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THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY. 
 
The Silver Series of English and American Classics 
 
 MACAULAY'S 
 
 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME 
 
 EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
 BY 
 
 DUFFIELD OSBORNE 
 
 SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO 
 
^ 
 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 CONGRESS, 
 Two Copies Received 
 
 APR. 29 1901 
 
 Copyright entry 
 CLASS #/XXc. n* 
 
 copy a 
 
 Copyright, 1901, 
 By SILVER, BUEDETT & COM PAX Y. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 7 
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 15 
 
 Horatius . . 39 
 
 Battle of the Lake Regillus ...... 6o 
 
 Virginia 99 
 
 The Prophecy of Capys . . . . . . . .121 
 
 NOTES 137 
 
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The writings of few Englishmen have received higher 
 praise and sharper criticism than have those of Thomas 
 Babington Macaulay. A man of profound learning and 
 strongly defined ideas of men and affairs, he treated of 
 times and topics that have been a fruitful source of partisan 
 wrath ; and, when research and logic seemed to lead to con- 
 demnation, his sentence fell with all the crushing weight of 
 a style at once trenchant and lucid. Time and its revolu- 
 tions of events and ideas, national resentments, and politi- 
 cal necessities have united to bring into public prominence 
 many champions of those whom Macaulay condemned, and 
 it is little to be wondered at that such champions should be 
 found eager to assail the pen that writ their clients down 
 for hatred and contempt. Macaulay has been accused of all 
 manner of prejudice as an historian and a biographer. Even 
 that style which gave his blows so much of their weight 
 and sting has been decried as artificial ; all the forces of 
 literary aberrations and affectations have been mustered 
 into the service against him, and, in order that his* oppo- 
 nents might have some name about which to rally, the harsh 
 and crabbed Carlyle has been put forward as a model whose 
 disciples must of necessity condemn the grace and fluency 
 of the man upon whose reputation the vials of partisan 
 wrath were to be emptied. 
 
 7 
 
8 editor's introduction. 
 
 So the battle has been waged with a bitterness seldom 
 shown over the works of dead rivals ; but so long as per- 
 spicuity, force, and beauty — the perfect selection of words 
 and the measured proportion of sentences and ideas — are 
 held to be fair ground of author's praise, so long Macaulay 
 must stand in the forefront. If these be marks of arti- 
 ficiality, then we must admit, perforce, that artificiality pos- 
 sesses points which merit being well inquired into by those 
 who would excel with the pen. 
 
 As for the strength of the case made out against Macau- 
 lay's justice and reliability, controversy would fall within 
 the scope of a discussion of his history or his essays, 
 rather than within that of this introduction. I cannot, 
 however, refrain from commenting that a much more bitter 
 partisanship than his seems to characterize the writings of 
 his detractors, and that I know of very few instances where 
 his facts and judgments have suffered by comparison with 
 the revisions suggested or demanded. 
 
 To briefly summarize his life, Thomas Babington Mac- 
 aulay, the son of Zachary Macaulay, West India merchant 
 and philanthropist, was born at Rothley Temple, Leicester- 
 shire, October 25th, 1800. After a childhood, the remark- 
 able precocity of which leads wonder almost to the point 
 of incredulity, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 
 1818, and, in 1819, won the Chancellor's medal by his poem 
 entitled " Pompeii." Another medal and a scholarship 
 were conferred soon after, and, in 1822, the degree of B.A. 
 Later he received a fellowship, and, in 1825, the degree of 
 M.A. Meanwhile his pen had been busy with essays and 
 poems contributed to many periodicals. At the age of 
 
editor's introduction. 9 
 
 twenty-five the essay on "Milton" shows him in the full 
 maturity of his marvellous power. Called to the bar in 
 1826, but never undertaking its practice, he soon plunged 
 into the vortex of politics. Entering Parliament in 1830, 
 he went to India in 1834, as member of the Supreme Council, 
 where he prepared his famous Indian Penal Code. In 1838 
 he returned home and in 1839 resumed his seat in Parlia- 
 ment, becoming war secretary in 1840. In 1846 he became 
 paymaster-general, but in 1847 his advocacy of the May- 
 nooth Grant lost him his seat. Five years later the same 
 constituency (Edinburgh) elected him unsolicited. Mean- 
 while he had been employed upon his history, a work con- 
 tinued almost to the time of his death, Avhich occurred in 
 London, December 28th, 1859. Many honors were con- 
 ferred upon him during his life by English and foreign 
 universities, academies, and potentates, and, in the year 
 1857, he was raised to the peerage under the title of Baron 
 Macaulay of Rothley. He never married. 
 
 Macaulay w r as at all times a consistent whig in politics. 
 Outside of his untiring and many-sided activity, his chival- 
 rous support of the weak and the oppressed is perhaps the 
 most marked as well as the most honorable feature of his 
 career. His first speech in Parliament was in support of 
 the bill to repeal the civil disabilities of the Jews ; his 
 Indian Penal Code was characterized by a humanity toward 
 the native population quite new to the policy of the con- 
 querors of India; while his advocacy of the Roman Catho- 
 lic Relief Bill and of government support for the Roman 
 Catholic college at Maynooth brought him the only great 
 rebuff ever received during his career, the defeat in the 
 
10 editor's introduction. 
 
 Edinburgh election, which called forth his noble "Lines 
 Written on the Night of the 30th of July, 1847." It would 
 be well for those who fail in the seeking for political pre- 
 ferment, could more of them receive their failure in such a 
 cause and in such a spirit. Americans should never forget 
 Macaulay's deep appreciation of Washington, voiced in the 
 closing words of his Essay on John Hampden, which read : 
 " It was when the vices and ignorance which the old tyranny 
 had generated threatened the new freedom with destruction 
 that England missed the sobriety, the self-command, the per- 
 fect soundness of judgment, the perfect rectitude of inten- 
 tion to which history furnishes no parallel, or furnishes a 
 parallel in Washington alone." 
 
 Turning to the literary Macauiay, we find first of all a 
 versatility that few writers have equalled. Primarily, per- 
 haps, he is known best as a historian and an essayist. Once 
 he wrote a fragment of a novel, once a fragment of a play, 
 thrown off as if to see what he might accomplish in these 
 lines were his time not absorbed in weightier labors ; while 
 through all, was continued the work of the orator, the legis- 
 lator, the administrator of his country's government. It is 
 with none of these, however, but with Macauiay as a poet 
 that we have now to deal, limiting our study of him, even 
 in this line, to that series of poems which has acquired the 
 greatest popularity : " The Lays of Ancient Rome," pub- 
 lished in 1842. 
 
 It is a fashion among certain would-be consistent critics to 
 decry the author of " The Lays " as being a mere versifier, a 
 writer of clever jingle. For the men who would limit poetry 
 within these or those narrow lines, the theorists who start 
 
editor's introduction. 11 
 
 with a theory and a woe-betide-the-facts-that-stand-against-it 
 attitude, I have nothing to say. They are the little men in 
 literature : critics — and that is all. " Poetry " is, I con- 
 ceive, a word much too broad to be limitable by any principle 
 of thought or method of treatment. It speaks first to the 
 heart, and it speaks in that vague but forceful tongue that 
 only the heart can fully comprehend. The mind may study 
 its language, but after all, the mind is a foreigner, and to 
 such the tongue of Poetry is strange and complex and 
 arbitrary. Only he whose heart is great enough to feel its 
 messages may presume to receive them, and that with rever- 
 ence and all humility. It is the literary Prankensteins, 
 laboring over the product of their self-conceit and their 
 affectations, who produce an anatomical poetry almost com- 
 parable to the monster that sprang from study devoid of 
 soul. 
 
 Happy is he whose heart responds to the grand swing of 
 Milton, the soulful melody of Keats, the deep insight of 
 Shakespeare, and whose spirit yet tells him that poets as 
 well are they who have struck the lyre to lighter measure, 
 the singers of petty things and quaint conceits, the race of 
 the trouveres, whose ballads of stirring deeds, set to lilting 
 measures, ring through the centuries from the days when 
 all Provence hung upon the judgments of her courts of 
 love, to when Scott and Macaulay laid a like tribute at the 
 feet of like exploits. 
 
