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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:35:54 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:35:54 -0700 |
| commit | 284090a9c0f0243c438b3d57029c657467a3b009 (patch) | |
| tree | 71a0e3db7c2f17466b1c89908b969dc0560d4b89 | |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/27692-0.txt b/27692-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..caa69a8 --- /dev/null +++ b/27692-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6118 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Romulus, Makers of History, by Jacob Abbott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Romulus, Makers of History + +Author: Jacob Abbott + +Release Date: January 3, 2009 [EBook #27692] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROMULUS, MAKERS OF HISTORY *** + + + + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + Makers of History + + Romulus + + BY JACOB ABBOTT + + WITH ENGRAVINGS + + NEW YORK AND LONDON + + HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + + 1901 + + + + + Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by + + HARPER & BROTHERS, + + in the Clerk's Office for the Southern District of New York. + + Copyright, 1880, by BENJAMIN VAUGHAN ABBOTT, AUSTIN ABBOTT, + LYMAN ABBOTT, and EDWARD ABBOTT. + + + + +[Illustration: THE HARPIES.] + + + + +PREFACE + + +In writing the series of historical narratives to which the present +work pertains, it has been the object of the author to furnish to the +reading community of this country an accurate and faithful account of +the lives and actions of the several personages 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 invention of the +author. No incident, however trivial, is ever added to the original +account, nor are any 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 connected narrative. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. CADMUS 13 + + II. CADMUS'S LETTERS 36 + + III. THE STORY OF ÆNEAS 59 + + IV. THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY 79 + + V. THE FLIGHT OF ÆNEAS 103 + + VI. THE LANDING IN LATIUM 131 + + VII. RHEA SILVIA 155 + + VIII. THE TWINS 179 + + IX. THE FOUNDING OF ROME 202 + + X. ORGANIZATION 225 + + XI. WIVES 248 + + XII. THE SABINE WAR 270 + + XIII. THE CONCLUSION 295 + + + + +ENGRAVINGS. + + + PAGE + + THE HARPIES _Frontispiece._ + + JUPITER AND EUROPA 28 + + MAP--JOURNEYINGS OF CADMUS 30 + + SYMBOLICAL WRITING 37 + + SYMBOLICAL AND PHONETIC WRITING 44 + + HIEROGLYPHICS 56 + + MAP--ORIGIN OF VENUS 61 + + ÆNEAS DEFENDING THE BODY OF PANDARUS 68 + + THE TORTOISE 98 + + HELEN 105 + + MAP--WANDERINGS OF ÆNEAS 119 + + MAP--LATIUM 134 + + SILVIA'S STAG 145 + + RHEA SILVIA 180 + + FAUSTULUS AND THE TWINS 184 + + SITUATION OF ROME 209 + + PROMISING THE BRACELETS 284 + + THE DEATH OF ROMULUS 305 + + + + +ROMULUS + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +CADMUS. + +B.C. 1500 + +Different kinds of greatness.--Founders of cities.--Rome.--Interest +in respect to its origin.--The story of Æneas.--The Mediterranean +sea.--Italy and Greece in ancient times, and now.--Ancient +chieftains.--Their modes of life.--Religious ideas of the ancient +Greeks and Romans.--Ancient studies of nature.--Purpose of +them.--History.--Ancient poems and tales.--How far founded +in fact.--Cadmus.--Interest felt in respect to the +origin of writing.--True story of Cadmus.--His father +Agenor.--Europa.--Telephassa.--The pursuit of Europa.--Fruitless +result.--Cadmus settles in Greece.--Thebes.--Arts introduced by +him.--The ancient legend of Cadmus.--Jupiter.--Adventures of +Jupiter.--His love for Europa.--His elopement.--Jupiter and Europa +in Crete.--The expedition of Cadmus.--His various wanderings.--Death +of Telephassa.--Visit to the oracle at Delphi.--The directions of +the racle.--Cadmus finds his guide.--The place for his city +determined.--The fountain of Dirce.--The dragon's teeth.--Thebes +built.--Cadmia.--Ancient ideas of probability.--Belief in supernatural +tales.--Final recording of the ancient tales. + + +Some men are renowned in history on account 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 which, in the subsequent course of events, resulted +from their doings. Men of this latter class are conspicuous rather +than great. From among thousands of other men equally exalted in +character with themselves, they are brought out prominently to the +notice of mankind only in consequence of the strong light reflected, +by great events subsequently occurring, back upon the position where +they happened to stand. + +The celebrity of Romulus seems to be of this 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 accustomed to look back with special curiosity to the +circumstances of its origin. In consequence of this it has happened +that though Romulus, in his actual day, performed no very great +exploits, and enjoyed no pre-eminence above the thousand other +half-savage chieftains of his class, whose names have been long +forgotten, and very probably while he 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 the incidents of his 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 begin with the story of Æneas. +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 mankind, 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 corresponding +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 cultivation +of animal and vegetable life, were substantially the same on the +shores of the Mediterranean 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 attention to those which represent the refinement, the +cultivation, and the power, of the two respective periods, we shall +find that almost all analogy fails. There was an aristocracy then as +now, ruling over the widely extended communities of peaceful +agriculturalists and herdsmen, but the members of it were entirely +different in their character, their tastes, their ideas, and their +occupations from the classes which exercise the prerogatives of +government in Europe in modern times. The nobles then were military +chieftains, living in camps or in walled cities, which they built for +the accommodation of themselves and their followers. These chieftains +were not barbarians. 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 artificial rules, but from the +unerring instinct of genius, have never been surpassed. In fact, the +poetical inventions of those early days, far from having been +produced in conformity with rules, were entirely precedent to rules, +in the order of time. Rules were formed from them; for they at length +became established themselves in the estimation of mankind, as 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 summits of their blue and beautiful mountains, and that they +were invested there with attributes 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 +and tales, as graceful, poetical, and beautiful as themselves. Every +grove, and fountain, and river,--every lofty summit among the +mountains, and every rock and promontory along the shores of the +sea,--every cave, every valley, every water-fall, had its imaginary +occupant,--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 explored then as now, +for the purpose of ascertaining and recording cold and scientific +realities,--but to be admired, and embellished, and animated;--and to +be peopled, everywhere, with exquisitely beautiful, though imaginary +and supernatural, life and action. + +What the genius of imagination and romance 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 the mere daily toil of tilling the ground bore direct +relation to military expeditions, spectacles and parades; and the only +field for the exercise of that kind of intellectual ability which is +employed in modern times in investigating 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 witness shows or games, or to celebrate great religious festivals. +Of course under such circumstances there would be no interest felt in +truth as truth. Romance and fable would be far more serviceable for +such ends than reality. + +Still it is obvious that such tales as were invented to amuse for the +purposes we have described, would have a deeper interest for those 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 interest to a +story that purported to be an account of the deeds and the marvelous +adventures of their own ancestors, than to one that was wholly and +avowedly imaginary. The inventors of these tales would of course +generally choose such subjects, and their narrations 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 reality in all these tales which added greatly +to the 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 writing with alphabetic characters was so great an invention, and +it has exerted so vast an influence on the condition and progress of +mankind since it was introduced, that a very 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 determine under what +circumstances the method of representing the elements of sound by +written characters was first devised, to discover who it was that +first conceived the idea, and what led him to make the attempt, what +difficulties he encountered, to what purposes he first applied his +invention, and to what results 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 +subject that the world are now interested in knowing. Were a romance +writer to invent a tale in respect to the origin of writing, however +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 existing in respect to the +actual origin of alphabetic 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 will give +the facts, first in their simple form, and then the narrative in the +form in which it was related in ancient times, as embellished by the +ancient story-tellers. + +The facts then, as now generally understood and believed, are, that +there was a certain king in some country in Africa, named Agenor, who +lived about 1500 years before Christ. He had a daughter named Europa, +and several sons. Among his sons was one named Cadmus. Europa was a +beautiful girl, and after a time a wandering adventurer from some part +of the northern shores of the Mediterranean sea, came into Africa, and +was so much pleased with her that he resolved if possible, 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 acquaintance +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 daughter had deceived him and gone +away, was very indignant, and sent Cadmus and his brothers in pursuit +of her. The mother of Europa, whose name was Telephassa, though less +indignant perhaps than the father, was 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 attempting to establish themselves there, however, they +became involved in various conflicts, first with wild beasts, and +afterward 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 against 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 government of Thebes, and in +arranging the organization of the people into a social state, Cadmus +introduced among them several arts, which, in that part of the +country, had been before unknown. One of these arts was the use of +copper, which metal he taught his new subjects 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 +vocal sounds, by means of which inscriptions of words could be carved +upon monuments, or upon tablets of metal or of stone. + +It is not supposed that the idea of representing the elements of vocal +sounds by characters _originated_ with Cadmus, or that he invented the +characters himself. He brought them with him undoubtedly, but whether +from Egypt or Phenicia, can not now be known. + +Such are the facts of the case, as now generally understood and +believed. Let us now compare this simple narration with the romantic +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 continue to reign only on that condition. + +Jupiter's mother, however, was very unwilling that her boys should be +thus cruelly put to death, and she contrived to conceal three of them, +and save them. The three thus preserved were brought up among the +solitudes of the mountains, watched and attended by nymphs, and nursed +by a goat. After they grew up, they engaged from time to time in +various wars, and met with various wonderful adventures, until at +length Jupiter, the oldest of them, succeeded, by means of +thunderbolts which he caused to be forged for his use, in vast +subterranean caverns beneath Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius, conquered +all his enemies, and became universal king. He, however, divided his +empire between himself and his brothers, giving to them respectively +the command of the sea and of the subterranean regions, while he +reserved the earth and the heavenly regions for himself. + +[Illustration: JUPITER AND EUROPA.] + +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 great number of strange and +marvelous adventures. In the course of these wanderings 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 +himself 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 him, patted his glossy neck +and sides, and in other similar ways gratified the prince by marks of +her admiration and pleasure. She was at length induced by some secret +and magical influence which the prince exerted over her, to mount upon +his back, and allow herself to be borne away. The bull ran with his +burden to the shore, and plunged into the waves. He swam across the +sea to Crete,[A] and there, resuming his proper form, he made the +princess his bride. + +[Footnote A: See Map, p. 30.] + +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. Cadmus, 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 Mediterranean sea, without being able to obtain any tidings of the +fugitive. At length they passed into Asia Minor, and from Asia Minor +into Thrace, a country lying north of the Egean 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 anxiety and fatigue, and now overwhelmed with the +thought that all hope must be finally abandoned, sank down and died. + +[Illustration: THE JOURNEYING OF CADMUS.] + +Cadmus and his brothers were much affected at their mother's death. +They made arrangements for her burial, in a manner befitting her high +rank and station, and when the funeral solemnities had been performed, +Cadmus repaired to the oracle at Delphi, which was situated in the +northern part of Greece, not very far from Thrace, in order that he +might inquire there whether there was any thing more that he could do +to recover his lost sister, and if so to learn what course he was to +pursue. The oracle replied to him 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 kingdom 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 cow +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 oracle. 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 followed +wherever she led the way. She conducted him toward the southward and +eastward for thirty or forty miles, and at length wearied apparently, +by her long journey, she lay down. Cadmus knew immediately that this +was the spot where his city was to stand. + +He began immediately to make arrangements for the building of the +city, but he determined first to offer the cow that had been his +divinely appointed guide to the spot, as a sacrifice to Minerva, whom +he always considered as his guardian goddess. + +Near the spot where the cow lay down there was a small stream which +issued from a fountain not far distant, called the fountain of Dirce. +Cadmus sent some of his men to the place to obtain some water which it +was necessary to use in the ceremonies of the sacrifice. 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 ascertain 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 +monster was greedily devouring the bodies. Cadmus immediately +attacked the dragon and slew him, and then tore his teeth out of 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 +contend together in a desperate conflict, until at length all but five +of them were slain. These five then joined themselves to Cadmus, and +helped him to build his city. + +He went on very successfully after this. The city which he 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 that such narratives must have been composed to +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 faith which the hearer felt in their truth added of course +very greatly to the interest which they awakened in his mind. The +stories are _amusing_ to us; but it is impossible for us to share in +the deep and solemn 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 interest, for there is too general a +diffusion both of 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 knowing how wide the +Mediterranean sea might be, and whether a bull might not swim across +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 feasts, in +their journeyings,--and when watching their flocks at midnight, among +the solitudes of the mountains. Thus the tales were handed down from +generation to generation, until at length the use of the letters of +Cadmus became so far facilitated, that continuous narrations could be +expressed by 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. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CADMUS'S LETTERS. + +B.C. 1500 + +Two modes of writing.--Symbols.--Example.--Symbol of the Deity.--Ancient +symbols.--The Egyptian hieroglyphics phonetic.--Natural +symbols.--Mexican record.--Arbitrary symbols.--Advantages of the +symbolical mode of writing.--The meaning of them more easily +understood.--Comparison of the two systems.--Further comparison of the +two systems.--Two modes of representing the idea of a battle.--Great +advantages of the phonetic mode of writing.--Uncertainty of the origin +of phonetic writing.--Cadmus's alphabet.--Difficulties attending the +introduction of it.--Different modes of writing.--The art of writing at +first very little used.--Proofs of this.--Story of the lots.--Other +instances.--The invention of papyrus.--Mode of manufacturing +papyrus.--Volumes.--Mode of using ancient books.--Ink.--Ink found at +Herculaneum.--Recent discoveries in respect to the Egyptian +hieroglyphics.--Specimen of Egyptian hieroglyphics.--Explanation of +the figures.--Moses in Egypt.--Importance of the art of writing. + + +There are two modes essentially distinct from each other, by which +ideas may be communicated through the medium of inscriptions addressed +to the eye. These two modes are, first, by _symbolical_, and secondly, +by _phonetic_ characters. Each of these two systems 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. + +[Illustration: SYMBOLICAL WRITING] + +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 certain figure often employed among the +architectural decorations of churches, as an emblem of the Deity. It +consists of a triangle 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 obviously 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 expressed. + +The first attempts of men to preserve records 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 full representations, and these grew at length +into a system of hieroglyphical characters, some natural, and others +more or less arbitrary, but all denoting _ideas_ or _things_, and not +the sounds of words. These characters are of the kind usually +understood by the word hieroglyphics; though that word can not now +with strict accuracy be applied as a distinctive appellation, since it +has been ascertained 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 species 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 scepter +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 writing which seems to have been +symbolical in 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 characteristic +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 +inscriptions, for example, there was a character representing 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 inscription was that in a certain tumult or insurrection +the 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 _dollars_, as a +prefix to a number expressing money; for this character is a sort of +symbol, that is, it represents a thing rather 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 differently. 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 overlooked. It speaks directly to the eye, and is more 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 figure of +a house, or of a ship, or of a locomotive engine, at the head of an +advertisement, 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 ancient +representations on monuments and columns would communicate, perhaps +more rapidly 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 representations as used in ancient +times, was that their meaning could be more readily explained, and +would be more easily remembered, 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 accomplished 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 provinces, would be wholly blind and unintelligible 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 them, letter by +letter, they would forget the beginning of the lesson before reaching +the end of it,--and could never be expected to attempt extending the +knowledge by making known the interpretation which they had received +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 symbolical mode of writing must +be more simple in its character than the system now in use, inasmuch +as by that plan each idea or object would be expressed by one +character alone, whereas, 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 apparent simplicity, the system of symbolical +writing proved to be, when extensively employed, extremely complicated +and intricate. It is true that each idea required but one character, +but the number of ideas and objects, and of words expressive of their +relations to one another, is so vast, that the system 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 intended 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 communicating +knowledge anew. + +[Illustration: SYMBOLICAL AND PHONETIC WRITING] + +We come now to consider the second grand class of written characters, +namely, the _phonetic_, the class which Cadmus introduced into Greece, +and the one almost universally adopted among all the European nations +at the present day. It is called Phonetic, from a Greek word denoting +_sound_, because the characters which are used do not denote directly +the thing itself which is signified, but the sounds made in speaking +the word which signifies it. Take, for instance, the two modes of +representing a conflict between two contending armies, one by the +symbolic delineation of two swords crossed, and the other by the +phonetic delineation of the letters of the word battle. They are both +inscriptions. 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 _b_, represents 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 exemplified in this simple +instance, we shall observe 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 symbolical mode by one character, while by the +phonetic it requires no less than six. This seems at first view to +indicate a great advantage possessed by the symbolical system. But on +reflection this advantage is found entirely to disappear. For the +symbolical character, 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 symbol 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 thousand,--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, we have elements which can be +used again and again, in the expression of thousands of other ideas. +In fact, as the phonetic characters which are found necessary in most +languages are only about twenty-four, we have in that single word +accomplished one quarter of the whole task, so far as the delineation +of characters is concerned, that is necessary for expressing by +writing any possible combination of ideas which human language can +convey. + +At what time and in what manner the transition was made among the +ancient nations from the symbolic to the phonetic mode of writing, is +not now known. When 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 expressed +in phonetic characters, and the alphabets 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 several +columns, the letters themselves as subsequently written in Greece, the +Greek names given to them, and their power as represented by the +letters now in use. The forms, it will be seen, have been but little +changed. + + Greek letters. Greek names. English representatives. + + Α Alpha A + B Beta B + Γ Gamma G + Δ Delta D + Ε Epsilon E + Ι Iota I + Κ Kappa K + Λ Lamda L + Μ Mu M + Î Nu N + Ο Omicron O + Î Pi P + Ρ Rho R + Σ Sigma S + Τ Tau T + Î¥ Upsilon U + +The phonetic alphabet of Cadmus, though so 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 difficult to read it when written. There was a very great +practical obstacle, too, in the way of its general introduction, in +the want of any suitable materials for writing. To cut letters with a +chisel and a mallet upon a surface of marble is a very slow and +toilsome process. To diminish this labor the ancients contrived tables +of brass, copper, lead, and sometimes of wood, and cut the +inscriptions 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 record. + +In process of time, however, the plan of _painting_ the letters by +means of a black dye upon a smooth surface, was 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 +composition. Cadmus is supposed to have come into Greece about the +year 1550 before Christ; and it was not until about 650 before +Christ,--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 allusion, 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 champion. The lots were +prepared, being made 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 remember 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 considered as the one designated by the +decision, to fight the Trojan champion. + +Now, 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 supposed, that if these +men had been able to write, that they would have inscribed their own +names upon the lots, instead of marking them with unmeaning +characters. And even if they were not practiced writers themselves +some secretary or scribe would have been called upon to act for them +on such an occasion as this, if the art of writing had been at that +time so generally known as to be customarily 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 period 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, until at last the art of writing became established +among mankind, when they were at length put permanently upon record. + +It seems that writing was not much employed for any of the ordinary +and private purposes 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 the low lands along the margin of the Nile. It +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 +materials 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 receive 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 was open between them. Of +course, as he advanced, he continually unrolled on one side, and +rolled up upon the other. Rolls of parchment 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 practice +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 afforded it great protection. The ends of +this roller projected beyond the edges of the sheet, and were +terminated in knobs or bosses, which guarded in some measure the edges +of the papyrus or of the parchment. The whole volume was also inclosed +in a parchment case, on the outside of which the title of the work was +conspicuously recorded. Many of these ancient rolls have been found at +Herculaneum. + +For ink, various colored liquids were used, generally black, but +sometimes red and sometimes green. The black ink was sometimes +manufactured from a species of lampblack or ivory black, such as is +often used in modern times for painting. Some specimens of the +inkstands which were used in ancient times have been found at +Herculaneum, and one of them contained ink, which though too thick to +flow readily from the pen, it was still possible to write with. It was +of about the consistence of oil. + +These rolls of papyrus and parchment, however, were only used for +important writings which it was intended permanently to preserve. 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 rounded, so that any words which the writer wished to erase might +be obliterated by smoothing over again, with it, the wax on which they +had been written. + +Such is a brief history of the rise and progress of the art of writing +in the States of Greece. Whether the phonetic principle which Cadmus +introduced was brought originally from Egypt, or from the countries on +the eastern shore of the Mediterranean sea, can not now be +ascertained. It has generally been supposed among mankind, at least +until within a recent period, that the art of phonetic writing did +not originate in Egypt, for the inscriptions on all the ancient +monuments in that country are of such a character that it has always +been supposed 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 attempting for so many centuries, in vain, +to affix symbolical meanings to them, had been altogether upon the +wrong track. The delineations, though they consist almost wholly of +the forms of plants and animals, and of other natural and artificial +objects, are not symbolical representations of ideas, but letters, +representing sounds and words. They are thus precisely similar, in +principle, to the letters of Cadmus, though wholly different from them +in form. + +[Illustration: SPECIMEN OF EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.] + +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 express the name Cleopatra, a very common name for +princesses of the royal line in Egypt during the dynasty of the +Ptolemy's. We mark the various figures forming the inscription, with +the letters which modern interpreters have assigned to them. It will +be seen that they all spell, rudely indeed, but yet tolerably +distinctly, the name CLEOPATRA. + +By a careful examination of these specimens, it will be seen that the +order of placing the letters, if such hieroglyphical characters can be +so called, is not regular, and the letter _a_, 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 represented 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 inscriptions 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 means of characters representing the sounds 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 Mediterranean 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 arrangement 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 writing, 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. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE STORY OF ÆNEAS. + +B.C. 1200 + +Story of Æneas remained long unwritten.--Mother of Æneas.--Her +origin.--Early history of Venus.--Her magical powers.--Her children +Eros and Anteros.--She goes to Olympus.--Aphrodite's love for +Anchises.--The golden apple.--The award of Paris.--Venus's residence +at Mt. Ida.--Aphrodite's assumed character.--She leaves +Anchises.--Childhood of Æneas.--The Trojan war.--Achilles.--Æneas +engages in the war.--Story of Pandarus.--Æneas rescued by his +mother.--Her magic vail.--Venus is wounded.--Iris conveys her +away.--Single combat between Æneas and Achilles.--The charmed life +of Achilles.--His shield.--The meeting of Æneas and Achilles on the +field.--The harangues of the combatants.--The battle begun.--Narrow +escape.--Sudden termination of the combat.--The tales of the Æneid. + + +Besides the intrinsic interest and importance of the facts stated in +the last chapter, 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 Æneas, the great ancestor of Romulus, 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 hundred_ before Christ. Homer 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 continuous compositions, about the year six hundred. The +story of Æneas 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 hundred years, and then was clothed in verse, 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 during the whole period of this transmission, the +interest felt in it was not the desire for ascertaining 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 historically true; but it is no less +important on that account, that all well-informed persons should know +what it is. + +The mother of Æneas (as the story goes), was a celebrated goddess. Her +name was Aphrodite;[B] though among the Romans she afterward received +the name of Venus. Aphrodite was not born of a mother, like ordinary +mortals, but sprang mysteriously and supernaturally from a foam which +gathered on a certain occasion upon the surface of the sea. At the +commencement of her existence she crept out upon the shores of an +island that was near,--the island of Cythera,--which lies south of the +Peloponnesus. + +[Footnote B: Pronounced in four syllables, Aph-ro-di-te.] + +[Illustration: ORIGIN OF VENUS.] + +She was the goddess of love, of beauty, and of fruitfulness; 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, inexpressibly beautiful; +and in addition to the natural influence of her charms, she was endued +with the supernatural power of inspiring the sentiment 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 had two children, beautiful boys. +Their names were Eros and Anteros. Each of these children remained +perpetually 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 boys 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 tenderest 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 became objects of affection, if they did not return the love. + +After some time, Aphrodite and her boys found their way to the +heavenly regions of Mount Olympus, where the great divinities +resided,[C] and there they soon produced great trouble, by enkindling +the flames of love in the hearts of the divinities themselves, causing +them, by her magic power, to fall in love not only with one another, +but also with mortal men and women on the earth below. In retaliation +upon Aphrodite for this mischief, Jupiter, by his supreme power, +inspired Aphrodite herself with a sentiment of love. The object of her +affection was Anchises, a handsome youth, of the royal family of Troy, +who lived among the mountains of Ida, not far from the city. + +[Footnote C: See Map, page 61.] + +The way in which it happened that the affection of Aphrodite turned +toward an inhabitant of Mount Ida was this. There had been at one time +a marriage among the divinities, and a certain goddess who had not +been invited to the wedding, conceived the design of avenging herself +for the neglect, by provoking 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 assembled at the wedding. The goddesses all +claimed the prize, and a very earnest dispute arose among them in +respect to it. Jupiter 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 themselves to him, and submit the +question of the right to the apple to his award. The contending +goddesses appeared accordingly before Paris, and each attempted to +bribe him to decide in her favor, by offering him some peculiar 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 when Jupiter +inspired her with a sudden susceptibility to the power of love, the +shepherd Anchises was the object toward which her affections turned. +She accordingly went to Mount Ida, and giving herself up to him, she +lived with him for some time among the mountains as his bride. Æneas +was their son. + +Aphrodite did not, however, appear to Anchises in her true character, +but assumed, instead, the form and the disguise of a Phrygian +princess. Phrygia was a kingdom of Asia Minor, not very far from Troy. +She continued this disguise as long as she remained with Anchises at +Mount Ida; at length, however, 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 Æneas, 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, having now no longer any one at +home to attend to the rearing of the child, send him to Dardanus, 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 Anchises in +Aphrodite's eyes. Æneas remained 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 residence among the pasturages of the +mountains. His mother, though she had left him, did not forget her +child; but watched over him continually, and interposed directly to +aid or to protect him, whenever her aid was required by the occurrence +of any emergency of difficulty or danger. + +[Illustration: ÆNEAS DEFENDING THE BODY OF PANDARUS.] + +At length the Trojan war broke out. For a time, however, Æneas 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 peaceful avocations to the end of the war, had +it not been that Achilles, one of the most formidable of the Grecian +leaders, in one of his forays in the country around Troy, in search of +provisions, came upon Æneas's territory, and attacked him while +tending his flocks upon the mountain side. Achilles seized the +flocks and herds, and drove Æneas and his fellow-herdsmen away. They +would, in fact, all have been killed, had not Aphrodite interposed to +protect her son and save his life. + +The loss of his flocks and herds, and the injury which he himself had +received, aroused Æneas's indignation and anger against the Greeks. He +immediately raised an armed force of Dardanians, and thenceforth took +an active part 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 performed 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. Æneas did not succeed in saving his +friend. Pandarus was killed. Æneas, however, flew to the spot, and by +means of the most extraordinary feats of strength and valor he drove +the Greeks away from the body. They attacked it on every side, but +Æneas, wheeling around it, and fighting now on this side and now on +that, drove them all away. They retired to a little distance and then +began to throw in a shower of spears and darts and arrows upon him. +Æneas defended himself and the body of his friend from these missiles +for a time, with his shield. At length, however, he was struck in the +thigh with a ponderous stone which one of the Greek warriors hurled at +him,--a stone so heavy that two men of ordinary strength would have +been required to lift it. Æneas was felled to the ground by the blow. +He sank down, resting upon his arm, faint and dizzy, and being thus +made helpless would have immediately been overpowered and killed by +his assailants had not his mother interposed. She came immediately to +rescue him. She spread her vail over him, which had the magic power of +rendering 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 in her anxiety to protect him. Diomedes, the +chief of the pursuers, following headlong on, aimed a lance at Venus +herself. The lance struck Venus in the hand, and inflicted a very +severe and painful wound. It did not, however, stop her flight. She +pressed swiftly on, while Diomedes, satisfied with his revenge, gave +up the pursuit, but called out to Aphrodite as she disappeared from +view, bidding her learn from the lesson which he had given her that it +would 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 Æneas 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. Iris 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 farther still among the mountains to a place +where they found Mars, the god of war, standing with his chariot. Mars +was Aphrodite's brother. He took compassion upon his sister in her +distress, and lent Iris his chariot and horses, to convey Aphrodite +home. Aphrodite 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 her wound, and expressed great sympathy for her in her +sufferings, uttering at the same time many piteous complaints against +the merciless violence and inhumanity of men. Such is the ancient tale +of Æneas and his mother. + +At a later period in the history of the war, Æneas 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, Æneas +on the one side and Achilles 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. Æneas, besides the prodigious strength and bravery for which +he was renowned, was to be divinely aided, it was known, by the +protection of his 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, possessed 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 of the body which the water laved. As, how +ever, Thetis held the child by the ankles when she plunged him in, the +ankles remained unaffected by the magic influence of the water. All +the other parts of the body were rendered incapable 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 +metal. 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 the Greeks in the Trojan war, not +trusting entirely it seems to his magical invulnerability. + +The armies looked on with great interest as these two champions +advanced to meet each other, while all the gods and goddesses surveyed +the scene with almost equal interest, from their abodes above. Some +joined Venus 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 surveyed each other with looks of anger and defiance. +At length Achilles spoke. He began to upbraid Æneas 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 sons who are the direct and immediate heirs, +and your claims can never be allowed. Then, besides, what folly to +attempt to contend with me! Me, the strongest, bravest, and most +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 pretensions 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. + +Æneas replied,--retorting with vauntings 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 war 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 with +such force that it penetrated through two of the plates of metal which +composed the shield, and reached the central plate of gold, where the +force with which it had been thrown being spent, it was arrested and +fell to the ground. Achilles then exerting his utmost strength threw +his spear in return. Æneas 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. +The spear struck the shield near the upper edge of it, as it was held +in Æneas's hands. It passed directly through the plates of which the +shield was composed, and then continuing its course, it glided down +just over Æneas's back, and planted itself deep in the ground behind +him, and stood there quivering. Æneas crept out 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 Æneas, hand to hand. Æneas 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 two ordinary men could lift, and was about to hurl it at +his advancing foe, when suddenly the whole combat was terminated by a +very unexpected interposition. It seems that the various gods and +goddesses, from their celestial abodes among the summits of Olympus, +had assembled in invisible forms to witness this combat--some +sympathizing with and upholding one of the combatants, and some the +other. Neptune was on Æneas's side; and accordingly when he saw how +imminent the danger was which threatened Æneas, 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 concealed +Æneas from Achilles's view. Neptune 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 Æneas, 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 on looking +around him found that his enemy was gone. + +Such are the marvelous tales which were told by the ancient narrators, +of the prowess and exploits of Æneas 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 +religious faith. The tales were thus believed, and handed down +traditionally from generation 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 sacred +revelations which they contained, in respect to the divinities of the +spiritual world. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY. + +B.C. 1200 + +Termination of the siege of Troy.--Appearances observed by the +besieged.--The wooden horse.--Its probable size.--Various opinions +in respect to the disposal of it.--Sudden appearance of a +captive.--His wretched condition.--Sinon's account of the departure +of the Greeks.--His story of the proposed sacrifice.--His +escape.--Priam's address to him.--Sinon's account of the horse.--Effect +produced by Sinon's story.--The serpents and Laocoon.--Ancient statue +of Laocoon.--Its history.--The statue now deposited in the +Vatican.--Description of it.--Effect produced upon the Trojans by +Laocoon's fate.--The Trojans draw the horse into the city.--The Greeks +admitted to the city.--Æneas awakened by the din.--His meeting with +Pantheus.--His surprise and terror.--Adventures of Æneas and +Pantheus.--The tortoise.--The position of Æneas.--The tower.--The +sacking of the palace.--Priam.--Priam and Hecuba at the altar.--The +death of Priam.--The despair of the Trojans. + + +After the final conquest and destruction of Troy, Æneas, in the course +of his wanderings, stopped, it was said, at Carthage, on his way to +Italy, and there, according 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 movements 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 embarkation. In a word, the tidings soon spread +throughout the city, that the Greeks had at length 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 together,--to +explore the abandoned encampment, and to rejoice over the departure of +their terrible enemies. + +The first thing which attracted their attention was an immense wooden +horse, which stood upon the ground that the Greek encampment had +occupied. The Trojans immediately gathered, one and all, around the +monster, full of wonder and curiosity. Æneas, in narrating the story, +says that the image was as large as a mountain; but, as he afterward +relates that the people drew it on wheels within the walls of the +city, and especially as he represents them as attaching the ropes for +this purpose to the _neck_ of the image, instead of to its fore-legs, +which would have furnished the only proper points of attachment if the +effigy had been of any very extraordinary size, he must have had a +very small mountain in mind in making the comparison. Or, which is +perhaps more probable, he used the term only in a vague metaphorical +sense, as we do now when we speak of the waves of the ocean as running +mountain 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 +monster, to leave behind them on their departure from Troy. After the +first emotions of astonishment and wonder which the spectacle awakened +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 commander 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. +Another, 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 with so mysterious 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 respect to the disposal of the +horse, if this consultation and debate had gone on, it is impossible +to say, as the farther consideration of the subject was all at once +interrupted, by new occurrences which here suddenly intervened, 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 +excitement, and loud shouts and outcries, bringing with them a captive +Greek whom they had secured and bound. As the peasants came up with +their prisoner, the Trojans gathered eagerly round them, full of +excitement and threats of violence, all thirsting, apparently, for +their victim's blood. He, on his part, filled the air with the most +piteous lamentations 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 the 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 +interrogations, that his name was Sinon, and that he was a fugitive +from his own countrymen the Greeks, who had been intending to kill +him. He said that the Greek leaders had long been desirous of +abandoning the siege of Troy, 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 design. +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 oracle 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 designate. 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 to the individual +who was to suffer. At length he said that Sinon was the destined +victim. His comrades, Sinon said, rejoicing in their own escape from +so terrible a doom, eagerly assented to the priest's decision, and +immediately made preparations for the ceremony. The altar was reared. +The victim was adorned for the sacrifice, and the garlands, 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. Sinon concluded his tale by +the most piteous lamentations, on his wretched lot. The Trojans, 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 this story seemed so +sincere, and so natural and unaffected were the expressions of +wretchedness and despair with which he ended his narrative, that the +Trojan leaders had no suspicion 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. +"Forget your countrymen," said he. "They are gone. Henceforth 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 himself ready to give his benefactors the fullest +information. He told them that the wooden horse 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 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 interest to all that Sinon said, +and readily believed his story; so admirably well did he counterfeit, +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 despair in +respect to his own unhappy lot. The current 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 upon 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 sacriligious temerity in striking his spear into +the horse's side. It had been determined to offer a sacrifice to +Neptune. Lots were drawn to determine who should perform the rite. The +lot fell upon Laocoon. He began to make preparations to perform the +duty, assisted by his two young 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 twining around them they soon +held the writhing and struggling limbs of their shrieking victims +hopelessly entangled in their deadly convolutions. + +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. Instead, +however, of being able to save his children, he only involved himself +in their dreadful fate. The serpents seized him as soon as he came +within their reach, and taking two turns around his neck and two +around his body, and binding in a remorseless grip the forms of the +fainting and dying boys with other convolutions, they raised their +heads high above the group of victims which they thus enfolded, and +hissed and darted out their forked tongues in token of defiance and +victory. When at length their work was done, they 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. This statue was mentioned by an old Roman writer, Pliny, who +gave an account of it while it yet stood in its place in the ancient +city. He said that it was the work of three artists, a father and two +sons, who combined their industry and skill to carve in one group, and +with immense labor and care, the representation of Laocoon himself, +the two boys, and the two serpents, making five living beings +intertwined intricately together, and all carved from one single block +of marble. On the decline and fall of Rome this statue was lost among +the ruins of the city, and for many centuries it was known to mankind +only through the description of Pliny. At length 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 +attention to the whole world. It was deposited in the Vatican; a great +reward was paid to the owner of the ground on which it was discovered; +drawings and casts of it, without number, have been made; and the +original stands in the Vatican now, an object of universal interest, +as one of the most celebrated sculptures 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 sinks under the effects of +the poison. The other boy, in an agony of terror, is struggling, +hopelessly, to release his foot from the convolutions with which one +of the serpents has encircled it. The expression of the whole group is +exciting and painful, and yet notwithstanding this, there is combined +with it a certain mysterious grace and beauty which charms every eye, +and makes the composition the wonder of mankind. + +But to return to the story. The people understood this awful +visitation to be the judgment of heaven against Laocoon for his +sacrilegious 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 preparations 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 weight of the colossal mass. +They attached long ropes to the neck of the image, and extended them +forward upon the ground, and then brought up large companies of +citizens 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 +ponderous mass began to move, and though it encountered in its +progress many difficulties, obstructions, 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 unconscious effigy +stood silent and alone where its worshipers had left it, while the +whole population of the city were sunk in slumber, except the +sentinels who had been stationed as usual to keep guard at the gates, +or to watch upon the towers and battlements above them. + +In the mean time the Greek fleet, which had sailed away under pretense +of finally abandoning 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 secrecy, 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 watchmen, threw +open the gates, and gave the whole body of their comrades that were +lurking outside the walls, in the silence and darkness of the night, +an unobstructed admission. + +Æneas 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 ascended to the +roof of the house to ascertain the cause of the alarm. He saw flames +ascending 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 suddenly 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 his +little son, who was likewise pale with terror. Æneas asked Pantheus +what had happened. Pantheus in reply explained to him in hurried and +broken words, that armed men, treacherously 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 Æneas and those who had joined +him with a species 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 exhibited in +the midnight sacking of a city. They met with various adventures +during the time that they continued their desperate but hopeless +resistance. They encountered a party of Greeks, and overpowered and +slew them, and then, seizing the armor which their fallen enemies 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 destroy 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 undertook to rescue her, and were at once attacked 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 tumult and din, and +the frightful glare of lurid flames by which the city was illuminated, +a scene of inconceivable confusion and terror. + +[Illustration: THE TORTOISE.] + +Æneas 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 had 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 +Æneas 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 below. Great numbers were killed by the falling +ruins, and the tortoise was broken down. The Greeks, however, soon +formed another tortoise, by means of which some of the soldiers scaled +the walls, while others broke down the gates with battering rams and +engines; 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 +Æneas and his 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, +were 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 spectators 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 farther attempts at resistance would only +exasperate their enemies, and render their own destruction the more +inevitable. She persuaded the king, therefore, to give up his 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 await 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 unexpected occurrence which suddenly intervened, and which +led to a fatal result. While they were seated by the altar, in +attitudes of submission and suppliance, they were suddenly aroused by +the rushing toward them of one of their sons, who came in, wounded and +bleeding from some scene of combat, and pursued 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 imprecations +against the murderers of his son, he hurled the weapon toward them as +they advanced. 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 palace 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. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE FLIGHT OF ÆNEAS. + +B.C. 1200 + +Æneas's reflections.--He determines to go home.--Æneas is left at last +alone.--He goes away.--He sees the princess Helen.--Story of +Helen.--Æneas determines to destroy her.--His reflections.--The +apparition of Aphrodite.--Her words.--His mother's magical +protection.--He reaches his home.--The determination of +Anchises.--Creusa's entreaties.--The plan formed for the escape of the +family.--The lion's skin.--The household gods.--Creusa.--The whole +party proceed towards the gates.--Escape from the city.--Creusa is +lost.--Æneas goes back in search of Creusa.--He finds that his house +has been burned.--The apparition of Creusa.--Her predictions.--Her +farewell to her husband.--Preparations for departure.--Æneas's company +increases.--His fleet.--The embarkation.--Map of the wanderings of +Æneas.--A dreadful prodigy.--The bleeding myrtle.--Words of the +myrtle.--Story of Polydorus.--Æneas leaves Thrace.--His various +wanderings.--The attempted settlement at Crete.--Calamities.--Æneas's +perplexity.--Advice of Anchises.--Scene at night.--The household +deities.--Their address to Æneas.--Effect of this address.--Subsequent +adventures.--Danger of shipwreck.--The harpies.--Æneas driven +away.--Dangers at Mt. Etna.--The one-eyed giants.--Polyphemus.--Remarks +on the story of Æneas. + + +Æneas, from his station upon the battlements of a neighboring edifice, +witnessed the taking of the palace and the death of Priam. He +immediately gave up 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, whom 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 he began now to be overwhelmed with the apprehension, +that the besiegers had found their way to his dwelling, and were, +perhaps, at that very moment plundering and destroying it and +perpetrating 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 companions remained with him. +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 city. 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 headlong from their lofty height into the street beneath 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. Æneas 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 Æneas found himself alone. + +Æneas contrived to find his way back safely to the street, and then +stealthily choosing his way, and vigilantly watching against the +dangers that surrounded him, he advanced cautiously among the ruins of +the palace, in the direction toward his own home. He had not +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. + +[Illustration: HELEN.] + +Helen was a Grecian princess, formerly the wife of Menelaus, king of +Sparta, but she had eloped from Greece 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, Menelaus, accompanied +by another Grecian chieftain, went to Troy and demanded that Helen +should be given up again to her proper husband. Paris refused to +surrender her. Menelaus then returned to Greece and organized a grand +expedition to proceed to Troy and recapture the queen. This was the +origin of the war. The people, therefore, looked upon Helen as the +cause, whether innocent or guilty, of all their calamities. + +When Æneas, therefore, who was, as may well be supposed, in no very +amiable or gentle temper, as he hurried along away from the smoking +ruins of the palace 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 country by her +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 vengeance 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 ruin +upon us, escape herself, and go back to Greece in safety and be a +queen there again." + +As Æneas said these words, rushing forward 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 +decrees of the gods that the city has fallen. It is useless for you to +struggle against inevitable destiny, or to attempt to take vengeance +on mere human means and instrumentalities. Think no more of Helen. +Think of your family. Your aged father, your helpless wife, your +little son,--where are they? Even now while you are wasting time here +in vain attempts 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 unseen, and will protect you and them from +every impending danger." + +As soon as Aphrodite had spoken these words she disappeared from view. +Æneas, following her injunctions, went directly toward 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 direction about the city, in such a manner as to convince him +that his mother was really accompanying him, and protecting his way by +her supernatural powers. + +When he reached home the first person whom he saw was Anchises his +father. He told Anchises that all was lost, and that nothing now +remained for them but to seek safety for themselves by flying to the +mountains behind the city. But Anchises refused to 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 remains to me, to be spent, if saved, in miserable exile. +If the powers of heaven had intended that I should have lived any +longer, they would have spared my native city,--my 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. Æneas and Creusa his wife joined their entreaties in +urging him to go away. But he would not be persuaded. Æneas then +declared that he would not go and leave his father. If one was to die +they would all die, he said, together. He called for his armor and +began to put 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 intervention, who fell down before him at the +threshold of the door, almost frantic with excitement 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 unhappy family +continued for some time longer, but it ended at last, in the 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 continually at new points in the progress of the +conflagration, indicated that no time was to be lost. Æneas hastily +formed his plan. His father was too old and infirm to go himself +through the city. Æneas determined therefore to carry him upon his +shoulders. Little Ascanius was to walk along by his side. Creusa was +to follow, keeping as close as possible to her husband lest she should +lose him in the darkness of the night, or in the scenes of uproar and +confusion through which they would have to pass on the way. The +domestics 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 certain rising ground, not far from the +city, which Æneas designated to them by means of an old deserted +temple which marked the spot, and a venerable cypress which grew +there. + +This plan being formed the party immediately proceeded to put it in +execution. Æneas 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. Anchises 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 embodiment of divine protection. To save these images, +when every thing else was given up for lost, was always the object of +the last desperate effort of the husband and father. Æneas in this +case asked his father to take these images, as it would have been an +impiety 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 followed 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 +of the distant conflagrations, which glared in the sky, and flashed +sometimes upon battlements and towers, and upon the tops of lofty +dwellings. + +Æneas 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 constant 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 defend either himself or them. The party, however, for a time +seemed to escape all these dangers, but at length, just as they were +approaching the gate of the city, and began to think that they were +safe, they were suddenly alarmed by a loud uproar, and by a rush of +men which came in toward them from some streets in that quarter of the +city, and threatened to overwhelm them. Anchises was greatly alarmed. +He saw the gleaming weapons of the Greeks who were rushing toward +them, and he called out to Æneas to fly faster, or to turn off some +other way, in order to escape the impending danger. Æneas was +terrified by the shouts and uproar which he heard, and his mind was +for a moment confused 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 succeeded in finding egress +from the city. He pressed on, without stopping to look behind him till +he reached the appointed place of rendezvous on the hill, and then +gently laying down his burden, he looked around for Creusa. She was +nowhere to be seen. + +Æneas was in utter consternation, at finding that his wife was gone. +He mourned and lamented this dreadful calamity with loud exclamations +of grief and despair; then reflecting 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 behind the hill, and leaving them there +under 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 flames 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, accordingly, 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 furniture and goods which the +wretched inmates of the dwellings had vainly endeavored to save. These +inmates themselves were standing around, distracted with grief and +terror, and gazing hopelessly upon the scene of devastation before +them. + +Æneas saw all these things at a glance, and immediately, in a phrensy +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 imploring all whom he saw to give him some tidings of her. +All was, however, in vain. She could not be found. Æneas 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 suspense, 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 progress. 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 him that the vision was not of this +world. Æneas 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 providence 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 destiny 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, however, 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 must not lament my 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 began to disappear. Æneas +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 concealed 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 Æneas 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, Æneas employed his men +in building a number of small vessels, fitting them, as was usual in +those days, both with sails and oars. + +During the progress of these preparations, small parties of Trojans +were coming in continually, 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 Æneas was gradually assembling +the remnant of the Trojans on the shore. The numbers thus collected at +Æneas's encampment gradually increased, and as Æneas 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. + +[Illustration: WANDERINGS OF ÆNEAS.] + +The nearest country within reach in leaving the Trojan coast, was +Thrace--a country lying north of the Egean Sea, and of the Propontis, +being separated, in fact, in one part, from the Trojan territories, +only by the Hellespont. Æneas turned his course northward toward this +country, and, after a short voyage, 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 to +leave those shores 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 occasions, +when Æneas, 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 astonishment and horror, he found that blood +flowed from the roots whenever they were broken. Drops of what +appeared to be human blood would ooze from the ruptured part as he +held the shoot in his hand, and fall slowly to the ground. He was +greatly terrified at this spectacle, considering it as some omen of +very dreadful import. He immediately 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 prodigy +had 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 suffering. Immediately afterward a +voice, in a mournful and sepulchral accent, began to beg him to go +away, and cease disturbing the repose 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 supplied, and that he might maintain, during his +absence 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 for support and protection, became +the occasion of his ruin--for the Thracian king, when he found 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. + +Æneas 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, performed those funeral rites for Polydorus which +were considered in those ages essential to the repose of the dead. +When these mournful ceremonies were ended they embarked on board their +ships again and sailed away. + +After this, the party of Æneas spent many months in weary voyages from +island to island, and from shore to shore, along the Mediterranean +sea, encountering every imaginable difficulty and danger, and meeting +continually with the strangest and most romantic adventures. At one +time they were misled by a mistaken interpretation of prophecy to +attempt a settlement in Crete--a green and beautiful island lying +south of the Egean sea. They had applied to a sacred oracle, which +had its seat at a certain consecrated 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 +oracle, in answer to their request, informed them that they were to go +to the land that their ancestors had originally come from, before +their settlement in Troy. Æneas applied to Anchises 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 accordingly directed southward, and +in due time the expedition safely reached the island of Crete, and +landed there. They immediately commenced the work of effecting a +settlement. They drew the ships up upon 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 them. Many died; others who still lived, were +utterly prostrated by the effects of the disease, and crawled about, +emaciated and wretched, a miserable and piteous spectacle 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 judgments. Æneas determined to adopt this +advice, but he was prevented from carrying his intentions into effect +by the following occurrence. + +One night he was lying upon his couch in 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 which environed them. The moon shone in at the +windows, and by the light of this luminary he saw, reposing in their +shrines in the opposite side of the apartment where he was sleeping, +the household images which he had rescued from the flames of Troy. As +he looked upon these divinities in the still and solemn hour of +midnight, oppressed with anxiety and care, one of them began to +address him. + +"We are commissioned," said this supernatural 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 destined to be your home. You must leave +these shores, 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 or on account of the calamities which now +impend over you. You will be prospered in the end. You will reach +Italy in safety, and there you will lay the foundations of a mighty +empire, which in days to come will extend its dominion far and wide +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 prepared 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 extend this portion of our narrative too far, +to relate them all. They encountered a storm by which for three days +and three nights they were tossed to and fro, without seeing sun or +stars, and of course without any guidance whatever; and during all +this time they were in the most imminent danger of being overwhelmed +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 _harpies_, +birds of prey of prodigious size and most offensive habits, and fierce +and voracious beyond description. 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 Aëlopos, Nicothoë, Ocythoë, Ocypoæ, Celæno, +Acholoë, and Aëllo. Some said that the harpies had the faces and forms +of women. Others described them as frightfully ugly; but all agree in +representing 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 Æneas and his party, and carried +away the food from off the table before them; and even 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 before. At length the +expedition was driven away from the island altogether, by these +ravenous fowls, and when they were embarking on board of their +vessels, the leader of the harpies perched herself upon a rock +overlooking the scene, and in a human voice loaded Æneas 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 +summit 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 monsters 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 enabled them to resume their course, they made all +haste to get away from so appalling a scene. At another time they +touched upon a coast which 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 surprise +their keeper in his sleep, and though they were wholly unable to kill +him on account of his colossal magnitude, they succeeded in putting +out his eye, and Æneas and his companions saw the blinded giant, as +they passed along the coast, wading in the sea, and bathing 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, Æneas and his party reached the shores of Italy, at +the point which by divine intimations had been pointed out to them as +the place where they were to land.[D] + +[Footnote D: See Map, page 134.] + +The story of the life and adventures of Æneas, 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 +narrative has made a more deep, and widespread, and lasting impression +upon the human mind than any other narrative perhaps that ever was +penned. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE LANDING IN LATIUM. + +B.C. 1197-1190 + +Description of the country where Æneas landed.--The landing.--Mouth of +the Tiber.--Burning of the ships.--Italy in ancient days.--Sacrifices +offered.--Map of Latium.--Reconnoitring the country.--King Latinus.--An +embassy.--The embassy come to the capital.--The embassadors are +admitted to an audience.--Their address to king Latinus.--Latinus +accedes to Æneas's requests.--Proposal of marriage.--Lavinia and +Turnus.--The anger of Turnus at being set aside.--Lavinium.--Situation +of the Trojan territory.--The story of Sylvia's stag.--Ascanius shoots +the stag.--The resentment of Sylvia's brothers.--Sudden outbreak.--Death +of Almon.--Great excitement.--Preparation for war.--Latinus.--The +Trojans gradually gain ground.--Desire for peace.--Turnus opposes +it.--A proposal for single combat.--Result of the combat.--Marriage +of Æneas.--Æneas drowned in the Numicius. + + +Latium was the name given to an ancient province of Italy, lying south +of the Tiber. At the time of Æneas'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, +consisting of hills and valleys, occupied by shepherds 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 command 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 employed 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 buildings, of wood, or of stone, and thus constructed such +dwellings as they needed, in their towns, and walls and citadels for +defence. + +Æneas brought his fleet into the mouth of the Tiber, and anchored it +there. He himself, 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 expedition at the commencement of the voyage, was very +large; but it had been considerably diminished by the various +misfortunes and accidents 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 render it impossible for the fleet +to go to sea again. + +However this may be, Æneas was very strongly disposed to make the +beautiful region which he now saw before him, his final home. The +country, in every aspect of it, was alluring in the highest degree. +Level plains, varied here and there by gentle elevations, extended +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 mountains bounded the +horizon, and a soft, warm summer haze floated over the whole scene, +bathing the landscape in a rich mellow light peculiar to Italian +skies. + +As soon as the disembarkation was effected, lines of encampment were +marked out, at a suitable place on the shore, and such simple +fortifications as were necessary for defence in such a case, were +thrown up. Æneas dispatched one party in boats to explore the various +passages and channels which formed the mouth of the river, perhaps in +order to be prepared to make good his escape again, to sea, in case of +any sudden or extraordinary danger. Another party were employed in +erecting altars, and preparing for sacrifices and other religious +celebrations, designed on the part of Æneas to propitiate the deities +of the place, and to inspire his men with religious confidence and +trust. He also immediately proceeded to organize a party of +reconnoiterers who were to proceed into the interior, to explore the +country and to communicate with the inhabitants. + +[Illustration: MAP OF LATIUM.] + +The party of reconnoiterers thus sent out followed up the banks of the +river, and made excursions in various directions across the fields and +plains. They found that the country 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 arrival 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 demeanor +he concluded that they were Greeks. This idea awakened in his mind +some apprehension; 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 +pursue in respect to the intruders. + +In the mean time Æneas concluded to send an embassy to Latinus to +explain the circumstances under which 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 the others a large number of gifts which +they were to carry and present to him. These gifts consisted of +weapons 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 arranged proceeded to the Latin 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 dwellings. Outside the gates a +portion of the population were assembled busily engaged in games, and +in various gymnastic and equestrian performances. Some were driving +furiously in chariots around great circles marked out for the course. +Others were practicing feats of horsemanship, or running races upon +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 they came in view of this scene, and +waited until intelligence could be sent in to the monarch, informing +him of their arrival. + +Latinus decided immediately to admit the embassy to an audience, and +they were accordingly conducted into the city. They were led, after +entering by the gates, through various streets, until they came at +length to a large public edifice, which seemed to be, at the same +time, palace, senate-house, and citadel. There were to be seen, in the +avenues which led to this edifice, statues of old warriors, and +various other martial decorations. There were many old trophies of +former victories preserved here, such as arms, and chariots, and prows +of ships, and crests, and great bolts and bars taken from the gates of +conquered cities,--all old, war-worn, and now useless, but preserved +as memorials of bravery and conquest. The Trojan embassy, passing +through and among these trophies, as they 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 introduction were performed, they +delivered the message which Æneas 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 +destruction of their native city. Since then they had been driven to +and fro at the mercy of the winds and waves, exposed to every +conceivable degree of hardship and danger. Their landing finally in +the dominions of Latinus 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 reaching them, +had landed; and now Æneas, 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 territory for them, and give them leave to +build a city. + +The effect produced upon the mind of Latinus 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 +destruction of Troy, and of the departure of Æneas's squadron; for a +long time had been consumed by the wanderings of the expedition along +the Mediterranean shores, so that some years had now elapsed since the +destruction 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 Æneas 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 establishment of friendly relations between Latinus and +the Trojans, and that was, that Latinus was engaged, at the time of +Æneas's arrival, in a war with the Rutulians, a nation that inhabited +a country lying south of Latium and on the coast. Latinus thought that +by making the Trojans his friends, he should be able to enlist them as +his auxiliaries in this war. Æneas 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 Æneas and +Latinus, an alliance which in the end resulted in the accession of +Æneas to the throne of Latinus. Latinus had a daughter named Lavinia. +She was an only child, and was a princess of extraordinary 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 marry Lavinia, and in the +end succeed with her, to the throne of Latinus. Latinus himself had +not entered into this scheme; and when closing his negotiations with +Æneas, it seemed to him that it would be well to seal and secure the +adherence of Æneas to his cause by offering him his daughter Lavinia +for his bride. Æneas was very willing to accede to this proposal. What +the wishes of Lavinia herself were in respect to the arrangement, it +is not very well known; nor were her wishes, according to the ideas +that prevailed in those times, of any consequence whatever. The plan +was arranged, and the nuptials were soon to be celebrated. Turnus, +when he found that he was to be superseded, left the court of Latinus, +and went away out of the country in a rage. + +Æneas 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. Æneas had intended to have named it Troy, in commemoration of +the ancient city now no more. 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 to the Trojans by Latinus was in +the south-western 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, determining, 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 Æneas found himself threatened with a very formidable +danger. + +Nor was this all. For just before the commencement of the war with +Turnus, an extraordinary train of circumstances occurred which +resulted in alienating the Latins themselves from their new ally, and +in leaving Æneas 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 Æneas would not be very favorably +regarded by the common 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 partiality of their king, to a share of their +country. This jealousy and distrust was, for a time, suppressed and +concealed; but the animosity only acquired strength and concentration +by being restrained, and at length an event occurred which caused it +to break forth with uncontrollable fury. The circumstances were these: + +There was a man in Latium named Tyrrheus, 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 accustomed 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. + +[Illustration: SILVIA'S STAG.] + +One day when Ascanius, Æneas'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 belonging to his years, was returning from +the chase, he happened to pass by the place where the herdsman lived. +Ascanius was followed 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 confiding 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 fitting it to +the bow. As soon as he came in sight of the stag, he let fly his +arrow. The 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 rushing into the house, marking his way with +blood, ran to the covert which Sylvia had provided for his +resting-place at night, and crouching 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 their +favorite, they were filled with indignation and rage. They went out +and aroused the neighboring peasantry, who very easily caught the +spirit of resentment and revenge which burned 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 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 chieftains +could interfere, a very 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 maturity, 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 demanded, 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 withstand 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 sentiment turned hopelessly against the Trojans, +and Æneas soon found himself shut up 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. Æneas himself went away with a few followers to some of the +neighboring kingdoms, to get succor 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. Æneas found +several of the Italian princes who were ready to aid him, and he +returned to his camp with considerable reinforcements, and with +promises of more. The war soon broke out, and was waged for a long +time with great determination on both sides and with varied success. + +Latinus, who was now somewhat advanced in life, and had thus passed +beyond the period of ambition and love of glory, and who besides must +have felt that the interests of his family were now indissolubly bound +up in those of Æneas and Lavinia, watched the progress of the contest +with a very uneasy and anxious mind. He found that for a time at +least it would be out of his power to do any thing effectual to +terminate the war, so he allowed it to take its course, and contented +himself 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, they 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 property for their enemies to plunder, while the Rutulians +and Latins had great possessions, 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 Trojans 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 victory or destruction. +Their protracted voyage, and the long experience of hardships and +sufferings 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, indications gradually appeared that +both sides began to be weary of the contest. Latinus availed himself +of a favorable occasion which offered, to propose that embassadors +should be sent to Æneas with terms of peace. Turnus was very much +opposed to any such plan. He was earnestly desirous of continuing to +prosecute the war. The other Latin chieftains reproached him then with +being the cause of all the calamities which they were enduring, and +urged the unreasonableness on his part of desiring any longer to +protract 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 +proposed that he should himself decide the question between him and +Æneas, by challenging the Trojan leader to fight him in single combat. + +Latinus strongly disapproved of this proposal. He was weary of war and +bloodshed, and wished that the conflict might wholly cease; and he +urged that peace should be made with Æneas, and that his original +design of giving him Lavinia for his wife should be carried into +execution. For a moment Turnus seemed to hesitate, but in looking +towards 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 Æneas should win her for his bride. + +He accordingly without any farther hesitation 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 was 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 began; but, as frequently +occurs in such cases, it was not long confined to the single pair of +combatants with which it commenced. Others were gradually drawn in, +and the duel became in the end a general battle. Æneas and the Trojans +were victorious, and both Latinus and Turnus were slain. This ended +the war. Æneas married Lavinia, and thenceforth reigned with her over +the kingdom of Latium as its rightful sovereign. + +Æneas lived several years after this, and 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 people so as +greatly to improve their condition. He introduced, too, many +ceremonies of religious worship, which had prevailed in the countries +from which he had come, or in those which he had visited in his long +voyage. These ceremonies became at last so firmly established among +the religious observances of the inhabitants of Latium, that they +descended from generation to generation, and in subsequent years +exercised great influence, in modeling the religious faith and worship +of the Roman people. They thus continued to be practiced for many +ages, and, through the literature of the Romans, became subsequently +known and celebrated throughout the whole civilized world. + +At length, in a war which Æneas was waging 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 Numicius. 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 Æneas 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. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +RHEA SILVIA. + +B.C. 800 + +Rhea Silvia.--The order of vestal virgins.--The ancient +focus.--Arrangement for fire.--Nature of the ceremonies instituted in +honor of Vesta.--Her vestal virgins.--Their duties.--Terrible punishment +for those who violated their vows.--Similar observances in modern +times.--Influence of the vestal institution.--Ceremonies.--Qualifications +of the candidate.--Term of service.--The sacred fire.--Punishment for +neglect of duty.--Question in regard to the succession.--Origin of the +name Silvius.--History of Ascanius.--His war with Mezentius.--The +Trojans victorious.--Settlement of the kingdom.--Lavinia recalled.--The +building of Alba Longa.--Situation of Alba Longa.--The name.--Successor +to Ascanius.--Perplexing question.--Settlement of the +question.--Tiberinus.--The story of Alladius and his thunder.--Death of +Alladius.--Superstitions.--Numitor and Amulius.--Their respective +characters.--Division of their father's possessions.--Policy of +Numitor.--Death of Egestus.--Rhea enters upon her duties as a vestal +virgin.--Unexpected events announced. + + +Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus, was a vestal virgin, who lived in +the kingdom of Latium about four hundred years after the death of +Æneas. 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 +services of religion. They were, like nuns, especially prohibited from +all association and intercourse with men. + +Æneas 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 Vesta, who was +the goddess of Home. The fireside has been, in all ages and countries, +the center and the symbol of home, and the worship of Vesta consisted, +accordingly, of ceremonies designed to dignify and exalt the fireside +in the estimation of the people. Instead of the images and altars +which 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 different 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 only +their pursuits and avocations, but far the greater 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 Vesta, the goddess of Home, +they set up a _focus_, or fire-place, in her temple, 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 Vesta by the most solemn ceremonies, and as virgins, were +bound under awful penalties, to spotless purity of life. As the +perpetual fire in the temple of Vesta represented the fire of the +domestic hearth, so these vestal virgins represented the maidens by +whom the domestic service of a household is performed; and the life of +seclusion and celibacy which was required of them was the emblem of +the innocence and purity which the institution of the family is +expressly intended to guard. The duties of the vestals were analogous +to those of domestic maidens. They were to watch the fire, and never +to allow it to go out. They were to perform various rites and +ceremonies connected with the worship of Vesta and to keep the +interior of the temple and the shrines pure and clean, and the sacred +vessels and utensils arranged, as in a well-ordered household. In a +word, they were to be, in purity, in industry, in neatness, in order, +and in patience and vigilance, the perfect impersonation of maidenly +virtue as exhibited in its own proper field of duty at home. + +The most awful penalties were visited upon the head of any vestal +virgin who was guilty of violating her vows. There is no direct +evidence what these penalties 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 side. In the +dungeon itself there was placed a table, a lamp, and a little food. +The descent was by a ladder which passed down through the pit. The +place of this terrible preparation for punishment was near one of the +gates of the city, and when all was ready the unhappy vestal was +brought forth, at the head of a great public 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 the 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 Vesta, +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 the sense in which Christian nations worship the +spiritual and eternal Jehovah--but rather as the embodiment of an +idea,--a principle,--as the 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. And if, +instead of the cap, they were to place a carved effigy of liberty +above, and to assemble for periodical celebrations below, with games, +and music, and banners, we should not probably call them idolaters. So +Christian poets write odes and invocations to Peace, to +Disappointment, to Spring, to Beauty, in which they impersonate an +idea, or a principle, and address it in the language of adoration, 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 the influence of the love of liberty on the +popular mind. It is possible that Æneas looked upon the subject in the +same light, in erecting a 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, of domestic honor and purity. We must remember that +they had not then the word of God, nor any means of communicating to +the minds of the people any general enlightenment 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 service 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 that the candidate, +besides the above-named 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 +however permitted this, there was a public sentiment 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 attendance at the temple, and died as they had lived in +the service of the goddess. + +One of the chief functions of the virgins, in their service in the +temple, was to keep the sacred fire perpetually burning. This fire was +never to go out, and if, by any neglect on the part of the vestal in +attendance, this was allowed to occur, the guilty maiden was punished +terribly by scourging. The punishment was inflicted by the hands of +the highest pontifical officer of the state. The laws of the +institution however evinced their high regard for the purity and +modesty of the vestal maidens by requiring that the blows should be +administered in the dark, the sufferer having been previously prepared +to receive them by being partially undressed by her female attendants. +The extinguished fire was then rekindled with many solemn ceremonies. + +Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus, was, we repeat, a vestal virgin. +She lived four hundred years after the death of Æneas. During these +four centuries, the kingdom had been governed by the descendants of +Æneas, generally in a peaceful and prosperous manner, although some +difficulties occurred in the establishment of the succession +immediately after Æneas's death. It will be remembered that Æneas was +drowned during the continuance of the war. He left one son, and +perhaps others. The one who figured most conspicuously in the +subsequent history of the kingdom, was Ascanius, the son who had +accompanied Æneas 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, whether, after all, Lavinia herself +was not entitled to the kingdom. It was doubtful, according to the +laws and usages of those days, whether Æneas held the realm in his own +right, or as the husband of Lavinia, who was the daughter and heir of +Latinus, the ancient and legitimate king. Lavinia, however, seemed to +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 knowing but that Ascanius would be suspicious 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 Trojans, and now, since he was no more, and +another, who was in some sense her rival, had risen to power, she +naturally felt insecure. She accordingly took the first opportunity to +retire from Lavinium. She went away into the forests in the interior +of the country, with a very few attendants and friends, and concealed +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 having been born in the midst +of the wild forest scenes which surrounded her at the time of his +birth, she called him in full, Æneas of the woods, or, as it was +expressed in the language which was then used in Latium, Æneas +Silvius. The boy, when he grew up, was always known by this name in +subsequent 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 Silvius affixed to their names, in perpetual commemoration of +the romantic birth of their ancestor. Rhea, the mother of Romulus, of +whom we have already spoken, and of whom we shall presently have +occasion to speak still more, was Rhea _Silvia_, by reason of her +having been by birth a princess of this royal line. + +Ascanius, in the mean time, on the death of his father, was 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. Mezentius had a son +named Lausus, 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. He 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 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 +terrific shouts and outcries. The whole detachment were taken entirely +by surprise, and great numbers were made prisoners or slain. Lausus +himself was killed. + +Excited by their victory, the Trojan soldiers, headed by Ascanius, now +turned their course toward the main body of the Rutulian army. +Mezentius had, however, in the mean time, obtained warning of their +approach, and when they reached his camp he was ready to retreat. He +fled with all his forces toward the mountains. Ascanius and the +Trojans followed him. Mezentius halted and attempted to fortify +himself on a hill. Ascanius surrounded the hill, and soon compelled +his enemies to come to terms. A treaty was made, and Mezentius and his +forces soon after withdrew 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 Latin portion of his subjects +seemed disposed to murmur and complain, at her having been compelled +to withdraw from her own paternal kingdom, in order to leave the +throne to the occupancy of the son of a stranger. Some even feared +that she had come to some harm, or that Ascanius 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 Lavinia's return. + +Ascanius seems to have been well disposed to 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 concluded to give up +Lavinium to her entirely, as her own rightful dominion, while 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 many miles distant from it. The +place which he marked out for the walls 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, rising abruptly on one +side, formed a sure defense on that side: on the other side was a +small 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 intended 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 which subsequently +grew there were luxurious and delicious in flavor. From the little +lake channels were cut leading over the plains below, and by this +means a constant supply of water could be conveyed to the fields of +grain which were to be sown there, for purposes of irrigation. Thus +the place which Ascanius chose furnished all possible facilities both +for maintaining, and also for defending the people who were to make it +their abode. The town was called 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. + +Ascanius 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 harmony. In process of time +both died. Ascanius left a son whose name was Iulus, while Æneas +Silvius 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 Æneas the Trojan became, by +conquest, the rightful sovereign of Latium, irrespective of any rights +that he acquired through his marriage with Lavinia, and that Iulus, as +the son of his eldest son, rightfully succeeded him. Others contended +that Lavinia represented the ancient and the truly legitimate royal +line, and that Æneas Silvius, as her son and heir, ought to be placed +upon the throne. And there were those who proposed to compromise the +question, by dividing Latium into two separate kingdoms, giving up one +part to Iulus, with Alba Longa for its capital, and the other, with +Lavinium for its capital, to Æneas Silvius, Lavinia's heir. This +proposition was, however, overruled. The two kingdoms, thus formed +would be small and feeble, it was thought, 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 Æneas +Silvius, being the son both of Æneas and Lavinia, and thus +representing both branches of the reigning power, should be the king, +while Iulus and his descendants forever, should occupy the position, +scarcely less inferior, of sovereign power in matters of religion. +Æneas Silvius, therefore, and his descendants, became _kings_, and as +such commanded the armies and directed the affairs of state, while +Iulus and his family were exalted, in connection with them, to the +highest pontifical dignities. + +This state of things, once established, continued age after age, and +century after century, for about four hundred years. No records, and +very few traditions in respect to what occurred during this period +remain. One circumstance, however, took place which caused itself to +be remembered. There was one king in the line of the Silvii, whose +name was Tiberinus. In one of his battles with the 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 was seen no more. By the accident, however, he gave the name of +Tiber to the stream, and thus perpetuated his own memory through the +subsequent renown of the river in which he was drowned. Before this +time the river was called the Albula. + +Another incident is related, which is somewhat 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 was 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 were not deceived by this imposture, +though they soon after fell into an error nearly as absurd 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 with 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 +considered 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 prerogative of supreme +divinity. In fact, the rumor circulated, and one historian has +recorded it as true, that Alladius was struck by the lightning 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 thunder, and to protect +themselves from its power; and now, since Franklin and Morse have +commenced the work of subduing the potent and mysterious agent in +which it originates, to the human 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 hundred years during which the +dynasty of the Silvii continued to reign over Latium, a certain +monarch of the series died, leaving two children, Numitor and Amulius. +Numitor was the eldest son, and as such entitled to succeed his +father. But he was of a quiet and somewhat inefficient disposition, +while his younger brother was ardent and ambitious, and very likely to +aspire to the possession of power. The father, it seems, anticipated +the possibility of dissension between his sons after his death, and in +order to do all in his power to guard against it, he endeavored to +arrange and settle the succession before he died. In the course of the +negotiations which ensued, Amulius proposed that his father's +possessions should be divided into two portions, the kingdom to +constitute one, and the wealth and treasures the other, and that +Numitor should choose which portion he would have. This proposal +seemed to have the appearance, at least, of reasonableness 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 +Amulius was, in effect, a proposition to divide with himself that +which really belonged wholly to his brother. + +Numitor, however, who, it seems, was little disposed to contend for +his rights, agreed to this proposal. He, however, chose the kingdom, +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 treasures, began to employ them +as a means of making powerful friends, and strengthening his political +influence. In due time he usurped the throne, and Numitor, giving up +the contest with very little attempt to resist the usurpation, fled +and concealed himself in some obscure place of retreat. He had, +however, two children, a son and a daughter, which he left behind him +in his 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 arrows, 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 Rhea--the Rhea 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 humanity to be +unwilling to shed the blood of a helpless and beautiful maiden, the +daughter, too, of his own brother. Then, besides, he had a daughter of +his own named Antho, who was the playmate and companion of Rhea, and +with whose affection for her cousin he must have felt some sympathy. +He would not, therefore, destroy the child, but contented himself +with determining to make her a vestal virgin. By this means she would +be solemnly set apart to a religious service, which would incapacitate +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 offspring 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 highest rank to be designated +to this office. The little Rhea, for she was 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 awful +sanctions--unconscious, however, perhaps, herself of what she was +doing--to lead thenceforth a life of absolute celibacy and seclusion. + +She was then received into the temple of Vesta, and there, with the +other maidens who had been consecrated before her, she devoted +herself to the discharge of the duties of her office, without +reproach, for several years. At length, however, certain circumstances +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. