 only home. You may go yourselves, but 
 leave me here to die." 
 
 In saying these words Anchises turned 
 away in great despondency, firmly fixed, 
 apparently, in his determination to remain 
 and share the fate of the city, ^neas and 
 Creiisa his wife joined their entreaties in urg- 
 ing him to go away. But he would not be 
 persuaded, ^neas then declared that he 
 would not go and leave his father. If one 
 was to die they would all die, he said, togeth 
 er. lie called for his armor and began to 
 23ut it on, resolving to go out again into the 
 streets of the city and die, since he must die, 
 in the act of destroying his destroyers. 
 
 He was, however, prevented from carrying 
 this determination into effect, by Creusa's in- 
 tervention, who fell down before him at the 
 threshold of the door, almost frantic with ex- 
 citement and terror, and holding her little 
 son Ascanius with one arm, and clasping her 
 husband's knees with the other, she begged 
 him not to leave them. "Stay and save us," 
 said she ; " do not go and throw your life 
 away. Or, if you will go, take us with you 
 that we may all die together." 
 
 The conflict of impulses and passions in this 
 
110 KoMULUs. [B.C. 1200 
 
 The plan formed for the escape of the family. 
 
 iinliappy family continued for some time 
 longer, but it ended at last in tlie yielding of 
 Anchises to the wishes of the rest, and they 
 all resolved to fly. In the mean time, the 
 noise and uproar in the streets of the city, were 
 drawing nearer and nearer, and the light of 
 the burning buildings breaking out continu- 
 ally at new points in the progress of the con- 
 flaorration, indicated that no time was to be 
 lost. JEneas hastily formed his plan. His 
 father was too old and infirm to go himself 
 through the city, ^neas determined there- 
 fore to carry him upon his shoulders. Little 
 Ascanius was to walk along by his side. 
 Creusa was to follow, keeping as close as pos- 
 sible to her husband lest she should lose him 
 in the darkness of the night, or in the scenes 
 of uproar and confusion thrcnigh which they 
 would have to pass on the way. The domes- 
 tics of the family were to escape from the city 
 by different routes, each choosing his own, in 
 order to avoid attracting the attention of their 
 enemies ; and when once without the gates 
 they were all to rendezvous again at a cer- 
 tain rising ground, not far from the city, 
 which ^neas designated to them by means 
 of an old deserted temple which marked the 
 
B.C. 1200.] Flight OF ^NEAs. Ill 
 
 The lion's skin. The household gcKls. Creuaa. 
 
 B23ot, and a venerable cypress which grew 
 there. 
 
 This plan being formed the party imme- 
 diately proceeded to put it in execution. 
 ^neas spread a lion's skin over his shoulders 
 to make the resting-place more easy for his 
 father, or perhaps to lighten the pressure of 
 the heavy burden upon his own limbs. An- 
 chises took what were called the household 
 gods, in his hands. These were sacred images 
 which it was customary to keep, in those days, 
 in every dwelling, as the symbol and embodi- 
 ment of divine protection. To save these 
 images, when every thing else was given up 
 for lost, was always the object of the last des- 
 perate effort of the husband and father. 
 JEneas in this case asked his father to take 
 these images, as it would have been an impi- 
 ety for him, having come fresh from scenes 
 of battle and bloodshed, to have put his hand 
 upon them, without previously performing 
 some ceremony of purification. Ascanius 
 took hold of his father's hand. Creusa fol- 
 lowed behind. Thus arranged they sallied 
 forth from the house into the streets — all dark 
 and gloomy, except so far as they received a 
 partial and inconstant light from the flames 
 
112 KoMULUs. [B.ai200 
 
 The whole party proceed towards the gates. 
 
 of the distant conflagrations, which glared in 
 the sky, and flashed sometimes upon battle 
 ments and towers, and upon the tops of loftj 
 dwellings. 
 
 ^neas pressed steadily on, though in a 
 state continually of the highest excitement 
 and apprehension. He kept stealthily along 
 wherever he could find the deepest shadows, 
 under walls, and through the most obscure 
 and the narrowest streets. He was in con- 
 stant fear lest some stray dart or arrow should 
 strike Anchises or Creusa, or lest some band 
 of Greeks should come suddenly upon them, 
 in which case he knew well that they would 
 all be cut down without mercy, for, loaded 
 down as he was with his burden, he would 
 be entirely unable to do any thing to de- 
 fend either himself or them. The party, how- 
 ever, for a time seemed to escape all these 
 dangers, but at length, just as they were ap- 
 proaching the gate of the city, and began to 
 tliink that they were safe, they were suddenly 
 alarmed by a loud uproar, and by a rush ot 
 men which came in toward them from somo 
 streets in that quarter of the city, and threat- 
 ened to overwhelm them. Anchises was 
 greatly alarmed. He saw the gleaming 
 
B.C. 1200.J Flight OF ^NEAs. 113 
 
 Escape from tho city. Crousa is lost. 
 
 weapons of the Greeks who were rushing to- 
 ward them, and he called out to ^neas to 
 flj faster, or to turn oif some other way, in 
 order to escape the impending danger, ^neas 
 was terrified by the shouts and uproar which 
 he heard, and his mind was for a moment con- 
 fused by the bewildering influences of the 
 scene. He however hurried forward, running 
 this way and that, wherever there seemed the 
 best prospect of escape, and often embarrassed 
 and retarded in his flight by the crowds of 
 'people who were moving confusedly in all 
 directions. At length, however, he succeed- 
 ed in flnding egress from the city. He press- 
 ed on, without stopping to look behind him 
 till he reached the appointed place of rendez- 
 vous on the hill, and then gently laying down 
 his burden, he looked around for Creusa. She 
 was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 .^Eneas was in utter consternation, at flnd- 
 ing that his wife was gone. He mourned and 
 lamented this dreadful calamity with loud ex- 
 clamations of grief and despair ; then reflect- 
 ing that it was a time for action and not for 
 idle grief, he hastened to conceal his father 
 and Ascanius in a dark and winding valley be- 
 hind the hill, and leaving them there under 
 
 B 
 
114 Romulus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 iEiieas goes back in search of Cieusa. 
 
 the charge of his domestics, he hastened back 
 to the city to see if Creusa could be found. 
 
 He armed himself completely before he 
 went, being in his desperation determined to 
 encounter every danger in his attempts to find 
 and to recover his beloved wife. He went 
 directly to the gate from which he had come 
 out, and re-entering the city there, he began 
 to retrace, as well as he could, the way that 
 he had taken in coming out of the city — 
 guiding himself as he went, by the light of 
 the fiames which rose up here and there from 
 the burning buildings. 
 
 He went on in this way in a desperate state 
 of agitation and distress, searching everywhere 
 but seeing nothing of Creusa. At length he 
 thought it possible that she had concluded, 
 when she found herself separated from him^ 
 to go back to the house, as the safest place of 
 refuge for her, and he determined, accord- 
 mgly, to go and seek her there. This was his 
 last hope, and most cruelly was it disappointed 
 when he came to the place of his dwelling. 
 
 He found his house, when he arrived near 
 the spot, all in flames. The surrounding 
 buildings were burning too, and the streets in 
 the neighborhood were piled up with furni- 
 
B.C. 1200.] Flight OF J^NEAs. 11? 
 
 He finds that hia house has been burned. 
 
 ture and goods wliicli the wretched inmates 
 of the dwellings had vainly endeavored to 
 save. These inmates themselves were stand- 
 ii]g around, distracted with grief and terror, 
 and gazing hopelessly upon the scene of dev- 
 astation before them. 
 
 ^neas saw all these things at a glance, and 
 immediately, in a frenzy of excitement, began 
 to call out Creusa's name. He went to and 
 fro among the groups surrounding the fire, 
 calling for her in a frantic manner, and im- 
 ploring all whom he saw to give him some 
 tidings of her. All was, however, in vain. 
 She could not be found, ^neas then went 
 roaming about through other portions of the 
 city, seeking her everywhere, and inquiring 
 for her of every person whom he met that had 
 the appearance of being a friend. His sus- 
 pense, however, was terminated at last by his 
 suddenly coming upon an apparition of the 
 spirit of Creusa, which rose before him in a 
 solitary part of the city, and arrested his pro- 
 gress. The apparition was of preternatural 
 size, and it stood before him in so ethereal 
 and shadow-like a form, and the features 
 beamed upon him with so calm and placid 
 and benignant an expression, as convinced 
 
116 EoMULiJs. [B.C. 1200, 
 
 The apparition of Creusa, Her predictions. 
 
 hini that the vision was not of this world, 
 .^neas saw at a glance that Creusa's earthly 
 sorrows and sufferings were ended forever. 
 
 At first he was shocked and terrified at the 
 spectacle. Creusa, however, endeavored to 
 calm and quiet him by soothing words. *'My 
 dearest husband," said she, " do not give way 
 thus to anxiety and grief. The events which 
 have befallen us, have not come by chance. 
 They are all ordered by an overruling provi- 
 dence that is omnipotent and divine. It was 
 predetermined by the decrees of heaven that 
 you were not to take me with you in your 
 flight. I have learned what your future des- 
 tiny is to be. There is a long period of weary 
 wandering before you, over the ocean and on 
 the land, and you will have many difficulties, 
 dangers, and trials to incur. You will, how- 
 ever, be conducted safely through them all, 
 and will in the end find a peaceful and happy 
 home on the banks of the Tiber. There you 
 will found a new kingdom ; a princess is even 
 now provided for you there, to become your 
 bride. Cease then to mourn for me ; rather 
 rejoice that I did not fall a captive into the 
 hands of our enemies, to be carried away into 
 Greece and made a slave. I am free, and you 
 
B.C. 1^00.] Flight OF ^NEAs. 117 
 
 Her farewell to her husband. Preparations for departure. 
 
 must not lament mr fate. Farewell. Love 
 Ascanius for my sake, and watch over him and 
 protect him as long as you live." 
 
 Having spoken these words, the vision be- 
 gan to disappear. JEneas endeavored to 
 clasp the beloved image in his arms to retain 
 it, but it was intangible and evanescent, and, 
 before he could speak to it, it was gone, and 
 he was left standing in the desolate and 
 gloomy street alone. He turned at length 
 slowly away ; and solitary, thoughtful and 
 sad, he went back to the gate of the city, and 
 thence out to the valley where he had con- 
 cealed Anchises and his little son. 
 
 He found them safe. The whole party 
 then sought places of retreat among the glens 
 and mountains, where they could remain 
 concealed a few days, while ^neas and his 
 companions could make arrangements . for 
 abandoning the country altogether. These 
 arrangements were soon completed. As soon 
 as the Greeks had retired, so that they could 
 come out without danger from their place of 
 retreat, JEneas emj^loyed his men in building 
 a number of small vessels, fitting them, as 
 was usual in those days, l)oth with sails and 
 oars . 
 
118 EoMULTJs. [B.C. 1200, 
 
 ^neas'8 company incroases. His fleet. The embaikation. 
 
 During the progress of these preparations, 
 small parties of Trojans were coming in con- 
 tinually, day by day, to join him; being 
 drawn successively from their hiding-places 
 among the mountains, by hearing that the 
 Greeks had gone away, and that ^neas was 
 gradually assembling the remnant of the Tro- 
 jans on the shore. The numbers thus col- 
 lected at ^neas's encampment gradually in- 
 creased, and as ^neas enlarged and extended 
 his naval preparations to correspond with the 
 augmenting numbers of his adherents, he found 
 when he was ready to set sail, that he was at 
 the head of a very respectable naval and 
 military force. 
 
 When the fleet at last was ready, he put a 
 stock of provisions on board, and embarked 
 his men, — taking, of course, Anchises and 
 Ascanius with him. As soon as a favorable 
 wind arose, the expedition set sail. As the 
 vessels moved slowly away, the decks were 
 covered with men and women, who gazed 
 mournfully at the receding shores, conscious 
 that they were bidding a final farewell to 
 their native land. 
 
 The nearest country within reach in leaving 
 the Trojan coast, was Thrace — a country ly- 
 
B.C.1200.] Flight of ^neas. 
 
 119 
 
 Map of the wanderings of iEneas. 
 
 ing north of the Egean Sea, and of the Pro- 
 pontis, being separated, in fact, in one part, 
 from the Trojan territories, only by the Hel- 
 
 WaNDERINGS of iENEAS. 
 
 lespont. ^neas turned his course northward 
 toward this country, and, after a short voy- 
 age, landed there, and attempted to make a 
 settlement. He was, however, prevented from 
 remaining long, by a dreadful prodigy which 
 he witnessed there, and which induced him 
 
120 Romulus. [Ji.C. 1200. 
 
 A dreadful prodigy. The bleeding myrtle. 
 
 to leave those sliores very precipitously. The 
 prodigy was this : 
 
 They had erected an altar on the shore, 
 after they had landed, and were preparing to 
 offer the sacrifices customary on such occa- 
 sions, when ^neas, wishing to shade the altar 
 with boughs, went to a myrtle bush which 
 was growing near, and began to pull up the 
 green shoots from the ground. To his aston- 
 ishment and horror, he found that blood 
 flowed from the roots whenever they were 
 broken. Drops of what appeared to be hu- 
 man blood would ooze from the ruptured part 
 as he held the shoot in his hand, and fall 
 slowly to the ground. He was greatly terri- 
 fied at this spectacle, considering it as some 
 omen of very dreadful import. He imme- 
 diately and instinctively offered up a prayer 
 to the presiding deities of the land, that they 
 would avert from him the evil influences, 
 whatever they might be, which the omen 
 seemed to portend, or that they would at least 
 explain the meaning of the prodigy. After 
 offering this prayer, he took hold of another 
 stem of the myrtle, and attempted to draw it 
 from the ground, in order to see whether any 
 change in the appearances exhibited by the 
 
B.C. 1200.] Flight OF ^NEAs. 121 
 
 Words of the myrtle. Story of I'olydorus. 
 
 prodigy liad been effected by his prayer. At 
 the instant, however, when the roots began to 
 give way, he heard a groan coming up from 
 the ground below, as if from a person in suf- 
 fering. Immediately afterward a voice, in a 
 mournful and sepulchral accent, began to beg 
 him to go away, and cease disturbing the re- 
 pose of the dead. "What you are tearing 
 and lacerating," said the voice, " is not a tree, 
 but a man. I am Polydorus. I was killed 
 by the king of Thrace, and instead of burial, 
 have been turned into a myrtle growing on 
 the shore." 
 
 Polydorus was a Trojan prince. He was 
 the youngest son of Priam, and had been sent 
 some years before to Thrace, to be brought 
 up in the court of the Thracian king. He had 
 been provided with a large supply of money 
 and treasure when he left Troy, in order that 
 all his wants might be abundantly supj^lied, 
 and that he might maintain, during his ab- 
 sence from home, the position to which his 
 rank as a Trojan prince entitled him. His 
 treasures, however, which had been provided 
 for him by his father as his sure reliance fox 
 support and protection, became the occasion of 
 his ruin — for the Thracian king, when he found 
 
122 Romulus. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 ^neas leaves Thrace. His various wanderings. 
 
 that the war was going against the Trojans. 
 and that Priam the father was slain, and the 
 city destroyed, murdered the helpless son to 
 get possession of his gold. 
 
 ^neas and his companions were shocked to 
 hear this story, and perceived at once that 
 Thrace was no place of safety for them. They 
 resolved immediately to leave the coast and 
 seek their fortunes in other regions. They, 
 however, first, in secrecy and silence, but with 
 great solemnity, j)erformed those funeral rites 
 for Polydorus which were considered in those 
 ages essential to the repose of the dead. 
 "VYhen these mournful ceremonies were ended 
 they embarked on board their ships again and 
 sailed away. 
 
 After this, the party of ^neas sjDcnt many 
 months in weary voyages from island to 
 island, and from shore to shore, along the 
 Mediterranean sea, encountering every ima- 
 ginable difficulty and danger, and meetirg 
 continually with the strangest and most ro- 
 mantic adventures. At one time they were 
 misled by a mistaken interpretation of proph- 
 ecy to attempt a settlement in Crete — a green 
 and beautiful island lying south of the 
 Egean sea. They had applied to a sacred 
 
B.C. 1200.] Flight OF ^NEAS. 123 
 
 The attempted settlement at Crete. 
 
 oracle, which had its seat at a certain conse- 
 crated spot which they visited in the course of 
 their progress southward through the Egean 
 sea, asking the oracle to direct them where to 
 go in order to find a settled home. The oraclej 
 in answer to their request, informed them that 
 they were to go to the land that their ances- 
 tors had originally come from, before their 
 settlement in Troy. JEneas applied to An- 
 chises to inform them what land this was. 
 Anchises replied, that he thought it was Crete. 
 There was an ancient tradition, he said, that 
 some distinguished men among the ancestors 
 of the Trojans had originated in Crete ; and 
 he presumed accordingly that that was the 
 land to which the oracle referred. 
 
 The course of the little fleet was according- 
 ly directed southward, and in due time the 
 expedition safely reached the island of Crete, 
 and landed there. They immediately com- 
 menced the work of effecting a settlement. 
 They drew the ships uj) uj^on the shore ; they 
 laid out a city; they inclosed and planted 
 fields, and began to build their houses. In a 
 short time, however, all their bright prospects 
 of rest and security were blighted by the 
 breaking out of a dreadful pestilence among 
 
124 EoMULus. [B.C. 1200, 
 
 Calamities. iEneas's perplexity. Advice of An chises. 
 
 them. Many died; others who still lived, 
 were utterly prostrated by the eifects of the 
 disease, and crawled about, emaciated and 
 wretched, a miserable and piteous spectaclo 
 to behold. To crown their misfortunes, a 
 great drought came on. The grain which 
 they had planted was dried up and killed in 
 the fields ; and thus, in addition to the horrors 
 of pestilence, they were threatened with the 
 still greater horrors of famine. Their distress 
 was extreme, and they were utterly at a loss 
 to know what to do. 
 
 In this extremity Anchises recommended 
 that they should send back to the oracle to 
 inquire more particularly in respect to the 
 meaning of the former response, in order to 
 ascertain whether they had, by possibility, 
 misinterpreted it, and made their settlement 
 on the wrong ground. Or, if this was not the 
 case, to learn by what other error or fault they 
 had displeased the celestial powers, and 
 brought upon themselves such terrible judg- 
 ments, ^neas determined to adopt this ad 
 vice, but he was prevented from carrying hia 
 intentions into effect by the following occm* 
 rence. 
 
 One night he was lying upon his couch in 
 
B.C. 1200.] Flight OF JEneas. 125 
 
 Sc>ene at night. The household deities. Their address to yEneao. 
 
 his dwelling, — so harassed by his anxieties 
 and cares that he could not sleep, and revolving 
 in his mind all possible plans for extricating 
 himself and his followers from the difficulties 
 wLich environed them. The moon shone in 
 at the windows, and by the light of this lu- 
 minary he saw, reposing in their shrines in 
 the opposite side of the apartment where he 
 if {L5 sleeping, the household images which he 
 }>ftd rescued from the flames of Troy. As he 
 lvH)ked upon these divinities in the still and 
 s«?lemn hour of midnight, oppressed with 
 axixiety and care, one of them began to ad- 
 dress him. 
 
 " We are commissioned," said this super- 
 natural voice, " by Apollo, whose oracle you 
 are intending to consult again, to give you the 
 answer that you desire, without requiring you 
 to go back to his temple. It is true that you 
 have erred in attempting to make a settlement 
 in Crete. This is not the land which is des- 
 tined to be your home. You must leave these 
 ehores, and continue your voyage. The land 
 which is destined to receive you is Italy, a 
 land far removed from this spot, and your way 
 to it lies over wide and boisterous seas. Do 
 not be discouraged, however, on this account, 
 
126 li o M u L u s. [B.C. 1200 
 
 Effoct of this address. Subsequent adventures. 
 
 or on account of the calamities v^^liicli now im- 
 pend over yon. Yon will be prospered in the 
 end. You will reacli Italy in safety, and there 
 you will lay the foundations of a mighty em- 
 pire, which in days to come will extend its 
 dominion far and v/ide among the nations of 
 the earth. Take courage, then, and embark 
 once more in your ships with a cheerful and 
 confident heart. You are safe, and in the end 
 all will turn out well." 
 
 The strength and spirits of the desponding 
 adventurer were very essentially revived by 
 this encouragement. He immediately pre- 
 pared to obey the injunctions which had been 
 thus divinely communicated to him, and in a 
 short time the half-built city was abandoned, 
 and the expedition once more embarked on 
 board the fleet and proceeded to sea. They 
 met in their subsequent wanderings with a 
 great variety of adventures, but it would ex- 
 tend this portion of our narrative too far, to 
 relate them all. They encountered a storm 
 by whfch for three days and three nights they 
 were tossed to and fro, without seeing sim or 
 stars, and of course without any guidance 
 whatever ; and during all this time they were 
 in the most imminent danger of being over* 
 
B.C.1200.] Flight of J^neas. 127 
 
 Danger of shipwreck. Tlie harpiea. 
 
 whelmed and destroyed by the billows which 
 rolled sublimely and frightfully around them. 
 At another time, having landed for rest and 
 refreshment among a group of Grecian islands, 
 they were attacked by the har^ies^ birds of 
 prey of jDrodigious size and most offensive 
 habits, and fierce and voracious beyond de- 
 scription. The harpies were celebrated, in 
 fact, in many of the ancient tales, as a race 
 of beings that infested certain shores, and 
 often teased and tormented the mariners and 
 adventurers that happened to come among 
 them. Some said, however, that there was 
 not a race of such beings, but only two or 
 three in all, and they gave their names. And 
 yet different narrators gave different names, 
 among which were Aelopos, Nicothoe, Ocy- 
 thoe, Ocypose, Celaeno, Acholoe, and Aello. 
 Some said that the harpies had the faces and 
 forms of women. Others described them as 
 frightfully ugly ; but all agree in represent- 
 ing them as voracious beyond description, 
 always greedily devouring every thing that 
 they could get within reach of their claws. 
 
 These fierce monsters flew down upon 
 ^neas and his party, and carried away the 
 food from off the table before them ; and eveu 
 
128 KoMULTjs. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 jEneas driven away. Dangers at Mt. Etsa. 
 
 attacked the men themselves. The men then 
 armed themselves with swords, secretly, and 
 waited for the next approach of the harpies, 
 intending to kill them, when they came near. 
 But the nimble marauders eluded all their 
 blows, and escaped with their plunder as be- 
 fore. At length the expedition was driven 
 away from the island altogether, by these rav- 
 enous fowls, and when they were embarking 
 on board of their vessels, the leader of the 
 harpies perched herself upon a rock overlook- 
 ing the scene, and in a human voice loaded 
 u^neas and his companions, as they went 
 away, with taunts and execrations. 
 
 The expedition passed one night in great 
 terror and dread in the vicinity of Mount 
 Etna, where they had landed. The awful 
 eruptions of smoke, and flame, and burning 
 lava, which issued at midnight from the sum- 
 mit of the mountain,' — ^the thundering sounds 
 which they heard rolling beneath them, 
 through the ground, and the dread which was 
 inspired in their minds by the terrible uaon- 
 Bters that dwelt beneath the mountains, as they 
 supposed, and fed the fires, all combined to 
 impress them with a sense of unutterable awe ; 
 and as soon as the light of the morning en* 
 
B.C. 1200.] Flight OF JEneas. 129 
 
 The one-eyed giants. Polyphemus. 
 
 abled them to resume their com-se, thej made 
 all haste to get away from so appalling a scene. 
 At another time they touched upon a coast 
 A^hich was inhabited by a race of one-eyed 
 giants, — monsters of enormous magnitude and 
 of remorseless cruelty. They were cannibals, 
 — feeding on the bodies of men whom they 
 killed by grasping them in their hands and 
 beating them against the rocks which formed 
 the sides of their den. Some men whom one 
 of these monsters, named Polyphemus, had 
 shut up in his cavern, contrived to sm'prise 
 their keeper in his sleep, and though they 
 were wholly unable to kill him on account of 
 his colossal magnitude, they succeeded in put- 
 ting out his eye, and .^neas and his com- 
 panions saw the blinded giant, as they passed 
 along the coast, wading in the sea, and bath- 
 ing his wound. He was guiding his footsteps 
 as he walked, by means of the trunk of a tall 
 pine which served him for a staff. 
 
 At length, however, after the lapse of a 
 long period of time, and after meeting with a 
 great variety of adventures to which we can 
 not even here allude, ^neas and his party 
 reached the shores of Italy, at the point which 
 by divine intimations had been pointed out 
 
 I 
 
130 KoMTjLiJS. [B.C. 1200. 
 
 Remarks on the story of ^neas. 
 
 to them as the place where they were to 
 land.* 
 
 The story of the life and adventures of 
 ^neas, which we have given in this and in 
 the preceding chapters, is a faithful summary 
 of the narrative which the poetic historians 
 of those days recorded. It is, of course, not 
 to be relied upon as a narrative of facts ; but 
 it is worthy of very special attention by every 
 cultivated mind of the present day, from the 
 fact, that such is the beauty, the grace, the 
 melody, the inimitable poetic perfection with 
 which the story is told, in the language in 
 which the original record stands, that the nar» 
 rative has made a more deep, and wide- 
 spread, and lasting impression upon the hu- 
 man mind than any other narrati re perhaps 
 that ever was penned. 
 
 t'See Map, pag@ 184^ 
 
B.C. 1197.] Landing in Latium. 131 
 
 Description of the country where ^neas landed. 
 
 Chapter YI. 
 The Landing in Latium. 
 
 LATIUM was tlie name given to an ancient 
 province of Italy, lying south of the Ti- 
 ber. At the time of ^neas's arrival upon the 
 coast it was an independent kingdom. The 
 name of the king who reigned over it at this 
 period was Latinus. 
 
 The country on the banks of the Tiber, 
 where the city of Rome afterward arose, was 
 then a wild but picturesque rural region, con- 
 sisting of hills and valleys, occupied by shep- 
 herds and. husbandmen, but with nothing 
 upon it whatever, to mark it as the site of a 
 city. The people that dwelt in Latium were 
 shepherds and herdsmen, though there was a 
 considerable band of warriors under the com- 
 mand of the king. The inhabitants of the 
 country were of Greek origin, and they had 
 brought with them from Greece, when they 
 colonized the country, such rude arts as were 
 then known. They had the use of Cadmus's 
 letters, for writing, so far as writing was em- 
 
132 KoMULus. [B.C. 1197 
 
 The landing. Mouth of the Tiber. Burning of tho ships. 
 
 ployed at all in those early days. They were 
 skillful in making such weapons of war, and 
 such simple instruments of music, as were 
 known at the time, and they could erect build- 
 ings, of wood, or of stone, and thus con- 
 structed such dwellings as they needed, in their 
 towns, and walls and citadels for defence. 
 
 JEneas brought his fleet into the mouth of 
 the Tiber, and anchored it there. He him- 
 self, and all his followers were thoroughly 
 weary of their wanderings, and hoped that 
 they were now about to land where they 
 should find a permanent abode. The number 
 of ships and men that had formed the expedi- 
 tion at the commencement of the voyage, was 
 very large ; but it had been considerably di- 
 minished by the various misfortunes and acci- 
 dents incident to such an enterprise, and the 
 remnant that was left longed ardently for rest. 
 Some of the ships took fire, and were burned 
 at their moorings in the Tiber, immediately 
 after the arrival of the expedition. It was 
 said that they were set on fire by the wives 
 and mothers belonging to the expedition, — 
 who wished, by destroying the ships, to ren- 
 der it impossible for the fleet to go to sea 
 again. 
 
B.C. 1197.] Landin G IN Latium. 138 
 
 Italy in ancient days. An embassy. 
 
 However tliis may be, ^ueas was very 
 strongly disposed to make the beautiful region 
 whicli he now saw before Mm, his final home. 
 The country, in every aspect of it, was allur- 
 ing in the highest degree. Level plains, va- 
 ried here and there by gentle elevations, ex- 
 tended around him, all adorned with groves 
 and flowers, and exhibiting a luxuriance in 
 the verdure of the grass and in the foliage of 
 the trees that was perfectly enchanting to the 
 sea-weary eyes of his company of mariners. 
 In the distance, blue and beautiful moi'ntains 
 bounded the horizon, and a soft, warn sum- 
 mer haze floated over the whole scene, bath- 
 ing the landscape in a rich mellow lii-?ht pe- 
 culiar to Italian skies. 
 
 As soon as the disembarkation was eTected, 
 lines of encampment were marked oiit, at a 
 suitable place on the shore, and such simple 
 fortifications as were necessary for defsnce in 
 such a case, were thrown up. Jj]n&'?.s dis- 
 patched one party in boats to explore the va- 
 rious passages and channels which forr.ied the 
 mouth of the river, perhaps in order to be 
 prepared to make good his escape a^^ain, to 
 8ea, in case of any sudden or extraordinary 
 danger. Another party were employed in 
 
134 
 
 Romulus. [B.C. 1197. 
 
 Sacrifices offered. 
 
 Map of Latium. 
 
 erecting altars, and preparing for sacrifices 
 and other religious celebrations, designed on 
 the part of ^neas to propitiate the deities of 
 the place, and to inspire his men with reli- 
 gious confidence and trust. He also imme- 
 diately proceeded to organize a party of re- 
 connoiterers who were to proceed into the in- 
 terior, to explore the country and to commu- 
 nicate with the inhabitants. 
 
 Map of Latium. 
 
B.C. 1197.] Landing in Latium. 135 
 
 Reconnoitring the country. King Latinus. 
 
 The party of reconnoiterers thus sent out 
 tollowed up the banks of the river, and made 
 excursions in various directions across the 
 fields and plains. They found that the coun- 
 try was everywhere verdant and beautiful, 
 and that it was covered in the interior with 
 scattered hamlets and towns. They learned 
 the name of the king, and also that of the city 
 which he made his capitol. Latinus himself 
 at the same time, heard the tidings of the ar- 
 rival of these strangers. His first impulse 
 was immediately to make an onset upon them 
 with all his forces, and drive them away from 
 his shores. On farther inquiry, however, he 
 learned that they were in a distressed and 
 suffering condition, and from the descriptions 
 which were given him of their dress and de- 
 meanor he concluded that they were Greeks. 
 This idea awakened in his mind some appre- 
 hension ; for the Greeks were then well known 
 throughout the world, and were regarded 
 everywhere as terrible enemies. Besides his 
 fears, his pity and compassion were awakened , 
 too, in some degree ; and he was on the whole 
 for a time quite at a loss to know what course 
 to pm'sue in respect to the intruders. 
 