 Unlike, however, other makers of ballad poetry, Mac- 
 aulay alone has endeavored to sing the songs of times and 
 of a nation long passed away, and to sing them in the 
 simulated voices of singers whose bones are dust, and 
 
12 editor's introduction. 
 
 whose names and works are buried under the mountain of 
 two thousand years. For such a task there must be added 
 to the heart and art of the poet, the learning of the student 
 of antiquity. To construct is one thing, to reconstruct 
 with never a model is another and far harder undertak- 
 ing, but it is probable that no man ever lived who could 
 so well bring to the work the varied qualities which it re- 
 quired. 
 
 Macaulay was by very nature a poet of the ballad school. 
 His was the heart to thrill at the story of great deeds, and 
 his the speech to clothe them in raiment worthy of their 
 glory. It is all there : spirit, fire, the rapid swing of the 
 narrative that carries you along upon its tide until you 
 seem of a verity borne away upon the torrent of the charge, 
 until your ears ring with the notes of the trumpet, the 
 shouts and groans, the terrible clash of arms. No one w r ith 
 the least poetic feeling can read " Horatius " and " The 
 Battle of Lake Kegillus " without knowing all this. The 
 images, the sentiments, never seem to stay for a moment 
 the onrush of the battle. Is not this more than art ? Is it 
 not the true resonance of a mind to which art is nature ? 
 Thus only does talent stand aside, and genius spring, like 
 Pallas, full-armed from the head of Zeus. 
 
 In all these poems there is hardly what might be called 
 a digression, and perhaps the most notable instances — 
 Horatius' comment upon the perfect death, and the sup- 
 posed author's lament for the good old times — seem so 
 suited to the places they fill that they come to us quite 
 naturally, even while we press on with " sword lifted up 
 to slay." In " Virginius " the story is less martial, and in 
 
editor's introduction. 13 
 
 " The Prophecy of Capys " there is little narrative of any 
 kind, but the swing is the same in both, and the perfect 
 fitness and, at the same time, subordination of the ornament 
 to the matter are marvelously preserved. 
 
 The other qualification which Macaulay brought to his task, 
 one which this particular task needed in the highest de- 
 gree, was a general and special erudition such as the world 
 has seldom seen : — a mind that had delved deeply in the 
 literature of all peoples and times, and a memory that never 
 let go a thought or fact once grasped. Choosing to speak 
 in the characters of ancient poets, as he tells in his preface, 
 he of all writers was best able to become their very avatars. 
 A sound judgment, however, held him from striving for too 
 much. What research could hope to revive the outward 
 form of a minstrelsy every line of which is lost ? and even 
 if we could assume that Macaulay's acute classical instinct 
 might have led him, unguided, to the truth in this respect, 
 surely the song would not have told us of to-day what in 
 spirit it now tells. Under the form and in the measure of 
 modern minstrelsy, the thought, the feeling of the ancient 
 minstrel is brought closer and more powerfully to our minds, 
 together with all those subtle qualities that we describe by 
 the term " local color." 
 
 Realizing then, that the form of the verse was but as a 
 means to an end, Macaulay chose a medium that would 
 best interpret its message to his audience. Therefore the 
 lays are not couched in any attempted simulation of the 
 rough blank verse of a time as crude as it was poetic, any 
 more than they are written in the language spoken upon the 
 Palatine or among the Alban Hills. Music, a comparatively 
 
14 editor's introduction. 
 
 new art, has brought rhyme and lighter measure as aids to 
 feeling and comprehension, and this he utilized to the full. 
 In form, as in language, the lays are in the best English ; in 
 mind and soul and spirit they are early Eoman : a marvel of 
 revivified antiquity. 
 
 In the notes to the poems, I have endeavored to cover 
 every point needed for a full comprehension of allusions to 
 a time and place and civilization so foreign to our own; 
 and, that the spirit in which the author approached his 
 task might be fully understood, I have retained his own 
 preface and his several introductions to the poems. 
 
 DUEFIELD OSBORNE. 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 That what is called the history of the Kings and early 
 Consuls of Kome is to a great extent fabulous, few scholars 
 have, since the time of Beaufort, ventured to deny. It is 
 certain that, more than three hundred and sixty years after 
 the date ordinarily assigned for the foundation of the city, 
 the public records were, with scarcely an exception, de- 
 stroyed by the Gauls. It is certain that the oldest annals 
 of the commonwealth were compiled more than a century 
 and a half after this destruction of the records. It is 
 certain, therefore, that the great Latin writers of the 
 Augustan age did not possess those materials, without 
 which a trustworthy account of the infancy of the republic 
 could not possibly be framed. Those writers own, indeed, 
 that the chronicles to which they ha.d access were filled 
 with battles that were never fought, and Consuls that were 
 never inaugurated ; and we have abundant proof that, in 
 these chronicles, events of the greatest importance, such 
 as the issue of the war with Porsena, and the issue of the 
 war with Brennus, were grossly misrepresented. Under 
 these circumstances a wise man will look with great sus- 
 picion on the legend which has come down to us. He will 
 perhaps be inclined to regard the princes who are said to 
 have founded the civil and religious institutions of Koine, 
 
 15 
 
16 author's preface. 
 
 the son of Mars, and the husband of Egeria, as mere mytho- 
 logical personages, of the same class with Perseus and Ixion. 
 As he draws nearer and nearer to the confines of authentic 
 history, he will become less and less hard of belief. He 
 will admit that the most important parts of the narrative 
 have some foundation in truth. But he will distrust almost 
 all the details, not only because they seldom rest on any 
 solid evidence, but also because he will constantly detect 
 in them, even when they are within the limits of physical 
 possibility, that peculiar character, more easily understood 
 than defined, which distinguishes the creations of the im- 
 agination from the realities of the world in which we live. 
 The early history of Eome is indeed far more poetical 
 than anything else in Latin literature. The loves of the 
 Vestal and the God of War, the cradle laid among the reeds 
 of Tiber, the fig-tree, the she-wolf, the shepherd's cabin, 
 the recognition, the fratricide, the rape of the Sabines, the 
 death of Tarpeia, the fall of Hostus Hostilius, the struggle 
 of Mettus Curtius through the marsh, the women rushing 
 with torn raiment and dishevelled hair between their 
 fathers and their husbands, the nightly meetings of Numa 
 and the Nymph by the well in the sacred grove, the fight 
 of the three Eomans and the three Albans, the purchase 
 of the Sybylline books, the crime of Tullia, the simulated 
 madness of Brutus, the ambiguous reply of the Delphian 
 oracle to the Tarquins, the wrongs of Lucretia, the heroic 
 actions of Horatius Codes, of Scsevola, and of Cloelia, the 
 battle of Begillus won by the aid of Castor and Pollux, 
 the defence of Cremera, the touching story of Coriolanus, 
 the still more touching story of Virginia, the wild legend 
 
author's preface. 17 
 
 about the draining of the Alban lake, the combat between 
 Valerius Corvus and the gigantic Gaul, are among the 
 many instances which will at once suggest themselves to 
 every reader. 
 
 In the narrative of Livy, who was a man of fine imagina- 
 tion, these stories retain much of their genuine character. 
 Nor could even the tasteless Dionysius distort and muti- 
 late them into mere prose. The poetry shines, in spite 
 of him, through the dreary pedantry of his eleven books. 
 It is discernible in the most tedious and in the most super- 
 ficial modern works on the early times of Borne. It en- 
 livens the dulness of the Universal History, and gives a 
 charm to the most meagre abridgments of Goldsmith. 
 
 Even in the age of Plutarch there were discerning men 
 who rejected the popular account of the foundation of 
 Borne, because that account appeared to them to have the 
 air, not of a history, but of a romance or a drama. Plu- 
 tarch, who was displeased at their incredulity, had nothing 
 better to say in reply to their arguments than that chance 
 sometimes turns poet, and produces trains of events not 
 to be distinguished from the most elaborate plots which 
 are constructed by art. # But though the existence of a 
 
 * Tttotttov fjiev eviois earl to dpa/JLCLTiKdv kclI ir\a<rfjLCiT tides ' ov del-Be 
 aTViGTelv, T7]v rvxyv bpwvras, o'lcov Troirj/jLaruv 87)/jLiovpy6s eo~ri. — Plut. 
 Rom. viii. This remarkable passage has been more grossly misinterpreted 
 than any other in the Greek language, where the sense was so obvious. 
 The Latin version of Cruserius, the French version of Amyot, the old 
 English version by several hands, and the later English version by Lang- 
 horne, are all equally destitute of every trace of the meaning of the origi- 
 nal. None of the translators saw even that 7roirjfxa is a poem. They all 
 render it an event. 
 