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE TWINS. + +B.C. 774-755 + +The temple of Mars at Alba.--Its situation.--Rhea's fault.--Her +excuse.--The wolf story.--Rhea in trouble.--Birth of her +sons.--Antho.--The anger of Amulius.--Rhea imprisoned.--Faustulus.--His +plan.--The box that he made.--He follows the stream.--The children +thrown out upon the sand.--The wolf.--The woodpecker.--The children +rescued by Faustulus.--He carries the children home.--Their +education.--The character of the boys.--Romulus and Remus are generous +and brave.--Quarrel among the herdsmen.--Remus is suddenly made +prisoner.--Heavy charges against Remus.--Remus before Numitor and +Amulius.--Remus gives an account of himself.--Numitor learns the +truth.--Romulus.--Romulus plans a rebellion.--Faustulus and the +arts.--Faustulus stopped at the gates of the city.--Faustulus is greatly +embarrassed.--Amulius is alarmed.--He sends for Numitor.--Romulus +assaults the city.--The revolt is successful.--Amulius is slain. + + +Although the temple of Vesta itself, at Alba Longa, was the principal +scene of the duties which devolved upon the vestal virgins, still they +were not wholly confined in their avocations to that sacred edifice, +but were often called upon, one or two at a time, to perform services, +or to assist in the celebration of rites, at other places in the city +and vicinity. + +[Illustration: RHEA SILVIA.] + +There was a temple consecrated to Mars near to Alba. It was situated +in an opening in the woods, in some little glen or valley at the base +of the mountain. There was a stream of water running through the +ground, and Rhea in the performance of her duties as a vestal was +required at one time to pass to and fro through the groves in this +solitary place to fetch water. Here she allowed herself, in violation +of her vestal vows, to form the acquaintance of a man, whom she met in +the groves. She knew well that by doing so she made herself subject +to the most dreadful penalties in case her fault should become known. +Still she yielded to the temptation, and allowed herself to be +persuaded to remain with the stranger. She said afterward, when the +facts were brought to light, that her meeting with this companion was +wholly unintentional 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 came to her there, to protect her, and then compelled her to +remain with him. Besides, from his dress, and countenance, and air, +she had believed him, she said, to be the God Mars himself, and +thought that it was not her 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 observed by her companions and friends that she began to appear +thoughtful and depressed. 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 Vestal +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 children +were born, at the time when her fault was first discovered. The laws +of the State in respect to vestal virgins, which were inexorably +severe, would have justified him in causing her to be executed at +once, but Antho interceded so earnestly for her unhappy cousin, that +Amulius for a time spared her life. When, however, her sons were born, +the anger of Amulius broke out anew. If she had remained childless he +would probably have allowed her to live, though she could of course +never have been restored to her office in the temple of Vesta. 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 existence 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 Rhea to be shut up in close imprisonment, 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 had resided in her retirement, and where the children +were born. + +A peasant of that region was intrusted with the task of throwing the +children into the river. Whether his official duty in undertaking this +commission required him actually to drown the boys, or whether 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 hollowed out from a +log,--and disposing their little limbs carefully within this narrow +receptacle, he pushed the frail boat, with its navigators still more +frail, out upon the current of the river. + +[Illustration: FAUSTULUS AND THE TWINS.] + +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 +Faustulus, too. In fact we might well suppose that no man, however +rustic and rude, could give his time and his thoughts to two such +babes long enough to make an ark for them, for the purpose of making +it possible to save their lives, and then place them carefully in it +to send them away, without becoming so far interested in their fate, +and so touched by their mute and confiding helplessness, as to feel +prompted to follow the stream to see how so perilous a navigation +would end. We have, however, no direct evidence that Faustulus did so +watch the progress of his 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 upon the sand. + +The neighboring thickets soon of course resounded 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 _instinct_, if incapable of a _sentiment_, of affection, to love +and to cherish any thing that is newly born. The wolf caressed the +helpless babes, imagining perhaps 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 approaching enemy or +danger. The rude nursery 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 were thrown +upon the land, the water began to subside. In a short time it wholly +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 says, 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 maternal attentions of +the wolf and the woodpecker were 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, but he brought home and preserved the trough in which they +had been floated down the river. He put this relic aside, thinking +that the day might perhaps come in which there would be occasion to +produce it. He told the story of the children only to a very few +trustworthy friends, and he accompanied the communication, 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 shepherd's sons. + +Faustulus felt a great degree of interest, and a high sense of +responsibility too, in having these young princes under his care. He +took great pains to protect them from all possible harm, and to +instruct them in every thing which it was in those days considered +important 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 intellectual 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. They were +prominent among the young herdsmen and hunters of the forest, for +their courage, their activity, their strength, their various personal +accomplishments, and their high and generous qualities of mind. +Romulus was more silent and thoughtful than his brother, and seemed to +possess in some respects superior mental powers. Both were regarded by +all who knew them with feelings of the highest respect and +consideration. + +Romulus and Remus treated their own companions and equals, that is the +young shepherds 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 independence of spirit in respect +to the various bailiffs and chief herdsmen, and other officers of +field and forest police, who exercised authority in the 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 exhibitions of their anger. In fact, +the boys seemed to be imbued with a native loftiness and fearlessness +of character, as if they had inherited a spirit of confidence and +courage with their royal blood, or had imbibed a portion 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 witnessed; they interposed to help +the feeble, to relieve those who were in want, and to protect 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 +athletic feats and accomplishments--in every thing excelling all their +competitors, and becoming in the end greatly renowned. + +Numitor, the father of Rhea Silvia, whom Amulius had dethroned and +banished from Alba, was all this time still living; and he had now at +length become so far reconciled to Amulius as to be allowed to reside +in Alba--though he lived there as a private citizen. He owned, it +seems, some estates near the Tiber, where he had flocks and herds that +were tended by his shepherds and herdsmen. It happened at one time +that some contention arose between the herdsmen of Numitor and those +of Amulius, among whom Romulus and Remus were residing. Now as the +young men had thus far, of course, no idea whatever of their +relationship to Numitor, there was no reason why they should feel any +special interest 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 Numitor 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 +together, to pursue the depredators and bring the cattle back. They +succeeded in this expedition, and recaptured the herd. This incensed +the party of Numitor, and they determined on revenge. + +They waited some time for a favorable opportunity. At length the time +came for celebrating a certain festival called the Supercalia, which +consisted of very rude games and ceremonies, in which men sacrificed +goats, and then dressed themselves partially in the skins, and ran +about whipping every one whom they met, with thongs made likewise of +the skins of goats, or of rabbits, or other animals remarkable for +their fecundity. The meaning of the ceremonies, so far as such uncouth +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 ensuing at the time that the +celebrations were held. + +The retainers and partisans of Numitor determined on availing +themselves of this opportunity to accomplish their object. +Accordingly, 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 +Numitor. + +Of course, this daring act produced great excitement throughout the +country. Numitor was well pleased with the prize that he had secured, +but felt, at the same time, some fear of the responsibility which he +incurred by holding the prisoner. He was strongly inclined to proceed +against Remus, and punish him himself for the offenses which the +herdsmen 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 accordingly sent Remus to +Amulius, making grievous charges against him, as a lawless desperado, +who, with his brother, Numitor said, were 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 +Numitor, saying that Numitor might punish the freebooter himself in +any way that he thought best. Remus was accordingly brought again to +Numitor's house. In the mean time, the fact of his being thus made a +prisoner, and charged with crime, and the proceedings in relation to +him, in sending him back and forth between Amulius and Numitor, +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 +infancy. 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 Numitor--who was really his grandfather, +though the fact of this relationship was wholly unknown to both of +them--Numitor was exceedingly struck with his handsome countenance and +form, and with his fearless and noble demeanor. The young prisoner +seemed perfectly self-possessed and at his ease; and though 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 Numitor's mind. It changed all his anger +against Remus to a feeling of wondering interest and curiosity, and +gave to his countenance, as he looked upon his prisoner, an expression +of kind and tender regard. After a short pause Numitor addressed the +young captive--speaking in a gentle and conciliating 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 supposed ourselves to be +the children of Faustulus; but now, since this difficulty has +occurred, we have heard new tidings in respect to our origin. We are +told that we were found in our infancy, on the shore of the river, at +the place where Faustulus lives, and that near by 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 us and bringing us food. Faustulus carried us to his +house, and brought us up as his children. He preserved the trough, +too, and has it now." + +Numitor 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 precisely with the exposure of the children of Rhea +Silvia as to leave no reasonable ground for doubt that Romulus and +Remus were his grandsons. He resolved immediately to communicate this +joyful discovery to his daughter, if he could contrive the means of +gaining access 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 +capture 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 his brother, on the +bank of the river, but also had made known to him whose sons he and +Remus were. Romulus was, of course, extremely elated at this +intelligence. His native courage 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 Remus from his power, and afterward taking such +ulterior steps as circumstances might require. + +Faustulus, on the other hand, leaving Romulus to raise the forces for +his insurrection as he pleased, determined to go himself to Numitor +and reveal the secret of the birth of Romulus and Remus to him. In +order to confirm 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 officers on guard +there. He wore the dress of a countryman, and had obviously come in +from the forests, a long way; and there was something in his air +which denoted hurry and agitation. The soldiers asked him what he had +under his cloak, and compelled him to produce 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 happened 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 discovered. 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 identical ark or float, which to his certain knowledge 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 at receiving this +intelligence. He ordered Faustulus to be brought into his presence. +Faustulus was much terrified at receiving this summons. He had but +little time to reflect what to say, and during the few minutes that +elapsed while they were conducting him into the presence of the king, +he found it hard to determine how much it would be best for him to +admit, and how much to deny. Finally, 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. Faustulus +said that he was going to carry it to Rhea in her prison, she having +often expressed a strong desire to see it, as a token or memorial +which would recall the dear babes that had lain in it very vividly to +her mind. + +Amulius seemed satisfied that these statements were honest and true, +but they awakened in his mind a very great solicitude and anxiety. He +feared that the children, being still alive, might some day come to +the knowledge of their origin, and so disturb his possession 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 people, he feared, would be very much inclined to +take part with them, and not with him, in any contest which might +arise; for their sympathies were already on the side of Numitor. 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 inquire of him whether he was +aware that the boys were still alive, and if so, if he knew where they +were to be found. He accordingly sent a messenger to his brother, +commissioned to make these inquiries. This messenger, though in the +service of Amulius, was really a friend to Numitor, and on being +admitted to Numitor's presence, when he went to make the inquiries as +directed by the king, he found Remus 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 prince. "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 possession 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 and +herdsmen 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 weapons, while the huntsmen brought their pikes, and +spears, and javelins, and such other projectiles as were employed in +those days in hunting wild beasts. The troop was divided into +companies of one hundred, and for banners they bore tufts of grass on +wisps 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 Remus 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 Romulus and Remus were masters of the country. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE FOUNDING OF ROME. + +B.C. 754 + +The people of Alba Longa called together.--The address of Numitor to +the citizens.--Romulus and Remus come forward.--Plan for building a new +city.--Numitor is to render the necessary aid.--Great numbers flock +together to build the city.--The seven hills.--The Palatine +hill.--Difference of opinion between Romulus and Remus.--Advantages of +the Aventine hill.--Perfect equality of the two brothers.--Both +determined not to yield.--The brothers appeal to Numitor.--His +proposal.--The vultures of the Appenines.--Their function.--Powers of +the vulture.--Auguries.--Romulus and Remus take their +stations.--Result.--New dispute.--An open collision.--Faustulus +killed.--Romulus is victorious.--The building of the city goes +on.--Plowing the pomÅ“rium.--Form of the enclosure.--The death of +Remus.--The institution of the Lemuria.--Description of the +ceremonies.--The black beans.--State of Rome after the death of +Remus.--The story of Celer.--Probable explanation of it. + + +As soon as the excitement and the agitations which attended the sudden +revolution by 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. + +Numitor accordingly convened a general assembly of the inhabitants of +Alba, in a public square. The rude and rustic mountaineers and +peasants whom Romulus had brought to the city came with the rest. +Romulus and Remus themselves did not at first appear. Numitor, when +the audience was assembled, came forward to address them. He gave them +a recital of all the events connected with the usurpation of Amulius. +He 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 intrigues by which +Amulius had contrived to possess himself of the kingdom and reduce +him, Numitor, into subjection to his sway,--of his causing Egestus, +Numitor'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 +Romulus and Remus, the anger of Amulius when informed of the event, +his cruel treatment 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 his 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, Romulus and Remus 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, Romulus and +Remus turned to their grandfather and hailed him king. The people +responded to this announcement with new plaudits, and Numitor 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 fellow +foresters, that they and their followers made a somewhat rude and wild +appearance in the city, and Numitor was very willing, when the state +of things had become somewhat settled, that his rustic auxiliaries +should find some occasion for withdrawing from the capital and +returning again to their own native fastnesses. Romulus and Remus, +however, having now learned that they were entitled 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 grandfather to wish to deprive him of the +government. After some deliberation a plan was devised which promised +to gratify the wishes of all. + +The plan was this, namely, that Numitor should set apart a place in +his kingdom of Latium where Romulus and Remus might build a city for +themselves,--taking with them to the spot the whole horde of their +retainers. The place which he designated for this purpose 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 building a city upon it was one exactly suited to engage +the attention and occupy the powers of such restless spirits as those +who had collected 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. But then there were many others of +a very turbulent and unmanageable 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 robbery; and who had seized upon the +occasion furnished by the insurrection against Amulius to come forth +into the world again. Criminals 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 +ordinarily only a legal organization of crime. + +Romulus and Remus entered into their grandfather's plan with great +readiness. Numitor promised to aid them in their enterprise by every +means in his power. He was to furnish tools and implements, for +excavations and building, and artisans so far as artisans were +required, and was also to provide such temporary supplies of +provisions 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 Remus in their undertaking, and they, in order to increase +their numbers as much as possible, sent messengers around to the +neighboring country inviting all who were disposed, to come and take +part in the building of the new city. This invitation was accepted by +great numbers of people, from every rank and station in life. + +Of course, however, the greater portion of those who came to join the +enterprise, were of a very low grade in respect to moral character. +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 +building of a new city, under such circumstances, must necessarily be. +It was of course generally the discontented, the idle, and the bad, +that would hope for benefit from such a change as this enterprise +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 their +relations to society, and thus afford them 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 +responsibility for former crimes. In a word, in preparing to lay the +foundations of their city, Romulus 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 elevations 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. Romulus 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 hill itself might be fortified to form the citadel. The wall and +the steep acclivity of the ground would form a protection on three +sides of the inclosure, while the morass alone would be a sufficient +defense on the part toward the river. Then Romulus 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. + +[Illustration: SITUATION OF ROME.] + +Remus, however, did not concur in these views. A little farther down +the stream there was another elevation called the Aventine Hill, which +seemed to him more suitable for the site of a town. The sides were +less precipitous, and thus were more convenient for building ground. +Then the land in the immediate vicinity was better adapted to the +purposes which they had in view. In a word, the Aventine Hill was, as +Remus 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 circumstance, +wholly unworthy of being taken seriously into the account in laying +the foundation of a city. + +The positions in which Remus and Romulus 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 imperious. Each was conscious of +his strength, and eager to exercise it. Each wished to command, and +was wholly unwilling to obey. While they were in adversity, they clung +together for mutual help and protection; but now, when they had come +into the enjoyment of prosperity and power, the bands of affection +which had bound them together were very much weakened, and were +finally sundered. 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 degree, without +wounding his pride. If one had been more prominent than the other in +effecting the revolution by which Amulius was dethroned, or if there +had been a native difference of temperament or character to mark a +distinction, or if either had been designated by Numitor, 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 +whatever. They were twins, so that neither could claim any advantage +of birthright. They were equal in size, strength, activity, and +courage. They had been equally bold and efficient in effecting the +revolution; and now they seemed equally powerful in respect to the +influence which they wielded over the minds of their followers. We +have been so long accustomed to consider Romulus the 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 between them thus far, but now, since the advent 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 expressed his preference in +respect to the best place for the city, were equally unwilling to +recede from the ground which they had taken. Remus thought that there +was no reason why he should yield to Romulus, and Romulus was equally +unwilling to give way to Remus. Neither could yield, in fact, without +in some sense admitting the superiority of the other. The respective +partisans of the two leaders began to take sides, and the dissension +threatened to become a serious quarrel. Finally, being not yet quite +ready for an open rupture, they concluded to refer the question to +Numitor, and to abide by his decision. 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 Numitor was too sagacious to hazard the responsibility of deciding +between two such equally matched and powerful opponents. 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 will 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 watching the flight of birds +through the air. + +It was agreed between Remus and Romulus, in accordance with the advice +of Numitor, that the question at issue between them should be decided +in this way. They were to take their stations on the two hills +respectively--the Palatine and the Aventine, and watch for vultures. +The homes of the vultures of Italy were among the summits of the +Appenines, and their function in the complicated economy of animal +life, was to watch from the lofty peaks of the mountains, or from the +still more aërial 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 Numitor's time. + +To enable the vulture to accomplish the work assigned him, he is +endowed with an inconceivable 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 some +mysterious and extraordinary sense, whether of sight or smell, to +enable him readily to find, at any hour, the spot where his presence +is required, however remote or however hidden it may be. Guided by +this instinct, 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 flight 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 Numitor's +day were accustomed to look for omens and auguries. So Romulus and +Remus took their stations on the hills which they had severally +chosen, each surrounded by a company 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 the omens +which should appear to the respective observers 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 +distinctness 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 interpretations. When Remus and +Romulus commenced their watch no vultures were to be seen from either +hill. They waited till evening, 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. Remus 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 twelve by Romulus. The observations were then +suspended, and the parties came together to confer in respect to the +result; but the dispute instead of being settled, was found to be in a +worse condition than ever. The point now to be determined was whether +six vultures seen first, or twelve seen afterward, were the better +omen, that is whether numbers, or simple priority of appearance, +should decide the question. In contending in respect to this nice +point the brothers became more angry with each other than ever. Their +respective partisans took sides in the contest, which resulted finally +in an open and violent collision. Romulus and Remus themselves seem to +have commenced the affray by attacking one another. Faustulus, their +foster-father, who, from having had the care of them from their +earliest infancy, felt for them an almost parental affection, rushed +between them to prevent them from shedding each other's blood. He was +struck down and killed on the spot, by some unknown hand. A brother of +Faustulus too, named Plistinus, who had lived near to him, and had +known the boys from their infancy, and had often assisted in taking +care 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 show that Romulus and his party were the strongest. +Romulus accordingly went on to build the walls of the city at the spot +which he 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 _pomÅ“rium_. The pomÅ“rium 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 pomÅ“rium +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 retreat for +safety within the proper walls. + +So Romulus proceeded to mark out the pomÅ“rium of the city, +employing in the work the ceremonies customary on such occasions. The +plow used was made of copper, and for a team to draw it a bullock and +a heifer were yoked together. Men appointed for the purpose 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 where 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 unbroken. +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 passed in a manner that would very seriously +interfere with its usefulness as a public road. + +The form of the space inclosed by the pomÅ“rium, as Romulus plowed +it, was nearly square, and it included not merely the Palatine hill +itself, but a considerable portion of level land around it. + +Though Romulus thus seemed to have conquered, in the strife with +Remus, the difficulty was not yet fully settled. Remus was very little +disposed to acquiesce in his brother's assumed superiority over him. +He was sullen, morose, and ill at ease, and was inclined to take +little part in the proceedings which were going on. Finally an +occasion occurred 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 brother's plans; and finally he began to speak +contemptuously of the wall which the workmen were building. Romulus +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, saying, "This is the way the enemy will leap over your wall." +Hereupon Romulus seized a mattock from the hands of one of the +laborers, 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 so great for a time that he +refused all food, and he could not sleep. He caused the dead body of +Remus, and also those of Faustulus and of Plistinus, the brother of +Faustulus, to be buried with the most solemn and imposing funeral +ceremonies, so as to render all possible honor to their memory; and +then, not satisfied with this, he instituted and celebrated certain +religions 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 +celebration which Romulus 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 Lemuria, as afterward +performed, were frequently described by Roman writers, and they were +of a very curious and extraordinary character. The time for the +celebration of these rites was in May, the anniversary, as was +supposed, of the days in which Romulus originally celebrated them. +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 accustomed, as was supposed, to roam about the world +to haunt and terrify men. + +The ceremonies performed on these occasions 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 signals 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 fondness. Being thus provided he would walk along, +taking the beans out of his mouth as he walked, and throwing them +behind him. The specters were supposed to gather up these beans as he +threw them down. He must, however, by no means look round to see them. +He then, 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 abundantly 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 such as these, Romulus had +appeased the spirit of his brother, and those of the guardians of his +childhood, his mind became more composed, and he turned his attention +once more toward the building of the city. The party of Remus 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. +Romulus became the sole leader of the enterprise, and immediately +turned his attention to the measures 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 circulated in Rome 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 Romulus +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 Remus had been;--a brother who had shared his +infancy with 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 atrocious than any ordinary fratricide, as Remus had been nearer +to Romulus than any ordinary brother. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ORGANIZATION. + +B.C. 754 + +Discussion in respect to ancient dates.--Difficulties.--Nature of +tradition.--Extreme youth of Romulus.--Varro's astrological +calculation.--Ingenuity of it.--Olympiads.--The race of +Coroebus.--The result of Varro's computation.--Probable character +of the first constructions at Rome.--Romulus convenes an assembly +of the people.--The speech of Romulus.--His proposals.--The three +forms of government.--Romulus himself made king.--Divine intimation +in his favor.--Commencement of his reign.--Probable origin of the +Roman institutions.--Republican character of the government.--Patricians +and plebians.--Patrons and clients.--Duration of the reign of +Romulus.--Usages.--Difficulty of immediately organizing such a +community.--Importance of the parental and family relation.--The father +a magistrate.--The marriage tie.--Religions ceremonies.--Auguries.--The +three augurs.--Various kinds of omens.--Station of the augurs.--Thunder +and lightning.--Birds.--Nature of the ancient superstition.--Results of +the arrangements made by Romulus.--The asylum on the Capitoline +hill. + + +There has been a great deal of philosophical discussion, and much +debate, among historians and chronologists, in attempting to fix the +precise year in which Romulus commenced the building of Rome. The +difficulty arises from the fact that no regular records of public +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 +transactions. 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,--which, the more strange and romantic they are, +the better they 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 Rhea, supposing such an event to have actually +happened, she remembered well, and repeated the narrative of +it--adorning it, doubtless, with many embellishments--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 romance of the story, and +thus it was neglected and forgotten. + +In subsequent times, however, when regular 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 be about +the year 754 before Christ. As to Romulus himself, the tradition is +that he was but eighteen or twenty years old when he commenced the +building of it. If this is true, his extreme youth goes far to +palliate some of the wrongs which he 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 Roman philosopher, named Varro, who lived some centuries +after the building of the city, conceived of a very ingenious plan for +discovering the year in which Romulus was born. It was this. By means +of the science of astrology, as practiced in those days, certain +learned magicians used to predict what 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 Varro was to +reverse this process in the case of Romulus; that is, to deduce from +the known facts of his history what must have been the relative +situations of the planets and stars when he came into the world! He +accordingly applied to a noted astrologer to work out the problem for +him. Given, a history of the incidents and events occurring to the man +in 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 +appeared in Romulus's subsequent history. When the astrologer had thus +ascertained the condition of the skies at the time in question, the +_astronomers_, as Varro concluded, could easily calculate the month +and the year when the combination must have occurred. + +Now, 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 Coroebus, from which +event originated the Olympian games, which were afterward celebrated +every four years, and which in subsequent ages became so renowned. The +time when Coroebus ran his race, and thus furnished an era for all +the subsequent chronologists and historians of his country, is +generally regarded as about the year 776 before Christ; and the result +of the calculations of Varro'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 Olympiad would be 772; +this would make the time of his birth 772 before Christ; and then +deducting eighteen years more, for the age of Romulus when he began to +build his wall, we have 754 before Christ as the era of the foundation +of Rome. This method of determining a point in chronology seems so +absurd, according to the ideas of the present day, that we can hardly +resist the conclusion, that Varro, in making his investigation, was +really guided by other and more satisfactory modes of determining the +point, and that the horoscope was not what he actually relied upon. +However this may be, the era which he fixed upon has been very +generally received, though many others have been proposed by the +different learned men who have successively investigated the question. + +According to the accounts given by the early writers, the +constructions which Romulus and his companions made were of a very +rude and simple character; 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 palace, for there was +a building erected for Romulus 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 +material 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 time, to +all observers, a very rude and imperfect 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 years 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 chieftain +exercising an undefined and temporary power; for as soon as the huts +were built and the inclosures made, he is said to have convened an +assembly of the people, for consultation in respect to the plan of +government that they should form. Romulus introduced the business of +this meeting by a speech appropriate to the occasion, which speech is +reported by an ancient historian somewhat as follows. Whether Romulus +actually spoke the words thus attributed to him, or whether the +report contains only what the reporter himself imagined him to say, +there is now no means of knowing. + +"We have now," said Romulus, 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 required to depend for protection +against a serious 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 +dependence must be after all on the men within the city, and not on +the ramparts and entrenchments which surround it, whatever those +ramparts 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 government under which order and discipline may come in, +to control and direct our energies, and prepare us to meet whatever +future exigencies 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 various modes of +government adopted among men, and between these we have now to decide. +Shall our commonwealth be governed by one man? Or shall we select a +certain number of the wisest and bravest of the citizens, and commit +the administration of public affairs to them? Or, in the third place, +shall we commit the management of the government 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 followed, after the delivery of +this address, was that the government of the state should be, like the +government of Alba, under which the followers of Romulus had been +born, a monarchy; and that Romulus himself should be king. He was a +prince by birth, an inheritor of regal rank and power, by regular +succession, from a line of kings. He had shown himself, too, by his +deeds, to be worthy of power. He was courageous, energetic, sagacious, +and universally esteemed. It was decided 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 Romulus to the throne, he evinced, as the story +goes, the proper degree of that reluctance and hesitation which a +suitable regard to appearances seems in all ages to require 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 instituting certain solemn religious ceremonies, during +the progress of which he hoped to receive some manifestation of the +divine will. These ceremonies consisted principally of sacrifices +which he caused to be offered on the plain near the city. While +Romulus was engaged in these services, the expected token of the +divine approval appeared in a supernatural light which shone upon his +hand. At least it was _said_ that such a light was seen, and the +appearing 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 attention 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. Vast numbers of +the people were of the humblest and most degraded condition, +consisting of ignorant peasants, some stupid, others turbulent and +ungovernable; and of refugees from justice, such as thieves, robbers, +and outlaws of every degree. But then, on the other hand, there were +many persons of standing and respectability. The sons of families of +wealth and influence in Alba had, in many cases, joined the +expedition, and at last, when 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 Romulus found +himself, when he formally assumed the kingly power, at the head of a +community which contained the elements of a very respectable +commonwealth. These elements were, however, thus far all mingled +together in complete confusion, 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 formally introduced by +Romulus at the outset, but that they gradually grew up in the progress +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 celebrating the antiquity and +dignity of their origin. + +The institutions which Romulus actually founded, were of a very +republican character, if the accounts of subsequent writers are to be +believed. He established, it is true, a gradation 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 purpose the oldest and most distinguished of their number. It is +probable, in fact, that Romulus 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 appointed, +ninety-nine in number, namely, nine heads of tribes and ninety heads +of counties. Romulus himself added one to the number, of his own +independent selection, which made the hundredth. The men thus chosen, +constituted what was called the senate. They formed the great +legislative council of the nation. They and the families descending +from them became, in subsequent times, an aristocratic and privileged +class, called the Patricians. The remaining portion of the population +were called Plebeians. + +The Plebeians comprised, of course, the industrial 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 patrons +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 were to reward, to protect, and to defend the clients. All +these arrangements Romulus is said to have ordained by his enactments, +and thus introduced as elements in the social constitution of the +state. It is more probable, however, that instead of being thus +expressly established, by the authority of Romulus as a lawgiver, they +gradually grew up of themselves, perhaps with some fostering +attention and care on his part, and possibly under some positive +regulation of law. For such important and complicated relations as +these are not of a nature to be easily called into existence and +action, in an extended and unorganized community, by the mere fiat of +a military chieftain. + +Perhaps, however, it is not intended by the ancient historians, in +referring all these complicated arrangements of the Roman civil polity +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 formal and positive enactments, he may have gradually +introduced the arrangements ascribed to him, as _usages_ which he +fostered and encouraged,--confirming and sanctioning them from time to +time, when occasion required, by edicts and laws. + +However this may have been, it is certain that Romulus, in the course +of his reign, laid the foundation of the future greatness and glory of +Rome, by the energy with which he acted in introducing order, system, +and discipline 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 disorder 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. Romulus +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 +work of organizing it. The great leading objects of his life, from the +time that he commenced the government of the new city, were to arrange +and regulate social institutions, to establish laws, to introduce +discipline, to teach and accustom men to submit to authority, and to +bring in the requirements of law, and the authority of the various +recognized relations of social life, to control and restrain the +wayward impulses of the natural heart. + +As a part of this system of policy, he laid great stress upon the +parental and family relation. He saw in the tie which binds the father +to the child and the child to the father, a natural 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 upon +them, at an age when they most need control. He clothed parents, +therefore, with authority to fulfill this function, considering 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 Romulus, was more complete, and was protracted to a +later period than was the case 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 +only 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 guilty 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 legislator to sustain +the sacredness and to magnify the importance of the family tie; and to +avail himself of those instinctive principles of obligation 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 action of his rude community. + +He devoted great attention too to the institutions of religion. He +knew well that such lawless and impetuous spirits as his could never +be fully subdued and held in proper subordination to the rules of +social order and moral duty, without the influence of motives drawn +from the spiritual 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 ceremonies which he instituted seem puerile +to us, but they were full of meaning and of efficacy in the view of +those who performed them. There was, for example, a class of religious +functionaries called _augurs_, whose office it was to interpret the +divine will by means of certain 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 propitious the work was entered +upon with vigor and confidence. If otherwise, it was postponed 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 offered in sacrifice, sometimes from the +appearance of birds in the sky, their numbers or the direction of +their flight, and sometimes from the forms of clouds, the appearance +of the lightning, and the sound of the thunder. Whenever the augurs +were to take the auspices from any of the signs of the sky, the +process was this. They would go with solemn ceremony 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 purpose, one of the number would determine +and indicate the four quarters of the heaven, pointing out in a solemn +manner the directions 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 from the thunder that the auspices were to be taken, the augur +would listen to hear 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 appeared 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 inferences 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 government of Romulus vainly +endeavored to ascertain the will of heaven in respect 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 +influence and ascendency over the minds of the people, by a sincere +veneration on their part for some unseen and spiritual 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 Romulus soon produced order +out of confusion within his little commonwealth. The enterprise which +he had undertaken and the great success which had thus far followed +it, attracted great attention, and he soon found that great numbers +began to come in 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 indiscriminately +into the city would be to endanger 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 remain 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 attractive place for all the +vagabonds, outlaws, thieves and robbers of the country. Romulus +welcomed them all, and as fast as they came he busied himself with +plans to furnish them with employment and subsistence. He enlisted +some of them in his army. Some he employed to cultivate the ground in +the territory belonging to the city. Others were engaged 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 Rome together. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +WIVES. + +B.C. 751 + +The rape of the Sabines.--Narrative of it.--The population of Rome +chiefly men.--Necessity of providing wives for them.--Romulus sends +embassadors to the surrounding states.--Insulting replies.--Anger of +the Romans.--Great discovery made by Romulus.--His plan.--Plans for +the festival.--Races, games, and shows.--A great concourse assembles +at the fair.--The spectacles continue several weeks.--The last day of +the fair.--Signal to be made by Romulus.--Excitement of the +Romans.--Final preparations.--The moment arrives.--The maidens +seized.--The men fly.--The Romans secure the captive maidens.--An +incident.--A captive "for Thalassius."--The phrase "for Thalassius" +becomes a proverb.--Resentment of the fathers and brothers of the +maidens.--The captives called together in the morning.--Address made +to them by Romulus.--Acquiescence of the captives.--Cures.--The Sabines +demand the restoration of the captives.--Romulus refuses to restore +them.--Ceremony in commemoration of these events. + + +Every reader who has made even the smallest beginning in the study of +ancient history, must be acquainted, in general, with the mode which +Romulus 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 described it contrived to soften the character of it, +and to divest it in a great measure of the repulsive features which +might have been supposed 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 Romulus and his government, but also great +moderation and humanity. The circumstances, as the historians relate +them, were these: + +As might naturally be supposed from the manner in which 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 entirely 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 community 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 generation should have passed away there might be +another to succeed it. And, thirdly, for the preservation of order and +law. Men unmarried are, in the mass, proverbially ungovernable. +Nothing is so effectual in keeping 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 children to fear for, and +so they fear nothing, but give themselves up, in times of public +excitement, to the wildest impulses of passion. Romulus 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 embassadors around to +the neighboring states, soliciting alliances with them, and +stipulations allowing of intermarriages between his people and theirs. +The proposal seemed not unreasonable, and it was made in an unassuming +and respectful manner. In the message which Romulus commissioned the +embassadors to deliver, he 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 distant when the new +state would be able fully to reciprocate such favors as it might now +receive. + +The neighboring kings to whom these embassages 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 +encampment 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 tumultuously as it had been formed. They accordingly sent back +word to Romulus that he must resort 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 would come flocking +to him then, they 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 clamorous for +war. They wished Romulus to lead them out against some of these cities +at once, and allow them at the same time to revenge the insults which +they had received, and to provide themselves with wives by violence, +since they could not obtain them by solicitation. But Romulus +restrained their ardor, saying that they must do nothing rashly, and +promising 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 Rome, with a view of +seizing some favorable occasion for capturing the women while they +were there, and driving the men away. The difficulty in the way of the +execution of this plan was obviously to induce the people to come, and +especially to bring the young women with them. The native timidity of +the maidens, joined to the contemptuous feelings which their fathers +and brothers cherished, in regard to every thing 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 produced 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 Neptune, 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. +Romulus attached great importance to the event. The altar had +undoubtedly been built, he thought, by the ancient inhabitants of the +country, and the finding it was a very momentous occurrence. It was +proper that the occasion should be solemnized by suitable religious +observances. + +Accordingly, arrangements were made for a grand celebration. In +addition to the religious rites, Romulus 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 articles 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 vogue in those times. The celebration was to +continue for many days, and the games and sports were to come at the +end. Romulus sent messengers to all the surrounding country to +proclaim the programme of these entertainments, and to invite every +body to come; and he adroitly arranged the details in such a manner +that the chief attractions for grave, sober-minded and substantial 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. + +When the time arrived the spectacles commenced. 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 construction as they were, far surpassed +the expectations they had formed. The visitors were treated with great +hospitality, and entertained in a manner which, considering the +circumstances of the case, was quite sumptuous. 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 company. The men +ceased to be suspicious and watchful. Some went home, and carried such +reports of the new city, and of the kindness, and hospitality, and +gentle behavior of the inhabitants, that new visitors came continually +to see for themselves. Every day the proportion 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 Romulus 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 accidental 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 general seizure +which he knew was coming, in making 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 terrified, 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 have arranged. The time for +the final execution 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 signal. 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 proper moment had +arrived, he was 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 unfolding it again. This mantle was a sort +of badge of royalty and was gayly adorned with purple stripes upon a +white ground. It was well adapted, therefore, to the purpose of being +used as a signal, inasmuch as any motions that were made with it could +be very easily seen. + +Every thing being thus arranged, the assembly was convened, and the +games and spectacles went on. The Romans were full of excitement and +trepidation, each one having 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 off their guard, and wholly at their ease--having +no suspicion whatever of the mine that was ready to be sprung beneath +them. The wives, mothers, and children, too, were all safe, as well as +unsuspicious of danger; for Romulus 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 intercourse which they +had enjoyed with their guests, 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 Romans +immediately drew their swords, and rushed forward, each to secure his +own prize. A scene of the greatest excitement and confusion ensued. +The whole company of visitors perceived of course that some great act +of treachery was perpetrated upon them, but they were wholly in the +dark in respect 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 prevailed. 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 object 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 with +their prizes, and secured them within the walls of the city. + +In reading this extraordinary story, we naturally 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 assailants. Did they resist and struggle to get +free, or did they yield themselves without much opposition to their +fate? That they did not resist effectually is plain, for the Roman +young men succeeded in carrying them away, and securing them. It may +be that they attempted 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 very formidable opposition to any attempt to abduct +her by any single man, when she is thoroughly in earnest about it. How +it was in fact in this case we have no direct information, and we have +consequently no means of forming 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 +beautiful girl--one of some note and consideration, too, among her +countrywomen--and were carrying 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 plebeians, +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!_" which means "For Thalassius, 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 Thalassius. Now 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 beautiful +lady was intended for him, they acquiesced immediately, and desisted +from their attempt to recapture 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 manÅ“ver, 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 ceremony. + +Romulus had issued most express and positive orders that the young +captives should be 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 +them to the places of security previously designated. They suffered +undoubtedly a greater or less degree of distress and terror,--but +finding 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 brothers +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 perpetrators 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 captives, and were soon eagerly engaged in forming and +discussing all possible plans for rescuing and recovering them. Thus +the night was passed in agitation and excitement, both within 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 countrymen. + +When the morning came, Romulus ordered the captive maidens to be all +brought together before him in order that he 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 affection 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 been +accustomed to experience under your fathers' roofs. The brief coercion +which we have employed for the purpose of securing you in the first +instance,--a coercion which we were compelled to resort to by the +necessity of the case,--is the only rudeness to which you will ever +be exposed. Forgive us then for this one liberty which we have taken, +and consider that the fault, whatever fault in it there may be, is not +ours, but that of your fathers and brothers who rejected our offers +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 positions 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 countenances animated with excitement and pleasure. The maidens +themselves seemed much inclined to yield to their fate. Their +resentment 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 seemed gradually to come to the conclusion, +that considering all the circumstances of the case their abductors +were not so much in fault after all. In a short time an excellent +understanding 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 capital of the +Sabines was a city called Cures. Cures was about twenty miles from +Rome.[E] + +[Footnote E: See map of Latium, page 134.] + +The Sabines, in deliberating on the course which they should pursue in +the emergency, found themselves in a situation of great perplexity. In +the first place the impulse which urged 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 might 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 +exposed and they were by no means certain, in case a war should be +commenced between them and the Romans, how it would end. Their own +population was much divided, being scattered over the territory, or +settled in various cities and towns which were but slightly fortified, +and consequently were much exposed 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 whole, to try the influence of gentle measures, before resorting +to open war. + +They therefore sent an embassy to Romulus, to remonstrate in strong +terms against the wrong which the Romans had done them by their +treacherous violence, and to demand that the young women should be +restored. "If you will restore them to us now," said they, "we will +overlook the affront which you have put upon us, and make peace with +you; and we will enter into an alliance with you so that hereafter +your people and ours may be at liberty to intermarry in a fair and +honorable way, but we can not submit to have our daughters taken away +from us by treachery and force." + +Reasonable as this proposition seems, Romulus 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 complained 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 consummated, could +not now be annulled. + +The Sabines, on their part, could not accede to these proposals. +Being, however, still reluctant to commence hostilities, they +continued the negotiations--though while engaged in them they seemed +to anticipate an unfavorable issue, for they were occupied all the +time in organizing troops, strengthening the defenses of their +villages and towns, and making 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 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 weddings. For always, in future years, when +the new-married wife was 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 commemorating by this +ceremony the coercion which had signalized the original marriages of +his ancestors, the founders of Rome. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE SABINE WAR. + +B.C. 750-746 + +King Acron.--Cænina.--Its distance from Rome.--Acron's hostility to +the new city.--His plans.--Romulus and Acron meet on the +field.--Anticipations of the spectators.--Romulus victorious.--Results +of his victory.--Subsequent policy of the Romans.--The trophy of the +victory.--First Roman triumph.--Annexation of more cities.--Women +summoned.--The address of Romulus.--His promises.--Generous policy +pursued by Romulus.--Enlargement of the city.--Plans of the +Sabines.--They mature their preparations.--Titus Tatius.--Preparations +of the Romans.--Final negotiations.--The Roman herdsmen.--Flocks and +herds called in.--The citadel.--Tarpeia.--The Campus Martius.--Parley +with Tarpeia.--Agreement made with Tarpeia.--The Sabines +admitted.--Tarpeia killed.--The two armies meet on the plain.--A truce +to bury the dead.--Fresh combats.--Romulus in great personal +danger.--The story of Curtius.--The lake.--Distress of the Sabine +women.--Their perplexity.--The plan of Hersilia.--The women admitted to +the senate house.--Arrangements for the intercession of the women.--The +address of Hersilia.--Effect of it.--Conditions and terms of peace. + + +While the negotiations with the Sabines were still pending, Romulus +became involved in another difficulty, which for a time assumed a very +threatening aspect. This difficulty was a war which broke out, +somewhat suddenly, in consequence of the invasion of the Roman +territories by a neighboring chieftain named Acron. Acron was the +sovereign of a small state, whose capital was a town called Cænina.[F] +This Cænina is supposed 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 afterward became so extended and so renowned, +were originally performed, and how intrinsically insignificant they +were, in themselves, though momentous in the extreme in respect to the +consequences that flowed from them. + +[Footnote F: See Map of Latium, page 134.] + +Acron was a bold, energetic, and determined man, who had already +acquired great fame by his 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 formidable 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, however, were +so unwilling to proceed to extremities, and spent so much time in +negotiations and embassies, that Acron's patience was at length wholly +exhausted by the delays, and he resolved to undertake the +extermination of the new colony himself alone. + +So he gathered together a rude and half-organized army, and advanced +toward Rome. Romulus, who had been informed of his plans and +preparations, went out to meet him. The two armies came in view of +each other on an open plain, not far from the city. Romulus advanced +at the head of his troops, while Acron appeared likewise in the +fore-front of the invaders. After uttering in the hearing of each +other, and of the assembled armies, various 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 champions. Romulus and Acron accordingly advanced into the +middle of the field, while their armies drew up around them, forming a +sort of ring within which the combatants were to engage. + +The interest which would be naturally felt by such an encounter, was +increased very much by the strong contrast that was observed in the +appearance of the warriors. Romulus was very young, and though tall +and athletic in form, his countenance exhibited still the expression +of softness and delicacy 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 they saw +the combatants as they came forward to engage, anticipated a very +unequal contest. Romulus was nevertheless victorious. As he went into +the battle, he 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 would +set up the arms and spoils of Acron at Rome, 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 Romulus prevailed in the combat. At all events, he did +prevail. Acron was slain, and while Romulus was stripping the fallen +body of its armor on the field, his men were pursuing 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. + +Cænina was not in a condition to make any defense, and it was readily +taken. When the city was thus in the power of Romulus, he called the +inhabitants together, and said to them, that he cherished no hostile +or resentful feelings toward them. On the contrary, he wished to have +them his allies and friends, and he promised them, that if they would +abandon Cænina, and go with him to Rome, they should all be received +as brothers, and be at once incorporated into the Roman state, and +admitted to all the privileges of citizens. The people of Cænina, 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 annexation of his dominions to the +Roman commonwealth, are considered of great historical importance, as +the original type and exemplar 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 organization almost encircled the world. + +Romulus faithfully fulfilled the vow which he had made to Jupiter. On +the return of the army to Rome, the soldiers, by his directions, cut +down a small oak-tree, and trimming the branches at the top, and +shortening them as much as was necessary for the purpose, 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 and 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 hills within the city, as a trophy to Jupiter. A +small temple was erected expressly to receive them. This temple was +very small, being 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 +Crustumenium and Antemnæ. Some women from these cities had been seized +at Rome when the Sabine women were taken, and the inhabitants had been +ever since that period meditating plans of revenge. They were not +strong enough to wage open war against Romulus, but they began at last +to make hostile incursions into the Roman territories by means of such +small bands of armed men as they had the means of raising. Romulus +immediately organized bodies of troops sufficient for the purpose, and +then suddenly, and, as it would seem, without giving the kings of +these cities any previous warning, he appeared before the walls and +captured the cities before the inhabitants had time to recover from +their consternation. + +He then sent to all the women 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 the presence of the Roman Senate. The +women were exceedingly terrified at receiving this summons. They +supposed that death or some other terrible punishment, was to be +inflicted upon them in retribution for the offenses 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 Roman commonwealth. Thus, your fathers and +brothers, and all your countrymen, receive the boon of life, liberty, +and happiness through you; and all that we ask of you in return, is +that you will 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 attracted great attention +throughout the country, and both the valor with which Romulus +encountered his enemies while they resisted and opposed him, and the +generosity with which he admitted them to an honorable alliance with +him when 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 instance a +famous chieftain named Cælius, 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 Rome for receiving so sudden and so large an +accession to the numbers of the people, and accordingly a new +eminence, one which had been hitherto without the city, was now +inclosed, and brought within the pomÅ“rium. This hill received the +name of Cælius, 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 Romans, were only excited to greater +jealousy and ill-will at witnessing the proofs of their increasing +influence and power. They employed 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 stores of provisions and munitions of +war; they formed alliances with such states lying beyond them as they +could 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 who was placed in command 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 provisions for the use of the city. They +strengthened and extended the walls, and built new ramparts and towers +wherever they were needed. Numitor 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 engines, such as +were used in those times in the attack and defense of besieged cities. +In fact, the preparations on both sides were of the most extensive +character, and seemed to portend a very resolute and determined +contest. + +When all things were thus ready, the Sabines, before actually striking +the blow for which they had been so long and so deliberately +preparing, concluded to send one more final embassy to Romulus, to +demand the surrender of the women. This was of course only a matter of +form, as they must have known well from what had already passed that +Romulus would not now yield to such a proposal. He did not yield. He +sent back word in answer to their demand, that the Sabine women were +all well settled in Rome, and were contented 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 was a certain tract of country surrounding Rome 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 Sabines became +imminent, Romulus called all these herdsmen in, and required the +flocks of sheep and the herds of cattle to be driven to the rear of +the city, and shut up in an inclosure there, where they 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, where 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 surrounded on all +parts with ramparts and towers which overlooked and commanded all the +neighboring country. The command of this fortress was given to +Tarpeius, a noble Roman. He had a daughter named Tarpeia, whose name +afterward became greatly celebrated in history, on account 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 which +was afterward included within the limits of the city, and used as a +parade-ground, under the name of Campus Martius, 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 numerous 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 officers 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. The account +generally received is this:-- + +[Illustration: PROMISING THE BRACELETS.] + +Tarpeia had observed the soldiers from the walls, and her attention +had been 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. Titus Tatius, accordingly, when informed of this +arrangement, 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, however, 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 +Romulus, 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 capture 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 upon +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 Tarpeian rock, in memory of this maiden, to the present day. + +In this way the Sabines gained possession of the citadel, though +Romulus still held the main city. The Romans were of course extremely +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 Martius, 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 desperate 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 plain could be looked down upon as if it were a map. +The battle continued all day. At night both parties were exhausted, +and the field was covered with the dead and dying, but neither side +had gained a 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 previous combats, and in gathering +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. Various incidents occurred during the day to give one party or +the other a local or temporary advantage, but neither side wholly +prevailed. At one time Romulus 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 hoping to follow them in, +in the confusion, 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 Romans. 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 they took up the body of Romulus and carried +it into the city. It was found, however, that he was not seriously +injured. He soon recovered from the effects of the blow and returned +into the battle. + +Another incident which occurred in the course of these battles has +been commemorated 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 bleeding, and surrounded by enemies, fled +for his life. Romulus pursued him for a short distance, but Curtius +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, and which was now covered and almost concealed 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. Romulus supposed of course that he would be drowned there, +and so turned away and went to find some other enemy. Curtius, +however, succeeded 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 afterward, when, not +only had all the water disappeared, 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 quarrel had arisen, were suffering the +greatest anxiety and distress. They loved their fathers and brothers, +but then they loved their husbands too; and they were overwhelmed +with anguish at the thought that day after day those who were equally +dear to them were engaged in fighting and destroying one another, and +that they could do nothing to arrest 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 willing to yield. The Sabines could not +bring themselves to submit to so humiliating an alternative as to +withdraw from Rome 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 Romans could not take +those, who, whatever had been their previous history, were now living +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 was willing to +yield, and both were preparing to return to the struggle with new +determination and vigor. + +The Sabine women thought that they might now interpose. A lady named +Hersilia, who is often mentioned as one of the most prominent among +the number, proposed this measure and made the arrangements for +carrying it into effect. She assembled her countrywomen and explained +to them her plan, which was that they should go in a body to the Roman +Senate, and ask permission to intercede between the contending +nations, and plead for peace. + +The company of women, taking their children 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 great distress and agitation. The grief +and anxiety which they had suffered during the progress of the war +still continued, and they begged the Senate to let them go out to the +camp of the Sabines, and endeavor to persuade them to make peace. The +Senate were disposed to consent. The women wished to take their +children with them, but some of the Romans imagined that there might, +perhaps, be danger, that under pretense of interceding for peace, they +were really intending to make their escape from Rome altogether. So it +was insisted that they should leave their children behind them as +hostages for their return, excepting that such as had two children +were allowed to take one, which plan it was thought would aid them in +moving the compassion of their Sabine relatives. + +The women, accordingly, left the senate-chamber, and with their +children in their arms, their hair disheveled, their robes disordered, +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 countrymen to put an +end to the war. "We know," said she, "that you are waging it on our +account, and we see in all that you have done proofs of your love for +us. In fact, it was our supposed interests which led you to commence +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 inexpressibly miserable." + +This intercession produced the effect which might have been expected +from it. The Sabines 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 sentiment, that in +the end a treaty of union was made between the two nations. It was +agreed that the two nations should be merged into one. The Sabine +territory was to be annexed to that of Rome, 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 belligerent nations so sudden and so +complete. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE CONCLUSION. + +B.C. 764-717 + +Romulus reigns in conjunction with the Sabine king.--The Roman +Forum.--Growth of the city.--Bold and comprehensive +measures.--Cameria.--Difficulty with Titus Tatius.--Controversy +between Romulus and Tatius.--The difficulty at Lavinium.--Tatius +killed.--Romulus once more sole king.--Rome assumes a general +jurisdiction over other states.--Foundation of the future greatness +of Rome.--Circumstances connected with the death of Romulus.--Rumors +in circulation.--Public opinion.--Proculus's story.--The ghost of +Romulus.--The Romans satisfied.--The real truth not to be known.--The +interregnum.--A new king. + + +After the termination of the Sabine war Romulus continued to reign +many years, and his reign, although no very exact and systematic +history of it was recorded at the time, seems to have presented the +usual variety of incidents and vicissitudes; and yet, notwithstanding +occasional and partial reverses, the city, 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 Romans, +Titus Tatius was 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 was +situated that his troops had taken possession of in the course 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, or +_forum_, as it was called in their language,--that place being +designated for the purpose on account of its central and convenient +situation. 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 +throughout 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 followed, the +Roman state began soon to rise to so high a position in relation to +the surrounding cities and kingdoms, as soon to take precedence of +them altogether. This was owing, 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 +years of its existence, as described in the foregoing chapters, were +all of a very extraordinary character, and evinced very extraordinary +qualities in the men who devised them. These measures were bold, +comprehensive and sagacious, 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 +qualities generally feel their power, and are usually not slow to +assert it. A singular and striking instance of this occurred not many +years after the peace with the Sabines. There was a city at some +distance from Rome 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 accusations were made +against them, and very coolly cited them 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 the Roman government +constituted a judicial tribunal, having authority to exercise +jurisdiction, and to enforce law and order, among all the nations +around them. In fact, Rome continued to assert and to maintain this +authority over a wider and wider circle every year, until in the +course of some centuries after Romulus's day, she made herself the +arbiter of the world. + +Titus 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 would 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 committing +some deed of violence at Lavinium, the ancient city which Æneas 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 the discussions which +took place at Rome 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 warm; parties were formed; and at last the +exasperation 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 what 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 murderers, he said, and send them to +Lavinium, and he would come himself, with Tatius, to Lavinium, and +there make an expiatory offering to the gods, in attestation of the +abhorrence 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 defend 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 murderers +from the Lavinians, after they had been given up. Accordingly, while +he and Romulus 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 news so exasperated the +people of Lavinium against Tatius, for they considered him as +unquestionably 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 which 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 excitement of the scene was +over, fearing the resentment which they very naturally supposed +Romulus would feel at the murder of his colleague, seized the +ringleaders of the riot, and sent them bound to Rome, to place them at +the disposal of the Roman government. Romulus sent them back unharmed, +directing them to say to the Lavinian government, that he considered +the death of Tatius, though inflicted in a mode lawless and +unjustifiable, as nevertheless, in itself, only a just expiation for +the murder of the Lavinian embassadors, which Tatius had instigated 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 +once 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 retrocession at +any time. Causes of disagreement arose from time to time with +neighboring states, and, in such cases, Romulus always first sent a +summons to the party implicated, whether king or people, citing them +to appear and answer for their conduct before the Roman Senate. If +they 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 kingdom 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 police, the tribunals of justice, the social +institutions 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 interval of +peace and tranquillity. In consequence of the exertions which he made, +and the measures which he adopted, order and system prevailed more +and more in every department, 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 increased 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 increasing greatness and +prosperity, Romulus was not without rivals and enemies, even among his +own people at Rome. The leading senators 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 affairs, as if +he were an absolute and despotic sovereign. He wore a purple robe on +public occasions, as a badge of royalty. He organized a body-guard of +three hundred young troopers, who rode before him whenever he moved +about the city; and in all respects assumed such pomp and parade in +his demeanor, and exercised such a degree of arbitrary 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 review which took place at a +little distance from the city, there came up a sudden shower, attended +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. + +[Illustration: THE DEATH OF ROMULUS.] + +This strange story was but half believed even at first, by the +people, and very soon rumors began to circulate in the city that +Romulus had been murdered by the senators who were around him at the +time of the shower,--they having seized the occasion afforded by the +momentary absence of his guards, and by their solitary position. There +were various surmises in respect to the disposal which the assassins +had made of the 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 cutting it up into +small pieces, and conveying it away, each taking a portion, under +their robes. + +Of course these rumors produced great agitation 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 +present day, was then entirely satisfactory to the whole community. + +One of the most prominent and distinguished 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 announced 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 was 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 senators?' 'I left you,' said he, 'because it pleased the gods +to call me back again to heaven, whence I originally came. It was no +longer necessary for me to remain on earth, for Rome 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 suspicions were now all removed; the senators at once +recovered their good standing in the public regard, and all was once +more peace and harmony. Altars were immediately erected to Romulus, +and the whole population of the city joined in making sacrifices and +in paying other divine honors to his memory. + +The declaration of Proculus that he had seen the spirit of Romulus, +and his report of the conversation which the spirit had addressed to +him, constituted proof of the highest kind, according to the ideas +which prevailed in those ancient days. In modern times, however, there +is no faith in such a story, and the truth in respect to the end of +Romulus 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 king. + + THE END. + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES + + +1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors, and to +ensure consistent spelling and punctuation in this etext; otherwise, +every effort has been made to remain true to the original book. + +2. The chapter summaries in this text were originally published as +banners in the page headers, and have been moved to beginning of the +chapter for the reader's convenience. + +3. In the chart on page 46, detailing the original Greek alphabet, the +typesetter's appear to have missed the 7th letter, kappa. The +correction has been made, based on the discussion in "History of the +Greek Alphabet," by E. A. Sophocles, published in 1848, by George +Nichols, Boston. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Romulus, Makers of History, by Jacob Abbott + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROMULUS, MAKERS OF HISTORY *** + +***** This file should be named 27692-0.txt or 27692-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/6/9/27692/ + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/27692-0.zip b/27692-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a57dcd1 --- /dev/null +++ b/27692-0.zip diff --git a/27692-8.txt b/27692-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0699bb2 --- /dev/null +++ b/27692-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6119 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Romulus, Makers of History, by Jacob Abbott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Romulus, Makers of History + +Author: Jacob Abbott + +Release Date: January 3, 2009 [EBook #27692] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROMULUS, MAKERS OF HISTORY *** + + + + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + Makers of History + + Romulus + + BY JACOB ABBOTT + + WITH ENGRAVINGS + + NEW YORK AND LONDON + + HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + + 1901 + + + + + Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by + + HARPER & BROTHERS, + + in the Clerk's Office for the Southern District of New York. + + Copyright, 1880, by BENJAMIN VAUGHAN ABBOTT, AUSTIN ABBOTT, + LYMAN ABBOTT, and EDWARD ABBOTT. + + + + +[Illustration: THE HARPIES.] + + + + +PREFACE + + +In writing the series of historical narratives to which the present +work pertains, it has been the object of the author to furnish to the +reading community of this country an accurate and faithful account of +the lives and actions of the several personages 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 invention of the +author. No incident, however trivial, is ever added to the original +account, nor are any 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 connected narrative. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. CADMUS 13 + + II. CADMUS'S LETTERS 36 + + III. THE STORY OF ÆNEAS 59 + + IV. THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY 79 + + V. THE FLIGHT OF ÆNEAS 103 + + VI. THE LANDING IN LATIUM 131 + + VII. RHEA SILVIA 155 + + VIII. THE TWINS 179 + + IX. THE FOUNDING OF ROME 202 + + X. ORGANIZATION 225 + + XI. WIVES 248 + + XII. THE SABINE WAR 270 + + XIII. THE CONCLUSION 295 + + + + +ENGRAVINGS. + + + PAGE + + THE HARPIES _Frontispiece._ + + JUPITER AND EUROPA 28 + + MAP--JOURNEYINGS OF CADMUS 30 + + SYMBOLICAL WRITING 37 + + SYMBOLICAL AND PHONETIC WRITING 44 + + HIEROGLYPHICS 56 + + MAP--ORIGIN OF VENUS 61 + + ÆNEAS DEFENDING THE BODY OF PANDARUS 68 + + THE TORTOISE 98 + + HELEN 105 + + MAP--WANDERINGS OF ÆNEAS 119 + + MAP--LATIUM 134 + + SILVIA'S STAG 145 + + RHEA SILVIA 180 + + FAUSTULUS AND THE TWINS 184 + + SITUATION OF ROME 209 + + PROMISING THE BRACELETS 284 + + THE DEATH OF ROMULUS 305 + + + + +ROMULUS + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +CADMUS. + +B.C. 1500 + +Different kinds of greatness.--Founders of cities.--Rome.--Interest +in respect to its origin.--The story of Æneas.--The Mediterranean +sea.--Italy and Greece in ancient times, and now.--Ancient +chieftains.--Their modes of life.--Religious ideas of the ancient +Greeks and Romans.--Ancient studies of nature.--Purpose of +them.--History.--Ancient poems and tales.--How far founded +in fact.--Cadmus.--Interest felt in respect to the +origin of writing.--True story of Cadmus.--His father +Agenor.--Europa.--Telephassa.--The pursuit of Europa.--Fruitless +result.--Cadmus settles in Greece.--Thebes.--Arts introduced by +him.--The ancient legend of Cadmus.--Jupiter.--Adventures of +Jupiter.--His love for Europa.--His elopement.--Jupiter and Europa +in Crete.--The expedition of Cadmus.--His various wanderings.--Death +of Telephassa.--Visit to the oracle at Delphi.--The directions of +the oracle.--Cadmus finds his guide.--The place for his city +determined.--The fountain of Dirce.--The dragon's teeth.--Thebes +built.--Cadmia.--Ancient ideas of probability.--Belief in supernatural +tales.--Final recording of the ancient tales. + + +Some men are renowned in history on account 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 which, in the subsequent course of events, resulted +from their doings. Men of this latter class are conspicuous rather +than great. From among thousands of other men equally exalted in +character with themselves, they are brought out prominently to the +notice of mankind only in consequence of the strong light reflected, +by great events subsequently occurring, back upon the position where +they happened to stand. + +The celebrity of Romulus seems to be of this 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 accustomed to look back with special curiosity to the +circumstances of its origin. In consequence of this it has happened +that though Romulus, in his actual day, performed no very great +exploits, and enjoyed no pre-eminence above the thousand other +half-savage chieftains of his class, whose names have been long +forgotten, and very probably while he 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 the incidents of his 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 begin with the story of Æneas. +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 mankind, 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 corresponding +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 cultivation +of animal and vegetable life, were substantially the same on the +shores of the Mediterranean 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 attention to those which represent the refinement, the +cultivation, and the power, of the two respective periods, we shall +find that almost all analogy fails. There was an aristocracy then as +now, ruling over the widely extended communities of peaceful +agriculturalists and herdsmen, but the members of it were entirely +different in their character, their tastes, their ideas, and their +occupations from the classes which exercise the prerogatives of +government in Europe in modern times. The nobles then were military +chieftains, living in camps or in walled cities, which they built for +the accommodation of themselves and their followers. These chieftains +were not barbarians. 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 artificial rules, but from the +unerring instinct of genius, have never been surpassed. In fact, the +poetical inventions of those early days, far from having been +produced in conformity with rules, were entirely precedent to rules, +in the order of time. Rules were formed from them; for they at length +became established themselves in the estimation of mankind, as 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 summits of their blue and beautiful mountains, and that they +were invested there with attributes 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 +and tales, as graceful, poetical, and beautiful as themselves. Every +grove, and fountain, and river,--every lofty summit among the +mountains, and every rock and promontory along the shores of the +sea,--every cave, every valley, every water-fall, had its imaginary +occupant,--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 explored then as now, +for the purpose of ascertaining and recording cold and scientific +realities,--but to be admired, and embellished, and animated;--and to +be peopled, everywhere, with exquisitely beautiful, though imaginary +and supernatural, life and action. + +What the genius of imagination and romance 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 the mere daily toil of tilling the ground bore direct +relation to military expeditions, spectacles and parades; and the only +field for the exercise of that kind of intellectual ability which is +employed in modern times in investigating 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 witness shows or games, or to celebrate great religious festivals. +Of course under such circumstances there would be no interest felt in +truth as truth. Romance and fable would be far more serviceable for +such ends than reality. + +Still it is obvious that such tales as were invented to amuse for the +purposes we have described, would have a deeper interest for those 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 interest to a +story that purported to be an account of the deeds and the marvelous +adventures of their own ancestors, than to one that was wholly and +avowedly imaginary. The inventors of these tales would of course +generally choose such subjects, and their narrations 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 reality in all these tales which added greatly +to the 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 writing with alphabetic characters was so great an invention, and +it has exerted so vast an influence on the condition and progress of +mankind since it was introduced, that a very 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 determine under what +circumstances the method of representing the elements of sound by +written characters was first devised, to discover who it was that +first conceived the idea, and what led him to make the attempt, what +difficulties he encountered, to what purposes he first applied his +invention, and to what results 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 +subject that the world are now interested in knowing. Were a romance +writer to invent a tale in respect to the origin of writing, however +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 existing in respect to the +actual origin of alphabetic 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 will give +the facts, first in their simple form, and then the narrative in the +form in which it was related in ancient times, as embellished by the +ancient story-tellers. + +The facts then, as now generally understood and believed, are, that +there was a certain king in some country in Africa, named Agenor, who +lived about 1500 years before Christ. He had a daughter named Europa, +and several sons. Among his sons was one named Cadmus. Europa was a +beautiful girl, and after a time a wandering adventurer from some part +of the northern shores of the Mediterranean sea, came into Africa, and +was so much pleased with her that he resolved if possible, 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 acquaintance +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 daughter had deceived him and gone +away, was very indignant, and sent Cadmus and his brothers in pursuit +of her. The mother of Europa, whose name was Telephassa, though less +indignant perhaps than the father, was 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 attempting to establish themselves there, however, they +became involved in various conflicts, first with wild beasts, and +afterward 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 against 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 government of Thebes, and in +arranging the organization of the people into a social state, Cadmus +introduced among them several arts, which, in that part of the +country, had been before unknown. One of these arts was the use of +copper, which metal he taught his new subjects 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 +vocal sounds, by means of which inscriptions of words could be carved +upon monuments, or upon tablets of metal or of stone. + +It is not supposed that the idea of representing the elements of vocal +sounds by characters _originated_ with Cadmus, or that he invented the +characters himself. He brought them with him undoubtedly, but whether +from Egypt or Phenicia, can not now be known. + +Such are the facts of the case, as now generally understood and +believed. Let us now compare this simple narration with the romantic +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 continue to reign only on that condition. + +Jupiter's mother, however, was very unwilling that her boys should be +thus cruelly put to death, and she contrived to conceal three of them, +and save them. The three thus preserved were brought up among the +solitudes of the mountains, watched and attended by nymphs, and nursed +by a goat. After they grew up, they engaged from time to time in +various wars, and met with various wonderful adventures, until at +length Jupiter, the oldest of them, succeeded, by means of +thunderbolts which he caused to be forged for his use, in vast +subterranean caverns beneath Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius, conquered +all his enemies, and became universal king. He, however, divided his +empire between himself and his brothers, giving to them respectively +the command of the sea and of the subterranean regions, while he +reserved the earth and the heavenly regions for himself. + +[Illustration: JUPITER AND EUROPA.] + +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 great number of strange and +marvelous adventures. In the course of these wanderings 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 +himself 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 him, patted his glossy neck +and sides, and in other similar ways gratified the prince by marks of +her admiration and pleasure. She was at length induced by some secret +and magical influence which the prince exerted over her, to mount upon +his back, and allow herself to be borne away. The bull ran with his +burden to the shore, and plunged into the waves. He swam across the +sea to Crete,[A] and there, resuming his proper form, he made the +princess his bride. + +[Footnote A: See Map, p. 30.] + +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. Cadmus, 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 Mediterranean sea, without being able to obtain any tidings of the +fugitive. At length they passed into Asia Minor, and from Asia Minor +into Thrace, a country lying north of the Egean 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 anxiety and fatigue, and now overwhelmed with the +thought that all hope must be finally abandoned, sank down and died. + +[Illustration: THE JOURNEYING OF CADMUS.] + +Cadmus and his brothers were much affected at their mother's death. +They made arrangements for her burial, in a manner befitting her high +rank and station, and when the funeral solemnities had been performed, +Cadmus repaired to the oracle at Delphi, which was situated in the +northern part of Greece, not very far from Thrace, in order that he +might inquire there whether there was any thing more that he could do +to recover his lost sister, and if so to learn what course he was to +pursue. The oracle replied to him 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 kingdom 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 cow +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 oracle. 