 Li the mean time ^neas concluded to send 
 
136 - Udmulqs. [B.C. 1197. 
 
 The embassy come to the capital. 
 
 an embassy to Latinus to explain the circum- 
 stances under wliich he had been induced to 
 land so large a party on the Italian coast. 
 He accordingly designated a considerable 
 number of men to form this embassy, and 
 giving to some of the number his instructions 
 as to what they were to say to Latinus, he 
 committed to the hands of tho others a large 
 number of gifts which they were to carry and 
 present to him. These gifts consisted of weap- 
 ons elaborately finished, vessels of gold or 
 silver, embroidered garments, and such other 
 articles as were customarily employed in 
 those days as propitiatory offerings in such 
 emergencies. The embassy when all was ar- 
 ranged proceeded to the Latian capital. 
 
 When they came in sight of it they found 
 that it was a spacious city, with walls around 
 it, and turrets and battlements within, rising 
 here and there above the roofs of the dwel- 
 lings. Outside the gates a portion of the 
 po]3ulation were assembled busily engaged in 
 games, and in various gymnastic and eques- 
 trian performances. Some were driving fu- 
 riously in cliariots around great circles marked 
 out for the course. Others were practicing 
 feats of horsemanship, or running races upon 
 
13,0.1197.] Landing IN Latium. 137 
 
 The embassadors are admitted to an audience. 
 
 fleet chargers. Others still were practicing 
 with darts, or bows and arrows, or javelins ; 
 either to test and improve their individual 
 skill, or else to compete with each other for 
 victory or for a prize. The embassadors 
 paused when thej came in view of this scene, 
 and waited until intelligence could be sent in 
 to the monarch, informing him of their ar- 
 rival. 
 
 Latinus decided immediately to admit the 
 embassy to an audience, and they were ac- 
 cordingly conducted into the city. They were 
 led, after entering by the gates, through va- 
 rious streets, until they came at length to a 
 large public edifice, which seemed to be, at 
 the same time, palace, senate-house, and cita- 
 del. There were to be seen, in the avenues 
 which led to this edifice, statues of old war- 
 riors, and various other martial decorations. 
 There were many old trophies of former vic- 
 tories preserved here, such as anus, and char- 
 lots, and prows of ships, and crests, and great 
 bolts and bars taken from the gates of con- 
 quered cities, — all old, war-worn, and now 
 useless, but preserved as memorials of brav 
 ery and conquest. The Trojan embassy, pass- 
 ing through and among these trophies, as they 
 
138 RoMULQs. [B.C. 1197. 
 
 Their address to king Latinus. 
 
 stood or hung in the halls and vestibules of 
 the palace, were at length ushered into the 
 presence of Latinus the king. 
 
 Here, after the usual ceremonies of intro- 
 duction were performed, they delivered the 
 message which ^neas had intrusted to them. 
 They declared that they had not landed on 
 Latinus's shore with any hostile intent. They 
 had been driven away, they said, from their 
 own homes, by a series of dire calamities, 
 which had ended, at last, in the total destruc- 
 tion of their native city. Since then they 
 had been driven to and fro at the mercy of 
 the winds and waves, exposed to every con- 
 ceivable degree of hardship and danger. 
 Their landing finally in the dominions of La- 
 tinus in Italy, was not, they confessed, wholly 
 undesigned, for Latium had been divinely 
 indicated to them, on their way, as the place 
 destined by the decrees of heaven for their 
 final home. Following these indications, they 
 had sought the shores of Italy and the mouths 
 of the Tiber, and having succeeded in reach- 
 ing them, had landed ; and now JEneas, their 
 commander, desired of the king that he would 
 allow them to settle in his land in peace, and 
 that he would set apart a portion of his terri- 
 
B.C. 1197.] Landing in Latitjm. 139 
 
 Latiniis accedes to JSneas's requests. 
 
 toiy for them, and give them leave to build a 
 city. 
 
 The effect produced upon the mind of La- 
 tinus by the appearance of these embassadors, 
 and by the communication which they made 
 to him, proved to be highly favorable. He 
 received the presents, too, which they had 
 brought him, in a very gracious manner, and 
 appeared to be much pleased with them. He 
 had heard, as would seem, rumors of the de- 
 struction of Troy, and of the departure of 
 -^neas's squadron ; for a long time had been 
 consumed by the wanderings of the expedi- 
 tion along the Mediterranean shores, so that 
 some years had now elapsed since the de- 
 struction of Troy and the first sailing of the 
 fleet. In a word, Latinus soon determined to 
 accede to the proposals of his visitors, and he 
 concluded with ^neas a treaty of alliance 
 and friendship. He designated a spot where 
 the new city might be built, and all things 
 were thus amicably settled. 
 
 There was one circumstance which exerted 
 a powerful influence in promoting the estab- 
 lishment of friendly relations between Latinus 
 and the Trojans, and that was, that Latinus 
 was engaged, at the time of ^neas's arrival, 
 
MO E o M u L u s. [B.C. 1197. 
 
 Proposal of marriage. Lavinia and Turnus. 
 
 in a war with the Kutulians, a nation tliat 
 inhabited a country lying south of Latium 
 and on the coast. Latinns thought that by 
 making the Trojans his friends, he should be 
 able to enlist them as his auxiliaries in this 
 war. ^neas made no objection to this, and 
 it was accordingly agreed that the Trojans, 
 in return for being received as friends, and 
 allowed to settle in Latium, were to join with 
 their protectors in defending the country, and 
 were especially to aid them in prosecuting 
 the existing war. 
 
 In a short time a still closer alliance was 
 formed between ^neas and Latinus, an alli- 
 ance which in the end resulted in the acces- 
 sion of JEneas to the throne of Latinus. Lati- 
 nus had a daughter named Lavinia. She was 
 an only child, and was a princess of extraor- 
 dinary merit and beauty. The name of the 
 queen, her mother, the wife of Latinus, was 
 Amata. Amata had intended her daughter 
 to be the wife of Turnus, a young prince of 
 great character and promise, who had been 
 brought up in Latinus's court. Turnus was, 
 in fact, a distant relative of Amata, and the 
 plan of the queen was that he should maiTy 
 Lavinia, and in the end succeed with hei, t<r 
 
B.C. 1197.] Landing in Latium. Ml 
 
 The anger of Turniis at being set aside. 
 
 the throne of Latinus. Latinus himself had 
 not entered into this scheme ; and when clos- 
 ing his negotiations with ^neas, it seemed to 
 iiim that it would be well to seal and secure 
 he adherence of JEneas to his cause by offer- 
 ihg him his daughter Lavinia for his bride 
 ^neas was very willing to accede to this pro- 
 posal. What the wishes of Lavinia herself 
 were in respect to the arrangement, it is not 
 very well known ; nor were her wishes, ac- 
 cording to the ideas that prevailed in those 
 times, of any consequence whatever. The 
 23lan was arranged, and the nuptials were soon 
 to be celebrated. Turnus, when he found 
 that he was to be superseded, left the coui't 
 of Latinus, and went away out of the country 
 in a rage. 
 
 JEneas and his followers seemed now to 
 have come to the end of all their troubles. 
 They were at last happily established in a 
 fruitful land, surrounded by powerful friends, 
 and about to enter apparently upon a long 
 career of peaceful and prosperous industry. 
 They immediately engaged with great ardor 
 in the work of building their town. JEneas 
 had intended to have named it Troy, in com- 
 memoration of the ancient city now no more 
 
142 KoMTJLrs. [B.C. 1197. 
 
 Situation of the Trojan territory. Lavinium. 
 
 But, in view of his approaching marriage with 
 Lavinia, he determined to change this design, 
 and, in honor of her, to name the new capital 
 Lavinium. 
 
 The territory which had been assigned tc 
 the Trojans by Latinus was in the south-west- 
 ern part of Latium, near the coast, and of 
 course it was on the confines of the country 
 of the Rutulians. Turnus, when he left 
 Latium, went over to the Rutulians, deter- 
 mining, in his resentment against Latinus for 
 having given Lavinia to his rival, to join them 
 in the war. The Rutulians made him their 
 leader, and he soon advanced at the head of 
 a great army across the frontier, toward the 
 new city of Lavinium. Thus ^neas found 
 himself threatened with a very formidable 
 danger. 
 
 l^ov was this all. For just before the com- 
 mencement of the war with Turnus, an ex- 
 traordinary train of circumstances occurred 
 which resulted in alienating the Latins them- 
 selves from their new ally, and in leaving 
 yEneas consequently to sustain the shock of 
 the contest with Turnus and his Rutulians 
 alone. It would naturally be supposed that 
 the alliance between Latinus and ^neas 
 
B.C. 1197.] Landing- in Latium. 143 
 
 The story of Sylvia's stag. 
 
 would not be very favorably regarded by the 
 coramon people of Latium. They would, on 
 the other hand, naturally look with much 
 jealousy and distrust on a company of foreign 
 intruders, admitted by what they would be 
 very likely to consider the capricious partial- 
 ity of their king, to a share of their country. 
 This jealousy and distrust was, for a time, 
 suppressed and concealed ; but the animosity 
 orAy acquired strength and concentration by 
 being restrained, and at length an event oc- 
 cm'red which caused it to break forth with 
 uncontrollable fury. The circumstances were 
 these : 
 
 There was a man in Latium named Tyr- 
 rheus, who held the office of royal herdsman. 
 He lived in his hut on some of the domains 
 of Latinus, and had charge of the flocks and 
 herds belonging to the king. He had two 
 sons, and likewise a daughter. The daughter's 
 name was Sylvia. The two boys had one day 
 succeeded in making prisoner of a young stag, 
 which they found in the woods with its mother. 
 It was extremely young when they captured 
 it, and they brought it home as a great prize. 
 They fed it with milk until it was old enough 
 to take other food, and as it grew up accus-- 
 
144 KoMULTis. [B.C. 1197 
 
 Ascanius ehoota the staff. 
 
 tomed to their hands, it was very tame and 
 docile, and became a great favorite with all 
 the family. Sylvia loved and played with it 
 continually. She kept it always in trim by 
 washing it in a fountain, and combing and 
 smoothing its hair, and she amused herself by 
 adorning it with wreaths, and garlands, and 
 such other decorations as her sylvan resources 
 could command. 
 
 One day when Ascanius, ^neas's son, who 
 had now grown to be a young man, and who 
 seems to have been characterized by a full 
 share of the ardent and impulsive energy be- 
 longing to his years, was returning from the 
 chase, he happened to pass by the place 
 where the herdsman lived. Ascanius was fol- 
 lowed by his dogs, and he had his bow and 
 arrows in his hand. As he was thus passing 
 along a copse of wood, near a brook, the dogs 
 came suddenly upon Sylvia's stag. The con- 
 fiding animal, unconscious of any danger, had 
 strayed away from the herdsman's grounds to 
 this grove, and had gone down to the brook 
 to drink. The dogs immediately sprang upon 
 him, in full cry. Ascanius followed, drawing 
 at the same time an arrow from his quiver 
 and fittinof it to the bow. As soon as he came 
 
, . ^J"' 
 
B.C. HOT.] Landing IN Latium. 147 
 
 The resentment of Sylvia's brothers. 
 
 in sight of the stag, he let fly his arrow. Tho 
 arrow pierced the poor fugitive in the side, 
 and inflicted a dreadful wound. It did not, 
 however, bring him down. The stag bounded 
 on down the valley toward his home, as if to 
 seek protection from Sylvia. He came rush- 
 ing into the house, marking his way with 
 blood, ran to the covert which Sylvia had pro- 
 vided for his resting-place at night, and 
 ciouching down there he filled the whole 
 dwelling with piteous bleatings and cries. 
 
 As soon as Tyrrheus, the father of Sylvia, 
 and the two young men, her brothers, knew 
 who it was that had thus wantonly wounded 
 tlieir favorite, they were filled with indigna- 
 tion and rage. They went out and aroused 
 the neighboring peasantry, who very easily 
 caught the spirit of resentment and revenge 
 which bm-ned in the bosoms of Tyrrheus and 
 his sons. They armed themselves with clubs, 
 firebrands, scythes, and such other rustic 
 weapons as came to hand, and rushed forth, 
 resolved to punish the overbearing insolence 
 of their foreign visitors, in the most summary 
 manner. 
 
 In the mean time the Trojan youth, having 
 heard the tidings of this disturbance, began to 
 
148 Romulus. [B.C. 1197. 
 
 Sudden outbreak. Death of Alraon. Great excitement. 
 
 gather hastily, but in great numbers, to defend 
 Ascanius. The parties on both sides were 
 headstrong, and highly excited ; and before 
 any of the older and more considerate chief- 
 tains could interfere, a verv serious conflict 
 ensued. One of the sons of Tyrrheus was 
 killed. He was pierced in the throat by an 
 arrow, and fell and died immediately. His 
 name was Almon. He was but a boy, or at 
 all events had not yet arrived at years of ma- 
 turity, and his premature and sudden death 
 added greatly to the prevailing excitement. 
 Another man too was killed. At length the 
 conflict was brought to an end for the time, 
 but the excitement and the exasperation of 
 the peasantry were extreme. They carried the 
 two dead, bodies in procession to the capital, 
 to exhibit them to Latinus ; and they de- 
 manded, in the most earnest and determined 
 manner, that he should immediately make 
 war upon the whole Trojan horde, and drive 
 them back into the sea, whence they came. 
 
 Latinus found it extremely difficult to with- 
 stand this torrent. He remained firm for a 
 time, and made every exertion in his power to 
 quell the excitement and to pacify the minds 
 of his people. But all was. in vain. Public 
 
D.C. 1196.] Landing in Latium. 149 
 
 Preparation for war. Latimis. 
 
 sentiment turned hopelessly against the Tro- 
 jans, and JEneas soon found himself shut \rp 
 in his city, surrounded with enemies, and left 
 to his fate. Turnus was the leader of these foes. 
 
 He, however, did not despair. Both parties 
 began to prepare vigorously for war. ^neas 
 himself went away with a few followers to 
 some of the neighboring kingdoms, to get suc- 
 cor from them. ^Neighboring states are almost 
 always jealous of each other, and are easily 
 induced to take part against each other, when 
 involved in foreign wars, ^neas found sev- 
 eral of the Italian princes who were ready to 
 aid him, and he returned to his camp with 
 considerable reinforcements, and with prom- 
 ises of more. The war soon broke out, and 
 was waged for a long time with great deter- 
 mination on both sides and with varied suc- 
 cess. 
 
 Latinus, who was now somewhat advanced 
 in life, and had thus passed beyond the period 
 of ambition and love of glory, and who be- 
 sides must have felt that the interests of his 
 family were now indissolubly bound up in 
 those of ^neas and Lavinia, watched the 
 progress of the contest with a voy uneasy and 
 anxiousi mind. He found that for a time at 
 
150 EoMULus. [B.C. 1196. 
 
 The Trojans gradually gain ground. 
 
 least it would be out of his power to do any 
 thing cfi'octual to terminate the war, so he al- 
 lowed it to take its course, and contented him 
 self with waiting patiently, in hopes that an 
 occasion which would allow of his interposing 
 with some hope of success, would sooner or 
 later come. 
 
 Such an occasion did come ; for after the 
 war had been prosecuted for some time it was 
 found, that notwithstanding the disadvantages 
 under which the Trojans labored, thej were 
 rather gaining than losing ground. There 
 were in fact some advantages as well as some 
 disadvantages in their position. They formed 
 a compact and concentrated body, while their 
 enemies constituted a scattered population, 
 spreading in a more or less exposed condition 
 over a considerable extent of country. They 
 had neither flocks nor herds, nor any other 
 proj)erty for their enemies to plunder, while 
 the Rutulians and Latins had great posses- 
 sions, both of treasure in the towns and of 
 rural produce in the country, so that when the 
 Trojans gained the victory over them in any 
 sally or foray, they always came home laden 
 with booty, as well as exultant in triumph and 
 pride ; while if the Latins conquered the Tro- 
 
B.C. 1196.] Landing in Latium. 151 
 
 De3ii 3 for peace. Turnus opposes it. 
 
 jans in a battle, they had nothing but the 
 empty honor to reward them. The Trojans, 
 too, were hardy, enduring, and indomitable. 
 The alternative with them was yictory or de- 
 struction. Their protracted voyage, and the 
 long experience of hardships and suiFerings 
 which they had undergone, had inured them 
 to privation and toil, so that they proved to 
 the Latins and Rutulians to be very obstinate 
 and formidable foes. 
 
 At length, as usual in such cases, indica- 
 tions gradually appeared that both sides be- 
 gan to be weary of the contest. Latinus 
 availed himself of a favorable occasion which 
 offered, to propose that embassadors should be 
 sent to ^neas with terms of peace. Turnus 
 was very much opposed to any such plan. He 
 was earnestly desirous of continuing to prose- 
 cute the war. The other Latin chieftains rc- 
 i:)roached him then with being the cause of all 
 the calamities which they were enduring, and 
 urged the unreasonableness on his 2)art of de- 
 siring any longer to j)rotract the sufferings of 
 his unhappy country, merely to gratify his 
 own private resentment and revenge. Turnus 
 ought not any longer to ask, they said, that 
 others should fight in his quarrel ; and they 
 
152 Romulus. [B.C. 1106. 
 
 A proposal for single combat. 
 
 proposed that he should himself decide the 
 question between him and ^neas, by chal 
 lenging the Trojan leader to light him in 
 single combat. 
 
 Latinus strongly disapproved of this propo- 
 sal. He was weary of war and bloodshed, 
 and wished that the conflict might wholly 
 cease ; and he m'ged that peace should be 
 made with ^neas, and that his original de- 
 sign of giving him Lavinia for his wife should 
 be carried into execution. For a moment 
 Turnus seemed to hesitate, but in looking to- 
 wards Lavinia who, with Amata her mother, 
 was present at this consultation, he saw, or 
 thought he saw, in the agitation which she 
 manifested, proofs of her love for him, and 
 indications of a wish on her part that he and 
 not ^neas should win her for his bride. 
 
 He accordingly without any farther hesita- 
 tion or delay agreed to the proposal of the 
 counsellor. The challenge to single combat 
 was given and accepted, and on the appointed 
 day the ground w^as marked out for the duel, 
 and both armies were drawn up upon the field, 
 to be spectators of the fight. 
 
 After the usual preparations the conflict be- 
 gan ; but, as frequently occurs in such cases, 
 
B.C. 1196.J Landing IN Laiium. 153 
 
 RoBult of tlie combat. Marriage of .Eneas. 
 
 it was not long confined to the single pair of 
 combatants with which it commenced. Others 
 were gradually drawn in, and the duel be- 
 came in the end a general battle, ^neas and 
 the Trojans were victorious, and both Latinus 
 and Turnus were slain. This ended the war. 
 ^neas married Lavinia, and thenceforth 
 reigned with her over the kingdom of Latium 
 as its rightful sovereign. 
 
 ^neas lived several years after this, ana 
 has the credit, in history, of having managed 
 the affairs of the kingdom in a very wise and 
 provident manner. He had brought with him 
 from Troy the arts and the learning of the 
 Greeks, and these he introduced to his j)eople 
 BO as greatly to improve their condition. He 
 introduced, too, many ceremonies of religious 
 worship, which had prevailed in the countries 
 from w^hich he had come, or in those which 
 he had visited in his long voyage. These 
 ceremonies became at last so firmly establish- 
 ed among the religious observances of the 
 inhabitants of Latium, that they descended 
 from generation to generation, and in subse- 
 quent years exercised great influence, in 
 modeling the religious faith and worship of 
 the Koman people. They thus continued to 
 
154 Romulus. [B.C. 1190 
 
 iEaeas drowned in the Numicius. 
 
 be practiced for many ages, and, tlirougli the 
 literature of the Romans, became subsequent- 
 ly known and celebrated throughout the whole 
 civilized world. 
 
 At length, in a war which ^neas was wag- 
 ing with the Rutulians, he was once, after a 
 battle, reduced to great extremity of danger, 
 and in order to escape from his pursuers he 
 attempted to swim across a stream, and was 
 drowned. The name of this stream was 
 ISTumicius. It flowed into the sea a little north 
 of Lavinium. It must have been larger in 
 former times than it is now, for travelers who 
 visit it at the present day say that it is now 
 only a little rivulet, in which it would be 
 almost impossible for any one to be drowned. 
 
 The Trojan followers of -^neas concealed 
 his body, and spread the story among the 
 people of Latium that he had been taken up 
 to heaven. The people accordingly, having 
 before considered their king as the son of a 
 goddess, now looked upon him as himself 
 divine. They accordingly erected altars to 
 him in Latium, and thenceforth worshiped 
 him as a God. 
 
B.C. 800.] IUea Silvia. 155 
 
 Rhea Silvia. The order of vestal virjfina. 
 
 Chapter YII. 
 
 Khea Silvia. 
 
 RHEA SILYIA, the mother of RomuluB, 
 was a vestal virgin, who lived in the 
 kingdom of Latium about fonr hundred years 
 after the death of ^neas. A vestal virgin 
 was a sort of priestess, who was required, like 
 the nuns of modern times, to live in seclusion 
 from the rest of the world, and devote their 
 time wholly and without reserve to the ser- 
 vices of religion. They were, like nuns, 
 especially prohibited from all association and 
 intercourse with men. 
 
 ^neas himself is said to have founded the 
 order of vestal virgins, and to have instituted 
 the rites and services which were committed 
 to their charge. These rites and services were 
 in honor of Yesta, who was the goddess of v 
 Ilomc. The fireside has been, in all ages and 
 countries, the center and the symbol of home, 
 and the worship of Yesta consisted, accord- 
 ingly, of ceremonies designed to dignify and 
 exalt the fireside in the estimation of the 
 
156 EoMULus. [B.C. 800. 
 
 The ancient focus. Arrangement for fire. 
 
 people. Instead of tlie images and altars 
 whicli were used in the worship of the other 
 deities, a representation of a fire-stand was 
 made, such as were used in the houses of those 
 days ; and upon this sacred stand a fire was 
 kept continually burning, and various rites 
 and ceremonies were performed in connection 
 with it, in honor of the domestic virtues and 
 enjoyments, of which it was the type and 
 symbol. 
 
 These fire-stands, as used by the ancients, 
 were very difi'erent from the fire-places of 
 modern times, which are recesses in chimneys 
 with flues above for the passage of the smoke. 
 The household fires of the ancients were 
 placed in the center of the apartment, on a 
 hearth or supporter called the focus. This 
 hearth was made sometimes of stone or brick, 
 and sometimes of bronze. The smoke escaped 
 above, through openings in the roof. This 
 would seem, according to the ideas of the 
 present day, a very comfortless arrangement; 
 but it must be remembered that the climate 
 in those countries was mild, and there was 
 accordingly but little occasion for fire ; and 
 then, besides, such were the habits of the 
 people at this period of the world, that not 
 
B.C. 800.] Ehea Silvia. 157 
 
 Nature of the ceremonies instituted in honor of Veata. 
 
 oulj their j)ursuits and avocations, but far the 
 fi^reater portion of their pleasures, called them 
 into the open air. Still, the fire-place was, 
 with them as with us, the type and emblem 
 of domestic life ; and accordingly, in paying 
 divine honors to Yesta, the goddess of Home, 
 they set uj) ^focus^ or fire-place, in her tem- 
 ple, instead of an altar, and in the place of 
 sacrifices they simply kept burning upon it 
 a perpetual fire. 
 
 The priestesses who had charge of the fire 
 were selected for this purpose when they were 
 children. It was required that they should 
 be from six to ten years of age. When chosen 
 they were consecrated to the service of Yesta 
 \fj the most solemn ceremonies, and as vir 
 gins, were bound under awful penalties, to 
 spotless purity of life. As the perpetual fire 
 in the temple of Yesta represented the fire of 
 the domestic hearth, so tliese vestal virgins 
 represented the maidens by whom the domes- 
 tic service of a household is performed ; and 
 the life of seclusion and celibacy which was 
 required of them was the emblem of the in- 
 nocence and purity which the institution of 
 the family is expressly intended to guard. 
 The duties of the vestals were analo£:ous tc 
 
15S EoMULUs. [B.C. 800. 
 
 Her vestal virgins. Their duties. 
 
 those of domestic maidens. They were to 
 watcli the fire, and never to allow it to go out. 
 They were to perform various rites and cere- 
 iTionies connected with the worship of Yesta, 
 and to keep the interior of the temple and tlie 
 shrines pure and clean, and the sacred vessels 
 and utensils arranged, as in a well-ordered 
 household. In a word, they w^ere to be, in 
 purity, in industry, in neatness, in order, and 
 in patience and vigilance, the perfect imper- 
 sonation of maidenly virtue as exhibited in its 
 own proper field of duty at home. 
 
 The most awful penalties were visited u23on 
 the head of any vestal virgin who was guilty 
 of violating her vows. There is no direct evi- 
 dence what these j)enalties were at this early 
 period, but in subsequent years, at Rome, 
 where the vestal virgins resided, the man who 
 was guilty of enticing one of them away from 
 her duty was publicly scourged to death in 
 the Roman forum. For the vestal herself, 
 thus led away, a cell was dug beneath the 
 ground, and vaulted over. A pit led down to 
 this subterranean dungeon, entering it by one 
 3ide. In the dungeon itself there was placed 
 a table, a lamp, and a little food. The descei.t 
 was by a ladder which passed down through 
 
B.C.800.J Ehea Silvia. 159 
 
 Terrible punishment for those who violated their vowa. 
 
 the pit. The place of this terrible preparation 
 for 2)unishment was near one of the gates of 
 the citj, and when all was ready the unhappy 
 vestal was brought forth, at the head of a 
 great j)ublic procession, — she herself being 
 attended by her friends and relatives, all 
 mourning and lamenting her fate by the way. 
 The ceremony, in a word, was in all respects 
 a funeral, except that the person who was to 
 be buried was still alive. On arriving at the 
 spot, the wretched criminal was conducted 
 down the ladder and placed upon the couch 
 in tlie cell. The assistants who performed 
 this service then returned; the ladder was 
 drawn up ; earth was thrown in until the pit 
 was filled ; and the erring girl was left to her 
 fate, which was, when her lamp had burned 
 out, and her food was expended, to starve by 
 slow degrees, and die at last in darkness and 
 despair. 
 
 If we would do full justice to the ancient 
 founders of civilization and empire, we should 
 probably consider their enshrinement of 
 Yesta, and the contriving of the ceremonies 
 and observances which were instituted in 
 honor of her, not as the setting up of an idol 
 or false god, for worship, in tlie sense in 
 
160 EoMULus. [B.C. 80a 
 
 Similar observances in modern times. 
 
 whicli Christian nations worsliip the spiritual 
 and eternal Jehovah — but rather as the em 
 bodiment of an idea, — a principle, — as tho 
 best means, in those rude ages, of attracting 
 to it the general regard. 
 
 Even in our own days, and in Christian 
 lands, men erect a pole in honor of liberty, 
 and surmount it with the image of a cap. 
 .A.nd if, instead of the cap, they were to place 
 a carved efO^gy of liberty above, and to as- 
 semble for periodical celebrations below, with 
 games, and music, and banners, we should 
 not probably call them idolaters. So Chris- 
 tian poets write odes and invocations to Peace, 
 to Disappointment, to Spring, to Beauty, in 
 which they impersonate an idea, or a princi- 
 ple, and address it in the language of adora- 
 tion, as if it were a sentient being, possessing 
 magical and mysterious powers. In the same 
 manner, the rites and celebrations of ancient 
 times are not necessarily all to be considered 
 as idolatry, and denounced as inexcusably 
 wicked and absurd. Our fathers set up an 
 image in honor of liberty, to strengthen tho 
 influence of the love of liberty on the popular 
 mind. It is possible that^neas looked upon 
 the subject in the same light, in erecting a 
 
B.C. 800.] Rhea Silvia. 161 
 
 Influence of the vestal institution. Cervjmoniea. 
 
 public fireside in honor of domestic peace 
 and happiness, and in designating maidens to 
 guard it with constant vigilance and with 
 spotless purity. At all events, the institution 
 exercised a vast and an incalculable power, 
 in impressing the minds of men, in those rude 
 ages, with a sense of the sacredness of the 
 domestic tie, and in keeping before their 
 minds a high standard, in theory at least, ot 
 domestic honor and purity. We must re- 
 member that they had not then the word of 
 God, nor any means of communicating to the 
 minds of the people any general enlighten- 
 ment and instruction. They were obliged, 
 therefore, to resort to the next best method 
 which their ingenuity could devise. 
 
 There were a great many very extraordinary 
 rites and ceremonies connected with the ser- 
 vice of the vestal altar, and many singular 
 regulations for the conduct of it, the origin 
 and design of which it would now be very 
 difficult to ascertain. As has already been 
 remarked, the virgins were chosen when very 
 young, being, when designated to the office, 
 not under six nor over ten years of age. They 
 were chosen by the king, and it was necessary 
 tliat the candidate, besides the above-named 
 
 L 
 
162 Romulus. [B.C. 800. 
 
 Qualifications of the candidate. Term of sar vice. 
 
 requisite in regard to age, should be in a 
 perfect condition of soundness and health in 
 respect to all her bodily limbs and members, 
 and also to the faculties of her mind. It was 
 required too that she should be the daughter 
 of free and freeborn parents, who had never 
 been in slavery, and had never followed any 
 menial or degrading occupation ; and also 
 that both her parents should be living. To 
 be an orphan was considered, it seems, in 
 some sense an imperfection. 
 
 The service of the vestal virgins continued 
 for thirty years; and when this period had 
 expired, the maidens were discharged from 
 their vows, and were allowed, if they chose, 
 to lay aside their vestal robes, and the other 
 emblems of their office, and return to the 
 world, with the privilege even of marrying, 
 if they chose to do so. Though the laws how- 
 ever permitted this, there was a public senti- 
 ment against it, and it was seldom that any 
 of the vestal priestesses availed themselves 
 of the privilege. They generally remained 
 after their term of service had expired, in at- 
 tendance at the temple, and died as they had 
 lived in the service of the goddess. 
 