18 author's preface. 
 
 poetical element in the early history of the Great City was 
 detected so many years ago, the first critic who distinctly 
 saw from what source that poetical element had been de- 
 rived was James Perizonius, one of the most acute and 
 learned antiquaries of the seventeenth century. His theory, 
 which, in his own days, attracted little or no notice, was 
 revived in the present generation by ISTiebuhr, a man who 
 would have been the first writer of his time, if his talent 
 for communicating truths had born any proportion to his 
 talent for investigating them. That theory has been 
 adopted by several eminent scholars of our own country, 
 particularly by the Bishop of St. David's, by Professor 
 Maiden, and by the lamented Arnold. It appears to be 
 now generally received by men conversant with classical 
 antiquity ; and indeed it rests on such strong proofs, both 
 internal and external, that it will not be easily subverted. 
 A popular exposition of this theor}^, and of the evidence 
 by which it is supported, may not be without interest 
 even for readers who are unacquainted with the ancient 
 languages. 
 
 The Latin literature which has come down to us is of 
 later date than the commencement of the Second Punic 
 War, and consists almost exclusively of works fashioned 
 on Greek models. The Latin metres, heroic, elegiac, lyric, 
 and dramatic, are of Greek origin. The best Latin epic 
 poetry is the feeble echo of the Iliad and Odyssey. The 
 best Latin eclogues are imitations of Theocritus. The 
 plan of the most finished didactic poem in the Latin 
 tongue was taken from Hesiod. The Latin tragedies 
 are bad copies of the masterpieces of Sophocles and 
 
author's preface. 19 
 
 Euripides. The Latin comedies are free translations from 
 Demophilus, Menander, and Apollodorus. The Latin phi- 
 losophy was borrowed, without alteration, from the Portico 
 and the Academy ; and the great Latin orators constantly 
 proposed to themselves as patterns the speeches of Demos- 
 thenes and Lysias. 
 
 But there was an earlier Latin literature, a literature 
 truly Latin, which has wholly perished, which had, indeed, 
 almost wholly perished long before those whom we are in 
 the habit of regarding as the greatest Latin writers were 
 born. That literature abounded with metrical romances, 
 such as are found in every country where there is much 
 curiosity and intelligence, but little reading and writing. 
 All human beings, not utterly savage, long for some infor- 
 mation about past times, and are delighted by narratives 
 which present pictures to the eye of the mind. But it is 
 only in very enlightened communities that books are readily 
 accessible. Metrical composition, therefore, which, in a 
 highly civilised nation, is a mere luxury, is, in nations im- 
 perfectly civilised, almost a necessary of life, and is valued 
 less on account of the pleasure which it gives to the ear, 
 than on account of the help which it gives to the memory. 
 A man who can invent or embellish an interesting story, 
 and put it into a form which others may easily retain in 
 their recollection, will always be highly esteemed by a peo- 
 ple eager for amusement and information, but destitute of 
 libraries. Such is the origin of ballad-poetry, a species of 
 composition which scarcely ever fails to spring up and 
 flourish in every society, at a certain point in the progress 
 towards refinement. Tacitus informs us that sonsrs were 
 
20 author's preface. 
 
 the only memorials of the past which the ancient Germans 
 possessed. We learn from Lucan and from Ammianus 
 Marcellinus that the brave actions of the ancient Gauls 
 were commemorated in the verses of Bards. During many 
 ages and through many revolutions, minstrelsy retained its 
 influence over both the Teutonic and the Celtic race. The 
 vengeance exacted by the spouse of Attila for the murder 
 of Siegfried was celebrated in rhymes, of which Germany 
 is still justly proud. The exploits of Athelstane were com- 
 memorated by the Anglo-Saxons, and those of Canute by 
 the Danes, in rude poems, of which a few fragments have 
 come down to us. The chants of the Welsh harpers pre- 
 served, through ages of darkness, a faint and doubtful mem- 
 ory of Arthur. In the Highlands of Scotland may still be 
 gleaned some relics of the old songs about Cuthullin and 
 Fingal. The long struggle of the Servians against the Otto- 
 man power was recorded in lays full of martial spirit. We 
 learn from Herrera that, when a Peruvian Inca died, men 
 of skill were appointed to celebrate him in verses, which 
 all the people learned by heart, and sang in public on days 
 of festival. The feats of Kurroglou, the great freebooter 
 of Turkistan, recounted in ballads composed by himself, 
 are known in every village of Northern Persia. Captain 
 Eeechey heard the bards of the Sandwich Islands recite 
 the heroic achievements of Kamehameha, the most illus- 
 trious of their kings. Mungo Park found in the heart of 
 Africa a class of singing-men, the only annalists of their 
 rude tribes, and heard them tell the story of the victory 
 which Darnel, the negro prince of the Jaloffs, won over Ab- 
 dulkader, the Mussulman tyrant of Foota Torra. This spe- 
 
author's preface. 21 
 
 cies of poetry attained a high degree of excellence among 
 the Castilians, before they began to copy Tuscan patterns. 
 It attained a still higher degree of excellence among the 
 English and the Lowland Scotch, during the fourteenth, 
 fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. But it reached its full 
 perfection in ancient Greece ; for there can be no doubt that 
 the great Homeric poems are generically ballads, though 
 widely distinguished from all other ballads, and indeed 
 from almost all other human compositions, by transcendent 
 sublimity and beauty. 
 
 As it is agreeable to general experience that, at a cer- 
 tain stage in the progress of society, ballad-poetry should 
 nourish, so is it also agreeable to general experience that, 
 at a subsequent stage in the progress of society, ballad- 
 poetry should be undervalued and neglected. Knowledge 
 advances : manners change : great foreign models of com- 
 position are studied and imitated. The phraseology of the 
 old minstrels becomes obsolete. Their versification, which, 
 having received its laws only from the ear, abounds in 
 irregularities, seems licentious and uncouth. Their sim- 
 plicity appears beggarly when compared with the quaint 
 forms and gaudy colouring of such artists as Cowley and 
 Gongora. The ancient lays, unjustly despised by the 
 learned and polite, linger for a time in the memory of the 
 vulgar, and are at length too often irretrievably lost. We 
 cannot wonder that the ballads of Rome should have alto- 
 gether disappeared, when we remember how very narrowly, 
 in spite of the invention of printing, those of our own 
 country and those of Spain escaped the same fate. There 
 is indeed little doubt that oblivion covers many English 
 
22 author's preface. 
 
 songs equal to any that were published by Bishop Percy, 
 and many Spanish songs as good as the best of those which 
 have been so happily translated by Mr. Lockhart. Eighty 
 years ago England possessed only one tattered copy of 
 Childe "Waters and Sir Cauline, and Spain only one tattered 
 copy of the noble poern of the Cid. The snuff of a candle, 
 or a mischievous dog, might in a moment have deprived 
 the world for ever of any of those fine compositions. Sir 
 Walter Scott, who united to the fire of a great poet the minute- 
 curiosity and patient diligence of a great antiquary, was 
 but just in time to save the precious relics of the Minstrelsy 
 of the Border. In Germany, the lay of the Nibelungs had 
 been long utterly forgotten, when, in the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, it was, for the first time, printed from a manuscript 
 in the old library of a noble family. In truth, the only 
 people who, through their whole passage from simplicity to 
 the highest civilisation, never for a moment ceased to love 
 and admire their old ballads, were the Greeks. 
 
 That the early Romans should have had ballad-poetry, 
 and that this poetry should have perished, is therefore not 
 strange. It would, on the contrary, have been strange if 
 these things had not come to pass ; and we should be justi- 
 fied in pronouncing them highly probable, even if we had 
 no direct evidence on the subject. But we have direct 
 evidence of unquestionable authority. 
 
 Ennius, who flourished in the time of the Second Punic 
 War, was regarded in the Augustan age as the father of 
 Latin poetry. He was, in truth, the father of the second 
 school of Latin poetry, the only school of which the works 
 have descended to us. But from Ennius himself we learn 
 
author's preface. 23 
 
 that there were poets who stood to him in the same 
 relation in which the author of the romance of Count 
 Alarcos stood to Garcilaso, or the author of the 'Lytell 
 Geste of Eobyn Hode ' to Lord Surrey. Ennius speaks of 
 verses which the Fauns and the bards were wont to chant 
 in the old time, when none had yet studied the graces of 
 speech, when none had yet climbed the peaks sacred to the 
 Goddesses of Grecian song. 'Where/ Cicero mournfully 
 asks, i are those old verses now ? ' * 
 
 Contemporary with Ennius was Quintus Fabius Pictor, 
 the earliest of the Roman annalists. His account of the 
 infancy and youth of Romulus and Remus has been 
 preserved by Dionysius, and contains a very remarkable 
 reference to the ancient Latin poetry. Fabius says that, 
 in his time, his countrymen were still in the habit of 
 singing ballads about the Twins. 'Even in the hut of 
 Faustulus/ — so these old lays appear to have run, — 'the 
 
 * " Quid ? Nostri veteres versus ubi sunt ? 
 