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 followed +wherever she led the way. She conducted him toward the southward and +eastward for thirty or forty miles, and at length wearied apparently, +by her long journey, she lay down. Cadmus knew immediately that this +was the spot where his city was to stand. + +He began immediately to make arrangements for the building of the +city, but he determined first to offer the cow that had been his +divinely appointed guide to the spot, as a sacrifice to Minerva, whom +he always considered as his guardian goddess. + +Near the spot where the cow lay down there was a small stream which +issued from a fountain not far distant, called the fountain of Dirce. +Cadmus sent some of his men to the place to obtain some water which it +was necessary to use in the ceremonies of the sacrifice. 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 ascertain 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 +monster was greedily devouring the bodies. Cadmus immediately +attacked the dragon and slew him, and then tore his teeth out of 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 +contend together in a desperate conflict, until at length all but five +of them were slain. These five then joined themselves to Cadmus, and +helped him to build his city. + +He went on very successfully after this. The city which he 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 that such narratives must have been composed to +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 faith which the hearer felt in their truth added of course +very greatly to the interest which they awakened in his mind. The +stories are _amusing_ to us; but it is impossible for us to share in +the deep and solemn 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 interest, for there is too general a +diffusion both of 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 knowing how wide the +Mediterranean sea might be, and whether a bull might not swim across +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 feasts, in +their journeyings,--and when watching their flocks at midnight, among +the solitudes of the mountains. Thus the tales were handed down from +generation to generation, until at length the use of the letters of +Cadmus became so far facilitated, that continuous narrations could be +expressed by 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. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CADMUS'S LETTERS. + +B.C. 1500 + +Two modes of writing.--Symbols.--Example.--Symbol of the Deity.--Ancient +symbols.--The Egyptian hieroglyphics phonetic.--Natural +symbols.--Mexican record.--Arbitrary symbols.--Advantages of the +symbolical mode of writing.--The meaning of them more easily +understood.--Comparison of the two systems.--Further comparison of the +two systems.--Two modes of representing the idea of a battle.--Great +advantages of the phonetic mode of writing.--Uncertainty of the origin +of phonetic writing.--Cadmus's alphabet.--Difficulties attending the +introduction of it.--Different modes of writing.--The art of writing at +first very little used.--Proofs of this.--Story of the lots.--Other +instances.--The invention of papyrus.--Mode of manufacturing +papyrus.--Volumes.--Mode of using ancient books.--Ink.--Ink found at +Herculaneum.--Recent discoveries in respect to the Egyptian +hieroglyphics.--Specimen of Egyptian hieroglyphics.--Explanation of +the figures.--Moses in Egypt.--Importance of the art of writing. + + +There are two modes essentially distinct from each other, by which +ideas may be communicated through the medium of inscriptions addressed +to the eye. These two modes are, first, by _symbolical_, and secondly, +by _phonetic_ characters. Each of these two systems 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. + +[Illustration: SYMBOLICAL WRITING] + +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 certain figure often employed among the +architectural decorations of churches, as an emblem of the Deity. It +consists of a triangle 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 obviously 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 expressed. + +The first attempts of men to preserve records 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 full representations, and these grew at length +into a system of hieroglyphical characters, some natural, and others +more or less arbitrary, but all denoting _ideas_ or _things_, and not +the sounds of words. These characters are of the kind usually +understood by the word hieroglyphics; though that word can not now +with strict accuracy be applied as a distinctive appellation, since it +has been ascertained 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 species 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 scepter +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 writing which seems to have been +symbolical in 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 characteristic +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 +inscriptions, for example, there was a character representing 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 inscription was that in a certain tumult or insurrection +the 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 _dollars_, as a +prefix to a number expressing money; for this character is a sort of +symbol, that is, it represents a thing rather 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 differently. 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 overlooked. It speaks directly to the eye, and is more 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 figure of +a house, or of a ship, or of a locomotive engine, at the head of an +advertisement, 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 ancient +representations on monuments and columns would communicate, perhaps +more rapidly 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 representations as used in ancient +times, was that their meaning could be more readily explained, and +would be more easily remembered, 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 accomplished 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 provinces, would be wholly blind and unintelligible 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 them, letter by +letter, they would forget the beginning of the lesson before reaching +the end of it,--and could never be expected to attempt extending the +knowledge by making known the interpretation which they had received +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 symbolical mode of writing must +be more simple in its character than the system now in use, inasmuch +as by that plan each idea or object would be expressed by one +character alone, whereas, 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 apparent simplicity, the system of symbolical +writing proved to be, when extensively employed, extremely complicated +and intricate. It is true that each idea required but one character, +but the number of ideas and objects, and of words expressive of their +relations to one another, is so vast, that the system 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 intended 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 communicating +knowledge anew. + +[Illustration: SYMBOLICAL AND PHONETIC WRITING] + +We come now to consider the second grand class of written characters, +namely, the _phonetic_, the class which Cadmus introduced into Greece, +and the one almost universally adopted among all the European nations +at the present day. It is called Phonetic, from a Greek word denoting +_sound_, because the characters which are used do not denote directly +the thing itself which is signified, but the sounds made in speaking +the word which signifies it. Take, for instance, the two modes of +representing a conflict between two contending armies, one by the +symbolic delineation of two swords crossed, and the other by the +phonetic delineation of the letters of the word battle. They are both +inscriptions. 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 _b_, represents 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 exemplified in this simple +instance, we shall observe 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 symbolical mode by one character, while by the +phonetic it requires no less than six. This seems at first view to +indicate a great advantage possessed by the symbolical system. But on +reflection this advantage is found entirely to disappear. For the +symbolical character, 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 symbol 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 thousand,--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, we have elements which can be +used again and again, in the expression of thousands of other ideas. +In fact, as the phonetic characters which are found necessary in most +languages are only about twenty-four, we have in that single word +accomplished one quarter of the whole task, so far as the delineation +of characters is concerned, that is necessary for expressing by +writing any possible combination of ideas which human language can +convey. + +At what time and in what manner the transition was made among the +ancient nations from the symbolic to the phonetic mode of writing, is +not now known. When 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 expressed +in phonetic characters, and the alphabets 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 several +columns, the letters themselves as subsequently written in Greece, the +Greek names given to them, and their power as represented by the +letters now in use. The forms, it will be seen, have been but little +changed. + + Greek letters. Greek names. English representatives. + + [Greek: A] Alpha A + [Greek: B] Beta B + [Greek: G] Gamma G + [Greek: D] Delta D + [Greek: E] Epsilon E + [Greek: I] Iota I + [Greek: L] Lamda L + [Greek: K] Kappa K + [Greek: M] Mu M + [Greek: N] Nu N + [Greek: O] Omicron O + [Greek: P] Pi P + [Greek: R] Rho R + [Greek: S] Sigma S + [Greek: T] Tau T + [Greek: U] Upsilon U + +The phonetic alphabet of Cadmus, though so 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 difficult to read it when written. There was a very great +practical obstacle, too, in the way of its general introduction, in +the want of any suitable materials for writing. To cut letters with a +chisel and a mallet upon a surface of marble is a very slow and +toilsome process. To diminish this labor the ancients contrived tables +of brass, copper, lead, and sometimes of wood, and cut the +inscriptions 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 record. + +In process of time, however, the plan of _painting_ the letters by +means of a black dye upon a smooth surface, was 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 +composition. Cadmus is supposed to have come into Greece about the +year 1550 before Christ; and it was not until about 650 before +Christ,--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 allusion, 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 champion. The lots were +prepared, being made 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 remember 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 considered as the one designated by the +decision, to fight the Trojan champion. + +Now, 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 supposed, that if these +men had been able to write, that they would have inscribed their own +names upon the lots, instead of marking them with unmeaning +characters. And even if they were not practiced writers themselves +some secretary or scribe would have been called upon to act for them +on such an occasion as this, if the art of writing had been at that +time so generally known as to be customarily 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 period 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, until at last the art of writing became established +among mankind, when they were at length put permanently upon record. + +It seems that writing was not much employed for any of the ordinary +and private purposes 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 the low lands along the margin of the Nile. It +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 +materials 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 receive 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 was open between them. Of +course, as he advanced, he continually unrolled on one side, and +rolled up upon the other. Rolls of parchment 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 practice +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 afforded it great protection. The ends of +this roller projected beyond the edges of the sheet, and were +terminated in knobs or bosses, which guarded in some measure the edges +of the papyrus or of the parchment. The whole volume was also inclosed +in a parchment case, on the outside of which the title of the work was +conspicuously recorded. Many of these ancient rolls have been found at +Herculaneum. + +For ink, various colored liquids were used, generally black, but +sometimes red and sometimes green. The black ink was sometimes +manufactured from a species of lampblack or ivory black, such as is +often used in modern times for painting. Some specimens of the +inkstands which were used in ancient times have been found at +Herculaneum, and one of them contained ink, which though too thick to +flow readily from the pen, it was still possible to write with. It was +of about the consistence of oil. + +These rolls of papyrus and parchment, however, were only used for +important writings which it was intended permanently to preserve. 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 rounded, so that any words which the writer wished to erase might +be obliterated by smoothing over again, with it, the wax on which they +had been written. + +Such is a brief history of the rise and progress of the art of writing +in the States of Greece. Whether the phonetic principle which Cadmus +introduced was brought originally from Egypt, or from the countries on +the eastern shore of the Mediterranean sea, can not now be +ascertained. It has generally been supposed among mankind, at least +until within a recent period, that the art of phonetic writing did +not originate in Egypt, for the inscriptions on all the ancient +monuments in that country are of such a character that it has always +been supposed 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 attempting for so many centuries, in vain, +to affix symbolical meanings to them, had been altogether upon the +wrong track. The delineations, though they consist almost wholly of +the forms of plants and animals, and of other natural and artificial +objects, are not symbolical representations of ideas, but letters, +representing sounds and words. They are thus precisely similar, in +principle, to the letters of Cadmus, though wholly different from them +in form. + +[Illustration: SPECIMEN OF EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.] + +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 express the name Cleopatra, a very common name for +princesses of the royal line in Egypt during the dynasty of the +Ptolemy's. We mark the various figures forming the inscription, with +the letters which modern interpreters have assigned to them. It will +be seen that they all spell, rudely indeed, but yet tolerably +distinctly, the name CLEOPATRA. + +By a careful examination of these specimens, it will be seen that the +order of placing the letters, if such hieroglyphical characters can be +so called, is not regular, and the letter _a_, 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 represented 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 inscriptions 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 means of characters representing the sounds 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 Mediterranean 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 arrangement 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 writing, 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. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE STORY OF ÆNEAS. + +B.C. 1200 + +Story of Æneas remained long unwritten.--Mother of Æneas.--Her +origin.--Early history of Venus.--Her magical powers.--Her children +Eros and Anteros.--She goes to Olympus.--Aphrodite's love for +Anchises.--The golden apple.--The award of Paris.--Venus's residence +at Mt. Ida.--Aphrodite's assumed character.--She leaves +Anchises.--Childhood of Æneas.--The Trojan war.--Achilles.--Æneas +engages in the war.--Story of Pandarus.--Æneas rescued by his +mother.--Her magic vail.--Venus is wounded.--Iris conveys her +away.--Single combat between Æneas and Achilles.--The charmed life +of Achilles.--His shield.--The meeting of Æneas and Achilles on the +field.--The harangues of the combatants.--The battle begun.--Narrow +escape.--Sudden termination of the combat.--The tales of the Æneid. + + +Besides the intrinsic interest and importance of the facts stated in +the last chapter, 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 Æneas, the great ancestor of Romulus, 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 hundred_ before Christ. Homer 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 continuous compositions, about the year six hundred. The +story of Æneas 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 hundred years, and then was clothed in verse, 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 during the whole period of this transmission, the +interest felt in it was not the desire for ascertaining 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 historically true; but it is no less +important on that account, that all well-informed persons should know +what it is. + +The mother of Æneas (as the story goes), was a celebrated goddess. Her +name was Aphrodite;[B] though among the Romans she afterward received +the name of Venus. Aphrodite was not born of a mother, like ordinary +mortals, but sprang mysteriously and supernaturally from a foam which +gathered on a certain occasion upon the surface of the sea. At the +commencement of her existence she crept out upon the shores of an +island that was near,--the island of Cythera,--which lies south of the +Peloponnesus. + +[Footnote B: Pronounced in four syllables, Aph-ro-di-te.] + +[Illustration: ORIGIN OF VENUS.] + +She was the goddess of love, of beauty, and of fruitfulness; 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, inexpressibly beautiful; +and in addition to the natural influence of her charms, she was endued +with the supernatural power of inspiring the sentiment 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 had two children, beautiful boys. +Their names were Eros and Anteros. Each of these children remained +perpetually 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 boys 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 tenderest 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 became objects of affection, if they did not return the love. + +After some time, Aphrodite and her boys found their way to the +heavenly regions of Mount Olympus, where the great divinities +resided,[C] and there they soon produced great trouble, by enkindling +the flames of love in the hearts of the divinities themselves, causing +them, by her magic power, to fall in love not only with one another, +but also with mortal men and women on the earth below. In retaliation +upon Aphrodite for this mischief, Jupiter, by his supreme power, +inspired Aphrodite herself with a sentiment of love. The object of her +affection was Anchises, a handsome youth, of the royal family of Troy, +who lived among the mountains of Ida, not far from the city. + +[Footnote C: See Map, page 61.] + +The way in which it happened that the affection of Aphrodite turned +toward an inhabitant of Mount Ida was this. There had been at one time +a marriage among the divinities, and a certain goddess who had not +been invited to the wedding, conceived the design of avenging herself +for the neglect, by provoking 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 assembled at the wedding. The goddesses all +claimed the prize, and a very earnest dispute arose among them in +respect to it. Jupiter 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 themselves to him, and submit the +question of the right to the apple to his award. The contending +goddesses appeared accordingly before Paris, and each attempted to +bribe him to decide in her favor, by offering him some peculiar 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 when Jupiter +inspired her with a sudden susceptibility to the power of love, the +shepherd Anchises was the object toward which her affections turned. +She accordingly went to Mount Ida, and giving herself up to him, she +lived with him for some time among the mountains as his bride. Æneas +was their son. + +Aphrodite did not, however, appear to Anchises in her true character, +but assumed, instead, the form and the disguise of a Phrygian +princess. Phrygia was a kingdom of Asia Minor, not very far from Troy. +She continued this disguise as long as she remained with Anchises at +Mount Ida; at length, however, 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 Æneas, 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, having now no longer any one at +home to attend to the rearing of the child, send him to Dardanus, 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 Anchises in +Aphrodite's eyes. Æneas remained 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 residence among the pasturages of the +mountains. His mother, though she had left him, did not forget her +child; but watched over him continually, and interposed directly to +aid or to protect him, whenever her aid was required by the occurrence +of any emergency of difficulty or danger. + +[Illustration: ÆNEAS DEFENDING THE BODY OF PANDARUS.] + +At length the Trojan war broke out. For a time, however, Æneas 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 peaceful avocations to the end of the war, had +it not been that Achilles, one of the most formidable of the Grecian +leaders, in one of his forays in the country around Troy, in search of +provisions, came upon Æneas's territory, and attacked him while +tending his flocks upon the mountain side. Achilles seized the +flocks and herds, and drove Æneas and his fellow-herdsmen away. They +would, in fact, all have been killed, had not Aphrodite interposed to +protect her son and +save his life. + +The loss of his flocks and herds, and the injury which he himself had +received, aroused Æneas's indignation and anger against the Greeks. He +immediately raised an armed force of Dardanians, and thenceforth took +an active part 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 performed 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. Æneas did not succeed in saving his +friend. Pandarus was killed. Æneas, however, flew to the spot, and by +means of the most extraordinary feats of strength and valor he drove +the Greeks away from the body. They attacked it on every side, but +Æneas, wheeling around it, and fighting now on this side and now on +that, drove them all away. They retired to a little distance and then +began to throw in a shower of spears and darts and arrows upon him. +Æneas defended himself and the body of his friend from these missiles +for a time, with his shield. At length, however, he was struck in the +thigh with a ponderous stone which one of the Greek warriors hurled at +him,--a stone so heavy that two men of ordinary strength would have +been required to lift it. Æneas was felled to the ground by the blow. +He sank down, resting upon his arm, faint and dizzy, and being thus +made helpless would have immediately been overpowered and killed by +his assailants had not his mother interposed. She came immediately to +rescue him. She spread her vail over him, which had the magic power of +rendering 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 in her anxiety to protect him. Diomedes, the +chief of the pursuers, following headlong on, aimed a lance at Venus +herself. The lance struck Venus in the hand, and inflicted a very +severe and painful wound. It did not, however, stop her flight. She +pressed swiftly on, while Diomedes, satisfied with his revenge, gave +up the pursuit, but called out to Aphrodite as she disappeared from +view, bidding her learn from the lesson which he had given her that it +would 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 Æneas 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. Iris 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 farther still among the mountains to a place +where they found Mars, the god of war, standing with his chariot. Mars +was Aphrodite's brother. He took compassion upon his sister in her +distress, and lent Iris his chariot and horses, to convey Aphrodite +home. Aphrodite 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 her wound, and expressed great sympathy for her in her +sufferings, uttering at the same time many piteous complaints against +the merciless violence and inhumanity of men. Such is the ancient tale +of Æneas and his mother. + +At a later period in the history of the war, Æneas 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, Æneas +on the one side and Achilles 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. Æneas, besides the prodigious strength and bravery for which +he was renowned, was to be divinely aided, it was known, by the +protection of his 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, possessed 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 of the body which the water laved. As, how +ever, Thetis held the child by the ankles when she plunged him in, the +ankles remained unaffected by the magic influence of the water. All +the other parts of the body were rendered incapable 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 +metal. 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 the Greeks in the Trojan war, not +trusting entirely it seems to his magical invulnerability. + +The armies looked on with great interest as these two champions +advanced to meet each other, while all the gods and goddesses surveyed +the scene with almost equal interest, from their abodes above. Some +joined Venus 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 surveyed each other with looks of anger and defiance. +At length Achilles spoke. He began to upbraid Æneas 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 sons who are the direct and immediate heirs, +and your claims can never be allowed. Then, besides, what folly to +attempt to contend with me! Me, the strongest, bravest, and most +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 pretensions 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. + +Æneas replied,--retorting with vauntings 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 war 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 with +such force that it penetrated through two of the plates of metal which +composed the shield, and reached the central plate of gold, where the +force with which it had been thrown being spent, it was arrested and +fell to the ground. Achilles then exerting his utmost strength threw +his spear in return. Æneas 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. +The spear struck the shield near the upper edge of it, as it was held +in Æneas's hands. It passed directly through the plates of which the +shield was composed, and then continuing its course, it glided down +just over Æneas's back, and planted itself deep in the ground behind +him, and stood there quivering. Æneas crept out 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 Æneas, hand to hand. Æneas 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 two ordinary men could lift, and was about to hurl it at +his advancing foe, when suddenly the whole combat was terminated by a +very unexpected interposition. It seems that the various gods and +goddesses, from their celestial abodes among the summits of Olympus, +had assembled in invisible forms to witness this combat--some +sympathizing with and upholding one of the combatants, and some the +other. Neptune was on Æneas's side; and accordingly when he saw how +imminent the danger was which threatened Æneas, 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 concealed +Æneas from Achilles's view. Neptune 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 Æneas, 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 on looking +around him found that his enemy was gone. + +Such are the marvelous tales which were told by the ancient narrators, +of the prowess and exploits of Æneas 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 +religious faith. The tales were thus believed, and handed down +traditionally from generation 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 sacred +revelations which they contained, in respect to the divinities of the +spiritual world. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY. + +B.C. 1200 + +Termination of the siege of Troy.--Appearances observed by the +besieged.--The wooden horse.--Its probable size.--Various opinions +in respect to the disposal of it.--Sudden appearance of a +captive.--His wretched condition.--Sinon's account of the departure +of the Greeks.--His story of the proposed sacrifice.--His +escape.--Priam's address to him.--Sinon's account of the horse.--Effect +produced by Sinon's story.--The serpents and Laocoon.--Ancient statue +of Laocoon.--Its history.--The statue now deposited in the +Vatican.--Description of it.--Effect produced upon the Trojans by +Laocoon's fate.--The Trojans draw the horse into the city.--The Greeks +admitted to the city.--Æneas awakened by the din.--His meeting with +Pantheus.--His surprise and terror.--Adventures of Æneas and +Pantheus.--The tortoise.--The position of Æneas.--The tower.--The +sacking of the palace.--Priam.--Priam and Hecuba at the altar.--The +death of Priam.--The despair of the Trojans. + + +After the final conquest and destruction of Troy, Æneas, in the course +of his wanderings, stopped, it was said, at Carthage, on his way to +Italy, and there, according 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 movements 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 embarkation. In a word, the tidings soon spread +throughout the city, that the Greeks had at length 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 together,--to +explore the abandoned encampment, and to rejoice over the departure of +their terrible enemies. + +The first thing which attracted their attention was an immense wooden +horse, which stood upon the ground that the Greek encampment had +occupied. The Trojans immediately gathered, one and all, around the +monster, full of wonder and curiosity. Æneas, in narrating the story, +says that the image was as large as a mountain; but, as he afterward +relates that the people drew it on wheels within the walls of the +city, and especially as he represents them as attaching the ropes for +this purpose to the _neck_ of the image, instead of to its fore-legs, +which would have furnished the only proper points of attachment if the +effigy had been of any very extraordinary size, he must have had a +very small mountain in mind in making the comparison. Or, which is +perhaps more probable, he used the term only in a vague metaphorical +sense, as we do now when we speak of the waves of the ocean as running +mountain 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 +monster, to leave behind them on their departure from Troy. After the +first emotions of astonishment and wonder which the spectacle awakened +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 commander 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. +Another, 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 with so mysterious 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 respect to the disposal of the +horse, if this consultation and debate had gone on, it is impossible +to say, as the farther consideration of the subject was all at once +interrupted, by new occurrences which here suddenly intervened, 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 +excitement, and loud shouts and outcries, bringing with them a captive +Greek whom they had secured and bound. As the peasants came up with +their prisoner, the Trojans gathered eagerly round them, full of +excitement and threats of violence, all thirsting, apparently, for +their victim's blood. He, on his part, filled the air with the most +piteous lamentations 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 the 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 +interrogations, that his name was Sinon, and that he was a fugitive +from his own countrymen the Greeks, who had been intending to kill +him. He said that the Greek leaders had long been desirous of +abandoning the siege of Troy, 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 design. +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 oracle 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 designate. 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 to the individual +who was to suffer. At length he said that Sinon was the destined +victim. His comrades, Sinon said, rejoicing in their own escape from +so terrible a doom, eagerly assented to the priest's decision, and +immediately made preparations for the ceremony. The altar was reared. +The victim was adorned for the sacrifice, and the garlands, 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. Sinon concluded his tale by +the most piteous lamentations, on his wretched lot. The Trojans, 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 this story seemed so +sincere, and so natural and unaffected were the expressions of +wretchedness and despair with which he ended his narrative, that the +Trojan leaders had no suspicion 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. +"Forget your countrymen," said he. "They are gone. Henceforth 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 himself ready to give his benefactors the fullest +information. He told them that the wooden horse 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 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 interest to all that Sinon said, +and readily believed his story; so admirably well did he counterfeit, +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 despair in +respect to his own unhappy lot. The current 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 upon 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 sacriligious temerity in striking his spear into +the horse's side. It had been determined to offer a sacrifice to +Neptune. Lots were drawn to determine who should perform the rite. The +lot fell upon Laocoon. He began to make preparations to perform the +duty, assisted by his two young 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 twining around them they soon +held the writhing and struggling limbs of their shrieking victims +hopelessly entangled in their deadly convolutions. + +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. Instead, +however, of being able to save his children, he only involved himself +in their dreadful fate. The serpents seized him as soon as he came +within their reach, and taking two turns around his neck and two +around his body, and binding in a remorseless grip the forms of the +fainting and dying boys with other convolutions, they raised their +heads high above the group of victims which they thus enfolded, and +hissed and darted out their forked tongues in token of defiance and +victory. When at length their work was done, they 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. This statue was mentioned by an old Roman writer, Pliny, who +gave an account of it while it yet stood in its place in the ancient +city. He said that it was the work of three artists, a father and two +sons, who combined their industry and skill to carve in one group, and +with immense labor and care, the representation of Laocoon himself, +the two boys, and the two serpents, making five living beings +intertwined intricately together, and all carved from one single block +of marble. On the decline and fall of Rome this statue was lost among +the ruins of the city, and for many centuries it was known to mankind +only through the description of Pliny. At length 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 +attention to the whole world. It was deposited in the Vatican; a great +reward was paid to the owner of the ground on which it was discovered; +drawings and casts of it, without number, have been made; and the +original stands in the Vatican now, an object of universal interest, +as one of the most celebrated sculptures 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 sinks under the effects of +the poison. The other boy, in an agony of terror, is struggling, +hopelessly, to release his foot from the convolutions with which one +of the serpents has encircled it. The expression of the whole group is +exciting and painful, and yet notwithstanding this, there is combined +with it a certain mysterious grace and beauty which charms every eye, +and makes the composition the wonder of mankind. + +But to return to the story. The people understood this awful +visitation to be the judgment of heaven against Laocoon for his +sacrilegious 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 preparations 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 weight of the colossal mass. +They attached long ropes to the neck of the image, and extended them +forward upon the ground, and then brought up large companies of +citizens 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 +ponderous mass began to move, and though it encountered in its +progress many difficulties, obstructions, 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 unconscious effigy +stood silent and alone where its worshipers had left it, while the +whole population of the city were sunk in slumber, except the +sentinels who had been stationed as usual to keep guard at the gates, +or to watch upon the towers and battlements above them. + +In the mean time the Greek fleet, which had sailed away under pretense +of finally abandoning 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 secrecy, 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 watchmen, threw +open the gates, and gave the whole body of their comrades that were +lurking outside the walls, in the silence and darkness of the night, +an unobstructed admission. + +Æneas 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 ascended to the +roof of the house to ascertain the cause of the alarm. He saw flames +ascending 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 suddenly 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 his +little son, who was likewise pale with terror. Æneas asked Pantheus +what had happened. Pantheus in reply explained to him in hurried and +broken words, that armed men, treacherously 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 Æneas and those who had joined +him with a species 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 exhibited in +the midnight sacking of a city. They met with various adventures +during the time that they continued their desperate but hopeless +resistance. They encountered a party of Greeks, and overpowered and +slew them, and then, seizing the armor which their fallen enemies 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 destroy 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 undertook to rescue her, and were at once attacked 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 tumult and din, and +the frightful glare of lurid flames by which the city was illuminated, +a scene of inconceivable confusion and terror. + +[Illustration: THE TORTOISE.] + +Æneas 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 had 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 +Æneas 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 below. Great numbers were killed by the falling +ruins, and the tortoise was broken down. The Greeks, however, soon +formed another tortoise, by means of which some of the soldiers scaled +the walls, while others broke down the gates with battering rams and +engines; 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 +Æneas and his 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, +were 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 spectators 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 farther attempts at resistance would only +exasperate their enemies, and render their own destruction the more +inevitable. She persuaded the king, therefore, to give up his 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 await 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 unexpected occurrence which suddenly intervened, and which +led to a fatal result. While they were seated by the altar, in +attitudes of submission and suppliance, they were suddenly aroused by +the rushing toward them of one of their sons, who came in, wounded and +bleeding from some scene of combat, and pursued 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 imprecations +against the murderers of his son, he hurled the weapon toward them as +they advanced. 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 palace 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. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE FLIGHT OF ÆNEAS. + +B.C. 1200 + +Æneas's reflections.--He determines to go home.--Æneas is left at last +alone.--He goes away.--He sees the princess Helen.--Story of +Helen.--Æneas determines to destroy her.--His reflections.--The +apparition of Aphrodite.--Her words.--His mother's magical +protection.--He reaches his home.--The determination of +Anchises.--Creusa's entreaties.--The plan formed for the escape of the +family.--The lion's skin.--The household gods.--Creusa.--The whole +party proceed towards the gates.--Escape from the city.--Creusa is +lost.--Æneas goes back in search of Creusa.--He finds that his house +has been burned.--The apparition of Creusa.--Her predictions.--Her +farewell to her husband.--Preparations for departure.--Æneas's company +increases.--His fleet.--The embarkation.--Map of the wanderings of +Æneas.--A dreadful prodigy.--The bleeding myrtle.--Words of the +myrtle.--Story of Polydorus.--Æneas leaves Thrace.--His various +wanderings.--The attempted settlement at Crete.--Calamities.--Æneas's +perplexity.--Advice of Anchises.--Scene at night.--The household +deities.--Their address to Æneas.--Effect of this address.--Subsequent +adventures.--Danger of shipwreck.--The harpies.--Æneas driven +away.--Dangers at Mt. Etna.--The one-eyed giants.--Polyphemus.--Remarks +on the story of Æneas. + + +Æneas, from his station upon the battlements of a neighboring edifice, +witnessed the taking of the palace and the death of Priam. He +immediately gave up 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, whom 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 he began now to be overwhelmed with the apprehension, +that the besiegers had found their way to his dwelling, and were, +perhaps, at that very moment plundering and destroying it and +perpetrating 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 companions remained with him. +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 city. 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 headlong from their lofty height into the street beneath 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. Æneas 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 Æneas found himself alone. + +Æneas contrived to find his way back safely to the street, and then +stealthily choosing his way, and vigilantly watching against the +dangers that surrounded him, he advanced cautiously among the ruins of +the palace, in the direction toward his own home. He had not +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. + +[Illustration: HELEN.] + +Helen was a Grecian princess, formerly the wife of Menelaus, king of +Sparta, but she had eloped from Greece 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, Menelaus, accompanied +by another Grecian chieftain, went to Troy and demanded that Helen +should be given up again to her proper husband. Paris refused to +surrender her. Menelaus then returned to Greece and organized a grand +expedition to proceed to Troy and recapture the queen. This was the +origin of the war. The people, therefore, looked upon Helen as the +cause, whether innocent or guilty, of all their calamities. + +When Æneas, therefore, who was, as may well be supposed, in no very +amiable or gentle temper, as he hurried along away from the smoking +ruins of the palace 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 country by her +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 vengeance 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 ruin +upon us, escape herself, and go back to Greece in safety and be a +queen there again." + +As Æneas said these words, rushing forward 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 +decrees of the gods that the city has fallen. It is useless for you to +struggle against inevitable destiny, or to attempt to take vengeance +on mere human means and instrumentalities. Think no more of Helen. +Think of your family. Your aged father, your helpless wife, your +little son,--where are they? Even now while you are wasting time here +in vain attempts 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 unseen, and will protect you and them from +every impending danger." + +As soon as Aphrodite had spoken these words she disappeared from view. +Æneas, following her injunctions, went directly toward 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 direction about the city, in such a manner as to convince him +that his mother was really accompanying him, and protecting his way by +her supernatural powers. + +When he reached home the first person whom he saw was Anchises his +father. He told Anchises that all was lost, and that nothing now +remained for them but to seek safety for themselves by flying to the +mountains behind the city. But Anchises refused to 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 remains to me, to be spent, if saved, in miserable exile. +If the powers of heaven had intended that I should have lived any +longer, they would have spared my native city,--my 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. Æneas and Creusa his wife joined their entreaties in +urging him to go away. But he would not be persuaded. Æneas then +declared that he would not go and leave his father. If one was to die +they would all die, he said, together. He called for his armor and +began to put 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 intervention, who fell down before him at the +threshold of the door, almost frantic with excitement 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 unhappy family +continued for some time longer, but it ended at last, in the 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 continually at new points in the progress of the +conflagration, indicated that no time was to be lost. Æneas hastily +formed his plan. His father was too old and infirm to go himself +through the city. Æneas determined therefore to carry him upon his +shoulders. Little Ascanius was to walk along by his side. Creusa was +to follow, keeping as close as possible to her husband lest she should +lose him in the darkness of the night, or in the scenes of uproar and +confusion through which they would have to pass on the way. The +domestics 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 certain rising ground, not far from the +city, which Æneas designated to them by means of an old deserted +temple which marked the spot, and a venerable cypress which grew +there. + +This plan being formed the party immediately proceeded to put it in +execution. Æneas 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. Anchises 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 embodiment of divine protection. To save these images, +when every thing else was given up for lost, was always the object of +the last desperate effort of the husband and father. Æneas in this +case asked his father to take these images, as it would have been an +impiety 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 followed 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 +of the distant conflagrations, which glared in the sky, and flashed +sometimes upon battlements and towers, and upon the tops of lofty +dwellings. + +Æneas 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 constant 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 defend either himself or them. The party, however, for a time +seemed to escape all these dangers, but at length, just as they were +approaching the gate of the city, and began to think that they were +safe, they were suddenly alarmed by a loud uproar, and by a rush of +men which came in toward them from some streets in that quarter of the +city, and threatened to overwhelm them. Anchises was greatly alarmed. +He saw the gleaming weapons of the Greeks who were rushing toward +them, and he called out to Æneas to fly faster, or to turn off some +other way, in order to escape the impending danger. Æneas was +terrified by the shouts and uproar which he heard, and his mind was +for a moment confused 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 succeeded in finding egress +from the city. He pressed on, without stopping to look behind him till +he reached the appointed place of rendezvous on the hill, and then +gently laying down his burden, he looked around for Creusa. She was +nowhere to be seen. + +Æneas was in utter consternation, at finding that his wife was gone. +He mourned and lamented this dreadful calamity with loud exclamations +of grief and despair; then reflecting 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 behind the hill, and leaving them there +under 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 flames 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, accordingly, 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 furniture and goods which the +wretched inmates of the dwellings had vainly endeavored to save. These +inmates themselves were standing around, distracted with grief and +terror, and gazing hopelessly upon the scene of devastation before +them. + +Æneas saw all these things at a glance, and immediately, in a phrensy +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 imploring all whom he saw to give him some tidings of her. +All was, however, in vain. She could not be found. Æneas 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 suspense, 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 progress. 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 him that the vision was not of this +world. Æneas 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 providence 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 destiny 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, however, 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 must not lament my 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 began to disappear. Æneas +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 concealed 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 Æneas 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, Æneas employed his men +in building a number of small vessels, fitting them, as was usual in +those days, both with sails and oars. + +During the progress of these preparations, small parties of Trojans +were coming in continually, 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 Æneas was gradually assembling +the remnant of the Trojans on the shore. The numbers thus collected at +Æneas's encampment gradually increased, and as Æneas 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. + +[Illustration: WANDERINGS OF ÆNEAS.] + +The nearest country within reach in leaving the Trojan coast, was +Thrace--a country lying north of the Egean Sea, and of the Propontis, +being separated, in fact, in one part, from the Trojan territories, +only by the Hellespont. Æneas turned his course northward toward this +country, and, after a short voyage, 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 to +leave those shores 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 occasions, +when Æneas, 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 astonishment and horror, he found that blood +flowed from the roots whenever they were broken. Drops of what +appeared to be human blood would ooze from the ruptured part as he +held the shoot in his hand, and fall slowly to the ground. He was +greatly terrified at this spectacle, considering it as some omen of +very dreadful import. He immediately 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 prodigy +had 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 suffering. Immediately afterward a +voice, in a mournful and sepulchral accent, began to beg him to go +away, and cease disturbing the repose 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 supplied, and that he might maintain, during his +absence 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 for support and protection, became +the occasion of his ruin--for the Thracian king, when he found 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. + +Æneas 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, performed those funeral rites for Polydorus which +were considered in those ages essential to the repose of the dead. +When these mournful ceremonies were ended they embarked on board their +ships again and sailed away. + +After this, the party of Æneas spent many months in weary voyages from +island to island, and from shore to shore, along the Mediterranean +sea, encountering every imaginable difficulty and danger, and meeting +continually with the strangest and most romantic adventures. At one +time they were misled by a mistaken interpretation of prophecy to +attempt a settlement in Crete--a green and beautiful island lying +south of the Egean sea. They had applied to a sacred oracle, which +had its seat at a certain consecrated 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 +oracle, in answer to their request, informed them that they were to go +to the land that their ancestors had originally come from, before +their settlement in Troy. Æneas applied to Anchises 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 accordingly directed southward, and +in due time the expedition safely reached the island of Crete, and +landed there. They immediately commenced the work of effecting a +settlement. They drew the ships up upon 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 them. Many died; others who still lived, were +utterly prostrated by the effects of the disease, and crawled about, +emaciated and wretched, a miserable and piteous spectacle 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 judgments. Æneas determined to adopt this +advice, but he was prevented from carrying his intentions into effect +by the following occurrence. + +One night he was lying upon his couch in 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 which environed them. The moon shone in at the +windows, and by the light of this luminary he saw, reposing in their +shrines in the opposite side of the apartment where he was sleeping, +the household images which he had rescued from the flames of Troy. As +he looked upon these divinities in the still and solemn hour of +midnight, oppressed with anxiety and care, one of them began to +address him. + +"We are commissioned," said this supernatural 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 destined to be your home. You must leave +these shores, 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 or on account of the calamities which now +impend over you. You will be prospered in the end. You will reach +Italy in safety, and there you will lay the foundations of a mighty +empire, which in days to come will extend its dominion far and wide +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 prepared 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 extend this portion of our narrative too far, +to relate them all. They encountered a storm by which for three days +and three nights they were tossed to and fro, without seeing sun or +stars, and of course without any guidance whatever; and during all +this time they were in the most imminent danger of being overwhelmed +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 _harpies_, +birds of prey of prodigious size and most offensive habits, and fierce +and voracious beyond description. 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 Aëlopos, Nicothoë, Ocythoë, Ocypoæ, Celæno, +Acholoë, and Aëllo. Some said that the harpies had the faces and forms +of women. Others described them as frightfully ugly; but all agree in +representing 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 Æneas and his party, and carried +away the food from off the table before them; and even 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 before. At length the +expedition was driven away from the island altogether, by these +ravenous fowls, and when they were embarking on board of their +vessels, the leader of the harpies perched herself upon a rock +overlooking the scene, and in a human voice loaded Æneas 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 +summit 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 monsters 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 enabled them to resume their course, they made all +haste to get away from so appalling a scene. At another time they +touched upon a coast which 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 surprise +their keeper in his sleep, and though they were wholly unable to kill +him on account of his colossal magnitude, they succeeded in putting +out his eye, and Æneas and his companions saw the blinded giant, as +they passed along the coast, wading in the sea, and bathing 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, Æneas and his party reached the shores of Italy, at +the point which by divine intimations had been pointed out to them as +the place where they were to land.[D] + +[Footnote D: See Map, page 134.] + +The story of the life and adventures of Æneas, 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 +narrative has made a more deep, and widespread, and lasting impression +upon the human mind than any other narrative perhaps that ever was +penned. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE LANDING IN LATIUM. + +B.C. 1197-1190 + +Description of the country where Æneas landed.--The landing.--Mouth of +the Tiber.--Burning of the ships.--Italy in ancient days.--Sacrifices +offered.--Map of Latium.--Reconnoitring the country.--King Latinus.--An +embassy.--The embassy come to the capital.--The embassadors are +admitted to an audience.--Their address to king Latinus.--Latinus +accedes to Æneas's requests.--Proposal of marriage.--Lavinia and +Turnus.--The anger of Turnus at being set aside.--Lavinium.--Situation +of the Trojan territory.--The story of Sylvia's stag.--Ascanius shoots +the stag.--The resentment of Sylvia's brothers.--Sudden outbreak.--Death +of Almon.--Great excitement.--Preparation for war.--Latinus.--The +Trojans gradually gain ground.--Desire for peace.--Turnus opposes +it.--A proposal for single combat.--Result of the combat.--Marriage +of Æneas.--Æneas drowned in the Numicius. + + +Latium was the name given to an ancient province of Italy, lying south +of the Tiber. At the time of Æneas'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, +consisting of hills and valleys, occupied by shepherds 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 command 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 employed 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 buildings, of wood, or of stone, and thus constructed such +dwellings as they needed, in their towns, and walls and citadels for +defence. + +Æneas brought his fleet into the mouth of the Tiber, and anchored it +there. He himself, 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 expedition at the commencement of the voyage, was very +large; but it had been considerably diminished by the various +misfortunes and accidents 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 render it impossible for the fleet +to go to sea again. + +However this may be, Æneas was very strongly disposed to make the +beautiful region which he now saw before him, his final home. The +country, in every aspect of it, was alluring in the highest degree. +Level plains, varied here and there by gentle elevations, extended +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 mountains bounded the +horizon, and a soft, warm summer haze floated over the whole scene, +bathing the landscape in a rich mellow light peculiar to Italian +skies. + +As soon as the disembarkation was effected, lines of encampment were +marked out, at a suitable place on the shore, and such simple +fortifications as were necessary for defence in such a case, were +thrown up. Æneas dispatched one party in boats to explore the various +passages and channels which formed the mouth of the river, perhaps in +order to be prepared to make good his escape again, to sea, in case of +any sudden or extraordinary danger. Another party were employed in +erecting altars, and preparing for sacrifices and other religious +celebrations, designed on the part of Æneas to propitiate the deities +of the place, and to inspire his men with religious confidence and +trust. He also immediately proceeded to organize a party of +reconnoiterers who were to proceed into the interior, to explore the +country and to communicate with the inhabitants. + +[Illustration: MAP OF LATIUM.] + +The party of reconnoiterers thus sent out followed up the banks of the +river, and made excursions in various directions across the fields and +plains. They found that the country 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 arrival 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 demeanor +he concluded that they were Greeks. This idea awakened in his mind +some apprehension; 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 +pursue in respect to the intruders. + +In the mean time Æneas concluded to send an embassy to Latinus to +explain the circumstances under which 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 the others a large number of gifts which +they were to carry and present to him. These gifts consisted of +weapons 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 arranged proceeded to the Latin 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 dwellings. Outside the gates a +portion of the population were assembled busily engaged in games, and +in various gymnastic and equestrian performances. Some were driving +furiously in chariots around great circles marked out for the course. +Others were practicing feats of horsemanship, or running races upon +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 they came in view of this scene, and +waited until intelligence could be sent in to the monarch, informing +him of their arrival. + +Latinus decided immediately to admit the embassy to an audience, and +they were accordingly conducted into the city. They were led, after +entering by the gates, through various streets, until they came at +length to a large public edifice, which seemed to be, at the same +time, palace, senate-house, and citadel. There were to be seen, in the +avenues which led to this edifice, statues of old warriors, and +various other martial decorations. There were many old trophies of +former victories preserved here, such as arms, and chariots, and prows +of ships, and crests, and great bolts and bars taken from the gates of +conquered cities,--all old, war-worn, and now useless, but preserved +as memorials of bravery and conquest. The Trojan embassy, passing +through and among these trophies, as they 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 introduction were performed, they +delivered the message which Æneas 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 +destruction of their native city. Since then they had been driven to +and fro at the mercy of the winds and waves, exposed to every +conceivable degree of hardship and danger. Their landing finally in +the dominions of Latinus 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 reaching them, +had landed; and now Æneas, 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 territory for them, and give them leave to +build a city. + +The effect produced upon the mind of Latinus 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 +destruction of Troy, and of the departure of Æneas's squadron; for a +long time had been consumed by the wanderings of the expedition along +the Mediterranean shores, so that some years had now elapsed since the +destruction 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 Æneas 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 establishment of friendly relations between Latinus and +the Trojans, and that was, that Latinus was engaged, at the time of +Æneas's arrival, in a war with the Rutulians, a nation that inhabited +a country lying south of Latium and on the coast. Latinus thought that +by making the Trojans his friends, he should be able to enlist them as +his auxiliaries in this war. Æneas 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 Æneas and +Latinus, an alliance which in the end resulted in the accession of +Æneas to the throne of Latinus. Latinus had a daughter named Lavinia. +She was an only child, and was a princess of extraordinary 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 marry Lavinia, and in the +end succeed with her, to the throne of Latinus. Latinus himself had +not entered into this scheme; and when closing his negotiations with +Æneas, it seemed to him that it would be well to seal and secure the +adherence of Æneas to his cause by offering him his daughter Lavinia +for his bride. Æneas was very willing to accede to this proposal. What +the wishes of Lavinia herself were in respect to the arrangement, it +is not very well known; nor were her wishes, according to the ideas +that prevailed in those times, of any consequence whatever. The plan +was arranged, and the nuptials were soon to be celebrated. Turnus, +when he found that he was to be superseded, left the court of Latinus, +and went away out of the country in a rage. + +Æneas 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. Æneas had intended to have named it Troy, in commemoration of +the ancient city now no more. 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 to the Trojans by Latinus was in +the south-western 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, determining, 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 Æneas found himself threatened with a very formidable +danger. + +Nor was this all. For just before the commencement of the war with +Turnus, an extraordinary train of circumstances occurred which +resulted in alienating the Latins themselves from their new ally, and +in leaving Æneas 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 Æneas would not be very favorably +regarded by the common 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 partiality of their king, to a share of their +country. This jealousy and distrust was, for a time, suppressed and +concealed; but the animosity only acquired strength and concentration +by being restrained, and at length an event occurred which caused it +to break forth with uncontrollable fury. The circumstances were these: + +There was a man in Latium named Tyrrheus, 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 accustomed 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. + +[Illustration: SILVIA'S STAG.] + +One day when Ascanius, Æneas'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 belonging to his years, was returning from +the chase, he happened to pass by the place where the herdsman lived. +Ascanius was followed 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 confiding 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 fitting it to +the bow. As soon as he came in sight of the stag, he let fly his +arrow. The 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 rushing into the house, marking his way with +blood, ran to the covert which Sylvia had provided for his +resting-place at night, and crouching 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 their +favorite, they were filled with indignation and rage. They went out +and aroused the neighboring peasantry, who very easily caught the +spirit of resentment and revenge which burned 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 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 chieftains +could interfere, a very 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 maturity, 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 demanded, 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 withstand 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 sentiment turned hopelessly against the Trojans, +and Æneas soon found himself shut up 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. Æneas himself went away with a few followers to some of the +neighboring kingdoms, to get succor 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. Æneas found +several of the Italian princes who were ready to aid him, and he +returned to his camp with considerable reinforcements, and with +promises of more. The war soon broke out, and was waged for a long +time with great determination on both sides and with varied success. + +Latinus, who was now somewhat advanced in life, and had thus passed +beyond the period of ambition and love of glory, and who besides must +have felt that the interests of his family were now indissolubly bound +up in those of Æneas and Lavinia, watched the progress of the contest +with a very uneasy and anxious mind. He found that for a time at +least it would be out of his power to do any thing effectual to +terminate the war, so he allowed it to take its course, and contented +himself 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, they 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 property for their enemies to plunder, while the Rutulians +and Latins had great possessions, 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 Trojans 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 victory or destruction. +Their protracted voyage, and the long experience of hardships and +sufferings 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, indications gradually appeared that +both sides began to be weary of the contest. Latinus availed himself +of a favorable occasion which offered, to propose that embassadors +should be sent to Æneas with terms of peace. Turnus was very much +opposed to any such plan. He was earnestly desirous of continuing to +prosecute the war. The other Latin chieftains reproached him then with +being the cause of all the calamities which they were enduring, and +urged the unreasonableness on his part of desiring any longer to +protract 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 +proposed that he should himself decide the question between him and +Æneas, by challenging the Trojan leader to fight him in single combat. + +Latinus strongly disapproved of this proposal. He was weary of war and +bloodshed, and wished that the conflict might wholly cease; and he +urged that peace should be made with Æneas, and that his original +design of giving him Lavinia for his wife should be carried into +execution. For a moment Turnus seemed to hesitate, but in looking +towards 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 Æneas should win her for his bride. + +He accordingly without any farther hesitation 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 was 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 began; but, as frequently +occurs in such cases, it was not long confined to the single pair of +combatants with which it commenced. Others were gradually drawn in, +and the duel became in the end a general battle. Æneas and the Trojans +were victorious, and both Latinus and Turnus were slain. This ended +the war. Æneas married Lavinia, and thenceforth reigned with her over +the kingdom of Latium as its rightful sovereign. + +Æneas lived several years after this, and 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 people so as +greatly to improve their condition. He introduced, too, many +ceremonies of religious worship, which had prevailed in the countries +from which he had come, or in those which he had visited in his long +voyage. These ceremonies became at last so firmly established among +the religious observances of the inhabitants of Latium, that they +descended from generation to generation, and in subsequent years +exercised great influence, in modeling the religious faith and worship +of the Roman people. They thus continued to be practiced for many +ages, and, through the literature of the Romans, became subsequently +known and celebrated throughout the whole civilized world. + +At length, in a war which Æneas was waging 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 Numicius. 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 Æneas 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. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +RHEA SILVIA. + +B.C. 800 + +Rhea Silvia.--The order of vestal virgins.--The ancient +focus.--Arrangement for fire.--Nature of the ceremonies instituted in +honor of Vesta.--Her vestal virgins.--Their duties.--Terrible punishment +for those who violated their vows.--Similar observances in modern +times.--Influence of the vestal institution.--Ceremonies.--Qualifications +of the candidate.--Term of service.--The sacred fire.--Punishment for +neglect of duty.--Question in regard to the succession.--Origin of the +name Silvius.--History of Ascanius.--His war with Mezentius.--The +Trojans victorious.--Settlement of the kingdom.--Lavinia recalled.--The +building of Alba Longa.--Situation of Alba Longa.--The name.--Successor +to Ascanius.--Perplexing question.--Settlement of the +question.--Tiberinus.--The story of Alladius and his thunder.--Death of +Alladius.--Superstitions.--Numitor and Amulius.--Their respective +characters.--Division of their father's possessions.--Policy of +Numitor.--Death of Egestus.--Rhea enters upon her duties as a vestal +virgin.--Unexpected events announced. + + +Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus, was a vestal virgin, who lived in +the kingdom of Latium about four hundred years after the death of +Æneas. 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 +services of religion. They were, like nuns, especially prohibited from +all association and intercourse with men. + +Æneas 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 Vesta, who was +the goddess of Home. The fireside has been, in all ages and countries, +the center and the symbol of home, and the worship of Vesta consisted, +accordingly, of ceremonies designed to dignify and exalt the fireside +in the estimation of the people. Instead of the images and altars +which 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 different 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 only +their pursuits and avocations, but far the greater 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 Vesta, the goddess of Home, +they set up a _focus_, or fire-place, in her temple, 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 Vesta by the most solemn ceremonies, and as virgins, were +bound under awful penalties, to spotless purity of life. As the +perpetual fire in the temple of Vesta represented the fire of the +domestic hearth, so these vestal virgins represented the maidens by +whom the domestic service of a household is performed; and the life of +seclusion and celibacy which was required of them was the emblem of +the innocence and purity which the institution of the family is +expressly intended to guard. The duties of the vestals were analogous +to those of domestic maidens. They were to watch the fire, and never +to allow it to go out. They were to perform various rites and +ceremonies connected with the worship of Vesta and to keep the +interior of the temple and the shrines pure and clean, and the sacred +vessels and utensils arranged, as in a well-ordered household. In a +word, they were to be, in purity, in industry, in neatness, in order, +and in patience and vigilance, the perfect impersonation of maidenly +virtue as exhibited in its own proper field of duty at home. + +The most awful penalties were visited upon the head of any vestal +virgin who was guilty of violating her vows. There is no direct +evidence what these penalties 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 side. In the +dungeon itself there was placed a table, a lamp, and a little food. +The descent was by a ladder which passed down through the pit. The +place of this terrible preparation for punishment was near one of the +gates of the city, and when all was ready the unhappy vestal was +brought forth, at the head of a great public 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 the 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 Vesta, +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 the sense in which Christian nations worship the +spiritual and eternal Jehovah--but rather as the embodiment of an +idea,--a principle,--as the 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. And if, +instead of the cap, they were to place a carved effigy of liberty +above, and to assemble for periodical celebrations below, with games, +and music, and banners, we should not probably call them idolaters. So +Christian poets write odes and invocations to Peace, to +Disappointment, to Spring, to Beauty, in which they impersonate an +idea, or a principle, and address it in the language of adoration, 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 the influence of the love of liberty on the +popular mind. It is possible that Æneas looked upon the subject in the +same light, in erecting a 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, of domestic honor and purity. We must remember that +they had not then the word of God, nor any means of communicating to +the minds of the people any general enlightenment 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 service 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 that the candidate, +besides the above-named 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 +however permitted this, there was a public sentiment 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 attendance at the temple, and died as they had lived in +the service of the goddess. + +One of the chief functions of the virgins, in their service in the +temple, was to keep the sacred fire perpetually burning. This fire was +never to go out, and if, by any neglect on the part of the vestal in +attendance, this was allowed to occur, the guilty maiden was punished +terribly by scourging. The punishment was inflicted by the hands of +the highest pontifical officer of the state. The laws of the +institution however evinced their high regard for the purity and +modesty of the vestal maidens by requiring that the blows should be +administered in the dark, the sufferer having been previously prepared +to receive them by being partially undressed by her female attendants. +The extinguished fire was then rekindled with many solemn ceremonies. + +Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus, was, we repeat, a vestal virgin. +She lived four hundred years after the death of Æneas. During these +four centuries, the kingdom had been governed by the descendants of +Æneas, generally in a peaceful and prosperous manner, although some +difficulties occurred in the establishment of the succession +immediately after Æneas's death. It will be remembered that Æneas was +drowned during the continuance of the war. He left one son, and +perhaps others. The one who figured most conspicuously in the +subsequent history of the kingdom, was Ascanius, the son who had +accompanied Æneas 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, whether, after all, Lavinia herself +was not entitled to the kingdom. It was doubtful, according to the +laws and usages of those days, whether Æneas held the realm in his own +right, or as the husband of Lavinia, who was the daughter and heir of +Latinus, the ancient and legitimate king. Lavinia, however, seemed to +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 knowing but that Ascanius would be suspicious 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 Trojans, and now, since he was no more, and +another, who was in some sense her rival, had risen to power, she +naturally felt insecure. She accordingly took the first opportunity to +retire from Lavinium. She went away into the forests in the interior +of the country, with a very few attendants and friends, and concealed +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 having been born in the midst +of the wild forest scenes which surrounded her at the time of his +birth, she called him in full, Æneas of the woods, or, as it was +expressed in the language which was then used in Latium, Æneas +Silvius. The boy, when he grew up, was always known by this name in +subsequent 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 Silvius affixed to their names, in perpetual commemoration of +the romantic birth of their ancestor. Rhea, the mother of Romulus, of +whom we have already spoken, and of whom we shall presently have +occasion to speak still more, was Rhea _Silvia_, by reason of her +having been by birth a princess of this royal line. + +Ascanius, in the mean time, on the death of his father, was 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. Mezentius had a son +named Lausus, 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. He 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 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 +terrific shouts and outcries. The whole detachment were taken entirely +by surprise, and great numbers were made prisoners or slain. Lausus +himself was killed. + +Excited by their victory, the Trojan soldiers, headed by Ascanius, now +turned their course toward the main body of the Rutulian army. +Mezentius had, however, in the mean time, obtained warning of their +approach, and when they reached his camp he was ready to retreat. He +fled with all his forces toward the mountains. Ascanius and the +Trojans followed him. Mezentius halted and attempted to fortify +himself on a hill. Ascanius surrounded the hill, and soon compelled +his enemies to come to terms. A treaty was made, and Mezentius and his +forces soon after withdrew 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 Latin portion of his subjects +seemed disposed to murmur and complain, at her having been compelled +to withdraw from her own paternal kingdom, in order to leave the +throne to the occupancy of the son of a stranger. Some even feared +that she had come to some harm, or that Ascanius 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 Lavinia's return. + +Ascanius seems to have been well disposed to 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 concluded to give up +Lavinium to her entirely, as her own rightful dominion, while 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 many miles distant from it. The +place which he marked out for the walls 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, rising abruptly on one +side, formed a sure defense on that side: on the other side was a +small 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 intended 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 which subsequently +grew there were luxurious and delicious in flavor. From the little +lake channels were cut leading over the plains below, and by this +means a constant supply of water could be conveyed to the fields of +grain which were to be sown there, for purposes of irrigation. Thus +the place which Ascanius chose furnished all possible facilities both +for maintaining, and also for defending the people who were to make it +their abode. The town was called 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. + +Ascanius 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 harmony. In process of time +both died. Ascanius left a son whose name was Iulus, while Æneas +Silvius 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 Æneas the Trojan became, by +conquest, the rightful sovereign of Latium, irrespective of any rights +that he acquired through his marriage with Lavinia, and that Iulus, as +the son of his eldest son, rightfully succeeded him. Others contended +that Lavinia represented the ancient and the truly legitimate royal +line, and that Æneas Silvius, as her son and heir, ought to be placed +upon the throne. And there were those who proposed to compromise the +question, by dividing Latium into two separate kingdoms, giving up one +part to Iulus, with Alba Longa for its capital, and the other, with +Lavinium for its capital, to Æneas Silvius, Lavinia's heir. This +proposition was, however, overruled. The two kingdoms, thus formed +would be small and feeble, it was thought, 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 Æneas +Silvius, being the son both of Æneas and Lavinia, and thus +representing both branches of the reigning power, should be the king, +while Iulus and his descendants forever, should occupy the position, +scarcely less inferior, of sovereign power in matters of religion. +Æneas Silvius, therefore, and his descendants, became _kings_, and as +such commanded the armies and directed the affairs of state, while +Iulus and his family were exalted, in connection with them, to the +highest pontifical dignities. + +This state of things, once established, continued age after age, and +century after century, for about four hundred years. No records, and +very few traditions in respect to what occurred during this period +remain. One circumstance, however, took place which caused itself to +be remembered. There was one king in the line of the Silvii, whose +name was Tiberinus. In one of his battles with the 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 was seen no more. By the accident, however, he gave the name of +Tiber to the stream, and thus perpetuated his own memory through the +subsequent renown of the river in which he was drowned. Before this +time the river was called the Albula. + +Another incident is related, which is somewhat 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 was 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 were not deceived by this imposture, +though they soon after fell into an error nearly as absurd 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 with 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 +considered 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 prerogative of supreme +divinity. In fact, the rumor circulated, and one historian has +recorded it as true, that Alladius was struck by the lightning 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 thunder, and to protect +themselves from its power; and now, since Franklin and Morse have +commenced the work of subduing the potent and mysterious agent in +which it originates, to the human 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 hundred years during which the +dynasty of the Silvii continued to reign over Latium, a certain +monarch of the series died, leaving two children, Numitor and Amulius. +Numitor was the eldest son, and as such entitled to succeed his +father. But he was of a quiet and somewhat inefficient disposition, +while his younger brother was ardent and ambitious, and very likely to +aspire to the possession of power. The father, it seems, anticipated +the possibility of dissension between his sons after his death, and in +order to do all in his power to guard against it, he endeavored to +arrange and settle the succession before he died. In the course of the +negotiations which ensued, Amulius proposed that his father's +possessions should be divided into two portions, the kingdom to +constitute one, and the wealth and treasures the other, and that +Numitor should choose which portion he would have. This proposal +seemed to have the appearance, at least, of reasonableness 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 +Amulius was, in effect, a proposition to divide with himself that +which really belonged wholly to his brother. + +Numitor, however, who, it seems, was little disposed to contend for +his rights, agreed to this proposal. He, however, chose the kingdom, +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 treasures, began to employ them +as a means of making powerful friends, and strengthening his political +influence. In due time he usurped the throne, and Numitor, giving up +the contest with very little attempt to resist the usurpation, fled +and concealed himself in some obscure place of retreat. He had, +however, two children, a son and a daughter, which he left behind him +in his 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 arrows, 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 Rhea--the Rhea 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 humanity to be +unwilling to shed the blood of a helpless and beautiful maiden, the +daughter, too, of his own brother. Then, besides, he had a daughter of +his own named Antho, who was the playmate and companion of Rhea, and +with whose affection for her cousin he must have felt some sympathy. +He would not, therefore, destroy the child, but contented himself +with determining to make her a vestal virgin. By this means she would +be solemnly set apart to a religious service, which would incapacitate +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 offspring 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 highest rank to be designated +to this office. The little Rhea, for she was 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 awful +sanctions--unconscious, however, perhaps, herself of what she was +doing--to lead thenceforth a life of absolute celibacy and seclusion. + +She was then received into the temple of Vesta, and there, with the +other maidens who had been consecrated before her, she devoted +herself to the discharge of the duties of her office, without +reproach, for several years. At length, however, certain circumstances +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. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE TWINS. + +B.C. 774-755 + +The temple of Mars at Alba.--Its situation.--Rhea's fault.--Her +excuse.--The wolf story.--Rhea in trouble.--Birth of her +sons.--Antho.--The anger of Amulius.--Rhea imprisoned.--Faustulus.--His +plan.--The box that he made.--He follows the stream.--The children +thrown out upon the sand.--The wolf.--The woodpecker.--The children +rescued by Faustulus.--He carries the children home.--Their +education.--The character of the boys.--Romulus and Remus are generous +and brave.--Quarrel among the herdsmen.--Remus is suddenly made +prisoner.--Heavy charges against Remus.--Remus before Numitor and +Amulius.--Remus gives an account of himself.--Numitor learns the +truth.--Romulus.--Romulus plans a rebellion.--Faustulus and the +arts.--Faustulus stopped at the gates of the city.--Faustulus is greatly +embarrassed.--Amulius is alarmed.--He sends for Numitor.--Romulus +assaults the city.--The revolt is successful.--Amulius is slain. + + +Although the temple of Vesta itself, at Alba Longa, was the principal +scene of the duties which devolved upon the vestal virgins, still they +were not wholly confined in their avocations to that sacred edifice, +but were often called upon, one or two at a time, to perform services, +or to assist in the celebration of rites, at other places in the city +and vicinity. + +[Illustration: RHEA SILVIA.] + +There was a temple consecrated to Mars near to Alba. It was situated +in an opening in the woods, in some little glen or valley at the base +of the mountain. There was a stream of water running through the +ground, and Rhea in the performance of her duties as a vestal was +required at one time to pass to and fro through the groves in this +solitary place to fetch water. Here she allowed herself, in violation +of her vestal vows, to form the acquaintance of a man, whom she met in +the groves. She knew well that by doing so she made herself subject +to the most dreadful penalties in case her fault should become known. +Still she yielded to the temptation, and allowed herself to be +persuaded to remain with the stranger. She said afterward, when the +facts were brought to light, that her meeting with this companion was +wholly unintentional 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 came to her there, to protect her, and then compelled her to +remain with him. Besides, from his dress, and countenance, and air, +she had believed him, she said, to be the God Mars himself, and +thought that it was not her 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 observed by her companions and friends that she began to appear +thoughtful and depressed. 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 Vestal +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 children +were born, at the time when her fault was first discovered. The laws +of the State in respect to vestal virgins, which were inexorably +severe, would have justified him in causing her to be executed at +once, but Antho interceded so earnestly for her unhappy cousin, that +Amulius for a time spared her life. When, however, her sons were born, +the anger of Amulius broke out anew. If she had remained childless he +would probably have allowed her to live, though she could of course +never have been restored to her office in the temple of Vesta. 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 existence 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 Rhea to be shut up in close imprisonment, 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 had resided in her retirement, and where the children +were born. + +A peasant of that region was intrusted with the task of throwing the +children into the river. Whether his official duty in undertaking this +commission required him actually to drown the boys, or whether 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 hollowed out from a +log,--and disposing their little limbs carefully within this narrow +receptacle, he pushed the frail boat, with its navigators still more +frail, out upon the current of the river. + +[Illustration: FAUSTULUS AND THE TWINS.] + +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 +Faustulus, too. In fact we might well suppose that no man, however +rustic and rude, could give his time and his thoughts to two such +babes long enough to make an ark for them, for the purpose of making +it possible to save their lives, and then place them carefully in it +to send them away, without becoming so far interested in their fate, +and so touched by their mute and confiding helplessness, as to feel +prompted to follow the stream to see how so perilous a navigation +would end. We have, however, no direct evidence that Faustulus did so +watch the progress of his 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 upon the sand. + +The neighboring thickets soon of course resounded 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 _instinct_, if incapable of a _sentiment_, of affection, to love +and to cherish any thing that is newly born. The wolf caressed the +helpless babes, imagining perhaps 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 approaching enemy or +danger. The rude nursery 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 were thrown +upon the land, the water began to subside. In a short time it wholly +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 says, 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 maternal attentions of +the wolf and the woodpecker were 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, but he brought home and preserved the trough in which they +had been floated down the river. He put this relic aside, thinking +that the day might perhaps come in which there would be occasion to +produce it. He told the story of the children only to a very few +trustworthy friends, and he accompanied the communication, 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 shepherd's sons. + +Faustulus felt a great degree of interest, and a high sense of +responsibility too, in having these young princes under his care. He +took great pains to protect them from all possible harm, and to +instruct them in every thing which it was in those days considered +important 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 intellectual 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. They were +prominent among the young herdsmen and hunters of the forest, for +their courage, their activity, their strength, their various personal +accomplishments, and their high and generous qualities of mind. +Romulus was more silent and thoughtful than his brother, and seemed to +possess in some respects superior mental powers. Both were regarded by +all who knew them with feelings of the highest respect and +consideration. + +Romulus and Remus treated their own companions and equals, that is the +young shepherds 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 independence of spirit in respect +to the various bailiffs and chief herdsmen, and other officers of +field and forest police, who exercised authority in the 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 exhibitions of their anger. In fact, +the boys seemed to be imbued with a native loftiness and fearlessness +of character, as if they had inherited a spirit of confidence and +courage with their royal blood, or had imbibed a portion 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 witnessed; they interposed to help +the feeble, to relieve those who were in want, and to protect 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 +athletic feats and accomplishments--in every thing excelling all their +competitors, and becoming in the end greatly renowned. + +Numitor, the father of Rhea Silvia, whom Amulius had dethroned and +banished from Alba, was all this time still living; and he had now at +length become so far reconciled to Amulius as to be allowed to reside +in Alba--though he lived there as a private citizen. He owned, it +seems, some estates near the Tiber, where he had flocks and herds that +were tended by his shepherds and herdsmen. It happened at one time +that some contention arose between the herdsmen of Numitor and those +of Amulius, among whom Romulus and Remus were residing. Now as the +young men had thus far, of course, no idea whatever of their +relationship to Numitor, there was no reason why they should feel any +special interest 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 Numitor 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 +together, to pursue the depredators and bring the cattle back. They +succeeded in this expedition, and recaptured the herd. This incensed +the party of Numitor, and they determined on revenge. + +They waited some time for a favorable opportunity. At length the time +came for celebrating a certain festival called the Supercalia, which +consisted of very rude games and ceremonies, in which men sacrificed +goats, and then dressed themselves partially in the skins, and ran +about whipping every one whom they met, with thongs made likewise of +the skins of goats, or of rabbits, or other animals remarkable for +their fecundity. The meaning of the ceremonies, so far as such uncouth +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 ensuing at the time that the +celebrations were held. + +The retainers and partisans of Numitor determined on availing +themselves of this opportunity to accomplish their object. +Accordingly, 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 +Numitor. + +Of course, this daring act produced great excitement throughout the +country. Numitor was well pleased with the prize that he had secured, +but felt, at the same time, some fear of the responsibility which he +incurred by holding the prisoner. He was strongly inclined to proceed +against Remus, and punish him himself for the offenses which the +herdsmen 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 accordingly sent Remus to +Amulius, making grievous charges against him, as a lawless desperado, +who, with his brother, Numitor said, were 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 +Numitor, saying that Numitor might punish the freebooter himself in +any way that he thought best. Remus was accordingly brought again to +Numitor's house. In the mean time, the fact of his being thus made a +prisoner, and charged with crime, and the proceedings in relation to +him, in sending him back and forth between Amulius and Numitor, +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 +infancy. 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 Numitor--who was really his grandfather, +though the fact of this relationship was wholly unknown to both of +them--Numitor was exceedingly struck with his handsome countenance and +form, and with his fearless and noble demeanor. The young prisoner +seemed perfectly self-possessed and at his ease; and though 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 Numitor's mind. It changed all his anger +against Remus to a feeling of wondering interest and curiosity, and +gave to his countenance, as he looked upon his prisoner, an expression +of kind and tender regard. After a short pause Numitor addressed the +young captive--speaking in a gentle and conciliating 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 supposed ourselves to be +the children of Faustulus; but now, since this difficulty has +occurred, we have heard new tidings in respect to our origin. We are +told that we were found in our infancy, on the shore of the river, at +the place where Faustulus lives, and that near by 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 us and bringing us food. Faustulus carried us to his +house, and brought us up as his children. He preserved the trough, +too, and has it now." + +Numitor 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 precisely with the exposure of the children of Rhea +Silvia as to leave no reasonable ground for doubt that Romulus and +Remus were his grandsons. He resolved immediately to communicate this +joyful discovery to his daughter, if he could contrive the means of +gaining access 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 +capture 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 his brother, on the +bank of the river, but also had made known to him whose sons he and +Remus were. Romulus was, of course, extremely elated at this +intelligence. His native courage 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 Remus from his power, and afterward taking such +ulterior steps as circumstances might require. + +Faustulus, on the other hand, leaving Romulus to raise the forces for +his insurrection as he pleased, determined to go himself to Numitor +and reveal the secret of the birth of Romulus and Remus to him. In +order to confirm 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 officers on guard +there. He wore the dress of a countryman, and had obviously come in +from the forests, a long way; and there was something in his air +which denoted hurry and agitation. The soldiers asked him what he had +under his cloak, and compelled him to produce 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 happened 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 discovered. 