 One of the chief functions of the virgins, id 
 
B.C. 800.] KiiEA biLviA. 163 
 
 The sacrod fire. Punishment for neglect of duty. 
 
 their service in the temple, was to keep the 
 sacred iire jDcrpetually biirniDg. This fire 
 was never to go out, and if, by any neglect 
 on the part of the vestal in attendance, this 
 M^as allowed to occur, the guilty maiden was 
 2)unished terribly by scourging. Tlie punish- 
 ment was inflicted by the hands of the high- 
 est pontifical officer of the state. The laws 
 of the institution however evinced their high 
 regard for the purity and modesty of the ves- 
 tal maidens by requiring that the blows should 
 be administered in the dark, the sufferer hav- 
 ing been previously prepared to receive them 
 by being partially undressed by her female 
 attendants. The extinguished fire was then 
 rekindled with many solemn ceremonies. 
 
 Ehea Silvia, the mother of Eomulus, was, 
 we repeat, a vestal virgin. She lived fou/ 
 hundred years after the death of ^neas. 
 During these four centuries, the kingdom 
 had been governed by the descendants of I 
 ^neas, generally in a peaceful and prosperous \ 
 manner, although some difficulties occurred 
 in the establishment of the succession imme- 
 diately after ^neas's death. It will be re- 
 membered that JEneas was drowned during 
 the continuance of the war. He left one son, 
 
164 Homulus. [B.C. 800, 
 
 Question in regard to the succession. 
 
 and perhaps others. The one who figured 
 most conspicuously in the subsequent history 
 of the kingdom, was Ascanius, the son who 
 had accompanied ^neas from Troy, and who 
 had now attained to years of maturity. He, 
 of course, on his father's death, immediately 
 succeeded him. 
 
 There was some question, however, wheth- 
 er, after all, Lavinia herself was not entitled 
 to the kingdom. It was doubtful, according 
 to the laws and usages of those days, whether 
 ^neas held the realm in his own right, or as 
 the husband of Lavinia, who was the daughter 
 and heir of Latinus, the ancient and legiti 
 mate king. Lavinia, however, seemed tc 
 have no disposition to assert her claim. She 
 was of a mild and gentle spirit ; and, besides, 
 her health was at that time such as to lead 
 her to wish for retirement and repose. She 
 even had some fears for her personal safety, 
 not k/iowing but that Ascanius would be sus- 
 picious and jealous of her on account of her 
 claims to the throne, and that he might be 
 tempted to do her some injury. Her husband 
 had been her only protector among the Tro- 
 jans, and now, since he was no more, and 
 another, who was in some sense her rival, had 
 
B.C.1190.] Rhea Silvia. 105 
 
 Orisin of the name Silvius. 
 
 risen to power, slie naturally felt insecure. 
 She accordingly took the first opportunity to 
 retire from Lavinium. She went aw^ay into 
 the forests in the interior of the country, with 
 a very few attendants and friends, and con- 
 cealed herself there in a safe retreat. The 
 family that received and sheltered her, was 
 that of Tyrrheus, the chief of her father's 
 shepherds, whose children's stag Ascanius 
 had formerly killed. Here, in a short time, 
 she had a son. She determined to name him 
 from his father ; and in order to commemorate 
 his havino^ been born in the midst of the wild 
 forest scenes which surrounded her at the 
 time of his birth, she called him in ful], 
 ^neas of the woods, or, as it was expressed 
 in the lano-uas-e which was then used in La- 
 tium, -zEneas Silvius. The boy, when he grew 
 np, w^as always known by this name in sub- 
 sequent history. 
 
 And not only did he himself retain the 
 name, but he transmitted it to his posterity, 
 for all the kings that afterward descended 
 from him, extending in a long line through a 
 period of four hundred years, had the word 
 Sylvius affixed to their names, in perpetual 
 commemoration of the romantic birth of their 
 
166 KoMULus. [B.C. 1185. 
 
 Iliatorj of Ascaiiius. Hia war with Mezentius. 
 
 ancestor. Rhea, the mother of Romulus, of 
 whom we have already spoken, of and wlioni 
 we shall presently have occasion to speak still 
 more, was Rhea Silvia^ by reason of her hav- 
 ing been by birth a princess of this royal 
 line. 
 
 Ascanius, in the mean time, on the death 
 of his father, w^as for a time so engrossed in 
 the prosecution of the war, that he paid but 
 little attention to the departure of Lavinia. 
 The name of the king of the Rutulians who 
 fought against him was Mezentius. Mezen- 
 tius had a son named Lausns, and both father 
 and son were personally serving in the army 
 by which Ascanius was besieged in Lavinium. 
 Mezentius had command in the camp, at the 
 head-quarters of the army, which was at some 
 distance from the city. Lausus headed an 
 advanced guard, which had established itself 
 strongly at a post which they had taken near 
 the gates. In this state of things, Ascanius, 
 one dark and stormy night, planned a sortie. 
 fie organized a desperate body of followers, 
 and after watching the flashes of lightning for 
 a time, to find omens from them indicating 
 success, he gave the signal. The gates were 
 opened and the column of armed men sallied 
 
B.C.1185.] EiiEA Silvia. 167 
 
 The Trojans victorious. Settlement of the kingdom. 
 
 forth, creeping noiselessly forward in the 
 darkness and gloom, until they came to the 
 encampment of Lausus. They fell upon this 
 camp with an irresistible rush, and with ter- 
 rific shouts and outcries. The whole detach- 
 ment w^ere taken entirely by surprise, and 
 great numbers w^ere made prisoners or slain. 
 Lausus himself was killed. 
 
 Excited by their \'Ictoiy, the Trojan soldiers, 
 lieaded by Ascanius, now turned their course 
 toward the main body of the Kutulian army. 
 Mezentius had, however, in the mean time, 
 obtained warning of their approach, and when 
 they reached his camp he was ready to re- 
 treat. He fled with all his forces toward the 
 mountains. Ascanius and the Trojans fol- 
 lo^\'ed him. Mezentius halted and attempted 
 to fortify himself on a hill. Ascanius sur- 
 rounded the hill, and soon compelled his ene- 
 mies to come to terms. A treaty was made, 
 and Mezentius and his forces soon after with- 
 drew from the country, leaving Ascanius and 
 Latium in peace. 
 
 Ascanius then, after having in some degree 
 settled his affairs, began to think of Lavinia. 
 In fact, the Latian portion of his subjects 
 Bcemed disposed to murmur and complain, at 
 
168 KoMULus. [B.C. 1185. 
 
 Lavinia recalled. The building of Alba Longa. 
 
 her having been compelled to witlidraw from 
 her own paternal kingdom, in order to leave 
 tlie throne to the occupancy of the son of a 
 stranger. Some even feared that she had 
 come to some harm, or that Ascanins might 
 in the end put her to death when time had 
 been allowed for the recollection of her to pass 
 in some degree from the minds of men. So 
 the public began generally to call for La- 
 vinia's return. 
 
 Ascanius seems to have been well disposed 
 .0 do justice in the case, for he not only sought 
 out Lavinia and induced her to return to the 
 capital with her little son, but he finally con- 
 cluded to give up Lavinium to her entirely, as 
 her own rightful dominion, w^hile he went 
 away and founded a new city for himself. He 
 accordingly explored the country around for 
 a favorable site, and at length decided upon 
 a spot nearly north of Lavinium, and not man^* 
 miles distant from it. The place which he 
 marked out for the w^alls of the city was at 
 the foot of a mountain, on a tract of somewhat 
 elevated ground, which formed one of the 
 lower declivities of it. The mountain, risine: 
 abruptly on one side, formed a sure defense 
 on that side : on the other side was a small 
 
B.C. 1185.] Ehea Silvia. 169 
 
 Situation of Alba Longa. Tho name. 
 
 lake, of clear and pellucid water. In front, 
 and somewhat below, there were extended 
 plains of fertile land. Ascanius, after having 
 determined on this place as the site of his in- 
 tended city, set his men at work to make the 
 necessary constructions. Some built the walls 
 of the city, and laid out streets and erected 
 houses within. Others were employed in 
 forming the declivity of the mountain above 
 into terraces, for the cultivation of the vine. 
 The slopes which they thus graded had a 
 southern exposure, and the grapes v/hich sub- 
 sequently grew there, were luxurious and de- 
 licious in flavor. From the little lake chan- 
 nels ^veYe cut leading over the plains below, 
 and by this means a constant suj)ply of water 
 could be conveyed to the fields of grain which 
 were to be sown there, for purposes of irriga- 
 tion. Thus the place which Ascanius chose 
 furnished all possible facilities both for main- 
 taining, and also for defending the people who 
 were to make it their abode. The town was 
 (•ailed Alba Longa, that is long Alba. It was 
 called long to distinguish it from another Alba. 
 It was really long in its form, as the buildings 
 extended for a considerable distance along the 
 border of the lake. 
 
170 EoMULus. fB.C. 1155. 
 
 Successor to Ascanius. Perplexing question. 
 
 Ascaniiis reigned over thirty years at Alba 
 Longa, while Lavinia reigned at Lavinium. 
 each friendly to the other and governing the 
 country at large, together, in peace and har- 
 niony. In process of time both died. Asca 
 nius left a son whose name was lulus, whilo 
 .^neas Sylvius was Lavinia's heir. 
 
 There was, of course, great diversity of 
 opinion throughout the nation in regard to 
 the comparative claims of these two princes, 
 respectively. Some maintained that .^neas 
 the Trojan became, by conquest, the rightful 
 sovereign of Latium, irrespective of any rights 
 that he acquired through his marriage with 
 Lavinia, and that lulus, as the son of his eld- 
 est son, rightfully succeeded him. Others 
 contended that Lavinia represented the an 
 cient and the truly legitimate royal line, and 
 that ^neas Silvius, as her son and heir, ought 
 to be placed upon the throne. And there 
 were those who proposed to compromise the 
 -juestion, by dividing Latium into two separ- 
 ate kingdoms, giving up one part to lulus, 
 with Alba Longa for its capital, and the other, 
 with Lavinium for its capital, to ^neas Silvius, 
 Lavinia's heir. This proposition was, hov/- 
 evor, overruled. The two kingdoms, thus 
 
B.C. 1155.] Ehea Silvia. 171 
 
 Settlement of the question. Tiberinus. 
 
 formed would be small and feeble, it was 
 tlioiiglit, and unable to defend themselves 
 against the other Italian nations in case of 
 war. The question was finally settled by a 
 different sort of compromise. It was agreed 
 that Latium should retain its integrity, and 
 that ^neas Silvius, being the son both of 
 JEneas and Lavinia, and thus representing 
 both branches of the reigning power, should 
 1)0 the king, while lulus and his descendants 
 forever, should occupy the position, scarcely 
 less inferior, of sovereign power in matters of 
 religion, ^neas Silvius, therefore, and his 
 descendants, became hings^ and as such com- 
 manded the armies and directed the aifairs of 
 state, while lulus and his family were exalted, 
 in connection with them, to the highest pon- 
 tifical dignities. 
 
 This state of things, once established, con- 
 tinued age after age, and century after cen- 
 tury, for about four hundred years. No rec- 
 ords, and very few traditions in respect to 
 what occurred during this j)eriod remain. 
 One circumstance, however, took place which 
 caused itself to be remembered. There was 
 one king in the line of the Silvii, whose namo 
 was Tiberinus. In one of his battles with the 
 
172 E OMUL us. [B.C. 800. 
 
 The story of AUadius and his thunder. 
 
 armies of the nation adjoining him on the 
 northern side, he attempted to swim across 
 the river that formed the frontier. He was 
 forced down by the current, and ^vas seen no 
 more. By the accident, however, he gave 
 the name of Tiber to the stream, and thus per- 
 petuated his own memory through the subse- 
 quent renown of the river in w^hich he was 
 drowmed. Before tliis time the river w^as 
 called the Albula. 
 
 Another incident is related, which is some- 
 what curious, as illustrating the ideas and 
 customs of the times. One of this Silvian 
 line of sovereigns was named Alladius. This 
 Alladius conceived the idea of making the 
 people believe that he w^as a god, and in 
 order to accomplish this end he resorted to 
 the contrivance of imitating, by artificial 
 means, the sound of the rumbling of thunder 
 and the flashes of lightning at night, from his 
 palace on the banks of the lake at Alba 
 Longa. He employed, probably, for this 
 purpose some means similar to those resorted 
 to for the same end in theatrical spectacles at 
 the present day. The people, however, w^ere 
 not deceived by this imposture, though they 
 Boon after fell into an error nearly as absurd 
 
B.C. 800.] Ehea Silvia. 175 
 
 Death of Alladius. Superslitions. 
 
 as believing in this false thunder would have 
 been ; for, on an occasion which occurred not 
 long afterward, probably that of a great storm 
 accompanied witli torrents of rain upon the 
 mountains around, the lake rose so high as to 
 produce an inundation, in which the water 
 broke into the palace, and the pretended 
 thunderer was drowned. The people consid 
 ered that he was destroyed thus by the special 
 interposition of heaven, to punish him for his 
 impiety in daring to assume what was then 
 considered the peculiar attribute and preroga 
 tive of supreme divinity. In fact, the rumor 
 circulated, and one historian has recorded it 
 as true, that Alladius was struck by the light- 
 ning which accompanied the storm, and thus 
 killed at once by the terrible agency which 
 he had presumed to counterfeit, before the 
 inundation of the palace came on. If he met 
 his death in any sudden and unusual manner, 
 it is not at all surprising that his fate should 
 have been attributed to the judgment of God, 
 for thunder was regarded in those days with 
 an extreme and superstitious veneration and 
 awe. All this is, however, now changed. 
 Men have learned to understand thimder, and 
 to protect themselves from its power ; and 
 
174 EoMULus. [B.C. 80^^. 
 
 Numitor and Amulius. Their respective characters, 
 
 now, since Franklin and Morse liave com- 
 menced the work of subduing the potent and 
 mysterious agent in which it originates, to the 
 Imman will, the presumption is not very 
 strong against the supposition that the time 
 may come when human science may actually 
 produce it in the sky — as it is now produced, 
 in effect, upon the lecturer's table. 
 
 At last, toward the close of the four hun- 
 dred years during which the dynasty of the 
 Sylvii continued to reign over Latium, a cer- 
 tain monarch of the series died, leaving two 
 children, iN^umitor and Amulius. Numitor 
 was the eldest son, and as such entitled to 
 succeed his father. Eut he was of a quiet 
 and somewhat inefficient disposition, while 
 his younger brother was ardent and ambi- 
 tious, and very likely to aspire to the posses- 
 sion of power. The father, it seems, antici- 
 pated the possibility of dissension between 
 his sons after his death, and in order to do 
 all in his power to guard against it, he en- 
 deavored to arrange and settle the succession 
 before he died. In the course of the negotia- 
 tions which ensued, Amulius proposed that 
 his father's possessions should be divided into 
 two portions, the kingdom to constitute one, 
 
B.C. 800] Ehea Silvia. 175 
 
 Division of their father's possessiona. 
 
 and the wealth and treasures the other, and 
 that l^umitor should choose which portion 
 he would have. This proposal seemed to 
 have the appearance, at least, of reasonable- 
 ness and impartiality ; and it would have 
 been really very reasonable, if the right to 
 the inheritance thus disposed of, had belonged 
 equally to the younger and to the elder son. 
 But it did not. And thus the offer of Amu- 
 lius was, in effect, a proposition to divide with 
 himself that which really belonged wholly to 
 his brother. 
 
 l^umitor, however, who, it seems, was little 
 disposed to contend for his rights, agreed to 
 this proposal. He, however, chose the king- 
 dom^ and left the wealth for his brother ; and 
 the inheritance was accordingly thus divided 
 on the death of the father. But Amulius, as 
 soon as he came into possession of his treas- 
 ures, began to employ them as a means of 
 making j)Owerful friends, and strengthening 
 his political influence. In due time he usurped 
 the throne, and I^umitor, giving uf the con- 
 test with very little attempt to resist tlie usur- 
 pation, fled and concealed himself in some 
 obscure place of retreat. He had, however, 
 two children, a son and a daughter, which he 
 
176 RoMTjLus. [B.C. 800. 
 
 Policy of Numitor. Death of Egestus. 
 
 left behmd him in liis flight. Amulius feared 
 that these children might, at some future 
 time, give him trouble, by advancing claims 
 as their father's heirs. He did not dare to 
 kill them openly, for fear of exciting the 
 popular odium against himself. He was 
 obliged, therefore, to resort to stratagem. 
 
 The son, whose name was Egestus, he 
 caused to be slain at a hunting party, by 
 employing remorseless and desperate men to 
 shoot him, in the heat of the chase, with ar- 
 rows, or thrust him through with a spear, 
 watching their opportunity for doing this at 
 a moment when they were not observed, or 
 when it might appear to be an accident. The 
 daughter, whose name was Hhea — the Khea 
 Silvia named at the commencement of this 
 chapter — ^he could not well actually destroy, 
 without being known to be her murderer ; and 
 perhaps too, he had enough remaining hu- 
 manity to be unwilling to shed the blood of a 
 helpless and beautiful maiden, the daughter, 
 too, of his own brother. Then, besides, hu 
 had a daughter of his own named Antho, who 
 was the playmate and companion of Rhea, 
 and with whose affection for her cousin ho 
 must have felt some sympathy. He woitld 
 
B.C. 800.] Ehea SiL7iA. 177 
 
 Rhea enters upon her duties as a vesttil virgin. 
 
 not, therefore, destroy the child, but contented 
 himself with determininfj; to make her a vestal 
 virgin. By this means she would be solemnly 
 set apart to a religious service, which would 
 iiica]3acitate her from aspiring to the throne ; 
 and by being cut off, by her vestal vows, from 
 all possibility of forming any domestic ties, 
 she could never, he thought, have any off- 
 spring to dispute his claim to the throne. 
 
 There was nothing very extraordinary^ in 
 this consecration of his niece, princess as she 
 was, to the service of the vestal fire ; for it 
 had been customary for children of the high- 
 est rank to be designated to this office. The 
 little Khea, for she w^as yet a child when her 
 uncle took this determination in respect to 
 her, made, as would appear, no objection to 
 what she perhaps considered a distinguished 
 honor. The ceremonies, therefore, of her 
 consecration were duly performed ; she took 
 the vows, and bound herself by the most aw- 
 ful sanctions — unconscious, however, perhaps, 
 herself of what she was doing — to lead thence- 
 foith a life of absolute celibacy and seclusion. 
 
 She was the-i received into the temple of 
 Vesta, and there, with the other maidens who 
 had been consecrated before li or, she devoted 
 
 M 
 
178 EoMULus. [B.C. 800 
 
 Unexpected events announced. 
 
 herself to the discharge of the duties of her 
 office, without reproach, for several years. 
 At length, however, certain circumstance& 
 occurred, which suddenly terminated Rhea's 
 career as a vestal virgin, and led to results 
 of the most momentous character. What 
 these circumstances were, will be explained 
 in the next chapter. 
 
B.C. 774.] The Twins. 179 
 
 The tomple of Mars at Alba. Its situation. 
 
 Chapter YIII. 
 The Twins. 
 
 A LTHOUGH the temple of Yesta itself, at 
 -^^^ Alba Longa, was the principal scene of 
 the duties which devolved upon the vestal vir- 
 gins, still they w^ere not wholly confined in their 
 avocations to that sacred edifice, but w^ere 
 often called upon, one or two at a time, to 
 perform services, or to assist in the celebra- 
 tion of rites, at other places in the city and 
 vicinity. 
 
 There was a temple consecrated to Mars 
 near to Alba. It was situated in an opening 
 in the w^oods, in some little glen or valley at 
 the base of the mountain. There was a stream 
 of water runniug tlirough the ground, and 
 Rhea in the performance of her duties as a 
 v^estal was required at one time to pass to and 
 fj'o through the groves in this solitary place to 
 fetch w^ater. Here she allowed herself, in 
 violation of her vestal vows, to form the ac- 
 quaintance of a man, whom she met in the 
 groves. She knew well that by doing so s^.^q 
 
180 
 
 Rhea's fault. 
 
 Romulus. 
 
 Her excuse. 
 
 [B.C. 774. 
 
 The wolf story. 
 
 '=.^. <s ^^. .ffA 
 
 Rhea Silvia. 
 
 made herself subject to the most dreadful 
 penalties in case her fault should hecome 
 known. Still she yielded to the temptation, 
 and allowed herself to be persuaded to re- 
 main with the stranger. She said afterward, 
 when the facts were brought to light, that her 
 meeting with this companion was v/holly un- 
 intentional on her part. She saw a wolf in 
 the grove, she said, and she ran terrified into 
 a cave to escape from him, and that the man 
 
B.C. 774.] The Twins. 181 
 
 Ehea ia trouble. Antho. Birth of her sons. 
 
 came to her there, to protect her, and then 
 compelled her to remain with him. Besides, 
 from his dress, and countenance, and air, she 
 bad believed him, she said, to be the God 
 Mars himself, and thought that it was not hoi 
 duty to resist his will. 
 
 However this may be, her stolen interview 
 or interviews with this stranger were not 
 known at the time, and Rhea perhaps thought 
 that her fault would never be discovered. 
 Some weeks after this, however, it was ob- 
 served by her companions and friends that 
 she began to appear thoughtful and de- 
 pressed. Her dejection increased day by 
 day ; her face became wan and pale, and her 
 eyes were often filled with tears. They asked 
 her what was the cause of her trouble. She 
 said that she was sick. She was soon afterward 
 excused from her duties in the Yestal temple, 
 and went away, and remained for some time 
 shut up in retirement and seclusion. There at 
 length two children, twins, were born to her. 
 
 It was only through the influence of Antho, 
 Rhea's cousin, that the unhappy vestal was 
 not put to death by Amulius, before her chil- 
 dren were born, at the time when her fault 
 was first discovered. The laws of the State 
 
182 E OMUL us. [B.C. 774. 
 
 The anger of Amulius. Rhea imprisoned. 
 
 ill respect to vestal virgms, which were inex- 
 orably severe, would have justified him iu 
 causing her to be executed at once, but Antho 
 interceded so earnestly for her unhappy cou- 
 sin, that Amulius for a time spared her life. 
 When, however, her sons were born, the anger 
 of Amulius broke out anew. If she had re- 
 mained childless he would probably have al- 
 lowed her to live, though she could of course 
 never have been restored to her office in the 
 temple of Yesta. Or if she had given birth 
 to a daughter she might have been pardoned, 
 since a daughter, on account of her sex, would 
 have been little likely to disturb Amulius in 
 the possession of the kingdom. But the ex- 
 istence of two sons, born directly in the line 
 of the succession, and each of them having 
 claims superior to his own, endangered, most 
 imminently, he perceived, his possession of 
 power. He was of course greatly enraged. 
 
 He caused E,hea to be shut up in close im- 
 prisonment, and as for the boys, he ordered 
 them to be thrown into the Tiber. The Tiber 
 was at some considerable distance from Alba ; 
 but it was probably near the place where 
 Rhea Lad resided in her retirement, and 
 where the children were born. 
 
B.C.Y74,] The Twins. 183 
 
 Faustulus. His plan The box that be made. 
 
 A peasant of that region was intrusted with 
 the task of throwing the children into the 
 river. Whether his official duty in undertak 
 ing this commission required him actually to 
 drown the boys, or w^hether he was allowed 
 to give the helpless babes some little chance 
 for their lives, is not known. At all events 
 he determined that in committing the children 
 to the stream he would so arrange it that they 
 should float away from his sight, in order that 
 he might not himself be a witness of their 
 dying struggles and cries. He accordingly 
 put them upon a species of float that he made, 
 — a sort of box or trough, as would seem from 
 the ancient descriptions, which he had hol- 
 lowed out from a log, — and disposing their 
 little limbs carefully within this narrow re- 
 ceptacle, he pushed the frail boat, with its 
 navigators still more frail, out upon the cur- 
 rent of the river. 
 
 The name of the peasant who performed 
 this task was Faustulus. The peasant also 
 who subsequently, — as will hereafter appear, 
 — found and took charge of the children, is 
 spoken of by the ancient historians as Fans* 
 tulus, too. In fact we might well suppose 
 that no man, however rustic and rude, could 
 
184 
 
 Romulus. 
 
 [B.C. 774. 
 
 He follows tlie stream. 
 
 
 Faustulus and the Twins. 
 
 give his time and liis thoughts to two such 
 hahes long enough to make an ark for them, 
 for the purpose of making it possible to 
 save their lives, and then place them care- 
 fully in it to send them away, without becom- 
 ing so far interested in their fate, and so 
 touched by their mute and confiding helpless- 
 ness, as to feel prompted to follow the stream 
 to see how so perilous a navigation would end. 
 "We have, however, no direct evidence that 
 
B.C. 774.] The Twins. 185 
 
 Tlio children tbrown out upou tlio stiiul. Tho wolf. 
 
 Faustulus did so watcli the progress of Ins 
 boat down the river. The story is that it 
 was drifted along, now whirling in eddies, 
 and now shooting down over rapid currents, 
 until at last, at a bend in the river, it was 
 thrown upon the beach, and being turned over 
 by the concussion, the children were rolled out 
 up3n the sand. 
 
 The neighboring thickets soon of course re- 
 sounded with their plaintive cries. A mother 
 wolf who was sleeping there came out to see 
 what was the matter. Now a mother, of 
 whatever race, is irresistibly drawn by an in- 
 stinct^ii incaj)able of a sentiment^ of affection, 
 to love and to cherish any thing that is newly 
 born. The wolf caressed the helpless babes, 
 imagining perha23S that they were her own 
 offspring ; and lying down by their side she 
 cherished and fed them, watching all the time 
 with a fierce and vigilant eye for any ap- 
 proaching enemy or danger. The rude nur- 
 sery might very naturally be supposed to be 
 in dangerous proximity to the water, but it 
 happened that the river, when the babes were 
 set adrift in it, was very high, from the effect 
 of rains upon the mountains, and thus soon 
 after the children w^ere thrown upon the land, 
 
186 KoMULUs. [B.C. 774. 
 
 The woodpecker. The children rescued by Faustulus. 
 
 the water began to subside. In a short time 
 it wholy returned to its accustomed channel, 
 leaving the children on the warm sand, high 
 above all danger. The wolf was not their 
 only guardian. A woodpecker, the tradition 
 Bays, watched over them too, and brought 
 them berries and other sylvan food. The 
 reader will perhaps be disposed to hesitate a 
 little in receiving this last statement for sober 
 history, but as no part of the whole narrative 
 will bear any very rigid scrutiny, we may as 
 well take the story of the woodpecker along 
 with the rest. 
 
 In a short time the children were rescued 
 from their exposed situation by a shepherd, who 
 is called Faustulus, and may or may not have 
 been the same with the Faustulus by whom 
 they had been exposed. Faustulus carried 
 the children to his hut ; and there the mater- 
 nal attentions of the wolf and the woodpeckei 
 w^ere replaced by those of the shepherd's wife. 
 Her name was Larentia. Faustulus was one 
 of Amulius's herdsmen, having the care of 
 the flocks and herds that grazed on this part 
 of the royal domain, but living, like any other 
 shepherd, in great seclusion, in his hut in the 
 forests. He not only rescued the children, 
 
B.C. 774.] The Twn^s. 187 
 
 He carries the children home. Their education. 
 
 but lie broiiglit home and preserved the trough 
 in which they had been floated down the river. 
 Jle put this relic aside, thinking that the daj 
 might perhaps come in which there would bo 
 occasion to produce it. He told the story of 
 the children only to a very few trustworthy 
 friends, and he accompanied the communica- 
 tion, in the cases where he made it, with 
 many injunctions of secrecy. He named the 
 foundlings Romulus and Remus, and as they 
 grew up they passed generally for the shep- 
 herd's sons. 
 
 Faustulus felt a great degree of interest, 
 and a high sense of responsibility too, in hav- 
 ing these young princes under his care. He 
 took great pains to protect them from all pos- 
 sible harm, and to instruct them in every thing 
 which it was in those days considered impor- 
 tant for young men to know. It is even said 
 that he sent them to a town in Latium where 
 there was some sort of seminary of learning, 
 that their minds might receive a proper intel- 
 lectual culture. As they grew up they were 
 both handsome in form and in countenance, 
 and were characterized by a graceful dignity 
 of air and demeanor, which made them very 
 attractive in the eyes of all who beheld them. 
 
188 KoMULus. [B.C. 774. 
 
 The character of the boys. 
 
 They were prominent among tlie young herds- 
 men and hunters of the forest, for their cour- 
 age, their activity, their strength, their various 
 personal accomplishments, and their high and 
 generous qualities of mind. Komulus was 
 more silent and thoughtful than his brother, 
 and seemed to possess in some respects supe- 
 rior mental powers. Both were regarded by 
 all who knew them with feelings of the high- 
 est respect and consideration. 
 
 Romulus and Remus treated their own com- 
 panions and equals, that is the young shep- 
 herds and herdsmen of the mountains, with 
 great courtesy and kindness, and were very 
 kindly regarded by them in return. They, 
 however, evinced a great degree of independ- 
 ence of spirit in respect to the various bailiffs 
 and chief herdsmen, and other officers of field 
 and forest police, who exercised authority in 
 tlie region where they lived. These men were 
 sometimes haughty and domineering, and the 
 peasantry in general stood greatly in awe of 
 them. Romulus and Remus, however, always 
 faced them without fear, never seeming to be 
 alarmed at their threats, or at any other ex- 
 hibitions of their anger. In fact, the boys 
 Reemed to be imbued with a native loftiness 
 
B.C. 760.] The Twins. 189 
 
 Romulus and Remus are generoufi and brave. 
 
 and fearlessness of character, as if they had 
 inherited a spirit of confidence and courago 
 with their royal blood, or had imbibed a por 
 tion of the indomitable temper of their fierce 
 foster mother. 
 
 They were generous, however, as well as 
 brave. They took the part of the weak and 
 the oppressed against the tyrannical and the 
 strong in the rustic contentions that they wit- 
 nessed ; they interposed to help the feeble, to 
 relieve those who were in want, and to pro- 
 tect the defenseless. They hunted wild 
 beasts, they fought against robbers, they 
 rescued and saved the lost. For amusements, 
 they practiced running, wrestling, racing, 
 throwing javelins and spears, and other ath- 
 letic feats and accomplishments — in every 
 thing excelling all their competitors, and be- 
 coming in the end greatly renowned. 
 