 ' Quos oliin Fauui varesque canebant 
 
 Cuhi neque Musarom scopulos quisquani superarat, 
 Xec dicti studiosus erat.' " Brutus, xviii. 
 
 The Muses, it should be observed, are Greek divinities. The Italian God- 
 desses of verse were the Caruoenae. At a later period, the appellations 
 were used indiscriminately ; but in the age of Ennius there was probably 
 a distinction. In the epitaph of Naevius, who was the representative of 
 the old Italian school of poetry, the Canicenoe, not the Muses, are repre- 
 sented as grieving for the loss of their votary. The " Musarura scopuli" 
 are evidently the peaks of Parnassus. 
 
 Scaliger. in a note on Varro (De Lingua Latino., lib. vi.), suggests, 
 with great ingenuity, that the Fauns, who were represented by the super- 
 stition of later ages as a race of monsters, half gods and half brutes, may 
 really have been a class of men who exercised in Latium. at a very remote 
 period, the same functions which belonged to the Magians in Persia and to 
 the bards in Gaul. 
 
21 author's preface. 
 
 children of Khea and Mars were, in port and in spirit, 
 not like unto swineherds, or cowherds, but such that men 
 might well guess them to be of the blood of kings and 
 Gods.* 
 
 * Ot de av8p(*)6evT€s yivovTcu, Kara re a^iojcnp fJLopcprjs /cat (ppovrj/uLaros 
 6ynov, ov <rvo(pop(3o?s /cat (3ovko\ols eot/cdres, dXX' otovs civ tls a^ubveie 
 roi)s €K PaaCKeiov re (ptivras yevovs, /cat dirb daifxbvLov airopas yeveadai 
 vofjufr/jievovs, cos kv rots irarpiois v/ivols virb 'Pw/xatW ert /cat vvv aderat. 
 — Dion. Hal. i. 79. This passage has sometimes been cited as if 
 Dionysius had been speaking in his own person, and had, Greek as he 
 was, been so industrious or so fortunate as to discover some valuable 
 remains of that early Latin poetry which the greatest Latin writers of 
 his age regretted as hopelessly lost. Such a supposition is highly im- 
 probable ; and indeed it seems clear from the context that Dionysius, as 
 Reiske and other editors evidently thought, was merely quoting from 
 Fabius Pictor. The whole passage has the air of an extract from an 
 ancient chronicle, and is introduced by the words, KotVros fxev <£d/3tos, 
 6 Ilt/cTwp \ey6fievos, rrjde ypd<peL. 
 
 Another argument may be urged which seems to deserve considera- 
 tion. The author of the passage in question mentions a thatched hut 
 which, in his time, stood between the summit of Mount Palatine and the 
 Circus. This hut, he says, was built by Romulus, and was constantly 
 kept in repair at the public charge, but never in any respect embellished. 
 Now, in the age of Dionysius there certainly was at Rome a thatched 
 hut, said to have been that of Romulus. But this hut, as we learn from 
 Vitruvius, stood, not near the Circus, but in the Capitol. (Vit. ii. 1.) If, 
 therefore, we understand Dionysius to speak in his own person, we can 
 reconcile his statement with that of Vitruvius only by supposing that 
 there were at Rome, in the Augustan age» two thatched huts, both 
 believed to have been built by Romulus, and both carefully repaired and 
 held in high honour. The objections to such a supposition seem to be 
 strong. Neither Dionysius nor Vitruvius speaks of more than one such 
 hut. Dio Cassius informs us that twice, during the long administration 
 of Augustus, the hut of Romulus caught fire (xlviii. 43, liv. 29). Had 
 there been two such huts, would he not have told us of which he spoke? 
 An English historian would hardly give an account of a fire at Queen's 
 College without saying whether it was at Queen's College, Oxford, or 
 at Queen's College, Cambridge. Marcus Seneca, Macrobius, and Conon, 
 a Greek writer from whom Photius has made large extracts, mention 
 
author's preface. 25 
 
 Cato the Censor, who also lived in the days of the 
 Second Punic War, mentioned this lost literature in his 
 lost work on the antiquities of his country. Many ages, 
 he said, before his time, there were ballads in praise of 
 illustrious men ; and these ballads it was the fashion for 
 the guests at banquets to sing in turn while the piper 
 played. i Would,' exclaims Cicero, 'that we still had the 
 old ballads of which Cato speaks ! ' # 
 
 Valerius Maximus gives us exactly similar information, 
 
 only one but of Romulus, that in the Capitol. {M. Seneca, Contr. 
 i. 6; Macrobius, Sat. i. 15; Photius, Bibl. 186.) Ovid, Livy, Petronius, 
 Valerius Maximus, Lucius Seneca, and St. Jerome mention only one 
 hut of Romulus, without specifying the site. {Ovid, Fasti, iii. 183; 
 Liv. v. 53; Petronius, Fragm. ; Veil, Max. iv. 4; L. Seneca, Consolatio 
 ad Helviam ; D. Hleron. ad Paulinianum de Didymo.) 
 
 The whole difficulty is removed if we suppose that Dionysius was 
 merely quoting Fabius Pictor. Nothing is more probable than that the 
 cabin, which in the time of Fabius stood near the Circus, might, long 
 before the age of Augustus, have been transported to the Capitol, as 
 the place fittest, by reason both of its safety and of its sanctity, to contain 
 so precious a relic. 
 
 The language of Plutarch confirms this hypothesis. He describes, 
 with great precision, the spot where Romulus dwelt, on the slope of 
 Mount Palatine leading to the Circus ; but he says not a word implying 
 that the dwelling was still to be seen there. Indeed, his expressions 
 imply that it was no longer there. The evidence of Solinus is still more 
 to the point. He, like Plutarch, describes the spot where Romulus 
 had resided, and says expressly that the hut had been there, but that 
 in his time it was there no longer. The site, it is certain, was well 
 remembered ; and probably retained its old name, as Charing Cross 
 and the Hay market have done. This is probably the explanation of the 
 words, * casa Romuli,' in Victor's description of the Tenth Region of 
 Rome, under Valentinian. 
 
 * Cicero refers twice to this important passage in Cato's Antiquities : 
 — " Gravissimus auctor in Originibus dixit Cato, morum apud majores 
 hunc epularum fuisse, ut deinceps, qui accubareut, canerent ad tibiam 
 clarorum virorum laudes atque virtutes. Ex quo perspicuum est, et 
 
26 author's preface. 
 
 without mentioning his authority, and observes that the 
 ancient Roman ballads were probably of more benefit to the 
 young than all the lectures of the Athenian schools, and that 
 to the influence of the national poetry were to be ascribed 
 the virtues of such men as Camillus and Fabricius.* 
 
 Varro, whose authority on all questions connected with 
 the antiquities of his country is entitled to the greatest 
 respect, tells us that at banquets it was once the fashion 
 for boys to sing, sometimes with and sometimes without 
 instrumental music, ancient ballads in praise of men of 
 former times. These young performers, he observes, 
 were of unblemished character, a circumstance which he 
 probably mentioned because, among the Greeks, and 
 indeed in his time among the Romans also, the morals of 
 singing-boys were in no high repute, f 
 
 The testimony of Horace, though given incidentally, 
 confirms the statements of Cato, Valerius Maximus, and 
 Varro. The poet predicts that, under the peaceful ad- 
 ministration of Augustus, the Romans will, over their full 
 goblets, sing to the pipe, after the fashion of their fathers, 
 
 cantus turn fuisse rescriptos vocum sonis, et carmina." — Tusc. 
 iv. 2. Again: " Utinam exstarent ilia carmina, quse, multus sseculis 
 ante suarn setatem, in epulis esse cantitata a singulis convivis de clarorum 
 virorum laudibus, in Originibus scriptum reliquit Cato." — Brutus, xix. 
 