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 identical ark or float, which to his certain knowledge 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 at receiving this +intelligence. He ordered Faustulus to be brought into his presence. +Faustulus was much terrified at receiving this summons. He had but +little time to reflect what to say, and during the few minutes that +elapsed while they were conducting him into the presence of the king, +he found it hard to determine how much it would be best for him to +admit, and how much to deny. Finally, 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. Faustulus +said that he was going to carry it to Rhea in her prison, she having +often expressed a strong desire to see it, as a token or memorial +which would recall the dear babes that had lain in it very vividly to +her mind. + +Amulius seemed satisfied that these statements were honest and true, +but they awakened in his mind a very great solicitude and anxiety. He +feared that the children, being still alive, might some day come to +the knowledge of their origin, and so disturb his possession 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 people, he feared, would be very much inclined to +take part with them, and not with him, in any contest which might +arise; for their sympathies were already on the side of Numitor. 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 inquire of him whether he was +aware that the boys were still alive, and if so, if he knew where they +were to be found. He accordingly sent a messenger to his brother, +commissioned to make these inquiries. This messenger, though in the +service of Amulius, was really a friend to Numitor, and on being +admitted to Numitor's presence, when he went to make the inquiries as +directed by the king, he found Remus 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 prince. "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 possession 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 and +herdsmen 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 weapons, while the huntsmen brought their pikes, and +spears, and javelins, and such other projectiles as were employed in +those days in hunting wild beasts. The troop was divided into +companies of one hundred, and for banners they bore tufts of grass on +wisps 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 Remus 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 Romulus and Remus were masters of the country. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE FOUNDING OF ROME. + +B.C. 754 + +The people of Alba Longa called together.--The address of Numitor to +the citizens.--Romulus and Remus come forward.--Plan for building a new +city.--Numitor is to render the necessary aid.--Great numbers flock +together to build the city.--The seven hills.--The Palatine +hill.--Difference of opinion between Romulus and Remus.--Advantages of +the Aventine hill.--Perfect equality of the two brothers.--Both +determined not to yield.--The brothers appeal to Numitor.--His +proposal.--The vultures of the Appenines.--Their function.--Powers of +the vulture.--Auguries.--Romulus and Remus take their +stations.--Result.--New dispute.--An open collision.--Faustulus +killed.--Romulus is victorious.--The building of the city goes +on.--Plowing the pomoerium.--Form of the enclosure.--The death of +Remus.--The institution of the Lemuria.--Description of the +ceremonies.--The black beans.--State of Rome after the death of +Remus.--The story of Celer.--Probable explanation of it. + + +As soon as the excitement and the agitations which attended the sudden +revolution by 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. + +Numitor accordingly convened a general assembly of the inhabitants of +Alba, in a public square. The rude and rustic mountaineers and +peasants whom Romulus had brought to the city came with the rest. +Romulus and Remus themselves did not at first appear. Numitor, when +the audience was assembled, came forward to address them. He gave them +a recital of all the events connected with the usurpation of Amulius. +He 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 intrigues by which +Amulius had contrived to possess himself of the kingdom and reduce +him, Numitor, into subjection to his sway,--of his causing Egestus, +Numitor'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 +Romulus and Remus, the anger of Amulius when informed of the event, +his cruel treatment 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 his 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, Romulus and Remus 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, Romulus and +Remus turned to their grandfather and hailed him king. The people +responded to this announcement with new plaudits, and Numitor 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 fellow +foresters, that they and their followers made a somewhat rude and wild +appearance in the city, and Numitor was very willing, when the state +of things had become somewhat settled, that his rustic auxiliaries +should find some occasion for withdrawing from the capital and +returning again to their own native fastnesses. Romulus and Remus, +however, having now learned that they were entitled 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 grandfather to wish to deprive him of the +government. After some deliberation a plan was devised which promised +to gratify the wishes of all. + +The plan was this, namely, that Numitor should set apart a place in +his kingdom of Latium where Romulus and Remus might build a city for +themselves,--taking with them to the spot the whole horde of their +retainers. The place which he designated for this purpose 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 building a city upon it was one exactly suited to engage +the attention and occupy the powers of such restless spirits as those +who had collected 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. But then there were many others of +a very turbulent and unmanageable 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 robbery; and who had seized upon the +occasion furnished by the insurrection against Amulius to come forth +into the world again. Criminals 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 +ordinarily only a legal organization of crime. + +Romulus and Remus entered into their grandfather's plan with great +readiness. Numitor promised to aid them in their enterprise by every +means in his power. He was to furnish tools and implements, for +excavations and building, and artisans so far as artisans were +required, and was also to provide such temporary supplies of +provisions 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 Remus in their undertaking, and they, in order to increase +their numbers as much as possible, sent messengers around to the +neighboring country inviting all who were disposed, to come and take +part in the building of the new city. This invitation was accepted by +great numbers of people, from every rank and station in life. + +Of course, however, the greater portion of those who came to join the +enterprise, were of a very low grade in respect to moral character. +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 +building of a new city, under such circumstances, must necessarily be. +It was of course generally the discontented, the idle, and the bad, +that would hope for benefit from such a change as this enterprise +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 their +relations to society, and thus afford them 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 +responsibility for former crimes. In a word, in preparing to lay the +foundations of their city, Romulus 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 elevations 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. Romulus 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 hill itself might be fortified to form the citadel. The wall and +the steep acclivity of the ground would form a protection on three +sides of the inclosure, while the morass alone would be a sufficient +defense on the part toward the river. Then Romulus 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. + +[Illustration: SITUATION OF ROME.] + +Remus, however, did not concur in these views. A little farther down +the stream there was another elevation called the Aventine Hill, which +seemed to him more suitable for the site of a town. The sides were +less precipitous, and thus were more convenient for building ground. +Then the land in the immediate vicinity was better adapted to the +purposes which they had in view. In a word, the Aventine Hill was, as +Remus 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 circumstance, +wholly unworthy of being taken seriously into the account in laying +the foundation of a city. + +The positions in which Remus and Romulus 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 imperious. Each was conscious of +his strength, and eager to exercise it. Each wished to command, and +was wholly unwilling to obey. While they were in adversity, they clung +together for mutual help and protection; but now, when they had come +into the enjoyment of prosperity and power, the bands of affection +which had bound them together were very much weakened, and were +finally sundered. 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 degree, without +wounding his pride. If one had been more prominent than the other in +effecting the revolution by which Amulius was dethroned, or if there +had been a native difference of temperament or character to mark a +distinction, or if either had been designated by Numitor, 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 +whatever. They were twins, so that neither could claim any advantage +of birthright. They were equal in size, strength, activity, and +courage. They had been equally bold and efficient in effecting the +revolution; and now they seemed equally powerful in respect to the +influence which they wielded over the minds of their followers. We +have been so long accustomed to consider Romulus the 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 between them thus far, but now, since the advent 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 expressed his preference in +respect to the best place for the city, were equally unwilling to +recede from the ground which they had taken. Remus thought that there +was no reason why he should yield to Romulus, and Romulus was equally +unwilling to give way to Remus. Neither could yield, in fact, without +in some sense admitting the superiority of the other. The respective +partisans of the two leaders began to take sides, and the dissension +threatened to become a serious quarrel. Finally, being not yet quite +ready for an open rupture, they concluded to refer the question to +Numitor, and to abide by his decision. 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 Numitor was too sagacious to hazard the responsibility of deciding +between two such equally matched and powerful opponents. 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 will 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 watching the flight of birds +through the air. + +It was agreed between Remus and Romulus, in accordance with the advice +of Numitor, that the question at issue between them should be decided +in this way. They were to take their stations on the two hills +respectively--the Palatine and the Aventine, and watch for vultures. +The homes of the vultures of Italy were among the summits of the +Appenines, and their function in the complicated economy of animal +life, was to watch from the lofty peaks of the mountains, or from the +still more aërial 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 Numitor's time. + +To enable the vulture to accomplish the work assigned him, he is +endowed with an inconceivable 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 some +mysterious and extraordinary sense, whether of sight or smell, to +enable him readily to find, at any hour, the spot where his presence +is required, however remote or however hidden it may be. Guided by +this instinct, 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 flight 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 Numitor's +day were accustomed to look for omens and auguries. So Romulus and +Remus took their stations on the hills which they had severally +chosen, each surrounded by a company 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 the omens +which should appear to the respective observers 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 +distinctness 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 interpretations. When Remus and +Romulus commenced their watch no vultures were to be seen from either +hill. They waited till evening, 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. Remus 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 twelve by Romulus. The observations were then +suspended, and the parties came together to confer in respect to the +result; but the dispute instead of being settled, was found to be in a +worse condition than ever. The point now to be determined was whether +six vultures seen first, or twelve seen afterward, were the better +omen, that is whether numbers, or simple priority of appearance, +should decide the question. In contending in respect to this nice +point the brothers became more angry with each other than ever. Their +respective partisans took sides in the contest, which resulted finally +in an open and violent collision. Romulus and Remus themselves seem to +have commenced the affray by attacking one another. Faustulus, their +foster-father, who, from having had the care of them from their +earliest infancy, felt for them an almost parental affection, rushed +between them to prevent them from shedding each other's blood. He was +struck down and killed on the spot, by some unknown hand. A brother of +Faustulus too, named Plistinus, who had lived near to him, and had +known the boys from their infancy, and had often assisted in taking +care 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 show that Romulus and his party were the strongest. +Romulus accordingly went on to build the walls of the city at the spot +which he 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 _pomoerium_. 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 retreat for +safety within the proper walls. + +So Romulus proceeded to mark out the pomoerium of the city, +employing in the work the ceremonies customary on such occasions. The +plow used was made of copper, and for a team to draw it a bullock and +a heifer were yoked together. Men appointed for the purpose 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 where 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 unbroken. +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 passed in a manner that would very seriously +interfere with its usefulness as a public road. + +The form of the space inclosed by the pomoerium, as Romulus plowed +it, was nearly square, and it included not merely the Palatine hill +itself, but a considerable portion of level land around it. + +Though Romulus thus seemed to have conquered, in the strife with +Remus, the difficulty was not yet fully settled. Remus was very little +disposed to acquiesce in his brother's assumed superiority over him. +He was sullen, morose, and ill at ease, and was inclined to take +little part in the proceedings which were going on. Finally an +occasion occurred 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 brother's plans; and finally he began to speak +contemptuously of the wall which the workmen were building. Romulus +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, saying, "This is the way the enemy will leap over your wall." +Hereupon Romulus seized a mattock from the hands of one of the +laborers, 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 so great for a time that he +refused all food, and he could not sleep. He caused the dead body of +Remus, and also those of Faustulus and of Plistinus, the brother of +Faustulus, to be buried with the most solemn and imposing funeral +ceremonies, so as to render all possible honor to their memory; and +then, not satisfied with this, he instituted and celebrated certain +religions 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 +celebration which Romulus 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 Lemuria, as afterward +performed, were frequently described by Roman writers, and they were +of a very curious and extraordinary character. The time for the +celebration of these rites was in May, the anniversary, as was +supposed, of the days in which Romulus originally celebrated them. +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 accustomed, as was supposed, to roam about the world +to haunt and terrify men. + +The ceremonies performed on these occasions 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 signals 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 fondness. Being thus provided he would walk along, +taking the beans out of his mouth as he walked, and throwing them +behind him. The specters were supposed to gather up these beans as he +threw them down. He must, however, by no means look round to see them. +He then, 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 abundantly 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 such as these, Romulus had +appeased the spirit of his brother, and those of the guardians of his +childhood, his mind became more composed, and he turned his attention +once more toward the building of the city. The party of Remus 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. +Romulus became the sole leader of the enterprise, and immediately +turned his attention to the measures 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 circulated in Rome 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 Romulus +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 Remus had been;--a brother who had shared his +infancy with 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 atrocious than any ordinary fratricide, as Remus had been nearer +to Romulus than any ordinary brother. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ORGANIZATION. + +B.C. 754 + +Discussion in respect to ancient dates.--Difficulties.--Nature of +tradition.--Extreme youth of Romulus.--Varro's astrological +calculation.--Ingenuity of it.--Olympiads.--The race of +Coroebus.--The result of Varro's computation.--Probable character +of the first constructions at Rome.--Romulus convenes an assembly +of the people.--The speech of Romulus.--His proposals.--The three +forms of government.--Romulus himself made king.--Divine intimation +in his favor.--Commencement of his reign.--Probable origin of the +Roman institutions.--Republican character of the government.--Patricians +and plebians.--Patrons and clients.--Duration of the reign of +Romulus.--Usages.--Difficulty of immediately organizing such a +community.--Importance of the parental and family relation.--The father +a magistrate.--The marriage tie.--Religions ceremonies.--Auguries.--The +three augurs.--Various kinds of omens.--Station of the augurs.--Thunder +and lightning.--Birds.--Nature of the ancient superstition.--Results of +the arrangements made by Romulus.--The asylum on the Capitoline +hill. + + +There has been a great deal of philosophical discussion, and much +debate, among historians and chronologists, in attempting to fix the +precise year in which Romulus commenced the building of Rome. The +difficulty arises from the fact that no regular records of public +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 +transactions. 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,--which, the more strange and romantic they are, +the better they 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 Rhea, supposing such an event to have actually +happened, she remembered well, and repeated the narrative of +it--adorning it, doubtless, with many embellishments--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 romance of the story, and +thus it was neglected and forgotten. + +In subsequent times, however, when regular 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 be about +the year 754 before Christ. As to Romulus himself, the tradition is +that he was but eighteen or twenty years old when he commenced the +building of it. If this is true, his extreme youth goes far to +palliate some of the wrongs which he 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 Roman philosopher, named Varro, who lived some centuries +after the building of the city, conceived of a very ingenious plan for +discovering the year in which Romulus was born. It was this. By means +of the science of astrology, as practiced in those days, certain +learned magicians used to predict what 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 Varro was to +reverse this process in the case of Romulus; that is, to deduce from +the known facts of his history what must have been the relative +situations of the planets and stars when he came into the world! He +accordingly applied to a noted astrologer to work out the problem for +him. Given, a history of the incidents and events occurring to the man +in 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 +appeared in Romulus's subsequent history. When the astrologer had thus +ascertained the condition of the skies at the time in question, the +_astronomers_, as Varro concluded, could easily calculate the month +and the year when the combination must have occurred. + +Now, 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 Coroebus, from which +event originated the Olympian games, which were afterward celebrated +every four years, and which in subsequent ages became so renowned. The +time when Coroebus ran his race, and thus furnished an era for all +the subsequent chronologists and historians of his country, is +generally regarded as about the year 776 before Christ; and the result +of the calculations of Varro'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 Olympiad would be 772; +this would make the time of his birth 772 before Christ; and then +deducting eighteen years more, for the age of Romulus when he began to +build his wall, we have 754 before Christ as the era of the foundation +of Rome. This method of determining a point in chronology seems so +absurd, according to the ideas of the present day, that we can hardly +resist the conclusion, that Varro, in making his investigation, was +really guided by other and more satisfactory modes of determining the +point, and that the horoscope was not what he actually relied upon. +However this may be, the era which he fixed upon has been very +generally received, though many others have been proposed by the +different learned men who have successively investigated the question. + +According to the accounts given by the early writers, the +constructions which Romulus and his companions made were of a very +rude and simple character; 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 palace, for there was +a building erected for Romulus 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 +material 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 time, to +all observers, a very rude and imperfect 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 years 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 chieftain +exercising an undefined and temporary power; for as soon as the huts +were built and the inclosures made, he is said to have convened an +assembly of the people, for consultation in respect to the plan of +government that they should form. Romulus introduced the business of +this meeting by a speech appropriate to the occasion, which speech is +reported by an ancient historian somewhat as follows. Whether Romulus +actually spoke the words thus attributed to him, or whether the +report contains only what the reporter himself imagined him to say, +there is now no means of knowing. + +"We have now," said Romulus, 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 required to depend for protection +against a serious 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 +dependence must be after all on the men within the city, and not on +the ramparts and entrenchments which surround it, whatever those +ramparts 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 government under which order and discipline may come in, +to control and direct our energies, and prepare us to meet whatever +future exigencies 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 various modes of +government adopted among men, and between these we have now to decide. +Shall our commonwealth be governed by one man? Or shall we select a +certain number of the wisest and bravest of the citizens, and commit +the administration of public affairs to them? Or, in the third place, +shall we commit the management of the government 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 followed, after the delivery of +this address, was that the government of the state should be, like the +government of Alba, under which the followers of Romulus had been +born, a monarchy; and that Romulus himself should be king. He was a +prince by birth, an inheritor of regal rank and power, by regular +succession, from a line of kings. He had shown himself, too, by his +deeds, to be worthy of power. He was courageous, energetic, sagacious, +and universally esteemed. It was decided 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 Romulus to the throne, he evinced, as the story +goes, the proper degree of that reluctance and hesitation which a +suitable regard to appearances seems in all ages to require 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 instituting certain solemn religious ceremonies, during +the progress of which he hoped to receive some manifestation of the +divine will. These ceremonies consisted principally of sacrifices +which he caused to be offered on the plain near the city. While +Romulus was engaged in these services, the expected token of the +divine approval appeared in a supernatural light which shone upon his +hand. At least it was _said_ that such a light was seen, and the +appearing 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 attention 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. Vast numbers of +the people were of the humblest and most degraded condition, +consisting of ignorant peasants, some stupid, others turbulent and +ungovernable; and of refugees from justice, such as thieves, robbers, +and outlaws of every degree. But then, on the other hand, there were +many persons of standing and respectability. The sons of families of +wealth and influence in Alba had, in many cases, joined the +expedition, and at last, when 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 Romulus found +himself, when he formally assumed the kingly power, at the head of a +community which contained the elements of a very respectable +commonwealth. These elements were, however, thus far all mingled +together in complete confusion, 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 formally introduced by +Romulus at the outset, but that they gradually grew up in the progress +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 celebrating the antiquity and +dignity of their origin. + +The institutions which Romulus actually founded, were of a very +republican character, if the accounts of subsequent writers are to be +believed. He established, it is true, a gradation 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 purpose the oldest and most distinguished of their number. It is +probable, in fact, that Romulus 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 appointed, +ninety-nine in number, namely, nine heads of tribes and ninety heads +of counties. Romulus himself added one to the number, of his own +independent selection, which made the hundredth. The men thus chosen, +constituted what was called the senate. They formed the great +legislative council of the nation. They and the families descending +from them became, in subsequent times, an aristocratic and privileged +class, called the Patricians. The remaining portion of the population +were called Plebeians. + +The Plebeians comprised, of course, the industrial 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 patrons +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 were to reward, to protect, and to defend the clients. All +these arrangements Romulus is said to have ordained by his enactments, +and thus introduced as elements in the social constitution of the +state. It is more probable, however, that instead of being thus +expressly established, by the authority of Romulus as a lawgiver, they +gradually grew up of themselves, perhaps with some fostering +attention and care on his part, and possibly under some positive +regulation of law. For such important and complicated relations as +these are not of a nature to be easily called into existence and +action, in an extended and unorganized community, by the mere fiat of +a military chieftain. + +Perhaps, however, it is not intended by the ancient historians, in +referring all these complicated arrangements of the Roman civil polity +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 formal and positive enactments, he may have gradually +introduced the arrangements ascribed to him, as _usages_ which he +fostered and encouraged,--confirming and sanctioning them from time to +time, when occasion required, by edicts and laws. + +However this may have been, it is certain that Romulus, in the course +of his reign, laid the foundation of the future greatness and glory of +Rome, by the energy with which he acted in introducing order, system, +and discipline 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 disorder 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. Romulus +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 +work of organizing it. The great leading objects of his life, from the +time that he commenced the government of the new city, were to arrange +and regulate social institutions, to establish laws, to introduce +discipline, to teach and accustom men to submit to authority, and to +bring in the requirements of law, and the authority of the various +recognized relations of social life, to control and restrain the +wayward impulses of the natural heart. + +As a part of this system of policy, he laid great stress upon the +parental and family relation. He saw in the tie which binds the father +to the child and the child to the father, a natural 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 upon +them, at an age when they most need control. He clothed parents, +therefore, with authority to fulfill this function, considering 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 Romulus, was more complete, and was protracted to a +later period than was the case 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 +only 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 guilty 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 legislator to sustain +the sacredness and to magnify the importance of the family tie; and to +avail himself of those instinctive principles of obligation 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 action of his rude community. + +He devoted great attention too to the institutions of religion. He +knew well that such lawless and impetuous spirits as his could never +be fully subdued and held in proper subordination to the rules of +social order and moral duty, without the influence of motives drawn +from the spiritual 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 ceremonies which he instituted seem puerile +to us, but they were full of meaning and of efficacy in the view of +those who performed them. There was, for example, a class of religious +functionaries called _augurs_, whose office it was to interpret the +divine will by means of certain 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 propitious the work was entered +upon with vigor and confidence. If otherwise, it was postponed 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 offered in sacrifice, sometimes from the +appearance of birds in the sky, their numbers or the direction of +their flight, and sometimes from the forms of clouds, the appearance +of the lightning, and the sound of the thunder. Whenever the augurs +were to take the auspices from any of the signs of the sky, the +process was this. They would go with solemn ceremony 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 purpose, one of the number would determine +and indicate the four quarters of the heaven, pointing out in a solemn +manner the directions 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 from the thunder that the auspices were to be taken, the augur +would listen to hear 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 appeared 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 inferences 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 government of Romulus vainly +endeavored to ascertain the will of heaven in respect 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 +influence and ascendency over the minds of the people, by a sincere +veneration on their part for some unseen and spiritual 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 Romulus soon produced order +out of confusion within his little commonwealth. The enterprise which +he had undertaken and the great success which had thus far followed +it, attracted great attention, and he soon found that great numbers +began to come in 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 indiscriminately +into the city would be to endanger 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 remain 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 attractive place for all the +vagabonds, outlaws, thieves and robbers of the country. Romulus +welcomed them all, and as fast as they came he busied himself with +plans to furnish them with employment and subsistence. He enlisted +some of them in his army. Some he employed to cultivate the ground in +the territory belonging to the city. Others were engaged 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 Rome together. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +WIVES. + +B.C. 751 + +The rape of the Sabines.--Narrative of it.--The population of Rome +chiefly men.--Necessity of providing wives for them.--Romulus sends +embassadors to the surrounding states.--Insulting replies.--Anger of +the Romans.--Great discovery made by Romulus.--His plan.--Plans for +the festival.--Races, games, and shows.--A great concourse assembles +at the fair.--The spectacles continue several weeks.--The last day of +the fair.--Signal to be made by Romulus.--Excitement of the +Romans.--Final preparations.--The moment arrives.--The maidens +seized.--The men fly.--The Romans secure the captive maidens.--An +incident.--A captive "for Thalassius."--The phrase "for Thalassius" +becomes a proverb.--Resentment of the fathers and brothers of the +maidens.--The captives called together in the morning.--Address made +to them by Romulus.--Acquiescence of the captives.--Cures.--The Sabines +demand the restoration of the captives.--Romulus refuses to restore +them.--Ceremony in commemoration of these events. + + +Every reader who has made even the smallest beginning in the study of +ancient history, must be acquainted, in general, with the mode which +Romulus 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 described it contrived to soften the character of it, +and to divest it in a great measure of the repulsive features which +might have been supposed 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 Romulus and his government, but also great +moderation and humanity. The circumstances, as the historians relate +them, were these: + +As might naturally be supposed from the manner in which 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 entirely 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 community 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 generation should have passed away there might be +another to succeed it. And, thirdly, for the preservation of order and +law. Men unmarried are, in the mass, proverbially ungovernable. +Nothing is so effectual in keeping 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 children to fear for, and +so they fear nothing, but give themselves up, in times of public +excitement, to the wildest impulses of passion. Romulus 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 embassadors around to +the neighboring states, soliciting alliances with them, and +stipulations allowing of intermarriages between his people and theirs. +The proposal seemed not unreasonable, and it was made in an unassuming +and respectful manner. In the message which Romulus commissioned the +embassadors to deliver, he 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 distant when the new +state would be able fully to reciprocate such favors as it might now +receive. + +The neighboring kings to whom these embassages 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 +encampment 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 tumultuously as it had been formed. They accordingly sent back +word to Romulus that he must resort 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 would come flocking +to him then, they 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 clamorous for +war. They wished Romulus to lead them out against some of these cities +at once, and allow them at the same time to revenge the insults which +they had received, and to provide themselves with wives by violence, +since they could not obtain them by solicitation. But Romulus +restrained their ardor, saying that they must do nothing rashly, and +promising 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 Rome, with a view of +seizing some favorable occasion for capturing the women while they +were there, and driving the men away. The difficulty in the way of the +execution of this plan was obviously to induce the people to come, and +especially to bring the young women with them. The native timidity of +the maidens, joined to the contemptuous feelings which their fathers +and brothers cherished, in regard to every thing 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 produced 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 Neptune, 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. +Romulus attached great importance to the event. The altar had +undoubtedly been built, he thought, by the ancient inhabitants of the +country, and the finding it was a very momentous occurrence. It was +proper that the occasion should be solemnized by suitable religious +observances. + +Accordingly, arrangements were made for a grand celebration. In +addition to the religious rites, Romulus 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 articles 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 vogue in those times. The celebration was to +continue for many days, and the games and sports were to come at the +end. Romulus sent messengers to all the surrounding country to +proclaim the programme of these entertainments, and to invite every +body to come; and he adroitly arranged the details in such a manner +that the chief attractions for grave, sober-minded and substantial 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. + +When the time arrived the spectacles commenced. 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 construction as they were, far surpassed +the expectations they had formed. The visitors were treated with great +hospitality, and entertained in a manner which, considering the +circumstances of the case, was quite sumptuous. 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 company. The men +ceased to be suspicious and watchful. Some went home, and carried such +reports of the new city, and of the kindness, and hospitality, and +gentle behavior of the inhabitants, that new visitors came continually +to see for themselves. Every day the proportion 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 Romulus 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 accidental 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 general seizure +which he knew was coming, in making 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 terrified, 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 have arranged. The time for +the final execution 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 signal. 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 proper moment had +arrived, he was 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 unfolding it again. This mantle was a sort +of badge of royalty and was gayly adorned with purple stripes upon a +white ground. It was well adapted, therefore, to the purpose of being +used as a signal, inasmuch as any motions that were made with it could +be very easily seen. + +Every thing being thus arranged, the assembly was convened, and the +games and spectacles went on. The Romans were full of excitement and +trepidation, each one having 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 off their guard, and wholly at their ease--having +no suspicion whatever of the mine that was ready to be sprung beneath +them. The wives, mothers, and children, too, were all safe, as well as +unsuspicious of danger; for Romulus 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 intercourse which they +had enjoyed with their guests, 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 Romans +immediately drew their swords, and rushed forward, each to secure his +own prize. A scene of the greatest excitement and confusion ensued. +The whole company of visitors perceived of course that some great act +of treachery was perpetrated upon them, but they were wholly in the +dark in respect 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 prevailed. 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 object 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 with +their prizes, and secured them within the walls of the city. + +In reading this extraordinary story, we naturally 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 assailants. Did they resist and struggle to get +free, or did they yield themselves without much opposition to their +fate? That they did not resist effectually is plain, for the Roman +young men succeeded in carrying them away, and securing them. It may +be that they attempted 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 very formidable opposition to any attempt to abduct +her by any single man, when she is thoroughly in earnest about it. How +it was in fact in this case we have no direct information, and we have +consequently no means of forming 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 +beautiful girl--one of some note and consideration, too, among her +countrywomen--and were carrying 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 plebeians, +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!_" which means "For Thalassius, 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 Thalassius. Now 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 beautiful +lady was intended for him, they acquiesced immediately, and desisted +from their attempt to recapture 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 manoeuver, 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 ceremony. + +Romulus had issued most express and positive orders that the young +captives should be 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 +them to the places of security previously designated. They suffered +undoubtedly a greater or less degree of distress and terror,--but +finding 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 brothers +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 perpetrators 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 captives, and were soon eagerly engaged in forming and +discussing all possible plans for rescuing and recovering them. Thus +the night was passed in agitation and excitement, both within 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 countrymen. + +When the morning came, Romulus ordered the captive maidens to be all +brought together before him in order that he 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 affection 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 been +accustomed to experience under your fathers' roofs. The brief coercion +which we have employed for the purpose of securing you in the first +instance,--a coercion which we were compelled to resort to by the +necessity of the case,--is the only rudeness to which you will ever +be exposed. Forgive us then for this one liberty which we have taken, +and consider that the fault, whatever fault in it there may be, is not +ours, but that of your fathers and brothers who rejected our offers +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 positions 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 countenances animated with excitement and pleasure. The maidens +themselves seemed much inclined to yield to their fate. Their +resentment 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 seemed gradually to come to the conclusion, +that considering all the circumstances of the case their abductors +were not so much in fault after all. In a short time an excellent +understanding 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 capital of the +Sabines was a city called Cures. Cures was about twenty miles from +Rome.[E] + +[Footnote E: See map of Latium, page 134.] + +The Sabines, in deliberating on the course which they should pursue in +the emergency, found themselves in a situation of great perplexity. In +the first place the impulse which urged 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 might 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 +exposed and they were by no means certain, in case a war should be +commenced between them and the Romans, how it would end. Their own +population was much divided, being scattered over the territory, or +settled in various cities and towns which were but slightly fortified, +and consequently were much exposed 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 whole, to try the influence of gentle measures, before resorting +to open war. + +They therefore sent an embassy to Romulus, to remonstrate in strong +terms against the wrong which the Romans had done them by their +treacherous violence, and to demand that the young women should be +restored. "If you will restore them to us now," said they, "we will +overlook the affront which you have put upon us, and make peace with +you; and we will enter into an alliance with you so that hereafter +your people and ours may be at liberty to intermarry in a fair and +honorable way, but we can not submit to have our daughters taken away +from us by treachery and force." + +Reasonable as this proposition seems, Romulus 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 complained 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 consummated, could +not now be annulled. + +The Sabines, on their part, could not accede to these proposals. +Being, however, still reluctant to commence hostilities, they +continued the negotiations--though while engaged in them they seemed +to anticipate an unfavorable issue, for they were occupied all the +time in organizing troops, strengthening the defenses of their +villages and towns, and making 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 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 weddings. For always, in future years, when +the new-married wife was 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 commemorating by this +ceremony the coercion which had signalized the original marriages of +his ancestors, the founders of Rome. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE SABINE WAR. + +B.C. 750-746 + +King Acron.--Cænina.--Its distance from Rome.--Acron's hostility to +the new city.--His plans.--Romulus and Acron meet on the +field.--Anticipations of the spectators.--Romulus victorious.--Results +of his victory.--Subsequent policy of the Romans.--The trophy of the +victory.--First Roman triumph.--Annexation of more cities.--Women +summoned.--The address of Romulus.--His promises.--Generous policy +pursued by Romulus.--Enlargement of the city.--Plans of the +Sabines.--They mature their preparations.--Titus Tatius.--Preparations +of the Romans.--Final negotiations.--The Roman herdsmen.--Flocks and +herds called in.--The citadel.--Tarpeia.--The Campus Martius.--Parley +with Tarpeia.--Agreement made with Tarpeia.--The Sabines +admitted.--Tarpeia killed.--The two armies meet on the plain.--A truce +to bury the dead.--Fresh combats.--Romulus in great personal +danger.--The story of Curtius.--The lake.--Distress of the Sabine +women.--Their perplexity.--The plan of Hersilia.--The women admitted to +the senate house.--Arrangements for the intercession of the women.--The +address of Hersilia.--Effect of it.--Conditions and terms of peace. + + +While the negotiations with the Sabines were still pending, Romulus +became involved in another difficulty, which for a time assumed a very +threatening aspect. This difficulty was a war which broke out, +somewhat suddenly, in consequence of the invasion of the Roman +territories by a neighboring chieftain named Acron. Acron was the +sovereign of a small state, whose capital was a town called Cænina.[F] +This Cænina is supposed 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 afterward became so extended and so renowned, +were originally performed, and how intrinsically insignificant they +were, in themselves, though momentous in the extreme in respect to the +consequences that flowed from them. + +[Footnote F: See Map of Latium, page 134.] + +Acron was a bold, energetic, and determined man, who had already +acquired great fame by his 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 formidable 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, however, were +so unwilling to proceed to extremities, and spent so much time in +negotiations and embassies, that Acron's patience was at length wholly +exhausted by the delays, and he resolved to undertake the +extermination of the new colony himself alone. + +So he gathered together a rude and half-organized army, and advanced +toward Rome. Romulus, who had been informed of his plans and +preparations, went out to meet him. The two armies came in view of +each other on an open plain, not far from the city. Romulus advanced +at the head of his troops, while Acron appeared likewise in the +fore-front of the invaders. After uttering in the hearing of each +other, and of the assembled armies, various 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 champions. Romulus and Acron accordingly advanced into the +middle of the field, while their armies drew up around them, forming a +sort of ring within which the combatants were to engage. + +The interest which would be naturally felt by such an encounter, was +increased very much by the strong contrast that was observed in the +appearance of the warriors. Romulus was very young, and though tall +and athletic in form, his countenance exhibited still the expression +of softness and delicacy 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 they saw +the combatants as they came forward to engage, anticipated a very +unequal contest. Romulus was nevertheless victorious. As he went into +the battle, he 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 would +set up the arms and spoils of Acron at Rome, 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 Romulus prevailed in the combat. At all events, he did +prevail. Acron was slain, and while Romulus was stripping the fallen +body of its armor on the field, his men were pursuing 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. + +Cænina was not in a condition to make any defense, and it was readily +taken. When the city was thus in the power of Romulus, he called the +inhabitants together, and said to them, that he cherished no hostile +or resentful feelings toward them. On the contrary, he wished to have +them his allies and friends, and he promised them, that if they would +abandon Cænina, and go with him to Rome, they should all be received +as brothers, and be at once incorporated into the Roman state, and +admitted to all the privileges of citizens. The people of Cænina, 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 annexation of his dominions to the +Roman commonwealth, are considered of great historical importance, as +the original type and exemplar 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 organization almost encircled the world. + +Romulus faithfully fulfilled the vow which he had made to Jupiter. On +the return of the army to Rome, the soldiers, by his directions, cut +down a small oak-tree, and trimming the branches at the top, and +shortening them as much as was necessary for the purpose, 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 and 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 hills within the city, as a trophy to Jupiter. A +small temple was erected expressly to receive them. This temple was +very small, being 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 +Crustumenium and Antemnæ. Some women from these cities had been seized +at Rome when the Sabine women were taken, and the inhabitants had been +ever since that period meditating plans of revenge. They were not +strong enough to wage open war against Romulus, but they began at last +to make hostile incursions into the Roman territories by means of such +small bands of armed men as they had the means of raising. Romulus +immediately organized bodies of troops sufficient for the purpose, and +then suddenly, and, as it would seem, without giving the kings of +these cities any previous warning, he appeared before the walls and +captured the cities before the inhabitants had time to recover from +their consternation. + +He then sent to all the women 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 the presence of the Roman Senate. The +women were exceedingly terrified at receiving this summons. They +supposed that death or some other terrible punishment, was to be +inflicted upon them in retribution for the offenses 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 Roman commonwealth. Thus, your fathers and +brothers, and all your countrymen, receive the boon of life, liberty, +and happiness through you; and all that we ask of you in return, is +that you will 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 attracted great attention +throughout the country, and both the valor with which Romulus +encountered his enemies while they resisted and opposed him, and the +generosity with which he admitted them to an honorable alliance with +him when 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 instance a +famous chieftain named Cælius, 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 Rome for receiving so sudden and so large an +accession to the numbers of 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 Cælius, 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 Romans, were only excited to greater +jealousy and ill-will at witnessing the proofs of their increasing +influence and power. They employed 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 stores of provisions and munitions of +war; they formed alliances with such states lying beyond them as they +could 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 who was placed in command 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 provisions for the use of the city. They +strengthened and extended the walls, and built new ramparts and towers +wherever they were needed. Numitor 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 engines, such as +were used in those times in the attack and defense of besieged cities. +In fact, the preparations on both sides were of the most extensive +character, and seemed to portend a very resolute and determined +contest. + +When all things were thus ready, the Sabines, before actually striking +the blow for which they had been so long and so deliberately +preparing, concluded to send one more final embassy to Romulus, to +demand the surrender of the women. This was of course only a matter of +form, as they must have known well from what had already passed that +Romulus would not now yield to such a proposal. He did not yield. He +sent back word in answer to their demand, that the Sabine women were +all well settled in Rome, and were contented 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 was a certain tract of country surrounding Rome 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 Sabines became +imminent, Romulus called all these herdsmen in, and required the +flocks of sheep and the herds of cattle to be driven to the rear of +the city, and shut up in an inclosure there, where they 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, where 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 surrounded on all +parts with ramparts and towers which overlooked and commanded all the +neighboring country. The command of this fortress was given to +Tarpeius, a noble Roman. He had a daughter named Tarpeia, whose name +afterward became greatly celebrated in history, on account 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 which +was afterward included within the limits of the city, and used as a +parade-ground, under the name of Campus Martius, 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 numerous 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 officers 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. The account +generally received is this:-- + +[Illustration: PROMISING THE BRACELETS.] + +Tarpeia had observed the soldiers from the walls, and her attention +had been 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. Titus Tatius, accordingly, when informed of this +arrangement, 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, however, 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 +Romulus, 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 capture 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 upon +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 Tarpeian rock, in memory of this maiden, to the present day. + +In this way the Sabines gained possession of the citadel, though +Romulus still held the main city. The Romans were of course extremely +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 Martius, 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 desperate 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 plain could be looked down upon as if it were a map. +The battle continued all day. At night both parties were exhausted, +and the field was covered with the dead and dying, but neither side +had gained a 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 previous combats, and in gathering +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. Various incidents occurred during the day to give one party or +the other a local or temporary advantage, but neither side wholly +prevailed. At one time Romulus 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 hoping to follow them in, +in the confusion, 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 Romans. 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 they took up the body of Romulus and carried +it into the city. It was found, however, that he was not seriously +injured. He soon recovered from the effects of the blow and returned +into the battle. + +Another incident which occurred in the course of these battles has +been commemorated 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 bleeding, and surrounded by enemies, fled +for his life. Romulus pursued him for a short distance, but Curtius +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, and which was now covered and almost concealed 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. Romulus supposed of course that he would be drowned there, +and so turned away and went to find some other enemy. Curtius, +however, succeeded 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 afterward, when, not +only had all the water disappeared, 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 quarrel had arisen, were suffering the +greatest anxiety and distress. They loved their fathers and brothers, +but then they loved their husbands too; and they were overwhelmed +with anguish at the thought that day after day those who were equally +dear to them were engaged in fighting and destroying one another, and +that they could do nothing to arrest 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 willing to yield. The Sabines could not +bring themselves to submit to so humiliating an alternative as to +withdraw from Rome 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 Romans could not take +those, who, whatever had been their previous history, were now living +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 was willing to +yield, and both were preparing to return to the struggle with new +determination and vigor. + +The Sabine women thought that they might now interpose. A lady named +Hersilia, who is often mentioned as one of the most prominent among +the number, proposed this measure and made the arrangements for +carrying it into effect. She assembled her countrywomen and explained +to them her plan, which was that they should go in a body to the Roman +Senate, and ask permission to intercede between the contending +nations, and plead for peace. + +The company of women, taking their children 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 great distress and agitation. The grief +and anxiety which they had suffered during the progress of the war +still continued, and they begged the Senate to let them go out to the +camp of the Sabines, and endeavor to persuade them to make peace. The +Senate were disposed to consent. The women wished to take their +children with them, but some of the Romans imagined that there might, +perhaps, be danger, that under pretense of interceding for peace, they +were really intending to make their escape from Rome altogether. So it +was insisted that they should leave their children behind them as +hostages for their return, excepting that such as had two children +were allowed to take one, which plan it was thought would aid them in +moving the compassion of their Sabine relatives. + +The women, accordingly, left the senate-chamber, and with their +children in their arms, their hair disheveled, their robes disordered, +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 countrymen to put an +end to the war. "We know," said she, "that you are waging it on our +account, and we see in all that you have done proofs of your love for +us. In fact, it was our supposed interests which led you to commence +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 inexpressibly miserable." + +This intercession produced the effect which might have been expected +from it. The Sabines 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 sentiment, that in +the end a treaty of union was made between the two nations. It was +agreed that the two nations should be merged into one. The Sabine +territory was to be annexed to that of Rome, 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 belligerent nations so sudden and so +complete. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE CONCLUSION. + +B.C. 764-717 + +Romulus reigns in conjunction with the Sabine king.--The Roman +Forum.--Growth of the city.--Bold and comprehensive +measures.--Cameria.--Difficulty with Titus Tatius.--Controversy +between Romulus and Tatius.--The difficulty at Lavinium.--Tatius +killed.--Romulus once more sole king.--Rome assumes a general +jurisdiction over other states.--Foundation of the future greatness +of Rome.--Circumstances connected with the death of Romulus.--Rumors +in circulation.--Public opinion.--Proculus's story.--The ghost of +Romulus.--The Romans satisfied.--The real truth not to be known.--The +interregnum.--A new king. + + +After the termination of the Sabine war Romulus continued to reign +many years, and his reign, although no very exact and systematic +history of it was recorded at the time, seems to have presented the +usual variety of incidents and vicissitudes; and yet, notwithstanding +occasional and partial reverses, the city, 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 Romans, +Titus Tatius was 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 was +situated that his troops had taken possession of in the course 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, or +_forum_, as it was called in their language,--that place being +designated for the purpose on account of its central and convenient +situation. 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 +throughout 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 followed, the +Roman state began soon to rise to so high a position in relation to +the surrounding cities and kingdoms, as soon to take precedence of +them altogether. This was owing, 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 +years of its existence, as described in the foregoing chapters, were +all of a very extraordinary character, and evinced very extraordinary +qualities in the men who devised them. These measures were bold, +comprehensive and sagacious, 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 +qualities generally feel their power, and are usually not slow to +assert it. A singular and striking instance of this occurred not many +years after the peace with the Sabines. There was a city at some +distance from Rome 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 accusations were made +against them, and very coolly cited them 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 the Roman government +constituted a judicial tribunal, having authority to exercise +jurisdiction, and to enforce law and order, among all the nations +around them. In fact, Rome continued to assert and to maintain this +authority over a wider and wider circle every year, until in the +course of some centuries after Romulus's day, she made herself the +arbiter of the world. + +Titus 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 would 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 committing +some deed of violence at Lavinium, the ancient city which Æneas 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 the discussions which +took place at Rome 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 warm; parties were formed; and at last the +exasperation 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 what 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 murderers, he said, and send them to +Lavinium, and he would come himself, with Tatius, to Lavinium, and +there make an expiatory offering to the gods, in attestation of the +abhorrence 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 defend 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 murderers +from the Lavinians, after they had been given up. Accordingly, while +he and Romulus 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 news so exasperated the +people of Lavinium against Tatius, for they considered him as +unquestionably 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 which 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 excitement of the scene was +over, fearing the resentment which they very naturally supposed +Romulus would feel at the murder of his colleague, seized the +ringleaders of the riot, and sent them bound to Rome, to place them at +the disposal of the Roman government. Romulus sent them back unharmed, +directing them to say to the Lavinian government, that he considered +the death of Tatius, though inflicted in a mode lawless and +unjustifiable, as nevertheless, in itself, only a just expiation for +the murder of the Lavinian embassadors, which Tatius had instigated 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 +once 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 retrocession at +any time. Causes of disagreement arose from time to time with +neighboring states, and, in such cases, Romulus always first sent a +summons to the party implicated, whether king or people, citing them +to appear and answer for their conduct before the Roman Senate. If +they 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 kingdom 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 police, the tribunals of justice, the social +institutions 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 interval of +peace and tranquillity. In consequence of the exertions which he made, +and the measures which he adopted, order and system prevailed more +and more in every department, 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 increased 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 increasing greatness and +prosperity, Romulus was not without rivals and enemies, even among his +own people at Rome. The leading senators 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 affairs, as if +he were an absolute and despotic sovereign. He wore a purple robe on +public occasions, as a badge of royalty. He organized a body-guard of +three hundred young troopers, who rode before him whenever he moved +about the city; and in all respects assumed such pomp and parade in +his demeanor, and exercised such a degree of arbitrary 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 review which took place at a +little distance from the city, there came up a sudden shower, attended +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. + +[Illustration: THE DEATH OF ROMULUS.] + +This strange story was but half believed even at first, by the +people, and very soon rumors began to circulate in the city that +Romulus had been murdered by the senators who were around him at the +time of the shower,--they having seized the occasion afforded by the +momentary absence of his guards, and by their solitary position. There +were various surmises in respect to the disposal which the assassins +had made of the 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 cutting it up into +small pieces, and conveying it away, each taking a portion, under +their robes. + +Of course these rumors produced great agitation 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 +present day, was then entirely satisfactory to the whole community. + +One of the most prominent and distinguished 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 announced 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 was 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 senators?' 'I left you,' said he, 'because it pleased the gods +to call me back again to heaven, whence I originally came. It was no +longer necessary for me to remain on earth, for Rome 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 suspicions were now all removed; the senators at once +recovered their good standing in the public regard, and all was once +more peace and harmony. Altars were immediately erected to Romulus, +and the whole population of the city joined in making sacrifices and +in paying other divine honors to his memory. + +The declaration of Proculus that he had seen the spirit of Romulus, +and his report of the conversation which the spirit had addressed to +him, constituted proof of the highest kind, according to the ideas +which prevailed in those ancient days. In modern times, however, there +is no faith in such a story, and the truth in respect to the end of +Romulus 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 king. + + THE END. + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES + + +1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors, and to +ensure consistent spelling and punctuation in this etext; otherwise, +every effort has been made to remain true to the original book. + +2. The chapter summaries in this text were originally published as +banners in the page headers, and have been moved to beginning of the +chapter for the reader's convenience. + +3. In the chart on page 46, detailing the original Greek alphabet, the +typesetter's appear to have missed the 7th letter, kappa. The +correction has been made, based on the discussion in "History of the +Greek Alphabet," by E. A. Sophocles, published in 1848, by George +Nichols, Boston. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Romulus, Makers of History, by Jacob Abbott + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROMULUS, MAKERS OF HISTORY *** + +***** This file should be named 27692-8.txt or 27692-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/6/9/27692/ + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Romulus, Makers of History + +Author: Jacob Abbott + +Release Date: January 3, 2009 [EBook #27692] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROMULUS, MAKERS OF HISTORY *** + + + + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h2>Makers of History</h2> + +<h1>Romulus</h1> + +<h3><span class="smcap">By</span> JACOB ABBOTT</h3> + +<h3>WITH ENGRAVINGS</h3> + +<p class="gap"> </p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 124px;"> +<img src="images/i001.jpg" width="124" height="150" alt="logo" title="" /></div> + +<p class="smallgap"> </p> + +<p class="center">NEW YORK AND LONDON</p> + +<p class="center">HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS</p> + +<p class="center">1901</p> + +<hr class="large" /> + +<p class="center">Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by</p> + +<p class="center">HARPER & BROTHERS,</p> + +<p class="center">in the Clerk's Office for the Southern District of New York.</p> + +<p class="center">Copyright, 1880, by <span class="smcap">Benjamin Vaughan Abbott</span>, <span class="smcap">Austin Abbott</span>,<br /> +<span class="smcap">Lyman Abbott</span>, and <span class="smcap">Edward Abbott</span>.</p> + +<hr class="large" /> + +<p><a name="Frontispiece" id="Frontispiece"></a></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="500" height="308" alt="The Harpies." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Harpies.</span></span></div> + +<hr class="large" /> +<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> + +<p>In writing the series of historical narratives to which the present +work pertains, it has been the object of the author to furnish to the +reading community of this country an accurate and faithful account of +the lives and actions of the several personages 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 invention of the +author. No incident, however trivial, is ever added to the original +account, nor are any 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 connected narrative.</p> + +<hr class="large" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="CONTENTS"> + +<tr> +<td align="right">CHAPTER</td> +<td align="left"> </td> +<td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">I.</td> +<td align="left">CADMUS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">13</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">II.</td> +<td align="left">CADMUS'S LETTERS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_II">36</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">III.</td> +<td align="left">THE STORY OF ÆNEAS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_III">59</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">IV.</td> +<td align="left">THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_IV">79</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">V.</td> +<td align="left">THE FLIGHT OF ÆNEAS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_V">103</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">VI.</td> +<td align="left">THE LANDING IN LATIUM</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VI">131</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">VII.</td> +<td align="left">RHEA SILVIA</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VII">155</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">VIII.</td> +<td align="left">THE TWINS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_VIII">179</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">IX.</td> +<td align="left">THE FOUNDING OF ROME</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_IX">202</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">X.</td> +<td align="left">ORGANIZATION</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_X">225</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">XI.</td> +<td align="left">WIVES</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XI">248</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">XII.</td> +<td align="left">THE SABINE WAR</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XII">270</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="right">XIII.</td> +<td align="left">THE CONCLUSION</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Chapter_XIII">295</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<hr class="large" /> +<h2><a name="ENGRAVINGS" id="ENGRAVINGS"></a>ENGRAVINGS.</h2> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="ENGRAVINGS"> + +<tr> +<td align="left"> </td> +<td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE HARPIES</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Frontispiece"><i>Frontispiece.</i></a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">JUPITER AND EUROPA</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Jupiter">27</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">MAP—JOURNEYINGS OF CADMUS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Journeying">30</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">SYMBOLICAL WRITING</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Symbolical">37</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">SYMBOLICAL AND PHONETIC WRITING</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Phonetic">44</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">HIEROGLYPHICS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">MAP—ORIGIN OF VENUS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">ÆNEAS DEFENDING THE BODY OF PANDARUS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE TORTOISE</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">HELEN</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Helen">105</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">MAP—WANDERINGS OF ÆNEAS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Wandering">118</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">MAP—LATIUM</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Latium">134</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">SILVIA'S STAG</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_145">145</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">RHEA SILVIA</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_180">180</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">FAUSTULUS AND THE TWINS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">SITUATION OF ROME</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Situation">209</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">PROMISING THE BRACELETS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Tarpeia">284</a></td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="left">THE DEATH OF ROMULUS</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<hr class="large" /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a></p><h2>ROMULUS</h2> + +<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<h2>CADMUS.</h2> + +<h3>B.C. 1500</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Different kinds of greatness.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">S</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">ome</span> men are renowned in history on account 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 which, in the subsequent course of events, resulted +from their doings. Men of this latter class are conspicuous rather +than great. From among thousands of other men equally exalted in +character with themselves, they are brought out prominently to the +notice of mankind only in consequence of the strong light reflected, +by great events subsequently <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>occurring, back upon the position where +they happened to stand.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Founders of cities.<br />Rome.<br />Interest in respect to its origin.</div> + +<p>The celebrity of Romulus seems to be of this 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 accustomed to look back with special curiosity to the +circumstances of its origin. In consequence of this it has happened +that though Romulus, in his actual day, performed no very great +exploits, and enjoyed no pre-eminence above the thousand other +half-savage chieftains of his class, whose names have been long +forgotten, and very probably while he 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>the incidents of his life have been brought +out very conspicuously to view, and attract very strongly the +attention of mankind.</p> + +<hr class="medium" /> + +<div class="sidenote">The story of Æneas.</div> + +<p>The history of Rome is usually made to begin with the story of Æneas. +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 mankind, out of which in later ages, when the art of +writing came to be introduced, learned men compiled and recorded what +they termed history.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Mediterranean sea.<br />Italy and Greece in ancient times, and now.</div> + +<p>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 corresponding +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>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 cultivation +of animal and vegetable life, were substantially the same on the +shores of the Mediterranean 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Ancient chieftains.<br />Their modes of life.</div> + +<p>If, however, we leave the humbler classes and occupations of society, +and turn our attention to those which represent the refinement, the +cultivation, and the power, of the two respective periods, we shall +find that almost all analogy fails. There was an aristocracy then as +now, ruling over the widely extended communities of peaceful +agriculturalists and herdsmen, but the members of it <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>were entirely +different in their character, their tastes, their ideas, and their +occupations from the classes which exercise the prerogatives of +government in Europe in modern times. The nobles then were military +chieftains, living in camps or in walled cities, which they built for +the accommodation of themselves and their followers. These chieftains +were not barbarians. 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 artificial rules, but from the +unerring instinct of genius, have never been surpassed. In fact, the +poetical inventions of those early days, far <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>from having been +produced in conformity with rules, were entirely precedent to rules, +in the order of time. Rules were formed from them; for they at length +became established themselves in the estimation of mankind, as models, +and on their authority as models, the whole theory of rhetorical and +poetical beauty now mainly reposes.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Religious ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans.<br />Ancient studies of nature.<br />Purpose of them.</div> + +<p>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 summits of their blue and beautiful mountains, and that they +were invested there with attributes 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 +and tales, as graceful, poetical, and beautiful as themselves. Every +grove, and fountain, and river,—every lofty summit among the +mountains, and every rock and promontory along the shores of the +sea,—every cave, every valley, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>every water-fall, had its imaginary +occupant,—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 explored then as now, +for the purpose of ascertaining and recording cold and scientific +realities,—but to be admired, and embellished, and animated;—and to +be peopled, everywhere, with exquisitely beautiful, though imaginary +and supernatural, life and action.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">History.</div> + +<p>What the genius of imagination and romance 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>the mere daily toil of tilling the ground bore direct +relation to military expeditions, spectacles and parades; and the only +field for the exercise of that kind of intellectual ability which is +employed in modern times in investigating 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 witness shows or games, or to celebrate great religious festivals. +Of course under such circumstances there would be no interest felt in +truth as truth. Romance and fable would be far more serviceable for +such ends than reality.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Ancient poems and tales.<br />How far founded in fact.</div> + +<p>Still it is obvious that such tales as were invented to amuse for the +purposes we have described, would have a deeper interest for those 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 interest to a +story that purported to be an account of the deeds and the marvelous +adventures of their own ancestors, than to one that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>was wholly and +avowedly imaginary. The inventors of these tales would of course +generally choose such subjects, and their narrations 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 reality in all these tales which added greatly +to the 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Cadmus.<br />Interest felt in respect to the origin of writing.</div> + +<p>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 writing with alphabetic characters was so great an invention, and +it has exerted so vast an influence on the condition and progress of +mankind since it was introduced, that a very <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>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 determine under what +circumstances the method of representing the elements of sound by +written characters was first devised, to discover who it was that +first conceived the idea, and what led him to make the attempt, what +difficulties he encountered, to what purposes he first applied his +invention, and to what results 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 <i>real truth</i> in respect to the +subject that the world are now interested in knowing. Were a romance +writer to invent a tale in respect to the origin of writing, however +ingenious and entertaining it might be in its details, it would excite +in the learned world at the present day no interest whatever.</p> + +<p>There is in fact no account at present existing in respect to the +actual origin of alphabetic 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 will give +the facts, first in their simple form, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>and then the narrative in the +form in which it was related in ancient times, as embellished by the +ancient story-tellers.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">True story of Cadmus.<br />His father Agenor.<br />Europa.</div> + +<p>The facts then, as now generally understood and believed, are, that +there was a certain king in some country in Africa, named Agenor, who +lived about 1500 years before Christ. He had a daughter named Europa, +and several sons. Among his sons was one named Cadmus. Europa was a +beautiful girl, and after a time a wandering adventurer from some part +of the northern shores of the Mediterranean sea, came into Africa, and +was so much pleased with her that he resolved if possible, 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 acquaintance +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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Telephassa.</div> + +<p>The father, when he found that his daughter had deceived him and gone +away, was very indignant, and sent Cadmus and his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>brothers in pursuit +of her. The mother of Europa, whose name was Telephassa, though less +indignant perhaps than the father, was 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The pursuit of Europa.<br />Fruitless result.<br />Cadmus settles in Greece.</div> + +<p>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 attempting to establish themselves there, however, they +became involved in various conflicts, first with wild beasts, and +afterward <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>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 against the rest, to get a permanent footing in Greece, +and Cadmus finally founded a city there, which he called Thebes.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Thebes.<br />Arts introduced by him.</div> + +<p>In establishing the institutions and government of Thebes, and in +arranging the organization of the people into a social state, Cadmus +introduced among them several arts, which, in that part of the +country, had been before unknown. One of these arts was the use of +copper, which metal he taught his new subjects 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 +vocal sounds, by means of which inscriptions of words could be carved +upon monuments, or upon tablets of metal or of stone.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The ancient legend of Cadmus.</div> + +<p>It is not supposed that the idea of representing the elements of vocal +sounds by characters <i>originated</i> with Cadmus, or that he invented the +characters himself. He brought them with him undoubtedly, but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>whether +from Egypt or Phenicia, can not now be known.</p> + +<p>Such are the facts of the case, as now generally understood and +believed. Let us now compare this simple narration with the romantic +tale which the early story-tellers made from it. The legend, as they +relate it, is as follows.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Jupiter.</div> + +<p>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 continue to reign only on that condition.</p> + +<p>Jupiter's mother, however, was very unwilling that her boys should be +thus cruelly put to death, and she contrived to conceal three of them, +and save them. The three thus preserved were brought up among the +solitudes of the mountains, watched and attended by nymphs, and nursed +by a goat. After they grew up, they engaged from time to time in +various wars, and met with various wonderful adventures, until at +length Jupiter, the oldest of them, succeeded, by means of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>thunderbolts which he caused to be forged for his use, in vast +subterranean caverns beneath Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius, conquered +all his enemies, and became universal king. He, however, divided his +empire between himself and his brothers, giving to them respectively +the command of the sea and of the subterranean regions, while he +reserved the earth and the heavenly regions for himself.</p> + +<p><a name="Jupiter" id="Jupiter"></a></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 389px;"> +<img src="images/i025.jpg" class="ispace" width="389" height="350" alt="Jupiter and Europa." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Jupiter and Europa.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">Adventures of Jupiter.<br />His love for Europa.<br />His elopement.<br />Jupiter and Europa in Crete.</div> + +<p>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 great number of strange and +marvelous adventures. In the course of these wanderings 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 +himself 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>him, patted his glossy neck and sides, and in other similar ways +gratified the prince by marks of her admiration and pleasure. She was +at length induced by some secret and magical influence which the +prince exerted over her, to mount upon his back, and allow herself to +be borne away. The bull ran with his burden to the shore, and plunged +into the waves. He swam across the sea to Crete,<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>and there, +resuming his proper form, he made the princess his bride.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The expedition of Cadmus.</div> + +<p>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, Phœnix, Cylix, Thasus, and Phineus. Cadmus, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">His various wanderings.<br />Death of Telephassa.</div> + +<p>Telephassa and her sons wandered for a time in the countries east of +the Mediterranean sea, without being able to obtain any tidings of the +fugitive. At length they passed into Asia Minor, and from Asia Minor +into Thrace, a country lying north of the Egean 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 anxiety <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>and fatigue, and now overwhelmed with the +thought that all hope must be finally abandoned, sank down and died.</p> + +<p><a name="Journeying" id="Journeying"></a></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 367px;"> +<img src="images/i027.jpg" class="ispace jpg" width="367" height="350" alt="The Journeying of Cadmus." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Journeying of Cadmus.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">Visit to the oracle at Delphi.<br />The directions of the oracle.</div> + +<p>Cadmus and his brothers were much affected at their mother's death. +They made arrangements for her burial, in a manner befitting her high +rank and station, and when the funeral solemnities had been performed, +Cadmus repaired to the oracle at Delphi, which was situated in the +northern part of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>Greece, not very far from Thrace, in order that he +might inquire there whether there was any thing more that he could do +to recover his lost sister, and if so to learn what course he was to +pursue. The oracle replied to him 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 kingdom 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 cow +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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Cadmus finds his guide.<br />The place for his city determined.</div> + +<p>Cadmus obeyed these directions of the oracle. 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 followed +wherever she led the way. She conducted him toward the southward and +eastward for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>thirty or forty miles, and at length wearied apparently, +by her long journey, she lay down. Cadmus knew immediately that this +was the spot where his city was to stand.</p> + +<p>He began immediately to make arrangements for the building of the +city, but he determined first to offer the cow that had been his +divinely appointed guide to the spot, as a sacrifice to Minerva, whom +he always considered as his guardian goddess.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The fountain of Dirce.<br />The dragon's teeth.</div> + +<p>Near the spot where the cow lay down there was a small stream which +issued from a fountain not far distant, called the fountain of Dirce. +Cadmus sent some of his men to the place to obtain some water which it +was necessary to use in the ceremonies of the sacrifice. 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 ascertain 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 +monster was greedily devouring the bodies. Cadmus <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>immediately +attacked the dragon and slew him, and then tore his teeth out of 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 +contend together in a desperate conflict, until at length all but five +of them were slain. These five then joined themselves to Cadmus, and +helped him to build his city.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Thebes built.<br />Cadmia.</div> + +<p>He went on very successfully after this. The city which he built was +Thebes, which afterward became greatly celebrated. The citadel which +he erected within, he called, from his own name, Cadmia.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Ancient ideas of probability.<br />Belief in supernatural tales.<br />Final recording of the ancient tales.</div> + +<p>Such were the legends which were related in ancient poems and tales; +and it is obvious that such narratives must have been composed to +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 faith which the hearer felt in their truth added of course +very greatly to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>the interest which they awakened in his mind. The +stories are <i>amusing</i> to us; but it is impossible for us to share in +the deep and solemn 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 interest, for there is too general a +diffusion both of 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 knowing how wide the +Mediterranean sea might be, and whether a bull might not swim across +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 feasts, in +their journeyings,—and when watching their flocks at midnight, among +the solitudes of the mountains. Thus the tales were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>handed down from +generation to generation, until at length the use of the letters of +Cadmus became so far facilitated, that continuous narrations could be +expressed by 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.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_II" id="Chapter_II"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Cadmus's Letters.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 1500</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Two modes of writing.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">T</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">here</span> are two modes essentially distinct from each other, by which +ideas may be communicated through the medium of inscriptions addressed +to the eye. These two modes are, first, by <i>symbolical</i>, and secondly, +by <i>phonetic</i> characters. Each of these two systems 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Symbols.<br />Example.<br />Symbol of the Deity.</div> + +<p><a name="Symbolical" id="Symbolical"></a></p><div class="figleft" style="width: 90px;"> +<img src="images/i034.jpg" width="90" height="80" alt="Symbol of the Deity" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>Symbolical writing consists of characters intended severally to denote +<i>ideas</i> or <i>things</i>, and not words. A good example of true symbolical +writing is to be found in a certain figure often employed among the +architectural decorations of churches, as an emblem of the Deity. It +consists of a triangle <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>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 obviously 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 expressed.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Ancient symbols.<br />The Egyptian hieroglyphics phonetic.</div> + +<p>The first attempts of men to preserve records 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 full representations, and these grew at length +into a system of hieroglyphical characters, some natural, and others +more or less arbitrary, but all denoting <i>ideas</i> or <i>things</i>, and not +the sounds of words. These <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>characters are of the kind usually +understood by the word hieroglyphics; though that word can not now +with strict accuracy be applied as a distinctive appellation, since it +has been ascertained 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Natural symbols.</div> + +<p>It happened that in some cases in this species 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 scepter +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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Mexican record.</div> + +<p>The ancient Mexicans had a mode of writing which seems to have been +symbolical in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>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 characteristic +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 +inscriptions, for example, there was a character representing 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 inscription was that in a certain tumult or insurrection +the king caused the governors of the four cities to be beheaded.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Arbitrary symbols.</div> + +<p>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 <i>dollars</i>, as a +prefix to a number expressing money; for this character is a sort of +symbol, that is, it represents a thing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>rather 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 differently. The +Englishman reads them by one set of words, the Spaniard by another, +and the German and the Italian by others still.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Advantages of the symbolical mode of writing.