 JSTumitor, the father of Ehea Silvia, whom 
 Amulius had dethroned and banished from 
 Alba, was all this time still living; and ho 
 had now at length become so far reconciled 
 to Amulius as to be allowed to reside in Alb?* 
 —though he lived there as a private citizen. 
 lie owned, it seems, some estates near the 
 Tiber, where he had flocks and herds that 
 
190 KoMULus. [B.C. 760, 
 
 Quarrel among the herdsmen. 
 
 were tended by his shepherds and herdsmen. 
 It happened at one time that some contention 
 arose between the herdsmen of ISTumitor and 
 those of Amulius, among whom Romulus and 
 Kemus were residing. !N"ow as the young 
 men had thus far, of course, no idea whatever 
 of their relationship to I^umitor, there was no 
 reason why they should feel any special in- 
 terest in his affairs, and they accordingly, as 
 might naturally have been expected, took part 
 with Amulius in this quarrel, since Faustulus, 
 and all the shepherds around them were on 
 that side. The herdsmen of l^umitor in the 
 course of the quarrel drove away some of the 
 cattle which were claimed as belonging to the 
 herdsmen of Amulius. Romulus and Remus 
 headed a band which they hastily called to- 
 gether, to pursue the depredators and bring 
 the cattle back. They succeeded in this ex- 
 pedition, and recaptured the herd. This in- 
 censed the party of ISTumitor, and they deter- 
 mined on revenge. 
 
 They waited some time for a favorable op- 
 portunity. At length the time came for cele- 
 brating a certain festival called the Super- 
 calia, which consisted of very rude games and 
 ceremonies, in which men sacrificed goats. 
 
B.C. 760.] The Twins. 191 
 
 Remus is suddenly made prisoner. 
 
 and then dressed themselves partially in the 
 skins, and ran about whipping every one 
 i^hom they met, with thongs made likewise 
 of the skins of goats, or of rabbits, or other 
 aiiimals remarkable for their fecundity. The 
 meaning of the ceremonies, so far as such un- 
 couth and absurd ceremonies could have any 
 meaning, was to honor the God of fertility and 
 fruitfulness, and to promote the fruitfulness 
 of their flocks and herds, during the year en- 
 suing at the time that the celebrations were 
 held. 
 
 The retainers and partisans of l^umitor de- 
 termined on availing themselves of this op- 
 portunity to accomplish their object. Ac- 
 cordingly, they armed themselves, and coming 
 suddenly upon the spot where the shepherds 
 of Amulius were celebrating the games, they 
 made a rush for Remus, who was at that time, 
 in accordance with the custom, running to 
 and fro, half-naked, and armed only with 
 goat-skin thongs. They succeeded in making 
 him prisoner, and bore him away in triumph 
 to l^umitor. 
 
 Of course, this daring act produced great 
 excitement throughout the country. Numitor 
 was well pleaserl with the prize tnat he had 
 
193 KoMULTJS. [B.C. 75S. 
 
 Heavy charges against Remus. 
 
 secured, but felt, at the same time, some fear 
 of the responsibility which he incurred by 
 holding the prisoner. He was strongly in- 
 clined to proceed against Remus, and punish 
 him himself for the offenses which the herds- 
 men of his lands charged against him; but 
 he finally concluded that this would not be 
 safe, and he determined, in the end, to refer 
 the case to Amulius for decision. He accord- 
 ingly sent Remus to Amulius, making griev- 
 ous charges against him, as a lawless desper- 
 ado, who, with his brother, E'umitor said, 
 w^ere the terror of the forests, through their 
 domineering temper and their acts of robbery 
 and rapine. 
 
 The king, pleased, perhaps, with the spirit 
 of deference to his regal authority on the 
 part of his brother, implied in the referring 
 of the case of the accused to him for trial, 
 sent Remus back again to ITumitor, saying 
 that ISTumitor might punish the freebooter 
 liimself in any way that he thought best, 
 Remus was accordingly brought again to 
 Kumitor's house. In the mean time, the fact 
 of his being thus made a prisoner, and charg- 
 ed with crime, and the proceedings in rela- 
 tion to him, in sending him back and forth 
 
.B.0.758.J TuE Twins. 193 
 
 Remus before Numitor and Amulius. 
 
 between Amulius and JSTumitor, strongly 
 attracted public attention. Every one was 
 talking of the prisoner, and discussing the 
 question of his probable fate. The general 
 interest which was thus awakened in respect 
 to him and to his brother Romulus, revived 
 the slumbering recollections in the minds of 
 the old neighbors of Faustulus, of the stories 
 which he had told them of his having found 
 the twins on the bank of the river, in their in- 
 fancy. They told this story to Romulus, and 
 he or some other friends made it known to 
 Remus while he was still confined. 
 
 When Remus was brought before ITumitor 
 — who was really his grandfather, though the 
 fact of this relationship was wholly unknown 
 to both of them — l^umitor was exceedingly 
 struck with his handsome countenance and 
 form, and with his fearless and noble de- 
 meanor. The young prisoner seemed perfect- 
 ly self-possessed and at his ease ; and thougli 
 he knew well that his life was at stake, there 
 was a certain air of calmness and composure 
 in his manner which seemed to denote very 
 lofty qualities, both of person and mind. 
 
 A vague recollection of the lost children of 
 his daughter Rhea immediately flashed across 
 
194: EoMULus. [B.C.Y58. 
 
 Remus gives an account of himself. 
 
 Nuinitor's mind. It changed all his anger 
 against Remus to a feeling of wondering in- 
 terest and curiosity, and gave to his counte- 
 nance, as he looked upon his prisoner, an ex- 
 pression of kind and tender regard. After a 
 short pause ISTumitor addressed the young 
 captive^ — speaking in a gentle and conciliat^ 
 ing manner — and asked him who he was, and 
 who his parents were. 
 
 " I will frankly tell you all that I know,'^ 
 said Remus, " since you treat me in so fair 
 and honorable a manner. The king delivered 
 me up to be punished, without listening to 
 what I had to say, but you seem willing to 
 hear before you condemn. My name is 
 Remus, and I have a twin-brother named 
 Romulus. "We have always supj)osed our- 
 selves to be the children of Faustulus ; but 
 now, since this difficulty has occurred, wg 
 have heard new tidings in respect to oui 
 (M-igin. We are told that we were found in. 
 our infancy, on the shore of the river, at the 
 place where Facistidus lives, and that nearby 
 there was a box or trough, in which we had 
 been floated down to the spot from a place 
 above. When Faustulus found us, there was 
 a wolf and a woodpecker taking care of m. 
 
B.C. 756.] The Twins. 195 
 
 Numitor learns the truth. Romulus. 
 
 and bringing iis food. Faustulus carried us 
 to liis house, and brought us up as bis chil- 
 dren. He preserved the trough, too, and has 
 it now." 
 
 ISTumitor was, of course, greatly excited at 
 hearing this intelligence. He perceived at 
 once that the finding of these children, both 
 in respect to time and place, and to all the 
 attendant circumstances, corresponded so pre- 
 cisely with the exposure of the children of 
 Hhea Silvia as to leave no reasonable ground 
 for doubt that Romulus and Remus were his 
 grandsons. He resolved immediately to com- 
 municate this joyful discovery to his daughter, 
 if he could contrive the means of gaining ac 
 cess to her ; for during all this time she had 
 been kept in close confinement in her prison. 
 
 In the mean time, Romulus himself, at the 
 house of Faustulus, in the forests, had become 
 greatly excited by the circumstances in which 
 he found himself placed. He had been first 
 very much incensed at the captm-e of Remus, 
 and while concerting with Faustulus plans for 
 rescuing him, Faustulus had explained to him 
 the mystery of his birth. He had informed 
 him not only how he was found with Ids 
 brother, on the bank of the river, but also had 
 
19G KoMULUS. [13.0.756. 
 
 Romulus plans a rebellion. Fau.;tulus and the arts. 
 
 made known to him whose sons he and Re- 
 mus were. Romnlns was, of course, extremely 
 elated at this intelligence. His native cour- 
 age and energy were quickened anew by his 
 learning that he and his brother were princes, 
 and as he believed, rightfully entitled to the 
 throne. He immediately began to form plans 
 for raising a rebellion against the government 
 of Amulius, with a view of first rescuing Ke- 
 mus from his power, and afterward taking 
 such ulterior steps as circumstances might re- 
 quire. 
 
 Faustulus, on the other hand, leaving Kom- 
 ulus to raise the forces for his insurrection as 
 he pleased, determined to go himself to ITu- 
 mitor and reveal the secret of the birth of 
 Komulus and Remus to him. In order to con- 
 firm and corroborate his story, he took the 
 trough with him, carrying it under his cloak, 
 in order to conceal it from view, and in this 
 manner made his appearance at the gates of 
 Alba. 
 
 There was something in his appearance 
 and manner when he arrived at the gate, 
 which attracted the attention of the ofiicers 
 on guard there. He wore the dress of a 
 countryman, and had obviously come in from 
 
B.C.Y56J The Tavins. 197 
 
 Fauetulus stopped at the gates of the city. 
 
 the forests, a long way ; and there was some- 
 thing in his air which denoted hurry and agi- 
 tation. The soldiers asked him what he had 
 under his cloak, and compelled him to pro- 
 duce the ark to view. The curiosity of the 
 guardsmen was still more strongly aroused at 
 seeing this old relic. It was bound with brass 
 bands, and it had some rude inscription 
 marked upon it. It haj^pened that one of 
 the guard was an old soldier who had been in 
 some way connected with the exposure of the 
 children of Rhea when they were set adrift in 
 the river, and he immediately recognized this 
 trough as the float which they had been 
 placed in. He immediately concluded that 
 some very extraordinary movement was going 
 on, — and he determined to proceed forthwith 
 and inform Amulius of what he had discov- 
 ered. He accordingly went to the king and 
 informed him that a man had been intercepted 
 at the gate of the city, who was attempting to 
 bring in, concealed under his cloak, the iden- 
 tical ark or float, which to his certain knowl- 
 edge had been used in the case of the children 
 of Rhea Silvia, for sending them adrift on the 
 waters of the Tiber. 
 The king was greatly excited and agitated 
 
198 Romulus. [B.C. 755, 
 
 Faustiiius is greatly embarrassed. 
 
 at receiving this intelligence. He ordered 
 Faustnlns to be brought into his presence. 
 Faustnlus was much terrified at receiving 
 this summons. He had but little time to re- 
 flect what to say, and during the few minutes 
 that elapsed while they were conducting him 
 into the presence of the Mng, he found it hard 
 to determine how much it would be best for 
 him to admit, and how much to deny. Fi 
 nally, in answer to the interrogations of the 
 king, he acknowledged that he found the 
 children and the ark in which they had been 
 drifted upon the shore, and that he had saved 
 the boys alive, and had brought them up as 
 his children. He said, however, that he did 
 not know where they were. They had gone 
 away, he alledged, some years before, and 
 were now living as shepherds in some distant 
 part of the country, he did not know exactly 
 where. 
 
 Amulius then asked Faustulus what he had 
 been intending to do with the trough, which 
 he was bringing so secretly into the city. 
 B'austulus said that he was going to carry it 
 to Rhea in her prison, she having often ex- 
 pressed a strong desire to see it, as a token 
 or memorial which would recaU the dear 
 
B.C. 755.] TnE Twins. 199 
 
 Amulius is alarmed. He sends for Numilor. 
 
 babes that had lain in it very vividly to lief 
 mind. 
 
 Amulius seemed satisfied that these state- 
 n.ents were honest and true, but they awa- 
 kened in his mind a very great solicitude and 
 anxiety. He feared that the children, being 
 still alive, might some day come to the knowl- 
 edge of their origin, and so disturb his pos- 
 session of the throne, and perhaps revenge, 
 by some dreadful retaliation, the wrongs and 
 injuries which he had inflicted upon their 
 mother and their grandfather. The peoj^le, 
 he feared, would be very much inclined to 
 take part with them, and not with him, in any 
 contest which might arise ; for their sympa- 
 thies were already on the side of N^umitor. 
 In a word, he was greatly alarmed, and he 
 was much at a loss to know what to do, to 
 avert the danger which was impending over 
 him. 
 
 He concluded to send to Numitor and in- 
 quire of him whether he was aware that the 
 boys were still alive, and if so, if he knew 
 where they w^ere to be found. He accord- 
 ingly sent a messenger to his brother, com- 
 missioned to mAke these inquiries. This 
 messenger, though in the service of Amulius, 
 
200 EoMULus. [B.C. T55 
 
 Romulus assaults the city. 
 
 was really a friend to l^iimitor, and on being 
 admitted to I^umitor's presence, when ho 
 went to make the inqniries as directed by the 
 king, he found E-emus there, — ^though not, as 
 he had expected, in the attitude of a prisoner 
 awaiting sentence from a judge, but rather in 
 that of a son in affectionate consultation with 
 his father. He soon learned the truth, and 
 immediately expressed his determination to 
 espouse the cause of the ]3rince. " The whole 
 city will be on your side," said he to Remus. 
 "You have only to place yourself at the head 
 of the population, and proclaim your rights ; 
 and you will easily be restored to the posses- 
 sion of them." 
 
 Just at this crisis a tumult was heard at the 
 gates of the city. Romulus had arrived there 
 at the head of the band of peasants andherds^ 
 men that he had collected in the forests. 
 These insurgents were rudely armed and were 
 organized in a very simple and primitive 
 manner. For weapons the peasants bore such 
 implements of agriculture as could be used for 
 Tveapons, while the huntsmen brought their 
 pikes, and speaa's, and javelins, and such other 
 projectiles as were employed in those days 
 iu hunting wild beasts. The troop was divided 
 
B.C. 755.] The Twins. 201 
 
 The revolt is successful. Amulius is slain. 
 
 into companies of one hundred, and for ban- 
 ners they bore tufts of grass on wispa of straw, 
 or fern, or other herbage, tied at the top of a 
 pole. The armament was rude, but the men 
 were resolute and determined, and they made 
 their appearance at the gates of the city upon 
 the outside, just in time to co-operate with 
 Ilemus in the rebellion which he had raised 
 within. 
 
 The revolt was successful. A revolt is 
 generally successful against a despot, when 
 the great mass of the population desire his 
 downfall. Amulius made a desperate attempt 
 to stem the torrent, but his hour had come. 
 His palace was stormed, and he was slain. 
 The revolution was complete, and Roraulua 
 and Remus were masters of the country. 
 
202 EoMULUs. [B.C. 754. 
 
 The people of Alba Longa called together. 
 
 ClIAPTEK IX. 
 
 The FouNDiNa of Rome. 
 
 S soon as the excitement and the agita- 
 tions which attended the sudden revolu- 
 tion hy which Amulius was dethroned were in 
 some measure calmed, and tranquillity was 
 restored, the question of the mode in which 
 the new government should be settled, arose. 
 Numitor considered it best that he should call 
 an assembly of the people and lay the subject 
 before them. There was a very large portion 
 of the populace who yet knew nothing certain 
 in respect to the causes of the extraordinary 
 events that had occurred. The city was filled 
 with strange rumors, in all of which truth and 
 falsehood were inextricably mingled, so that 
 they increased rather than allayed the general 
 curiosity and wonder. 
 
 J^umitor accordingly convened a general 
 assembly of the inhabitants of Alba, in a 
 public square. The rude and rustic moun- 
 taineers and peasants whom Komulus had 
 brought to the city came with the rest. Itom- 
 
B.C. 754.] Founding OF EoME. 203 
 
 The address of Numitor to the citizens. 
 
 ulus and llenms themselves did not at first 
 appear. K^umitor, wlien the audience was 
 assembled, came forward to address them. 
 He gave them a recital of all the events con- 
 nected with the usurpation of Amulius. lie 
 told them of the original division which had 
 been made thirty or forty years before, of the 
 kingdom and the estates of his father, between 
 Amulius and himself, — of the plans and in- 
 trigues by which Amulius had contrived to 
 possess liimself of the kingdom and reduce 
 him, ]N"umitor, into subjection to his sway, — of 
 his causing Egestus, I^umitor's son, to be slain 
 in the hunting party, and then compelling his 
 little daughter Rhea to become a vestal virgin 
 in order that she might never be married. 
 He then went on to describe the birth of 
 Homulus and Remus, the anger of Amulius 
 when informed of the event, his cruel treat- 
 ment of the children and of the mother, and 
 his orders that the babes should be drowned 
 in the Tiber. He gave an account of the 
 manner in which the infants had been put into 
 the little wooden ark, of their floating down 
 the stream, and finally landing on the bank, 
 and of their being rescued, protected and fed, 
 by the wolf and the woodpecker. He closed 
 
204 EoMULus. [B.C. 75^. 
 
 Romulus and Remus come forward. 
 
 bis speech by saying that the young princes 
 were still alive, and that they were then at 
 hand ready to present themselves before the 
 assembly. 
 
 As he said these words, Homulus and He- 
 mus came forward, and the vast assembly, 
 after gazing for a moment in silent wonder 
 upon their tall and graceful forms, in which 
 they saw combined athletic strength and vigor 
 with manly beauty, they burst into long and 
 loud acclamations. As soon as the applause 
 had in some measure subsided, Komulus and 
 Kemus turned to their grandfather and hailed 
 him king. The people res]3onded to this an- 
 nouncement with new plaudits, and JS^umitor 
 was universally recognized as the rightful 
 sovereign. 
 
 It seems that notwithstanding the personal 
 graces and accomplishments of Romulus and 
 Remus, and their popularity among their fel- 
 low foresters, that they and their followers 
 made a somewhat rude and wild appearance 
 in the city, and ITumitor was very willing, 
 wdien the state of things had become some- 
 what settled, that his rustic auxiliaries should 
 find some occasion for w^ithdrawing from the 
 capital and returning again to their own na^ 
 
B.C. 75i.] Founding OF Rome. 205 
 
 Plan for building a new city. 
 
 Give fastnesses. Romulus and Remus, how- 
 ever. Laving now learned that they were enti- 
 tled to the regal name, naturally felt desirous 
 of possessing a little regal power, and thus 
 desired to remain in the city ; while still they 
 had too much consideration for their grand- 
 father to wish to deprive him of the govern- 
 ment. After some deliberation a plan was 
 devised which promised to gratify the wishes 
 of all. 
 
 The plan was this, namely, that I^umitor 
 should set apart a place in his kingdom of 
 Latium where Romulus and Remus mia^ht 
 build a city for themselves, — taking with them 
 to the spot the whole horde of their retainers. 
 The place w^hich he designated for this pur- 
 pose was the spot on the banks of the Tiber 
 where the two children had been landed when 
 floating down the stream. It was a wild and 
 romantic region, and the enterprise of build- 
 ing a city upon it was one exactly suited to 
 engage the attention and occupy the powers 
 of such restless spirits as those who had col- 
 lected under the young princes' standard. 
 Many of these men, it is true, were shepherds 
 and herdsmen, well disposed in mind, though 
 rude and rough in manners. Rut then thero 
 
206 KoMULus. [B.C. 754. 
 
 Numitor is to roiidor the necoasary aid. 
 
 were many others of a veiy turbulent and mi- 
 ni anageable character, outlaws, fugitives, and 
 adventurers of every description, who had 
 fled to the woods to escape punishment for 
 former crimes, or seek opportunities for the 
 commission of new deeds of rapine and rob- 
 bery ; and who had seized upon the occasion 
 furnished by the insurrection against Amulius 
 to come forth into the world again. Crimi- 
 nals always flock into armies when armies are 
 raised ; for war presents to the wicked and 
 depraved all the charms, with but half the 
 danger, of a life of crime. "War is in fact or- 
 dinarily only a legal organization of crime. 
 
 Komulus and Remus entered into their 
 grandfather's plan with great readiness. ]S^u- 
 mitor promised to aid them in their enter- 
 prise by every means in his power. He was 
 to furnish tools and implements, for excava- 
 tions and building, and artisans so far as 
 artisans were required, and was also to pro- 
 vide such temporary supplies of 2:)ro visions 
 and stores as might be required at the outset 
 of the undertaking. He gave permission also 
 to any of his subjects to join Romulus and Re- 
 mus in their undertaking, and they, in order to 
 increase their numbers as much as possible, sent 
 
B.C. 754.] Founding OF lioME. 207 
 
 Gieat numbers flock together to build tho city. 
 
 messengers around to the neighboring coiintry 
 inviting all who were disposed, to come and 
 take part in the building of the new city. 
 This invitation was accepted by great num- 
 bers of people, from every rank and station 
 in life. 
 
 Of course, however, the greater portion of 
 those who came to join the enterprise, were 
 c f a very low grade in respect to moral char- 
 acter. Men of industry, integrity, and moral 
 worth, who possessed kind hearts and warm 
 domestic affections, were generally well and 
 prosperously settled each in his own hamlet 
 or town, and were little inclined to break 
 away from the ties which bound them to 
 friends and society, in order to plunge in such 
 a scene of turmoil and confusion as the build- 
 ing of a new city, under such circumstances, 
 must necessarily be. It was of course gener- 
 ally the discontented, the idle, and the bad, 
 that would hope for benefit from such a change 
 as tliis enter]3rise proposed to them. Every 
 restless and desperate spirit, every depraved 
 victim of vice, every fugitive and outlaw 
 would be ready to embark in such a scheme, 
 which was to create certainly a new phase in 
 ^Ueir relations to societf, and thus afford them 
 
208 EoMULTJS. [B.C. 754. 
 
 The seven hills. The Palatine hUl. 
 
 an opportunity to make a fresh beginning. 
 The enterprise at the same time seemed to 
 offer them, through a new organization and 
 new laws, some prospect of release from re- 
 sponsibility for former crimes. In a word, in 
 preparing to lay the foundations of their city, 
 Komulus and Remus found themselves at the 
 head of a very wild and lawless company. 
 
 There were seven distinct hills on the ground 
 which was subsequently included within the 
 limits of Rome. Between and among these 
 hills the river meandered by sweeping and 
 graceful curves, and at one point, near the 
 center of what is now the city, the stream 
 passed very near the foot of one of the eleva 
 tions called the Palatine Hill. Here was the 
 spot where the wooden ark in which Romulus 
 and Remus had been set adrift, had been 
 thrown up upon the shore. The sides of the 
 hill were steep, and between it and the river 
 there was in one part a deep morass. Romu- 
 lus thought, on surveying the ground with 
 Remus his brother, that this was the best spot 
 for building the city. They could set apart a 
 sufficient space of level ground around the 
 foot of the hill for the houses — ^inclosing the 
 whole with a wall — while the top of the hiil 
 
B.C. 754.] Founding of Rome. 
 
 209 
 
 Difference of opinion between Romulus and Remus. 
 
 Situation or Rome. 
 
 itself might he fortified to form the citadel. 
 The wall and the steep acclivity of the gi'ound 
 would form a protection on three sides of the 
 inclosure, while the morass alone Avould be a 
 sufficient defense on the part toward the 
 river. Then Eomulus was specially desirous 
 to select this spot as the site, as it was here 
 that he and his brother had been saved from 
 destruction in so wonderful a manner. 
 
 Remus, however, did not concur in these 
 
 
 
210 EoMULTjs. [B.C. 754. 
 
 Advantages of the Aventine hill. 
 
 views. A little farther down the stream there 
 was another elevation called the Aventine 
 Hill, which seemed to him more siutable foi 
 the site of a town. The sides were less pre- 
 cipitous, and thus were more convenient for 
 building ground. Then the land in the im- 
 mediate vicinity was better adapted to the 
 purposes which they had in view. In a word, 
 the Aventine Hill was, as Kemus thought, 
 for every substantial reason, much the best 
 locality ; and as for the fact of their having 
 been washed ashore at the foot of the other 
 hill, it was in his opinion an insignificant cir- 
 cumstance, wholly unworthy of being taken 
 seriously into the account in laying the foun- 
 dation of a city. 
 
 The positions in which Remus and Romu- 
 lus stood in respect to each other, and the 
 feelings which were naturally awakened in 
 their hearts by the circumstances in which 
 they found themselves placed, were such as 
 did not tend to allay any rising asperity 
 which accident might occasion, but rather to 
 irritate and inflame it. In the first place, 
 they were both ardent, impulsive, and impe- 
 rious. Each was conscious of his strength, 
 and eager to exercise it. Each wished to 
 
B.C. Y54.] Founding of Kome. 211 
 
 Perfect equality of the two brotbers. 
 
 command, and was wholly unwilling to obey. 
 While they wei'e in adversity, they clung to 
 gether for mntual help and protection ; but 
 now, when they had come into the enjoyment 
 of prosperity and power, the bands of affec- 
 tion which had bound them together were 
 very much weakened, and were finally sun- 
 dered. Then there was nothing whatever to 
 mark any superiority of one over the other. 
 If they had been of different ages, the younger 
 could have yielded to the elder, in some de- 
 gree, without wounding his pride. If one 
 had been more prominent than the other in 
 effecting the revolution by which Amulius 
 v;as dethroned, or if there had been a native 
 difference of temperament or character to 
 mark a distinction, or if either had been des- 
 ignated by ITumitor, or selected by popular 
 choice, for the command, — all might have 
 been well. But there seemed in fact to be 
 between them no grounds of distinction what- 
 ever. They were twms, so that neither could 
 claim any advantage of birthright. They 
 were equal in size, strength, activity, and 
 courage. They had been equally bold and 
 efiicient in effecting the revolution ; and now 
 they seemed equally powerful in respect to 
 
212 EoMULTJS. [B.C. 754 
 
 Both determined not to yield. 
 
 the influence whicli tliej wielded over the 
 minds of their followers. AYe have been so 
 lone: accustomed to consider Eomulus tho 
 more distinguished personage, through the 
 associations connected with his name, that 
 have arisen from his subsequent career, that 
 it is difficult for us to place him and his 
 brother on that footing of perfect equality 
 which they occupied in the estimation of all 
 who knew them in this part of their history. 
 This equality had caused no difference be- 
 tween them thus far, but now, since the ad- 
 vent of power and prosperity prevented their 
 continuing longer on a level, there necessarily 
 came up for decision the terrible question, — 
 terrible when two such spirits as theirs have 
 it to decide, — ^which was to yield the palm. 
 
 The brothers, therefore, having each ex- 
 pressed his preference in respect to the best 
 place for the city, were equally unwilling to 
 recede from the ground which they had tak- 
 en. Remus thought that there was no reason 
 why he should yield to Eomulus, and Eomu- 
 lus was equally unwilling to give way to Ee- 
 mus. Neither could yield, in fact, without 
 in some sense admitting the superiority of 
 the other. The rt^spective partisans of the 
 
B.C. 754.] Founding OF EoME. 213 
 
 Tho brothers appeal to Numitor. His jiroposal. 
 
 two leaders began to take sides, and tlie dis- 
 sension threatened to become a serious quar- 
 •el. Finally, being not yet quite ready for 
 an open rupture, tliey concluded to refer the 
 question to Numitor, and to abide by his de- 
 cision. They expected that he would come 
 and view the ground, and so decide where it 
 was best that the city should be built, and 
 thus terminate the controversy. 
 
 But l^umitor was too sagacious to hazard 
 the responsibility of deciding between two 
 Ruch equally matched and powerful oppo- 
 nents. He endeavored to soothe and quiet the 
 excited feelings of his grandsons, and finally 
 recommended to them to appeal to augury to 
 decide the question. Augury was a mode of 
 ascertaining the divine w^ill in respect to 
 questions of expediency or duty, by means 
 of certain prognostications and signs. These 
 omens were of various kinds, but perhaps the 
 most common were the appearances observed 
 in watchino; the flio^ht of birds throuo-h the air. 
 
 It was agreed between Kemus and Romu- 
 lus, in accordance with the advice of I^umi- 
 tor, that the question at issue between them 
 should be decided in this way. They were to 
 take their stations on the two hills respect- 
 
214 EoMULus. [B.C. 754. 
 
 The vultures of the Appenines. Tlieir function. 
 
 ivelj — the Palatine and the Aventine, and 
 watcli for vultures. The homes of the vul- 
 tures of Italj were among the summits of the 
 Appenines, and their function in the compli- 
 cated economy of animal life, was to watch 
 from the lofty peaks of the mountains, or from 
 tlie still more aerial and commanding positions 
 which they found in soaring at vast elevations 
 in the air, for the bodies of the dead, — 
 whether of men after a battle, or of sheep, or 
 cattle, or wild beasts of the forests, killed by 
 accident or dying of age, — and when found to 
 remove and devour them ; and thus to hasten 
 the return of the lifeless elements to other 
 forms of animal and vegetable life. What 
 the earth, and the rite of burial, effects for 
 man in advanced and cultivated stages of 
 society, the vultures of the Appenines were 
 commissioned to perform for all the animal 
 communities of Italy, in J^umitor's time. 
 
 To enable the vulture to accomplish tlie 
 work assigned him, he is endowed with an in- 
 conceivable strength of wing, to sustain his 
 flight over the vast distances which he has to 
 traverse, and up to the vast elevations to 
 which he must sometimes soar ; and also with 
 Bome mysterious and extraordinary sense, 
 
B.C. 754.] Founding of Rome. 215 
 
 Powers of the vultura Augurioa. 
 
 whether of sight or smell, to enable him read- 
 ily to find, at any hour, the spot where hig 
 presence is required, however remote or how- 
 ever hidden it may be. Guided by this in- 
 Btinet, he flies from time to time with a 
 company of his fellows, from mountain to 
 mountain, or wheels slowly in vast circles 
 over the plains — surveying the whole surface 
 of the ground, and assuredly finding his 
 work ; — finding it too equally easily, whether 
 it lie exposed in the open field, or is hidden, 
 no matter how secretly, in forest, thicket, 
 grove or glen. 
 
 It was, to certain appearances, indicated in 
 the flio'ht of these birds — such as the number 
 that were seen at a time, the quarter of the 
 heavens in which they appeared, the direction 
 in which they flew, as from left to right or 
 from right to left — that the people of Numi- 
 tor's day were accustomed to look for omens 
 and auguries. So Homulus and Remus took 
 their stations on the hills which they had 
 severally chosen, each surrounded by a com- 
 pany of his own adherents and friends, and 
 began to watch the skies. It was agreed that 
 the decision of the question between the two 
 hills should be determined by tlie omena 
 
216 KoMULus. [B.C. 754 
 
 Romiilus and Remus take their stations. Result 
 
 which should appear to the respective ol> 
 servers stationed upon them. 
 