 * " Majores natu in conviviis ad tibias egregia superiorum opera car- 
 mine comprehensa pangebant, quo ad ea imitanda juventutem alacriorem 
 redderent. . . . Quas Atkenas, quam scholam, quae alienigena studia 
 huic domestical discipline prsetulerim? Inde oriebantur Camilli, Scipi- 
 ones, Fabricii, Marcelli, Fabii." — Val. Max. ii. 1. 
 
 f " In conviviis pueri modesti ut cantarent carmina antiqua, in quibus 
 laudes erant majorum, et assa voce, et cum tibicine." — Nonius, Assa 
 voce pro sola. 
 
author's preface. 27 
 
 the deeds of brave captains, and the ancient legends 
 touching the origin of the city.* 
 
 The proposition, then, that Borne had ballad poetry is 
 not merely in itself highly probable, but is fully proved 
 by direct evidence of the greatest weight. 
 
 This proposition being established, it becomes easy 
 to understand why the early history of the city is un- 
 like almost everything else in Latin literature, native 
 where almost everything else is borrowed, imaginative 
 where almost everything else is prosaic. We can scarcely 
 hesitate to pronounce that the magnificent, pathetic, and 
 truly national legends, which present so striking a contrast 
 to all that surrounds them, are broken and defaced frag- 
 ments of that early poetry which, even in the age of Cato 
 the Censor, had become antiquated, and of which Tully 
 had never heard a line. 
 
 That this poetry should have been suffered to perish will 
 not appear strange when we consider how complete was the 
 triumph of the Greek genius over the public mind of Italy. 
 It is probable that, at an earlier period, Homer and Herodo- 
 tus furnished some hints to the Latin minstrels : t but it 
 was not till after the war with Pyrrhus that the poetry of 
 
 * " Nosque et profestis lucibus et sacris, 
 Inter jocosi munera Liberi, 
 Cum prole matronisque nostris, 
 Rite Deos prius apprecati, 
 Virtute functos, more patrum, duces, 
 Lydis remixto carmine tibiis, 
 Trojamque, et Anchisen, et almae 
 Progeniem Veneris canemus." 
 
 — Carm. iv. 15. 
 t See the Preface to the Lay of the Battle of Regillus. 
 
28 author's preface. 
 
 Some began to put off its old Ausonian character. The 
 transformation was soon consummated. The conquered, 
 says Horace, led captive the conquerors. It was precisely 
 at the time at which the Roman people rose to unrivalled 
 political ascendancy that they stooped to pass under the 
 intellectual yoke. It was precisely at the time at which 
 the sceptre departed from Greece that the empire of her 
 language and of her arts became universal and despotic. 
 The revolution indeed was not effected without a struggle. 
 Nsevius seems to have been the last of the ancient line of 
 poets. Ennius was the founder of a new dynasty. Naevius 
 celebrated the First Punic War in Saturnian verse, the old 
 national verse of Italy.* Ennius sang the Second Punic 
 
 * Cicero speaks highly in more than one place of this poem of Nsevius : 
 Ennius sneered at it, and stole from it. 
 
 As to the Saturnian measure, see Hermann's Elementa Doctrinse 
 Metricse, iii. 9. 
 
 The Saturnian line, according to the grammarians, consisted of two 
 parts. The first was a catalectic dimeter iambic ; the second was com- 
 posed of three trochees. But the licence taken by the early Latin poets 
 seems to have been almost boundless. The most perfect Saturnian line 
 which has been preserved was the work, not of a professional artist, but 
 of an amateur : 
 
 " Dabunt malum Metelli Nsevio poetae." 
 
 There has been much difference of opinion among learned men respect- 
 ing the history of this measure. That it is the same with a Greek meas- 
 ure used by Archilochus is indisputable. (Bentley, Phalaris, xi.) But 
 in spite of the authority of Terentianus Maurus, and of the still higher 
 authority of Bentley, we may venture to doubt whether the coincidence 
 was not fortuitous. We constantly find the same rude and simple num- 
 bers in different countries, under circumstances which make it impossible 
 to suspect that there has been imitation on either side. Bishop Heber 
 heard the children of a village in Bengal singing " Radha, Radha," to the 
 tune of " My boy Billy." Neither the Castilian nor the German minstrels 
 of the middle ages owed anything to Paros or to ancient Rome. Yet botl} 
 
author's preface. 29 
 
 War in numbers borrowed from the Iliad. The elder poet, 
 in the epitaph which he wrote for himself, and which is a 
 fine specimen of the early Eoman diction and versification, 
 
 the poem of the Cid and the poem of the Nibelungs contain many Satur- 
 nian verses ; as — 
 
 " Estas nuevas a mio Cid eran venidas." 
 " A. mi lo dicens ; a ti dan las orejades." 
 
 " Man mohte michel wunder von Sifride sagen." 
 " Wa ich den Kiinic vinde daz sol man mir sagen." 
 
 Indeed there cannot be a more perfect Saturnian line than one which is 
 sung in every English nursery — 
 
 " The queen was in her parlour eating bread and honey ; " 
 
 yet the author of this line, we may be assured, borrowed nothing from 
 either Naevius or Archilochus. 
 
 On the other hand, it is by no means improbable that, two or three 
 hundred years before the time of Ennius, some Latin minstrel may have 
 visited Sybaris or Crotona, may have heard some verses of Archilochus 
 sung, may have been pleased with the metre, and may have introduced 
 it at Rome. Thus much is certain, that the Saturnian measure, if not a 
 native of Italy, was at least so early and so completely naturalised there 
 that its foreign origin was forgotten. 
 
 Bentley says indeed that the Saturnian measure was first brought from 
 Greece into Italy by Naevius. But this is merely obiter dictum, to use 
 a phrase common in our courts of law, and would not have been deliber- 
 ately maintained by that incomparable critic, whose memory is held in 
 reverence by all lovers of learning. The arguments which might be 
 brought against Bentley's assertion — for it is mere assertion, supported 
 by no evidence — are innumerable. A few will suffice. 
 
 (1) Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Ennius. Ennius 
 sneered at Naevius for writing on the First Punic War in verses such as 
 the old Italian bards used before Greek literature had been studied. Now 
 the poem of Naevius was in Saturnian verse. Is it possible that Ennius 
 could have used such expressions if the Saturnian verse had been just 
 imported from Greece for the first time? 
 
 (2) Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Horace. " When 
 Greece," says Horace, ''introduced her arts into our uncivilised country, 
 those rugged Saturnian numbers passed away.'' Would Horace have said 
 
30 author's preface. 
 
 plaintively boasted that the Latin language had died with 
 him. # Thus what to Horace appeared to be the first faint 
 dawn of Boman literature, appeared to ISTaevius to be its 
 hopeless setting. In truth, one literature was setting, and 
 another dawning. 
 
 The victory of the foreign taste was decisive : and indeed 
 we can hardly blame the Eomans for turning away with 
 contempt from the rude lays which had delighted their 
 fathers, and giving their whole admiration to the immortal 
 productions of Greece. The national romances, neglected 
 by the great and the refined whose education had been fin- 
 ished at Khodes or Athens, continued, it may be supposed, 
 during some generations, to delight the vulgar. "While 
 Virgil, in hexameters of exquisite modulation, described the 
 sports of rustics, those rustics were still singing their wild 
 
 this if the Satumian numbers had been imported from Greece just before 
 the hexameter ? 
 
 (3) Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Festus and of 
 Aurelius Victor, both of whom positively say that the most ancient pro- 
 phecies attributed to the Fauns were in Saturnian verse. 
 
 (4) Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Terentianus 
 Maurus, to whom he has himself appealed. Terentianus Maurus does 
 indeed say that the Saturnian measure, though believed by the Romans 
 from a very early period (" credidit vetustas ") to be of Italian invention, 
 was really borrowed from the Greeks. But Terentianus Maurus does not 
 say that it was first borrowed by Naevius. Nay, the expressions used by 
 Terentianus Maurus clearly imply the contrary : for how could the Romans 
 have believed, from a very early period, that this measure was the indige- 
 nous production of Latium, if it was really brought over from Greece in 
 an age of intelligence and liberal curiosity, in the age which gave birth to 
 Ennius, Plautus, Cato the Censor, and other distinguished writers? If 
 Bentley's assertion were correct, there could have been no more doubt at 
 Rome about the Greek origin of the Saturnian measure than about the 
 Greek origin of hexameters or Sapphics. 
 