<br />The meaning of them more easily understood.</div> + +<p>The symbolical mode of writing possesses some advantages which must +not be overlooked. It speaks directly to the eye, and is more 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 figure of +a house, or of a ship, or of a locomotive engine, at the head of an +advertisement, 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 ancient +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>representations on monuments and columns would communicate, perhaps +more rapidly 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.</p> + +<p>Another advantage of the symbolical representations as used in ancient +times, was that their meaning could be more readily explained, and +would be more easily remembered, 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 accomplished 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 provinces, would be wholly blind and unintelligible 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 them, letter by +letter, they would forget the beginning of the lesson before reaching +the end of it,—and could never be expected to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>attempt extending the +knowledge by making known the interpretation which they had received +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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Comparison of the two systems.</div> + +<p>It might seem, at first view, that a symbolical mode of writing must +be more simple in its character than the system now in use, inasmuch +as by that plan each idea or object would be expressed by one +character alone, whereas, 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 apparent simplicity, the system of symbolical +writing proved to be, when extensively employed, extremely complicated +and intricate. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>It is true that each idea required but one character, +but the number of ideas and objects, and of words expressive of their +relations to one another, is so vast, that the system 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 intended 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 communicating +knowledge anew.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Further comparison of the two systems.<br />Two modes of representing the idea of a battle.</div> + +<p><a name="Phonetic" id="Phonetic"></a></p><div class="figleft" style="width: 67px;"> +<img src="images/i041.jpg" width="67" height="100" alt="Battle" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>We come now to consider the second grand class of written characters, +namely, the <i>phonetic</i>, the class which Cadmus introduced into Greece, +and the one almost universally adopted among all the European nations +at the present day. It is called Phonetic, from a Greek word denoting +<i>sound</i>, because the characters which are used do not denote <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>directly +the thing itself which is signified, but the sounds made in speaking +the word which signifies it. Take, for instance, the two modes of +representing a conflict between two contending armies, one by the +symbolic delineation of two swords crossed, and the other by the +phonetic delineation of the letters of the word battle. They are both +inscriptions. 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 <i>b</i>, represents the pressing of the lips +together, by which we commence pronouncing the word. Thus the one mode +is <i>symbolical</i>, and the other <i>phonetic</i>.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Great advantages of the phonetic mode of writing.</div> + +<p>On considering the two methods, as exemplified in this simple +instance, we shall observe 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 symbolical mode by one character, while by the +phonetic it requires no less than six. This <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>seems at first view to +indicate a great advantage possessed by the symbolical system. But on +reflection this advantage is found entirely to disappear. For the +symbolical character, 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 symbol 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 thousand,—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, we have elements which can be +used again and again, in the expression of thousands of other ideas. +In fact, as the phonetic characters which are found necessary in most +languages are only about twenty-four, we have in that single word +accomplished one quarter of the whole task, so far as the delineation +of characters is concerned, that is necessary for expressing by +writing any possible combination of ideas which human language can +convey.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Uncertainty of the origin of phonetic writing.</div> + +<p>At what time and in what manner the transition was made among the +ancient nations from the symbolic to the phonetic mode of writing, is +not now known. When 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 expressed +in phonetic characters, and the alphabets 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Cadmus's alphabet.</div> + +<p>The letters which Cadmus brought were in number sixteen. The following +table presents a view of his alphabet, presenting in the several +columns, the letters themselves as subsequently written in Greece, the +Greek names given to them, and their power as represented by the +letters now in use. The forms, it will be seen, have been but little +changed.</p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="50%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" summary="Alphabet"> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Greek letters.</td> +<td align="center">Greek names.</td> +<td align="center">English representatives.</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Α</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Alpha</span></td> +<td align="center">A</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Β</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Beta</span></td> +<td align="center">B</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Γ</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Gamma</span></td> +<td align="center">G</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Δ</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Delta</span></td> +<td align="center">D</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Ε</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Epsilon</span></td> +<td align="center">E</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Ι</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Iota</span></td> +<td align="center">I</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Κ</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Kappa</span></td> +<td align="center">K</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Λ</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lamda</span></td> +<td align="center">L</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Μ</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Mu</span></td> +<td align="center">M</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Ν</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nu</span></td> +<td align="center">N</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Ο</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Omicron</span></td> +<td align="center">O</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Π</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Pi</span></td> +<td align="center">P</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Ρ</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Rho</span></td> +<td align="center">R</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Σ</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sigma</span></td> +<td align="center">S</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Τ</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Tau</span></td> +<td align="center">T</td></tr> + +<tr> +<td align="center">Υ</td> +<td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">Upsilon</span></td> +<td align="center">U</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">Difficulties attending the introduction of it.<br />Different modes of writing.</div> + +<p>The phonetic alphabet of Cadmus, though so 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 difficult to read it when written. There was a very great +practical obstacle, too, in the way of its general introduction, in +the want of any suitable materials for writing. To cut letters with a +chisel and a mallet upon <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>a surface of marble is a very slow and +toilsome process. To diminish this labor the ancients contrived tables +of brass, copper, lead, and sometimes of wood, and cut the +inscriptions 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 record.</p> + +<p>In process of time, however, the plan of <i>painting</i> the letters by +means of a black dye upon a smooth surface, was 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 +composition. Cadmus is supposed to have come into Greece about the +year 1550 before Christ; and it was not until about 650 before +Christ,—that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>is, nearly nine hundred years later, that the art of +writing was resorted to in Greece to record laws.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The art of writing at first very little used.<br />Proofs of this.<br />Story of the lots.</div> + +<p>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 allusion, 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 champion. The lots were +prepared, being made <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>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 remember 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 considered as the one designated by the +decision, to fight the Trojan champion.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Other instances.</div> + +<p>Now, 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 supposed, that if these +men had been able to write, that they would have inscribed their own +names upon the lots, instead of marking them with unmeaning +characters. And even if they were not practiced writers themselves +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>some secretary or scribe would have been called upon to act for them +on such an occasion as this, if the art of writing had been at that +time so generally known as to be customarily 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 period 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, until at last the art of writing became established +among mankind, when they were at length put permanently upon record.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The invention of papyrus.<br />Mode of manufacturing papyrus.</div> + +<p>It seems that writing was not much employed for any of the ordinary +and private purposes of life by the people of Greece until the article +called <i>papyrus</i> 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 the low lands along the margin of the Nile. It +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>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 +materials 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 receive inscriptions made by means of a +pen fashioned from a reed or a quill.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Mode of using ancient books.</div> + +<p>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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>was open between them. Of +course, as he advanced, he continually unrolled on one side, and +rolled up upon the other. Rolls of parchment were often made in the +same manner.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Volumes.</div> + +<p>The term <i>volume</i> used in respect to modern books, had its origin in +this ancient practice of writing upon long rolls. The modern practice +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 afforded it great protection. The ends of +this roller projected beyond the edges of the sheet, and were +terminated in knobs or bosses, which guarded in some measure the edges +of the papyrus or of the parchment. The whole volume was also inclosed +in a parchment case, on the outside of which the title of the work was +conspicuously recorded. Many of these ancient rolls have been found at +Herculaneum.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Ink.<br />Ink found at Herculaneum.</div> + +<p>For ink, various colored liquids were used, generally black, but +sometimes red and sometimes green. The black ink was sometimes +manufactured from a species of lampblack or ivory black, such as is +often used in modern <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>times for painting. Some specimens of the +inkstands which were used in ancient times have been found at +Herculaneum, and one of them contained ink, which though too thick to +flow readily from the pen, it was still possible to write with. It was +of about the consistence of oil.</p> + +<p>These rolls of papyrus and parchment, however, were only used for +important writings which it was intended permanently to preserve. 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 <i>style</i>. The head of the style was smooth +and rounded, so that any words which the writer wished to erase might +be obliterated by smoothing over again, with it, the wax on which they +had been written.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Recent discoveries in respect to the Egyptian +hieroglyphics.</div> + +<p>Such is a brief history of the rise and progress of the art of writing +in the States of Greece. Whether the phonetic principle which Cadmus +introduced was brought originally from Egypt, or from the countries on +the eastern shore of the Mediterranean sea, can not now be +ascertained. It has generally been supposed among mankind, at least +until <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>within a recent period, that the art of phonetic writing did +not originate in Egypt, for the inscriptions on all the ancient +monuments in that country are of such a character that it has always +been supposed 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 attempting for so many centuries, in vain, +to affix symbolical meanings to them, had been altogether upon the +wrong track. The delineations, though they consist almost wholly of +the forms of plants and animals, and of other natural and artificial +objects, are not symbolical representations of ideas, but letters, +representing sounds and words. They are thus precisely similar, in +principle, to the letters of Cadmus, though wholly different from them +in form.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Specimen of Egyptian hieroglyphics.</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 303px;"> +<img src="images/i053.jpg" class="ispace" width="303" height="500" alt="Specimen of Egyptian hieroglyphics." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Specimen of Egyptian hieroglyphics.</span></span></div> + +<p>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<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> express the name Cleopatra, a very common name for princesses of the +royal line in Egypt during the dynasty of the Ptolemy's. We mark the +various figures forming the inscription, with the letters which modern +interpreters have assigned to them. It will be seen that they all +spell, rudely indeed, but yet tolerably distinctly, the name +<span class="smcap">Cleopatra</span>.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Explanation of the figures.</div> + +<p>By a careful examination of these specimens, it will be seen that the +order of placing the letters, if such hieroglyphical characters can be +so called, is not regular, and the letter <i>a</i>, 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 represented 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 inscriptions commemorative of princesses and +queens. They are accordingly specimens of <i>symbolic</i> characters, while +all the others in the name are phonetic.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Moses in Egypt.</div> + +<p>It seems therefore not improbable that the principle of forming a +written language by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>means of characters representing the sounds 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 Mediterranean 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 arrangement 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Importance of the art of writing.</div> + +<p>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 writing, 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.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_III" id="Chapter_III"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Story of Æneas.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 1200</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Story of Æneas remained long unwritten.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">B</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">esides</span> the intrinsic interest and importance of the facts stated in +the last chapter, 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 Æneas, the great ancestor of Romulus, 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 <i>twelve hundred</i> before Christ. Homer 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 continuous compositions, about the year six hundred. The +story of Æneas 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 hundred years, and then was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>clothed in verse, 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 during the whole period of this transmission, the +interest felt in it was not the desire for ascertaining 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 historically true; but it is no less +important on that account, that all well-informed persons should know +what it is.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Mother of Æneas.<br />Her origin.</div> + +<p>The mother of Æneas (as the story goes), was a celebrated goddess. Her +name was Aphrodite;<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> though among the Romans she afterward received +the name of Venus. Aphrodite was not born of a mother, like ordinary +mortals, but sprang mysteriously and supernaturally from a foam which +gathered on a certain occasion upon the surface of the sea. At the +commencement of her existence she crept out upon the shores of an +island that was near,—the island of Cythera,—which lies south of the +Peloponnesus.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/i058.jpg" class="ispace jpg" width="500" height="283" alt="Origin of Venus." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Origin of Venus.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">Early history of Venus.<br />Her magical powers.</div> + +<p>She was the goddess of love, of beauty, and of fruitfulness; 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, inexpressibly beautiful; +and in addition to the natural influence of her charms, she was endued +with the supernatural power of inspiring the sentiment of love in all +who beheld her.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Her children Eros and Anteros.</div> + +<p>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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>had two children, beautiful boys. +Their names were Eros and Anteros. Each of these children remained +perpetually 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 boys 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 tenderest 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 became objects of affection, if they did not return the love.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">She goes to Olympus.</div> + +<p>After some time, Aphrodite and her boys found their way to the +heavenly regions of Mount Olympus, where the great divinities +resided,<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a> and there they soon produced great <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>trouble, by enkindling +the flames of love in the hearts of the divinities themselves, causing +them, by her magic power, to fall in love not only with one another, +but also with mortal men and women on the earth below. In retaliation +upon Aphrodite for this mischief, Jupiter, by his supreme power, +inspired Aphrodite herself with a sentiment of love. The object of her +affection was Anchises, a handsome youth, of the royal family of Troy, +who lived among the mountains of Ida, not far from the city.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Aphrodite's love for Anchises.<br />The golden apple.<br />The award of Paris.</div> + +<p>The way in which it happened that the affection of Aphrodite turned +toward an inhabitant of Mount Ida was this. There had been at one time +a marriage among the divinities, and a certain goddess who had not +been invited to the wedding, conceived the design of avenging herself +for the neglect, by provoking a quarrel among those who were there. +She, accordingly, caused a beautiful golden apple to be made, with an +inscription marked upon it, "<span class="smcap">For the most beautiful</span>." This apple she +threw in among the guests assembled at the wedding. The goddesses all +claimed the prize, and a very earnest dispute arose among them in +respect to it. Jupiter <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>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 themselves to him, and submit the +question of the right to the apple to his award. The contending +goddesses appeared accordingly before Paris, and each attempted to +bribe him to decide in her favor, by offering him some peculiar 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Venus's residence at Mt. Ida.</div> + +<p>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 when Jupiter +inspired her with a sudden susceptibility to the power of love, the +shepherd Anchises was the object toward which her affections turned. +She accordingly went to Mount Ida, and giving herself up to him, she +lived with him for some time among the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>mountains as his bride. Æneas +was their son.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Aphrodite's assumed character.<br />She leaves Anchises.</div> + +<p>Aphrodite did not, however, appear to Anchises in her true character, +but assumed, instead, the form and the disguise of a Phrygian +princess. Phrygia was a kingdom of Asia Minor, not very far from Troy. +She continued this disguise as long as she remained with Anchises at +Mount Ida; at length, however, 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 Æneas, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Childhood of Æneas.</div> + +<p>When Aphrodite had gone, Anchises, having now no longer any one at +home to attend to the rearing of the child, send him to Dardanus, 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>Anchises in +Aphrodite's eyes. Æneas remained 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 residence among the pasturages of the +mountains. His mother, though she had left him, did not forget her +child; but watched over him continually, and interposed directly to +aid or to protect him, whenever her aid was required by the occurrence +of any emergency of difficulty or danger.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 67-8]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/i065.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="308" alt="Æneas defending the Body of Pandarus." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Æneas defending the Body of Pandarus.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">The Trojan war.<br />Achilles.</div> + +<p>At length the Trojan war broke out. For a time, however, Æneas 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 peaceful avocations to the end of the war, had +it not been that Achilles, one of the most formidable of the Grecian +leaders, in one of his forays in the country around Troy, in search of +provisions, came upon Æneas's territory, and attacked him while +tending his flocks <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>upon the mountain side. Achilles seized the flocks and herds, and +drove Æneas and his fellow-herdsmen away. They would, in fact, all +have been killed, had not Aphrodite interposed to protect her son and +save his life.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Æneas engages in the war.</div> + +<p>The loss of his flocks and herds, and the injury which he himself had +received, aroused Æneas's indignation and anger against the Greeks. He +immediately raised an armed force of Dardanians, and thenceforth took +an active part 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 performed prodigies of strength and valor.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Story of Pandarus.<br />Æneas rescued by his mother.<br />Her magic vail.</div> + +<p>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. Æneas did not succeed in saving his +friend. Pandarus was killed. Æneas, however, flew to the spot, and by +means of the most extraordinary feats of strength and valor he drove +the Greeks away from the body. They attacked it on every side, but +Æneas, wheeling around it, and fighting now on this side and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>now on +that, drove them all away. They retired to a little distance and then +began to throw in a shower of spears and darts and arrows upon him. +Æneas defended himself and the body of his friend from these missiles +for a time, with his shield. At length, however, he was struck in the +thigh with a ponderous stone which one of the Greek warriors hurled at +him,—a stone so heavy that two men of ordinary strength would have +been required to lift it. Æneas was felled to the ground by the blow. +He sank down, resting upon his arm, faint and dizzy, and being thus +made helpless would have immediately been overpowered and killed by +his assailants had not his mother interposed. She came immediately to +rescue him. She spread her vail over him, which had the magic power of +rendering 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Venus is wounded.</div> + +<p>Aphrodite, however, flying thus with her wounded son, mother-like, +left herself exposed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>in her anxiety to protect him. Diomedes, the +chief of the pursuers, following headlong on, aimed a lance at Venus +herself. The lance struck Venus in the hand, and inflicted a very +severe and painful wound. It did not, however, stop her flight. She +pressed swiftly on, while Diomedes, satisfied with his revenge, gave +up the pursuit, but called out to Aphrodite as she disappeared from +view, bidding her learn from the lesson which he had given her that it +would 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Iris conveys her away.</div> + +<p>Aphrodite, after conveying Æneas 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. Iris 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 farther still among the mountains to a place +where they found Mars, the god of war, standing with his chariot. Mars +was Aphrodite's brother. He took compassion upon his sister in her +distress, and lent Iris his chariot and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>horses, to convey Aphrodite +home. Aphrodite 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 her wound, and expressed great sympathy for her in her +sufferings, uttering at the same time many piteous complaints against +the merciless violence and inhumanity of men. Such is the ancient tale +of Æneas and his mother.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Single combat between Æneas and Achilles.</div> + +<p>At a later period in the history of the war, Æneas 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, Æneas +on the one side and Achilles on the other, in full view of all the +troops, and of the throngs of spectators assembled to witness the +proceedings.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The charmed life of Achilles.</div> + +<p>A very strong and an universal interest was felt in the approaching +combat. Æneas, besides the prodigious strength and bravery for which +he was renowned, was to be divinely <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>aided, it was known, by the +protection of his 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, possessed 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 of the body which the water laved. As, how +ever, Thetis held the child by the ankles when she plunged him in, the +ankles remained unaffected by the magic influence of the water. All +the other parts of the body were rendered incapable of receiving a +wound.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">His shield.</div> + +<p>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 +metal. 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 the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>Greeks in the Trojan war, not +trusting entirely it seems to his magical invulnerability.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The meeting of Æneas and Achilles on the field.<br />The harangues of the combatants.</div> + +<p>The armies looked on with great interest as these two champions +advanced to meet each other, while all the gods and goddesses surveyed +the scene with almost equal interest, from their abodes above. Some +joined Venus 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 surveyed each other with looks of anger and defiance. +At length Achilles spoke. He began to upbraid Æneas 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 sons who are the direct and immediate heirs, +and your claims can never be allowed. Then, besides, what folly to +attempt to contend with me! Me, the strongest, bravest, and most +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>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 pretensions 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.</p> + +<p>Æneas replied,—retorting with vauntings 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 war of words, and so he +hurled his spear at Achilles with all his force, as a token of the +commencement of the battle.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The battle begun.<br />Narrow escape.</div> + +<p>The spear struck the shield of Achilles, and impinged upon it with +such force that it penetrated through two of the plates of metal which +composed the shield, and reached the central plate of gold, where the +force with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>which it had been thrown being spent, it was arrested and +fell to the ground. Achilles then exerting his utmost strength threw +his spear in return. Æneas 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. +The spear struck the shield near the upper edge of it, as it was held +in Æneas's hands. It passed directly through the plates of which the +shield was composed, and then continuing its course, it glided down +just over Æneas's back, and planted itself deep in the ground behind +him, and stood there quivering. Æneas crept out from beneath it with a +look of horror.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Sudden termination of the combat.</div> + +<p>Immediately after throwing his spear, and perceiving that it had +failed of its intended effect, Achilles drew his sword and rushed +forward to engage Æneas, hand to hand. Æneas 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 two ordinary men could lift, and was about to hurl it at +his advancing foe, when suddenly the whole combat was terminated <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>by a +very unexpected interposition. It seems that the various gods and +goddesses, from their celestial abodes among the summits of Olympus, +had assembled in invisible forms to witness this combat—some +sympathizing with and upholding one of the combatants, and some the +other. Neptune was on Æneas's side; and accordingly when he saw how +imminent the danger was which threatened Æneas, 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 concealed +Æneas from Achilles's view. Neptune 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 Æneas, 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>on looking +around him found that his enemy was gone.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The tales of the Æneid.</div> + +<p>Such are the marvelous tales which were told by the ancient narrators, +of the prowess and exploits of Æneas 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 +religious faith. The tales were thus believed, and handed down +traditionally from generation 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 sacred +revelations which they contained, in respect to the divinities of the +spiritual world.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_IV" id="Chapter_IV"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter IV.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Destruction of Troy.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 1200</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Termination of the siege of Troy.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">fter</span> the final conquest and destruction of Troy, Æneas, in the course +of his wanderings, stopped, it was said, at Carthage, on his way to +Italy, and there, according 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Appearances observed by the besieged.</div> + +<p>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 movements 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>embarkation. In a word, the tidings soon spread +throughout the city, that the Greeks had at length 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 together,—to +explore the abandoned encampment, and to rejoice over the departure of +their terrible enemies.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The wooden horse.<br />Its probable size.</div> + +<p>The first thing which attracted their attention was an immense wooden +horse, which stood upon the ground that the Greek encampment had +occupied. The Trojans immediately gathered, one and all, around the +monster, full of wonder and curiosity. Æneas, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>in narrating the story, +says that the image was as large as a mountain; but, as he afterward +relates that the people drew it on wheels within the walls of the +city, and especially as he represents them as attaching the ropes for +this purpose to the <i>neck</i> of the image, instead of to its fore-legs, +which would have furnished the only proper points of attachment if the +effigy had been of any very extraordinary size, he must have had a +very small mountain in mind in making the comparison. Or, which is +perhaps more probable, he used the term only in a vague metaphorical +sense, as we do now when we speak of the waves of the ocean as running +mountain 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Various opinions in respect to the disposal of it.</div> + +<p>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 +monster, to leave behind them on their departure from Troy. After the +first emotions of astonishment and wonder which the spectacle awakened +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>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 commander 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. +Another, 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 with so mysterious 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Sudden appearance of a captive.</div> + +<p>What the decision would have been in respect <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>to the disposal of the +horse, if this consultation and debate had gone on, it is impossible +to say, as the farther consideration of the subject was all at once +interrupted, by new occurrences which here suddenly intervened, 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 +excitement, and loud shouts and outcries, bringing with them a captive +Greek whom they had secured and bound. As the peasants came up with +their prisoner, the Trojans gathered eagerly round them, full of +excitement and threats of violence, all thirsting, apparently, for +their victim's blood. He, on his part, filled the air with the most +piteous lamentations and cries for mercy.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">His wretched condition.<br />Sinon's account of the departure of the Greeks.<br />His story of the proposed sacrifice.<br /> +His escape.</div> + +<p>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 the 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 +interrogations, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>that his name was Sinon, and that he was a fugitive +from his own countrymen the Greeks, who had been intending to kill +him. He said that the Greek leaders had long been desirous of +abandoning the siege of Troy, 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 design. +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 oracle 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 designate. 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>to the individual +who was to suffer. At length he said that Sinon was the destined +victim. His comrades, Sinon said, rejoicing in their own escape from +so terrible a doom, eagerly assented to the priest's decision, and +immediately made preparations for the ceremony. The altar was reared. +The victim was adorned for the sacrifice, and the garlands, 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. Sinon concluded his tale by +the most piteous lamentations, on his wretched lot. The Trojans, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Priam's address to him.</div> + +<p>The air and manner with which Sinon told <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>this story seemed so +sincere, and so natural and unaffected were the expressions of +wretchedness and despair with which he ended his narrative, that the +Trojan leaders had no suspicion 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. +"Forget your countrymen," said he. "They are gone. Henceforth 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?"</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Sinon's account of the horse.</div> + +<p>Sinon, as if grateful for the generosity with which his life had been +spared, professed himself ready to give his benefactors the fullest +information. He told them that the wooden horse 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Effect produced by Sinon's story.<br />The serpents and Laocoon.</div> + +<p>The Trojans listened with breathless interest to all that Sinon said, +and readily believed his story; so admirably well did he counterfeit, +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 despair in +respect to his own unhappy lot. The current 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 upon 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 sacriligious temerity in striking his spear into +the horse's side. It had been determined to offer a sacrifice <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>to +Neptune. Lots were drawn to determine who should perform the rite. The +lot fell upon Laocoon. He began to make preparations to perform the +duty, assisted by his two young 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 twining around them they soon +held the writhing and struggling limbs of their shrieking victims +hopelessly entangled in their deadly convolutions.</p> + +<p>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. Instead, +however, of being able to save his children, he only involved himself +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>in their dreadful fate. The serpents seized him as soon as he came +within their reach, and taking two turns around his neck and two +around his body, and binding in a remorseless grip the forms of the +fainting and dying boys with other convolutions, they raised their +heads high above the group of victims which they thus enfolded, and +hissed and darted out their forked tongues in token of defiance and +victory. When at length their work was done, they 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Ancient statue of Laocoon.<br />Its history.<br />The statue now deposited in the Vatican.</div> + +<p>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. This statue was mentioned by an old Roman writer, Pliny, who +gave an account of it while it yet stood in its place in the ancient +city. He said that it was the work of three artists, a father and two +sons, who combined their industry and skill to carve in one group, and +with immense labor and care, the representation of Laocoon himself, +the two boys, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>the two serpents, making five living beings +intertwined intricately together, and all carved from one single block +of marble. On the decline and fall of Rome this statue was lost among +the ruins of the city, and for many centuries it was known to mankind +only through the description of Pliny. At length 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 +attention to the whole world. It was deposited in the Vatican; a great +reward was paid to the owner of the ground on which it was discovered; +drawings and casts of it, without number, have been made; and the +original stands in the Vatican now, an object of universal interest, +as one of the most celebrated sculptures of ancient or modern times.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Description of it.</div> + +<p>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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>sinks under the effects of +the poison. The other boy, in an agony of terror, is struggling, +hopelessly, to release his foot from the convolutions with which one +of the serpents has encircled it. The expression of the whole group is +exciting and painful, and yet notwithstanding this, there is combined +with it a certain mysterious grace and beauty which charms every eye, +and makes the composition the wonder of mankind.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Effect produced upon the Trojans by Laocoon's fate.</div> + +<p>But to return to the story. The people understood this awful +visitation to be the judgment of heaven against Laocoon for his +sacrilegious 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Trojans draw the horse into the city.</div> + +<p>They immediately began to make preparations 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 weight of the colossal mass. +They attached long ropes to the neck of the image, and extended them +forward upon the ground,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> and then brought up large companies of +citizens 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 +ponderous mass began to move, and though it encountered in its +progress many difficulties, obstructions, 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 unconscious effigy +stood silent and alone where its worshipers had left it, while the +whole population of the city were sunk in slumber, except the +sentinels who had been stationed as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>usual to keep guard at the gates, +or to watch upon the towers and battlements above them.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Greeks admitted to the city.</div> + +<p>In the mean time the Greek fleet, which had sailed away under pretense +of finally abandoning 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 secrecy, 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 watchmen, threw +open the gates, and gave the whole body of their comrades that were +lurking <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>outside the walls, in the silence and darkness of the night, +an unobstructed admission.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Æneas awakened by the din.</div> + +<p>Æneas 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 ascended to the +roof of the house to ascertain the cause of the alarm. He saw flames +ascending 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">His meeting with Pantheus.<br />His surprise and terror.</div> + +<p>In the midst of this excitement, there suddenly 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 his +little son, who was likewise pale with terror. Æneas asked Pantheus +what had happened. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>Pantheus in reply explained to him in hurried and +broken words, that armed men, treacherously 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."</p> + +<p>The announcing of these tidings filled Æneas and those who had joined +him with a species 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Adventures of Æneas and Pantheus.<br />The tortoise.</div> + +<p>They soon found themselves in the midst of scenes of dreadful terror +and confusion,—the scenes, in fact, which are usually exhibited <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>in +the midnight sacking of a city. They met with various adventures +during the time that they continued their desperate but hopeless +resistance. They encountered a party of Greeks, and overpowered and +slew them, and then, seizing the armor which their fallen enemies 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 destroy 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 undertook to rescue her, and were at once attacked 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 +<i>tortoise</i> formed for scaling the walls of it. The tumult and din, and +the frightful glare of lurid flames by which the city was illuminated, formed +a scene of inconceivable confusion and terror.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 97-8]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/i095.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="307" alt="The Tortoise." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Tortoise.</span></span></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">The position of Æneas.<br />The tower.</div> + +<p>Æneas 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 had 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 +Æneas 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 below. Great numbers were killed by the falling +ruins, and the tortoise was broken down. The Greeks, however, soon +formed another tortoise, by means of which some of the soldiers scaled +the walls, while others broke down the gates with battering rams and +engines; 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The sacking of the palace. </div> + +<p>The sacking of the palace presented an awful spectacle to the view of +Æneas and his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>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, +were thrown open to view—all illuminated by the glare of the +surrounding conflagrations.</p> + +<p>Shrieks and wailing, and every other species of outcry that comes from +grief, terror, and despair, arose from within; and such spectators 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Priam.<br />Priam and Hecuba at the altar.<br />The death of Priam.</div> + +<p>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 farther attempts at resistance would only +exasperate their enemies, and render their own destruction the more +inevitable. She persuaded <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>the king, therefore, to give up his 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 await 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 unexpected occurrence which suddenly intervened, and which +led to a fatal result. While they were seated by the altar, in +attitudes of submission and suppliance, they were suddenly aroused by +the rushing toward them of one of their sons, who came in, wounded and +bleeding from some scene of combat, and pursued 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 imprecations +against the murderers of his son, he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>hurled the weapon toward them as +they advanced. 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The despair of the Trojans.</div> + +<p>Thus Priam fell, and with him the last hope of the people of Troy. The +city in full possession of their enemies, the palace 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.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_V" id="Chapter_V"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter V.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Flight of Æneas.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 1200</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Æneas's reflections.<br />He determines to go home.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">Æ</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">neas</span>, from his station upon the battlements of a neighboring edifice, +witnessed the taking of the palace and the death of Priam. He +immediately gave up 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, whom 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 he began now to be overwhelmed with the apprehension, +that the besiegers had found their way to his dwelling, and were, +perhaps, at that very moment plundering and destroying it and +perpetrating cruel deeds of violence and outrage upon his wife and +family. He determined immediately to hasten home.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Æneas is left at last alone. </div> + +<p>He looked around to see who of his companions <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>remained with him. +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 city. 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 headlong from their lofty height into the street beneath 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. Æneas 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 Æneas found himself alone.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">He goes away.<br />He sees the princess Helen.</div> + +<p>Æneas contrived to find his way back safely to the street, and then +stealthily choosing his way, and vigilantly watching against the +dangers that surrounded him, he advanced cautiously among the ruins of +the palace, in the direction toward his own home. He had not +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>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.</p> + +<p><a name="Helen" id="Helen"></a></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 386px;"> +<img src="images/i102.jpg" class="ispace" width="386" height="350" alt="Helen." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Helen.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">Story of Helen.<br />Æneas determines to destroy her.<br />His reflections.</div> + +<p>Helen was a Grecian princess, formerly the wife of Menelaus, king of +Sparta, but she had eloped from Greece 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, Menelaus, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>accompanied +by another Grecian chieftain, went to Troy and demanded that Helen +should be given up again to her proper husband. Paris refused to +surrender her. Menelaus then returned to Greece and organized a grand +expedition to proceed to Troy and recapture the queen. This was the +origin of the war. The people, therefore, looked upon Helen as the +cause, whether innocent or guilty, of all their calamities.</p> + +<p>When Æneas, therefore, who was, as may well be supposed, in no very +amiable or gentle temper, as he hurried along away from the smoking +ruins of the palace 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 country by her +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 vengeance 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>ruin +upon us, escape herself, and go back to Greece in safety and be a +queen there again."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The apparition of Aphrodite.<br />Her words.</div> + +<p>As Æneas said these words, rushing forward 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 +decrees of the gods that the city has fallen. It is useless for you to +struggle against inevitable destiny, or to attempt to take vengeance +on mere human means and instrumentalities. Think no more of Helen. +Think of your family. Your aged father, your helpless wife, your +little son,—where are they? Even now while you are wasting time here +in vain attempts 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>unseen, and will protect you and them from +every impending danger."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">His mother's magical protection.</div> + +<p>As soon as Aphrodite had spoken these words she disappeared from view. +Æneas, following her injunctions, went directly toward 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 direction about the city, in such a manner as to convince him +that his mother was really accompanying him, and protecting his way by +her supernatural powers.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">He reaches his home.</div> + +<p>When he reached home the first person whom he saw was Anchises his +father. He told Anchises that all was lost, and that nothing now +remained for them but to seek safety for themselves by flying to the +mountains behind the city. But Anchises refused to 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 remains to me, to be spent, if saved, in miserable exile. +If the powers of heaven had intended that I should have lived any +longer, they would have spared my native city,—my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>only home. You may +go yourselves, but leave me here to die."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The determination of Anchises.</div> + +<p>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. Æneas and Creusa his wife joined their entreaties in +urging him to go away. But he would not be persuaded. Æneas then +declared that he would not go and leave his father. If one was to die +they would all die, he said, together. He called for his armor and +began to put 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Creusa's entreaties.</div> + +<p>He was, however, prevented from carrying this determination into +effect, by Creusa's intervention, who fell down before him at the +threshold of the door, almost frantic with excitement 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."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The plan formed for the escape of the family.</div> + +<p>The conflict of impulses and passions in this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>unhappy family +continued for some time longer, but it ended at last, in the 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 continually at new points in the progress of the +conflagration, indicated that no time was to be lost. Æneas hastily +formed his plan. His father was too old and infirm to go himself +through the city. Æneas determined therefore to carry him upon his +shoulders. Little Ascanius was to walk along by his side. Creusa was +to follow, keeping as close as possible to her husband lest she should +lose him in the darkness of the night, or in the scenes of uproar and +confusion through which they would have to pass on the way. The +domestics 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 certain rising ground, not far from the +city, which Æneas designated to them by means of an old deserted +temple which marked the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>spot, and a venerable cypress which grew +there.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The lion's skin.<br />The household gods.<br />Creusa.</div> + +<p>This plan being formed the party immediately proceeded to put it in +execution. Æneas 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. Anchises 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 embodiment of divine protection. To save these images, +when every thing else was given up for lost, was always the object of +the last desperate effort of the husband and father. Æneas in this +case asked his father to take these images, as it would have been an +impiety 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 followed 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 +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>of the distant conflagrations, which glared in the sky, and flashed +sometimes upon battlements and towers, and upon the tops of lofty +dwellings.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The whole party proceed towards the gates.<br />Escape from the city.</div> + +<p>Æneas 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 constant 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 defend either himself or them. The party, however, for a time +seemed to escape all these dangers, but at length, just as they were +approaching the gate of the city, and began to think that they were +safe, they were suddenly alarmed by a loud uproar, and by a rush of +men which came in toward them from some streets in that quarter of the +city, and threatened to overwhelm them. Anchises was greatly alarmed. +He saw the gleaming <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>weapons of the Greeks who were rushing toward +them, and he called out to Æneas to fly faster, or to turn off some +other way, in order to escape the impending danger. Æneas was +terrified by the shouts and uproar which he heard, and his mind was +for a moment confused 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 succeeded in finding egress +from the city. He pressed on, without stopping to look behind him till +he reached the appointed place of rendezvous on the hill, and then +gently laying down his burden, he looked around for Creusa. She was +nowhere to be seen.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Creusa is lost.</div> + +<p>Æneas was in utter consternation, at finding that his wife was gone. +He mourned and lamented this dreadful calamity with loud exclamations +of grief and despair; then reflecting 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 behind the hill, and leaving them there +under <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>the charge of his domestics, he hastened back to the city to +see if Creusa could be found.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Æneas goes back in search of Creusa.</div> + +<p>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 flames which +rose up here and there from the burning buildings.</p> + +<p>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, accordingly, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">He finds that his house has been burned.</div> + +<p>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 furniture <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>and goods which the +wretched inmates of the dwellings had vainly endeavored to save. These +inmates themselves were standing around, distracted with grief and +terror, and gazing hopelessly upon the scene of devastation before +them.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The apparition of Creusa.</div> + +<p>Æneas saw all these things at a glance, and immediately, in a phrensy +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 imploring all whom he saw to give him some tidings of her. +All was, however, in vain. She could not be found. Æneas 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 suspense, 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 progress. 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>him that the vision was not of this +world. Æneas saw at a glance that Creusa's earthly sorrows and +sufferings were ended forever.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Her predictions.<br />Her farewell to her husband.</div> + +<p>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 providence 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 destiny 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, however, 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>must not lament my fate. +Farewell. Love Ascanius for my sake, and watch over him and protect +him as long as you live."</p> + +<p>Having spoken these words, the vision began to disappear. Æneas +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 concealed Anchises and his little son.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Preparations for departure.</div> + +<p>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 Æneas 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, Æneas employed his men +in building a number of small vessels, fitting them, as was usual in +those days, both with sails and oars.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Æneas's company increases.</div> + +<p>During the progress of these preparations, small parties of Trojans +were coming in continually, 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 Æneas was gradually assembling +the remnant of the Trojans on the shore. The numbers thus collected at +Æneas's encampment gradually increased, and as Æneas 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">His fleet.<br />The embarkation.</div> + +<p>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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Map of the wanderings of Æneas.</div> + +<p><a name="Wandering" id="Wandering"></a></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/i116.jpg" class="ispace jpg" width="500" height="293" alt="Wanderings of Æneas." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Wanderings of Æneas.</span></span></div> + +<p>The nearest country within reach in leaving the Trojan coast, was +Thrace—a country lying <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>north of the Egean Sea, and of the Propontis, being separated, in +fact, in one part, from the Trojan territories, only by the +Hellespont. Æneas turned his course northward toward this country, +and, after a short voyage, 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>to +leave those shores very precipitously. The prodigy was this:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">A dreadful prodigy.<br />The bleeding myrtle.<br />Words of the myrtle.</div> + +<p>They had erected an altar on the shore, after they had landed, and +were preparing to offer the sacrifices customary on such occasions, +when Æneas, 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 astonishment and horror, he found that blood +flowed from the roots whenever they were broken. Drops of what +appeared to be human blood would ooze from the ruptured part as he +held the shoot in his hand, and fall slowly to the ground. He was +greatly terrified at this spectacle, considering it as some omen of +very dreadful import. He immediately 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>prodigy +had 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 suffering. Immediately afterward a +voice, in a mournful and sepulchral accent, began to beg him to go +away, and cease disturbing the repose 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."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Story of Polydorus.</div> + +<p>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 supplied, and that he might maintain, during his +absence 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 for support and protection, became +the occasion of his ruin—for the Thracian king, when he found <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Æneas leaves Thrace.</div> + +<p>Æneas 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, performed those funeral rites for Polydorus which +were considered in those ages essential to the repose of the dead. +When these mournful ceremonies were ended they embarked on board their +ships again and sailed away.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">His various wanderings.</div> + +<p>After this, the party of Æneas spent many months in weary voyages from +island to island, and from shore to shore, along the Mediterranean +sea, encountering every imaginable difficulty and danger, and meeting +continually with the strangest and most romantic adventures. At one +time they were misled by a mistaken interpretation of prophecy to +attempt a settlement in Crete—a green and beautiful island lying +south of the Egean sea. They had applied to a sacred <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>oracle, which +had its seat at a certain consecrated 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 +oracle, in answer to their request, informed them that they were to go +to the land that their ancestors had originally come from, before +their settlement in Troy. Æneas applied to Anchises 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The attempted settlement at Crete.<br />Calamities.</div> + +<p>The course of the little fleet was accordingly directed southward, and +in due time the expedition safely reached the island of Crete, and +landed there. They immediately commenced the work of effecting a +settlement. They drew the ships up upon 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>them. Many died; others who still lived, were +utterly prostrated by the effects of the disease, and crawled about, +emaciated and wretched, a miserable and piteous spectacle 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Æneas's perplexity.<br />Advice of Anchises.</div> + +<p>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 judgments. Æneas determined to adopt this +advice, but he was prevented from carrying his intentions into effect +by the following occurrence.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Scene at night.</div> + +<p>One night he was lying upon his couch in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>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 which environed them. The moon shone in at the +windows, and by the light of this luminary he saw, reposing in their +shrines in the opposite side of the apartment where he was sleeping, +the household images which he had rescued from the flames of Troy. As +he looked upon these divinities in the still and solemn hour of +midnight, oppressed with anxiety and care, one of them began to +address him.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The household deities.<br />Their address to Æneas.</div> + +<p>"We are commissioned," said this supernatural 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 destined to be your home. You must leave +these shores, 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>or on account of the calamities which now +impend over you. You will be prospered in the end. You will reach +Italy in safety, and there you will lay the foundations of a mighty +empire, which in days to come will extend its dominion far and wide +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."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Effect of this address.<br />Subsequent adventures.<br />Danger of shipwreck.<br />The harpies.</div> + +<p>The strength and spirits of the desponding adventurer were very +essentially revived by this encouragement. He immediately prepared 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 extend this portion of our narrative too far, +to relate them all. They encountered a storm by which for three days +and three nights they were tossed to and fro, without seeing sun or +stars, and of course without any guidance whatever; and during all +this time they were in the most imminent danger of being overwhelmed +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>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 <i>harpies</i>, +birds of prey of prodigious size and most offensive habits, and fierce +and voracious beyond description. 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 Aëlopos, Nicothoë, Ocythoë, Ocypoæ, Celæno, +Acholoë, and Aëllo. Some said that the harpies had the faces and forms +of women. Others described them as frightfully ugly; but all agree in +representing them as voracious beyond description, always greedily +devouring every thing that they could get within reach of their claws.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Æneas driven away.</div> + +<p>These fierce monsters flew down upon Æneas and his party, and carried +away the food from off the table before them; and even <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>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 before. At length the +expedition was driven away from the island altogether, by these +ravenous fowls, and when they were embarking on board of their +vessels, the leader of the harpies perched herself upon a rock +overlooking the scene, and in a human voice loaded Æneas and his +companions, as they went away, with taunts and execrations.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Dangers at Mt. Etna.<br />The one-eyed giants.<br />Polyphemus.</div> + +<p>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 +summit 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 monsters 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 enabled <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>them to resume their course, they made all +haste to get away from so appalling a scene. At another time they +touched upon a coast which 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 surprise +their keeper in his sleep, and though they were wholly unable to kill +him on account of his colossal magnitude, they succeeded in putting +out his eye, and Æneas and his companions saw the blinded giant, as +they passed along the coast, wading in the sea, and bathing 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.</p> + +<p>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, Æneas and his party reached the shores of Italy, at +the point which by divine intimations had been pointed out <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>to them as +the place where they were to land.<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a></p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remarks on the story of Æneas.</div> + +<p>The story of the life and adventures of Æneas, 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 +narrative has made a more deep, and widespread, and lasting impression +upon the human mind than any other narrative perhaps that ever was +penned.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_VI" id="Chapter_VI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Landing in Latium.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 1197-1190</h3> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">L</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">atium</span> was the name given to an ancient province of Italy, lying south +of the Tiber. At the time of Æneas's arrival upon the coast it was an +independent kingdom. The name of the king who reigned over it at this +period was Latinus.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Description of the country where Æneas landed.</div> + +<p>The country on the banks of the Tiber, where the city of Rome +afterward arose, was then a wild but picturesque rural region, +consisting of hills and valleys, occupied by shepherds 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 command 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 employed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>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 buildings, of wood, or of stone, and thus constructed such +dwellings as they needed, in their towns, and walls and citadels for +defence.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The landing.<br />Mouth of the Tiber.<br />Burning of the ships.</div> + +<p>Æneas brought his fleet into the mouth of the Tiber, and anchored it +there. He himself, 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 expedition at the commencement of the voyage, was very +large; but it had been considerably diminished by the various +misfortunes and accidents 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 render it impossible for the fleet +to go to sea again.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Italy in ancient days.</div> + +<p>However this may be, Æneas was very strongly disposed to make the +beautiful region which he now saw before him, his final home. The +country, in every aspect of it, was alluring in the highest degree. +Level plains, varied here and there by gentle elevations, extended +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 mountains bounded the +horizon, and a soft, warm summer haze floated over the whole scene, +bathing the landscape in a rich mellow light peculiar to Italian +skies.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Sacrifices offered.</div> + +<p>As soon as the disembarkation was effected, lines of encampment were +marked out, at a suitable place on the shore, and such simple +fortifications as were necessary for defence in such a case, were +thrown up. Æneas dispatched one party in boats to explore the various +passages and channels which formed the mouth of the river, perhaps in +order to be prepared to make good his escape again, to sea, in case of +any sudden or extraordinary danger. Another party were employed in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>erecting altars, and preparing for sacrifices and other religious +celebrations, designed on the part of Æneas to propitiate the deities +of the place, and to inspire his men with religious confidence and +trust. He also immediately proceeded to organize a party of +reconnoiterers who were to proceed into the interior, to explore the +country and to communicate with the inhabitants.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Map of Latium.</div> + +<p><a name="Latium" id="Latium"></a></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 365px;"> +<img src="images/i131.jpg" class="ispace jpg" width="365" height="350" alt="Map of Latium." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Map of Latium.</span></span></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Reconnoitring the country.<br />King Latinus.</div> + +<p>The party of reconnoiterers thus sent out followed up the banks of the +river, and made excursions in various directions across the fields and +plains. They found that the country 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 arrival 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 demeanor +he concluded that they were Greeks. This idea awakened in his mind +some apprehension; 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 +pursue in respect to the intruders.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">An embassy.</div> + +<p>In the mean time Æneas concluded to send <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>an embassy to Latinus to +explain the circumstances under which 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 the others a large number of gifts which +they were to carry and present to him. These gifts consisted of +weapons 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 arranged proceeded to the Latin capital.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The embassy come to the capital.</div> + +<p>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 dwellings. Outside the gates a +portion of the population were assembled busily engaged in games, and +in various gymnastic and equestrian performances. Some were driving +furiously in chariots around great circles marked out for the course. +Others were practicing feats of horsemanship, or running races upon +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>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 they came in view of this scene, and +waited until intelligence could be sent in to the monarch, informing +him of their arrival.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The embassadors are admitted to an audience.</div> + +<p>Latinus decided immediately to admit the embassy to an audience, and +they were accordingly conducted into the city. They were led, after +entering by the gates, through various streets, until they came at +length to a large public edifice, which seemed to be, at the same +time, palace, senate-house, and citadel. There were to be seen, in the +avenues which led to this edifice, statues of old warriors, and +various other martial decorations. There were many old trophies of +former victories preserved here, such as arms, and chariots, and prows +of ships, and crests, and great bolts and bars taken from the gates of +conquered cities,—all old, war-worn, and now useless, but preserved +as memorials of bravery and conquest. The Trojan embassy, passing +through and among these trophies, as they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>stood or hung in the halls +and vestibules of the palace, were at length ushered into the presence +of Latinus the king.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Their address to king Latinus.</div> + +<p>Here, after the usual ceremonies of introduction were performed, they +delivered the message which Æneas 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 +destruction of their native city. Since then they had been driven to +and fro at the mercy of the winds and waves, exposed to every +conceivable degree of hardship and danger. Their landing finally in +the dominions of Latinus 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 reaching them, +had landed; and now Æneas, 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 territory <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>for them, and give them leave to +build a city.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Latinus accedes to Æneas's requests.</div> + +<p>The effect produced upon the mind of Latinus 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 +destruction of Troy, and of the departure of Æneas's squadron; for a +long time had been consumed by the wanderings of the expedition along +the Mediterranean shores, so that some years had now elapsed since the +destruction 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 Æneas a treaty of alliance and friendship. He +designated a spot where the new city might be built, and all things +were thus amicably settled.</p> + +<p>There was one circumstance which exerted a powerful influence in +promoting the establishment of friendly relations between Latinus and +the Trojans, and that was, that Latinus was engaged, at the time of +Æneas's arrival, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>in a war with the Rutulians, a nation that inhabited +a country lying south of Latium and on the coast. Latinus thought that +by making the Trojans his friends, he should be able to enlist them as +his auxiliaries in this war. Æneas 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Proposal of marriage.<br />Lavinia and Turnus.<br />The anger of Turnus at being set aside.</div> + +<p>In a short time a still closer alliance was formed between Æneas and +Latinus, an alliance which in the end resulted in the accession of +Æneas to the throne of Latinus. Latinus had a daughter named Lavinia. +She was an only child, and was a princess of extraordinary 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 marry Lavinia, and in the +end succeed with her, to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>the throne of Latinus. Latinus himself had +not entered into this scheme; and when closing his negotiations with +Æneas, it seemed to him that it would be well to seal and secure the +adherence of Æneas to his cause by offering him his daughter Lavinia +for his bride. Æneas was very willing to accede to this proposal. What +the wishes of Lavinia herself were in respect to the arrangement, it +is not very well known; nor were her wishes, according to the ideas +that prevailed in those times, of any consequence whatever. The plan +was arranged, and the nuptials were soon to be celebrated. Turnus, +when he found that he was to be superseded, left the court of Latinus, +and went away out of the country in a rage.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Lavinium.</div> + +<p>Æneas 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. Æneas had intended to have named it Troy, in commemoration of +the ancient city now no more. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Situation of the Trojan territory.</div> + +<p>The territory which had been assigned to the Trojans by Latinus was in +the south-western 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, determining, 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 Æneas found himself threatened with a very formidable +danger.</p> + +<p>Nor was this all. For just before the commencement of the war with +Turnus, an extraordinary train of circumstances occurred which +resulted in alienating the Latins themselves from their new ally, and +in leaving Æneas 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 Æneas <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>would not be very favorably +regarded by the common 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 partiality of their king, to a share of their +country. This jealousy and distrust was, for a time, suppressed and +concealed; but the animosity only acquired strength and concentration +by being restrained, and at length an event occurred which caused it +to break forth with uncontrollable fury. The circumstances were these:</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The story of Sylvia's stag.</div> + +<p>There was a man in Latium named Tyrrheus, 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 accustomed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>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.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145-6]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/i142.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="305" alt="Silvia's Stag." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Silvia's Stag.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote">Ascanius shoots the stag.</div> + +<p>One day when Ascanius, Æneas'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 belonging to his years, was returning from +the chase, he happened to pass by the place where the herdsman lived. +Ascanius was followed 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 confiding 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 fitting it to +the bow. As soon as he came <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>in sight of the stag, he let fly his arrow. The 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 rushing into +the house, marking his way with blood, ran to the covert which Sylvia +had provided for his resting-place at night, and crouching down there +he filled the whole dwelling with piteous bleatings and cries.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The resentment of Sylvia's brothers.</div> + +<p>As soon as Tyrrheus, the father of Sylvia, and the two young men, her +brothers, knew who it was that had thus wantonly wounded their +favorite, they were filled with indignation and rage. They went out +and aroused the neighboring peasantry, who very easily caught the +spirit of resentment and revenge which burned 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Sudden outbreak.<br />Death of Almon.<br />Great excitement.</div> + +<p>In the mean time the Trojan youth, having heard the tidings of this +disturbance, began to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>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 chieftains +could interfere, a very 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 maturity, 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 demanded, 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.</p> + +<p>Latinus found it extremely difficult to withstand 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>sentiment turned hopelessly against the Trojans, +and Æneas soon found himself shut up in his city, surrounded with +enemies, and left to his fate. Turnus was the leader of these foes.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Preparation for war.</div> + +<p>He, however, did not despair. Both parties began to prepare vigorously +for war. Æneas himself went away with a few followers to some of the +neighboring kingdoms, to get succor 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. Æneas found +several of the Italian princes who were ready to aid him, and he +returned to his camp with considerable reinforcements, and with +promises of more. The war soon broke out, and was waged for a long +time with great determination on both sides and with varied success.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Latinus.</div> + +<p>Latinus, who was now somewhat advanced in life, and had thus passed +beyond the period of ambition and love of glory, and who besides must +have felt that the interests of his family were now indissolubly bound +up in those of Æneas and Lavinia, watched the progress of the contest +with a very uneasy and anxious mind. He found that for a time at +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>least it would be out of his power to do any thing effectual to +terminate the war, so he allowed it to take its course, and contented +himself with waiting patiently, in hopes that an occasion which would +allow of his interposing with some hope of success, would sooner or +later come.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Trojans gradually gain ground.</div> + +<p>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, they 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 property for their enemies to plunder, while the Rutulians +and Latins had great possessions, 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 Trojans <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>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 victory or destruction. +Their protracted voyage, and the long experience of hardships and +sufferings 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Desire for peace.<br />Turnus opposes it.</div> + +<p>At length, as usual in such cases, indications gradually appeared that +both sides began to be weary of the contest. Latinus availed himself +of a favorable occasion which offered, to propose that embassadors +should be sent to Æneas with terms of peace. Turnus was very much +opposed to any such plan. He was earnestly desirous of continuing to +prosecute the war. The other Latin chieftains reproached him then with +being the cause of all the calamities which they were enduring, and +urged the unreasonableness on his part of desiring any longer to +protract 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 +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>proposed that he should himself decide the question between him and +Æneas, by challenging the Trojan leader to fight him in single combat.</p> + +<p>Latinus strongly disapproved of this proposal. He was weary of war and +bloodshed, and wished that the conflict might wholly cease; and he +urged that peace should be made with Æneas, and that his original +design of giving him Lavinia for his wife should be carried into +execution. For a moment Turnus seemed to hesitate, but in looking +towards 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 Æneas should win her for his bride.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">A proposal for single combat.</div> + +<p>He accordingly without any farther hesitation 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 was marked out for +the duel, and both armies were drawn up upon the field, to be +spectators of the fight.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Result of the combat.<br />Marriage of Æneas.</div> + +<p>After the usual preparations the conflict began; but, as frequently +occurs in such cases, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>it was not long confined to the single pair of +combatants with which it commenced. Others were gradually drawn in, +and the duel became in the end a general battle. Æneas and the Trojans +were victorious, and both Latinus and Turnus were slain. This ended +the war. Æneas married Lavinia, and thenceforth reigned with her over +the kingdom of Latium as its rightful sovereign.</p> + +<p>Æneas lived several years after this, and 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 people so as +greatly to improve their condition. He introduced, too, many +ceremonies of religious worship, which had prevailed in the countries +from which he had come, or in those which he had visited in his long +voyage. These ceremonies became at last so firmly established among +the religious observances of the inhabitants of Latium, that they +descended from generation to generation, and in subsequent years +exercised great influence, in modeling the religious faith and worship +of the Roman people. They thus continued to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>be practiced for many +ages, and, through the literature of the Romans, became subsequently +known and celebrated throughout the whole civilized world.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Æneas drowned in the Numicius.</div> + +<p>At length, in a war which Æneas was waging 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 Numicius. 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.</p> + +<p>The Trojan followers of Æneas 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.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_VII" id="Chapter_VII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Rhea Silvia.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 800</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Rhea Silvia.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">R</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">hea</span> Silvia, the mother of Romulus, was a vestal virgin, who lived in +the kingdom of Latium about four hundred years after the death of +Æneas. 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 +services of religion. They were, like nuns, especially prohibited from +all association and intercourse with men.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The order of vestal virgins.</div> + +<p>Æneas 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 Vesta, who was +the goddess of Home. The fireside has been, in all ages and countries, +the center and the symbol of home, and the worship of Vesta consisted, +accordingly, of ceremonies designed to dignify and exalt the fireside +in the estimation of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>people. Instead of the images and altars +which were used in the worship of the other deities, a representation +of a <i>fire-stand</i> 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The ancient focus.<br />Arrangement for fire.</div> + +<p>These fire-stands, as used by the ancients, were very different 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 <i>focus</i>. 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>only +their pursuits and avocations, but far the greater 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 Vesta, the goddess of Home, +they set up a <i>focus</i>, or fire-place, in her temple, instead of an +altar, and in the place of sacrifices they simply kept burning upon it +a perpetual fire.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Nature of the ceremonies instituted in honor of Vesta.<br />Her vestal virgins.<br />Their duties.</div> + +<p>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 Vesta by the most solemn ceremonies, and as virgins, were +bound under awful penalties, to spotless purity of life. As the +perpetual fire in the temple of Vesta represented the fire of the +domestic hearth, so these vestal virgins represented the maidens by +whom the domestic service of a household is performed; and the life of +seclusion and celibacy which was required of them was the emblem of +the innocence and purity which the institution of the family is +expressly intended to guard. The duties of the vestals were analogous +to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>those of domestic maidens. They were to watch the fire, and never +to allow it to go out. They were to perform various rites and +ceremonies connected with the worship of Vesta and to keep the +interior of the temple and the shrines pure and clean, and the sacred +vessels and utensils arranged, as in a well-ordered household. In a +word, they were to be, in purity, in industry, in neatness, in order, +and in patience and vigilance, the perfect impersonation of maidenly +virtue as exhibited in its own proper field of duty at home.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Terrible punishment for those who violated their vows.</div> + +<p>The most awful penalties were visited upon the head of any vestal +virgin who was guilty of violating her vows. There is no direct +evidence what these penalties 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 side. In the +dungeon itself there was placed a table, a lamp, and a little food. +The descent was by a ladder which passed down through <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>the pit. The +place of this terrible preparation for punishment was near one of the +gates of the city, and when all was ready the unhappy vestal was +brought forth, at the head of a great public 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 the 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.</p> + +<p>If we would do full justice to the ancient founders of civilization +and empire, we should probably consider their enshrinement of Vesta, +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 the sense in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>which Christian nations worship the +spiritual and eternal Jehovah—but rather as the embodiment of an +idea,—a principle,—as the best means, in those rude ages, of +attracting to it the general regard.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Similar observances in modern times.<br />Influence of the vestal institution.</div> + +<p>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. And if, +instead of the cap, they were to place a carved effigy of liberty +above, and to assemble for periodical celebrations below, with games, +and music, and banners, we should not probably call them idolaters. So +Christian poets write odes and invocations to Peace, to +Disappointment, to Spring, to Beauty, in which they impersonate an +idea, or a principle, and address it in the language of adoration, 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 the influence of the love of liberty on the +popular mind. It is possible that Æneas looked upon the subject in the +same light, in erecting a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>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, of domestic honor and purity. We must remember that +they had not then the word of God, nor any means of communicating to +the minds of the people any general enlightenment and instruction. +They were obliged, therefore, to resort to the next best method which +their ingenuity could devise.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Ceremonies.<br />Qualifications of the candidate.</div> + +<p>There were a great many very extraordinary rites and ceremonies +connected with the service 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 that the candidate, +besides the above-named <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Term of service.</div> + +<p>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 +however permitted this, there was a public sentiment 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 attendance at the temple, and died as they had lived in +the service of the goddess.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The sacred fire.<br />Punishment for neglect of duty.</div> + +<p>One of the chief functions of the virgins, in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>their service in the +temple, was to keep the sacred fire perpetually burning. This fire was +never to go out, and if, by any neglect on the part of the vestal in +attendance, this was allowed to occur, the guilty maiden was punished +terribly by scourging. The punishment was inflicted by the hands of +the highest pontifical officer of the state. The laws of the +institution however evinced their high regard for the purity and +modesty of the vestal maidens by requiring that the blows should be +administered in the dark, the sufferer having been previously prepared +to receive them by being partially undressed by her female attendants. +The extinguished fire was then rekindled with many solemn ceremonies.</p> + +<p>Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus, was, we repeat, a vestal virgin. +She lived four hundred years after the death of Æneas. During these +four centuries, the kingdom had been governed by the descendants of +Æneas, generally in a peaceful and prosperous manner, although some +difficulties occurred in the establishment of the succession +immediately after Æneas's death. It will be remembered that Æneas was +drowned during the continuance of the war. He left one son, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>and +perhaps others. The one who figured most conspicuously in the +subsequent history of the kingdom, was Ascanius, the son who had +accompanied Æneas from Troy, and who had now attained to years of +maturity. He, of course, on his father's death, immediately succeeded +him.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Question in regard to the succession.<br />Origin of the name Silvius.</div> + +<p>There was some question, however, whether, after all, Lavinia herself +was not entitled to the kingdom. It was doubtful, according to the +laws and usages of those days, whether Æneas held the realm in his own +right, or as the husband of Lavinia, who was the daughter and heir of +Latinus, the ancient and legitimate king. Lavinia, however, seemed to +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 knowing but that Ascanius would be suspicious 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 Trojans, and now, since he was no more, and +another, who was in some sense her rival, had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>risen to power, she +naturally felt insecure. She accordingly took the first opportunity to +retire from Lavinium. She went away into the forests in the interior +of the country, with a very few attendants and friends, and concealed +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 having been born in the midst +of the wild forest scenes which surrounded her at the time of his +birth, she called him in full, Æneas of the woods, or, as it was +expressed in the language which was then used in Latium, Æneas +Silvius. The boy, when he grew up, was always known by this name in +subsequent history.</p> + +<p>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 Silvius affixed to their names, in perpetual commemoration of +the romantic birth of their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>ancestor. Rhea, the mother of Romulus, of +whom we have already spoken, and of whom we shall presently have +occasion to speak still more, was Rhea <i>Silvia</i>, by reason of her +having been by birth a princess of this royal line.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">History of Ascanius.<br />His war with Mezentius.</div> + +<p>Ascanius, in the mean time, on the death of his father, was 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. Mezentius had a son +named Lausus, 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. He 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>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 +terrific shouts and outcries. The whole detachment were taken entirely +by surprise, and great numbers were made prisoners or slain. Lausus +himself was killed.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Trojans victorious.</div> + +<p>Excited by their victory, the Trojan soldiers, headed by Ascanius, now +turned their course toward the main body of the Rutulian army. +Mezentius had, however, in the mean time, obtained warning of their +approach, and when they reached his camp he was ready to retreat. He +fled with all his forces toward the mountains. Ascanius and the +Trojans followed him. Mezentius halted and attempted to fortify +himself on a hill. Ascanius surrounded the hill, and soon compelled +his enemies to come to terms. A treaty was made, and Mezentius and his +forces soon after withdrew from the country, leaving Ascanius and +Latium in peace.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Settlement of the kingdom.</div> + +<p>Ascanius then, after having in some degree settled his affairs, began +to think of Lavinia. In fact, the Latin portion of his subjects +seemed disposed to murmur and complain, at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>her having been compelled +to withdraw from her own paternal kingdom, in order to leave the +throne to the occupancy of the son of a stranger. Some even feared +that she had come to some harm, or that Ascanius 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 Lavinia's return.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Lavinia recalled.<br />The building of Alba Longa.<br />Situation of Alba Longa.<br />The name.</div> + +<p>Ascanius seems to have been well disposed to 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 concluded to give up +Lavinium to her entirely, as her own rightful dominion, while 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 many miles distant from it. The +place which he marked out for the walls 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, rising abruptly on one +side, formed a sure defense on that side: on the other side was a +small <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>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 intended 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 which subsequently +grew there were luxurious and delicious in flavor. From the little +lake channels were cut leading over the plains below, and by this +means a constant supply of water could be conveyed to the fields of +grain which were to be sown there, for purposes of irrigation. Thus +the place which Ascanius chose furnished all possible facilities both +for maintaining, and also for defending the people who were to make it +their abode. The town was called Alba Longa, that is long Alba. It was +called <i>long</i> 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.