 But it happened, unfortunately, that the 
 rules for the interpretation of auguries and 
 omens, were far too indefinite and vague to 
 answer the purpose for which they were now 
 appealed to. The most unequivocal distinct- 
 ness and directness in giving its responses is a 
 very essential requisite in any tribunal that is 
 called upon as an umpire, to settle disputes ; 
 while the ancient auguries and oracles were 
 always susceptible of a great variety of inter- 
 pretations. When Remus and Romulus com- 
 menced their watch no vultures were to be 
 seen from either hill. They waited till eve- 
 ning, still none appeared. They continued to 
 watch through the night. In the morning a 
 messenger came over from the Palatine hill 
 to Remus on the Aventine, informing him 
 that vultures had appeared to Romulus. Re- 
 mus did not believe it. At last, however, the 
 birds really came into view ; a flock of six were 
 seen by Remus, and afterward one of tweh o 
 by Romulus. The observations were then sus- 
 pended, and the parties came together to con- 
 fer in respect to the result ; but the dispute 
 instead of being settled, was found to be in a 
 
B.C. 754.] Founding- OF EoME. 217 
 
 New dispute. An open collision. Faustulus killed. 
 
 worse condition than ever. The point now to 
 be determined was whether six vultures seen 
 first, or twelve seen afterward, were the bet- 
 ter omen, that is w^hether numbers, or simple 
 priority of ap]3earance, should decide the 
 (.question. In contending in respect to this 
 nice point the brothers became more angry 
 ^vith each other than ever. Their respective 
 partisans took sides in the contest, which re- 
 sulted finally in an open and violent collision. 
 Romulus and Remus themselves seem to have 
 commenced the affray by attacking one an- 
 other. Faustulus, their foster-father, who, 
 from having had the care of them from their 
 earliest infancy, felt for them an almost -psi- 
 rental affection, rushed between them to pre- 
 vent them from shedding each other's blood. 
 He was struck down and killed on the spot, 
 by some unknown hand. A brother of Faus- 
 tulus too, named Plistinus, who had lived near 
 to him, and had known the boys from their 
 infancy, and had often assisted in taking caro 
 of them, was killed in the endeavor to aid his 
 brother to appease the tumult. 
 
 At length the disturbance was quelled. 
 The result of the conflict was, however, to 
 dhow that Romulus and his party were the 
 
218 KoMULus. [B.C. 754. 
 
 Eomulus is victorious. The building of the city goes on. 
 
 strongiest. Eomulus accordino^lv went on to 
 build the walls of the city at the spot which 
 lie had first chosen. The lines were marked 
 out, and the excavations were commenced 
 with great ceremony. 
 
 In laying out the work, the first thing to be 
 done was to draw the lines of what was called 
 the pommrium,. The pomoerium was a sort of 
 symbolical wall, and was formed simply by 
 turning a furrow with a plow all around the 
 city, at a considerable distance from the real 
 walls, for the purpose, not of establishing 
 lines of defense, but of marking out what were 
 to be the limits of the corporation, so to speak, 
 for legal and ceremonial purposes. Of course, 
 the pomoerium included a much greater space 
 than the real walls, and the people were 
 allowed to build houses anywhere within this 
 outer inclosure, or even without it, though not 
 very near to it. Those who built thus were, 
 of course, not protected in case of an attack, 
 and of course they would, in such case, be 
 compelled to abandon their houses, and re- 
 treat for safety within the proper walls. 
 
 So Komulus proceeded to mark out the 
 pomoerium of the city, employing in the work 
 the ceremonies customary oa such occasions 
 
B.C. 754] Founding of Rome. 2tl> 
 
 Plowing the pomoeriuni. Form of the enclosure. 
 
 The plow used was made of copper, and for a 
 team to draw it a bullock and a lieifer were 
 yoked together. Men appointed for the pur* 
 pose followed the plow, and carefully turned 
 over the clods toward the wall of the city. 
 This seems to have been considered an 
 essential part of the ceremony. At the places 
 wliere roads were to pass in toward the gates 
 of the city, the plow was lifted out of the 
 ground and carried over the requisite space, 
 so as to leave the turf at those points un- 
 broken. This was a necessary precaution; 
 for there was a certain consecrating influence 
 that was exerted by this ceremonial plowing 
 which hallowed the ground wherever it pass- 
 ed in a manner that would very seriously in- 
 terfere with its usefulness as a public road. 
 
 The form of the space inclosed by the 
 pomcerium, as Romulus plowed it, was nearly 
 square, and it included not merely the Pala- 
 tine hill itself, but a considerable portion of 
 level land around it. 
 
 Though Romulus thus seemed to have con- 
 quered, in the strife with Remus, the difficulty 
 was not yet fully settled. Remus was very 
 little disposed to acquiesce in his brother'o 
 assumed superiority over him. ITe was sullen, 
 
1^20 KoMULiJS. [B.C. 754. 
 
 The death of Remus. Remorse of Romulus. 
 
 morose, and ill at ease, and was inclined to 
 take little part in tlie proceedings which were 
 going on. Finally an occasion occui'red which 
 produced a crisis, and brought the rivalry and 
 enmity of the brothers suddenly and forever to 
 an end. Remus was one day standing by a part 
 of the wall which his brother's workmen were 
 building, and expressing, in various ways, and 
 with great freedom, his opinions of his broth- 
 er's plans ; and finally he began to speak con- 
 temptuously of the wall which the workmen 
 were building. Komulus all the time was 
 standing by. At length, in order to enforce 
 what he said about the insufficiency of the 
 work, Remus leaped over a portion of it, say- 
 ing, " This is the way the enemy will leap 
 over your wall." Hereupon Romulus seized 
 a mattock from the hands of one of the labor- 
 ers, and struck his brother down to the ground 
 with it, saying, " And this is the way that we 
 will kill them if they do." Remus was killed 
 by the blow. 
 
 As soon as the deed was done, Romulus was 
 at once overwhelmed with remorse and horror 
 at the atrocity of the crime which he had been 
 so suddenly led to commit. His anguish was 
 BO great for a time that he refused all food, 
 
B.C. 754.] Founding of Eome. 221 
 
 The institution of tiie Lemuria. 
 
 and lie could not sleep. He caused the dead 
 body of Remus, and also those of Faustulua 
 and of Plistinus, the brother of Faustulus, to 
 be buried with the most solemn and imposing 
 funeral ceremonies, so as to render all possi- 
 ble honor to their memory ; and then, not 
 satisfied with this, he instituted and celebra- 
 *-ed certain religious rites, to prevent the 
 ghosts of the deceased from coming back to 
 haunt him. The ghosts, or specters of the 
 dead that came back to haunt and terrify the 
 living were called lemures. Hence the cele- 
 bration which Homulus ordained was called 
 the Lemuria, and it continued to be annually 
 observed in Rome during the whole period of 
 its subsequent history. 
 
 Precisely what the ceremonies were which 
 Romulus performed to appease the spirit of 
 his brother can not now be ascertained, as 
 there was no particular description of them 
 recorded. But the Lemm'ia, as afterward 
 performed, were frequently described by Ro- 
 man writers, and they were of a very curious 
 and extraordinary character. The time for 
 the celebration of these rites was in May, the 
 liinniversary, as was supposed, of the days in 
 which Romulus originally celebrated them 
 
222 EoMULus. [B.C. 754. 
 
 Description of the ceremonies. The black bean^. 
 
 The Lemurial ceremonies extended through 
 three days, or rather nights, although, for some 
 curious reason or other, they were alternate 
 and not consecutive nights. They were the 
 nights of the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth 
 of May. The ceremonies were performed in 
 the night, for the reason that it was in the 
 dark hours that ghosts and goblins were accus- 
 tomed, as was supposed, to roam about the 
 world to haunt and terrify men. 
 
 The ceremonies performed on these occa- 
 sions are thus described. They commenced 
 at midnight. The father of the family would 
 rise at that hour and go out at the door of the 
 house, making certain gesticulations and sig- 
 nals with his hands, which were supposed to 
 have the effect of keeping the specters away. 
 He then washed his hands three times in pure 
 spring water. Then he filled his mouth with 
 a certain kind of black beans for which ghosts 
 were supposed to have some particular fond- 
 ness. Being thus provided he would walk 
 along, taking the beans out of his mouth as he 
 walked, and throwing them behind him. The 
 epecters were supposed to gather up these 
 beans as he threw them down. He must, 
 however, by no means look round to see them. 
 
B.C. 754.] Founding OF EoME. 223 
 
 state of Rome after the death of Remus. 
 
 He theiij after speaking certain mysterious 
 and cabalistic words, washed his hands again, 
 and then making a frightful noise by striking 
 brass basins together, he shouted out nine 
 times, '' Ghosts of this house begone !" This 
 was supposed effectually to drive the specters 
 away — an opinion which was always abun- 
 dantly confirmed by the fact ; for on looking 
 round after this vociferated adjuration, the 
 man always found that the specters were gone ! 
 
 When by these ceremonies, or ceremonies 
 6uch as these, Romulus had appeased the 
 epirit of his brother, and those of the guard- 
 ians of his childhood, his mind became more 
 composed, and he turned his attention once 
 knore toward the building of the city. The 
 party of Hemus now, of course, since it was 
 deprived of its head, no longer maintained 
 itself, but was gradually broken up and 
 merged in the general mass. Romulas be- 
 (^,ame the sole leader of the enterprise, and 
 immediately turned his attention to the meas- 
 ures to be adopted for a more complete and 
 effectual organization of the community over 
 which he found himself presiding. 
 
 In respect to Remus, it ought perhaps to be 
 added, that after his death a story was circu- 
 
224: RoMULTJS. [B.C. 754 
 
 The story of Celer. Probable explanation of it. 
 
 lated in Kome that it was a man named Celer, 
 and not Romulus, that killed him. This story 
 has not, however, been generally believed. It 
 has been thought more probable that Homulus 
 himself, or some of his partisans and friends, 
 invented and circulated the story of Celer, in 
 order to screen him in some degree from the 
 reproach of so unnatural a crime as the killing 
 of a brother so near and dear to him as Kemus 
 had been ; — a brother who had shared his in- 
 fancy wdth him, who had slept with him, at 
 the same time, in the arms of his mother, who 
 had floated with him down the Tiber in the 
 same ark, been saved from death by the same 
 miraculous intervention, and through all the 
 years of infancy, childhood, and youth, had 
 been his constant playmate, companion, and 
 friend. The crime was as much more atro- 
 cious than any ordinary fratricide, as Remus 
 had been nearer to Romulus than any ordi- 
 nary brother. 
 
B.C. 754.] Okganization. 225 
 
 Discussion in respect to ancient dates. Difficulties 
 
 CnAPTEK X. 
 ORGANIZATION. 
 
 J I ^PIEKE has been a great deal of philo- 
 -^ sopliical discussion, and miicli debate, 
 among historians and chronologists, in at- 
 tempting to fix the precise year in which 
 Romulus commenced the building of Home. 
 The difficulty arises from the fact, that no 
 regular records of jDublic events were made 
 in those ancient days. In modern times, 
 such records are very systematically kept, — 
 an express object of them being to preserve 
 and perpetuate a knowledge of the exact 
 truth in respect to the time, and the attendant 
 circumstances, relating to all great transac- 
 tions. On the other hand, the memory of 
 public events in early periods of the world, 
 was preserved only through tradition ; and 
 tradition cares little for the exact and the 
 true. She seeks only for what is entertaining. 
 Her function being simply to give pleasure to 
 successive generations of listeners, by exciting 
 their curiosity and wonder with tales, — wliich; 
 
 P 
 
226 KoMULus. [B.G.TS-Jr. 
 
 Nature of tradition. Extreme youth of Romulus. 
 
 tlie more strange and romantic they are, tlie 
 better tliey are suited to her purpose — she 
 concerns herself very little with such simple 
 verities as dates and names. The exposure 
 of the twin infants of Ehea, supposing such 
 an event to have actually happened, she re 
 membered well, and repeated the narrative 
 of it — adorning it, doubtless, with many em- 
 bellishments — from age to age, so that the 
 whole story comes down to modern times in 
 full detail ; but as to the time when the event 
 took place, she gave herself no concern. The 
 date would have added nothing to the ro- 
 mance of the story, and thus it was neglected 
 and forgotten. 
 
 In subsequent times, however, when regu- 
 lar historical annals began to be recorded, 
 chronologists attempted to reason backward, 
 from events whose periods were known, 
 through various data which they ingeniously 
 obtained from the preceding and less formal 
 narratives, until they obtained the dates of 
 earlier events by a species of calculation. In 
 this way the time for the building of Rome 
 was determined to lie about the year 764 be- 
 fore Christ. As to Romulus himself, the tra- 
 dition is that he was but ^-ighteen or twenty 
 
B.C. 754:.J Organization. 227 
 
 Varro's astrological calculation. Ingemiity of it» 
 
 years old when lie commenced the building 
 of it. If this is true, his extreme youth goes 
 far to palliate some of the wrongs which ho 
 perpetrated — wrongs which would have been 
 far more inexcusable if committed with the 
 deliberate purpose of middle life, than if 
 prompted by the unthinking impulses and 
 passions of eighteen. 
 
 A certain Koman philosopher, named Yar- 
 ro, who lived some centuries after the building 
 of the city, conceived of a very ingenious plan 
 for discovering the year in which Komulus 
 was born. It was this. By means of the 
 science of astrology, as practiced in those 
 days, certain learned magicians used to pre- 
 dict w^hat the life and fortunes of any man 
 would be, from the aspects and phases of the 
 planets and other heavenly bodies at the time 
 of his birth. The idea of Yarro was to re- 
 verse this procc^ss in the case of Komulus ; 
 that is, to deduce from the known facts of 
 his history what must have been the relative 
 oituations of the planets and stars when ho 
 came into the world ! He accordingly ap- 
 plied to a noted astrologer to work out the 
 problem for him. Given, a history of the 
 incidents and events occurring to the man in 
 
•228 RoMTJLTJS. [B.aT54. 
 
 Olympiads. The race of Corcebus. 
 
 his progress through life ; required, the exact 
 condition of the skies when the child was 
 born. In other words, the astrologer was to 
 determine what must have been the relative 
 positions of the sun, moon, and stars, at the 
 birth of Romulus, in order to produce a being 
 whose life should exhibit such transactions 
 and events as those which ap^^eared in Rom- 
 ulus's subsequent history. "When the astrolo- 
 ger had thus ascertained the condition of the 
 skies at the time in question, the astronomers^ 
 as Yarro concluded, could easily calculate 
 the month and the year when the combina- 
 tion must have occurred. 
 
 ]^ow, it was the custom in those days to 
 reckon by Olympiads, which were periods of 
 four years, the series commencing with a great 
 victory at a foot-race in Greece, won by a 
 man named Corcebus, from which event 
 originated the Olympian games, which wero 
 afterward celebrated every four years, and 
 which in subsequent ages became so renown 
 ed. The time when Corcebus ran his race, 
 and thus furnished an era for all the subse- 
 quent chr:>nologists and historians of liia 
 country, is generally regarded as about tho 
 year Y76 before Christ ; and the result of the 
 
B.C. 754.] Organization. 229 
 
 Tho result of Varro's computation. 
 
 calculations of Yarro's astrologer, and of the 
 astronomers who perfected it, was, that to lead 
 such a life as Romulus led, a man must have 
 been born at a time corresponding with the 
 first year of the second Olympiad ; that is, 
 taking off from 776, four years, for the first 
 Olympiad, the first year of the second Olym- 
 piad would be 772 ; this would make the time 
 of his birth 772 before Christ ; and then de- 
 ducting eighteen years more, for the age of 
 Komulus when he began to build his wall, we 
 have 754 before Christ as the era of the foun- 
 dation of Rome. This method of determining 
 a point in chronology seems so absurd, accord- 
 ing to the ideas of the present day, that we 
 can hardly resist the conclusion, that Yarro, 
 in making his investigation, was really guided 
 by other and more satisfactory modes of de- 
 termining the point, and that the horoscope 
 was not what he actually relied upon. How- 
 ever this may be, the era which he fixed upon 
 has been very generally received, though 
 many others have been proposed by the dif- 
 ferent learned men who have successively in- 
 vestigated the question. 
 
 According to the accounts given by the 
 early writers, the constructions which Romu- 
 
^SO RoMULijs. [B.C. 754 
 
 Probable character of the first constructions at Rome. 
 
 £us and his companions made were of a very 
 rude and simple cliaracter; such as might 
 have been expected from a company of boys : 
 for boys we ought perhaps to consider them 
 all, since it is not to be presumed that the 
 troop, in respect to age and experience, would 
 be much in advance of the leaders. The wall 
 which they built about the city was probably 
 only a substantial stone fence, and their 
 houses were huts and hovels. Even the pal- 
 ace, for there was a building erected for 
 Homulus himself which was called the palace, 
 was made, it is said, of rushes. Perhaps the 
 meaning is that it was thatched with rushes, 
 — or possibly the expression refers to a mode 
 of building sometimes adopted in the earlier 
 stages of civilization, in which straw, or 
 rushes, or some similar material is mixed with 
 mud or clay to help bind the mass together, 
 the whole being afterward dried in the sun. 
 "Walls thus made have been found to possess 
 much more strength and durability than 
 would be supposed possible for such a mate- 
 rial to attain. 
 
 However this may be, the hamlet of huts 
 which Romulus and his wild coadjutors built 
 and walled in, must have appeared, at the 
 
B.C. 754.] Organization. 231 
 
 Romulus convenes an assembly of the people. 
 
 time, to all observers, a very rude and imper^ 
 feet attempt at building a city; in fact it 
 must have seemed to them, if it is true that 
 Romulus was at that time only eighteen yeara 
 old, more like a frolic of thoughtless boys 
 than a serious enterprise of men. Romulus, 
 however, whatever others may have thought 
 of his work, was wholly in earnest. He felt 
 that he was a prince, and proud of his birth, 
 and fully conscious of his intellectual and 
 personal power, he determined that he would 
 have a kingdom. 
 
 It seems, however, that thus far he had not 
 been considered as possessing any thing like 
 regal authority over his company of followers, 
 but had been regarded only as a sort of chief- 
 tain exercising an undefined and temporary 
 power ; for as soon as the huts were built and 
 the inclosures made, he is said to have con- 
 vened an assembly of the people, for consul- 
 tation in respect to the plan of government 
 that they should form. Romulus introduced 
 the business of this meeting by a speech ap- 
 propriate to the occasion, which speech is re- 
 ported i^y an ancient historian somewhat as 
 follows. "Whether Romulus actually spoke 
 the words thus attributed to him, or whethei 
 
232 EoMTTLTJs. [E.G. Y5-1. 
 
 Tho speech of Romulus. Ilia i)ropc3al9. 
 
 the report contains only wliat tlie reporter 
 himself imagined him to say, there is now no 
 means of knowing. 
 
 " We have now," said Romuliis, according 
 to this record, " completed the building of our 
 city, so far as at present we are able to do it ; 
 and it must be confessed that if we were re- 
 quired to depend for protection against a se- 
 rious attack from an enemy, on the height of 
 our walls, or on their strength and solidity, 
 our prospects would not be very encouraging. 
 But our walls we must remember are not what 
 we rely upon. 'No walls can be so high, that 
 an enemy can not scale them. The depend- 
 ence must be after all on the men within the 
 city, and not on the ramparts and entrench- 
 ments which surround it, whatever those ram- 
 parts and entrenchments may be. We must 
 therefore rely upon ourselves, for our safety ; 
 — ^upon our valor, our discipline, our union 
 and harmony. It is courage and energy in 
 the people, not strength in outward defenses, 
 on which the safety and prosperity of a State 
 must depend. 
 
 " The great work before us therefore is yet 
 to be done. We have to organize a govern- 
 ment under which order and discipline may 
 
B.C. 754.] ORGANIZATION. 233 
 
 The three forms of government. 
 
 come in, to control and direct our energies, 
 and prepare us to meet whatever future exi- 
 gencies may arise, whether of peace or war. 
 What form shall be given to this government 
 is the question that you have now to consider. 
 I have learned by inquiry that there are va- 
 rious modes of government adopted among 
 men, and between these we have now to de- 
 cide. Shall our commonwealth be governed 
 by one man? Or shall we select a certain 
 number of the wisest and bravest of the citi 
 zens, and commit the administration of public 
 affairs to them ? Or, in the third place, shall 
 we commit the management of the govern- 
 ment to the control of the people at large? 
 Each of these three forms has its advantages, 
 and each is attended with its own peculiar 
 dangers. You are to choose between them. 
 Only when the decision is once made, let us 
 all unite in maintaining the government 
 which shall be established, whatever its form 
 may be." 
 
 The result of the deliberation which follow 
 ed, after the delivery of this address, was that 
 the government of the state should be, like 
 the government of Alba, under which the fol- 
 lowers of Romalus had been born, a monar- 
 
234 EoMULUs. [B.C. 754-. 
 
 R )raulus himself made king, 
 
 chy ; and that Eomulus himself should be 
 king. He was a prince by birth, an inheritor 
 of regal rank and power, by regular succes- 
 sion, from a line of kings. He had showii 
 himself, too, by his deeds, to be worthy of 
 power. He w^as courageous, energetic, saga- 
 cious, and universally esteemed. It was de- 
 cided accordingly that he should be king, and 
 he was proclaimed such by all the assembled 
 multitude, with long and loud acclamations. 
 
 Notwithstanding the apparent unanimity 
 and earnestness of the people, however, in 
 calling Eomulus to the throne, he evinced, as 
 the story goes, the proper degree of that re- 
 luctance and hesitation which a suitable re- 
 gard to appearances seems in all ages to re- 
 quire of public men when urged to accept of 
 power. He was thankful to the people for 
 the marks of their confidence, but he could 
 not consent to assume the responsibilities and 
 prerogatives of power until the choice made 
 by his countrymen had been confirmed by the 
 divinities of the land. So he resolved on in 
 stituting certain solemn religious ceremonies, 
 during the progress of which he hoped to re- 
 ceive some manifestation of the divine will. 
 These ceremonies consisted principally of sac 
 
B.a'754.] Okganization. 235 
 
 Divine intimation in his favor. Commencement of his reign. 
 
 rifices which he caused to be offered on the 
 plain near the city. While Romulus was en- 
 gaged in these services, the expected token 
 of the divine approval appeared in a super- 
 natural light which shone upon his hand. At 
 least it was said that such a light was seen, 
 and the a23pearing of it was considered as 
 clearly confirming the right of Romulus to the 
 throne. He no longer made any objection to 
 assuming the government of the new city as 
 its acknowledged king. 
 
 The first object to which he gave his atten- 
 tion was the organization of the people, and 
 the framing of the general constitution of 
 society. The community over which he was 
 called to preside had consisted thus far of 
 very heterogeneous and discordant materials. 
 Yast numbers of the people were of the hum- 
 blest and most degraded condition, consisting 
 of ignorant peasants, some stupid, others tur- 
 bulent and ungovernable; and of refugees 
 from justice, such as thieves, robbers, and 
 outlaws of every degree. But then, on th« 
 other hand, there were many persons of stand 
 ing and respectability. The sons of families 
 of wealth and influence in Alba had, in many 
 cases, joined the expedition, and at last, when 
 
236 E OMUL us [KG. 754. 
 
 Probable origin of the Roman institutions. 
 
 the building of the city had advanced so far 
 as to make it appear that the enterprise might 
 succeed, more men of age and character came 
 to join it, so that Eomulus found himself, 
 when he formally assumed the kingly power, 
 at the head of a community which contained 
 the elements of a very respectable common- 
 wealth. These elements were, however, thus 
 far all mingled together in complete confu- 
 sion, and the work that was first to be done 
 was to adopt some plan for classifying and 
 arranging them. 
 
 It is most probable, as a matter of fact, that 
 the organization and the institutions which in 
 subsequent times appeared in the Roman 
 state, were not deliberately planned and for- 
 mally introduced by Romulus at the outset, 
 but that they gradually grew up in the pro- 
 gress of time, and that afterward historians 
 and philosophers, in speculating upon them 
 at their leisure, carried back the history of 
 them to the earliest times, in order, by so 
 doing, to honor the founder of the city, and 
 also to exalt and aggrandize the institutions 
 themselves in public estimation, by celebrat- 
 ing the antiquity and dignity of their origin. 
 
 The institutions which Romulus actually 
 
B.C. 754.] Okganization. 237 
 
 Republican character of the government. 
 
 foimded, were of a very republican character, 
 if the accounts of subsequent writers are to 
 be believed. He established, it ie true, a gra- 
 dation of ranks, but the most important offices, 
 civil and military, were filled, it is said, by 
 election on the part of the people. In the 
 first place, the whole population was divided 
 into three portions, which were called tribes^ 
 which word was formed from the Latin word 
 tres^ meaning three. These tribes chose each 
 three presiding officers, selecting for the pur- 
 pose the oldest and most distinguished of their 
 number. It is probable, in fact, that Eomu- 
 lus himself really made the selection, and that 
 the action of the people was confined to some 
 sort of expression of assent and concurrence ; 
 for it is difficult to imagine how any other 
 kind of election than this could be possible 
 among so rude and ignorant a multitude. 
 The tribes were then subdivided each into 
 thirty counts or counties^ and each of these 
 likewise elected its head. Thus there was a 
 large body of magistrates or chieftains ap- 
 pointed, ninety-nine in number, namely, nine 
 heads of tribes and ninety heads of comities. 
 Komulus himself added one to the number, 
 of his own independent selection, which mpd^. 
 
238 EoMULUs. [B.C. 754. 
 
 Patricians and plebians. Patrons and clients. 
 
 the hundredth. The men thus chosen, con- 
 stituted what was called the senate. Thej 
 formed the great legislative council of the na- 
 tion. They and the families descending from 
 them became, in subsequent times, an aristo- 
 cratic and privileged class, called the Patri 
 cians. The remaining portion of the popula- 
 tion were called Plebeians. 
 
 The Plebeians comprised, of course, the in- 
 dustrial and useful classes, and were in rank 
 and station inferior to the Patricians. They 
 were, however, not all upon a level with each 
 other, for they were divided into two great 
 classes, called patrons and clients. The pa- 
 trons were the employers, the ^proprietors, the 
 men of influence and capital. The clients 
 were the employed, the dependent, the poor. 
 The clients were to perform services of various 
 kinds for the patrons, and the patrons w^ere to 
 reward, to protect, and to defend the clients. 
 All these arrangements Pomulus is said to 
 have ordained by his enactments, and thua 
 introduced as elements in the social constitu- 
 tion of the state. It is more probable, how- 
 ever, that instead of being thus expressly es- 
 tablished, by the authority of Pomulus as a 
 lawgiver, they gradually grc^/ up of them- 
 
B.C. 754.] Organizatioit. 239 
 
 Duration of the reign of Komulus. Usages. 
 
 selves, perhaps with some fostering attention 
 and care on his part, and possibly nndev some 
 positive regulation of law. For such impor- 
 tant and complicated relations as these are 
 not of a nature to be easily called into exist- 
 ence and action, in an extended and unorgan- 
 ized community, by the mere fiat of a mili- 
 tary chieftain. 
 
 Perhaps, however, it is not intended by the 
 ancient historians, in referring all these com 
 plicated arrangements of the Roman civil pol- 
 ity to the enactments of Romulus, to convey 
 the idea that he introduced them at once in 
 all their completeness, at the outset of his 
 reign. Romulus continued king of Rome for 
 nearly forty years, and instead of making ±or- 
 mal and positive enactments, he may have 
 gradually introduced the arrangements as- 
 cribed to him, as usages which he fostered 
 and encouraged, — confirming and sanctioning 
 them from time to time, when occasion re- 
 quired, by edicts and laws. 
 
 However this may have been, it is certain 
 tliat Romulus, in the course of his reign, laid 
 tlie foundation of the future greatness and 
 glory of Rome, by the energy w^ith which he 
 acted in int'-jducing order, system, and disci- 
 
240 EoMULUs. [B.C. 754. 
 
 DifBculty of immediately organizing such a community. 
 
 pline into the community which he found 
 gathered around him. He seems to have had 
 the sagacity to perceive from the outset that 
 the great evil and danger which he had to 
 fear was the prevalence of the spirit of disor 
 der and misrule among his followers. In fact, 
 nothing but tumult and confusion was to have 
 been expected from such a lawless horde as 
 his, and even after the city was built, the 
 presumption must have been very strong in 
 the mind of any considerate and prudent man, 
 against the possibility of ever regulating and 
 controlling such a mass of heterogeneous and 
 discordant materials, by any human means. 
 Komulus saw, however, that in effecting this 
 purpose lay the only hope of the success of 
 his enterprise, and he devoted himself with 
 great assiduity and care, and at the same time 
 with great energy and success,, to the v/ork 
 of organizing it. The great leading objects of 
 his life, from the time that he commenced tie 
 government of the new city, were to arrangc3 
 and regulate social institutions, to establish 
 laws, to introduce discipline, to teach and ac- 
 custom men to submit to authority, and to 
 bring in the requirements of law, and the 
 authority of the various recognized relations 
 
13.0.754.] ORGANIZATION. 241 
 
 Importance of the parental and family relation. 
 
 of social life, to control and restrain the way- 
 ward impulses of the natural heart. 
 
 As a part of this system of policy, he laid 
 great stress upon the parental and family rela- 
 tion. He saw in the tie which binds the father 
 to the child and the child to the father, a nat- 
 ural bond which he foresaw would greatly aid 
 him in keeping the turbulent and boisterous 
 propensities of human nature under some 
 proper control. He accordingly magnified 
 and confirmed the natural force of parental 
 authority by adding the sanctions of law to it. 
 He defined and established the power of the 
 father to govern and control the son, rightly 
 considering that the father is the natural ally 
 of the state in restraining young men from 
 violence, and enforcing habits of industry and 
 order u]3on them, at an age when they most 
 need control. He clothed parents, therefore, 
 with authority to fulfill this function, consider 
 ing that what he thus aided them to do, was 
 so much saved for the civil magistrate and 
 the state. In fact, he carried this so far that 
 it is said that the dependence of the child 
 upon the father, under the institutions of 
 E-omulus, was more complete, and was pro- 
 tracted to a later period than was tlie case 
 
 Q. 
 
242 E OMUL us. [B.C. 754 
 
 The father a magistrate. The marriage tie, 
 
 under the laws of any other nation. The 
 power of the father over his household was 
 supreme. He was a magistrate, so far as his 
 children were concerned, and could thus not 
 onlj require their services, and inflict light 
 punishments for disobedience upon them, as 
 with us, but he could sentence them to the 
 severest penalties of the law, if guilt j of 
 crime. 
 
 The laws were equally stringent in respect 
 to the marriage tie. Death was the penalty 
 for the violation of the marriage vows. All 
 property belonging to the husband and to the 
 wife was held by them in common, and the 
 wife, if she survived the husband, and if the 
 husband died without a will, became his sole 
 heir. In a word, the laws of Romulus evince 
 a very strong desire on the part of the legis 
 lator to sustain the sacredness and to magnify 
 the importance of the family tie ; and to avail 
 himself of those instinctive principles of obli- 
 gation and duty which so readily arise in the 
 human mind out of the various relations of the 
 family state, in the plans which he formed for 
 subduing the impulses and regulating the ac- 
 tion of his rude community. 
 