 * Aulus Gellius, Nodes Atticse, i. 24. 
 
author's preface. 31 
 
 Saturnian ballads.* It is not improbable that, at the time 
 when Cicero lamented the irreparable loss of the poems 
 mentioned by Cato, a search among the nooks of the Apen- 
 nines, as active as the search which Sir Walter Scott made 
 among the descendants of the mosstroopers of Liddesdale, 
 might have brought to light many fine remains of ancient 
 minstrelsy. Xo such search was made. The Latin ballads 
 perished forever. Yet discerning critics have thought that 
 they could still perceive in the early history of Rome 
 numerous fragments of this lost poetry, as the traveller on 
 classic ground sometimes finds, built into the heavy wall of 
 a fort or convent, a pillar rich with acanthus leaves, or a 
 frieze where the Amazons and Bacchanals seem to live. 
 The theatres and temples of the Greek and the Roman 
 were degraded into the quarries of the Turk and the Goth. 
 Even so did the ancient Saturnian poetry become the 
 quarry in which a crowd of orators and annalists found the 
 materials for their prose. 
 
 It is not difficult to trace the process by which the old 
 songs were transmuted into the form which they now 
 wear. Funeral panegyric and chronicle appear to have 
 been the intermediate links which connected the lost bal- 
 lads with the histories now extant. From a very early 
 period it was the usage that an oration should be pro- 
 nounced over the remains of a noble Roman. The orator, 
 as we learn from Polybius, was expected, on such an 
 occasion, to recapitulate all the services which the an- 
 cestors of the deceased had, from the earliest time, ren- 
 dered to the commonwealth. There can be little doubt 
 *See Servius, in Georg. ii. 385. 
 
32 AUTHOR S PREFACE. 
 
 that the speaker on whom this duty was imposed would 
 make use of all the stories suited to his purpose which 
 were to be found in the popular lays. There can be as 
 little doubt that the family of an eminent man would 
 preserve a copy of the speech which had been pronounced 
 over his corpse. The compilers of the early chronicles would 
 have recourse to these speeches ; and the great historians of 
 a later period would have recourse to the chronicles. 
 
 It may be worth while to select a particular story, and 
 to trace its probable progress through these stages. The 
 description of the migration of the Fabian house to 
 Cremera is one of the finest of the many fine passages 
 which lie thick in the earlier books of Livy. The Con- 
 sul, clad in his military garb, stands in the vestibule of 
 his house, marshalling his clan, three hundred and six 
 fighting men, all of the same proud patrician blood, all 
 worthy to be attended by the fasces and to command 
 the legions. A sad and anxious retinue of friends accom- 
 panies the adventurers through the streets ; but the voice 
 of lamentation is drowned by the shouts of admiring 
 thousands. As the procession passes the Capitol, prayers 
 and vows are poured forth, but in vain. The devoted 
 band, leaving Janus on the right, marches to its doom 
 through the Gate of Evil Luck. After achieving high 
 deeds of valour against overwhelming numbers, all perish 
 save one child, the stock from which the great Fabian 
 race was destined again to spring for the safety and 
 glory of the commonwealth. That this fine romance, 
 the details of which are so full of poetical truth, and 
 so utterly destitute of all show of historical truth, came 
 
AUTHOB 8 PREFA( 
 
 ually from some lay which had ofl i t li 
 
 I applause at banqu in the hi 
 
 \ is it difficult to imagine a i i which 
 
 the trans iken pi 
 
 The celebrated Quintus Fal who di 
 
 about twenty years before the Firsl Punic War, 
 e than forty y fore Enniua 
 
 have been ii with extraordinary pomp. In the 
 
 eulogy pronounced over his all the 
 
 of h .re doul 
 
 ated. If there were then extanl - which 
 
 vivid and I d of an event, 
 
 and the most glorious in the I bian 
 
 :ig could b» ral than 
 
 songs th< 
 in order to ad< A ; 
 
 aid perhaps be 
 
 aid vin< - 3. 1 >u1 
 
 in the arehi the Fabian 
 
 nob! - Pictor would be well acquainted with 
 
 a document so intere> . ami 
 
 would insert large exti ra it in 
 
 - the oldest to which 
 Li\ ;. 
 
 bold st. 
 
 le nan- they w< 
 
 ich them with a deli' and 
 
 raid make them immortal. 
 . it this might ha] 
 doul py like thia happened in 
 
34 author's preface. 
 
 several countries, and, among others, in our own. Per- 
 haps the theory of Perizonius cannot be better illustrated 
 than by showing that what he supposes to have taken 
 place in ancient times has, beyond all doubt, taken place 
 in modern times. 
 
 "History," says Hume with the utmost gravity, "has 
 preserved some instances of Edgar's amours, from which, 
 as from a specimen, we may form a conjecture of the 
 rest." He then tells very agreeably the stories of Elfleda 
 and Elfrida, two stories which have a most suspicious 
 air of romance, and which, indeed, greatly resemble in 
 their general character some of the legends of early 
 Rome. He cites, as his authority for these two tales, 
 the chronicle of William of Malmesbury, who lived in 
 the time of King Stephen. The great majority of readers 
 suppose that the device by which Elfrida was substi- 
 tuted for her young mistress, the artifice by which Athel- 
 wold obtained the hand of Elfrida, the detection of that 
 artifice, the hunting party, and the vengeance of the 
 amorous king, are things about which there is no more 
 doubt than about the execution of Anne Boleyn or the 
 slitting of Sir John Coventry's nose. But when we turn 
 to William of Malmesbury, we find that Hume, in his 
 eagerness to relate these pleasant fables, has overlooked 
 one very important circumstance. William does indeed 
 tell both the stories ; but he gives us distinct notice that 
 he does not warrant their truth, and that they rest on 
 no better authority than that of ballads.* 
 
 * " Infamias quas post dicam magis resperserunt cantilena?." Edgar 
 appears to have been most mercilessly treated in the Anglo-Saxon ballads. 
 
author's preface. 35 
 
 Such is the way in which those two well-known tales 
 have been handed down. They originally appeared in a 
 poetical form. They found their way from ballads into 
 an old chronicle. The ballads perished ; the chronicle 
 remained. A great historian, some centuries after the 
 ballads had been altogether forgotten, consulted the chron- 
 icle. He was struck by the lively colouring of these 
 ancient fictions ; he transferred them to his pages ; and 
 thus we find inserted, as unquestionable facts, in a narra- 
 tive which is likely to last as long as the English tongue, 
 the inventions of some minstrel whose works were prob- 
 ably never committed to writing, whose name is buried 
 in oblivion, and whose dialect has become obsolete. It 
 must, then, be admitted to be possible, or rather highly 
 probable, that the stories of Eomulus and Kemus, and of 
 the Horatii and Curiatii, may have had a similar origin. 
 
 Castilian literature will furnish us with another parallel 
 case. Mariana, the classical historian of Spain, tells the 
 story of the ill-starred marriage which the King Don 
 Alonso brought about between the heirs of Carrion and 
 the two daughters of the Cid. The Cid bestowed a 
 princely clower on his sons-in-law. But the young men 
 were base and proud, cowardly and cruel. They were 
 tried in danger and found wanting. They fled before 
 the Moors, and once, when a lion broke out of his den, 
 they ran and crouched in an unseemly hiding-place. 
 They knew that they were despised, and took counsel 
 how they might be avenged. They parted from their 
 
 He was the favourite of the monks j and the monks and the minstrels 
 were at deadly feud. 
 