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p><p>Ascanius 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 harmony. In process of time +both died. Ascanius left a son whose name was Iulus, while Æneas +Silvius was Lavinia's heir.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Successor to Ascanius.<br />Perplexing question.<br />Settlement of the question.</div> + +<p>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 Æneas the Trojan became, by +conquest, the rightful sovereign of Latium, irrespective of any rights +that he acquired through his marriage with Lavinia, and that Iulus, as +the son of his eldest son, rightfully succeeded him. Others contended +that Lavinia represented the ancient and the truly legitimate royal +line, and that Æneas Silvius, as her son and heir, ought to be placed +upon the throne. And there were those who proposed to compromise the +question, by dividing Latium into two separate kingdoms, giving up one +part to Iulus, with Alba Longa for its capital, and the other, with +Lavinium for its capital, to Æneas Silvius, Lavinia's heir. This +proposition was, however, overruled. The two kingdoms, thus <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>formed +would be small and feeble, it was thought, 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 Æneas +Silvius, being the son both of Æneas and Lavinia, and thus +representing both branches of the reigning power, should be the king, +while Iulus and his descendants forever, should occupy the position, +scarcely less inferior, of sovereign power in matters of religion. +Æneas Silvius, therefore, and his descendants, became <i>kings</i>, and as +such commanded the armies and directed the affairs of state, while +Iulus and his family were exalted, in connection with them, to the +highest pontifical dignities.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Tiberinus.</div> + +<p>This state of things, once established, continued age after age, and +century after century, for about four hundred years. No records, and +very few traditions in respect to what occurred during this period +remain. One circumstance, however, took place which caused itself to +be remembered. There was one king in the line of the Silvii, whose +name was Tiberinus. In one of his battles with the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>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 was seen no more. By the accident, however, he gave the name of +Tiber to the stream, and thus perpetuated his own memory through the +subsequent renown of the river in which he was drowned. Before this +time the river was called the Albula.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The story of Alladius and his thunder.<br />Death of Alladius.<br />Superstitions.</div> + +<p>Another incident is related, which is somewhat 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 was 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 were not deceived by this imposture, +though they soon after fell into an error nearly as absurd <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>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 with 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 +considered 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 prerogative of supreme +divinity. In fact, the rumor circulated, and one historian has +recorded it as true, that Alladius was struck by the lightning 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 thunder, and to protect +themselves from its power; and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>now, since Franklin and Morse have +commenced the work of subduing the potent and mysterious agent in +which it originates, to the human 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Numitor and Amulius.<br />Their respective characters.</div> + +<p>At last, toward the close of the four hundred years during which the +dynasty of the Silvii continued to reign over Latium, a certain +monarch of the series died, leaving two children, Numitor and Amulius. +Numitor was the eldest son, and as such entitled to succeed his +father. But he was of a quiet and somewhat inefficient disposition, +while his younger brother was ardent and ambitious, and very likely to +aspire to the possession of power. The father, it seems, anticipated +the possibility of dissension between his sons after his death, and in +order to do all in his power to guard against it, he endeavored to +arrange and settle the succession before he died. In the course of the +negotiations which ensued, Amulius proposed that his father's +possessions should be divided into two portions, the kingdom to +constitute one, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>and the wealth and treasures the other, and that +Numitor should choose which portion he would have. This proposal +seemed to have the appearance, at least, of reasonableness 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 +Amulius was, in effect, a proposition to divide with himself that +which really belonged wholly to his brother.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Division of their father's possessions.<br />Policy of Numitor.</div> + +<p>Numitor, however, who, it seems, was little disposed to contend for +his rights, agreed to this proposal. He, however, chose the kingdom, +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 treasures, began to employ them +as a means of making powerful friends, and strengthening his political +influence. In due time he usurped the throne, and Numitor, giving up +the contest with very little attempt to resist the usurpation, fled +and concealed himself in some obscure place of retreat. He had, +however, two children, a son and a daughter, which he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>left behind him +in his 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Death of Egestus.</div> + +<p>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 arrows, 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 Rhea—the Rhea 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 humanity to be +unwilling to shed the blood of a helpless and beautiful maiden, the +daughter, too, of his own brother. Then, besides, he had a daughter of +his own named Antho, who was the playmate and companion of Rhea, and +with whose affection for her cousin he must have felt some sympathy. +He would <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>not, therefore, destroy the child, but contented himself +with determining to make her a vestal virgin. By this means she would +be solemnly set apart to a religious service, which would incapacitate +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 offspring to dispute his claim to the +throne.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Rhea enters upon her duties as a vestal virgin.</div> + +<p>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 highest rank to be designated +to this office. The little Rhea, for she was 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 awful +sanctions—unconscious, however, perhaps, herself of what she was +doing—to lead thenceforth a life of absolute celibacy and seclusion.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Unexpected events announced.</div> + +<p>She was then received into the temple of Vesta, and there, with the +other maidens who had been consecrated before her, she devoted +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>herself to the discharge of the duties of her office, without +reproach, for several years. At length, however, certain circumstances +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.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_VIII" id="Chapter_VIII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Twins.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 774-755</h3> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">lthough</span> the temple of Vesta itself, at Alba Longa, was the principal +scene of the duties which devolved upon the vestal virgins, still they +were not wholly confined in their avocations to that sacred edifice, +but were often called upon, one or two at a time, to perform services, +or to assist in the celebration of rites, at other places in the city +and vicinity.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 394px;"> +<img src="images/i177.jpg" class="ispace" width="394" height="350" alt="Rhea Silvia." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Rhea Silvia.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">The temple of Mars at Alba.<br />Its situation.<br />Rhea's fault.<br />Her excuse.<br />The wolf story.</div> + +<p>There was a temple consecrated to Mars near to Alba. It was situated +in an opening in the woods, in some little glen or valley at the base +of the mountain. There was a stream of water running through the +ground, and Rhea in the performance of her duties as a vestal was +required at one time to pass to and fro through the groves in this +solitary place to fetch water. Here she allowed herself, in violation +of her vestal vows, to form the acquaintance of a man, whom she met in +the groves. She knew well that by doing so she made herself subject to the most dreadful penalties in case her fault +should become known. Still she yielded to the temptation, and allowed +herself to be persuaded to remain with the stranger. She said +afterward, when the facts were brought to light, that her meeting with +this companion was wholly unintentional 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>came to her there, to protect her, and then +compelled her to remain with him. Besides, from his dress, and +countenance, and air, she had believed him, she said, to be the God +Mars himself, and thought that it was not her duty to resist his will.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Rhea in trouble.<br />Birth of her sons.</div> + +<p>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 observed by her companions and friends that she began to appear +thoughtful and depressed. 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 Vestal +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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Antho.<br />The anger of Amulius.</div> + +<p>It was only through the influence of Antho, Rhea's cousin, that the +unhappy vestal was not put to death by Amulius, before her children +were born, at the time when her fault was first discovered. The laws +of the State <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>in respect to vestal virgins, which were inexorably +severe, would have justified him in causing her to be executed at +once, but Antho interceded so earnestly for her unhappy cousin, that +Amulius for a time spared her life. When, however, her sons were born, +the anger of Amulius broke out anew. If she had remained childless he +would probably have allowed her to live, though she could of course +never have been restored to her office in the temple of Vesta. 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 existence 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Rhea imprisoned.</div> + +<p>He caused Rhea to be shut up in close imprisonment, 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 had resided in her retirement, and where the children +were born.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Faustulus.<br />His plan.<br />The box that he made.</div> + +<p>A peasant of that region was intrusted with the task of throwing the +children into the river. Whether his official duty in undertaking this +commission required him actually to drown the boys, or whether 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 hollowed out from a +log,—and disposing their little limbs carefully within this narrow +receptacle, he pushed the frail boat, with its navigators still more +frail, out upon the current of the river.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 398px;"> +<img src="images/i181.jpg" class="ispace" width="398" height="350" alt="Faustulus and the Twins." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Faustulus and the Twins.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">He follows the stream.<br />The children thrown out upon the sand.</div> + +<p>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 +Faustulus, too. In fact we might well suppose that no man, however +rustic and rude, could give his time and his thoughts to two such babes long enough to make +an ark for them, for the purpose of making it possible to save their +lives, and then place them carefully in it to send them away, without +becoming so far interested in their fate, and so touched by their mute +and confiding helplessness, as to feel prompted to follow the stream +to see how so perilous a navigation would end. We have, however, no +direct evidence that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>Faustulus did so watch the progress of his 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 upon the sand.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The wolf.<br />The woodpecker.</div> + +<p>The neighboring thickets soon of course resounded 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 <i>instinct</i>, if incapable of a <i>sentiment</i>, of affection, to love +and to cherish any thing that is newly born. The wolf caressed the +helpless babes, imagining perhaps 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 approaching enemy or +danger. The rude nursery 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 were thrown +upon the land, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>the water began to subside. In a short time it wholly +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 says, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The children rescued by Faustulus.<br />He carries the children home.</div> + +<p>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 maternal attentions of +the wolf and the woodpecker were 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, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>but he brought home and preserved the trough in which they +had been floated down the river. He put this relic aside, thinking +that the day might perhaps come in which there would be occasion to +produce it. He told the story of the children only to a very few +trustworthy friends, and he accompanied the communication, 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 shepherd's sons.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Their education.</div> + +<p>Faustulus felt a great degree of interest, and a high sense of +responsibility too, in having these young princes under his care. He +took great pains to protect them from all possible harm, and to +instruct them in every thing which it was in those days considered +important 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 intellectual 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. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>They were +prominent among the young herdsmen and hunters of the forest, for +their courage, their activity, their strength, their various personal +accomplishments, and their high and generous qualities of mind. +Romulus was more silent and thoughtful than his brother, and seemed to +possess in some respects superior mental powers. Both were regarded by +all who knew them with feelings of the highest respect and +consideration.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The character of the boys.</div> + +<p>Romulus and Remus treated their own companions and equals, that is the +young shepherds 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 independence of spirit in respect +to the various bailiffs and chief herdsmen, and other officers of +field and forest police, who exercised authority in the 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 exhibitions of their anger. In fact, +the boys seemed to be imbued with a native loftiness <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>and fearlessness +of character, as if they had inherited a spirit of confidence and +courage with their royal blood, or had imbibed a portion of the +indomitable temper of their fierce foster mother.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus and Remus are generous and brave.</div> + +<p>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 witnessed; they interposed to help +the feeble, to relieve those who were in want, and to protect 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 +athletic feats and accomplishments—in every thing excelling all their +competitors, and becoming in the end greatly renowned.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Quarrel among the herdsmen.</div> + +<p>Numitor, the father of Rhea Silvia, whom Amulius had dethroned and +banished from Alba, was all this time still living; and he had now at +length become so far reconciled to Amulius as to be allowed to reside +in Alba—though he lived there as a private citizen. He owned, it +seems, some estates near the Tiber, where he had flocks and herds that +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>were tended by his shepherds and herdsmen. It happened at one time +that some contention arose between the herdsmen of Numitor and those +of Amulius, among whom Romulus and Remus were residing. Now as the +young men had thus far, of course, no idea whatever of their +relationship to Numitor, there was no reason why they should feel any +special interest 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 Numitor 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 +together, to pursue the depredators and bring the cattle back. They +succeeded in this expedition, and recaptured the herd. This incensed +the party of Numitor, and they determined on revenge.</p> + +<p>They waited some time for a favorable opportunity. At length the time +came for celebrating a certain festival called the Supercalia, which +consisted of very rude games and ceremonies, in which men sacrificed +goats, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>and then dressed themselves partially in the skins, and ran +about whipping every one whom they met, with thongs made likewise of +the skins of goats, or of rabbits, or other animals remarkable for +their fecundity. The meaning of the ceremonies, so far as such uncouth +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 ensuing at the time that the +celebrations were held.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remus is suddenly made prisoner.</div> + +<p>The retainers and partisans of Numitor determined on availing +themselves of this opportunity to accomplish their object. +Accordingly, 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 +Numitor.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Heavy charges against Remus.</div> + +<p>Of course, this daring act produced great excitement throughout the +country. Numitor was well pleased with the prize that he had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>secured, +but felt, at the same time, some fear of the responsibility which he +incurred by holding the prisoner. He was strongly inclined to proceed +against Remus, and punish him himself for the offenses which the +herdsmen 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 accordingly sent Remus to +Amulius, making grievous charges against him, as a lawless desperado, +who, with his brother, Numitor said, were the terror of the forests, +through their domineering temper and their acts of robbery and rapine.</p> + +<p>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 +Numitor, saying that Numitor might punish the freebooter himself in +any way that he thought best. Remus was accordingly brought again to +Numitor's house. In the mean time, the fact of his being thus made a +prisoner, and charged with crime, and the proceedings in relation to +him, in sending him back and forth <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>between Amulius and Numitor, +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 +infancy. They told this story to Romulus, and he or some other friends +made it known to Remus while he was still confined.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remus before Numitor and Amulius.</div> + +<p>When Remus was brought before Numitor—who was really his grandfather, +though the fact of this relationship was wholly unknown to both of +them—Numitor was exceedingly struck with his handsome countenance and +form, and with his fearless and noble demeanor. The young prisoner +seemed perfectly self-possessed and at his ease; and though 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.</p> + +<p>A vague recollection of the lost children of his daughter Rhea +immediately flashed across <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>Numitor's mind. It changed all his anger +against Remus to a feeling of wondering interest and curiosity, and +gave to his countenance, as he looked upon his prisoner, an expression +of kind and tender regard. After a short pause Numitor addressed the +young captive—speaking in a gentle and conciliating manner—and asked +him who he was, and who his parents were.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remus gives an account of himself.</div> + +<p>"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 supposed ourselves to be +the children of Faustulus; but now, since this difficulty has +occurred, we have heard new tidings in respect to our origin. We are +told that we were found in our infancy, on the shore of the river, at +the place where Faustulus lives, and that near by 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 us <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>and bringing us food. Faustulus carried us to his +house, and brought us up as his children. He preserved the trough, +too, and has it now."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Numitor learns the truth.</div> + +<p>Numitor 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 precisely with the exposure of the children of Rhea +Silvia as to leave no reasonable ground for doubt that Romulus and +Remus were his grandsons. He resolved immediately to communicate this +joyful discovery to his daughter, if he could contrive the means of +gaining access to her; for during all this time she had been kept in +close confinement in her prison.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus.<br />Romulus plans a rebellion.</div> + +<p>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 +capture 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 his brother, on the +bank of the river, but also had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>made known to him whose sons he and +Remus were. Romulus was, of course, extremely elated at this +intelligence. His native courage 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 Remus from his power, and afterward taking such +ulterior steps as circumstances might require.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Faustulus and the arts.</div> + +<p>Faustulus, on the other hand, leaving Romulus to raise the forces for +his insurrection as he pleased, determined to go himself to Numitor +and reveal the secret of the birth of Romulus and Remus to him. In +order to confirm 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Faustulus stopped at the gates of the city.</div> + +<p>There was something in his appearance and manner when he arrived at +the gate, which attracted the attention of the officers on guard +there. He wore the dress of a countryman, and had obviously come in +from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>the forests, a long way; and there was something in his air +which denoted hurry and agitation. The soldiers asked him what he had +under his cloak, and compelled him to produce 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 happened 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 discovered. 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 identical ark or float, which to his certain knowledge had been +used in the case of the children of Rhea Silvia, for sending them +adrift on the waters of the Tiber.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Faustulus is greatly embarrassed.</div> + +<p>The king was greatly excited and agitated <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>at receiving this +intelligence. He ordered Faustulus to be brought into his presence. +Faustulus was much terrified at receiving this summons. He had but +little time to reflect what to say, and during the few minutes that +elapsed while they were conducting him into the presence of the king, +he found it hard to determine how much it would be best for him to +admit, and how much to deny. Finally, 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.</p> + +<p>Amulius then asked Faustulus what he had been intending to do with the +trough, which he was bringing so secretly into the city. Faustulus +said that he was going to carry it to Rhea in her prison, she having +often expressed a strong desire to see it, as a token or memorial +which would recall the dear <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>babes that had lain in it very vividly to +her mind.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Amulius is alarmed.</div> + +<p>Amulius seemed satisfied that these statements were honest and true, +but they awakened in his mind a very great solicitude and anxiety. He +feared that the children, being still alive, might some day come to +the knowledge of their origin, and so disturb his possession 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 people, he feared, would be very much inclined to +take part with them, and not with him, in any contest which might +arise; for their sympathies were already on the side of Numitor. 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">He sends for Numitor.</div> + +<p>He concluded to send to Numitor and inquire of him whether he was +aware that the boys were still alive, and if so, if he knew where they +were to be found. He accordingly sent a messenger to his brother, +commissioned to make these inquiries. This messenger, though in the +service of Amulius, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>was really a friend to Numitor, and on being +admitted to Numitor's presence, when he went to make the inquiries as +directed by the king, he found Remus 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 prince. "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 possession of them."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus assaults the city.</div> + +<p>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 and +herdsmen 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 weapons, while the huntsmen brought their pikes, and +spears, and javelins, and such other projectiles as were employed in +those days in hunting wild beasts. The troop was divided <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>into +companies of one hundred, and for banners they bore tufts of grass on +wisps 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 Remus in the rebellion which he had +raised within.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The revolt is successful.<br />Amulius is slain.</div> + +<p>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 Romulus and Remus were masters of the country.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_IX" id="Chapter_IX"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Founding of Rome.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 754</h3> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">s</span> soon as the excitement and the agitations which attended the sudden +revolution by 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The people of Alba Longa called together.<br />The address of Numitor to the citizens.</div> + +<p>Numitor accordingly convened a general assembly of the inhabitants of +Alba, in a public square. The rude and rustic mountaineers and +peasants whom Romulus had brought to the city came with the rest. +Romulus <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>and Remus themselves did not at first appear. Numitor, when +the audience was assembled, came forward to address them. He gave them +a recital of all the events connected with the usurpation of Amulius. +He 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 intrigues by which +Amulius had contrived to possess himself of the kingdom and reduce +him, Numitor, into subjection to his sway,—of his causing Egestus, +Numitor'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 +Romulus and Remus, the anger of Amulius when informed of the event, +his cruel treatment 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>his speech by saying that the young princes +were still alive, and that they were then at hand ready to present +themselves before the assembly.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus and Remus come forward.</div> + +<p>As he said these words, Romulus and Remus 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, Romulus and +Remus turned to their grandfather and hailed him king. The people +responded to this announcement with new plaudits, and Numitor was +universally recognized as the rightful sovereign.</p> + +<p>It seems that notwithstanding the personal graces and accomplishments +of Romulus and Remus, and their popularity among their fellow +foresters, that they and their followers made a somewhat rude and wild +appearance in the city, and Numitor was very willing, when the state +of things had become somewhat settled, that his rustic auxiliaries +should find some occasion for withdrawing from the capital and +returning again to their own native <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>fastnesses. Romulus and Remus, +however, having now learned that they were entitled 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 grandfather to wish to deprive him of the +government. After some deliberation a plan was devised which promised +to gratify the wishes of all.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Plan for building a new city.</div> + +<p>The plan was this, namely, that Numitor should set apart a place in +his kingdom of Latium where Romulus and Remus might build a city for +themselves,—taking with them to the spot the whole horde of their +retainers. The place which he designated for this purpose 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 building a city upon it was one exactly suited to engage +the attention and occupy the powers of such restless spirits as those +who had collected 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. But then there <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>were many others of +a very turbulent and unmanageable 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 robbery; and who had seized upon the +occasion furnished by the insurrection against Amulius to come forth +into the world again. Criminals 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 +ordinarily only a legal organization of crime.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Numitor is to render the necessary aid.<br />Great numbers flock together to build the city.</div> + +<p>Romulus and Remus entered into their grandfather's plan with great +readiness. Numitor promised to aid them in their enterprise by every +means in his power. He was to furnish tools and implements, for +excavations and building, and artisans so far as artisans were +required, and was also to provide such temporary supplies of +provisions 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 Remus in their undertaking, and they, in order to increase +their numbers as much as possible, sent <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>messengers around to the +neighboring country inviting all who were disposed, to come and take +part in the building of the new city. This invitation was accepted by +great numbers of people, from every rank and station in life.</p> + +<p>Of course, however, the greater portion of those who came to join the +enterprise, were of a very low grade in respect to moral character. +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 +building of a new city, under such circumstances, must necessarily be. +It was of course generally the discontented, the idle, and the bad, +that would hope for benefit from such a change as this enterprise +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 their +relations to society, and thus afford them <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>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 +responsibility for former crimes. In a word, in preparing to lay the +foundations of their city, Romulus and Remus found themselves at the +head of a very wild and lawless company.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The seven hills.<br />The Palatine hill.</div> + +<p>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 elevations 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. Romulus 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 hill <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>itself might be fortified to form the citadel. The wall and +the steep acclivity of the ground would form a protection on three +sides of the inclosure, while the morass alone would be a sufficient +defense on the part toward the river. Then Romulus 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.</p> + +<p><a name="Situation" id="Situation"></a></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;"> +<img src="images/i206a.jpg" class="ispace" width="396" height="350" alt="Situation of Rome." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Situation of Rome.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">Difference of opinion between Romulus and Remus.<br />Advantages of the Aventine hill.</div> + +<p>Remus, however, did not concur in these <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>views. A little farther down +the stream there was another elevation called the Aventine Hill, which +seemed to him more suitable for the site of a town. The sides were +less precipitous, and thus were more convenient for building ground. +Then the land in the immediate vicinity was better adapted to the +purposes which they had in view. In a word, the Aventine Hill was, as +Remus 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 circumstance, +wholly unworthy of being taken seriously into the account in laying +the foundation of a city.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Perfect equality of the two brothers.</div> + +<p>The positions in which Remus and Romulus 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 imperious. Each was conscious of +his strength, and eager to exercise it. Each wished to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>command, and +was wholly unwilling to obey. While they were in adversity, they clung +together for mutual help and protection; but now, when they had come +into the enjoyment of prosperity and power, the bands of affection +which had bound them together were very much weakened, and were +finally sundered. 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 degree, without +wounding his pride. If one had been more prominent than the other in +effecting the revolution by which Amulius was dethroned, or if there +had been a native difference of temperament or character to mark a +distinction, or if either had been designated by Numitor, 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 +whatever. They were twins, so that neither could claim any advantage +of birthright. They were equal in size, strength, activity, and +courage. They had been equally bold and efficient in effecting the +revolution; and now they seemed equally powerful in respect to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>the +influence which they wielded over the minds of their followers. We +have been so long accustomed to consider Romulus the 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 between them thus far, but now, since the advent 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Both determined not to yield.<br />The brothers appeal to Numitor.</div> + +<p>The brothers, therefore, having each expressed his preference in +respect to the best place for the city, were equally unwilling to +recede from the ground which they had taken. Remus thought that there +was no reason why he should yield to Romulus, and Romulus was equally +unwilling to give way to Remus. Neither could yield, in fact, without +in some sense admitting the superiority of the other. The respective +partisans of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>two leaders began to take sides, and the dissension +threatened to become a serious quarrel. Finally, being not yet quite +ready for an open rupture, they concluded to refer the question to +Numitor, and to abide by his decision. 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">His proposal.</div> + +<p>But Numitor was too sagacious to hazard the responsibility of deciding +between two such equally matched and powerful opponents. He endeavored +to soothe and quiet the excited feelings of his grandsons, and finally +recommended to them to appeal to <i>augury</i> to decide the question. +Augury was a mode of ascertaining the divine will 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 watching the flight of birds +through the air.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The vultures of the Appenines.<br />Their function.</div> + +<p>It was agreed between Remus and Romulus, in accordance with the advice +of Numitor, that the question at issue between them should be decided +in this way. They were to take their stations on the two hills +respectively<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>—the Palatine and the Aventine, and watch for vultures. +The homes of the vultures of Italy were among the summits of the +Appenines, and their function in the complicated economy of animal +life, was to watch from the lofty peaks of the mountains, or from the +still more aërial 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 Numitor's time.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Powers of the vulture.</div> + +<p>To enable the vulture to accomplish the work assigned him, he is +endowed with an inconceivable 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 some +mysterious and extraordinary sense, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>whether of sight or smell, to +enable him readily to find, at any hour, the spot where his presence +is required, however remote or however hidden it may be. Guided by +this instinct, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Auguries.<br />Romulus and Remus take their stations.</div> + +<p>It was, to certain appearances, indicated in the flight 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 Numitor's +day were accustomed to look for omens and auguries. So Romulus and +Remus took their stations on the hills which they had severally +chosen, each surrounded by a company 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 the omens +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>which should appear to the respective observers stationed upon them.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Result.<br />New dispute.<br />An open collision.<br />Faustulus killed.</div> + +<p>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 +distinctness 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 interpretations. When Remus and +Romulus commenced their watch no vultures were to be seen from either +hill. They waited till evening, 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. Remus 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 twelve by Romulus. The observations were then +suspended, and the parties came together to confer in respect to the +result; but the dispute instead of being settled, was found to be in a +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>worse condition than ever. The point now to be determined was whether +six vultures seen first, or twelve seen afterward, were the better +omen, that is whether numbers, or simple priority of appearance, +should decide the question. In contending in respect to this nice +point the brothers became more angry with each other than ever. Their +respective partisans took sides in the contest, which resulted finally +in an open and violent collision. Romulus and Remus themselves seem to +have commenced the affray by attacking one another. Faustulus, their +foster-father, who, from having had the care of them from their +earliest infancy, felt for them an almost parental affection, rushed +between them to prevent them from shedding each other's blood. He was +struck down and killed on the spot, by some unknown hand. A brother of +Faustulus too, named Plistinus, who had lived near to him, and had +known the boys from their infancy, and had often assisted in taking +care of them, was killed in the endeavor to aid his brother to appease +the tumult.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus is victorious.</div> + +<p>At length the disturbance was quelled. The result of the conflict was, +however, to show that Romulus and his party were the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>strongest. +Romulus accordingly went on to build the walls of the city at the spot +which he had first chosen. The lines were marked out, and the +excavations were commenced with great ceremony.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The building of the city goes on.</div> + +<p>In laying out the work, the first thing to be done was to draw the +lines of what was called the <i>pomœrium</i>. The pomœrium 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 pomœrium +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 retreat for +safety within the proper walls.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Plowing the pomœrium.</div> + +<p>So Romulus proceeded to mark out the pomœrium of the city, +employing in the work the ceremonies customary on such occasions. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>The +plow used was made of copper, and for a team to draw it a bullock and +a heifer were yoked together. Men appointed for the purpose followed +the plow, and carefully turned over the clods <i>toward</i> the wall of the +city. This seems to have been considered an essential part of the +ceremony. At the places where 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 unbroken. +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 passed in a manner that would very seriously +interfere with its usefulness as a public road.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Form of the enclosure.</div> + +<p>The form of the space inclosed by the pomœrium, as Romulus plowed +it, was nearly square, and it included not merely the Palatine hill +itself, but a considerable portion of level land around it.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The death of Remus.</div> + +<p>Though Romulus thus seemed to have conquered, in the strife with +Remus, the difficulty was not yet fully settled. Remus was very little +disposed to acquiesce in his brother's assumed superiority over him. +He was sullen, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>morose, and ill at ease, and was inclined to take +little part in the proceedings which were going on. Finally an +occasion occurred 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 brother's plans; and finally he began to speak +contemptuously of the wall which the workmen were building. Romulus +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, saying, "This is the way the enemy will leap over your wall." +Hereupon Romulus seized a mattock from the hands of one of the +laborers, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Remorse of Romulus.</div> + +<p>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 so great for a time that he +refused all food, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>and he could not sleep. He caused the dead body of +Remus, and also those of Faustulus and of Plistinus, the brother of +Faustulus, to be buried with the most solemn and imposing funeral +ceremonies, so as to render all possible honor to their memory; and +then, not satisfied with this, he instituted and celebrated certain +religions 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 <i>lemures</i>. Hence the +celebration which Romulus ordained was called the Lemuria, and it +continued to be annually observed in Rome during the whole period of +its subsequent history.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The institution of the Lemuria.</div> + +<p>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 Lemuria, as afterward +performed, were frequently described by Roman writers, and they were +of a very curious and extraordinary character. The time for the +celebration of these rites was in May, the anniversary, as was +supposed, of the days in which Romulus originally celebrated them. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>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 accustomed, as was supposed, to roam about the world +to haunt and terrify men.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Description of the ceremonies.<br />The black beans.</div> + +<p>The ceremonies performed on these occasions 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 signals 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 fondness. Being thus provided he would walk along, +taking the beans out of his mouth as he walked, and throwing them +behind him. The specters were supposed to gather up these beans as he +threw them down. He must, however, by no means look round to see them. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>He then, 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 abundantly confirmed by the fact; +for on looking round after this vociferated adjuration, the man always +found that the specters were gone!</p> + +<div class="sidenote">State of Rome after the death of Remus.</div> + +<p>When by these ceremonies, or ceremonies such as these, Romulus had +appeased the spirit of his brother, and those of the guardians of his +childhood, his mind became more composed, and he turned his attention +once more toward the building of the city. The party of Remus 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. +Romulus became the sole leader of the enterprise, and immediately +turned his attention to the measures to be adopted for a more complete +and effectual organization of the community over which he found +himself presiding.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The story of Celer.<br />Probable explanation of it.</div> + +<p>In respect to Remus, it ought perhaps to be added, that after his +death a story was circulated <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>in Rome 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 Romulus +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 Remus had been;—a brother who had shared his +infancy with 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 atrocious than any ordinary fratricide, as Remus had been nearer +to Romulus than any ordinary brother.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_X" id="Chapter_X"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Organization.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 754</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">Discussion in respect to ancient dates.<br />Difficulties.<br />Nature of tradition.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">T</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">here</span> has been a great deal of philosophical discussion, and much +debate, among historians and chronologists, in attempting to fix the +precise year in which Romulus commenced the building of Rome. The +difficulty arises from the fact that no regular records of public +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 +transactions. 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,—which, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>the more strange and romantic they are, +the better they 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 Rhea, supposing such an event to have actually +happened, she remembered well, and repeated the narrative of +it—adorning it, doubtless, with many embellishments—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 romance of the story, and +thus it was neglected and forgotten.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Extreme youth of Romulus.</div> + +<p>In subsequent times, however, when regular 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 be about +the year 754 before Christ. As to Romulus himself, the tradition is +that he was but eighteen or twenty <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>years old when he commenced the +building of it. If this is true, his extreme youth goes far to +palliate some of the wrongs which he 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Varro's astrological calculation.<br />Ingenuity of it.</div> + +<p>A certain Roman philosopher, named Varro, who lived some centuries +after the building of the city, conceived of a very ingenious plan for +discovering the year in which Romulus was born. It was this. By means +of the science of astrology, as practiced in those days, certain +learned magicians used to predict what 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 Varro was to +reverse this process in the case of Romulus; that is, to deduce from +the known facts of his history what must have been the relative +situations of the planets and stars when he came into the world! He +accordingly applied to a noted astrologer to work out the problem for +him. Given, a history of the incidents and events occurring to the man +in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>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 +appeared in Romulus's subsequent history. When the astrologer had thus +ascertained the condition of the skies at the time in question, the +<i>astronomers</i>, as Varro concluded, could easily calculate the month +and the year when the combination must have occurred.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Olympiads.<br />The race of Corœbus.<br />The result of Varro's computation.</div> + +<p>Now, 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 Corœbus, from which +event originated the Olympian games, which were afterward celebrated +every four years, and which in subsequent ages became so renowned. The +time when Corœbus ran his race, and thus furnished an era for all +the subsequent chronologists and historians of his country, is +generally regarded as about the year 776 before Christ; and the result +of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>calculations of Varro'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 Olympiad would be 772; +this would make the time of his birth 772 before Christ; and then +deducting eighteen years more, for the age of Romulus when he began to +build his wall, we have 754 before Christ as the era of the foundation +of Rome. This method of determining a point in chronology seems so +absurd, according to the ideas of the present day, that we can hardly +resist the conclusion, that Varro, in making his investigation, was +really guided by other and more satisfactory modes of determining the +point, and that the horoscope was not what he actually relied upon. +However this may be, the era which he fixed upon has been very +generally received, though many others have been proposed by the +different learned men who have successively investigated the question.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Probable character of the first constructions at Rome.</div> + +<p>According to the accounts given by the early writers, the +constructions which Romulus <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>and his companions made were of a very +rude and simple character; 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 palace, for there was +a building erected for Romulus himself which was called the palace, +was made, it is said, of <i>rushes</i>. 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 +material to attain.</p> + +<p>However this may be, the hamlet of huts which Romulus and his wild +coadjutors built and walled in, must have appeared, at the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>time, to +all observers, a very rude and imperfect 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 years 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus convenes an assembly of the people.</div> + +<p>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 chieftain +exercising an undefined and temporary power; for as soon as the huts +were built and the inclosures made, he is said to have convened an +assembly of the people, for consultation in respect to the plan of +government that they should form. Romulus introduced the business of +this meeting by a speech appropriate to the occasion, which speech is +reported by an ancient historian somewhat as follows. Whether Romulus +actually spoke the words thus attributed to him, or whether <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>the +report contains only what the reporter himself imagined him to say, +there is now no means of knowing.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The speech of Romulus.<br />His proposals.</div> + +<p>"We have now," said Romulus, 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 required to depend for protection +against a serious 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 +dependence must be after all on the men within the city, and not on +the ramparts and entrenchments which surround it, whatever those +ramparts 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The three forms of government.</div> + +<p>"The great work before us therefore is yet to be done. We have to +organize a government under which order and discipline may <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>come in, +to control and direct our energies, and prepare us to meet whatever +future exigencies 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 various modes of +government adopted among men, and between these we have now to decide. +Shall our commonwealth be governed by one man? Or shall we select a +certain number of the wisest and bravest of the citizens, and commit +the administration of public affairs to them? Or, in the third place, +shall we commit the management of the government 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."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus himself made king.</div> + +<p>The result of the deliberation which followed, after the delivery of +this address, was that the government of the state should be, like the +government of Alba, under which the followers of Romulus had been +born, a monarchy; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>and that Romulus himself should be king. He was a +prince by birth, an inheritor of regal rank and power, by regular +succession, from a line of kings. He had shown himself, too, by his +deeds, to be worthy of power. He was courageous, energetic, sagacious, +and universally esteemed. It was decided accordingly that he should be +king, and he was proclaimed such by all the assembled multitude, with +long and loud acclamations.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Divine intimation in his favor.</div> + +<p>Notwithstanding the apparent unanimity and earnestness of the people, +however, in calling Romulus to the throne, he evinced, as the story +goes, the proper degree of that reluctance and hesitation which a +suitable regard to appearances seems in all ages to require 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 instituting certain solemn religious ceremonies, during +the progress of which he hoped to receive some manifestation of the +divine will. These ceremonies consisted principally of sacrifices +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>which he caused to be offered on the plain near the city. While +Romulus was engaged in these services, the expected token of the +divine approval appeared in a supernatural light which shone upon his +hand. At least it was <i>said</i> that such a light was seen, and the +appearing 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Commencement of his reign.</div> + +<p>The first object to which he gave his attention 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. Vast numbers of +the people were of the humblest and most degraded condition, +consisting of ignorant peasants, some stupid, others turbulent and +ungovernable; and of refugees from justice, such as thieves, robbers, +and outlaws of every degree. But then, on the other hand, there were +many persons of standing and respectability. The sons of families of +wealth and influence in Alba had, in many cases, joined the +expedition, and at last, when <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>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 Romulus found +himself, when he formally assumed the kingly power, at the head of a +community which contained the elements of a very respectable +commonwealth. These elements were, however, thus far all mingled +together in complete confusion, and the work that was first to be done +was to adopt some plan for classifying and arranging them.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Probable origin of the Roman institutions.</div> + +<p>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 formally introduced by +Romulus at the outset, but that they gradually grew up in the progress +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 celebrating the antiquity and +dignity of their origin.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Republican character of the government.<br />Patricians and plebians.</div> + +<p>The institutions which Romulus actually <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>founded, were of a very +republican character, if the accounts of subsequent writers are to be +believed. He established, it is true, a gradation 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 +<i>tribes</i>, which word was formed from the Latin word <i>tres</i>, meaning +three. These tribes chose each three presiding officers, selecting for +the purpose the oldest and most distinguished of their number. It is +probable, in fact, that Romulus 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 +<i>counts</i> or <i>counties</i>, and each of these likewise elected its head. +Thus there was a large body of magistrates or chieftains appointed, +ninety-nine in number, namely, nine heads of tribes and ninety heads +of counties. Romulus himself added one to the number, of his own +independent selection, which made <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>the hundredth. The men thus chosen, +constituted what was called the senate. They formed the great +legislative council of the nation. They and the families descending +from them became, in subsequent times, an aristocratic and privileged +class, called the Patricians. The remaining portion of the population +were called Plebeians.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Patrons and clients.</div> + +<p>The Plebeians comprised, of course, the industrial 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 <i>patrons</i> and <i>clients</i>. The patrons +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 were to reward, to protect, and to defend the clients. All +these arrangements Romulus is said to have ordained by his enactments, +and thus introduced as elements in the social constitution of the +state. It is more probable, however, that instead of being thus +expressly established, by the authority of Romulus as a lawgiver, they +gradually grew up of themselves, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>perhaps with some fostering +attention and care on his part, and possibly under some positive +regulation of law. For such important and complicated relations as +these are not of a nature to be easily called into existence and +action, in an extended and unorganized community, by the mere fiat of +a military chieftain.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Duration of the reign of Romulus.<br />Usages.</div> + +<p>Perhaps, however, it is not intended by the ancient historians, in +referring all these complicated arrangements of the Roman civil polity +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 formal and positive enactments, he may have gradually +introduced the arrangements ascribed to him, as <i>usages</i> which he +fostered and encouraged,—confirming and sanctioning them from time to +time, when occasion required, by edicts and laws.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Difficulty of immediately organizing such a community.</div> + +<p>However this may have been, it is certain that Romulus, in the course +of his reign, laid the foundation of the future greatness and glory of +Rome, by the energy with which he acted in introducing order, system, +and discipline <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>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 disorder 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. Romulus +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 +work of organizing it. The great leading objects of his life, from the +time that he commenced the government of the new city, were to arrange +and regulate social institutions, to establish laws, to introduce +discipline, to teach and accustom men to submit to authority, and to +bring in the requirements of law, and the authority of the various +recognized relations <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>of social life, to control and restrain the +wayward impulses of the natural heart.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Importance of the parental and family relation.<br />The father a magistrate.</div> + +<p>As a part of this system of policy, he laid great stress upon the +parental and family relation. He saw in the tie which binds the father +to the child and the child to the father, a natural 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 upon +them, at an age when they most need control. He clothed parents, +therefore, with authority to fulfill this function, considering 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 Romulus, was more complete, and was protracted to a +later period than was the case <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>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 +only 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 guilty of crime.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The marriage tie.</div> + +<p>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 legislator to sustain +the sacredness and to magnify the importance of the family tie; and to +avail himself of those instinctive principles of obligation 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 action of his rude community.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Religions ceremonies.<br />Auguries.<br />The three augurs.</div> + +<p>He devoted great attention too to the institutions <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>of religion. He +knew well that such lawless and impetuous spirits as his could never +be fully subdued and held in proper subordination to the rules of +social order and moral duty, without the influence of motives drawn +from the spiritual 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 ceremonies which he instituted seem puerile +to us, but they were full of meaning and of efficacy in the view of +those who performed them. There was, for example, a class of religious +functionaries called <i>augurs</i>, whose office it was to interpret the +divine will by means of certain 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 propitious the work was entered +upon with vigor <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>and confidence. If otherwise, it was postponed or +abandoned.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Various kinds of omens.<br />Station of the augurs.<br />Thunder and lightning.<br />Birds.</div> + +<p>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 offered in sacrifice, sometimes from the +appearance of birds in the sky, their numbers or the direction of +their flight, and sometimes from the forms of clouds, the appearance +of the lightning, and the sound of the thunder. Whenever the augurs +were to take the auspices from any of the signs of the sky, the +process was this. They would go with solemn ceremony 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 purpose, one of the number would determine +and indicate the four quarters of the heaven, pointing out in a solemn +manner the directions 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>from the thunder that the auspices were to be taken, the augur +would listen to hear 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 appeared 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 inferences 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Nature of the ancient superstition.</div> + +<p>By these and many similar means the government of Romulus vainly +endeavored to ascertain the will of heaven in respect 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 +influence <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>and ascendency over the minds of the people, by a sincere +veneration on their part for some unseen and spiritual power, and a +reverent desire to conform the public measures of their government to +what they supposed to be the divine will.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Results of the arrangements made by Romulus.<br />The asylum on the Capitoline hill.</div> + +<p>By such measures as we have thus described Romulus soon produced order +out of confusion within his little commonwealth. The enterprise which +he had undertaken and the great success which had thus far followed +it, attracted great attention, and he soon found that great numbers +began to come in 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 indiscriminately +into the city would be to endanger 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 remain 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 attractive place for all the +vagabonds, outlaws, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>thieves and robbers of the country. Romulus +welcomed them all, and as fast as they came he busied himself with +plans to furnish them with employment and subsistence. He enlisted +some of them in his army. Some he employed to cultivate the ground in +the territory belonging to the city. Others were engaged 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 Rome together.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XI" id="Chapter_XI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XI.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Wives.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 751</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">The rape of the Sabines.<br />Narrative of it.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">E</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">very</span> reader who has made even the smallest beginning in the study of +ancient history, must be acquainted, in general, with the mode which +Romulus 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 described it contrived to soften the character of it, +and to divest it in a great measure of the repulsive features which +might have been supposed 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 Romulus and his government, but also great +moderation and humanity. The circumstances, as the historians relate +them, were these:</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">The population of Rome chiefly men.</div> + +<p>As might naturally be supposed from the manner in which 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 entirely of men.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Necessity of providing wives for them.</div> + +<p>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 community 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 generation should have passed away there might <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>be +another to succeed it. And, thirdly, for the preservation of order and +law. Men unmarried are, in the mass, proverbially ungovernable. +Nothing is so effectual in keeping 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 children to fear for, and +so they fear nothing, but give themselves up, in times of public +excitement, to the wildest impulses of passion. Romulus 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus sends embassadors to the surrounding states.</div> + +<p>The first measure which he adopted, was to send embassadors around to +the neighboring states, soliciting alliances with them, and +stipulations allowing of intermarriages between his people and theirs. +The proposal seemed not unreasonable, and it was made in an unassuming +and respectful manner. In the message which Romulus commissioned the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>embassadors to deliver, he 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 distant when the new +state would be able fully to reciprocate such favors as it might now +receive.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Insulting replies.</div> + +<p>The neighboring kings to whom these embassages were sent rejected the +proposals with derision. They did not even give <i>serious</i> answers, +obviously considering the new city as a mere temporary gathering and +encampment 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 tumultuously as it had been formed. They accordingly sent back +word to Romulus that he must resort to the same plan to get women for +his city that he had adopted to procure recruits of men. He must open +an <i>asylum</i> for them. The low and the dissolute <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>would come flocking +to him then, they said, from all parts, and vagabond women would make +just the kind of wives for vagabond men.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anger of the Romans.</div> + +<p>Of course, the young men of the city were aroused to an extreme pitch +of indignation at receiving this response. They were clamorous for +war. They wished Romulus to lead them out against some of these cities +at once, and allow them at the same time to revenge the insults which +they had received, and to provide themselves with wives by violence, +since they could not obtain them by solicitation. But Romulus +restrained their ardor, saying that they must do nothing rashly, and +promising to devise a better way than theirs to attain the end.</p> + +<p>The plan which he devised was to invite the people of the surrounding +states and cities both men and women, to come to Rome, with a view of +seizing some favorable occasion for capturing the women while they +were there, and driving the men away. The difficulty in the way of the +execution of this plan was obviously to induce the people to come, and +especially to bring the young women with them. The native timidity of +the maidens, joined to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>the contemptuous feelings which their fathers +and brothers cherished, in regard to every thing pertaining to the new +city, would very naturally keep them away, unless something could be +devised which would exert a very strong attraction.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Great discovery made by Romulus.</div> + +<p>Romulus waited a little time, in order that any slight excitement +which had been produced 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 Neptune, 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. +Romulus attached great importance to the event. The altar had +undoubtedly been built, he thought, by the ancient inhabitants of the +country, and the finding it was a very momentous occurrence. It was +proper that the occasion should be solemnized by suitable religious +observances.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">His plan.</div> + +<p>Accordingly, arrangements were made for a grand celebration. In +addition to the religious <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>rites, Romulus 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 articles 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Plans for the festival.<br />Races, games, and shows.</div> + +<p>There were to be games too, races, and wrestlings, and other athletic +sports, such as were in vogue in those times. The celebration was to +continue for many days, and the games and sports were to come at the +end. Romulus sent messengers to all the surrounding country to +proclaim the programme of these entertainments, and to invite every +body to come; and he adroitly arranged the details in such a manner +that the chief attractions for grave, sober-minded and substantial 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.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">A great concourse assembles at the fair.</div> + +<p>When the time arrived the spectacles commenced. 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 construction as they were, far surpassed +the expectations they had formed. The visitors were treated with great +hospitality, and entertained in a manner which, considering the +circumstances of the case, was quite sumptuous. The women and children +too, who came on these first days, received from all the Romans very +special attention and regard.</p> + +<p>As the celebrations went on from day to day, a considerable change +took place in the character and appearance of the company. The men +ceased to be suspicious and watchful. Some went home, and carried such +reports of the new city, and of the kindness, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>and hospitality, and +gentle behavior of the inhabitants, that new visitors came continually +to see for themselves. Every day the proportion of stern and +suspicious men diminished, and that of gay and happy-looking youths +and maidens increased.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The spectacles continue several weeks.</div> + +<p>In the mean time, the men of the city were under strict injunctions +from Romulus 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 accidental 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 general seizure +which he knew was coming, in making <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>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 terrified, and +make less resistance to the attempt to capture her, than if it were by +a perfect stranger that she was to be seized.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The last day of the fair.<br />Signal to be made by Romulus.</div> + +<p>All this Romulus seems very adroitly to have arranged. The time for +the final execution 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 signal. 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 proper moment had +arrived, he was 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 unfolding it again. This mantle was a sort +of badge of royalty and was gayly adorned with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>purple stripes upon a +white ground. It was well adapted, therefore, to the purpose of being +used as a signal, inasmuch as any motions that were made with it could +be very easily seen.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Excitement of the Romans.<br />Final preparations.</div> + +<p>Every thing being thus arranged, the assembly was convened, and the +games and spectacles went on. The Romans were full of excitement and +trepidation, each one having 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 off their guard, and wholly at their ease—having +no suspicion whatever of the mine that was ready to be sprung beneath +them. The wives, mothers, and children, too, were all safe, as well as +unsuspicious of danger; for Romulus 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>intercourse which they +had enjoyed with their guests, to know who were free, and they were +forbidden in any instance to take a wife away from her husband.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The moment arrives.<br />The maidens seized.<br />The men fly.<br />The Romans secure the captive maidens.</div> + +<p>At length the moment arrived for giving the signal. Romulus took off +his mantle, folded it, and then unfolded it again. The Romans +immediately drew their swords, and rushed forward, each to secure his +own prize. A scene of the greatest excitement and confusion ensued. +The whole company of visitors perceived of course that some great act +of treachery was perpetrated upon them, but they were wholly in the +dark in respect 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 prevailed. 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 object <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>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 with +their prizes, and secured them within the walls of the city.</p> + +<p>In reading this extraordinary story, we naturally 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 assailants. Did they resist and struggle to get +free, or did they yield themselves without much opposition to their +fate? That they did not resist effectually is plain, for the Roman +young men succeeded in carrying them away, and securing them. It may +be that they attempted 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 very <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>formidable opposition to any attempt to abduct +her by any single man, when she is thoroughly in earnest about it. How +it was in fact in this case we have no direct information, and we have +consequently no means of forming 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">An incident.<br />A captive "for Thalassius."<br />The phrase "for Thalassius" becomes a proverb.</div> + +<p>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 +beautiful girl—one of some note and consideration, too, among her +countrywomen—and were carrying 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 plebeians, +immediately set out in full pursuit to rescue her. The plebeians +hurried along to escape from them, calling out at the same time, +"<i>Thalassio! Thalassio!</i>" which means "For <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>Thalassius, 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 Thalassius. Now 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 beautiful +lady was intended for him, they acquiesced immediately, and desisted +from their attempt to recapture 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 manœuver, excited very general +applause, and the exclamation, <i>Thalassio</i>, 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 ceremony.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Resentment of the fathers and brothers of the maidens.</div> + +<p>Romulus had issued most express and positive orders that the young +captives should be 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 +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>them to the places of security previously designated. They suffered +undoubtedly a greater or less degree of distress and terror,—but +finding 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 brothers +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 perpetrators 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 captives, and were soon eagerly engaged in forming and +discussing all possible plans for rescuing and recovering them. Thus +the night was passed in agitation and excitement, both within 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 countrymen.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">The captives called together in the morning.</div> + +<p>When the morning came, Romulus ordered the captive maidens to be all +brought together before him in order that he 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Address made to them by Romulus.</div> + +<p>"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 affection 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 been +accustomed to experience under your fathers' roofs. The brief coercion +which we have employed for the purpose of securing you in the first +instance,—a coercion which we were compelled to resort to by the +necessity of the case,—is the only rudeness to which you will <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>ever +be exposed. Forgive us then for this one liberty which we have taken, +and consider that the fault, whatever fault in it there may be, is not +ours, but that of your fathers and brothers who rejected our offers +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 positions 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."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Acquiescence of the captives.<br />Cures.</div> + +<p>The young and handsome Romans stood by while Romulus made this speech, +their countenances animated with excitement and pleasure. The maidens +themselves seemed much inclined to yield to their fate. Their +resentment 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>seemed gradually to come to the conclusion, +that considering all the circumstances of the case their abductors +were not so much in fault after all. In a short time an excellent +understanding 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 capital of the +Sabines was a city called Cures. Cures was about twenty miles from +Rome.<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a></p> + +<p>The Sabines, in deliberating on the course which they should pursue in +the emergency, found themselves in a situation of great perplexity. In +the first place the impulse which urged 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 might 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 +exposed and they were by no means certain, in case a war <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>should be +commenced between them and the Romans, how it would end. Their own +population was much divided, being scattered over the territory, or +settled in various cities and towns which were but slightly fortified, +and consequently were much exposed 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 whole, to try the influence of gentle measures, before resorting +to open war.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Sabines demand the restoration of the captives.</div> + +<p>They therefore sent an embassy to Romulus, to remonstrate in strong +terms against the wrong which the Romans had done them by their +treacherous violence, and to demand that the young women should be +restored. "If you will restore them to us now," said they, "we will +overlook the affront which you have put upon us, and make peace with +you; and we will enter into an alliance with you so that hereafter +your people and ours may be at liberty to intermarry in a fair and +honorable way, but we can not submit to have our daughters taken away +from us by treachery and force."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus refuses to restore them.</div> + +<p>Reasonable as this proposition seems, Romulus <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>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 complained 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 consummated, could +not now be annulled.</p> + +<p>The Sabines, on their part, could not accede to these proposals. +Being, however, still reluctant to commence hostilities, they +continued the negotiations—though while engaged in them they seemed +to anticipate an unfavorable issue, for they were occupied all the +time in organizing troops, strengthening the defenses of their +villages and towns, and making other vigorous preparations for war.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Ceremony in commemoration of these events.</div> + +<p>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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>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 weddings. For always, in future years, when +the new-married wife was 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 commemorating by this +ceremony the coercion which had signalized the original marriages of +his ancestors, the founders of Rome.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XII" id="Chapter_XII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XII.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Sabine War.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 750-746</h3> + +<div class="sidenote">King Acron.<br />Cænina.<br />Its distance from Rome.</div> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">W</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">hile</span> the negotiations with the Sabines were still pending, Romulus +became involved in another difficulty, which for a time assumed a very +threatening aspect. This difficulty was a war which broke out, +somewhat suddenly, in consequence of the invasion of the Roman +territories by a neighboring chieftain named Acron. Acron was the +sovereign of a small state, whose capital was a town called Cænina.<a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a> +This Cænina is supposed 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 afterward became so extended and so renowned, +were originally performed, and how intrinsically insignificant they +were, in themselves, though momentous in the extreme in respect to the +consequences that flowed from them.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">Acron's hostility to the new city.<br />His plans.</div> + +<p>Acron was a bold, energetic, and determined man, who had already +acquired great fame by his 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 formidable 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, however, were +so unwilling to proceed to extremities, and spent so much time in +negotiations and embassies, that Acron's patience was at length wholly +exhausted by the delays, and he resolved to undertake the +extermination of the new colony himself alone.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus and Acron meet on the field.</div> + +<p>So he gathered together a rude and half-organized army, and advanced +toward Rome. Romulus, who had been informed of his plans and +preparations, went out to meet him. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>two armies came in view of +each other on an open plain, not far from the city. Romulus advanced +at the head of his troops, while Acron appeared likewise in the +fore-front of the invaders. After uttering in the hearing of each +other, and of the assembled armies, various 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 champions. Romulus and Acron accordingly advanced into the +middle of the field, while their armies drew up around them, forming a +sort of ring within which the combatants were to engage.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Anticipations of the spectators.<br />Romulus victorious.</div> + +<p>The interest which would be naturally felt by such an encounter, was +increased very much by the strong contrast that was observed in the +appearance of the warriors. Romulus was very young, and though tall +and athletic in form, his countenance exhibited still the expression +of softness and delicacy 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 they saw +the combatants as they came forward <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>to engage, anticipated a very +unequal contest. Romulus was nevertheless victorious. As he went into +the battle, he 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 would +set up the arms and spoils of Acron at Rome, 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 Romulus prevailed in the combat. At all events, he did +prevail. Acron was slain, and while Romulus was stripping the fallen +body of its armor on the field, his men were pursuing 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Results of his victory.</div> + +<p>Cænina was not in a condition to make any defense, and it was readily +taken. When the city was thus in the power of Romulus, he called the +inhabitants together, and said to them, that he cherished no hostile +or resentful feelings toward them. On the contrary, he wished to have +them his allies and friends, and he promised them, that if they would +abandon Cænina, and go with him to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>Rome, they should all be received +as brothers, and be at once incorporated into the Roman state, and +admitted to all the privileges of citizens. The people of Cænina, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Subsequent policy of the Romans.</div> + +<p>This victory over Acron, and the annexation of his dominions to the +Roman commonwealth, are considered of great historical importance, as +the original type and exemplar 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 organization almost encircled the world.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p><div class="sidenote">The trophy of the victory.<br />First Roman triumph.</div> + +<p>Romulus faithfully fulfilled the vow which he had made to Jupiter. On +the return of the army to Rome, the soldiers, by his directions, cut +down a small oak-tree, and trimming the branches at the top, and +shortening them as much as was necessary for the purpose, 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 and 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.</p> + +<p>The spoils which had been brought in upon the oak were solemnly set +up, on one of the hills within the city, as a trophy to Jupiter. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>A +small temple was erected expressly to receive them. This temple was +very small, being but five feet wide and ten feet long.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Annexation of more cities.</div> + +<p>A short time after these transactions two other cities were +incorporated into the Roman state. The name of these cities were +Crustumenium and Antemnæ. Some women from these cities had been seized +at Rome when the Sabine women were taken, and the inhabitants had been +ever since that period meditating plans of revenge. They were not +strong enough to wage open war against Romulus, but they began at last +to make hostile incursions into the Roman territories by means of such +small bands of armed men as they had the means of raising. Romulus +immediately organized bodies of troops sufficient for the purpose, and +then suddenly, and, as it would seem, without giving the kings of +these cities any previous warning, he appeared before the walls and +captured the cities before the inhabitants had time to recover from +their consternation.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Women summoned.<br />The address of Romulus.<br />His promises.</div> + +<p>He then sent to all the women 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>the presence of the Roman Senate. The +women were exceedingly terrified at receiving this summons. They +supposed that death or some other terrible punishment, was to be +inflicted upon them in retribution for the offenses 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 Roman <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>commonwealth. Thus, your fathers and +brothers, and all your countrymen, receive the boon of life, liberty, +and happiness through you; and all that we ask of you in return, is +that you will 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."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Generous policy pursued by Romulus.<br />Enlargement of the city.</div> + +<p>Of course such transactions as these attracted great attention +throughout the country, and both the valor with which Romulus +encountered his enemies while they resisted and opposed him, and the +generosity with which he admitted them to an honorable alliance with +him when 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 instance a +famous chieftain named Cælius, 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 Rome for receiving so sudden and so large an +accession to the numbers of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>the people, and accordingly a new +eminence, one which had been hitherto without the city, was now +inclosed, and brought within the pœmerium. This hill received the +name of Cælius, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Plans of the Sabines.<br />They mature their preparations.<br />Titus Tatius.</div> + +<p>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 Romans, were only excited to greater +jealousy and ill-will at witnessing the proofs of their increasing +influence and power. They employed 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>stores of provisions and munitions of +war; they formed alliances with such states lying beyond them as they +could 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 who was placed in command of this +mighty host was Titus Tatius.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Preparations of the Romans.</div> + +<p>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 provisions for the use of the city. They +strengthened and extended the walls, and built new ramparts and towers +wherever they were needed. Numitor 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 engines, such as +were used in those times in the attack and defense of besieged cities. +In fact, the preparations on both sides were of the most extensive +character, and seemed to portend a very resolute and determined +contest.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Final negotiations.</div> + +<p>When all things were thus ready, the Sabines, before actually striking +the blow for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>which they had been so long and so deliberately +preparing, concluded to send one more final embassy to Romulus, to +demand the surrender of the women. This was of course only a matter of +form, as they must have known well from what had already passed that +Romulus would not now yield to such a proposal. He did not yield. He +sent back word in answer to their demand, that the Sabine women were +all well settled in Rome, and were contented 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Roman herdsmen.<br />Flocks and herds called in.</div> + +<p>There was a certain tract of country surrounding Rome 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 Sabines became +imminent, Romulus called all <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>these herdsmen in, and required the +flocks of sheep and the herds of cattle to be driven to the rear of +the city, and shut up in an inclosure there, where they 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The citadel.<br />Tarpeia.</div> + +<p>They advanced accordingly, and when they came near to the city they +found that Romulus had taken possession of two hills without the +walls, where 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 surrounded on all +parts with ramparts and towers which overlooked and commanded all the +neighboring country. The command of this fortress was given to +Tarpeius, a noble Roman. He had a daughter named Tarpeia, whose name +afterward became greatly celebrated in history, on account <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>of the +part which she took in the events of this siege, as will presently +appear.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Campus Martius.</div> + +<p>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 which +was afterward included within the limits of the city, and used as a +parade-ground, under the name of Campus Martius, 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 numerous 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 officers 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. The account +generally received is this:—</p> + +<p><a name="Tarpeia" id="Tarpeia"></a></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 390px;"> +<img src="images/i281.jpg" class="ispace" width="390" height="350" alt="Promising the Bracelets." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Promising the Bracelets.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">Parley with Tarpeia.<br />Agreement made with Tarpeia.<br />The Sabines admitted.<br />Tarpeia killed.</div> + +<p>Tarpeia had observed the soldiers from the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>walls, and her attention +had been 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. Titus Tatius, accordingly, when informed of this +arrangement, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>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, however, 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 +Romulus, 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 capture 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 upon +her until she was crushed down beneath the weight of them and killed.</p> + +<p>A steep rock which forms that side of the Capitoline hill is called +the Tarpeian rock, in memory of this maiden, to the present day.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The two armies meet on the plain.</div> + +<p>In this way the Sabines gained possession <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>of the citadel, though +Romulus still held the main city. The Romans were of course extremely +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 Martius, 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">A truce to bury the dead.</div> + +<p>Things being in this state a series of desperate 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>plain could be looked down upon as if it were a map. +The battle continued all day. At night both parties were exhausted, +and the field was covered with the dead and dying, but neither side +had gained a 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Fresh combats.<br />Romulus in great personal danger.</div> + +<p>After the interval of a day, which was spent, on both sides, in +removing the horrid relics of the previous combats, and in gathering +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. Various incidents occurred during the day to give one party or +the other a local or temporary advantage, but neither side wholly +prevailed. At one time Romulus 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 hoping to follow them in, +in the confusion, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>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 Romans. 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 they took up the body of Romulus and carried +it into the city. It was found, however, that he was not seriously +injured. He soon recovered from the effects of the blow and returned +into the battle.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The story of Curtius.<br />The lake.</div> + +<p>Another incident which occurred in the course of these battles has +been commemorated 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 bleeding, and surrounded by enemies, fled +for his life. Romulus pursued him for a short distance, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>but Curtius +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, and which was now covered and almost concealed 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. Romulus supposed of course that he would be drowned there, +and so turned away and went to find some other enemy. Curtius, +however, succeeded 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 afterward, when, not +only had all the water disappeared, but the place itself had been +filled up, and had been covered with streets and houses.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Distress of the Sabine women.</div> + +<p>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 quarrel had arisen, were suffering the +greatest anxiety and distress. They loved their fathers and brothers, +but then they loved their husbands <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>too; and they were overwhelmed +with anguish at the thought that day after day those who were equally +dear to them were engaged in fighting and destroying one another, and +that they could do nothing to arrest so unnatural a hostility.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Their perplexity.</div> + +<p>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 willing to yield. The Sabines could not +bring themselves to submit to so humiliating an alternative as to +withdraw from Rome 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 Romans could not take +those, who, whatever had been their previous history, were now living +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 was willing to +yield, and both were preparing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>to return to the struggle with new +determination and vigor.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The plan of Hersilia.</div> + +<p>The Sabine women thought that they might now interpose. A lady named +Hersilia, who is often mentioned as one of the most prominent among +the number, proposed this measure and made the arrangements for +carrying it into effect. She assembled her countrywomen and explained +to them her plan, which was that they should go in a body to the Roman +Senate, and ask permission to intercede between the contending +nations, and plead for peace.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The women admitted to the senate house.</div> + +<p>The company of women, taking their children 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 great distress and agitation. The grief +and anxiety which they had suffered during the progress of the war +still continued, and they begged the Senate to let them go out to the +camp of the Sabines, and endeavor to persuade them to make peace. The +Senate were disposed to consent. The women wished to take their +children with them, but some of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>the Romans imagined that there might, +perhaps, be danger, that under pretense of interceding for peace, they +were really intending to make their escape from Rome altogether. So it +was insisted that they should leave their children behind them as +hostages for their return, excepting that such as had two children +were allowed to take one, which plan it was thought would aid them in +moving the compassion of their Sabine relatives.