 He devoted great attention too to the insti^tii 
 
B.C. 754.] OfiGANizATiON. 243 
 
 Religious ceremonies. Auguries. The three augurs. 
 
 tions of religion. He knew well that such law- 
 less and impetuous spirits as his could never 
 be fully subdued and held in proper subor- 
 dination to the rules of social order and moral 
 duty, without the influence of motives drawn 
 from the S23iritual world ; and he accordingly 
 adopted vigorous measures for confirming and 
 perpetuating such religious observances as 
 were at that time observed, and in introducing 
 others. Every public act which he performed 
 was always accompanied and sanctioned by 
 religious solemnities. The rites and ceremo- 
 nies which he instituted seem puerile to us, 
 but they were full of meaning and of efiicacy 
 in the view of those who performed them. 
 There was, for examj^le, a class of religious 
 functionaries called augurs^ whose office it was 
 to interpret the divine will by means of cer- 
 tain curious indications which it was their 
 special profession to understand. There were 
 three of these augurs, and they were employed 
 on all public occasions, both in peace and 
 war, to ascertain from the omens whether the 
 enterprise or the work in regard to which they 
 were consulted was or was not favored by the 
 councils of heaven. If the augury was pro« 
 j)itious the work was entered upon with vigor 
 
244 EoMTJLus. [13.0.754. 
 
 Various kinds of omens. Station of the auguia. 
 
 and confidence. If otherwise, it was post- 
 poned or abandoned. 
 
 The omens which the augurs observed were 
 of various kinds, being drawn sometimes from 
 certain peculiarities in the form and structure 
 of the internal organs of animals ofiered in 
 sacrifice, sometimes from the appearance of 
 birds in the sky, their numbers or the direc- 
 tion of their flight, and sometimes from the 
 forms of clouds, the appearance of the light- 
 ning, and the sound of the thunder. When- 
 ever the augurs w^ere to take the auspices 
 from any of the signs of the sky, the process 
 was this. They would go with solemn cere- 
 mony to some high place — in Rome there was 
 a station expressly consecrated to this purpose 
 on the Capitoline hill, — and there, with a sort 
 of magical wand which they had for the pur- 
 pose, one of the number would determine and 
 indicate the four quarters of the heaven, 
 pointing out in a solemn manner the direc- 
 tions of east, west, north and south. The 
 augur would then take his stand with his back 
 to the west and his face of course to the east. 
 The north would then be on his left hand and 
 the south at his right. He would then, in 
 this position watch for the signs. If it was 
 
B.C. 754. J ORGANIZATION. 245 
 
 Thunder and lightning. Birds. Nature of the ancient superstition. 
 
 from the thunder that the auspices were to be 
 taken, the augur would listen to liear from 
 what quarter of the heavens it came. If the 
 lightning appeared in the east and the sound 
 of the thunder seemed to come from the 
 northward, the presage was favorable. So it 
 was if the chain of lightning seen in the sky 
 ajjpeared to pass from cloud to cloud above, 
 instead of descending to the ground. On the 
 other hand, thunder sounding as if it came 
 from the southward, and lightning striking- 
 down to the earth, were both unpropitious 
 omens. As to birds, some were of good omen, 
 as vultures, eagles and woodpeckers. Others 
 were evil, as ravens and owls. Various infer- 
 ences were drawn too from the manner in 
 which the birds that appeared in the air, were 
 seen to fly, and from the sound of their note 
 at the time when the observation was made. 
 
 By these and many similar means the gov- 
 ernment of Romulus vainly endeavored to 
 ascertain the will of heaven in resj)ect to the 
 plans and enterprises in which they were 
 called upon from time to time to engage. 
 There was perhaps in these observances much 
 imposture, and much folly ; still they could 
 only have been sustained, in their influenco 
 
246 EoMULTJS. [13.0.754. 
 
 Results of the arrangements made by Romulus. 
 
 and ascendency over the minds of the people, 
 bj a sincere veneration on their part for some 
 unseen and spiritnal power, and a reverent 
 desire to conform the public measures of their 
 government to what they supposed to be the 
 divine will. 
 
 By such measures as we have thus described 
 Komulus soon produced order out of confu- 
 sion within his little commonwealth. The en- 
 terprise which he had undertaken and the 
 great success w^hich had thus far followed it, 
 attracted great attention, and he soon found 
 that great numbers began to come m from all 
 the surrounding country to join him. Many 
 of these were persons of still worse character 
 than those who had adhered to him at first, 
 and he soon found that to admit them indis- 
 criminately into the city would be to endan- 
 ger the process of organization which was now 
 so well begun. He accordingly set apart a 
 hill near to his city called the Capitoline hill, 
 as an asylum for them, where they could re- 
 main in safety under regulations suitable to 
 their condition, and without interfering with 
 the arrangements which he had made for the 
 rest. This asylum soon became a very at- 
 tractive place for all the vagabonds, outlaws. 
 
B.C. 754.] Organization. i5d7 
 
 The asylum on the Capitoline hilL 
 
 thieves and robbers of the country. Ronmlus 
 welcomed them all, and as fast as they came 
 he busied himself with plans to furnish them 
 with employment and subsistence. lie en- 
 listed some of them in his army. Some he 
 employed to cultivate the ground in the terri- 
 tory belonging to the city. Others were en- 
 gaged as servants for the people within the 
 walls — ^being taken into the city, in small 
 numbers, from time to time, as fast as they 
 could be safely received. In process of time, 
 however, the walls of the city were extended 
 so as to include the Capitoline hill, and thus 
 at last the whole mass was brought into Home 
 together. 
 
248 EoMULus. [B.C. 351. 
 
 Ti>6 rape of the Sabines. Narrative of it. 
 
 ChapteeXL 
 "Wives. 
 
 lYERY reader who has made even the 
 smallest begmning in the study of an- 
 cient history, must be acquainted, in general, 
 with the mode which Eomulus adopted to 
 provide the people of his city with wives, by 
 the transaction which is commonly called in 
 history the rape of the Sabines. The deed 
 itself, as it actually occurred, may perhaps 
 have been one of great rudeness, violence, 
 and cruelty. If so, the historians who de- 
 scribed it contrived to soften the character of 
 it, and to divest it in a great measure of the 
 repulsive features which might have been 
 6upj)0sed to characterize such a transaction, 
 for, according to the narrative which they 
 give us, the whole proceeding was conducted 
 in such a manner as to evince not only great 
 ingenuity and sagacity on the part of Komulos 
 and his government, but also great modera- 
 tion and humanity. The circumstances, as 
 the historians relate them, were these : 
 
13.0. 351.] Wives. 249 
 
 The population of Rome chiefly men. 
 
 As might naturally be supposed from the 
 manner in wbicli the company which formed 
 the population of Rome had been collected, it 
 consisted at first almost wholly of men. The 
 laws and regulations referred to in the last 
 chapter, in respect to the family relation, were 
 those framed after the organization of the 
 community had become somewhat advanced, 
 since at the outset there could be very few 
 families, inasmuch as the company which first 
 met together to build the city, consisted 
 simply of an army of young men. It is true 
 that among those who joined them at first 
 there were some men of middle life and some 
 families, — still, as is always the case with new 
 cities and countries suddenly and rapidly 
 settled, the population consisted almost en- 
 tirely of men. 
 
 It was necessary that the men should have 
 wives. There were several reasons for this. 
 First, it was necessary for the comfort and 
 happiness of the people themselves. A com- 
 munity of mere men is gloomy and desolate. 
 Secondly, for the continuance and perpetuity 
 of the state it was necessary that there should 
 be wives and children, so that when one gene- 
 ration should liave passed away there might 
 
250 EoMULiJs. [B.C. 351. 
 
 Necessity of providing wives for them. 
 
 be another to succeed it. And, thirdly, for 
 the preservation of order and law. Men un- 
 married are, in the mass, proverbially nn- 
 goyernable. Is'othing is so eifectual in keep- 
 ing a citizen away from scenes of tumult and 
 riot as a wife and children at home. The 
 fearful violence of the riots and insurrections 
 of which the city of Paris has so often been 
 the scene, is explained, in a great degree, by 
 the circumstance that so immense a proportion 
 of the population are unmarried. They have 
 no homes, and no defenseless wives and chil- 
 dren to fear for, and so they fear nothing, but 
 give themselves u]3, in times of public excite- 
 ment, to the wildest impulses of j)assion. 
 Komulus seems to have understood this, and 
 his first care was to provide the way by which 
 as many as possible of his people should be 
 married. 
 
 The first measure which he adopted, was to 
 send ambassadors around to the neighboring 
 states, soliciting alliances with them, and 
 stipulations allowing of intermarriages be- 
 tween his people and theirs. The proposal 
 seemed not unreasonable, and it was made in 
 an unassuming and respectful manner. In the 
 message which llomulus commissioned the 
 
B.C. 351] Wives. 251 
 
 Romulus sends embassadors to the surrounding states, 
 
 embassadors to deliver, lie admitted that his 
 colony was yet small, and by no means equal 
 in influence and power to the kingdoms whose 
 alliance he desired ; but he reminded those 
 whom he addressed that great results came 
 sometimes in the end from very inconsiderable 
 beginnings, and that their enterprise thus far, 
 though yet in its infancy, had been greatly 
 prospered, and was plainly an object of divine 
 favor, and that the time might not be far dis- 
 tant when the new state would be able fully 
 to reciprocate such favors as it might now re- 
 ceive. 
 
 The neighboring kings to whom these em- 
 bassages were sent rejected the proposals with 
 derision. They did not even give serious 
 answers, obviously considering the new city 
 as a mere temporary gathering and encamp- 
 ment of adventurers and outlaws, which would 
 be as transient as it was rude and irregular. 
 They looked to see it break up as suddenly 
 and tuniultuouslv as it had been formed, 
 riiey accordingly sent back word to Romulus 
 that he nicr^t report to the same plan to get 
 women for his city that he had adopted to 
 procure recruits of men. He must open an 
 asylum for them. The low and the dissolute 
 
'252 Romulus. [B.C. 351. 
 
 Insulting replies. Anger of the Romans, 
 
 would come flocking to liim then, tliey said, 
 from all parts, and vagabond women would 
 make just the kind of wives for vagabond 
 men. 
 
 Of course, the young men of the city were 
 aroused to an extreme pitch of indignation 
 at receiving this response. They were clamo- 
 rous for war. They wished Eomulus to lead 
 them out against some of these cities at once, 
 and allow them at the same time to revenge 
 tJie insults which they had received, and to 
 provide themselves with wives by violence, 
 since they could not obtain them by solicita- 
 tion. But Bomulus restrained their ardor, 
 saying that they must do nothing rashly, and 
 joromising to devise a better way than theirs 
 to attain the end. 
 
 The plan which he devised was to invite 
 the people of the surrounding states and cities 
 both men and women, to come to Borne, w^ith 
 a view of seizing some favorable occasion for 
 capturing the women while they were there, 
 and driving the men away. The difliculty in 
 the way of the execution of this plan was ob- 
 viously to induce the people to come, and es- 
 pecially to bring the young women with them. 
 The native timidity of the maidens, joined to 
 
B.C. 351.] Wives. 258 
 
 Griat discovery made by Romulus. His plan. 
 
 tlie contemptuous feelings whicli their fathers 
 and brothers cherished, in regard to every 
 tiling pertaining to the new city, would very 
 naturally keep them away, unless something 
 could be devised which would exert a very 
 strong attraction. 
 
 Romulus waited a little time, in order that 
 any slight excitement which had been pro 
 duced by his embassy should have had time 
 to subside, and then he made, or pretended to 
 make, a great discovery in a field not far from 
 his town. This discovery was the finding of an 
 ancient altar of N^eptune, under ground. The 
 altar was brought to view by some workmen who 
 were making excavations at the place. How 
 it came to be under ground, and who had 
 built it, no one knew. The rumor of this 
 great discovery was spread immediately in 
 every direction. jRomulus attached great im 
 portance to the event. The altar had un 
 doubtedly been built, he thought, by the an 
 cient inhabitants of the country, and the find 
 ing it was a very momentous occurrence. l\ 
 was proper that the occasion should be solem- 
 nized by suitable religious observances. 
 
 Accordingly, arrangements were made foi 
 a grand celebration. In addition to the re- 
 
254 KoMULUs. [B.C. 351. 
 
 Plans for the festival. Races, games, and shows. 
 
 ligioiis rites, Homulus proposed that a great 
 fair should be held on a plain near the city at 
 the same time. Booths were erected, and the 
 merchants of all the neighboring cities were 
 invited to come, bringing with them such ar- 
 ticles as they had for sale, and those who 
 wished to buy were to come with their money. 
 In a word, arrangements were made for a 
 great and splendid festival. 
 
 There were to be games too, races, and 
 wrestlings, and other athletic sports, such as 
 were in vos-ue in those times. The celebra- 
 tion was to continue for many days, and the 
 games and sports were to come at the end. 
 Romulus sent messengers to all the surround- 
 ing country to proclaim the programme of 
 these entertainments, and to invite every body 
 to come ; and he adroitly arranged the de- 
 tails in such a manner that the chief attrac- 
 tions for grave, sober-minded and substantia] 
 men should be on the earlier days of the show, 
 and that the latter days should be devoted to 
 lighter amusements, such as would possess a 
 charm for the young, the light-hearted and 
 the happy. It was among this last class that he 
 naturally expected to find the maidens whom 
 his men would choose in looking for wives. 
 
B.C. 351.] Wives. 255 
 
 A groat concourso assomblea at the fair. 
 
 When the time arrived the sj)ectacles coiii = 
 menced. There was a great concourse at the 
 outset, but the people who first came, were, 
 as Romulus supposed would be the case, 
 chiefly men. They came in companies, as if 
 for mutual support and protection, and they 
 exhibited in a greater or less degree an air of 
 suspicion, watchfulness and mistrust. They 
 were, however, received with great cordiality 
 and kindness. They were conducted about 
 the town, and were astonished to find how 
 considerable a town it was. The streets, the 
 houses, the walls, the temples, simple in con- 
 struction as they were, far surpassed the expec- 
 tations they had formed. The visitors were 
 treated with great hospitality, and entertained 
 in a manner which, considering the circum- 
 stances of the case, was quite sunijDtuous. 
 The women and children too, who came on 
 these first days, received from all the Romans 
 very special attention and regard. 
 
 As the celebrations went on from day to 
 day, a considerable change took place in the 
 character and appearance of the com^Dany. 
 The men ceased to be suspicious and watch- 
 ful. Some went home, and carried such re- 
 ports of the new city, and of the kindness, 
 
256 Romulus. [B.C. 351. 
 
 The spectacles continue several weeks. 
 
 and hospitality, and gentle behavior of the in^ 
 habitants, that new visitors came continually 
 to see for themselves. Every day the propor- 
 tion of stern and suspicious men diminished, 
 and that of gay and happy-looking youths 
 and maidens increased. 
 
 In the mean time, the men of the city were 
 under strict injunctions from Homulus to treat 
 their guests in the most respectful manner, 
 leaving them entirely at liberty to go and 
 come as they pleased, except so far as they 
 could detain them by treating them with 
 kindness and attention, and devising new 
 sports and amusements for them from day to 
 day. Things continued in this state for two 
 or three weeks, during all which time the 
 new city was a general place of resort for the 
 people of all the surrounding country. Of 
 course a great many agreeable acquaintances 
 would naturally be formed between the young 
 men of the city and their visitors, as acci- 
 dental circumstances, or individual choice and 
 preference brought them together ; and thus, 
 without any directions on the subject from 
 Romulus, each man would very naturally 
 occupy himself, in anticipation of the genera] 
 seizure which he knew was coming, in mak 
 
B.C. 351.] Wives. 257 
 
 The last day of the fair. Signal to be made by Romulus. 
 
 ing his selection beforehand, of the maiden 
 whom he intended, when the time for the 
 seizure came, to make his own ; and the 
 maiden herself would probably be less terri- 
 fied, and make less resistance to the attempt 
 to capture her, than if it were by a perfect 
 stranger that she was to be seized. 
 
 All this Romulus seems very adroitly to 
 hav^e arranged. The time for the final exe- 
 cution of the scheme was to be the last day 
 of the celebration. The best spectacle and 
 show of all was to take place on that day. 
 The Romans were directed to come armed to 
 this show, but to keep their arms carefully 
 concealed beneath their garments. They 
 were to do nothing till Romulus gave the sig- 
 nal. He was himself to be seated upon a sort 
 of throne, in a conspicuous place, where all 
 could see him, presiding, as it were, over the 
 assembly, while the spectacle went on ; and 
 finally, when he judged that the proj)ep mo- 
 ment had arrived, he w^as to give the signal 
 by taking off a certain loose article of dress 
 which he wore — a sort of cloak or mantle — 
 and folding it up, and then immediately un- 
 folding it again. This mantle was a sort of 
 badge of royalty, and was gAjly adorned with 
 
 K 
 
258 KoMULTS. [13.0.351. 
 
 Excitement of the Romans. Final preparations. 
 
 purple strij)es -apon a white ground. It was 
 well adapted, therefore, to the purpose of 
 being used as a signal, inasmuch as any mo- 
 tions that were made with it could be very 
 easily seen. 
 
 Every thing being thus arranged, the as 
 sembly was convened, and the games and 
 spectacles went on. The Romans were full 
 of excitement and trepidation, each one hav- 
 ing taken his place as near as possible to the 
 maiden whom he was intending to seize, and 
 occupying himself with keeping his eye upon 
 her as closely as he could, without seeming 
 to do so, and at the same time watching the 
 royal mantle, and every movement made by 
 the wearer of it, that he might catch the 
 signal the instant that it should be made. 
 All this time the men among the guests at the 
 entertainment were oft' their guard, and wholly 
 at their ease — having no suspicion whatevei 
 of the mine that was ready to be sprung be- 
 neath them. The wives, mothers, and chil 
 dren, too, were all safe, as well as unsuspicious 
 of danger ; for Komulus had given special 
 charge that no married woman should be 
 molested. The men had had ample time and 
 opportunity in the many days of active social 
 
B.C. 351.] Wives. 259 
 
 The moment arrives. The maidens seized 
 
 Intercourse which they had enjoyed with theii 
 gniests, to know who were free, and they were 
 forbidden in any instance to take a wife away 
 from her husband. 
 
 At length the moment arrived for giving 
 the signaL Romulus took off his mantle, 
 folded it, and then unfolded it again. The 
 Komans immediately drew their swords, and 
 rushed forward, each to secure his own prize. 
 A scene of the greatest excitement and con- 
 fusion ensued. The whole company of visit- 
 ors perceived of course that some great act 
 of treachery was perpetrated uj)on them, but 
 they were w^holly in the dark in resj)ect to 
 the nature and design of it. They were 
 chiefly unarmed, and wholly unprepared for 
 so sudden an attack, and they fled in all 
 directions in dismay, protecting themselves 
 and their wives and children as well as they 
 could, as they retired, and aiming only to 
 withdraw as large a number as possible from 
 the scene of violence and confusion that pre- 
 vailed. The Romans were careful not to do 
 them any injury, but, on the contrary, to 
 allow them to withdraw, and to take away 
 all the mothers and children without any 
 molestation. In fact, it was the very obj^c;! 
 
'260 • EoMTJLTJS. [B.C. 351. 
 
 The men fly. The Romans secure the captive maidens. 
 
 and design of the onset which they made 
 upon the company, not only to seize upon the 
 maidens, but to drive all the rest of their 
 visitors away. The men, therefore, in the 
 excitement and terror of the moment, fled in 
 all directions, taking with them those whom 
 they could most readily secure, who were, of 
 course, those whom the Romans left to them ; 
 while the Romans themselves withdrew Vv^ith 
 their prizes, and secured them within tho 
 walls of the city. 
 
 In reading this extraordinary story, we nat- 
 urally feel a strong disposition to inquire what 
 part the damsels themselves took, when they 
 found themselves thus suddenly seized and 
 carried away, by these daring and athletic as- 
 sailants. Did they resist and struggle to get 
 free, or did they yield themselves without 
 much opposition to their fate ? That they did 
 not resist efiectually is plain, for the Roman 
 young men succeeded in carrying them away, 
 and securing them. It may be that they at- 
 tempted to resist, but found their strength 
 overpowered by the desperate and reckless 
 violence of their captors. And yet, it can not 
 be denied that woman is endued with the 
 power of making by various means a verj 
 
B.C. 35 1.] WiNTES. 263 
 
 An incident. A captive " for Thalassius." 
 
 formidable opposition to any attempt to ab- 
 duct her by any single man, when she is thor- 
 onghly in earnest about it. How it was in 
 fact in tliis case we have no direct information, 
 and we have consequently no means of form- 
 ing any opinion in respect to the light in which 
 this rough and lawless mode of wooing was 
 regarded by the objects of it, except from the 
 events which subsequently occurred. 
 
 One incident took place while the Romans 
 were seizing and carrying away their prizes, 
 which was afterward long remembered, as it 
 became the foundation of a custom which 
 continued for many centuries to form a part 
 of the marriage ceremony at Rome. It seems 
 that some young men — very young, and of a 
 humble class — had seized a peculiarly beauti- 
 ful girl — one of some note and consideration, 
 too, among her countrywomen — and were car- 
 rying her away, like the rest. Some other 
 young Romans of the patrician order seeing 
 this, and thinking that so beautiful a maiden 
 ought not to fall to the share of such plebeip.ns, 
 immediately set out in full pursuit to rescue 
 her. The plebeians hurried along to escape 
 from them, calling out at the same time, 
 ''^ Thalassio ! Thalassio P'' which means "Foi 
 
'262 Romulus. [B.C. 351. 
 
 The phrase " for Thalassius" becomes a proverb. 
 
 Tlialassius, For Thalassius." They meant by 
 this to convey the idea that the prize which 
 they had in possession was intended not for 
 any one of their own number, but for Thalas- 
 sius. l!^ow Thalassius was a young noble 
 universally known and very highly esteemed 
 by all his countrymen, and when the rescuing 
 party were thus led to suppose that the beau- 
 tiful lady was intended for him, they acqui- 
 esced immediately, and desisted from their 
 attempt to recaj)ture her, and thus by the aid 
 of their stratagem the plebeians carried off their 
 prize in safety. When this circumstance came! 
 afterward to be known, the ingenuity of the 
 young plebeians, and the success of their man- 
 a3uver, excited very general applause, and the 
 exclamation, Thalassio, passed into a sort of 
 proverb, and was subsequently adopted as an 
 exclamation of assent and congratulation, to 
 be used by the spectators at a marriage cere- 
 mony. 
 
 Romulus had issued most express and posi- 
 tive orders that the young captives should bo 
 treated after their seizure in the kindest and 
 most respectful manner, and should be subject 
 to no violence, and no ill-treatment of any 
 kind, other than that necessary for conveying 
 
B.C. 351.] Wives. 263 
 
 Resentment of the fathers and brothers of the maidens. 
 
 them to the places of security previously des- 
 ignated. They suffered undoubtedly a greater 
 or less degree of distress and terror, — ^but find- 
 ing that they were treated, after their seizure 
 with respectful consideration, and that they 
 were left unmolested by their captors, they ' 
 gradually recovered their composure during 
 the night, and in the morning were quite self- 
 possessed and calm. Their fathers and broth- 
 ers in the mean time had gone home to their 
 respective cities, taking with them the women 
 and children that they had saved, and burning 
 with indignation and rage against the perpe- 
 trators of such an act of treachery as had been 
 practiced upon them. They were of course 
 in a state of great uncertainty and suspense 
 in respect to the fate which awaited the cap- 
 tives, and were soon eagerly engaged in form- 
 ing and discussing all possible plans for res- 
 cuing and recovering them. Thus the night 
 was passed in agitation and excitement, both 
 mthin and without the city, — ^the excitement 
 of terror and distress, great perhaps, though 
 subsiding, on the part of the captives, and of 
 resentment and rage which grew deeper and 
 more extended every hour, on the part of their 
 countr}Tiien. 
 
264: EoMULus. [B.C. 351. 
 
 Tlie captives called together in the morning. 
 
 When the morning came, Romulus ordered 
 the captive maidens to be all brought together 
 before him in order that lie might make as it 
 were an apology to them for the violence to 
 which they had been subjected, and explain 
 to them the circumstances which had impelled 
 the Romans to resort to it. 
 
 "You ought not," said he, "to look upon 
 it as an indignity that you have been thus 
 seized, for the object of the Romans in seizing 
 you was not to dishonor you, or to do you any 
 injury, but only to secure you for their wives 
 in honorable marriage; and far from being 
 displeased with the extraordinariness of the 
 measures which they have adopted to secure 
 you, you ought to take pride in them, as 
 evincing the ardor and strength of the affec- 
 tion with which you have inspired your lovers. 
 I will assure you that when you have become 
 their wives you shall be treated with all the 
 respect and tenderness that you have beei? 
 accustomed to experience under your fathers' 
 roofs. The brief coercion which we have em- 
 ployed for the purpose of securing you in the 
 first instance, — a coercion which we were 
 com]3elled to resort to by the necessity of the 
 case, — is the only rudeness to which you will 
 
1).C.351.] Wives. i'G,') 
 
 Address made to them by Romulus. 
 
 ever be exposed. Forgive us then for this 
 cue liberty which we have taken, and consider 
 that the fanlt, whatever fault in it there may 
 be, is not ours, but that of your fathers and 
 brothers who rejected our ofiers for voluntary 
 and peaceful alliances, and thus compelled us 
 to resort to this stratagem or else to lose you 
 altogether. Your destiny if you unite with 
 us will be great and glorious. We' have not 
 taken you captive to make you prisoners or 
 slaves, or to degrade you in any way from 
 your former position ; but to exalt you to po- 
 sitions of high consideration in a new and 
 rising colony ; — a colony which is surely 
 destined to become great and powerful, and 
 of which we mean you to be the chief glory 
 and charm." 
 
 The young and handsome Romans stood by 
 while Romulus made this speech, their coun- 
 tenances animated with excitement and pleas- 
 ure. The maidens themselves seemed much 
 inclined to yield to their fate. Their resent- 
 ment gradually subsided. It has been, in 
 fact, in all ages, characteristic of women to 
 be easily led to excuse and forgive any wrong 
 on the part of another which is prompted by 
 love for herself: and these injured maidens 
 
266 BoMULUs. [B.C. 351. 
 
 Acquiescence of the captives. Cures. 
 
 Beemed gradually to come to the conclusion, 
 that considering all the circumstances of the 
 ease their abductors were not so much in fault 
 after all. In a short time an excellent under- 
 standing was established, and they were all 
 married. There were, it is said, about five or 
 six hundred of them, and it proved that most 
 of them were from the nation of the Sabines, 
 a nation which inhabited a territory north of 
 the colony of the Romans. The ca23ital of 
 the Sabines was a city called Cures. Cures 
 was about twenty miles from Rome.* 
 
 The Sabines, in deliberating on the course 
 which they should pursue in the emergency, 
 found themselves in a situation of great per- 
 plexity. In the first place the impulse which 
 ur2:ed them to immediate acts of retaliation 
 and hostility was restrained by the fact that 
 so many of their beloved daughters were 
 wholly in the power of their enemies, and 
 they could not tell what cruel fate miglit 
 await the captives if they were themselves to 
 resort to any measures that would exasperate 
 or provoke the captors. Then again their own 
 territory was very much exjDOsed, and they 
 were by no means certain, in case a war 
 
 * See map of Latiam, page 134, 
 
B.C. 351.] Wives. 267 
 
 The Sabines demand the restoration of the captives. 
 
 should be commenced between them and tlie 
 Ixomans, how it would end. Their own j)opU" 
 hxtion was much divided, being scattered over 
 the territory, or settled in various cities 
 and towns which were but slightly forti- 
 fied, and consequently were much exj^osed 
 to assault in case the Romans were to make 
 an incursion into their country. In view of 
 all these considerations the Sabines concluded 
 that it would be best for them on the wdiole, 
 to try the influence of gentle measures, before 
 resorting to open war. 
 
 They therefore sent an embassy to Homulus, 
 to remonstrate in strong terms against the 
 wrong which the Komans had done them by 
 their treacherous violence, and to demand 
 that the young women should be restored. 
 *' If you w^ill restore them to us now," said 
 they, " we will overlook the affront which you 
 have put upon us, and make peace wdth you ; 
 and we w^ill enter into an alliance with you 
 60 that hereafter your people and ours may be 
 at liberty to intermarry in a fair and honor- 
 able way, but we can not submit to have our 
 daughters taken away from us by treachery 
 and force." 
 
 Reasonable as this proposition seems, Tlom- 
 
268 KoMULus. [B.C. 351. 
 
 Romulus refuses to restore them. 
 
 Uxus did not think it best to accede to it. It 
 was, in fact, too late, for such deeds once 
 done can hardly be undone. Romulus replied, 
 that the women, being now the wives of the 
 Romans, could not be surrendered. The 
 violence, he said, of which the Sabines com- 
 plained was unavoidable. 'No other possible 
 way had been open to them for gaining the 
 end. He was willing, he added, to enter into a 
 treaty of peace and alliance with the Sabines, 
 but they must acknowledge, as a preliminary 
 to such a treaty, the validity of the marriages, 
 which, as they had already been consumma- 
 ted, could not now be annulled. 
 
 The Sabines, on their part, could not accede 
 to these proposals. Being, however, still re- 
 luctant to commence hostilities, they con- 
 tinued the negotiations — though while engag- 
 ed in them they seemed to anticipate an un- 
 favorable issue, for they were occupied all the 
 time in organizing troops, strengthening the 
 defenses of their villages and towns, and mak- 
 ing other vigorous preparations for war. 
 
 The Romans, in the mean time, seemed to 
 find the young wives which they had procured 
 by these transactions a great acquisition to 
 their colony. It proved, too, that they not 
 
B.C. 351.] Wives. 269 
 
 Ceremony in commemoration of these events. 
 
 only prized the acquisition, but they exulted 
 so much in the ingenuity and success of the 
 stratagem by which their object had been 
 effected, that a sort of symbolical violence in 
 taking the bride became afterward a part of 
 the marriage ceremony in all subsequent wed- 
 dings. For always, in future years, when the 
 new-married wife w^as brought home to her 
 husband's house, it was the custom for him to 
 take her up in his arms at the door, and carry 
 her over the threshold as if by force, thus com- 
 memorating by this ceremony the coercion 
 which had signalized the original marriages 
 of his ancestors, the founders of Rome. 
 