36 author's preface. 
 
 father-in-law with many signs of love, and set forth on 
 a journey with Dona Elvira and Dona Sol. In a soli- 
 tary place the bridegrooms seized their brides, stripped 
 them, sconrged them, and departed, leaving them for 
 dead. But one of the house of Bivar, suspecting foul 
 play, had followed the travellers in disguise. The ladies 
 were brought back safe to the house of their father. Com- 
 plaint was made to the king. It was adjudged by the 
 Cortes that the dower given by the Cid should be re- 
 turned, and that the heirs of Carrion together with one of 
 their kindred should do battle against three knights of the 
 party of the Cid. The guilty youths would have declined 
 the combat; but all their shifts were vain. They were 
 vanquished in the lists, and for ever disgraced, while their 
 injured wives were sought in marriage by great princes.* 
 
 Some Spanish writers have laboured to show, by an 
 examination of dates and circumstances, that this story is 
 untrue. Such confutation was surely not needed ; for the 
 narrative is on the face of it a romance. How it found 
 its way into Mariana's history is quite clear. He acknowl- 
 edges his obligations to the ancient chronicles; and had 
 doubtless before him the " Cronica del famoso Cavallero Cid 
 Buy Diez Campeador," which had been printed as early 
 as the year 1552. He little suspected that all the most 
 striking passages in this chronicle were copied from a poem 
 of the twelfth century, a poem of which the language and 
 versification had long been obsolete, but which glowed with 
 no common portion of the fire of the Iliad. Yet such was 
 the fact. More than a century and a half after the death 
 
 * Mariana, lib. x. cap. 4. 
 
author's preface. 37 
 
 of Mariana, this venerable ballad, of which one imperfect 
 copy on parchment, four hundred years old, had been pre- 
 served at Bivar, was for the first time printed. Then it 
 was found that every interesting circumstance of the story 
 of the heirs of Carrion was derived by the eloquent Jesuit 
 from a song of which he had never heard, and which was 
 composed by a minstrel whose very name had long been 
 forgotten.* 
 
 Such, or nearly such, appears to have been the process 
 by which, the lost ballad-poetry of Rome was transformed 
 into history. To reverse that process, to transform some 
 portions of early Eoman history back into the poetry out 
 of which they were made, is the object of this work. 
 
 In the following poems the author speaks, not in his 
 own person, but in the persons of ancient minstrels who 
 know only what a Roman citizen, born three or four 
 hundred years before the Christian era, ma}' be supposed 
 to have known, and who are in nowise above the passions 
 and prejudices of their age and nation. To these imagi- 
 nary poets must be ascribed some blunders which are so 
 obvious that it is unnecessary to point them out. The 
 real blunder would have been to represent these old 
 poets as deeply versed in general history, and studious of 
 chronological accuracy. To them must also be attributed 
 the illiberal sneers at the Greeks, the furious party-spirit, 
 the contempt for the arts of peace, the love of war for 
 its own sake, the ungenerous exultation over the van- 
 
 *See the account which Sanchez gives of the Bivar manuscript in the 
 first volume of the Coleccion de Poesias Castollanas anteriores al Siglo 
 XV. Part of the story of the lords of Carrion, in the poem of the Cid, has 
 been translated by Mr. Frere in a manner above all praise. 
 
38 author's preface. 
 
 quished, which the reader will sometimes observe. To 
 portray a Roman of the age of Camillus or Curius as 
 superior to national antipathies, as mourning over the 
 devastation and slaughter by which empire and triumphs 
 were to be won, as looking on human suffering with the 
 sympathy of Howard, or as treating conquered enemies 
 with the delicacy of the Black Prince, would be to vio- 
 late all dramatic propriety. The old Romans had some 
 great virtues, fortitude, temperance, veracity, spirit to 
 resist oppression, respect for legitimate authority, fidelity 
 in the observing of contracts, disinterestedness, ardent 
 patriotism ; but Christian charity and chivalrous generosity 
 were alike unknown to them. 
 
 It would have been obviously improper to mimic the 
 manner of any particular age or country. Something has 
 been borrowed, however, from our own old ballads, and 
 more from Sir Walter Scott, the great restorer of our 
 ballad-poetry. To the Iliad still greater obligations are 
 due ; and those obligations have been contracted with 
 the less hesitation, because there is reason to believe that 
 some of the old Latin minstrels really had recourse to 
 that inexhaustible store of poetical images. 
 
 It would have been easy to swell this little volume to 
 a very considerable bulk, by appending notes filled with 
 Quotations; but to a learned reader such notes are not 
 necessary ; for an unlearned reader they would have 
 little interest; and the judgment passed both by the 
 learned and by the unlearned on a work of the imagina- 
 tion will always depend much more on the general char- 
 acter and spirit of such a work than on minute details. 
 
LAYS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 
 
 o»;o 
 
 HORATIUS. 
 
 There can be little doubt that among those parts of early 
 Roman history which had a poetical origin was the legend 
 of Horatius Codes. We have several versions of the story, 
 and these versions differ from each other in points of no 
 small importance. Polybius, there is reason to believe, 
 heard the tale recited over the remains of some Consul or 
 Praetor descended from the old Horatian patricians ; for 
 he introduces it as a specimen of the narratives with which 
 the Romans were in the habit of embellishing their funeral 
 oratory. It is remarkable that, according to him, Horatius 
 defended the bridge alone, and perished in the waters. Ac- 
 cording to the chronicles which Livy and Dionysius fol- 
 lowed, Horatius had two companions, swam safe ashore, 
 and was loaded with honours and rewards. 
 
 These discrepancies are easily explained. Our own liter- 
 ature, indeed, will furnish an exact parallel to what may 
 have taken place at Rome. It is highly probable that the 
 memory of the war of Porsena was preserved by composi- 
 tions much resembling the two ballads which stand first in 
 the Belies of Ancient English Poetry. In both those ballads 
 the English, commanded by the Percy, fight with the Scots. 
 commanded by the Douglas. In one of the ballads the 
 Douglas is killed by a nameless English archer, and the 
 Percy by a Scottish spearman : in the other, the Percy 
 
 39 
 
40 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 slays the Douglas in single combat, and is himself made 
 prisoner. In the former, Sir Hugh Montgomery is shot 
 through the heart by a Northumbrian bowman: in the 
 latter he is taken and exchanged for the Percy. Yet both 
 the ballads relate to the same event, and that an event 
 which probably took place within the memory of persons 
 who were alive when both the ballads were made. One of 
 the minstrels says: 
 
 14 Old men that knowen the grounde well yenoughe 
 Call it the battell of Otterburn : 
 At Otterburn began this spurne 
 Upon a monnyn day. 
 Ther was the clougghte Doglas slean : 
 The Perse never went away." 
 
 The other poet sums up the event in the following lines : 
 
 " Thys fraye bygan at Otterborne 
 Bytwene the nyghte and the day : 
 Ther the Dowglas lost hys lyfe, 
 And the Percy was lede away." 
 
 It is by no means unlikely that there were two old Roman 
 lays about the defence of the bridge ; and that, while the 
 story which Livy has transmitted to us was preferred by 
 the multitude, the other, which ascribed the whole glory 
 to Horatius alone, may have been the favourite with the 
 Horatian house. 
 
 The following ballad is supposed to have been made 
 about a hundred and twenty years after the war which it 
 celebrates, and just before the taking of Rome by the Gauls. 
 The author seems to have been an honest citizen, proud 
 of the military glory of his country, sick of the disputes of 
 factions, and much given to pining after good old times 
 which had never really existed. The allusion, however, 
 to the partial manner in which the public lands were 
 
HOKATIUS. 41 
 
 allotted could proceed only from a plebeian ; and the allu- 
 sion to the fraudulent sale of spoils marks the date of the 
 poem, and shows that the poet shared in the general dis- 
 content with which the proceedings of Camillus, after the 
 taking of Yeii, were regarded. 
 
 The penultimate syllable of the name Porsena has been 
 shortened in spite of the authority of Xiebuhr, who pro- 
 nounces, without assigning any ground for his opinion that 
 Martial was guilty of a decided blunder in the line, 
 
 " Hanc spectare manum Porsena non potuit." 
 
 It is not easy to understand how any modern scholar, 
 whatever his attainments may be, — and those of Niebuhr 
 were undoubtedly immense, — can venture to pronounce 
 that Martial did not know the quantity of a word which 
 he must have uttered and heard uttered a hundred times 
 before he left school. Niebuhr seems also to have forgotten 
 that Martial has fellow-culprits to keep him in countenance. 
 Horace has committed the same decided blunder ; for he 
 gives us, as a pure iambic line, 
 
 " Minacis aut Etrusca Porsena} manus." 
 
 Silius Italicus has repeatedly offended in the same way, as 
 when he says, 
 
 " Cernitur effugiens ardentem Porsena dextram : " 
 
 and again, 
 
 Clusinum vulgus, cum, Porsena magne, jubebas." 
 
 A modern writer may be content to err in such company. 
 
 Xiebuhr's supposition that each of the three defenders 
 of the bridge was the representative of one of the three 
 patrician tribes is both ingenious and probable, and has 
 been adopted in the following poem. 
 
HORATIUS. 
 
 A LAY MADE ABOUT THE TEAR OF THE CITY CCCLX. 1 
 
 I. 
 