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Arrangements for the intercession of the women.<br />The address of Hersilia.</div> + +<p>The women, accordingly, left the senate-chamber, and with their +children in their arms, their hair disheveled, their robes disordered, +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 countrymen to put an +end to the war. "We know," said she, "that you are waging it on our +account, and we see in all that you have done <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>proofs of your love for +us. In fact, it was our supposed interests which led you to commence +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 inexpressibly miserable."</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Effect of it.<br />Conditions and terms of peace.</div> + +<p>This intercession produced the effect which might have been expected +from it. The Sabines 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 sentiment, that in +the end a treaty of union was made between the two nations. It was +agreed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>that the two nations should be merged into one. The Sabine +territory was to be annexed to that of Rome, 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 belligerent nations so sudden and so +complete.</p> + +<hr class="large" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="Chapter_XIII" id="Chapter_XIII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XIII.</span></h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Conclusion.</span></h2> + +<h3>B.C. 764-717</h3> + +<p class="n"><span style="float:left;font-size:50px;line-height:32px;padding-top:2px;padding-bottom:1px;">A</span><span style="margin-left:0%;">fter</span> the termination of the Sabine war Romulus continued to reign +many years, and his reign, although no very exact and systematic +history of it was recorded at the time, seems to have presented the +usual variety of incidents and vicissitudes; and yet, notwithstanding +occasional and partial reverses, the city, and the kingdom connected +with it, made rapid progress in wealth and population.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus reigns in conjunction with the Sabine king.<br />The Roman Forum.</div> + +<p>For four or five years after the union of the Sabines with the Romans, +Titus Tatius was 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 was +situated that his troops had taken possession of in the course <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>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, or +<i>forum</i>, as it was called in their language,—that place being +designated for the purpose on account of its central and convenient +situation. 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 +throughout the world under the name of the Roman Forum.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Growth of the city.<br />Bold and comprehensive measures.<br />Cameria.</div> + +<p>In consequence of the union of the Romans and the Sabines, and of the +rapid growth of the city in population and power which followed, the +Roman state began soon to rise to so high a position in relation to +the surrounding cities and kingdoms, as soon to take precedence of +them altogether. This was owing, 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 +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>years of its existence, as described in the foregoing chapters, were +all of a very extraordinary character, and evinced very extraordinary +qualities in the men who devised them. These measures were bold, +comprehensive and sagacious, 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 +qualities generally feel their power, and are usually not slow to +assert it. A singular and striking instance of this occurred not many +years after the peace with the Sabines. There was a city at some +distance from Rome 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 accusations were made +against them, and very coolly cited them 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 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>the Roman government +constituted a judicial tribunal, having authority to exercise +jurisdiction, and to enforce law and order, among all the nations +around them. In fact, Rome continued to assert and to maintain this +authority over a wider and wider circle every year, until in the +course of some centuries after Romulus's day, she made herself the +arbiter of the world.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Difficulty with Titus Tatius.<br />Controversy between Romulus and Tatius.</div> + +<p>Titus 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 would 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 committing +some deed of violence at Lavinium, the ancient city which Æneas 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 the discussions which +took place at Rome <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>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 warm; parties were formed; and at last the +exasperation 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.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The difficulty at Lavinium.<br />Tatius killed.</div> + +<p>This of course increased the excitement and the difficulty in a +tenfold degree. Romulus immediately sent to Lavinium to express his +deep regret at what 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 murderers, he said, and send them to +Lavinium, and he would come himself, with Tatius, to Lavinium, and +there make an expiatory offering to the gods, in attestation of the +abhorrence <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>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 defend 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 murderers +from the Lavinians, after they had been given up. Accordingly, while +he and Romulus 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 news so exasperated the +people of Lavinium against Tatius, for they considered him as +unquestionably 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 which 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.</p> + +<p>The government of Lavinium, as soon as the excitement of the scene was +over, fearing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>the resentment which they very naturally supposed +Romulus would feel at the murder of his colleague, seized the +ringleaders of the riot, and sent them bound to Rome, to place them at +the disposal of the Roman government. Romulus sent them back unharmed, +directing them to say to the Lavinian government, that he considered +the death of Tatius, though inflicted in a mode lawless and +unjustifiable, as nevertheless, in itself, only a just expiation for +the murder of the Lavinian embassadors, which Tatius had instigated or +authorized.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Romulus once more sole king.</div> + +<p>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 +once more the sole and undisputed master of Rome.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Rome assumes a general jurisdiction over other states.</div> + +<p>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 retrocession at +any time. Causes of disagreement arose from time to time with +neighboring states, and, in such cases, Romulus always first sent a +summons to the party implicated, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>whether king or people, citing them +to appear and answer for their conduct before the Roman Senate. If +they 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 kingdom of Rome. Thus +the boundaries of the new empire were widening and extending every +year.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Foundation of the future greatness of Rome.</div> + +<p>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 police, the tribunals of justice, the social +institutions 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 interval of +peace and tranquillity. In consequence of the exertions which he made, +and the measures which he adopted, order and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>system prevailed more +and more in every department, 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 increased 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.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding, however, all this increasing greatness and +prosperity, Romulus was not without rivals and enemies, even among his +own people at Rome. The leading senators 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 affairs, as if +he were an absolute and despotic sovereign. He wore a purple robe on +public occasions, as a badge of royalty. He organized a body-guard of +three hundred young troopers, who rode before him whenever he moved +about the city; and in all respects <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>assumed such pomp and parade in +his demeanor, and exercised such a degree of arbitrary power in his +acts, as made him many enemies. The whole Senate became, at length, +greatly disaffected.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Circumstances connected with the death of Romulus.</div> + +<p>At last one day, on occasion of a great review which took place at a +little distance from the city, there came up a sudden shower, attended +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.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305-6]</a></span></p><div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<img src="images/i302.jpg" class="ispace" width="500" height="314" alt="The Death of Romulus." title="" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Death of Romulus.</span></span></div> + +<div class="sidenote2">Rumors in circulation.</div> + +<p>This strange story was but half believed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>even at first, by the people, and very soon rumors began to circulate +in the city that Romulus had been murdered by the senators who were +around him at the time of the shower,—they having seized the occasion +afforded by the momentary absence of his guards, and by their solitary +position. There were various surmises in respect to the disposal which +the assassins had made of the 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 cutting it +up into small pieces, and conveying it away, each taking a portion, +under their robes.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Public opinion.</div> + +<p>Of course these rumors produced great agitation 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 +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>present day, was then entirely satisfactory to the whole community.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">Proculus's story.<br />The ghost of Romulus.</div> + +<p>One of the most prominent and distinguished 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 announced 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 was 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 senators?' 'I left you,' said he, 'because it <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>pleased the gods +to call me back again to heaven, whence I originally came. It was no +longer necessary for me to remain on earth, for Rome 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.'"</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The Romans satisfied.</div> + +<p>The people of Rome were overjoyed to hear this communication. Their +doubts and suspicions were now all removed; the senators at once +recovered their good standing in the public regard, and all was once +more peace and harmony. Altars were immediately erected to Romulus, +and the whole population of the city joined in making sacrifices and +in paying other divine honors to his memory.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The real truth not to be known.</div> + +<p>The declaration of Proculus that he had seen the spirit of Romulus, +and his report of the conversation which the spirit had addressed to +him, constituted proof of the highest kind, according to the ideas +which prevailed in those ancient days. In modern times, however, there +is no faith in such a story, and the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>truth in respect to the end of +Romulus can now never be known.</p> + +<div class="sidenote">The interregnum.<br />A new king.</div> + +<p>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 king.</p> + +<h3><span class="smcap">The End.</span></h3> + +<hr class="large" /> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Footnotes:</span></h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> See Map, p. 30.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Pronounced in four syllables, Aph-ro-di-te.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> See Map, page <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> See Map, page <a href="#Latium">134</a>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> See map of Latium, page <a href="#Latium">134</a>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> See Map of Latium, page <a href="#Latium">134</a>.</p></div> + +<hr class="large" /> +<h3><span class="smcap">Transcriber's Notes</span></h3> + +<p>1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors, and to ensure consistent spelling and punctuation in this etext; otherwise, +every effort has been made to remain true to the original book.</p> + +<p>2. The sidenotes used in this text were originally published as banners in the page headers, and have been moved to reference the relevant paragraph +for the reader's convenience.</p> + +<p>3. In the chart on <a href="#Page_46">page 46</a>, detailing the original Greek alphabet, the typesetter's appear to have missed the 7th letter, kappa. +The correction has been made, based on the discussion in "History of the Greek Alphabet," by E. A. Sophocles, published in 1848, by George Nichols, Boston.</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Romulus, Makers of History, by Jacob Abbott + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROMULUS, MAKERS OF HISTORY *** + +***** This file should be named 27692-h.htm or 27692-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/6/9/27692/ + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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--- /dev/null +++ b/27692.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6119 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Romulus, Makers of History, by Jacob Abbott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Romulus, Makers of History + +Author: Jacob Abbott + +Release Date: January 3, 2009 [EBook #27692] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROMULUS, MAKERS OF HISTORY *** + + + + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + Makers of History + + Romulus + + BY JACOB ABBOTT + + WITH ENGRAVINGS + + NEW YORK AND LONDON + + HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + + 1901 + + + + + Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by + + HARPER & BROTHERS, + + in the Clerk's Office for the Southern District of New York. + + Copyright, 1880, by BENJAMIN VAUGHAN ABBOTT, AUSTIN ABBOTT, + LYMAN ABBOTT, and EDWARD ABBOTT. + + + + +[Illustration: THE HARPIES.] + + + + +PREFACE + + +In writing the series of historical narratives to which the present +work pertains, it has been the object of the author to furnish to the +reading community of this country an accurate and faithful account of +the lives and actions of the several personages 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 invention of the +author. No incident, however trivial, is ever added to the original +account, nor are any 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 connected narrative. + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. CADMUS 13 + + II. CADMUS'S LETTERS 36 + + III. THE STORY OF AENEAS 59 + + IV. THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY 79 + + V. THE FLIGHT OF AENEAS 103 + + VI. THE LANDING IN LATIUM 131 + + VII. RHEA SILVIA 155 + + VIII. THE TWINS 179 + + IX. THE FOUNDING OF ROME 202 + + X. ORGANIZATION 225 + + XI. WIVES 248 + + XII. THE SABINE WAR 270 + + XIII. THE CONCLUSION 295 + + + + +ENGRAVINGS. + + + PAGE + + THE HARPIES _Frontispiece._ + + JUPITER AND EUROPA 28 + + MAP--JOURNEYINGS OF CADMUS 30 + + SYMBOLICAL WRITING 37 + + SYMBOLICAL AND PHONETIC WRITING 44 + + HIEROGLYPHICS 56 + + MAP--ORIGIN OF VENUS 61 + + AENEAS DEFENDING THE BODY OF PANDARUS 68 + + THE TORTOISE 98 + + HELEN 105 + + MAP--WANDERINGS OF AENEAS 119 + + MAP--LATIUM 134 + + SILVIA'S STAG 145 + + RHEA SILVIA 180 + + FAUSTULUS AND THE TWINS 184 + + SITUATION OF ROME 209 + + PROMISING THE BRACELETS 284 + + THE DEATH OF ROMULUS 305 + + + + +ROMULUS + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +CADMUS. + +B.C. 1500 + +Different kinds of greatness.--Founders of cities.--Rome.--Interest +in respect to its origin.--The story of AEneas.--The Mediterranean +sea.--Italy and Greece in ancient times, and now.--Ancient +chieftains.--Their modes of life.--Religious ideas of the ancient +Greeks and Romans.--Ancient studies of nature.--Purpose of +them.--History.--Ancient poems and tales.--How far founded +in fact.--Cadmus.--Interest felt in respect to the +origin of writing.--True story of Cadmus.--His father +Agenor.--Europa.--Telephassa.--The pursuit of Europa.--Fruitless +result.--Cadmus settles in Greece.--Thebes.--Arts introduced by +him.--The ancient legend of Cadmus.--Jupiter.--Adventures of +Jupiter.--His love for Europa.--His elopement.--Jupiter and Europa +in Crete.--The expedition of Cadmus.--His various wanderings.--Death +of Telephassa.--Visit to the oracle at Delphi.--The directions of +the oracle.--Cadmus finds his guide.--The place for his city +determined.--The fountain of Dirce.--The dragon's teeth.--Thebes +built.--Cadmia.--Ancient ideas of probability.--Belief in supernatural +tales.--Final recording of the ancient tales. + + +Some men are renowned in history on account 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 which, in the subsequent course of events, resulted +from their doings. Men of this latter class are conspicuous rather +than great. From among thousands of other men equally exalted in +character with themselves, they are brought out prominently to the +notice of mankind only in consequence of the strong light reflected, +by great events subsequently occurring, back upon the position where +they happened to stand. + +The celebrity of Romulus seems to be of this 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 accustomed to look back with special curiosity to the +circumstances of its origin. In consequence of this it has happened +that though Romulus, in his actual day, performed no very great +exploits, and enjoyed no pre-eminence above the thousand other +half-savage chieftains of his class, whose names have been long +forgotten, and very probably while he 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 the incidents of his 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 begin with the story of AEneas. +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 mankind, 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 corresponding +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 cultivation +of animal and vegetable life, were substantially the same on the +shores of the Mediterranean 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 attention to those which represent the refinement, the +cultivation, and the power, of the two respective periods, we shall +find that almost all analogy fails. There was an aristocracy then as +now, ruling over the widely extended communities of peaceful +agriculturalists and herdsmen, but the members of it were entirely +different in their character, their tastes, their ideas, and their +occupations from the classes which exercise the prerogatives of +government in Europe in modern times. The nobles then were military +chieftains, living in camps or in walled cities, which they built for +the accommodation of themselves and their followers. These chieftains +were not barbarians. 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 artificial rules, but from the +unerring instinct of genius, have never been surpassed. In fact, the +poetical inventions of those early days, far from having been +produced in conformity with rules, were entirely precedent to rules, +in the order of time. Rules were formed from them; for they at length +became established themselves in the estimation of mankind, as 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 summits of their blue and beautiful mountains, and that they +were invested there with attributes 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 +and tales, as graceful, poetical, and beautiful as themselves. Every +grove, and fountain, and river,--every lofty summit among the +mountains, and every rock and promontory along the shores of the +sea,--every cave, every valley, every water-fall, had its imaginary +occupant,--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 explored then as now, +for the purpose of ascertaining and recording cold and scientific +realities,--but to be admired, and embellished, and animated;--and to +be peopled, everywhere, with exquisitely beautiful, though imaginary +and supernatural, life and action. + +What the genius of imagination and romance 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 the mere daily toil of tilling the ground bore direct +relation to military expeditions, spectacles and parades; and the only +field for the exercise of that kind of intellectual ability which is +employed in modern times in investigating 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 witness shows or games, or to celebrate great religious festivals. +Of course under such circumstances there would be no interest felt in +truth as truth. Romance and fable would be far more serviceable for +such ends than reality. + +Still it is obvious that such tales as were invented to amuse for the +purposes we have described, would have a deeper interest for those 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 interest to a +story that purported to be an account of the deeds and the marvelous +adventures of their own ancestors, than to one that was wholly and +avowedly imaginary. The inventors of these tales would of course +generally choose such subjects, and their narrations 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 reality in all these tales which added greatly +to the 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 writing with alphabetic characters was so great an invention, and +it has exerted so vast an influence on the condition and progress of +mankind since it was introduced, that a very 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 determine under what +circumstances the method of representing the elements of sound by +written characters was first devised, to discover who it was that +first conceived the idea, and what led him to make the attempt, what +difficulties he encountered, to what purposes he first applied his +invention, and to what results 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 +subject that the world are now interested in knowing. Were a romance +writer to invent a tale in respect to the origin of writing, however +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 existing in respect to the +actual origin of alphabetic 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 will give +the facts, first in their simple form, and then the narrative in the +form in which it was related in ancient times, as embellished by the +ancient story-tellers. + +The facts then, as now generally understood and believed, are, that +there was a certain king in some country in Africa, named Agenor, who +lived about 1500 years before Christ. He had a daughter named Europa, +and several sons. Among his sons was one named Cadmus. Europa was a +beautiful girl, and after a time a wandering adventurer from some part +of the northern shores of the Mediterranean sea, came into Africa, and +was so much pleased with her that he resolved if possible, 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 acquaintance +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 daughter had deceived him and gone +away, was very indignant, and sent Cadmus and his brothers in pursuit +of her. The mother of Europa, whose name was Telephassa, though less +indignant perhaps than the father, was 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 attempting to establish themselves there, however, they +became involved in various conflicts, first with wild beasts, and +afterward 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 against 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 government of Thebes, and in +arranging the organization of the people into a social state, Cadmus +introduced among them several arts, which, in that part of the +country, had been before unknown. One of these arts was the use of +copper, which metal he taught his new subjects 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 +vocal sounds, by means of which inscriptions of words could be carved +upon monuments, or upon tablets of metal or of stone. + +It is not supposed that the idea of representing the elements of vocal +sounds by characters _originated_ with Cadmus, or that he invented the +characters himself. He brought them with him undoubtedly, but whether +from Egypt or Phenicia, can not now be known. + +Such are the facts of the case, as now generally understood and +believed. Let us now compare this simple narration with the romantic +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 continue to reign only on that condition. + +Jupiter's mother, however, was very unwilling that her boys should be +thus cruelly put to death, and she contrived to conceal three of them, +and save them. The three thus preserved were brought up among the +solitudes of the mountains, watched and attended by nymphs, and nursed +by a goat. After they grew up, they engaged from time to time in +various wars, and met with various wonderful adventures, until at +length Jupiter, the oldest of them, succeeded, by means of +thunderbolts which he caused to be forged for his use, in vast +subterranean caverns beneath Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius, conquered +all his enemies, and became universal king. He, however, divided his +empire between himself and his brothers, giving to them respectively +the command of the sea and of the subterranean regions, while he +reserved the earth and the heavenly regions for himself. + +[Illustration: JUPITER AND EUROPA.] + +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 great number of strange and +marvelous adventures. In the course of these wanderings 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 +himself 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 him, patted his glossy neck +and sides, and in other similar ways gratified the prince by marks of +her admiration and pleasure. She was at length induced by some secret +and magical influence which the prince exerted over her, to mount upon +his back, and allow herself to be borne away. The bull ran with his +burden to the shore, and plunged into the waves. He swam across the +sea to Crete,[A] and there, resuming his proper form, he made the +princess his bride. + +[Footnote A: See Map, p. 30.] + +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. Cadmus, 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 Mediterranean sea, without being able to obtain any tidings of the +fugitive. At length they passed into Asia Minor, and from Asia Minor +into Thrace, a country lying north of the Egean 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 anxiety and fatigue, and now overwhelmed with the +thought that all hope must be finally abandoned, sank down and died. + +[Illustration: THE JOURNEYING OF CADMUS.] + +Cadmus and his brothers were much affected at their mother's death. +They made arrangements for her burial, in a manner befitting her high +rank and station, and when the funeral solemnities had been performed, +Cadmus repaired to the oracle at Delphi, which was situated in the +northern part of Greece, not very far from Thrace, in order that he +might inquire there whether there was any thing more that he could do +to recover his lost sister, and if so to learn what course he was to +pursue. The oracle replied to him 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 kingdom 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 cow +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 oracle. 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 followed +wherever she led the way. She conducted him toward the southward and +eastward for thirty or forty miles, and at length wearied apparently, +by her long journey, she lay down. Cadmus knew immediately that this +was the spot where his city was to stand. + +He began immediately to make arrangements for the building of the +city, but he determined first to offer the cow that had been his +divinely appointed guide to the spot, as a sacrifice to Minerva, whom +he always considered as his guardian goddess. + +Near the spot where the cow lay down there was a small stream which +issued from a fountain not far distant, called the fountain of Dirce. +Cadmus sent some of his men to the place to obtain some water which it +was necessary to use in the ceremonies of the sacrifice. 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 ascertain 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 +monster was greedily devouring the bodies. Cadmus immediately +attacked the dragon and slew him, and then tore his teeth out of 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 +contend together in a desperate conflict, until at length all but five +of them were slain. These five then joined themselves to Cadmus, and +helped him to build his city. + +He went on very successfully after this. The city which he 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 that such narratives must have been composed to +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 faith which the hearer felt in their truth added of course +very greatly to the interest which they awakened in his mind. The +stories are _amusing_ to us; but it is impossible for us to share in +the deep and solemn 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 interest, for there is too general a +diffusion both of 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 knowing how wide the +Mediterranean sea might be, and whether a bull might not swim across +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 feasts, in +their journeyings,--and when watching their flocks at midnight, among +the solitudes of the mountains. Thus the tales were handed down from +generation to generation, until at length the use of the letters of +Cadmus became so far facilitated, that continuous narrations could be +expressed by 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. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +CADMUS'S LETTERS. + +B.C. 1500 + +Two modes of writing.--Symbols.--Example.--Symbol of the Deity.--Ancient +symbols.--The Egyptian hieroglyphics phonetic.--Natural +symbols.--Mexican record.--Arbitrary symbols.--Advantages of the +symbolical mode of writing.--The meaning of them more easily +understood.--Comparison of the two systems.--Further comparison of the +two systems.--Two modes of representing the idea of a battle.--Great +advantages of the phonetic mode of writing.--Uncertainty of the origin +of phonetic writing.--Cadmus's alphabet.--Difficulties attending the +introduction of it.--Different modes of writing.--The art of writing at +first very little used.--Proofs of this.--Story of the lots.--Other +instances.--The invention of papyrus.--Mode of manufacturing +papyrus.--Volumes.--Mode of using ancient books.--Ink.--Ink found at +Herculaneum.--Recent discoveries in respect to the Egyptian +hieroglyphics.--Specimen of Egyptian hieroglyphics.--Explanation of +the figures.--Moses in Egypt.--Importance of the art of writing. + + +There are two modes essentially distinct from each other, by which +ideas may be communicated through the medium of inscriptions addressed +to the eye. These two modes are, first, by _symbolical_, and secondly, +by _phonetic_ characters. Each of these two systems 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. + +[Illustration: SYMBOLICAL WRITING] + +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 certain figure often employed among the +architectural decorations of churches, as an emblem of the Deity. It +consists of a triangle 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 obviously 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 expressed. + +The first attempts of men to preserve records 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 full representations, and these grew at length +into a system of hieroglyphical characters, some natural, and others +more or less arbitrary, but all denoting _ideas_ or _things_, and not +the sounds of words. These characters are of the kind usually +understood by the word hieroglyphics; though that word can not now +with strict accuracy be applied as a distinctive appellation, since it +has been ascertained 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 species 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 scepter +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 writing which seems to have been +symbolical in 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 characteristic +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 +inscriptions, for example, there was a character representing 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 inscription was that in a certain tumult or insurrection +the 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 _dollars_, as a +prefix to a number expressing money; for this character is a sort of +symbol, that is, it represents a thing rather 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 differently. 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 overlooked. It speaks directly to the eye, and is more 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 figure of +a house, or of a ship, or of a locomotive engine, at the head of an +advertisement, 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 ancient +representations on monuments and columns would communicate, perhaps +more rapidly 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 representations as used in ancient +times, was that their meaning could be more readily explained, and +would be more easily remembered, 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 accomplished 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 provinces, would be wholly blind and unintelligible 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 them, letter by +letter, they would forget the beginning of the lesson before reaching +the end of it,--and could never be expected to attempt extending the +knowledge by making known the interpretation which they had received +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 symbolical mode of writing must +be more simple in its character than the system now in use, inasmuch +as by that plan each idea or object would be expressed by one +character alone, whereas, 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 apparent simplicity, the system of symbolical +writing proved to be, when extensively employed, extremely complicated +and intricate. It is true that each idea required but one character, +but the number of ideas and objects, and of words expressive of their +relations to one another, is so vast, that the system 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 intended 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 communicating +knowledge anew. + +[Illustration: SYMBOLICAL AND PHONETIC WRITING] + +We come now to consider the second grand class of written characters, +namely, the _phonetic_, the class which Cadmus introduced into Greece, +and the one almost universally adopted among all the European nations +at the present day. It is called Phonetic, from a Greek word denoting +_sound_, because the characters which are used do not denote directly +the thing itself which is signified, but the sounds made in speaking +the word which signifies it. Take, for instance, the two modes of +representing a conflict between two contending armies, one by the +symbolic delineation of two swords crossed, and the other by the +phonetic delineation of the letters of the word battle. They are both +inscriptions. 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 _b_, represents 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 exemplified in this simple +instance, we shall observe 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 symbolical mode by one character, while by the +phonetic it requires no less than six. This seems at first view to +indicate a great advantage possessed by the symbolical system. But on +reflection this advantage is found entirely to disappear. For the +symbolical character, 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 symbol 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 thousand,--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, we have elements which can be +used again and again, in the expression of thousands of other ideas. +In fact, as the phonetic characters which are found necessary in most +languages are only about twenty-four, we have in that single word +accomplished one quarter of the whole task, so far as the delineation +of characters is concerned, that is necessary for expressing by +writing any possible combination of ideas which human language can +convey. + +At what time and in what manner the transition was made among the +ancient nations from the symbolic to the phonetic mode of writing, is +not now known. When 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 expressed +in phonetic characters, and the alphabets 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 several +columns, the letters themselves as subsequently written in Greece, the +Greek names given to them, and their power as represented by the +letters now in use. The forms, it will be seen, have been but little +changed. + + Greek letters. Greek names. English representatives. + + [Greek: A] Alpha A + [Greek: B] Beta B + [Greek: G] Gamma G + [Greek: D] Delta D + [Greek: E] Epsilon E + [Greek: I] Iota I + [Greek: L] Lamda L + [Greek: K] Kappa K + [Greek: M] Mu M + [Greek: N] Nu N + [Greek: O] Omicron O + [Greek: P] Pi P + [Greek: R] Rho R + [Greek: S] Sigma S + [Greek: T] Tau T + [Greek: U] Upsilon U + +The phonetic alphabet of Cadmus, though so 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 difficult to read it when written. There was a very great +practical obstacle, too, in the way of its general introduction, in +the want of any suitable materials for writing. To cut letters with a +chisel and a mallet upon a surface of marble is a very slow and +toilsome process. To diminish this labor the ancients contrived tables +of brass, copper, lead, and sometimes of wood, and cut the +inscriptions 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 record. + +In process of time, however, the plan of _painting_ the letters by +means of a black dye upon a smooth surface, was 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 +composition. Cadmus is supposed to have come into Greece about the +year 1550 before Christ; and it was not until about 650 before +Christ,--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 allusion, 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 champion. The lots were +prepared, being made 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 remember 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 considered as the one designated by the +decision, to fight the Trojan champion. + +Now, 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 supposed, that if these +men had been able to write, that they would have inscribed their own +names upon the lots, instead of marking them with unmeaning +characters. And even if they were not practiced writers themselves +some secretary or scribe would have been called upon to act for them +on such an occasion as this, if the art of writing had been at that +time so generally known as to be customarily 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 period 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, until at last the art of writing became established +among mankind, when they were at length put permanently upon record. + +It seems that writing was not much employed for any of the ordinary +and private purposes 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 the low lands along the margin of the Nile. It +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 +materials 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 receive 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 was open between them. Of +course, as he advanced, he continually unrolled on one side, and +rolled up upon the other. Rolls of parchment 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 practice +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 afforded it great protection. The ends of +this roller projected beyond the edges of the sheet, and were +terminated in knobs or bosses, which guarded in some measure the edges +of the papyrus or of the parchment. The whole volume was also inclosed +in a parchment case, on the outside of which the title of the work was +conspicuously recorded. Many of these ancient rolls have been found at +Herculaneum. + +For ink, various colored liquids were used, generally black, but +sometimes red and sometimes green. The black ink was sometimes +manufactured from a species of lampblack or ivory black, such as is +often used in modern times for painting. Some specimens of the +inkstands which were used in ancient times have been found at +Herculaneum, and one of them contained ink, which though too thick to +flow readily from the pen, it was still possible to write with. It was +of about the consistence of oil. + +These rolls of papyrus and parchment, however, were only used for +important writings which it was intended permanently to preserve. 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 rounded, so that any words which the writer wished to erase might +be obliterated by smoothing over again, with it, the wax on which they +had been written. + +Such is a brief history of the rise and progress of the art of writing +in the States of Greece. Whether the phonetic principle which Cadmus +introduced was brought originally from Egypt, or from the countries on +the eastern shore of the Mediterranean sea, can not now be +ascertained. It has generally been supposed among mankind, at least +until within a recent period, that the art of phonetic writing did +not originate in Egypt, for the inscriptions on all the ancient +monuments in that country are of such a character that it has always +been supposed 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 attempting for so many centuries, in vain, +to affix symbolical meanings to them, had been altogether upon the +wrong track. The delineations, though they consist almost wholly of +the forms of plants and animals, and of other natural and artificial +objects, are not symbolical representations of ideas, but letters, +representing sounds and words. They are thus precisely similar, in +principle, to the letters of Cadmus, though wholly different from them +in form. + +[Illustration: SPECIMEN OF EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.] + +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 express the name Cleopatra, a very common name for +princesses of the royal line in Egypt during the dynasty of the +Ptolemy's. We mark the various figures forming the inscription, with +the letters which modern interpreters have assigned to them. It will +be seen that they all spell, rudely indeed, but yet tolerably +distinctly, the name CLEOPATRA. + +By a careful examination of these specimens, it will be seen that the +order of placing the letters, if such hieroglyphical characters can be +so called, is not regular, and the letter _a_, 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 represented 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 inscriptions 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 means of characters representing the sounds 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 Mediterranean 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 arrangement 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 writing, 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. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE STORY OF AENEAS. + +B.C. 1200 + +Story of AEneas remained long unwritten.--Mother of AEneas.--Her +origin.--Early history of Venus.--Her magical powers.--Her children +Eros and Anteros.--She goes to Olympus.--Aphrodite's love for +Anchises.--The golden apple.--The award of Paris.--Venus's residence +at Mt. Ida.--Aphrodite's assumed character.--She leaves +Anchises.--Childhood of AEneas.--The Trojan war.--Achilles.--AEneas +engages in the war.--Story of Pandarus.--AEneas rescued by his +mother.--Her magic vail.--Venus is wounded.--Iris conveys her +away.--Single combat between AEneas and Achilles.--The charmed life +of Achilles.--His shield.--The meeting of AEneas and Achilles on the +field.--The harangues of the combatants.--The battle begun.--Narrow +escape.--Sudden termination of the combat.--The tales of the AEneid. + + +Besides the intrinsic interest and importance of the facts stated in +the last chapter, 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 AEneas, the great ancestor of Romulus, 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 hundred_ before Christ. Homer 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 continuous compositions, about the year six hundred. The +story of AEneas 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 hundred years, and then was clothed in verse, 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 during the whole period of this transmission, the +interest felt in it was not the desire for ascertaining 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 historically true; but it is no less +important on that account, that all well-informed persons should know +what it is. + +The mother of AEneas (as the story goes), was a celebrated goddess. Her +name was Aphrodite;[B] though among the Romans she afterward received +the name of Venus. Aphrodite was not born of a mother, like ordinary +mortals, but sprang mysteriously and supernaturally from a foam which +gathered on a certain occasion upon the surface of the sea. At the +commencement of her existence she crept out upon the shores of an +island that was near,--the island of Cythera,--which lies south of the +Peloponnesus. + +[Footnote B: Pronounced in four syllables, Aph-ro-di-te.] + +[Illustration: ORIGIN OF VENUS.] + +She was the goddess of love, of beauty, and of fruitfulness; 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, inexpressibly beautiful; +and in addition to the natural influence of her charms, she was endued +with the supernatural power of inspiring the sentiment 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 had two children, beautiful boys. +Their names were Eros and Anteros. Each of these children remained +perpetually 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 boys 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 tenderest 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 became objects of affection, if they did not return the love. + +After some time, Aphrodite and her boys found their way to the +heavenly regions of Mount Olympus, where the great divinities +resided,[C] and there they soon produced great trouble, by enkindling +the flames of love in the hearts of the divinities themselves, causing +them, by her magic power, to fall in love not only with one another, +but also with mortal men and women on the earth below. In retaliation +upon Aphrodite for this mischief, Jupiter, by his supreme power, +inspired Aphrodite herself with a sentiment of love. The object of her +affection was Anchises, a handsome youth, of the royal family of Troy, +who lived among the mountains of Ida, not far from the city. + +[Footnote C: See Map, page 61.] + +The way in which it happened that the affection of Aphrodite turned +toward an inhabitant of Mount Ida was this. There had been at one time +a marriage among the divinities, and a certain goddess who had not +been invited to the wedding, conceived the design of avenging herself +for the neglect, by provoking 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 assembled at the wedding. The goddesses all +claimed the prize, and a very earnest dispute arose among them in +respect to it. Jupiter 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 themselves to him, and submit the +question of the right to the apple to his award. The contending +goddesses appeared accordingly before Paris, and each attempted to +bribe him to decide in her favor, by offering him some peculiar 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 when Jupiter +inspired her with a sudden susceptibility to the power of love, the +shepherd Anchises was the object toward which her affections turned. +She accordingly went to Mount Ida, and giving herself up to him, she +lived with him for some time among the mountains as his bride. AEneas +was their son. + +Aphrodite did not, however, appear to Anchises in her true character, +but assumed, instead, the form and the disguise of a Phrygian +princess. Phrygia was a kingdom of Asia Minor, not very far from Troy. +She continued this disguise as long as she remained with Anchises at +Mount Ida; at length, however, 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 AEneas, 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, having now no longer any one at +home to attend to the rearing of the child, send him to Dardanus, 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 Anchises in +Aphrodite's eyes. AEneas remained 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 residence among the pasturages of the +mountains. His mother, though she had left him, did not forget her +child; but watched over him continually, and interposed directly to +aid or to protect him, whenever her aid was required by the occurrence +of any emergency of difficulty or danger. + +[Illustration: AENEAS DEFENDING THE BODY OF PANDARUS.] + +At length the Trojan war broke out. For a time, however, AEneas 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 peaceful avocations to the end of the war, had +it not been that Achilles, one of the most formidable of the Grecian +leaders, in one of his forays in the country around Troy, in search of +provisions, came upon AEneas's territory, and attacked him while +tending his flocks upon the mountain side. Achilles seized the +flocks and herds, and drove AEneas and his fellow-herdsmen away. They +would, in fact, all have been killed, had not Aphrodite interposed to +protect her son and +save his life. + +The loss of his flocks and herds, and the injury which he himself had +received, aroused AEneas's indignation and anger against the Greeks. He +immediately raised an armed force of Dardanians, and thenceforth took +an active part 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 performed 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. AEneas did not succeed in saving his +friend. Pandarus was killed. AEneas, however, flew to the spot, and by +means of the most extraordinary feats of strength and valor he drove +the Greeks away from the body. They attacked it on every side, but +AEneas, wheeling around it, and fighting now on this side and now on +that, drove them all away. They retired to a little distance and then +began to throw in a shower of spears and darts and arrows upon him. +AEneas defended himself and the body of his friend from these missiles +for a time, with his shield. At length, however, he was struck in the +thigh with a ponderous stone which one of the Greek warriors hurled at +him,--a stone so heavy that two men of ordinary strength would have +been required to lift it. AEneas was felled to the ground by the blow. +He sank down, resting upon his arm, faint and dizzy, and being thus +made helpless would have immediately been overpowered and killed by +his assailants had not his mother interposed. She came immediately to +rescue him. She spread her vail over him, which had the magic power of +rendering 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 in her anxiety to protect him. Diomedes, the +chief of the pursuers, following headlong on, aimed a lance at Venus +herself. The lance struck Venus in the hand, and inflicted a very +severe and painful wound. It did not, however, stop her flight. She +pressed swiftly on, while Diomedes, satisfied with his revenge, gave +up the pursuit, but called out to Aphrodite as she disappeared from +view, bidding her learn from the lesson which he had given her that it +would 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 AEneas 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. Iris 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 farther still among the mountains to a place +where they found Mars, the god of war, standing with his chariot. Mars +was Aphrodite's brother. He took compassion upon his sister in her +distress, and lent Iris his chariot and horses, to convey Aphrodite +home. Aphrodite 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 her wound, and expressed great sympathy for her in her +sufferings, uttering at the same time many piteous complaints against +the merciless violence and inhumanity of men. Such is the ancient tale +of AEneas and his mother. + +At a later period in the history of the war, AEneas 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, AEneas +on the one side and Achilles 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. AEneas, besides the prodigious strength and bravery for which +he was renowned, was to be divinely aided, it was known, by the +protection of his 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, possessed 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 of the body which the water laved. As, how +ever, Thetis held the child by the ankles when she plunged him in, the +ankles remained unaffected by the magic influence of the water. All +the other parts of the body were rendered incapable 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 +metal. 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 the Greeks in the Trojan war, not +trusting entirely it seems to his magical invulnerability. + +The armies looked on with great interest as these two champions +advanced to meet each other, while all the gods and goddesses surveyed +the scene with almost equal interest, from their abodes above. Some +joined Venus 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 surveyed each other with looks of anger and defiance. +At length Achilles spoke. He began to upbraid AEneas 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 sons who are the direct and immediate heirs, +and your claims can never be allowed. Then, besides, what folly to +attempt to contend with me! Me, the strongest, bravest, and most +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 pretensions 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. + +AEneas replied,--retorting with vauntings 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 war 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 with +such force that it penetrated through two of the plates of metal which +composed the shield, and reached the central plate of gold, where the +force with which it had been thrown being spent, it was arrested and +fell to the ground. Achilles then exerting his utmost strength threw +his spear in return. AEneas 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. +The spear struck the shield near the upper edge of it, as it was held +in AEneas's hands. It passed directly through the plates of which the +shield was composed, and then continuing its course, it glided down +just over AEneas's back, and planted itself deep in the ground behind +him, and stood there quivering. AEneas crept out 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 AEneas, hand to hand. AEneas 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 two ordinary men could lift, and was about to hurl it at +his advancing foe, when suddenly the whole combat was terminated by a +very unexpected interposition. It seems that the various gods and +goddesses, from their celestial abodes among the summits of Olympus, +had assembled in invisible forms to witness this combat--some +sympathizing with and upholding one of the combatants, and some the +other. Neptune was on AEneas's side; and accordingly when he saw how +imminent the danger was which threatened AEneas, 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 concealed +AEneas from Achilles's view. Neptune 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 AEneas, 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 on looking +around him found that his enemy was gone. + +Such are the marvelous tales which were told by the ancient narrators, +of the prowess and exploits of AEneas 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 +religious faith. The tales were thus believed, and handed down +traditionally from generation 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 sacred +revelations which they contained, in respect to the divinities of the +spiritual world. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY. + +B.C. 1200 + +Termination of the siege of Troy.--Appearances observed by the +besieged.--The wooden horse.--Its probable size.--Various opinions +in respect to the disposal of it.--Sudden appearance of a +captive.--His wretched condition.--Sinon's account of the departure +of the Greeks.--His story of the proposed sacrifice.--His +escape.--Priam's address to him.--Sinon's account of the horse.--Effect +produced by Sinon's story.--The serpents and Laocoon.--Ancient statue +of Laocoon.--Its history.--The statue now deposited in the +Vatican.--Description of it.--Effect produced upon the Trojans by +Laocoon's fate.--The Trojans draw the horse into the city.--The Greeks +admitted to the city.--AEneas awakened by the din.--His meeting with +Pantheus.--His surprise and terror.--Adventures of AEneas and +Pantheus.--The tortoise.--The position of AEneas.--The tower.--The +sacking of the palace.--Priam.--Priam and Hecuba at the altar.--The +death of Priam.--The despair of the Trojans. + + +After the final conquest and destruction of Troy, AEneas, in the course +of his wanderings, stopped, it was said, at Carthage, on his way to +Italy, and there, according 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 movements 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 embarkation. In a word, the tidings soon spread +throughout the city, that the Greeks had at length 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 together,--to +explore the abandoned encampment, and to rejoice over the departure of +their terrible enemies. + +The first thing which attracted their attention was an immense wooden +horse, which stood upon the ground that the Greek encampment had +occupied. The Trojans immediately gathered, one and all, around the +monster, full of wonder and curiosity. AEneas, in narrating the story, +says that the image was as large as a mountain; but, as he afterward +relates that the people drew it on wheels within the walls of the +city, and especially as he represents them as attaching the ropes for +this purpose to the _neck_ of the image, instead of to its fore-legs, +which would have furnished the only proper points of attachment if the +effigy had been of any very extraordinary size, he must have had a +very small mountain in mind in making the comparison. Or, which is +perhaps more probable, he used the term only in a vague metaphorical +sense, as we do now when we speak of the waves of the ocean as running +mountain 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 +monster, to leave behind them on their departure from Troy. After the +first emotions of astonishment and wonder which the spectacle awakened +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 commander 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. +Another, 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 with so mysterious 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 respect to the disposal of the +horse, if this consultation and debate had gone on, it is impossible +to say, as the farther consideration of the subject was all at once +interrupted, by new occurrences which here suddenly intervened, 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 +excitement, and loud shouts and outcries, bringing with them a captive +Greek whom they had secured and bound. As the peasants came up with +their prisoner, the Trojans gathered eagerly round them, full of +excitement and threats of violence, all thirsting, apparently, for +their victim's blood. He, on his part, filled the air with the most +piteous lamentations 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 the 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 +interrogations, that his name was Sinon, and that he was a fugitive +from his own countrymen the Greeks, who had been intending to kill +him. He said that the Greek leaders had long been desirous of +abandoning the siege of Troy, 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 design. +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 oracle 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 designate. 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 to the individual +who was to suffer. At length he said that Sinon was the destined +victim. His comrades, Sinon said, rejoicing in their own escape from +so terrible a doom, eagerly assented to the priest's decision, and +immediately made preparations for the ceremony. The altar was reared. +The victim was adorned for the sacrifice, and the garlands, 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. Sinon concluded his tale by +the most piteous lamentations, on his wretched lot. The Trojans, 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 this story seemed so +sincere, and so natural and unaffected were the expressions of +wretchedness and despair with which he ended his narrative, that the +Trojan leaders had no suspicion 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. +"Forget your countrymen," said he. "They are gone. Henceforth 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 himself ready to give his benefactors the fullest +information. He told them that the wooden horse 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 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 interest to all that Sinon said, +and readily believed his story; so admirably well did he counterfeit, +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 despair in +respect to his own unhappy lot. The current 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 upon 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 sacriligious temerity in striking his spear into +the horse's side. It had been determined to offer a sacrifice to +Neptune. Lots were drawn to determine who should perform the rite. The +lot fell upon Laocoon. He began to make preparations to perform the +duty, assisted by his two young 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 twining around them they soon +held the writhing and struggling limbs of their shrieking victims +hopelessly entangled in their deadly convolutions. + +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. Instead, +however, of being able to save his children, he only involved himself +in their dreadful fate. The serpents seized him as soon as he came +within their reach, and taking two turns around his neck and two +around his body, and binding in a remorseless grip the forms of the +fainting and dying boys with other convolutions, they raised their +heads high above the group of victims which they thus enfolded, and +hissed and darted out their forked tongues in token of defiance and +victory. When at length their work was done, they 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. This statue was mentioned by an old Roman writer, Pliny, who +gave an account of it while it yet stood in its place in the ancient +city. He said that it was the work of three artists, a father and two +sons, who combined their industry and skill to carve in one group, and +with immense labor and care, the representation of Laocoon himself, +the two boys, and the two serpents, making five living beings +intertwined intricately together, and all carved from one single block +of marble. On the decline and fall of Rome this statue was lost among +the ruins of the city, and for many centuries it was known to mankind +only through the description of Pliny. At length 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 +attention to the whole world. It was deposited in the Vatican; a great +reward was paid to the owner of the ground on which it was discovered; +drawings and casts of it, without number, have been made; and the +original stands in the Vatican now, an object of universal interest, +as one of the most celebrated sculptures 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 sinks under the effects of +the poison. The other boy, in an agony of terror, is struggling, +hopelessly, to release his foot from the convolutions with which one +of the serpents has encircled it. The expression of the whole group is +exciting and painful, and yet notwithstanding this, there is combined +with it a certain mysterious grace and beauty which charms every eye, +and makes the composition the wonder of mankind. + +But to return to the story. The people understood this awful +visitation to be the judgment of heaven against Laocoon for his +sacrilegious 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 preparations 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 weight of the colossal mass. +They attached long ropes to the neck of the image, and extended them +forward upon the ground, and then brought up large companies of +citizens 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 +ponderous mass began to move, and though it encountered in its +progress many difficulties, obstructions, 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 unconscious effigy +stood silent and alone where its worshipers had left it, while the +whole population of the city were sunk in slumber, except the +sentinels who had been stationed as usual to keep guard at the gates, +or to watch upon the towers and battlements above them. + +In the mean time the Greek fleet, which had sailed away under pretense +of finally abandoning 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 secrecy, 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 watchmen, threw +open the gates, and gave the whole body of their comrades that were +lurking outside the walls, in the silence and darkness of the night, +an unobstructed admission. + +AEneas 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 ascended to the +roof of the house to ascertain the cause of the alarm. He saw flames +ascending 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 suddenly 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 his +little son, who was likewise pale with terror. AEneas asked Pantheus +what had happened. Pantheus in reply explained to him in hurried and +broken words, that armed men, treacherously 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 AEneas and those who had joined +him with a species 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 exhibited in +the midnight sacking of a city. They met with various adventures +during the time that they continued their desperate but hopeless +resistance. They encountered a party of Greeks, and overpowered and +slew them, and then, seizing the armor which their fallen enemies 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 destroy 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 undertook to rescue her, and were at once attacked 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 tumult and din, and +the frightful glare of lurid flames by which the city was illuminated, +a scene of inconceivable confusion and terror. + +[Illustration: THE TORTOISE.] + +AEneas 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 had 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 +AEneas 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 below. Great numbers were killed by the falling +ruins, and the tortoise was broken down. The Greeks, however, soon +formed another tortoise, by means of which some of the soldiers scaled +the walls, while others broke down the gates with battering rams and +engines; 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 +AEneas and his 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, +were 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 spectators 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 farther attempts at resistance would only +exasperate their enemies, and render their own destruction the more +inevitable. She persuaded the king, therefore, to give up his 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 await 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 unexpected occurrence which suddenly intervened, and which +led to a fatal result. While they were seated by the altar, in +attitudes of submission and suppliance, they were suddenly aroused by +the rushing toward them of one of their sons, who came in, wounded and +bleeding from some scene of combat, and pursued 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 imprecations +against the murderers of his son, he hurled the weapon toward them as +they advanced. 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 palace 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. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE FLIGHT OF AENEAS. + +B.C. 1200 + +AEneas's reflections.--He determines to go home.--AEneas is left at last +alone.--He goes away.--He sees the princess Helen.--Story of +Helen.--AEneas determines to destroy her.--His reflections.--The +apparition of Aphrodite.--Her words.--His mother's magical +protection.--He reaches his home.--The determination of +Anchises.--Creusa's entreaties.--The plan formed for the escape of the +family.--The lion's skin.--The household gods.--Creusa.--The whole +party proceed towards the gates.--Escape from the city.--Creusa is +lost.--AEneas goes back in search of Creusa.--He finds that his house +has been burned.--The apparition of Creusa.--Her predictions.--Her +farewell to her husband.--Preparations for departure.--AEneas's company +increases.--His fleet.--The embarkation.--Map of the wanderings of +AEneas.--A dreadful prodigy.--The bleeding myrtle.--Words of the +myrtle.--Story of Polydorus.--AEneas leaves Thrace.--His various +wanderings.--The attempted settlement at Crete.--Calamities.--AEneas's +perplexity.--Advice of Anchises.--Scene at night.--The household +deities.--Their address to AEneas.--Effect of this address.--Subsequent +adventures.--Danger of shipwreck.--The harpies.--AEneas driven +away.--Dangers at Mt. Etna.--The one-eyed giants.--Polyphemus.--Remarks +on the story of AEneas. + + +AEneas, from his station upon the battlements of a neighboring edifice, +witnessed the taking of the palace and the death of Priam. He +immediately gave up 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, whom 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 he began now to be overwhelmed with the apprehension, +that the besiegers had found their way to his dwelling, and were, +perhaps, at that very moment plundering and destroying it and +perpetrating 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 companions remained with him. +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 city. 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 headlong from their lofty height into the street beneath 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. AEneas 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 AEneas found himself alone. + +AEneas contrived to find his way back safely to the street, and then +stealthily choosing his way, and vigilantly watching against the +dangers that surrounded him, he advanced cautiously among the ruins of +the palace, in the direction toward his own home. He had not +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. + +[Illustration: HELEN.] + +Helen was a Grecian princess, formerly the wife of Menelaus, king of +Sparta, but she had eloped from Greece 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, Menelaus, accompanied +by another Grecian chieftain, went to Troy and demanded that Helen +should be given up again to her proper husband. Paris refused to +surrender her. Menelaus then returned to Greece and organized a grand +expedition to proceed to Troy and recapture the queen. This was the +origin of the war. The people, therefore, looked upon Helen as the +cause, whether innocent or guilty, of all their calamities. + +When AEneas, therefore, who was, as may well be supposed, in no very +amiable or gentle temper, as he hurried along away from the smoking +ruins of the palace 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 country by her +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 vengeance 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 ruin +upon us, escape herself, and go back to Greece in safety and be a +queen there again." + +As AEneas said these words, rushing forward 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 +decrees of the gods that the city has fallen. It is useless for you to +struggle against inevitable destiny, or to attempt to take vengeance +on mere human means and instrumentalities. Think no more of Helen. +Think of your family. Your aged father, your helpless wife, your +little son,--where are they? Even now while you are wasting time here +in vain attempts 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 unseen, and will protect you and them from +every impending danger." + +As soon as Aphrodite had spoken these words she disappeared from view. +AEneas, following her injunctions, went directly toward 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 direction about the city, in such a manner as to convince him +that his mother was really accompanying him, and protecting his way by +her supernatural powers. + +When he reached home the first person whom he saw was Anchises his +father. He told Anchises that all was lost, and that nothing now +remained for them but to seek safety for themselves by flying to the +mountains behind the city. But Anchises refused to 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 remains to me, to be spent, if saved, in miserable exile. +If the powers of heaven had intended that I should have lived any +longer, they would have spared my native city,--my 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. AEneas and Creusa his wife joined their entreaties in +urging him to go away. But he would not be persuaded. AEneas then +declared that he would not go and leave his father. If one was to die +they would all die, he said, together. He called for his armor and +began to put 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 intervention, who fell down before him at the +threshold of the door, almost frantic with excitement 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 unhappy family +continued for some time longer, but it ended at last, in the 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 continually at new points in the progress of the +conflagration, indicated that no time was to be lost. AEneas hastily +formed his plan. His father was too old and infirm to go himself +through the city. AEneas determined therefore to carry him upon his +shoulders. Little Ascanius was to walk along by his side. Creusa was +to follow, keeping as close as possible to her husband lest she should +lose him in the darkness of the night, or in the scenes of uproar and +confusion through which they would have to pass on the way. The +domestics 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 certain rising ground, not far from the +city, which AEneas designated to them by means of an old deserted +temple which marked the spot, and a venerable cypress which grew +there. + +This plan being formed the party immediately proceeded to put it in +execution. AEneas 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. Anchises 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 embodiment of divine protection. To save these images, +when every thing else was given up for lost, was always the object of +the last desperate effort of the husband and father. AEneas in this +case asked his father to take these images, as it would have been an +impiety 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 followed 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 +of the distant conflagrations, which glared in the sky, and flashed +sometimes upon battlements and towers, and upon the tops of lofty +dwellings. + +AEneas 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 constant 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 defend either himself or them. The party, however, for a time +seemed to escape all these dangers, but at length, just as they were +approaching the gate of the city, and began to think that they were +safe, they were suddenly alarmed by a loud uproar, and by a rush of +men which came in toward them from some streets in that quarter of the +city, and threatened to overwhelm them. Anchises was greatly alarmed. +He saw the gleaming weapons of the Greeks who were rushing toward +them, and he called out to AEneas to fly faster, or to turn off some +other way, in order to escape the impending danger. AEneas was +terrified by the shouts and uproar which he heard, and his mind was +for a moment confused 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 succeeded in finding egress +from the city. He pressed on, without stopping to look behind him till +he reached the appointed place of rendezvous on the hill, and then +gently laying down his burden, he looked around for Creusa. She was +nowhere to be seen. + +AEneas was in utter consternation, at finding that his wife was gone. +He mourned and lamented this dreadful calamity with loud exclamations +of grief and despair; then reflecting 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 behind the hill, and leaving them there +under 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 flames 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, accordingly, 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 furniture and goods which the +wretched inmates of the dwellings had vainly endeavored to save. These +inmates themselves were standing around, distracted with grief and +terror, and gazing hopelessly upon the scene of devastation before +them. + +AEneas saw all these things at a glance, and immediately, in a phrensy +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 imploring all whom he saw to give him some tidings of her. +All was, however, in vain. She could not be found. AEneas 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 suspense, 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 progress. 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 him that the vision was not of this +world. AEneas 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 providence 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 destiny 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, however, 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 must not lament my 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 began to disappear. AEneas +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 concealed 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 AEneas 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, AEneas employed his men +in building a number of small vessels, fitting them, as was usual in +those days, both with sails and oars. + +During the progress of these preparations, small parties of Trojans +were coming in continually, 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 AEneas was gradually assembling +the remnant of the Trojans on the shore. The numbers thus collected at +AEneas's encampment gradually increased, and as AEneas 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. + +[Illustration: WANDERINGS OF AENEAS.] + +The nearest country within reach in leaving the Trojan coast, was +Thrace--a country lying north of the Egean Sea, and of the Propontis, +being separated, in fact, in one part, from the Trojan territories, +only by the Hellespont. AEneas turned his course northward toward this +country, and, after a short voyage, 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 to +leave those shores 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 occasions, +when AEneas, 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 astonishment and horror, he found that blood +flowed from the roots whenever they were broken. Drops of what +appeared to be human blood would ooze from the ruptured part as he +held the shoot in his hand, and fall slowly to the ground. He was +greatly terrified at this spectacle, considering it as some omen of +very dreadful import. He immediately 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 prodigy +had 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 suffering. Immediately afterward a +voice, in a mournful and sepulchral accent, began to beg him to go +away, and cease disturbing the repose 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 supplied, and that he might maintain, during his +absence 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 for support and protection, became +the occasion of his ruin--for the Thracian king, when he found 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. + +AEneas 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, performed those funeral rites for Polydorus which +were considered in those ages essential to the repose of the dead. +When these mournful ceremonies were ended they embarked on board their +ships again and sailed away. + +After this, the party of AEneas spent many months in weary voyages from +island to island, and from shore to shore, along the Mediterranean +sea, encountering every imaginable difficulty and danger, and meeting +continually with the strangest and most romantic adventures. At one +time they were misled by a mistaken interpretation of prophecy to +attempt a settlement in Crete--a green and beautiful island lying +south of the Egean sea. They had applied to a sacred oracle, which +had its seat at a certain consecrated 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 +oracle, in answer to their request, informed them that they were to go +to the land that their ancestors had originally come from, before +their settlement in Troy. AEneas applied to Anchises 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 accordingly directed southward, and +in due time the expedition safely reached the island of Crete, and +landed there. They immediately commenced the work of effecting a +settlement. They drew the ships up upon 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 them. Many died; others who still lived, were +utterly prostrated by the effects of the disease, and crawled about, +emaciated and wretched, a miserable and piteous spectacle 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 judgments. AEneas determined to adopt this +advice, but he was prevented from carrying his intentions into effect +by the following occurrence. + +One night he was lying upon his couch in 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 which environed them. The moon shone in at the +windows, and by the light of this luminary he saw, reposing in their +shrines in the opposite side of the apartment where he was sleeping, +the household images which he had rescued from the flames of Troy. As +he looked upon these divinities in the still and solemn hour of +midnight, oppressed with anxiety and care, one of them began to +address him. + +"We are commissioned," said this supernatural 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 destined to be your home. You must leave +these shores, 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 or on account of the calamities which now +impend over you. You will be prospered in the end. You will reach +Italy in safety, and there you will lay the foundations of a mighty +empire, which in days to come will extend its dominion far and wide +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 prepared 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 extend this portion of our narrative too far, +to relate them all. They encountered a storm by which for three days +and three nights they were tossed to and fro, without seeing sun or +stars, and of course without any guidance whatever; and during all +this time they were in the most imminent danger of being overwhelmed +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 _harpies_, +birds of prey of prodigious size and most offensive habits, and fierce +and voracious beyond description. 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, Ocythoe, Ocypoae, 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 +representing 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 AEneas and his party, and carried +away the food from off the table before them; and even 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 before. At length the +expedition was driven away from the island altogether, by these +ravenous fowls, and when they were embarking on board of their +vessels, the leader of the harpies perched herself upon a rock +overlooking the scene, and in a human voice loaded AEneas 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 +summit 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 monsters 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 enabled them to resume their course, they made all +haste to get away from so appalling a scene. At another time they +touched upon a coast which 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 surprise +their keeper in his sleep, and though they were wholly unable to kill +him on account of his colossal magnitude, they succeeded in putting +out his eye, and AEneas and his companions saw the blinded giant, as +they passed along the coast, wading in the sea, and bathing 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, AEneas and his party reached the shores of Italy, at +the point which by divine intimations had been pointed out to them as +the place where they were to land.[D] + +[Footnote D: See Map, page 134.] + +The story of the life and adventures of AEneas, 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 +narrative has made a more deep, and widespread, and lasting impression +upon the human mind than any other narrative perhaps that ever was +penned. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE LANDING IN LATIUM. + +B.C. 1197-1190 + +Description of the country where AEneas landed.--The landing.--Mouth of +the Tiber.--Burning of the ships.--Italy in ancient days.--Sacrifices +offered.--Map of Latium.--Reconnoitring the country.--King Latinus.--An +embassy.--The embassy come to the capital.--The embassadors are +admitted to an audience.--Their address to king Latinus.--Latinus +accedes to AEneas's requests.--Proposal of marriage.--Lavinia and +Turnus.--The anger of Turnus at being set aside.--Lavinium.--Situation +of the Trojan territory.--The story of Sylvia's stag.--Ascanius shoots +the stag.--The resentment of Sylvia's brothers.--Sudden outbreak.--Death +of Almon.--Great excitement.--Preparation for war.--Latinus.--The +Trojans gradually gain ground.--Desire for peace.--Turnus opposes +it.--A proposal for single combat.--Result of the combat.--Marriage +of AEneas.--AEneas drowned in the Numicius. + + +Latium was the name given to an ancient province of Italy, lying south +of the Tiber. At the time of AEneas'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, +consisting of hills and valleys, occupied by shepherds 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 command 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 employed 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 buildings, of wood, or of stone, and thus constructed such +dwellings as they needed, in their towns, and walls and citadels for +defence. + +AEneas brought his fleet into the mouth of the Tiber, and anchored it +there. He himself, 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 expedition at the commencement of the voyage, was very +large; but it had been considerably diminished by the various +misfortunes and accidents 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 render it impossible for the fleet +to go to sea again. + +However this may be, AEneas was very strongly disposed to make the +beautiful region which he now saw before him, his final home. The +country, in every aspect of it, was alluring in the highest degree. +Level plains, varied here and there by gentle elevations, extended +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 mountains bounded the +horizon, and a soft, warm summer haze floated over the whole scene, +bathing the landscape in a rich mellow light peculiar to Italian +skies. + +As soon as the disembarkation was effected, lines of encampment were +marked out, at a suitable place on the shore, and such simple +fortifications as were necessary for defence in such a case, were +thrown up. AEneas dispatched one party in boats to explore the various +passages and channels which formed the mouth of the river, perhaps in +order to be prepared to make good his escape again, to sea, in case of +any sudden or extraordinary danger. Another party were employed in +erecting altars, and preparing for sacrifices and other religious +celebrations, designed on the part of AEneas to propitiate the deities +of the place, and to inspire his men with religious confidence and +trust. He also immediately proceeded to organize a party of +reconnoiterers who were to proceed into the interior, to explore the +country and to communicate with the inhabitants. + +[Illustration: MAP OF LATIUM.] + +The party of reconnoiterers thus sent out followed up the banks of the +river, and made excursions in various directions across the fields and +plains. They found that the country 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 arrival 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 demeanor +he concluded that they were Greeks. This idea awakened in his mind +some apprehension; 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 +pursue in respect to the intruders. + +In the mean time AEneas concluded to send an embassy to Latinus to +explain the circumstances under which 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 the others a large number of gifts which +they were to carry and present to him. These gifts consisted of +weapons 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 arranged proceeded to the Latin 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 dwellings. Outside the gates a +portion of the population were assembled busily engaged in games, and +in various gymnastic and equestrian performances. Some were driving +furiously in chariots around great circles marked out for the course. +Others were practicing feats of horsemanship, or running races upon +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 they came in view of this scene, and +waited until intelligence could be sent in to the monarch, informing +him of their arrival. + +Latinus decided immediately to admit the embassy to an audience, and +they were accordingly conducted into the city. They were led, after +entering by the gates, through various streets, until they came at +length to a large public edifice, which seemed to be, at the same +time, palace, senate-house, and citadel. There were to be seen, in the +avenues which led to this edifice, statues of old warriors, and +various other martial decorations. There were many old trophies of +former victories preserved here, such as arms, and chariots, and prows +of ships, and crests, and great bolts and bars taken from the gates of +conquered cities,--all old, war-worn, and now useless, but preserved +as memorials of bravery and conquest. The Trojan embassy, passing +through and among these trophies, as they 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 introduction were performed, they +delivered the message which AEneas 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 +destruction of their native city. Since then they had been driven to +and fro at the mercy of the winds and waves, exposed to every +conceivable degree of hardship and danger. Their landing finally in +the dominions of Latinus 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 reaching them, +had landed; and now AEneas, 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 territory for them, and give them leave to +build a city. + +The effect produced upon the mind of Latinus 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 +destruction of Troy, and of the departure of AEneas's squadron; for a +long time had been consumed by the wanderings of the expedition along +the Mediterranean shores, so that some years had now elapsed since the +destruction 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 AEneas 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 establishment of friendly relations between Latinus and +the Trojans, and that was, that Latinus was engaged, at the time of +AEneas's arrival, in a war with the Rutulians, a nation that inhabited +a country lying south of Latium and on the coast. Latinus thought that +by making the Trojans his friends, he should be able to enlist them as +his auxiliaries in this war. AEneas 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 AEneas and +Latinus, an alliance which in the end resulted in the accession of +AEneas to the throne of Latinus. Latinus had a daughter named Lavinia. +She was an only child, and was a princess of extraordinary 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 marry Lavinia, and in the +end succeed with her, to the throne of Latinus. Latinus himself had +not entered into this scheme; and when closing his negotiations with +AEneas, it seemed to him that it would be well to seal and secure the +adherence of AEneas to his cause by offering him his daughter Lavinia +for his bride. AEneas was very willing to accede to this proposal. What +the wishes of Lavinia herself were in respect to the arrangement, it +is not very well known; nor were her wishes, according to the ideas +that prevailed in those times, of any consequence whatever. The plan +was arranged, and the nuptials were soon to be celebrated. Turnus, +when he found that he was to be superseded, left the court of Latinus, +and went away out of the country in a rage. + +AEneas 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. AEneas had intended to have named it Troy, in commemoration of +the ancient city now no more. 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 to the Trojans by Latinus was in +the south-western 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, determining, 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 AEneas found himself threatened with a very formidable +danger. + +Nor was this all. For just before the commencement of the war with +Turnus, an extraordinary train of circumstances occurred which +resulted in alienating the Latins themselves from their new ally, and +in leaving AEneas 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 AEneas would not be very favorably +regarded by the common 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 partiality of their king, to a share of their +country. This jealousy and distrust was, for a time, suppressed and +concealed; but the animosity only acquired strength and concentration +by being restrained, and at length an event occurred which caused it +to break forth with uncontrollable fury. The circumstances were these: + +There was a man in Latium named Tyrrheus, 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 accustomed 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. + +[Illustration: SILVIA'S STAG.] + +One day when Ascanius, AEneas'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 belonging to his years, was returning from +the chase, he happened to pass by the place where the herdsman lived. +Ascanius was followed 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 confiding 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 fitting it to +the bow. As soon as he came in sight of the stag, he let fly his +arrow. The 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 rushing into the house, marking his way with +blood, ran to the covert which Sylvia had provided for his +resting-place at night, and crouching 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 their +favorite, they were filled with indignation and rage. They went out +and aroused the neighboring peasantry, who very easily caught the +spirit of resentment and revenge which burned 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 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 chieftains +could interfere, a very 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 maturity, 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 demanded, 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 withstand 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 sentiment turned hopelessly against the Trojans, +and AEneas soon found himself shut up 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. AEneas himself went away with a few followers to some of the +neighboring kingdoms, to get succor 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. AEneas found +several of the Italian princes who were ready to aid him, and he +returned to his camp with considerable reinforcements, and with +promises of more. The war soon broke out, and was waged for a long +time with great determination on both sides and with varied success. + +Latinus, who was now somewhat advanced in life, and had thus passed +beyond the period of ambition and love of glory, and who besides must +have felt that the interests of his family were now indissolubly bound +up in those of AEneas and Lavinia, watched the progress of the contest +with a very uneasy and anxious mind. He found that for a time at +least it would be out of his power to do any thing effectual to +terminate the war, so he allowed it to take its course, and contented +himself 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, they 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 property for their enemies to plunder, while the Rutulians +and Latins had great possessions, 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 Trojans 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 victory or destruction. +Their protracted voyage, and the long experience of hardships and +sufferings 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, indications gradually appeared that +both sides began to be weary of the contest. Latinus availed himself +of a favorable occasion which offered, to propose that embassadors +should be sent to AEneas with terms of peace. Turnus was very much +opposed to any such plan. He was earnestly desirous of continuing to +prosecute the war. The other Latin chieftains reproached him then with +being the cause of all the calamities which they were enduring, and +urged the unreasonableness on his part of desiring any longer to +protract 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 +proposed that he should himself decide the question between him and +AEneas, by challenging the Trojan leader to fight him in single combat. + +Latinus strongly disapproved of this proposal. He was weary of war and +bloodshed, and wished that the conflict might wholly cease; and he +urged that peace should be made with AEneas, and that his original +design of giving him Lavinia for his wife should be carried into +execution. For a moment Turnus seemed to hesitate, but in looking +towards 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 AEneas should win her for his bride. + +He accordingly without any farther hesitation 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 was 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 began; but, as frequently +occurs in such cases, it was not long confined to the single pair of +combatants with which it commenced. Others were gradually drawn in, +and the duel became in the end a general battle. AEneas and the Trojans +were victorious, and both Latinus and Turnus were slain. This ended +the war. AEneas married Lavinia, and thenceforth reigned with her over +the kingdom of Latium as its rightful sovereign. + +AEneas lived several years after this, and 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 people so as +greatly to improve their condition. He introduced, too, many +ceremonies of religious worship, which had prevailed in the countries +from which he had come, or in those which he had visited in his long +voyage. These ceremonies became at last so firmly established among +the religious observances of the inhabitants of Latium, that they +descended from generation to generation, and in subsequent years +exercised great influence, in modeling the religious faith and worship +of the Roman people. They thus continued to be practiced for many +ages, and, through the literature of the Romans, became subsequently +known and celebrated throughout the whole civilized world. + +At length, in a war which AEneas was waging 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 Numicius. 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 AEneas 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. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +RHEA SILVIA. + +B.C. 800 + +Rhea Silvia.--The order of vestal virgins.--The ancient +focus.--Arrangement for fire.--Nature of the ceremonies instituted in +honor of Vesta.--Her vestal virgins.--Their duties.