270 Romulus. [B.C. 750 
 
 King Acron.. Caenina. Its distance from Rome^ 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 The Sabine Wae. 
 
 'IIILE the negotiations with the Sabiiiea 
 were still pending, Homiilus became 
 involved in another difficulty, which for a 
 time assumed a very threatening aspect. This 
 difficulty was a w^ar which broke out, some- 
 what suddenly, in consequence of the inva- 
 sion of the Roman territories by a neighboring 
 chieftain named Acron. Acron was the sov- 
 ereign of a small state, whose ca2:>ital was a 
 town called Csenina.* This Csenina is sup- 
 posed to have been only four or five miles 
 distant from Romulus's city, — a fact which 
 shows very clearly on how small a scale the 
 deeds and exploits connected with the first 
 foundation of the great empire, which after- 
 ward became so extended and so renowned, 
 were originally performed, and how intrinsi- 
 cally insignificant they w^cre, in themselves, 
 though momentous in the extreme in respect 
 to the consequences that fiowc'i from them„ 
 
 * See Map of Latium, page 1 34 
 
B.C. 750.] The Sabine Wak. 271 
 
 Acron's hostility to the new city. Jlis plans. 
 
 Acron was a bold, energetic, and deter- 
 mined man, wlio liad already acquired great 
 fame by liis warlike exploits, and who had 
 long been watching the progress of the new 
 colony with an evil eye. He thought that if 
 it were allowed to take root, and to grow, it 
 might, at some future day, become a formi- 
 dable enemy, both to him, and also to the 
 other states in that part of Italy. He had 
 been very desirous, therefore, of finding some 
 pretext for attacking the new city, and when 
 he heard of the seizure of the Sabine women, 
 he thought that the time had arrived. He, 
 therefore, urged the Sabines to make war at 
 once upon the Romans, and promised, if they 
 would do so, to assist them with all the forces 
 that he could command.. The Sabines, how- 
 ever, were so unwilling to proceed to extremi- 
 ties, and spent so much time in negotiations 
 and embassies, that Acron's patience was at 
 length wholly exhausted by the delays, and 
 ho resolved to undertake the extermination 
 of the new colony himself alone. 
 
 So he gathered together a rude and half- 
 organized aiTQy, and advanced toward Rome. 
 Romulus, who had been informed of his plans 
 and preparations, went out to meet him. The 
 
272 EoMfjLus. [^.0.750. 
 
 Romulus and Acron meet on the field. 
 
 two armies came in view of eacli other on an 
 open plain, not far from the city. Eomulus 
 advanced at the head of his troops, while 
 Acron apj^eared likewise in the fore-front of 
 the invaders. After uttering in the hearing of 
 each other, and of the assembled armies, va- 
 rious exclamations of challenge and defiance, 
 it was at length agreed that the question at 
 issue should be decided by single combat, the 
 two commanders themselves to be the cham- 
 pions. Komultis and Acron accordingly ad- 
 vanced into the middle of the field, while 
 their armies drew up around them, forming a 
 sort of rino; within which the combatants 
 were to engage. 
 
 The interest w^hich. would be naturally felt 
 by such an encounter, was increased very 
 much by the strong contrast that was ob- 
 served in the appearance of the warriors. 
 Eomulus was very young, and though tall 
 and athletic in form, his countenance exhib- 
 ited still the expression of softness and deli- 
 cacy characteristic of youth. Acron, on the 
 other hand, was a war-worn veteran, rugged, 
 hardy, and stern ; and the throngs of martial 
 spectators that surrounded the field, when 
 tliey saw the combatants as they came for- 
 
B.C. 750.] The Sabine War. 273 
 
 Anticipations of the spectators. Romulus victorioua. 
 
 ward to engage, anticipated a very unequal 
 contest. Romulus was nevertheless victori- 
 ous. As lie went into the battle, lie made a 
 vow to Jupiter, that if he conquered his foe, 
 he would ascribe to the god all the glory of 
 the victory, and he w^ould set up the arms and 
 spoils of Acron at Home, as a trophy sacred 
 to Jupiter, in honor of the divine aid through 
 which the conquest should be achieved. It 
 was in consequence of this vow, as the old 
 historians say, that Komulus prevailed in the 
 combat. At all events, he did prevail. 
 Acron was slain, and while Romulus was 
 stripj)ing the fallen body of its armor on the 
 field, his men were jDursuing the army of 
 Acron, for the soldiers fled in dismay toward 
 their city, as soon as they saw that the single 
 combat had gone against their king. 
 
 Caenina was not in a condition to make any 
 defense, and it was readily taken. When 
 the city was thus in che power of Komulus, 
 he called the inhabitants together, and said 
 to them, that he cheiished no hostile or ro 
 eentful feelings toward them. On the con- 
 trary, he wished to have them his allies and 
 friends, and he promised them, that if they 
 would abandon Csenina, and go with him to 
 
 S 
 
274 Romulus. [B.C. 750 
 
 Results of his victory. Subsequent policy of the Romang. 
 
 Rome, they should all be received as broth 
 ers, and be at once incorporated into the 
 Roman state, and admitted to all the privi- 
 leges of citizens. The people of Csenina, 
 when the first feelings of terror and distress 
 which their falling into the power of their 
 enemies naturally awakened, had been in 
 some measure allayed, readily acquiesced in 
 this arrangement, and were all transferred to 
 Rome. Their coming made a great addition 
 not only to the population and strength of the 
 city, but vastly increased the celebrity and 
 fame of Romulus in the estimation of the 
 surrounding nations. 
 
 This victory over Acron, and the annexa- 
 tion of his dominions to the Roman common- 
 wealth, are considered of great historical im 
 portance, as the original type and exemplai 
 of the whole subsequent foreign policy of the 
 Roman state; — a policy marked by courage 
 and energy in martial action on the field, and 
 by generosity in dealing with the conquered ; 
 and which was so successful in its results, that 
 it was the means of extending the Roman 
 power from kingdom to kingdom, and from 
 continent to continent, until the vast organi' 
 station almost encircled the world. 
 
B.C. 750.] The Sabine Wak. 275 
 
 The trophy of the victory. First Roman triumph. 
 
 Romulus faithfully fulfilled the vow which 
 lie had made to Ju23iter. On the return of 
 the army to Home, the soldiers, by his direc- 
 tions, cut down a small oak-tree, and trim- 
 ming the branches at the top, and shortening 
 them as much as was necessary for the pur- 
 pose, they hung the weapons and armor of 
 Acron upon it, and marched with it thus, in 
 triumph into the city. Romulus walked in 
 the midst of the procession, a crown of laurel 
 upon his head, and his long hair hanging 
 down upon his shoulders. Thus the victors 
 entered the city, greeted all the way by the 
 shouts and acclamations of the people, who 
 had assembled, — men, women, and children, — 
 at the gates and upon the tops of the houses. 
 When the long procession had thus passed in, 
 tables for the soldiers were spread in the 
 streets aud public squares, and the whole day 
 was spent in festivity and rejoicing. This 
 was the first Roman triumph, — the original 
 model and example of those magnificent and 
 imposing spectacles which in subsequent ages 
 became the wonder of the world. 
 
 The spoils which had been brought in upon 
 the oak were solemnly set up, on one of the 
 bills within the city, as a trophy to Jupiter. 
 
276 EoMTJLus. [B.C. 750. 
 
 Annexation of more cities. Women eummonad. 
 
 A small temple was erected expressly to re- 
 eeive them. This temple was very small, be- 
 ing but five feet wide and ten feet long. 
 
 A short time after these transactions two 
 other cities were incorporated into the Roman 
 state. The name of these cities were Criistu 
 menium and Antemnse. Some women from 
 these cities had been seized at Rome when 
 the Sabine women were taken, and the inhab- 
 itants had been ever since that period medi- 
 tating plans of revenge. They were not 
 strong enough to wage open war against 
 Romulus, but they began at last to make hos- 
 tile incursions into the Roman territories bv 
 means of such small bands of armed men as 
 they had the means of raising. Romulus im- 
 mediately organized bodies of troops sufiicient 
 for the purpose, and then suddenly, and, as it 
 would seem, without giving the kings of these 
 cities any previous warning, he aj)peared be- 
 fore the walls and captured the cities before 
 the inhabitants had time to recover from their 
 consternation. 
 
 He then sent to all the w^omen in Rome 
 who had formerly belonged to these cities, 
 summoning them to appear before him at his 
 public place of audience in the city, and in 
 
E.G. 750.] The Sabine Wak. '277 
 
 The address of Romulus. His promises. 
 
 the presence of the Roman Senate. The 
 women were exceedingly terrified at receiv- 
 ing this smnmons. They supposed that death 
 or some other terrible punishment, was to bo 
 inflicted npon them in retribution for the of- 
 fenses committed by their countrymen, and 
 they came into the senate-house, hiding their 
 faces in their robes, and crying out with grief 
 and terror. Romulus bid them calm their 
 fears, assuring them that he intended them 
 no injury. "Your countrymen," said he, 
 " preferred war to the peaceful alternative 
 of friendship and alliance which we offered 
 them ; and the fortune of war to which they 
 thus chose to appeal, has decided against 
 them. They have now fallen into our hands, 
 and are wholly at our mercy. We do not, 
 however, mean to do them any harm. We 
 spare and forgive them for your sakes. "We 
 intend to invite them to come and live with 
 us and with you at Rome, so that you can 
 once more experience the happiness of being 
 joined to your fathers and brothers as well as 
 your husbands. We shall not destroy or even 
 injure their cities ; but shall send some of our 
 own citizens to people them, so that they may 
 become fully incorporated into the Eomau 
 
278 EoMULus. [B.C. 750.. 
 
 Generous policy pursued by Romulus. Enlargement of tho city. 
 
 commonwealth. Thus, your fathers and broth- 
 ers, and all yom^ countrymen, receive the 
 boon of life, liberty, and happiness through 
 jon ; and all that we ask of you in return, is 
 that you wdll continue your conjugal affection 
 and fidelity to your Roman husbands, and 
 seek to promote the harmony and happiness 
 of the city by every means in your power." 
 
 Of course such transactions as these attract- 
 ed great attention throughout the country, and 
 both the valor with which Eomulus encoun- 
 tered his enemies while they resisted and op- 
 posed him, and the generosity with which he 
 admitted them to an honorable alliance wdth 
 him w^hen they were reduced to submission, 
 were universally applauded. In fact, there 
 began to be formed a strong public sentiment 
 in favor of the new colony, and the influx to 
 it of individual adventurers, from all parts of 
 the country, rapidly increased. In one in- 
 stance a famous chieftain named Cselius, a 
 general of the Etrurians who lived north of 
 the Tiber, brought over the whole army under 
 his command in a body, to join the new colony. 
 "New and special arrangements were necessary 
 to be made at Eome for receiving so sudden 
 and so large an accession to the numbers of 
 
B.C. 750.] The Sabine Wak. 279 
 
 Plans of the Sabiues. They mature their preparations. 
 
 the people, and accordingly a new eminence, 
 one which had been hitherto without the city, 
 was now inclosed, and brought within the 
 poemerium. This hill received the name of 
 Cseliiis, from the general whose army occupied 
 it. The city was extended too at the same 
 time on the other side toward the Tiber. The 
 walls were continued down to the very bank 
 of the river, and thence carried along the 
 bank so as to present a continued defense on 
 that side, except at one place where there was 
 a great gate leading to the water. 
 
 During all this time, however, the Sabines 
 still cherished the spirit of resentment and 
 hostility, and instead of being conciliated by 
 the forbearance and generosity of the Ro- 
 mans, were only excited to greater jealousy 
 and ill-wdll at witnessing the proofs of their 
 increasing influence and power. They em- 
 ployed themselves in maturing their plans for 
 a grand onset against the new colony, and 
 with the intention to make the blow which 
 they were about to strike effectual and final, 
 they took time to arrange their preparations 
 on the most extensive scale, and to mature 
 them in the most deliberate and thorough 
 manner. They enlisted troops ; they collected 
 
280 EoMTJLrs. [B.C. 748. 
 
 Preparations of the Romans,. Titus Tatius, 
 
 stores of provisions and munitions of war* 
 they formed alliances with snch states Ijirg 
 beyond them as they conld draw into their 
 quarrel ; and finally, when all things were 
 ready, they assembled their forces upon the 
 frontier, and prepared for the onset. The 
 name of the general w^ho was placed in com 
 mand of this mighty host was Titus Tatius. 
 
 In the mean time, Romulus and the people 
 of the city were equally busy in making 
 preparations for defense. They procured and 
 laid up in magazines, great stores of provi- 
 sions for the use of the city. They strength- 
 ened and extended the walls, and built new 
 ramparts and towers wherever they were 
 needed. ITumitor rendered very essential aid 
 to his grandson in these preparations. He 
 sent supplies of weapons to him for the use of 
 the men, and furnished various military en- 
 gines, such as w^ere used in those times in the 
 attack and defense of besieged cities. In 
 fact, the preparations on both sides were of 
 llie most extensive character, and seemed to 
 portend a very resolute and determined con- 
 test. 
 
 When all things were thus ready, the Sa- 
 bines, before actually striking the blow for 
 
B.C. 748.] The Sabine War. 281 
 
 I'inal negotiations. The Roman herdsmen. 
 
 which they had been so long and so deliber- 
 ately preparing, concluded to send one more 
 final embassy to Romulus, to demand the sur- 
 render of the women. This was of course only 
 a njatter of form, as they must have known 
 well from what had already passed that Rom- 
 ulus would not now yield to such a proposal. 
 lie did not yield. He sent back word in an- 
 swer to their demand, that the Sabine women 
 were all well settled in Home, and were con- 
 tented and happy there with their husbands 
 and friends, and that he could not think now 
 of disturbing them. This answer having been 
 received, the Sabines prepared for the onset. 
 There w^as a certain tract of country sur- 
 rounding Home which belonged to the people 
 of the city, and was cultivated by them. This 
 land was used partly for tillage and partly 
 for the pasturage of cattle, but principally for 
 the latter, as the rearing of flocks and herds 
 was, for various reasons, a more advantageous 
 mode of procuring food for man in those 
 ancient days than the culture of the ground. 
 The rural population, therefore, of the Roman 
 territory consisted chiefly of herdsmen ; and 
 when the approaching danger from the Sa- 
 bines became imminent, Romulus called all 
 
282 KoMULus. [B.C. 748, 
 
 Flocks and herds called iu. The citadel. Tarpeia. 
 
 these herdsmen in, and required the flocks of 
 eiieep and the herds of cattle to be driven to 
 the rear of the citj, and shut up in an in- 
 closure there, where thej could be more 
 easily defended. Thus the Sabine army found, 
 when they were ready to cross the frontier, 
 that the Roman territory, on that side, was 
 deserted and solitary ; and that there was 
 nothing to oppose them in advancing across 
 it almost to the very gates of Rome. 
 
 They advanced accordingly, and when they 
 came near to the city they found that Romulus 
 had taken possession of two hills without the 
 walls, w^here he had entrenched himself in 
 great force. These two hills were named the 
 Esquiline and Quirinal hills. The city itself 
 included two other hills, namely, the Palatine 
 and the Capitoline. The Capitoline hill was 
 the one on which the asylum had formerly 
 been built, and it was now the citadel. The 
 citadel was surromided on all parts with ram- 
 parts and towers which overlooked and com- 
 manded all the neighboring country. The 
 command of this fortress was given to Tar- 
 peius, a noble Roman. He had a daughter 
 named Tarpeia, w^hose name afterward be- 
 came greatly celebrated in history, on account 
 
U.C.7^8.] The Saeine Wae. 283 
 
 The Campus Martins. Parley with Tarpeia. 
 
 of the part which she took in the events of 
 this siege, as will presently appear. 
 
 At the foot of the Capitoline hill, and on 
 the western side of it, that is, the side away 
 from the city, there was a spacious plain 
 vrhich was afterward included within the 
 limits of the city, and used as a parade-ground, 
 under the name of Campus Martins, which 
 words mean the "War Field." This field 
 was now, however, an open plain, and the 
 Sabine army advancing to it, encamped upon 
 it. The Sabine forces were much more nu- 
 merous than those of the Romans, but the 
 latter were so well guarded and protected by 
 their walls and fortifications, that Titus Tatius 
 saw no feasible way of attacking them with 
 any prospect of success. At last, one day as 
 some of his ofiicers were walking around the 
 Capitoline hill, looking at the walls of the 
 citadel, Tarpeia came to one of the gates, 
 which was in a retired and solitary position, 
 and entered into a parley with the men. The 
 story of what followed is variously related by 
 different historians, and it is now difficult to 
 ascertain the actual truth respecting it. T^ie 
 account generally received is this : — 
 
 Tarpeia had observed the soldiers from the 
 
'284 
 
 Romulus. 
 
 Agreement made with Tarpeia. 
 
 walls, and lier attention had teen attracted 
 by the bracelets and rings which they wore ; 
 and she finally made an agreement with the 
 Sabines that she would open the postern gate 
 in the night, and let them in, if they would 
 give her what they wore upon their arms, 
 meaning the ornaments which had attracted 
 her attention. The Sabines bound themselves 
 to do this and then went away. Titius Tatius, 
 accordingly, when informed of this arrange- 
 
 ^>i££.^^.MK^ 
 
 Promising the Bracelets. 
 
B.C. 747.] The Sabine Wae. 285 
 
 Tho Sabines admitted. Tarpeia killed. 
 
 ment, detailed a strong detachment of troops, 
 and gave them orders to repair at night in a 
 very silent and secret manner to the gate 
 which had been designated as the place where 
 they were to be let in. It is asserted, how- 
 ever, by some writers, that this apparent 
 treachery on the part of Tarpeia was only a 
 deep-laid stratagem on her part to draw the 
 Sabines into a snare ; and that she sent word 
 to Komulus, informing him of the agreement 
 which she had made, in order that he might 
 secretly dispatch a strong force to take their 
 position at the gate, and intercept and cap- 
 tm-e the Sabine party as soon as they should 
 come in. But if this was Tarpeia's design, it 
 totally failed. The Sabines, when they came 
 at midnight to the postern gate which Tarpeia 
 opened for them, came in sufficient force to 
 bear down all opposition ; and in fulfillment 
 of their promise to give Tarpeia what they 
 wore upon their arms they threw their heavy 
 bucklers uj)on her until she was crushed down 
 beneath the weight of them and killed. 
 
 A steep rock which forms that side of the 
 Capitoline hill is called the Tarj^eitin rock, in 
 memory of this maiden, to the present day. 
 
 In this way the Sabines gained possession 
 
286 EoMCTLus. [B.C. 747. 
 
 The two armies meet on the plain. 
 
 of the citadel, though Romulus still held the 
 main citj. The Komans were of course ex- 
 tremely disconcerted at the loss of the citadel, 
 and Romulus, finding that the danger was 
 now extremely imminent, resolved no longer 
 to stand on the defensive, but to come out 
 upon the plain and offer the Sabines battle. 
 He accordingly brought his forces out of the 
 city and took up a strong position with them, 
 between the Capitoline and Palatine hills, 
 with his front toward the Campus Martins, 
 where the main body of the Sabines were 
 posted. Thus the armies were confronted 
 against each other on the plain, the Romans 
 holding the city and the Palatine hill as a 
 stronghold to retreat to in case of necessity, 
 while the Sabines in the same manner could 
 seek refuge on the Capitoline hill and in the 
 Citadel. 
 
 Things being in this state a series of desper- 
 ate but partial contests ensued, which were 
 continued for several days, when at length a 
 general battle came on. During all this time 
 the walls of the city and of the citadel were 
 lined with spectators who had ascended to 
 witness the combats ; for from these walls 
 and from the declivities of the hills, the whole 
 
0.0.747.] The Sabine AYae. 287 
 
 A truce to bury the dead. Fresh tombata. 
 
 plain could be looked down upon as if it were 
 a map. The battle continued all day. At 
 night both parties were exhausted, and tho 
 field was covered with the dead and djing, 
 but neither side had gained the victory. The 
 next day by common consent they suspended 
 the combat in order to take care of the 
 wounded, and to bury the bodies of the dead. 
 After the interval of a day, which was 
 spent, on both sides, in removing the horrid 
 relics of the j)revious combats, and in gather- 
 ing fresh strength and fresh desperation and 
 rage for the conflicts yet to come, the struggle 
 was renewed. The soldiers fought now, on 
 this renewal of the battle, with more dreadful 
 and deadly ferocity than ever. Yarious inci- 
 dents occurred during the day to give one 
 party or the other a local or temporary ad- 
 vantage, but neither side wholly prevailed. 
 At one time Komulus himself was exposed to 
 the most imminent personal danger, and for 
 a time it was thought that he was actually 
 killed. The Romans had gained some great 
 advantage over a party of the Sabines, and 
 the latter were rushing in a headlong flight, 
 to the citadel, the Romans pursuing them and 
 Loping to follow them in, in the confusion, 
 
288 E OMUL us. [B.C.T4T. 
 
 Romulus in great personal danger. 
 
 and thus regain possession of the fortress. To 
 prevent this the Sabines within the citadel 
 and on the rocks above threw stones down 
 upon the Komans. One of these stones struck 
 Romulus on the head, and he fell down 
 stunned and senseless under the blow. His 
 men were extremely terrified at this disaster, 
 and abandoning the pursuit of their enemies 
 the J took np the body of Romulus and car- 
 ried it into the city. It was found, however, 
 that he was not seriously injured. He soon 
 recovered from the eifects of the blow and re 
 , turned into the battle. 
 
 Another incident which occurred in the 
 course of these battles has been commemo- 
 rated in history, by having been the means of 
 giving a name to a small lake or pool which 
 was afterward brought within the limits of 
 the city. A Sabine general named Curtius 
 happened at one time to encounter Romulus 
 in a certain part of the field, and a long and 
 desperate combat ensued between the two 
 champions. Other soldiers gradually came 
 up and mingled in the fray, until at length 
 Curtius, finding himself wounded and bleed- 
 ing, and surrounded by enemies, fled for hia 
 life . Romulus pursued him for a short dis- 
 
B.C. 746.] The Sabine War. 289 
 
 The story of Curtius. The lake. 
 
 tance, but Curtiiis at length came suddenly 
 upon a small swampy pool, which was formed 
 of water that had been left by the inundations 
 of the river in some old deserted channel, 
 ajid which was now covered and almost con- 
 cealed by some sort of mossy and floating 
 vegetation. Curtius running headlong, and 
 paying little heed to his steps fell into this 
 hole, and sank in the water. Komulus sup- 
 posed of course that he would be drowned 
 there, and so turned away and went to find 
 some other enemy. Curtius, however, suc- 
 ceeded in crawling out of the pond into which 
 he had fallen ; and in commemoration of the 
 incident the pond was named Lake Curtius, 
 which name it retained for centuries after- 
 ward, when, not only had all the water dis- 
 appeared, but the place itself had been filled 
 up, and had been covered with streets and 
 houses. 
 
 The combats between the Romans and the 
 Sabines were continued for several days, 
 during all which time the Sabine women, on 
 whose account it was that this dreadful quai'- 
 rel had arisen, were suffering the greatest 
 anxiety and distress. They loved their fathers 
 and brothers, but then they loved their hiis- 
 
 T 
 
290 E o M u L u s. [B.C, 746 
 
 Distress of the Sabine women. Their perplexity. 
 
 bands too ; and they were overwhelmed with 
 anguish at the thought that day after day 
 those who were equally dear to them were 
 engaged in lighting and destroying one an- 
 other, and that they could do nothing to ar 
 rest so unnatural a hostility. 
 
 At length, however, after suffering extreme 
 distress for many days, a crisis arrived when 
 they found that they could interpose. Both 
 parties had become somewhat weary of the 
 contest. ^Neither could prevail over the other, 
 and yet neither was v/illing to yield. The 
 Sabines could not bring themselves to submit 
 to so humiliating an alternative as to with- 
 draw from Home and leave their daughters 
 and sisters in the captors' hands, after all the 
 grand preparations which they had made for 
 retaking them. And on the other hand the 
 Homans could not take those, who, whatever 
 had been their previous history, were now liv- 
 ing happily as wives and mothers, each in her 
 own house in the city, and give them up to 
 an army of invaders, demanding them with 
 threats and violence, without deep dishonor. 
 Thus, though there was a pause in the conflict, 
 and both parties were weary of it, neither 
 :vas willing to yield, and both were preparing 
 
B.C. 746.] The Sabine War. 291 
 
 The plan of Hersilia. The women admitted to the senate houae. 
 
 to return to the struggle with new determina- 
 tion and vigor. 
 
 The Sabine women thought that they might 
 now Interpose. A lady named Hersilia, who 
 is often mentioned as one of the most promi- 
 nent among the number, proposed this meas- 
 ure and made the arrangements for carrying 
 it into effect. She assembled her country- 
 women and explained to them her plan, 
 which was that they should go in a body to 
 the Roman Senate, and ask permission to in- 
 tercede between the contending nations, and 
 plead for peace. 
 
 The company of women, taking their chil- 
 dren with them, all of whom were yet very 
 young, went accordingly in a body to the 
 senate-chamber, and asked to be admitted. 
 The doors were opened to them, and they 
 went in. They all appeared to be in gi'eat 
 distress and agitation. The grief and anxi- 
 ety which they had suffered during the pro- 
 gress of the war still continued, and they 
 begged the Senate to let them go out to the 
 camp of the Sabines, and endeavor to per- 
 suade them to make peace. The Senate were 
 disposed to consent. The women wished to 
 take their children with them, but some of 
 
292 EoMULus. I B.C. 74:6 
 
 Arrangements for the intercession of the women. 
 
 the Romans imagined tliat there might, per- 
 haps, be danger, that under pretense of inter 
 ceding for peace, thej were really intending 
 to make their escape from Kome altogether. 
 So it was insisted that they should leave their 
 children behind them as hostages for their re- 
 turn, excepting that such as had two children 
 were allowed to take one, which plan it was 
 thought would aid them in moving the com- 
 passion of their Sabine relatives. 
 
 The women, accordingly, left the senate- 
 chamber, and with their children in their 
 arms, their hair disheveled, their robes dis- 
 ordered, and their countenances wan with 
 grief, went in mournful procession out 
 through the gate of the city. They passed 
 across the plain and advanced toward the 
 citadel. They were admitted, and after some 
 delay, were ushered into the council of the 
 Sabines. Here their tears and exclamations 
 of grief broke forth anew. When silence was 
 in some measure restored, Hersilia addressed 
 the Sabine chieftains, saying, that she and 
 her companions had come to beg their coun- 
 trymen to put an end to the war. " We know," 
 said she, " that you are waging it on our ac- 
 count, and Ave see in all that you have done 
 
B.C.74:6.] The Sabine War. 293 
 
 The address of Ilersilia. EflTect of ii 
 
 proofs of your love for ns. In fact, it was our 
 supposed interests wliicli led you to com- 
 mence it, but now our real interests require 
 that it should be ended. It is true that when 
 we were first seized by the Romans we felt 
 greatly wronged, but having submitted to our 
 fate, we have now become settled in our new 
 homes, and are contented and happy in them. 
 We love our husbands and love our children ; 
 and we are treated with the utmost kindness 
 and respect by all. Do not then, under a 
 mistaken kindness for us, attempt to tear us 
 away again, or continue this dreadful war, 
 which, though ostensibly on our account, and 
 for our benefit, is really making us inexpres- 
 sibly miserable." 
 
 This intercession j)roduced the effect which 
 might have been expected from it. The Sa- 
 bines and Romans immediately entered upon 
 negotiations for peace, and peace is easily 
 made where both parties are honestly desirous 
 of making it. In fact, a great reaction took 
 place, so that from the reckless and desperate 
 hostility which the two nations had felt for 
 each other, there succeeded so friendly a sen- 
 timent, that in the end a treaty of union was 
 made between the two nations. It was ao:reod 
 
294 KoMULTS. [B.C. 746. 
 
 Conditions and terms of peace. 
 
 that the two nations should be merged into 
 one. The Sabine territory was to be annexed 
 to that of Home, and Titus Tatius, with the 
 principal Sabine chieftains, were to remove 
 to Rome, which was thenceforth to be the 
 capital of the new kingdom. In a word, 
 never was a reconciliation between two bel- 
 ligerent nations so sudden and so complete. 
 
B.0. 764.] The Conclusion. 295 
 
 Romulus reigns in conjunction with the Sabine king. 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 The Conclusion. 
 
 A FTER the termination of the Sabine war, 
 -^-^ Romulus continued to reign many years, 
 and his reign, although no very exact and sys- 
 tematic history of it was recorded at the time, 
 seems to liave presented the usual variety of 
 incidents and vicissitudes ; and yet, notwith 
 standing occasional and partial reverses, the 
 cit}^, and the kingdom connected with it, made 
 rapid progress in wealth and population. 
 
 For four or five years after the union of the 
 Sabines with the Eomans, Titus Tatius w^as in 
 some way or other associated with Romulus 
 in the government of the united kingdom. 
 Romulus, during all this time, had his house 
 and his court on the Palatine hill, where the 
 city had been originally built, and where most 
 of the Romans lived. The head-quarters of 
 the Sabine chieftain were, on the other hand, 
 upon the Capitoline hill, which was the place 
 on which the citadel w^as situated that his 
 tramps had taken possession of in the course 
 
296 EoMULus. [B.C. 741. 
 
 The Roman Forum. (Growth of the citj'. 
 
 of the war, and which it seems they continued 
 to occupy after the peace. The space between 
 the two hills was set apart as a market-place, 
 oxforum^ as it was called in their language, 
 — that place being designated for the j)urpose 
 on account of its central and convenient sit- 
 uation. "When afterward that portion of the 
 city became filled as it did with magnificent 
 streets and imposing architectural edifices, 
 the space which Romulus had set apart for a 
 market remained an open public square, and 
 as it was the scene in which transpired some 
 of the most remarkable events connected with 
 Roman history, it became renowned through- 
 out the world under the name of the Roman 
 Forum. 
 