--Terrible punishment +for those who violated their vows.--Similar observances in modern +times.--Influence of the vestal institution.--Ceremonies.--Qualifications +of the candidate.--Term of service.--The sacred fire.--Punishment for +neglect of duty.--Question in regard to the succession.--Origin of the +name Silvius.--History of Ascanius.--His war with Mezentius.--The +Trojans victorious.--Settlement of the kingdom.--Lavinia recalled.--The +building of Alba Longa.--Situation of Alba Longa.--The name.--Successor +to Ascanius.--Perplexing question.--Settlement of the +question.--Tiberinus.--The story of Alladius and his thunder.--Death of +Alladius.--Superstitions.--Numitor and Amulius.--Their respective +characters.--Division of their father's possessions.--Policy of +Numitor.--Death of Egestus.--Rhea enters upon her duties as a vestal +virgin.--Unexpected events announced. + + +Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus, was a vestal virgin, who lived in +the kingdom of Latium about four hundred years after the death of +AEneas. 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 +services of religion. They were, like nuns, especially prohibited from +all association and intercourse with men. + +AEneas 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 Vesta, who was +the goddess of Home. The fireside has been, in all ages and countries, +the center and the symbol of home, and the worship of Vesta consisted, +accordingly, of ceremonies designed to dignify and exalt the fireside +in the estimation of the people. Instead of the images and altars +which 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 different 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 only +their pursuits and avocations, but far the greater 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 Vesta, the goddess of Home, +they set up a _focus_, or fire-place, in her temple, 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 Vesta by the most solemn ceremonies, and as virgins, were +bound under awful penalties, to spotless purity of life. As the +perpetual fire in the temple of Vesta represented the fire of the +domestic hearth, so these vestal virgins represented the maidens by +whom the domestic service of a household is performed; and the life of +seclusion and celibacy which was required of them was the emblem of +the innocence and purity which the institution of the family is +expressly intended to guard. The duties of the vestals were analogous +to those of domestic maidens. They were to watch the fire, and never +to allow it to go out. They were to perform various rites and +ceremonies connected with the worship of Vesta and to keep the +interior of the temple and the shrines pure and clean, and the sacred +vessels and utensils arranged, as in a well-ordered household. In a +word, they were to be, in purity, in industry, in neatness, in order, +and in patience and vigilance, the perfect impersonation of maidenly +virtue as exhibited in its own proper field of duty at home. + +The most awful penalties were visited upon the head of any vestal +virgin who was guilty of violating her vows. There is no direct +evidence what these penalties 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 side. In the +dungeon itself there was placed a table, a lamp, and a little food. +The descent was by a ladder which passed down through the pit. The +place of this terrible preparation for punishment was near one of the +gates of the city, and when all was ready the unhappy vestal was +brought forth, at the head of a great public 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 the 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 Vesta, +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 the sense in which Christian nations worship the +spiritual and eternal Jehovah--but rather as the embodiment of an +idea,--a principle,--as the 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. And if, +instead of the cap, they were to place a carved effigy of liberty +above, and to assemble for periodical celebrations below, with games, +and music, and banners, we should not probably call them idolaters. So +Christian poets write odes and invocations to Peace, to +Disappointment, to Spring, to Beauty, in which they impersonate an +idea, or a principle, and address it in the language of adoration, 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 the influence of the love of liberty on the +popular mind. It is possible that AEneas looked upon the subject in the +same light, in erecting a 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, of domestic honor and purity. We must remember that +they had not then the word of God, nor any means of communicating to +the minds of the people any general enlightenment 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 service 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 that the candidate, +besides the above-named 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 +however permitted this, there was a public sentiment 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 attendance at the temple, and died as they had lived in +the service of the goddess. + +One of the chief functions of the virgins, in their service in the +temple, was to keep the sacred fire perpetually burning. This fire was +never to go out, and if, by any neglect on the part of the vestal in +attendance, this was allowed to occur, the guilty maiden was punished +terribly by scourging. The punishment was inflicted by the hands of +the highest pontifical officer of the state. The laws of the +institution however evinced their high regard for the purity and +modesty of the vestal maidens by requiring that the blows should be +administered in the dark, the sufferer having been previously prepared +to receive them by being partially undressed by her female attendants. +The extinguished fire was then rekindled with many solemn ceremonies. + +Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus, was, we repeat, a vestal virgin. +She lived four hundred years after the death of AEneas. During these +four centuries, the kingdom had been governed by the descendants of +AEneas, generally in a peaceful and prosperous manner, although some +difficulties occurred in the establishment of the succession +immediately after AEneas's death. It will be remembered that AEneas was +drowned during the continuance of the war. He left one son, and +perhaps others. The one who figured most conspicuously in the +subsequent history of the kingdom, was Ascanius, the son who had +accompanied AEneas 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, whether, after all, Lavinia herself +was not entitled to the kingdom. It was doubtful, according to the +laws and usages of those days, whether AEneas held the realm in his own +right, or as the husband of Lavinia, who was the daughter and heir of +Latinus, the ancient and legitimate king. Lavinia, however, seemed to +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 knowing but that Ascanius would be suspicious 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 Trojans, and now, since he was no more, and +another, who was in some sense her rival, had risen to power, she +naturally felt insecure. She accordingly took the first opportunity to +retire from Lavinium. She went away into the forests in the interior +of the country, with a very few attendants and friends, and concealed +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 having been born in the midst +of the wild forest scenes which surrounded her at the time of his +birth, she called him in full, AEneas of the woods, or, as it was +expressed in the language which was then used in Latium, AEneas +Silvius. The boy, when he grew up, was always known by this name in +subsequent 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 Silvius affixed to their names, in perpetual commemoration of +the romantic birth of their ancestor. Rhea, the mother of Romulus, of +whom we have already spoken, and of whom we shall presently have +occasion to speak still more, was Rhea _Silvia_, by reason of her +having been by birth a princess of this royal line. + +Ascanius, in the mean time, on the death of his father, was 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. Mezentius had a son +named Lausus, 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. He 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 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 +terrific shouts and outcries. The whole detachment were taken entirely +by surprise, and great numbers were made prisoners or slain. Lausus +himself was killed. + +Excited by their victory, the Trojan soldiers, headed by Ascanius, now +turned their course toward the main body of the Rutulian army. +Mezentius had, however, in the mean time, obtained warning of their +approach, and when they reached his camp he was ready to retreat. He +fled with all his forces toward the mountains. Ascanius and the +Trojans followed him. Mezentius halted and attempted to fortify +himself on a hill. Ascanius surrounded the hill, and soon compelled +his enemies to come to terms. A treaty was made, and Mezentius and his +forces soon after withdrew 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 Latin portion of his subjects +seemed disposed to murmur and complain, at her having been compelled +to withdraw from her own paternal kingdom, in order to leave the +throne to the occupancy of the son of a stranger. Some even feared +that she had come to some harm, or that Ascanius 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 Lavinia's return. + +Ascanius seems to have been well disposed to 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 concluded to give up +Lavinium to her entirely, as her own rightful dominion, while 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 many miles distant from it. The +place which he marked out for the walls 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, rising abruptly on one +side, formed a sure defense on that side: on the other side was a +small 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 intended 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 which subsequently +grew there were luxurious and delicious in flavor. From the little +lake channels were cut leading over the plains below, and by this +means a constant supply of water could be conveyed to the fields of +grain which were to be sown there, for purposes of irrigation. Thus +the place which Ascanius chose furnished all possible facilities both +for maintaining, and also for defending the people who were to make it +their abode. The town was called 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. + +Ascanius 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 harmony. In process of time +both died. Ascanius left a son whose name was Iulus, while AEneas +Silvius 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 AEneas the Trojan became, by +conquest, the rightful sovereign of Latium, irrespective of any rights +that he acquired through his marriage with Lavinia, and that Iulus, as +the son of his eldest son, rightfully succeeded him. Others contended +that Lavinia represented the ancient and the truly legitimate royal +line, and that AEneas Silvius, as her son and heir, ought to be placed +upon the throne. And there were those who proposed to compromise the +question, by dividing Latium into two separate kingdoms, giving up one +part to Iulus, with Alba Longa for its capital, and the other, with +Lavinium for its capital, to AEneas Silvius, Lavinia's heir. This +proposition was, however, overruled. The two kingdoms, thus formed +would be small and feeble, it was thought, 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 AEneas +Silvius, being the son both of AEneas and Lavinia, and thus +representing both branches of the reigning power, should be the king, +while Iulus and his descendants forever, should occupy the position, +scarcely less inferior, of sovereign power in matters of religion. +AEneas Silvius, therefore, and his descendants, became _kings_, and as +such commanded the armies and directed the affairs of state, while +Iulus and his family were exalted, in connection with them, to the +highest pontifical dignities. + +This state of things, once established, continued age after age, and +century after century, for about four hundred years. No records, and +very few traditions in respect to what occurred during this period +remain. One circumstance, however, took place which caused itself to +be remembered. There was one king in the line of the Silvii, whose +name was Tiberinus. In one of his battles with the 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 was seen no more. By the accident, however, he gave the name of +Tiber to the stream, and thus perpetuated his own memory through the +subsequent renown of the river in which he was drowned. Before this +time the river was called the Albula. + +Another incident is related, which is somewhat 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 was 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 were not deceived by this imposture, +though they soon after fell into an error nearly as absurd 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 with 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 +considered 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 prerogative of supreme +divinity. In fact, the rumor circulated, and one historian has +recorded it as true, that Alladius was struck by the lightning 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 thunder, and to protect +themselves from its power; and now, since Franklin and Morse have +commenced the work of subduing the potent and mysterious agent in +which it originates, to the human 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 hundred years during which the +dynasty of the Silvii continued to reign over Latium, a certain +monarch of the series died, leaving two children, Numitor and Amulius. +Numitor was the eldest son, and as such entitled to succeed his +father. But he was of a quiet and somewhat inefficient disposition, +while his younger brother was ardent and ambitious, and very likely to +aspire to the possession of power. The father, it seems, anticipated +the possibility of dissension between his sons after his death, and in +order to do all in his power to guard against it, he endeavored to +arrange and settle the succession before he died. In the course of the +negotiations which ensued, Amulius proposed that his father's +possessions should be divided into two portions, the kingdom to +constitute one, and the wealth and treasures the other, and that +Numitor should choose which portion he would have. This proposal +seemed to have the appearance, at least, of reasonableness 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 +Amulius was, in effect, a proposition to divide with himself that +which really belonged wholly to his brother. + +Numitor, however, who, it seems, was little disposed to contend for +his rights, agreed to this proposal. He, however, chose the kingdom, +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 treasures, began to employ them +as a means of making powerful friends, and strengthening his political +influence. In due time he usurped the throne, and Numitor, giving up +the contest with very little attempt to resist the usurpation, fled +and concealed himself in some obscure place of retreat. He had, +however, two children, a son and a daughter, which he left behind him +in his 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 arrows, 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 Rhea--the Rhea 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 humanity to be +unwilling to shed the blood of a helpless and beautiful maiden, the +daughter, too, of his own brother. Then, besides, he had a daughter of +his own named Antho, who was the playmate and companion of Rhea, and +with whose affection for her cousin he must have felt some sympathy. +He would not, therefore, destroy the child, but contented himself +with determining to make her a vestal virgin. By this means she would +be solemnly set apart to a religious service, which would incapacitate +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 offspring 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 highest rank to be designated +to this office. The little Rhea, for she was 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 awful +sanctions--unconscious, however, perhaps, herself of what she was +doing--to lead thenceforth a life of absolute celibacy and seclusion. + +She was then received into the temple of Vesta, and there, with the +other maidens who had been consecrated before her, she devoted +herself to the discharge of the duties of her office, without +reproach, for several years. At length, however, certain circumstances +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. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE TWINS. + +B.C. 774-755 + +The temple of Mars at Alba.--Its situation.--Rhea's fault.--Her +excuse.--The wolf story.--Rhea in trouble.--Birth of her +sons.--Antho.--The anger of Amulius.--Rhea imprisoned.--Faustulus.--His +plan.--The box that he made.--He follows the stream.--The children +thrown out upon the sand.--The wolf.--The woodpecker.--The children +rescued by Faustulus.--He carries the children home.--Their +education.--The character of the boys.--Romulus and Remus are generous +and brave.--Quarrel among the herdsmen.--Remus is suddenly made +prisoner.--Heavy charges against Remus.--Remus before Numitor and +Amulius.--Remus gives an account of himself.--Numitor learns the +truth.--Romulus.--Romulus plans a rebellion.--Faustulus and the +arts.--Faustulus stopped at the gates of the city.--Faustulus is greatly +embarrassed.--Amulius is alarmed.--He sends for Numitor.--Romulus +assaults the city.--The revolt is successful.--Amulius is slain. + + +Although the temple of Vesta itself, at Alba Longa, was the principal +scene of the duties which devolved upon the vestal virgins, still they +were not wholly confined in their avocations to that sacred edifice, +but were often called upon, one or two at a time, to perform services, +or to assist in the celebration of rites, at other places in the city +and vicinity. + +[Illustration: RHEA SILVIA.] + +There was a temple consecrated to Mars near to Alba. It was situated +in an opening in the woods, in some little glen or valley at the base +of the mountain. There was a stream of water running through the +ground, and Rhea in the performance of her duties as a vestal was +required at one time to pass to and fro through the groves in this +solitary place to fetch water. Here she allowed herself, in violation +of her vestal vows, to form the acquaintance of a man, whom she met in +the groves. She knew well that by doing so she made herself subject +to the most dreadful penalties in case her fault should become known. +Still she yielded to the temptation, and allowed herself to be +persuaded to remain with the stranger. She said afterward, when the +facts were brought to light, that her meeting with this companion was +wholly unintentional 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 came to her there, to protect her, and then compelled her to +remain with him. Besides, from his dress, and countenance, and air, +she had believed him, she said, to be the God Mars himself, and +thought that it was not her 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 observed by her companions and friends that she began to appear +thoughtful and depressed. 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 Vestal +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 children +were born, at the time when her fault was first discovered. The laws +of the State in respect to vestal virgins, which were inexorably +severe, would have justified him in causing her to be executed at +once, but Antho interceded so earnestly for her unhappy cousin, that +Amulius for a time spared her life. When, however, her sons were born, +the anger of Amulius broke out anew. If she had remained childless he +would probably have allowed her to live, though she could of course +never have been restored to her office in the temple of Vesta. 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 existence 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 Rhea to be shut up in close imprisonment, 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 had resided in her retirement, and where the children +were born. + +A peasant of that region was intrusted with the task of throwing the +children into the river. Whether his official duty in undertaking this +commission required him actually to drown the boys, or whether 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 hollowed out from a +log,--and disposing their little limbs carefully within this narrow +receptacle, he pushed the frail boat, with its navigators still more +frail, out upon the current of the river. + +[Illustration: FAUSTULUS AND THE TWINS.] + +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 +Faustulus, too. In fact we might well suppose that no man, however +rustic and rude, could give his time and his thoughts to two such +babes long enough to make an ark for them, for the purpose of making +it possible to save their lives, and then place them carefully in it +to send them away, without becoming so far interested in their fate, +and so touched by their mute and confiding helplessness, as to feel +prompted to follow the stream to see how so perilous a navigation +would end. We have, however, no direct evidence that Faustulus did so +watch the progress of his 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 upon the sand. + +The neighboring thickets soon of course resounded 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 _instinct_, if incapable of a _sentiment_, of affection, to love +and to cherish any thing that is newly born. The wolf caressed the +helpless babes, imagining perhaps 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 approaching enemy or +danger. The rude nursery 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 were thrown +upon the land, the water began to subside. In a short time it wholly +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 says, 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 maternal attentions of +the wolf and the woodpecker were 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, but he brought home and preserved the trough in which they +had been floated down the river. He put this relic aside, thinking +that the day might perhaps come in which there would be occasion to +produce it. He told the story of the children only to a very few +trustworthy friends, and he accompanied the communication, 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 shepherd's sons. + +Faustulus felt a great degree of interest, and a high sense of +responsibility too, in having these young princes under his care. He +took great pains to protect them from all possible harm, and to +instruct them in every thing which it was in those days considered +important 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 intellectual 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. They were +prominent among the young herdsmen and hunters of the forest, for +their courage, their activity, their strength, their various personal +accomplishments, and their high and generous qualities of mind. +Romulus was more silent and thoughtful than his brother, and seemed to +possess in some respects superior mental powers. Both were regarded by +all who knew them with feelings of the highest respect and +consideration. + +Romulus and Remus treated their own companions and equals, that is the +young shepherds 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 independence of spirit in respect +to the various bailiffs and chief herdsmen, and other officers of +field and forest police, who exercised authority in the 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 exhibitions of their anger. In fact, +the boys seemed to be imbued with a native loftiness and fearlessness +of character, as if they had inherited a spirit of confidence and +courage with their royal blood, or had imbibed a portion 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 witnessed; they interposed to help +the feeble, to relieve those who were in want, and to protect 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 +athletic feats and accomplishments--in every thing excelling all their +competitors, and becoming in the end greatly renowned. + +Numitor, the father of Rhea Silvia, whom Amulius had dethroned and +banished from Alba, was all this time still living; and he had now at +length become so far reconciled to Amulius as to be allowed to reside +in Alba--though he lived there as a private citizen. He owned, it +seems, some estates near the Tiber, where he had flocks and herds that +were tended by his shepherds and herdsmen. It happened at one time +that some contention arose between the herdsmen of Numitor and those +of Amulius, among whom Romulus and Remus were residing. Now as the +young men had thus far, of course, no idea whatever of their +relationship to Numitor, there was no reason why they should feel any +special interest 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 Numitor 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 +together, to pursue the depredators and bring the cattle back. They +succeeded in this expedition, and recaptured the herd. This incensed +the party of Numitor, and they determined on revenge. + +They waited some time for a favorable opportunity. At length the time +came for celebrating a certain festival called the Supercalia, which +consisted of very rude games and ceremonies, in which men sacrificed +goats, and then dressed themselves partially in the skins, and ran +about whipping every one whom they met, with thongs made likewise of +the skins of goats, or of rabbits, or other animals remarkable for +their fecundity. The meaning of the ceremonies, so far as such uncouth +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 ensuing at the time that the +celebrations were held. + +The retainers and partisans of Numitor determined on availing +themselves of this opportunity to accomplish their object. +Accordingly, 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 +Numitor. + +Of course, this daring act produced great excitement throughout the +country. Numitor was well pleased with the prize that he had secured, +but felt, at the same time, some fear of the responsibility which he +incurred by holding the prisoner. He was strongly inclined to proceed +against Remus, and punish him himself for the offenses which the +herdsmen 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 accordingly sent Remus to +Amulius, making grievous charges against him, as a lawless desperado, +who, with his brother, Numitor said, were 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 +Numitor, saying that Numitor might punish the freebooter himself in +any way that he thought best. Remus was accordingly brought again to +Numitor's house. In the mean time, the fact of his being thus made a +prisoner, and charged with crime, and the proceedings in relation to +him, in sending him back and forth between Amulius and Numitor, +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 +infancy. 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 Numitor--who was really his grandfather, +though the fact of this relationship was wholly unknown to both of +them--Numitor was exceedingly struck with his handsome countenance and +form, and with his fearless and noble demeanor. The young prisoner +seemed perfectly self-possessed and at his ease; and though 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 Numitor's mind. It changed all his anger +against Remus to a feeling of wondering interest and curiosity, and +gave to his countenance, as he looked upon his prisoner, an expression +of kind and tender regard. After a short pause Numitor addressed the +young captive--speaking in a gentle and conciliating 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 supposed ourselves to be +the children of Faustulus; but now, since this difficulty has +occurred, we have heard new tidings in respect to our origin. We are +told that we were found in our infancy, on the shore of the river, at +the place where Faustulus lives, and that near by 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 us and bringing us food. Faustulus carried us to his +house, and brought us up as his children. He preserved the trough, +too, and has it now." + +Numitor 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 precisely with the exposure of the children of Rhea +Silvia as to leave no reasonable ground for doubt that Romulus and +Remus were his grandsons. He resolved immediately to communicate this +joyful discovery to his daughter, if he could contrive the means of +gaining access 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 +capture 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 his brother, on the +bank of the river, but also had made known to him whose sons he and +Remus were. Romulus was, of course, extremely elated at this +intelligence. His native courage 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 Remus from his power, and afterward taking such +ulterior steps as circumstances might require. + +Faustulus, on the other hand, leaving Romulus to raise the forces for +his insurrection as he pleased, determined to go himself to Numitor +and reveal the secret of the birth of Romulus and Remus to him. In +order to confirm 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 officers on guard +there. He wore the dress of a countryman, and had obviously come in +from the forests, a long way; and there was something in his air +which denoted hurry and agitation. The soldiers asked him what he had +under his cloak, and compelled him to produce 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 happened 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 discovered. 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 identical ark or float, which to his certain knowledge 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 at receiving this +intelligence. He ordered Faustulus to be brought into his presence. +Faustulus was much terrified at receiving this summons. He had but +little time to reflect what to say, and during the few minutes that +elapsed while they were conducting him into the presence of the king, +he found it hard to determine how much it would be best for him to +admit, and how much to deny. Finally, 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. Faustulus +said that he was going to carry it to Rhea in her prison, she having +often expressed a strong desire to see it, as a token or memorial +which would recall the dear babes that had lain in it very vividly to +her mind. + +Amulius seemed satisfied that these statements were honest and true, +but they awakened in his mind a very great solicitude and anxiety. He +feared that the children, being still alive, might some day come to +the knowledge of their origin, and so disturb his possession 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 people, he feared, would be very much inclined to +take part with them, and not with him, in any contest which might +arise; for their sympathies were already on the side of Numitor. 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 inquire of him whether he was +aware that the boys were still alive, and if so, if he knew where they +were to be found. He accordingly sent a messenger to his brother, +commissioned to make these inquiries. This messenger, though in the +service of Amulius, was really a friend to Numitor, and on being +admitted to Numitor's presence, when he went to make the inquiries as +directed by the king, he found Remus 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 prince. "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 possession 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 and +herdsmen 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 weapons, while the huntsmen brought their pikes, and +spears, and javelins, and such other projectiles as were employed in +those days in hunting wild beasts. The troop was divided into +companies of one hundred, and for banners they bore tufts of grass on +wisps 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 Remus 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 Romulus and Remus were masters of the country. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE FOUNDING OF ROME. + +B.C. 754 + +The people of Alba Longa called together.--The address of Numitor to +the citizens.--Romulus and Remus come forward.--Plan for building a new +city.--Numitor is to render the necessary aid.--Great numbers flock +together to build the city.--The seven hills.--The Palatine +hill.--Difference of opinion between Romulus and Remus.--Advantages of +the Aventine hill.--Perfect equality of the two brothers.--Both +determined not to yield.--The brothers appeal to Numitor.--His +proposal.--The vultures of the Appenines.--Their function.--Powers of +the vulture.--Auguries.--Romulus and Remus take their +stations.--Result.--New dispute.--An open collision.--Faustulus +killed.--Romulus is victorious.--The building of the city goes +on.--Plowing the pomoerium.--Form of the enclosure.--The death of +Remus.--The institution of the Lemuria.--Description of the +ceremonies.--The black beans.--State of Rome after the death of +Remus.--The story of Celer.--Probable explanation of it. + + +As soon as the excitement and the agitations which attended the sudden +revolution by 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. + +Numitor accordingly convened a general assembly of the inhabitants of +Alba, in a public square. The rude and rustic mountaineers and +peasants whom Romulus had brought to the city came with the rest. +Romulus and Remus themselves did not at first appear. Numitor, when +the audience was assembled, came forward to address them. He gave them +a recital of all the events connected with the usurpation of Amulius. +He 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 intrigues by which +Amulius had contrived to possess himself of the kingdom and reduce +him, Numitor, into subjection to his sway,--of his causing Egestus, +Numitor'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 +Romulus and Remus, the anger of Amulius when informed of the event, +his cruel treatment 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 his 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, Romulus and Remus 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, Romulus and +Remus turned to their grandfather and hailed him king. The people +responded to this announcement with new plaudits, and Numitor 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 fellow +foresters, that they and their followers made a somewhat rude and wild +appearance in the city, and Numitor was very willing, when the state +of things had become somewhat settled, that his rustic auxiliaries +should find some occasion for withdrawing from the capital and +returning again to their own native fastnesses. Romulus and Remus, +however, having now learned that they were entitled 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 grandfather to wish to deprive him of the +government. After some deliberation a plan was devised which promised +to gratify the wishes of all. + +The plan was this, namely, that Numitor should set apart a place in +his kingdom of Latium where Romulus and Remus might build a city for +themselves,--taking with them to the spot the whole horde of their +retainers. The place which he designated for this purpose 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 building a city upon it was one exactly suited to engage +the attention and occupy the powers of such restless spirits as those +who had collected 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. But then there were many others of +a very turbulent and unmanageable 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 robbery; and who had seized upon the +occasion furnished by the insurrection against Amulius to come forth +into the world again. Criminals 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 +ordinarily only a legal organization of crime. + +Romulus and Remus entered into their grandfather's plan with great +readiness. Numitor promised to aid them in their enterprise by every +means in his power. He was to furnish tools and implements, for +excavations and building, and artisans so far as artisans were +required, and was also to provide such temporary supplies of +provisions 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 Remus in their undertaking, and they, in order to increase +their numbers as much as possible, sent messengers around to the +neighboring country inviting all who were disposed, to come and take +part in the building of the new city. This invitation was accepted by +great numbers of people, from every rank and station in life. + +Of course, however, the greater portion of those who came to join the +enterprise, were of a very low grade in respect to moral character. +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 +building of a new city, under such circumstances, must necessarily be. +It was of course generally the discontented, the idle, and the bad, +that would hope for benefit from such a change as this enterprise +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 their +relations to society, and thus afford them 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 +responsibility for former crimes. In a word, in preparing to lay the +foundations of their city, Romulus 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 elevations 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. Romulus 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 hill itself might be fortified to form the citadel. The wall and +the steep acclivity of the ground would form a protection on three +sides of the inclosure, while the morass alone would be a sufficient +defense on the part toward the river. Then Romulus 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. + +[Illustration: SITUATION OF ROME.] + +Remus, however, did not concur in these views. A little farther down +the stream there was another elevation called the Aventine Hill, which +seemed to him more suitable for the site of a town. The sides were +less precipitous, and thus were more convenient for building ground. +Then the land in the immediate vicinity was better adapted to the +purposes which they had in view. In a word, the Aventine Hill was, as +Remus 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 circumstance, +wholly unworthy of being taken seriously into the account in laying +the foundation of a city. + +The positions in which Remus and Romulus 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 imperious. Each was conscious of +his strength, and eager to exercise it. Each wished to command, and +was wholly unwilling to obey. While they were in adversity, they clung +together for mutual help and protection; but now, when they had come +into the enjoyment of prosperity and power, the bands of affection +which had bound them together were very much weakened, and were +finally sundered. 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 degree, without +wounding his pride. If one had been more prominent than the other in +effecting the revolution by which Amulius was dethroned, or if there +had been a native difference of temperament or character to mark a +distinction, or if either had been designated by Numitor, 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 +whatever. They were twins, so that neither could claim any advantage +of birthright. They were equal in size, strength, activity, and +courage. They had been equally bold and efficient in effecting the +revolution; and now they seemed equally powerful in respect to the +influence which they wielded over the minds of their followers. We +have been so long accustomed to consider Romulus the 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 between them thus far, but now, since the advent 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 expressed his preference in +respect to the best place for the city, were equally unwilling to +recede from the ground which they had taken. Remus thought that there +was no reason why he should yield to Romulus, and Romulus was equally +unwilling to give way to Remus. Neither could yield, in fact, without +in some sense admitting the superiority of the other. The respective +partisans of the two leaders began to take sides, and the dissension +threatened to become a serious quarrel. Finally, being not yet quite +ready for an open rupture, they concluded to refer the question to +Numitor, and to abide by his decision. 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 Numitor was too sagacious to hazard the responsibility of deciding +between two such equally matched and powerful opponents. 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 will 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 watching the flight of birds +through the air. + +It was agreed between Remus and Romulus, in accordance with the advice +of Numitor, that the question at issue between them should be decided +in this way. They were to take their stations on the two hills +respectively--the Palatine and the Aventine, and watch for vultures. +The homes of the vultures of Italy were among the summits of the +Appenines, and their function in the complicated economy of animal +life, was to watch from the lofty peaks of the mountains, or from the +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 Numitor's time. + +To enable the vulture to accomplish the work assigned him, he is +endowed with an inconceivable 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 some +mysterious and extraordinary sense, whether of sight or smell, to +enable him readily to find, at any hour, the spot where his presence +is required, however remote or however hidden it may be. Guided by +this instinct, 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 flight 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 Numitor's +day were accustomed to look for omens and auguries. So Romulus and +Remus took their stations on the hills which they had severally +chosen, each surrounded by a company 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 the omens +which should appear to the respective observers 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 +distinctness 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 interpretations. When Remus and +Romulus commenced their watch no vultures were to be seen from either +hill. They waited till evening, 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. Remus 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 twelve by Romulus. The observations were then +suspended, and the parties came together to confer in respect to the +result; but the dispute instead of being settled, was found to be in a +worse condition than ever. The point now to be determined was whether +six vultures seen first, or twelve seen afterward, were the better +omen, that is whether numbers, or simple priority of appearance, +should decide the question. In contending in respect to this nice +point the brothers became more angry with each other than ever. Their +respective partisans took sides in the contest, which resulted finally +in an open and violent collision. Romulus and Remus themselves seem to +have commenced the affray by attacking one another. Faustulus, their +foster-father, who, from having had the care of them from their +earliest infancy, felt for them an almost parental affection, rushed +between them to prevent them from shedding each other's blood. He was +struck down and killed on the spot, by some unknown hand. A brother of +Faustulus too, named Plistinus, who had lived near to him, and had +known the boys from their infancy, and had often assisted in taking +care 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 show that Romulus and his party were the strongest. +Romulus accordingly went on to build the walls of the city at the spot +which he 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 _pomoerium_. 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 retreat for +safety within the proper walls. + +So Romulus proceeded to mark out the pomoerium of the city, +employing in the work the ceremonies customary on such occasions. The +plow used was made of copper, and for a team to draw it a bullock and +a heifer were yoked together. Men appointed for the purpose 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 where 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 unbroken. +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 passed in a manner that would very seriously +interfere with its usefulness as a public road. + +The form of the space inclosed by the pomoerium, as Romulus plowed +it, was nearly square, and it included not merely the Palatine hill +itself, but a considerable portion of level land around it. + +Though Romulus thus seemed to have conquered, in the strife with +Remus, the difficulty was not yet fully settled. Remus was very little +disposed to acquiesce in his brother's assumed superiority over him. +He was sullen, morose, and ill at ease, and was inclined to take +little part in the proceedings which were going on. Finally an +occasion occurred 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 brother's plans; and finally he began to speak +contemptuously of the wall which the workmen were building. Romulus +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, saying, "This is the way the enemy will leap over your wall." +Hereupon Romulus seized a mattock from the hands of one of the +laborers, 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 so great for a time that he +refused all food, and he could not sleep. He caused the dead body of +Remus, and also those of Faustulus and of Plistinus, the brother of +Faustulus, to be buried with the most solemn and imposing funeral +ceremonies, so as to render all possible honor to their memory; and +then, not satisfied with this, he instituted and celebrated certain +religions 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 +celebration which Romulus 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 Lemuria, as afterward +performed, were frequently described by Roman writers, and they were +of a very curious and extraordinary character. The time for the +celebration of these rites was in May, the anniversary, as was +supposed, of the days in which Romulus originally celebrated them. +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 accustomed, as was supposed, to roam about the world +to haunt and terrify men. + +The ceremonies performed on these occasions 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 signals 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 fondness. Being thus provided he would walk along, +taking the beans out of his mouth as he walked, and throwing them +behind him. The specters were supposed to gather up these beans as he +threw them down. He must, however, by no means look round to see them. +He then, 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 abundantly 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 such as these, Romulus had +appeased the spirit of his brother, and those of the guardians of his +childhood, his mind became more composed, and he turned his attention +once more toward the building of the city. The party of Remus 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. +Romulus became the sole leader of the enterprise, and immediately +turned his attention to the measures 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 circulated in Rome 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 Romulus +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 Remus had been;--a brother who had shared his +infancy with 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 atrocious than any ordinary fratricide, as Remus had been nearer +to Romulus than any ordinary brother. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +ORGANIZATION. + +B.C. 754 + +Discussion in respect to ancient dates.--Difficulties.--Nature of +tradition.--Extreme youth of Romulus.--Varro's astrological +calculation.--Ingenuity of it.--Olympiads.--The race of +Coroebus.--The result of Varro's computation.--Probable character +of the first constructions at Rome.--Romulus convenes an assembly +of the people.--The speech of Romulus.--His proposals.--The three +forms of government.--Romulus himself made king.--Divine intimation +in his favor.--Commencement of his reign.--Probable origin of the +Roman institutions.--Republican character of the government.--Patricians +and plebians.--Patrons and clients.--Duration of the reign of +Romulus.--Usages.--Difficulty of immediately organizing such a +community.--Importance of the parental and family relation.--The father +a magistrate.--The marriage tie.--Religions ceremonies.--Auguries.--The +three augurs.--Various kinds of omens.--Station of the augurs.--Thunder +and lightning.--Birds.--Nature of the ancient superstition.--Results of +the arrangements made by Romulus.--The asylum on the Capitoline +hill. + + +There has been a great deal of philosophical discussion, and much +debate, among historians and chronologists, in attempting to fix the +precise year in which Romulus commenced the building of Rome. The +difficulty arises from the fact that no regular records of public +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 +transactions. 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,--which, the more strange and romantic they are, +the better they 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 Rhea, supposing such an event to have actually +happened, she remembered well, and repeated the narrative of +it--adorning it, doubtless, with many embellishments--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 romance of the story, and +thus it was neglected and forgotten. + +In subsequent times, however, when regular 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 be about +the year 754 before Christ. As to Romulus himself, the tradition is +that he was but eighteen or twenty years old when he commenced the +building of it. If this is true, his extreme youth goes far to +palliate some of the wrongs which he 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 Roman philosopher, named Varro, who lived some centuries +after the building of the city, conceived of a very ingenious plan for +discovering the year in which Romulus was born. It was this. By means +of the science of astrology, as practiced in those days, certain +learned magicians used to predict what 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 Varro was to +reverse this process in the case of Romulus; that is, to deduce from +the known facts of his history what must have been the relative +situations of the planets and stars when he came into the world! He +accordingly applied to a noted astrologer to work out the problem for +him. Given, a history of the incidents and events occurring to the man +in 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 +appeared in Romulus's subsequent history. When the astrologer had thus +ascertained the condition of the skies at the time in question, the +_astronomers_, as Varro concluded, could easily calculate the month +and the year when the combination must have occurred. + +Now, 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 Coroebus, from which +event originated the Olympian games, which were afterward celebrated +every four years, and which in subsequent ages became so renowned. The +time when Coroebus ran his race, and thus furnished an era for all +the subsequent chronologists and historians of his country, is +generally regarded as about the year 776 before Christ; and the result +of the calculations of Varro'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 Olympiad would be 772; +this would make the time of his birth 772 before Christ; and then +deducting eighteen years more, for the age of Romulus when he began to +build his wall, we have 754 before Christ as the era of the foundation +of Rome. This method of determining a point in chronology seems so +absurd, according to the ideas of the present day, that we can hardly +resist the conclusion, that Varro, in making his investigation, was +really guided by other and more satisfactory modes of determining the +point, and that the horoscope was not what he actually relied upon. +However this may be, the era which he fixed upon has been very +generally received, though many others have been proposed by the +different learned men who have successively investigated the question. + +According to the accounts given by the early writers, the +constructions which Romulus and his companions made were of a very +rude and simple character; 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 palace, for there was +a building erected for Romulus 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 +material 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 time, to +all observers, a very rude and imperfect 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 years 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 chieftain +exercising an undefined and temporary power; for as soon as the huts +were built and the inclosures made, he is said to have convened an +assembly of the people, for consultation in respect to the plan of +government that they should form. Romulus introduced the business of +this meeting by a speech appropriate to the occasion, which speech is +reported by an ancient historian somewhat as follows. Whether Romulus +actually spoke the words thus attributed to him, or whether the +report contains only what the reporter himself imagined him to say, +there is now no means of knowing. + +"We have now," said Romulus, 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 required to depend for protection +against a serious 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 +dependence must be after all on the men within the city, and not on +the ramparts and entrenchments which surround it, whatever those +ramparts 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 government under which order and discipline may come in, +to control and direct our energies, and prepare us to meet whatever +future exigencies 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 various modes of +government adopted among men, and between these we have now to decide. +Shall our commonwealth be governed by one man? Or shall we select a +certain number of the wisest and bravest of the citizens, and commit +the administration of public affairs to them? Or, in the third place, +shall we commit the management of the government 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 followed, after the delivery of +this address, was that the government of the state should be, like the +government of Alba, under which the followers of Romulus had been +born, a monarchy; and that Romulus himself should be king. He was a +prince by birth, an inheritor of regal rank and power, by regular +succession, from a line of kings. He had shown himself, too, by his +deeds, to be worthy of power. He was courageous, energetic, sagacious, +and universally esteemed. It was decided 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 Romulus to the throne, he evinced, as the story +goes, the proper degree of that reluctance and hesitation which a +suitable regard to appearances seems in all ages to require 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 instituting certain solemn religious ceremonies, during +the progress of which he hoped to receive some manifestation of the +divine will. These ceremonies consisted principally of sacrifices +which he caused to be offered on the plain near the city. While +Romulus was engaged in these services, the expected token of the +divine approval appeared in a supernatural light which shone upon his +hand. At least it was _said_ that such a light was seen, and the +appearing 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 attention 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. Vast numbers of +the people were of the humblest and most degraded condition, +consisting of ignorant peasants, some stupid, others turbulent and +ungovernable; and of refugees from justice, such as thieves, robbers, +and outlaws of every degree. But then, on the other hand, there were +many persons of standing and respectability. The sons of families of +wealth and influence in Alba had, in many cases, joined the +expedition, and at last, when 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 Romulus found +himself, when he formally assumed the kingly power, at the head of a +community which contained the elements of a very respectable +commonwealth. These elements were, however, thus far all mingled +together in complete confusion, 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 formally introduced by +Romulus at the outset, but that they gradually grew up in the progress +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 celebrating the antiquity and +dignity of their origin. + +The institutions which Romulus actually founded, were of a very +republican character, if the accounts of subsequent writers are to be +believed. He established, it is true, a gradation 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 purpose the oldest and most distinguished of their number. It is +probable, in fact, that Romulus 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 appointed, +ninety-nine in number, namely, nine heads of tribes and ninety heads +of counties. Romulus himself added one to the number, of his own +independent selection, which made the hundredth. The men thus chosen, +constituted what was called the senate. They formed the great +legislative council of the nation. They and the families descending +from them became, in subsequent times, an aristocratic and privileged +class, called the Patricians. The remaining portion of the population +were called Plebeians. + +The Plebeians comprised, of course, the industrial 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 patrons +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 were to reward, to protect, and to defend the clients. All +these arrangements Romulus is said to have ordained by his enactments, +and thus introduced as elements in the social constitution of the +state. It is more probable, however, that instead of being thus +expressly established, by the authority of Romulus as a lawgiver, they +gradually grew up of themselves, perhaps with some fostering +attention and care on his part, and possibly under some positive +regulation of law. For such important and complicated relations as +these are not of a nature to be easily called into existence and +action, in an extended and unorganized community, by the mere fiat of +a military chieftain. + +Perhaps, however, it is not intended by the ancient historians, in +referring all these complicated arrangements of the Roman civil polity +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 formal and positive enactments, he may have gradually +introduced the arrangements ascribed to him, as _usages_ which he +fostered and encouraged,--confirming and sanctioning them from time to +time, when occasion required, by edicts and laws. + +However this may have been, it is certain that Romulus, in the course +of his reign, laid the foundation of the future greatness and glory of +Rome, by the energy with which he acted in introducing order, system, +and discipline 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 disorder 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. Romulus +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 +work of organizing it. The great leading objects of his life, from the +time that he commenced the government of the new city, were to arrange +and regulate social institutions, to establish laws, to introduce +discipline, to teach and accustom men to submit to authority, and to +bring in the requirements of law, and the authority of the various +recognized relations of social life, to control and restrain the +wayward impulses of the natural heart. + +As a part of this system of policy, he laid great stress upon the +parental and family relation. He saw in the tie which binds the father +to the child and the child to the father, a natural 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 upon +them, at an age when they most need control. He clothed parents, +therefore, with authority to fulfill this function, considering 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 Romulus, was more complete, and was protracted to a +later period than was the case 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 +only 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 guilty 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 legislator to sustain +the sacredness and to magnify the importance of the family tie; and to +avail himself of those instinctive principles of obligation 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 action of his rude community. + +He devoted great attention too to the institutions of religion. He +knew well that such lawless and impetuous spirits as his could never +be fully subdued and held in proper subordination to the rules of +social order and moral duty, without the influence of motives drawn +from the spiritual 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 ceremonies which he instituted seem puerile +to us, but they were full of meaning and of efficacy in the view of +those who performed them. There was, for example, a class of religious +functionaries called _augurs_, whose office it was to interpret the +divine will by means of certain 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 propitious the work was entered +upon with vigor and confidence. If otherwise, it was postponed 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 offered in sacrifice, sometimes from the +appearance of birds in the sky, their numbers or the direction of +their flight, and sometimes from the forms of clouds, the appearance +of the lightning, and the sound of the thunder. Whenever the augurs +were to take the auspices from any of the signs of the sky, the +process was this. They would go with solemn ceremony 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 purpose, one of the number would determine +and indicate the four quarters of the heaven, pointing out in a solemn +manner the directions 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 from the thunder that the auspices were to be taken, the augur +would listen to hear 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 appeared 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 inferences 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 government of Romulus vainly +endeavored to ascertain the will of heaven in respect 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 +influence and ascendency over the minds of the people, by a sincere +veneration on their part for some unseen and spiritual 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 Romulus soon produced order +out of confusion within his little commonwealth. The enterprise which +he had undertaken and the great success which had thus far followed +it, attracted great attention, and he soon found that great numbers +began to come in 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 indiscriminately +into the city would be to endanger 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 remain 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 attractive place for all the +vagabonds, outlaws, thieves and robbers of the country. Romulus +welcomed them all, and as fast as they came he busied himself with +plans to furnish them with employment and subsistence. He enlisted +some of them in his army. Some he employed to cultivate the ground in +the territory belonging to the city. Others were engaged 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 Rome together. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +WIVES. + +B.C. 751 + +The rape of the Sabines.--Narrative of it.--The population of Rome +chiefly men.--Necessity of providing wives for them.--Romulus sends +embassadors to the surrounding states.--Insulting replies.--Anger of +the Romans.--Great discovery made by Romulus.--His plan.--Plans for +the festival.--Races, games, and shows.--A great concourse assembles +at the fair.--The spectacles continue several weeks.--The last day of +the fair.--Signal to be made by Romulus.--Excitement of the +Romans.--Final preparations.--The moment arrives.--The maidens +seized.--The men fly.--The Romans secure the captive maidens.--An +incident.--A captive "for Thalassius."--The phrase "for Thalassius" +becomes a proverb.--Resentment of the fathers and brothers of the +maidens.--The captives called together in the morning.--Address made +to them by Romulus.--Acquiescence of the captives.--Cures.--The Sabines +demand the restoration of the captives.--Romulus refuses to restore +them.--Ceremony in commemoration of these events. + + +Every reader who has made even the smallest beginning in the study of +ancient history, must be acquainted, in general, with the mode which +Romulus 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 described it contrived to soften the character of it, +and to divest it in a great measure of the repulsive features which +might have been supposed 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 Romulus and his government, but also great +moderation and humanity. The circumstances, as the historians relate +them, were these: + +As might naturally be supposed from the manner in which 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 entirely 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 community 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 generation should have passed away there might be +another to succeed it. And, thirdly, for the preservation of order and +law. Men unmarried are, in the mass, proverbially ungovernable. +Nothing is so effectual in keeping 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 children to fear for, and +so they fear nothing, but give themselves up, in times of public +excitement, to the wildest impulses of passion. Romulus 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 embassadors around to +the neighboring states, soliciting alliances with them, and +stipulations allowing of intermarriages between his people and theirs. +The proposal seemed not unreasonable, and it was made in an unassuming +and respectful manner. In the message which Romulus commissioned the +embassadors to deliver, he 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 distant when the new +state would be able fully to reciprocate such favors as it might now +receive. + +The neighboring kings to whom these embassages 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 +encampment 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 tumultuously as it had been formed. They accordingly sent back +word to Romulus that he must resort 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 would come flocking +to him then, they 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 clamorous for +war. They wished Romulus to lead them out against some of these cities +at once, and allow them at the same time to revenge the insults which +they had received, and to provide themselves with wives by violence, +since they could not obtain them by solicitation. But Romulus +restrained their ardor, saying that they must do nothing rashly, and +promising 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 Rome, with a view of +seizing some favorable occasion for capturing the women while they +were there, and driving the men away. The difficulty in the way of the +execution of this plan was obviously to induce the people to come, and +especially to bring the young women with them. The native timidity of +the maidens, joined to the contemptuous feelings which their fathers +and brothers cherished, in regard to every thing 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 produced 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 Neptune, 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. +Romulus attached great importance to the event. The altar had +undoubtedly been built, he thought, by the ancient inhabitants of the +country, and the finding it was a very momentous occurrence. It was +proper that the occasion should be solemnized by suitable religious +observances. + +Accordingly, arrangements were made for a grand celebration. In +addition to the religious rites, Romulus 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 articles 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 vogue in those times. The celebration was to +continue for many days, and the games and sports were to come at the +end. Romulus sent messengers to all the surrounding country to +proclaim the programme of these entertainments, and to invite every +body to come; and he adroitly arranged the details in such a manner +that the chief attractions for grave, sober-minded and substantial 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. + +When the time arrived the spectacles commenced. 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 construction as they were, far surpassed +the expectations they had formed. The visitors were treated with great +hospitality, and entertained in a manner which, considering the +circumstances of the case, was quite sumptuous. 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 company. The men +ceased to be suspicious and watchful. Some went home, and carried such +reports of the new city, and of the kindness, and hospitality, and +gentle behavior of the inhabitants, that new visitors came continually +to see for themselves. Every day the proportion 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 Romulus 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 accidental 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 general seizure +which he knew was coming, in making 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 terrified, 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 have arranged. The time for +the final execution 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 signal. 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 proper moment had +arrived, he was 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 unfolding it again. This mantle was a sort +of badge of royalty and was gayly adorned with purple stripes upon a +white ground. It was well adapted, therefore, to the purpose of being +used as a signal, inasmuch as any motions that were made with it could +be very easily seen. + +Every thing being thus arranged, the assembly was convened, and the +games and spectacles went on. The Romans were full of excitement and +trepidation, each one having 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 off their guard, and wholly at their ease--having +no suspicion whatever of the mine that was ready to be sprung beneath +them. The wives, mothers, and children, too, were all safe, as well as +unsuspicious of danger; for Romulus 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 intercourse which they +had enjoyed with their guests, 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 Romans +immediately drew their swords, and rushed forward, each to secure his +own prize. A scene of the greatest excitement and confusion ensued. +The whole company of visitors perceived of course that some great act +of treachery was perpetrated upon them, but they were wholly in the +dark in respect 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 prevailed. 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 object 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 with +their prizes, and secured them within the walls of the city. + +In reading this extraordinary story, we naturally 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 assailants. Did they resist and struggle to get +free, or did they yield themselves without much opposition to their +fate? That they did not resist effectually is plain, for the Roman +young men succeeded in carrying them away, and securing them. It may +be that they attempted 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 very formidable opposition to any attempt to abduct +her by any single man, when she is thoroughly in earnest about it. How +it was in fact in this case we have no direct information, and we have +consequently no means of forming 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 +beautiful girl--one of some note and consideration, too, among her +countrywomen--and were carrying 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 plebeians, +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!_" which means "For Thalassius, 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 Thalassius. Now 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 beautiful +lady was intended for him, they acquiesced immediately, and desisted +from their attempt to recapture 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 manoeuver, 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 ceremony. + +Romulus had issued most express and positive orders that the young +captives should be 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 +them to the places of security previously designated. They suffered +undoubtedly a greater or less degree of distress and terror,--but +finding 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 brothers +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 perpetrators 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 captives, and were soon eagerly engaged in forming and +discussing all possible plans for rescuing and recovering them. Thus +the night was passed in agitation and excitement, both within 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 countrymen. + +When the morning came, Romulus ordered the captive maidens to be all +brought together before him in order that he 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 affection 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 been +accustomed to experience under your fathers' roofs. The brief coercion +which we have employed for the purpose of securing you in the first +instance,--a coercion which we were compelled to resort to by the +necessity of the case,--is the only rudeness to which you will ever +be exposed. Forgive us then for this one liberty which we have taken, +and consider that the fault, whatever fault in it there may be, is not +ours, but that of your fathers and brothers who rejected our offers +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 positions 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 countenances animated with excitement and pleasure. The maidens +themselves seemed much inclined to yield to their fate. Their +resentment 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 seemed gradually to come to the conclusion, +that considering all the circumstances of the case their abductors +were not so much in fault after all. In a short time an excellent +understanding 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 capital of the +Sabines was a city called Cures. Cures was about twenty miles from +Rome.[E] + +[Footnote E: See map of Latium, page 134.] + +The Sabines, in deliberating on the course which they should pursue in +the emergency, found themselves in a situation of great perplexity. In +the first place the impulse which urged 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 might 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 +exposed and they were by no means certain, in case a war should be +commenced between them and the Romans, how it would end. Their own +population was much divided, being scattered over the territory, or +settled in various cities and towns which were but slightly fortified, +and consequently were much exposed 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 whole, to try the influence of gentle measures, before resorting +to open war. + +They therefore sent an embassy to Romulus, to remonstrate in strong +terms against the wrong which the Romans had done them by their +treacherous violence, and to demand that the young women should be +restored. "If you will restore them to us now," said they, "we will +overlook the affront which you have put upon us, and make peace with +you; and we will enter into an alliance with you so that hereafter +your people and ours may be at liberty to intermarry in a fair and +honorable way, but we can not submit to have our daughters taken away +from us by treachery and force." + +Reasonable as this proposition seems, Romulus 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 complained 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 consummated, could +not now be annulled. + +The Sabines, on their part, could not accede to these proposals. +Being, however, still reluctant to commence hostilities, they +continued the negotiations--though while engaged in them they seemed +to anticipate an unfavorable issue, for they were occupied all the +time in organizing troops, strengthening the defenses of their +villages and towns, and making 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 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 weddings. For always, in future years, when +the new-married wife was 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 commemorating by this +ceremony the coercion which had signalized the original marriages of +his ancestors, the founders of Rome. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE SABINE WAR. + +B.C. 750-746 + +King Acron.--Caenina.--Its distance from Rome.--Acron's hostility to +the new city.--His plans.--Romulus and Acron meet on the +field.--Anticipations of the spectators.--Romulus victorious.--Results +of his victory.--Subsequent policy of the Romans.--The trophy of the +victory.--First Roman triumph.--Annexation of more cities.--Women +summoned.--The address of Romulus.--His promises.--Generous policy +pursued by Romulus.--Enlargement of the city.--Plans of the +Sabines.--They mature their preparations.--Titus Tatius.--Preparations +of the Romans.--Final negotiations.--The Roman herdsmen.--Flocks and +herds called in.--The citadel.--Tarpeia.--The Campus Martius.--Parley +with Tarpeia.--Agreement made with Tarpeia.--The Sabines +admitted.--Tarpeia killed.--The two armies meet on the plain.--A truce +to bury the dead.--Fresh combats.--Romulus in great personal +danger.--The story of Curtius.--The lake.--Distress of the Sabine +women.--Their perplexity.--The plan of Hersilia.--The women admitted to +the senate house.--Arrangements for the intercession of the women.--The +address of Hersilia.--Effect of it.--Conditions and terms of peace. + + +While the negotiations with the Sabines were still pending, Romulus +became involved in another difficulty, which for a time assumed a very +threatening aspect. This difficulty was a war which broke out, +somewhat suddenly, in consequence of the invasion of the Roman +territories by a neighboring chieftain named Acron. Acron was the +sovereign of a small state, whose capital was a town called Caenina.[F] +This Caenina is supposed 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 afterward became so extended and so renowned, +were originally performed, and how intrinsically insignificant they +were, in themselves, though momentous in the extreme in respect to the +consequences that flowed from them. + +[Footnote F: See Map of Latium, page 134.] + +Acron was a bold, energetic, and determined man, who had already +acquired great fame by his 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 formidable 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, however, were +so unwilling to proceed to extremities, and spent so much time in +negotiations and embassies, that Acron's patience was at length wholly +exhausted by the delays, and he resolved to undertake the +extermination of the new colony himself alone. + +So he gathered together a rude and half-organized army, and advanced +toward Rome. Romulus, who had been informed of his plans and +preparations, went out to meet him. The two armies came in view of +each other on an open plain, not far from the city. Romulus advanced +at the head of his troops, while Acron appeared likewise in the +fore-front of the invaders. After uttering in the hearing of each +other, and of the assembled armies, various 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 champions. Romulus and Acron accordingly advanced into the +middle of the field, while their armies drew up around them, forming a +sort of ring within which the combatants were to engage. + +The interest which would be naturally felt by such an encounter, was +increased very much by the strong contrast that was observed in the +appearance of the warriors. Romulus was very young, and though tall +and athletic in form, his countenance exhibited still the expression +of softness and delicacy 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 they saw +the combatants as they came forward to engage, anticipated a very +unequal contest. Romulus was nevertheless victorious. As he went into +the battle, he 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 would +set up the arms and spoils of Acron at Rome, 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 Romulus prevailed in the combat. At all events, he did +prevail. Acron was slain, and while Romulus was stripping the fallen +body of its armor on the field, his men were pursuing 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 the power of Romulus, he called the +inhabitants together, and said to them, that he cherished no hostile +or resentful feelings toward them. On the contrary, he wished to have +them his allies and friends, and he promised them, that if they would +abandon Caenina, and go with him to Rome, they should all be received +as brothers, and be at once incorporated into the Roman state, and +admitted to all the privileges of citizens. The people of Caenina, 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 annexation of his dominions to the +Roman commonwealth, are considered of great historical importance, as +the original type and exemplar 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 organization almost encircled the world. + +Romulus faithfully fulfilled the vow which he had made to Jupiter. On +the return of the army to Rome, the soldiers, by his directions, cut +down a small oak-tree, and trimming the branches at the top, and +shortening them as much as was necessary for the purpose, 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 and 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 hills within the city, as a trophy to Jupiter. A +small temple was erected expressly to receive them. This temple was +very small, being 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 +Crustumenium and Antemnae. Some women from these cities had been seized +at Rome when the Sabine women were taken, and the inhabitants had been +ever since that period meditating plans of revenge. They were not +strong enough to wage open war against Romulus, but they began at last +to make hostile incursions into the Roman territories by means of such +small bands of armed men as they had the means of raising. Romulus +immediately organized bodies of troops sufficient for the purpose, and +then suddenly, and, as it would seem, without giving the kings of +these cities any previous warning, he appeared before the walls and +captured the cities before the inhabitants had time to recover from +their consternation. + +He then sent to all the women 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 the presence of the Roman Senate. The +women were exceedingly terrified at receiving this summons. They +supposed that death or some other terrible punishment, was to be +inflicted upon them in retribution for the offenses 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 Roman commonwealth. Thus, your fathers and +brothers, and all your countrymen, receive the boon of life, liberty, +and happiness through you; and all that we ask of you in return, is +that you will 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 attracted great attention +throughout the country, and both the valor with which Romulus +encountered his enemies while they resisted and opposed him, and the +generosity with which he admitted them to an honorable alliance with +him when 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 instance a +famous chieftain named Caelius, 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 Rome for receiving so sudden and so large an +accession to the numbers of 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 Caelius, 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 Romans, were only excited to greater +jealousy and ill-will at witnessing the proofs of their increasing +influence and power. They employed 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 stores of provisions and munitions of +war; they formed alliances with such states lying beyond them as they +could 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 who was placed in command 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 provisions for the use of the city. They +strengthened and extended the walls, and built new ramparts and towers +wherever they were needed. Numitor 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 engines, such as +were used in those times in the attack and defense of besieged cities. +In fact, the preparations on both sides were of the most extensive +character, and seemed to portend a very resolute and determined +contest. + +When all things were thus ready, the Sabines, before actually striking +the blow for which they had been so long and so deliberately +preparing, concluded to send one more final embassy to Romulus, to +demand the surrender of the women. This was of course only a matter of +form, as they must have known well from what had already passed that +Romulus would not now yield to such a proposal. He did not yield. He +sent back word in answer to their demand, that the Sabine women were +all well settled in Rome, and were contented 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 was a certain tract of country surrounding Rome 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 Sabines became +imminent, Romulus called all these herdsmen in, and required the +flocks of sheep and the herds of cattle to be driven to the rear of +the city, and shut up in an inclosure there, where they 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, where 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 surrounded on all +parts with ramparts and towers which overlooked and commanded all the +neighboring country. The command of this fortress was given to +Tarpeius, a noble Roman. He had a daughter named Tarpeia, whose name +afterward became greatly celebrated in history, on account 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 which +was afterward included within the limits of the city, and used as a +parade-ground, under the name of Campus Martius, 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 numerous 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 officers 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. The account +generally received is this:-- + +[Illustration: PROMISING THE BRACELETS.] + +Tarpeia had observed the soldiers from the walls, and her attention +had been 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. Titus Tatius, accordingly, when informed of this +arrangement, 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, however, 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 +Romulus, 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 capture 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 upon +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 Tarpeian rock, in memory of this maiden, to the present day. + +In this way the Sabines gained possession of the citadel, though +Romulus still held the main city. The Romans were of course extremely +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 Martius, 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 desperate 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 plain could be looked down upon as if it were a map. +The battle continued all day. At night both parties were exhausted, +and the field was covered with the dead and dying, but neither side +had gained a 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 previous combats, and in gathering +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. Various incidents occurred during the day to give one party or +the other a local or temporary advantage, but neither side wholly +prevailed. At one time Romulus 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 hoping to follow them in, +in the confusion, 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 Romans. 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 they took up the body of Romulus and carried +it into the city. It was found, however, that he was not seriously +injured. He soon recovered from the effects of the blow and returned +into the battle. + +Another incident which occurred in the course of these battles has +been commemorated 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 bleeding, and surrounded by enemies, fled +for his life. Romulus pursued him for a short distance, but Curtius +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, and which was now covered and almost concealed 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. Romulus supposed of course that he would be drowned there, +and so turned away and went to find some other enemy. Curtius, +however, succeeded 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 afterward, when, not +only had all the water disappeared, 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 quarrel had arisen, were suffering the +greatest anxiety and distress. They loved their fathers and brothers, +but then they loved their husbands too; and they were overwhelmed +with anguish at the thought that day after day those who were equally +dear to them were engaged in fighting and destroying one another, and +that they could do nothing to arrest 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 willing to yield. The Sabines could not +bring themselves to submit to so humiliating an alternative as to +withdraw from Rome 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 Romans could not take +those, who, whatever had been their previous history, were now living +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 was willing to +yield, and both were preparing to return to the struggle with new +determination and vigor. + +The Sabine women thought that they might now interpose. A lady named +Hersilia, who is often mentioned as one of the most prominent among +the number, proposed this measure and made the arrangements for +carrying it into effect. She assembled her countrywomen and explained +to them her plan, which was that they should go in a body to the Roman +Senate, and ask permission to intercede between the contending +nations, and plead for peace. + +The company of women, taking their children 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 great distress and agitation. The grief +and anxiety which they had suffered during the progress of the war +still continued, and they begged the Senate to let them go out to the +camp of the Sabines, and endeavor to persuade them to make peace. The +Senate were disposed to consent. The women wished to take their +children with them, but some of the Romans imagined that there might, +perhaps, be danger, that under pretense of interceding for peace, they +were really intending to make their escape from Rome altogether. So it +was insisted that they should leave their children behind them as +hostages for their return, excepting that such as had two children +were allowed to take one, which plan it was thought would aid them in +moving the compassion of their Sabine relatives. + +The women, accordingly, left the senate-chamber, and with their +children in their arms, their hair disheveled, their robes disordered, +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 countrymen to put an +end to the war. "We know," said she, "that you are waging it on our +account, and we see in all that you have done proofs of your love for +us. In fact, it was our supposed interests which led you to commence +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 inexpressibly miserable." + +This intercession produced the effect which might have been expected +from it. The Sabines 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 sentiment, that in +the end a treaty of union was made between the two nations. It was +agreed that the two nations should be merged into one. The Sabine +territory was to be annexed to that of Rome, 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 belligerent nations so sudden and so +complete. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE CONCLUSION. + +B.C. 764-717 + +Romulus reigns in conjunction with the Sabine king.--The Roman +Forum.--Growth of the city.--Bold and comprehensive +measures.--Cameria.--Difficulty with Titus Tatius.--Controversy +between Romulus and Tatius.--The difficulty at Lavinium.--Tatius +killed.--Romulus once more sole king.--Rome assumes a general +jurisdiction over other states.--Foundation of the future greatness +of Rome.--Circumstances connected with the death of Romulus.--Rumors +in circulation.--Public opinion.--Proculus's story.--The ghost of +Romulus.--The Romans satisfied.--The real truth not to be known.--The +interregnum.--A new king. + + +After the termination of the Sabine war Romulus continued to reign +many years, and his reign, although no very exact and systematic +history of it was recorded at the time, seems to have presented the +usual variety of incidents and vicissitudes; and yet, notwithstanding +occasional and partial reverses, the city, 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 Romans, +Titus Tatius was 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 was +situated that his troops had taken possession of in the course 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, or +_forum_, as it was called in their language,--that place being +designated for the purpose on account of its central and convenient +situation. 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 +throughout 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 followed, the +Roman state began soon to rise to so high a position in relation to +the surrounding cities and kingdoms, as soon to take precedence of +them altogether. This was owing, 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 +years of its existence, as described in the foregoing chapters, were +all of a very extraordinary character, and evinced very extraordinary +qualities in the men who devised them. These measures were bold, +comprehensive and sagacious, 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 +qualities generally feel their power, and are usually not slow to +assert it. A singular and striking instance of this occurred not many +years after the peace with the Sabines. There was a city at some +distance from Rome 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 accusations were made +against them, and very coolly cited them 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 the Roman government +constituted a judicial tribunal, having authority to exercise +jurisdiction, and to enforce law and order, among all the nations +around them. In fact, Rome continued to assert and to maintain this +authority over a wider and wider circle every year, until in the +course of some centuries after Romulus's day, she made herself the +arbiter of the world. + +Titus 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 would 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 committing +some deed of violence at Lavinium, the ancient city which AEneas 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 the discussions which +took place at Rome 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 warm; parties were formed; and at last the +exasperation 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 what 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 murderers, he said, and send them to +Lavinium, and he would come himself, with Tatius, to Lavinium, and +there make an expiatory offering to the gods, in attestation of the +abhorrence 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 defend 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 murderers +from the Lavinians, after they had been given up. Accordingly, while +he and Romulus 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 news so exasperated the +people of Lavinium against Tatius, for they considered him as +unquestionably 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 which 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 excitement of the scene was +over, fearing the resentment which they very naturally supposed +Romulus would feel at the murder of his colleague, seized the +ringleaders of the riot, and sent them bound to Rome, to place them at +the disposal of the Roman government. Romulus sent them back unharmed, +directing them to say to the Lavinian government, that he considered +the death of Tatius, though inflicted in a mode lawless and +unjustifiable, as nevertheless, in itself, only a just expiation for +the murder of the Lavinian embassadors, which Tatius had instigated 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 +once 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 retrocession at +any time. Causes of disagreement arose from time to time with +neighboring states, and, in such cases, Romulus always first sent a +summons to the party implicated, whether king or people, citing them +to appear and answer for their conduct before the Roman Senate. If +they 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 kingdom 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 police, the tribunals of justice, the social +institutions 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 interval of +peace and tranquillity. In consequence of the exertions which he made, +and the measures which he adopted, order and system prevailed more +and more in every department, 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 increased 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 increasing greatness and +prosperity, Romulus was not without rivals and enemies, even among his +own people at Rome. The leading senators 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 affairs, as if +he were an absolute and despotic sovereign. He wore a purple robe on +public occasions, as a badge of royalty. He organized a body-guard of +three hundred young troopers, who rode before him whenever he moved +about the city; and in all respects assumed such pomp and parade in +his demeanor, and exercised such a degree of arbitrary 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 review which took place at a +little distance from the city, there came up a sudden shower, attended +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. + +[Illustration: THE DEATH OF ROMULUS.] + +This strange story was but half believed even at first, by the +people, and very soon rumors began to circulate in the city that +Romulus had been murdered by the senators who were around him at the +time of the shower,--they having seized the occasion afforded by the +momentary absence of his guards, and by their solitary position. There +were various surmises in respect to the disposal which the assassins +had made of the 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 cutting it up into +small pieces, and conveying it away, each taking a portion, under +their robes. + +Of course these rumors produced great agitation 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 +present day, was then entirely satisfactory to the whole community. + +One of the most prominent and distinguished 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 announced 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 was 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 senators?' 'I left you,' said he, 'because it pleased the gods +to call me back again to heaven, whence I originally came. It was no +longer necessary for me to remain on earth, for Rome 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 suspicions were now all removed; the senators at once +recovered their good standing in the public regard, and all was once +more peace and harmony. Altars were immediately erected to Romulus, +and the whole population of the city joined in making sacrifices and +in paying other divine honors to his memory. + +The declaration of Proculus that he had seen the spirit of Romulus, +and his report of the conversation which the spirit had addressed to +him, constituted proof of the highest kind, according to the ideas +which prevailed in those ancient days. In modern times, however, there +is no faith in such a story, and the truth in respect to the end of +Romulus 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 king. + + THE END. + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES + + +1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors, and to +ensure consistent spelling and punctuation in this etext; otherwise, +every effort has been made to remain true to the original book. + +2. The chapter summaries in this text were originally published as +banners in the page headers, and have been moved to beginning of the +chapter for the reader's convenience. + +3. In the chart on page 46, detailing the original Greek alphabet, the +typesetter's appear to have missed the 7th letter, kappa. The +correction has been made, based on the discussion in "History of the +Greek Alphabet," by E. A. Sophocles, published in 1848, by George +Nichols, Boston. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Romulus, Makers of History, by Jacob Abbott + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROMULUS, MAKERS OF HISTORY *** + +***** This file should be named 27692.txt or 27692.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/6/9/27692/ + +Produced by D. Alexander and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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