 In consequence of the union of the Romans 
 and the Sabines, and of the rapid growth of 
 the city in population and power which fol- 
 lowed, the Roman state began soon to rise to 
 so high a position in relation to the surround 
 ing cities and kingdoms, as soon to take prece 
 dence of them altogether. This was owin^ ^ 
 however, in part undoubtedly, to the character 
 of the men who governed at Rome. The 
 measures which they adopted in founding the 
 city, and in sustaining it through the first 
 
B.C.Y41.] The Concltjsion. 297 
 
 Bold and comprehensive measures. Cameria. 
 
 years of its existence, as described in the fore- 
 going chapters, were all of a very extraordi- 
 nary character, and evinced very extraordinary 
 (qualities in the men who devised them. These 
 measures were bold, comprehensive and saga- 
 cious, and they were carried out with a certain 
 combination of courage and magnanimity 
 which always gives to those who possess it, 
 and who are in a position to exercise it on a 
 commanding scale, great ascendency over the 
 minds of men. They who possess these quali- 
 ties generally feel their power, and are usually 
 not slow to assert it. A singular and striking 
 instance of this occurred not manj^ years after 
 the peace with the Sabines. There was a city 
 at some distance from Home called Cameria, 
 whose inhabitants were a lawless horde, and 
 occasionally parties of them made incursions, 
 as was said, into the surrounding countries, 
 for plunder. The Roman Senate sent word to 
 the government of the city that such accusa- 
 tions were made against them, and very coolly 
 cited tliem to appear at Rome for trial. The 
 Camerians of course refused to come. The 
 Senate then declared war against them, and 
 sent an army to take possession of the city, 
 proceeding to act in the case precisely as if 
 
i98 HoMULus. [B.0. 741 
 
 Difficulty with Titus Tatius. 
 
 the Roman government constituted a judicial 
 tribunal, having authority to exercise jurisdic- 
 tion, and to enforce law and order, among all 
 the nations around them. In fact, Rome con- 
 tinued to assert and to maintain this authority 
 over a wider and wider circle every year, until 
 in the course of some centuries after Romu- 
 lus's day, she made herself the arbiter of the 
 world. 
 
 Titius Tatius shared the supreme power 
 with Romulus at Rome for several years, and 
 the two monarchs continued during this time 
 to exercise their joint power in a much more 
 harmonious manner than Avould have been 
 supposed possible. At length, however, causes 
 of disagreement began to occur, and in the 
 end open dissension took place, in the course 
 of which Tatius came to his end in a very 
 sudden and remarkable manner. A party of 
 soldiers from Rome, it seems, had been com 
 mitting some deed of violence at Lavinium, 
 the ancient city which ^neas had built when 
 he first arrived in Latium. The people of 
 Lavinium complained to Romulus against 
 these marauders. It happened, however, that 
 the guilty men were chiefly Sabines, and in 
 *he discussions which took place at Roma 
 
B.C. 741.] The Cokclusion. 299 
 
 Controversy between Romulus and Tatius. 
 
 afterward in relation to the affair, Tatius took 
 their part, and endeavored to shield them, 
 while Romulus seemed disposed to give them 
 up to the Lavinians for punishment. " They 
 are robbers and murderers," said Romulus, 
 " and we ought not to shield them from the 
 penalty due to their crimes." "They are 
 Roman citizens," said Tatius, " and we must 
 not give them up to a foreign state." The 
 controversy became w^arm ; parties were form- 
 ed ; and at last the exasj)eration became so 
 great that when the Lavinian envoys, who 
 had come to Rome to demand the punishment 
 of the robbers, were returning home, a gang 
 of Tatius's men intercepted them on the way 
 and killed them. 
 
 This of course increased the excitement and 
 the difficulty in a tenfold degree. Romulus 
 immediately sent to Lavinium to express his 
 deep regret at w^hat had occurred, and his 
 readiness to do every thing in his power to 
 expiate the offense which his countrymen had 
 committed. He would arrest these murder- 
 ers, he said, and send them to Lavinium, and 
 he would come himself, with Tatius, to Lavin- 
 ium, and there make an expiatory offering to 
 the gods, in attestation of the abhorrence 
 
SOO KoMuius. [B.C. 741 
 
 The difficulty at Laviniuin. Tatius killed. 
 
 which they both felt for so atrocious a crime 
 as waylaying and murdering the embassadors 
 of a friendly city. Tatius was compelled to 
 assent to these measures, though he yielded 
 very reluctantly. He could not openly de- 
 fend such a deed as the murder of the envoys ; 
 and so he consented to accompany Romulus 
 to Lavinium, to make the offering, but he 
 secretly arranged a plan for rescuing the mur- 
 derers from the Lavinians, after they had been 
 given up. Accordingly, while he and Rom- 
 ulus were at Lavinium offering the sacrifices, 
 news came that the murderers of the envoys, 
 on their way from Rome to Lavinium, had 
 been rescued and allowed to escape. This 
 new^s so exasperated the people of Lavinium 
 against Tatius, for they considered him as un- 
 questionably the secret author and contriver 
 of the deed, that they rose upon him at the 
 festival, and murdered him with the butcher 
 knives and spits w^hich had been used for 
 slaughtering and roasting the animals. They 
 then formed a grand procession and escorted 
 Romulus out of the city in safety, with loud 
 acclamations. 
 
 The government of Lavinium, as soon as 
 the e"':citement of the scene was over, fearing 
 
B.C. 741.] The Conclusion. SOI 
 
 Romulus once more sole king. 
 
 the resentment which they very naturally 
 supposed Komulus would feel at the murder 
 c.f his colleague, seized the ringleaders of the 
 riot, and sent them bound to Rome, to place 
 them at the disposal of the Roman govern 
 ment. Romulus sent them back unharmed, 
 directing them to say to the Lavinian govern- 
 ment, that he considered the death of Tatius, 
 though inflicted in a mode lawless and imjus- 
 tifiable, as nevertheless, in itself, only a just 
 expiation for the murder of the Lavinian em- 
 bassadors, which Tatius had instis^ated or 
 authorized. 
 
 The Sabines of Rome were for a time 
 greatly exasperated at these occurrences, but 
 Romulus succeeded in gradually quieting and 
 calming them, and they finally acquiesced in 
 his decision. Romulus thus became onco 
 more the sole and undisputed master of Rome. 
 
 After this the progress of the city in wealth 
 and prosperity, from year to year, was steady 
 and sure, interrupted, it is true, by occasional 
 and temporary reverses, but with no real ret- 
 rocession at any time. Causes of disagree- 
 ment arose from time to time with neighboring 
 states, and, in such cases, Romulus always 
 tirst sent a summons to the party implicated, 
 
302 EoMULus. [B.C. 730. 
 
 Rome assumes a general jurisdiction over other states. 
 
 whether king or people, citing them to appear 
 and answer for their conduct before the Ro- 
 man Senate. If thej refused to come, he sent 
 an armed force against them, as if he were 
 simply enforcing the jurisdiction of a tribunal 
 of justice. The result usually was that the 
 refractory state was compelled to submit, and 
 its territories were added to those of the king- 
 dom of Rome. Thus the boundaries of the 
 new empire were widening and extending; 
 every year. 
 
 Romulus paid great attention, in the mean 
 time, to every thing pertaining to the internal 
 organization of the state, so as to bring every 
 part of the national administration into the 
 best possible condition. The municipal po- 
 lice, the tribunals of justice, the social insti- 
 tutions and laws of the industrial classes, the 
 discipline of the troops, the enlargement and 
 increase of the fortifications of the city, and 
 the supply of arms, and stores, and munitions 
 of war, — and every other subject, in fact, 
 connected with the welfare and prosperity of 
 the city, — occupied his thoughts in every in 
 terval of peace and tranquillity. In conse- 
 quence of the exertions which he made, and 
 the measures which he adopted, order and 
 
RC.Tir.J The Conclusion. 303 
 
 Foundation of the future greatness of Roine. 
 
 gjstem prevailed more and more in every de- 
 partment, and the community became every 
 year better organized, and more and more 
 consolidated ; so that the capacity of the city 
 to receive accessions to the population in- 
 creased even faster than accessions were 
 made. In a word, the solid foundations were 
 laid of that vast superstructure, which, in 
 subsequent ages, became the wonder of the 
 world. 
 
 Notwithstanding, however, all this increas- 
 ing greatness and prosperity, Romulus was 
 not without rivals and enemies, even among 
 his own people at Rome. The leading sena- 
 tors became, at last, envious and jealous of 
 his power. They said that he himself grew 
 imperious and domineering in spirit, as he 
 grew older, and manifested a pride and 
 haughtiness of demeanor which excited their 
 ill-will. He assumed too much authority, 
 they said, in the management of public af- 
 fairs, as if he were an absolute and despotic 
 sovereign. He wore a ^^nrple robe on 23ublic 
 occasions, as a badge of royalty. He oj'gan- 
 ized a body-guard of three hundred young 
 troopers, who rode before him whenever he 
 moved about the city ; and in all respectw 
 
804 KoMULus. [B.C. 717. 
 
 Circumstances connected with the death of Romulus. 
 
 assumed such pomp and parade in his de- 
 meanor, and exercised such a degree of arbi- 
 trary power in his acts, as made him many 
 enemies. The whole Senate became, at length, 
 greatly disaffected. 
 
 At last one day, on occasion of a great re- 
 view which took place at a little distance from 
 the city, there came up a sudden shower, at- 
 tended with thunder and lightning, and the 
 violence of the tempest was such as to compel 
 the soldiers to retire precipitately from the 
 ground in search of some place of shelter. 
 Romulus was left with a number of senators 
 who were at that time attending upon him, 
 alone, on the shore of a little lake which was 
 near the place that had been chosen for the 
 parade. After a short time the senators 
 themselves came away from the ground, and 
 returned to the city; but Romulus was not 
 with them. The story which they told was 
 that in the middle of the tempest, Romulus 
 had been suddenly enveloped in a flame 
 which seemed to come down in a bright flash 
 of lightning from the clouds, and immediately 
 afterward had been taken up in the flame to 
 heaven. 
 
 This strange story was but half believed 
 
13.0.717.] The Conclusion. ' 307 
 
 Rumors in circulation. Public opinion. 
 
 even at first, by tlie people, and very soon 
 rumors began to circulate in the city tliat 
 Komulus had been murdered by the senators 
 who were around bim at tbe time of the 
 si lower, — they having seized the occasion af- 
 forded by the momentary absence of his 
 guards, and by their solitary position. There 
 were various surmises in respect to the dis- 
 posal which the assassins had made of thq 
 body. The most obvious supposition was 
 that it had been sunk in the Lake. There 
 was, however, a horrible report circulated 
 that the senators had disposed of it by cut- 
 ting it up into small pieces, and conveying 
 it away, each taking a portion, under their 
 robes. 
 
 Of course these rumors produced great agi 
 tation and excitement throughout the city 
 The current of public sentiment set strongly 
 against the senators. Still as nothing could 
 be positively ascertained in respect to the 
 transaction, the mystery seemed to grow more 
 dark and dreadful every day, and the public 
 mind was becoming more and more deeply 
 agitated. At length, however, the mystery 
 was suddenly explained by a revelation, 
 which, whatever may be thought of it at the 
 
308 KoMULUs. [B.C. 717. 
 
 Pfoculus'8 Story. 'i'ho ghost of j;rtuiu]us. 
 
 present day, was then entirely GatisiVK;t.9ry to 
 tlie whole community. 
 
 One of the most prominent an ? •.■'\^tAn, 
 guished of the senators, named Proculus, one 
 who it seems had not been present among the 
 other senators in attendance upon Romulus at 
 the time when he disappeared, came forward 
 one day before a grand assembly which had 
 been convened for the purpose, and an- 
 nounced to them in the most solemn manner, 
 that the spirit of Romulus had appeared to 
 him in a visible form, and had assured him 
 that the story which the other senators had 
 told of the ascension of their chieftain to 
 heaven in a flame of fire was really true. " I 
 v/as journeying," said Proculus, " in a solitary 
 place, when Romulus appeared to me. At 
 first I was exceedingly terrified. The form 
 of the vision was taller than that of a mortal 
 man, and it was clothed in armor of the most 
 resplendent brightness. As soon as I had in 
 some measure recovered my composure I 
 spoke to it. 'Why,' said I, ' have you left us 
 so suddenly? and especially why did you 
 leave us at such a time, and in such a way, as 
 to bring suspicion and reproach on the Roman 
 eoij'-^.Vors'^' 'I left you,' said he, 'because it 
 
B.C. 717.] The Conclusion. 309 
 
 The Romans satisfied. The real truth not to be known. 
 
 pleased the gods to call me back again to 
 |]caven, whence I originally came. It was no 
 longer necessary for me to remain on earth, 
 for Home is now established, and her future 
 greatness and glory are sure. Go back to 
 Rome and communicate this to the people. 
 Tell them that if they continue industrious, 
 virtuous, and brave, the time will come when 
 their city will be the mistress of the world ; 
 and that I, no longer its king, am henceforth 
 to be its tutelar divinity.' " 
 
 The people of Rome were overjoyed to hear 
 this communication. Their doubts and suspi- 
 cions were now all removed ; the senators at 
 once recovered their good standing in the 
 public regard, ana ail was once more peace 
 and harmony. Altars were immediately 
 erected to Romulus, and the whole poj)ulation 
 of the city joined in making sacrifices and in 
 paying other divine honors to his memory. 
 
 The declaration of Proculus thfi he had 
 seen the spirit of Romulus, and his report of/ 
 the conversation which the spirit had address- 
 ed to him, constituted proof of the highest 
 kind, according to the ideas which prevailed 
 in those ancient days. In modern times, how- 
 ever, there is no faith in such a story, and t^e 
 
310 KoMULTjs. [B.C. 717. 
 
 The interregnum. A new king. 
 
 truth in respect to the end of Romnlus can 
 now never be known. 
 
 After the death of Romulus the senators 
 undertook to govern the State themselves, 
 holding the supreme power one by one, in 
 regular rotation. This plan was, however, not 
 found to succeed, and after an interregnum 
 of about a year, the people elected another 
 kin^. 
 
 Th.i; E^d. 
 
BOOKS BY THE ABBOTTS. 
 
 THE FRANCONIA STORIES. 
 
 By Jacob Abbott. In Ten Volumes. Beautifully Illu» 
 trated. 16mo, Cloth, 90 cents per Vol. ; the set complete, 
 in case, $9 00. 
 
 1. 
 
 Malleville. 
 
 6. 
 
 Stuyvesant. 
 
 2, 
 
 Mary Bell. 
 
 7. 
 
 Agnes. 
 
 3. 
 
 Ellen Linu. 
 
 8. 
 
 Mary Erskine. 
 
 4. 
 
 "Wallace. 
 
 9. 
 
 Rodolphus. 
 
 5. 
 
 Beechnut. 
 
 10. 
 
 Caroline. 
 
 MARCO PAUL SERIES. 
 
 Marco Paul's Voyages and Travels in tlie Pursuit of 
 Knowledge. By Jacob Abbott. Beautifully Illustrated. 
 Complete in 6 Volumes, 16mo, Cloth, 90 cents per Volume. 
 Price of the set, in case, $5 40. 
 
 In New York. In Boston. 
 
 On the Erie Canal. At the Springfield Arm« 
 
 In the Forests of Maine. ory. 
 
 In Vermont. 
 
 RAmBOff AND LUCKY SERIES. 
 
 By Jacob Abbott. Beautifully Illustrated. ICmo, 
 Cloth, 90 cents each. The set complete, in case, $4 50. 
 
 Handle. Selling Lucky. 
 
 Rainbow's Journey. Up the River. 
 
 The Three Pines. 
 
 YOma CPIRISTIAN SERIES. 
 
 By Jacob Abbott. In Four Volumes. Richly Illus- 
 trated with Engravings, and Beautifully Bound. 12mo, 
 Cloth, $1 75 per Vol. The set complete, Cloth, $7 00; in 
 Half Calf, ^14 00. 
 
 1. The Young Christian. 
 
 2. The Corner Stone. 
 
 3. The Way to Do Good. 
 
 4. Hoaryhead and M'Donner. 
 
Books by the Abbotts. 
 
 HARPER'S STORY BOOKS. 
 
 A Series of Narratives, Biographies, and Tales, for the In- 
 struction and Entertainment of the Young. By Jacob Ab- 
 bott. Embellished with more than One Thousand beauti- 
 ful Engravings. Square 4to, complete in 12 large Volumes^ 
 ( r 86 small ones. 
 
 " Haepee's Story Books" can be obtaiued complete in Twelve 
 Volumes, bound in blue and gold, each oue contaiuing Three Sto- 
 ries, for $21 00, or in Thirty-six thin Volumes, bound in crimson and 
 gold, each containing One Story, for $32 40. The volumes may be 
 had separately— the large ones at $1 75 each, the others at 00 cents 
 each. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 BRUNO ; or, Lessons of Fidelity, Patience, and Self-De- 
 
 nial Taught by a Dog. 
 WILLIE AND THE MORTG-AGE : showing Uo\y 
 
 Much may be Accomplished by a Boy. 
 THE STRAIT GATE ; or, The Rule of Exclusion from 
 
 Heaven. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 THE LITTLE LOUVRE; or, The Boys' and Girls' 
 
 Picture-Gallery. 
 PRANK ; or. The Philosophy of Tricks and Mischief. 
 EMMA ; or, The Three Misfortunes of a Belle. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 VIRGINIA ; or, A Little Light on a Very Dark Saying. 
 
 TIMBOO AND JOLIBA ; or. The Art of Being Useful. 
 
 TIMBOO AND FANNY; or, The Art of Self-Instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 VOL. IV. 
 
 THE HARPER ESTABLISHMENT ; or. How the 
 Story Books are Made. 
 
 FRANKLIN, the Apprentice-Boy. 
 
 THE STUDIO ; or, Illustrations of the Theory and Prac- 
 tice of Drawing, for Young Artists at Home. 
 
 VOL. V. 
 THE STORY OF ANCIENT HISTORY, from the 
 
 Earliest Periods to the Fall of the Roman Empire. 
 THE STORY OP ENGLISH HISTORY, from the 
 
 Earliest Periods to the American Revolution. 
 THE STORY OF AMERICAN HISTORY, from 
 
 the Eai'liest Settlement of the Country to the Establish' 
 
 ment of the Federal Constitution. 
 
Bools by the Abbotts. 
 
 VOL. VI. 
 JOHN TRUE ; or, The Christian Experience of an Hon- 
 est Bov. 
 ELFRED ; or, Tlie Blind Boy and his Pictures. 
 THE MUSEUM ; or, Curiosities Explained. 
 
 VOL. VII. 
 THE ENGINEER ; or, How to Travel in the Woods. 
 RAMBLES AMONG THE ALPS. 
 THE THREE GOLD DOLLARS ; or, An Account ot 
 the Adventures of Robin Green. 
 
 VOL. VIII. 
 THE GIBRALTAR GALLERY: being an Account 
 
 of various Things both Curious and Useful. 
 THE ALCOVE : containing some Farther Account of 
 
 Timboo, IMark, and Fanny. 
 DIALOGUES for the Amusement and Instruction of 
 
 Young Persons. 
 
 VOL. IX. 
 THE GREAT ELM ; or, Robin Green and Josiah Lane 
 
 at School. 
 AUNT MARGARET ; or, How John True kept his 
 
 Resolutions. 
 VERNON ; or, Conversations about Old Times in England. 
 
 VOL. X. 
 CARL AND JOCKO; or. The Ad^•«ntures of the Little 
 
 Italian Boy and his Monkey. 
 LAPSTONE; or, The Sailor turned Shoemaker. 
 ORKNEY, THE PEACEMAKER; or. The Viirious 
 
 Ways of Settling Disputes. 
 
 VOL. XL 
 JUDGE JUSTIN; or. The Little Court of Morningdale. 
 MINIGO ; or. The Fairy of Cairnstone Abbey. 
 JASPER ; or, The Spoiled Child Recovered. 
 
 VOL. XII. 
 CONGO ; or, Jasper's Experience in Command. 
 VIOLA and her Little Brother Arno. 
 LITTLE PAUL ; or. How to be Patient in Sickness and 
 Pain. 
 
 Some of the Story Books are written particularly for girls, and 
 pome for Boys, and the different Volumes are adapted to various 
 aires, so that the work forms a Complete Library of Stovy Books fol 
 all the Children of the Family and the Sunday-School. 
 
Books hy the Abbotts. 
 
 ABBOTTS' ILLUSTRATED HISTORIES. 
 
 Biographical Histories. By Jacob Abbott and John S. 
 C.Abbott. The Volumes of this Series are printed and 
 bound uniformly, and are embellished with numerous Engrav- 
 ings. 16mo, Cloth, $1 00 per volume. Price of the set (33 
 vols.), $32 00. 
 
 A series of volumes containing severally full accounts of the lives, 
 characters, and exploits of the most distinguished sovereigns, po- 
 tentates, and rulers that have been chiefly renowned among man- 
 kind, in the various ages of the world, from the earliest periods to 
 the present day. 
 
 The successive volumes of the series, though they each contain 
 the life of a single individual, and constitute thus a distinct and in- 
 dependent work, follow each other in the main, in regular historical 
 order, and each one continues the general narrative of history down 
 to the period at which the next volume takes up the story ; so that 
 the whole series presents to the reader a connected narrative of the 
 line of general history from the present age back to the remotest 
 times. 
 
 The narratives are intended to be succinct and comprehensive, and 
 are written in a very plain and simple style. They are, however, not 
 juvenile in their character, nor intended exclusively for the young. 
 The volumes are sufficiently large to allow each history to comprise 
 all the leading facts in the life of the personage who is the subject 
 of it, and thus to communicate all the information in respect to him 
 which is necessary for the purposes of the general reader. 
 
 Such being the design and character of the works, they would 
 seem to be specially adapted, not only for family reading, but also 
 for district, town, school, and Sunday-school libraries, as well as for 
 text-books in literary seminaries. 
 
 The plan of the series, and the manner in which the design has 
 been carried out by the author in the execution of it, have been high- 
 ly commended by the press in all parts of the country. The whole 
 series has been introduced into the school libraries of several of tha 
 largest and most influential states. 
 
 Abeaham Lincoln's Opinion of Abbotts' Histories. — In a con- 
 versation with the President just before his death, Mr. Lincoln said: "J 
 want to thank you and your brother for A bbotts' series of Histories. 1 
 have not education enough to appreciate the profound woi'ks of volv^ 
 minous historians ; and if I had, I have no time to read them. But 
 your series of Histories gives me, in brief compass, just that knowledge 
 of past men and events which I need. I have read them, with the great' 
 «at interest. To them I am indebted for about all the historical knowU 
 edge 1 have." 
 
Books by the Abbotts. 
 
 CYRUS THE GREAT. ' 
 
 DARIUS THE GREAT. 
 
 XERXES. 
 
 ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 
 
 ROMULUS. 
 
 HANNIBAL. 
 
 PYRRHUS. 
 
 JULIUS CJE3SAR. 
 
 CLEOPATRA. 
 
 NERO. 
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 
 
 "WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, 
 
 RICHARD I. 
 
 RICHARD II. 
 
 RICHARD III. 
 
 MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 
 
 QUEEN ELIZABETH. 
 
 CHARLES L 
 
 CHARLES IL 
 
 JOSEPHINE. 
 
 MARIA ANTOINETTE. 
 
 MADAME ROLAND. 
 
 HENRY IV. 
 
 PETER THE GREAT. 
 
 GENGHIS KHAN. 
 
 KING PHILIP. 
 
 HERNANDO CORTEZ. 
 
 MARGARET OF ANJOU. 
 
 JOSEPH BONAPARTE. 
 
 QUEEN HORTBNSE. 
 
 LOUIS XIV. 
 
 LOUIS PHILIPPE. 
 
Books by the Abbotts. 
 
 THE LITTLE LEARNER SERIES. 
 
 A Series for Very Young Children, Designed to Assist in 
 the Earliest Development of the Mind of a Child, Avhile under 
 its Mother's Special Care, during the first Five or Six Years 
 of its Life. By Jacob Abbott. Beautifully Illustrated. 
 Complete in 5 Small 4to Volumes, Cloth, 90 cents per Vol. 
 Price of the set, in case, $i 50. 
 
 LBARNING TO TALK ; or. Entertaining and Instruct- 
 ive Lessons in the Use of Language. 1 70 Engravings. 
 
 LBARNING TO THINK : consisting of Easy and En- 
 tertaining Lessons, designed to Assist in the First Unfold- 
 ing of the Keflective and Reasoning Powers of Children. 
 120 Engravings. 
 
 LBARNING TO RBAD ; consisting of Easy and En- 
 tertaining Lessons, designed to Assist Young Children in 
 Studying the Forms of the Letters, and in beginning to 
 Read. 160 Engravings. 
 
 LBARNING ABOUT COMMON THINGS; or 
 
 Familiar Instruction for Children in respect to the Ob- 
 jects around them that attract their Attention and awaken 
 their Curiosity in the Earliest Years of Life. 120 En- 
 gravings. 
 
 LEARNING ABOUT RIGHT AND 'WRONG; or, 
 
 Entertaining and Instructive Lessons for Young Children 
 in respect to their Dutv. 90 Engravings. 
 
Books by the Abbotts. 
 
 KINGS AND QUEENS ; or, Life in the Palace : con- 
 sisting of Historical Sketches of Josephine and Maria Lou- 
 isa, Louis Philippe, Ferdinand of Austria, Nicholas, Isa- 
 bella II., Leopold, Victoria, and Louis Napoleon. By 
 John S. C. Abbott. Illustrated. 12mo, Cloth, $1 75. 
 
 A SUMMER IN SCOTLAND : a Narrative of Ob- 
 serrations and Adventures made by the Author during a 
 Summer spent among the Glens and Highlands in Scot- 
 land. By Jacob Abbott. Illustrated. 12mo,Cloth, $1 75. 
 
 THE ROMANCE OF SPANISH HISTORY. By 
 John S. C. Abbott. Illustrated. ]2mo. Cloth, $2 00. 
 
 THE TEACHER. Moral Influences Employed in tlie 
 Instruction and Government of the Young. By Jacob 
 Abbott. Illustrated. ]2mo, Cloth, $1 75. 
 
 GENTLE MEASURES IN TRAINING THE 
 YOUNG. Gentle Measures in the Management and 
 Training of the Young ; or, The Principles on which a 
 Firm Parental Authority may be Established and JMain- 
 tained without Violence or Anger, and the Eight Devel- 
 opment of the Moral and Mental Capacities be Promoted 
 by JNIethods in Harmony with the Structure and the Char- 
 acteristics of the Juvenile Mind. A Book for the Parents 
 of Young Children. By Jacob Abbott. Illustrated. 
 12mo, Cloth, $1 75. 
 
SCIENCE 
 
 By JACOB ABBOTT. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 HEAT. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 
 
 LIGHT. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 
 
 "WATER AND LAND. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 
 
 FORCE. 12mo, Cloth, f 1 50. 
 
 few men enjoy a wider or better earned popularity as a writer 
 Tor the young than Jacob Abbott. His series of histories, and sto- 
 ries illustrative of moral truths, have furnished amusement and in- 
 struction to thousands. He has the knack of piquing and gratifying 
 curiosity. In the book before us he shows his happy faculty of im- 
 parting useful information through the medium of a pleasant nar- 
 rative, keeping alive the interest of the young reader, and fixing in 
 his memory valuable tra.t\\s.— Mercury, New Bedford, Mass. 
 
 Jacob Abbott is almost the only writer in the English language 
 who knows how to combine real amusement with real instruction 
 in such a manner that the eager young readers are quite as much 
 interested in the useful knowledge he imparts as in the story which 
 he makes bo pleasant a medium of instruction.— ^^fifaZo Commercial 
 Advertiser. 
 
 • * • Mr. Abbott has avoided the errors so common with writers 
 for popular effect, that of slurring over the diflBculties of the subject 
 through the desire of making it intelligible and attractive to un- 
 learned readers. He never tampers with the truth of science, nor 
 attempts to dodge the solution of a knotty problem behind a cloud 
 of plausible illustratione.— ^. Y. Tribune. 
 
POPULAR HISTORIES 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. 
 
 HISTORY OF FREDERICK THE GREAT. 
 
 The History of Frederick the Second, called Frederick the 
 Great. By John S. C. Abbott. Elegantly Illustrated. 
 8vo, Cloth, $5 00. 
 
 THE FRENCH REVOLUTIOK 
 
 The French Revolution of 1789, as Viewed in the Light of 
 Republican Institutions. By John S. C. Abbott. With 
 100 Engravings. 8vo, Cloth, $5 GO. 
 
 NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 
 
 The History of Napoleon Bonaparte. By John S. C. Ab- 
 bott. With Maps, Woodcuts, and Portraits on Steel. 
 2 vols., 8vo, Cloth, $10 00. 
 
 NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. 
 
 Napoleon at St. Helena ; or. Interesting Anecdotes and Re- 
 markable Conversations of the Emperor during the Five 
 and a Half Years of his Captivity. Collected from the 
 Memorials of Las Casas, O'Meara, Montholon, Antom- 
 marchi, and others. By John S. C. Abbott. With Il- 
 lustrations. 8vo, Cloth, $5 00. 
 
By JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. 
 
 CHILD AT HOME. 
 
 The Child at Home ; or, the Principles of Filial Duty famil. 
 iarly Illustrated. By John S. C. Abbott. Woodcuts. 
 IGmo, Cloth, $1 00. 
 
 The duties and trials peculiar to the child are explained and i^ 
 lustrated in this volume in the same clear and attractive manner 
 in which those of the mother are set forth in the "Mother at Home." 
 These two works may be considered as forming a complete manual 
 of filial and maternal relations. 
 
 MOTHER AT HOME. 
 
 The Mother at Home ; or, the Principles of Maternal Duty 
 familiarly Illustrated. By John S. C. Abbott. Engrav- 
 ings. 16mo, Cloth, $1 00. 
 
 This book treats of the important questions of maternal responsi- 
 bility and authority ; of the difficulties which the mother will ex- 
 perience, the errors to which she is liable, the methods and plans 
 she should adopt ; of the religious instruction which she should 
 impart, and of the results which she may reasonably hope will fol- 
 low her faithful and persevering exertions. These subjects are 
 illustrated with the felicity characteristic of all the productions of 
 the author. 
 
 PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 Practical Christianity. A Treatise specially designed for 
 Young Men. By John S. C. Abbott. 16mo, Cloth, 
 
 ^i 00. 
 
 It is characterized by the simplicity of style and appositeness of 
 illustration which make a book easily read and readily understood. 
 It is designed to instruct and interest young men in the elfectual 
 truths of Christianity. It comes down to their plane of thought, 
 and, in a genial, conversational way, strives to lead them to a life 
 of godliness. — Watchman and Reflector-. 
 
 It abounds in wise and practical suggestions.— JV. r. Commercial 
 Advertiser, 
 
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