 Lars Porsexa 2 of Clusium 3 
 
 By the Nine Gods 4 he swore 
 That the great house of Tarquin 6 
 
 Should suffer wrong no more. 
 By the Nine Gods he swore it, 5 
 
 And named a trysting day, 
 And bade his messengers ride forth, 
 East and west and south and north, 
 
 To summon his array. 
 
 ii. 
 
 East and w r est and south and north 10 
 
 The messengers ride fast, 
 And tower and town and cottage 
 
 Have heard the trumpet's blast. 
 Shame on the false Etruscan 
 
 Who lingers in his home, 15 
 
 When Porsena of Clusium 
 
 Is on the march for Home. 
 
 in. 
 
 The horsemen and the footmen 
 
 Are pouring in amain 
 From many a stately market-place ; 20 
 
 From many a fruitful plain ; 
 42 
 
HORATIUS. 43 
 
 From many a lonely hamlet, 
 
 Which, hid by beech and pine, 
 Like an eagle's nest, hangs on the crest 
 
 Of purple Apennine ; 25 
 
 IV. 
 
 From lordly Yolaterrae, 6 
 
 Where scowls the far-famed hold 
 Piled by the hands of giants 
 
 For godlike kings of old ; 
 From seagirt Populonia, 7 30 
 
 Whose sentinels descry 
 Sardinia's snowy mountain-tops 
 
 Fringing the southern sky ; 
 
 From the proud mart of Pisae, 8 
 
 Queen of the western waves, 35 
 
 Where ride Massilia's 9 triremes 
 
 Heavy with fair-haired slaves ; 
 From where sweet Clanis 10 wanders 
 
 Through corn and vines and flowers ; 
 From where Cortona " lifts to heaven 40 
 
 Her diadem of towers. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Tall are the oaks whose acorns 
 
 Drop in dark Auser's 12 rill ; 
 Fat are the stags that champ the boughs 
 
 Of the Ciminian hill 13 ; 45 
 
 Beyond all streams Clitumnus M 
 
 Is to the herdsman dear ; 
 Best of all pools the fowler loves 
 
 The great Volsinian mere. 15 
 
44 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 VII. 
 
 But now no stroke of woodman 50 
 
 Is heard by Auser's rill ; 
 No hunter tracks the stag's green path 
 
 Up the Ciminian hill ; 
 Unwatched along Clitumnus 
 
 Grazes the milk-white steer ; 55 
 
 Unharmed the water fowl may dip 
 
 In the Volsinian mere. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The harvests of Arretium, 16 
 
 This year, old men shall reap, 
 This year, young boys in Umbro 17 60 
 
 Shall plunge the struggling sheep; 
 And in the vats of Luna, 18 
 
 This year, the must shall foam 
 Round the white feet of laughing girls 
 
 Whose sires have marched to Rome. 65 
 
 IX. 
 
 There be thirty chosen prophets, 
 
 The wisest of the land, 
 Who always by Lars Porsena 
 
 Both morn and evening stand : 
 Evening and morn the Thirty 70 
 
 Have turned the verses o'er, 
 Traced from the right on linen white 19 
 
 By mighty seers of yore. 
 
 x. 
 
 And with one voice the Thirty 
 
 Have their glad answer given : 75 
 
 " Go forth, go forth, Lars Porsena ; 
 
 Go forth, beloved of Heaven ; 
 
HORATIUS. 45 
 
 Go, and return in glory 
 
 To Clusium's royal dome ; 
 And hang round Nurscia's ^ altars 80 
 
 The golden shields 21 of Rome." 
 
 XI. 
 
 And now hath every city 
 
 Sent up her tale of men ; 
 The foot are fourscore thousand, 
 
 The horse are thousands ten : 85 
 
 Before the gates of Sutrium 22 
 
 Is met the great array. 
 A proud man was Lars Porsena 
 
 Upon the try sting day. 
 
 XII. 
 
 For all the Etruscan armies 90 
 
 Were ranged beneath his eye, 
 And many a banished Roman, 
 
 And many a stout ally ; 
 And with a mighty following 
 
 To join the muster came 95 
 
 The Tusculan Mamilius, 23 
 
 Prince of the Latian name. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 But by the yellow Tiber 24 
 
 Was tumult and affright : 
 From all the spacious champaign 25 100 
 
 To Rome men took their flight. 
 A mile around the city, 
 
 The throng stopped up the ways ; 
 A fearful sight it was to see 
 
 Through two long nights and days. 105 
 
46 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 For aged folks on crutches, 
 
 And women great with child, 
 And mothers sobbing over babes 
 
 That clung to them and smiled. 
 And sick men borne in litters 110 
 
 High on the necks of slaves, 
 And troops of sun-burned husbandmen 
 
 With reaping-hooks and staves, 
 
 xv. 
 
 And droves of mules and asses 
 
 Laden with skins 26 of wine, 115 
 
 And endless flocks of goats and sheep, 
 
 And endless herds of kine, 
 And endless trains of wagons 
 
 That creaked beneath the weight 
 Of corn-sacks and of household goods, 120 
 
 Choked every roaring gate. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Now, from the rock Tarpeian, 27 
 
 Could the wan burghers spy 
 The line of blazing villages 
 
 Red in the midnight sky. 125 
 
 The Fathers of the City, 28 
 
 They sat all night and day, 
 For every hour some horseman came 
 
 With tidings of dismay. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 To eastward and to westward 130 
 
 Have spread the Tuscan bands ; 
 
 Nor house, nor fence, nor dovecote 
 In Crustumerium ^ stands. 
 
HORATIUS. 47 
 
 Verbenna down to Ostia 30 
 
 Hath wasted all the plain ; 135 
 
 Astur hath stormed Janiculum, 31 
 
 And the stout guards are slain. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 I wis, in all the Senate, 
 
 There was no heart so bold, 
 But sore it ached and fast it beat, no 
 
 When that ill news was told. 
 Forthwith up rose the Consul, 32 
 
 Up rose the Fathers all ; 
 In haste they girded up their gowns, 
 
 And hied them to the wall. 145 ' 
 
 XIX. 
 
 They held a council standing 
 
 Before the River-Gate ^ ; 
 Short time was there, ye well may guess, 
 
 For musing or debate. 
 Out spake the Consul roundly : 150 
 
 " The bridge 34 must straight go down ; 
 For, since Janiculum is lost, 
 
 Nought else can save the town." 
 
 xx. 
 
 Just then a scout came flying, 
 
 All wild with haste and fear ; 155 
 
 " To arms ! to arms ! Sir Consul : 
 
 Lars Porsena is here." 
 On the low hills to westward 
 
 The Consul fixed his eye, 
 And saw the swarthy storm of dust 160 
 
 Eise fast along the sky. 
 
48 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 And nearer fast and nearer 
 
 Doth the red whirlwind come ; 
 And louder still and still more loud, 
 From underneath that rolling cloud, 165 
 
 Is heard the trumpet's war-note proud, 
 
 The trampling, and the hum. 
 And plainly and more plainly 
 
 Now through the gloom appears, 
 Far to left and far to right, 170 
 
 In broken gleams of dark-blue light, 
 The long array of helmets bright, 
 
 The long array of spears. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 And plainly and more plainly, 
 
 Above that glimmering line, 175 
 
 Now might ye see the banners 
 
 Of twelve fair cities shine 35 ; 
 But the banner of proud Clusium 
 
 Was highest of them all, 
 The terror of the Umbrian, 180 
 
 The terror of the Gaul. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 And plainly and more plainly 
 
 Now might the burghers know, 
 By port and vest, by horse and crest, 
 
 Each warlike Lucumo. 36 185 
 
 There Cilnius 37 of Arretium 
 
 On his fleet roan was seen ; 
 And Astur of the four-fold shield, 38 
 Girt with the brand none else may wield, 
 
HORATIUS. 49 
 
 Tolumnius with the belt of gold, 190 
 
 And dark Verbenna from the hold 
 By reedy Thrasyniene. 39 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Fast by the royal standard, 
 
 O'erlooking all the war, 
 Lars Porsena of Clusium 195 
 
 Sat in his ivory car. 
 By the right wheel rode Marnilius, 
 
 Prince of the Latian name; 
 And by the left false Sextus, 40 
 
 That wrought the deed of shame. 200 
 
 XXV. 
 
 But when the face of Sextus 
 
 Was seen among the foes, 
 A yell that rent the firmament 
 
 From all the town arose. 
 On the house-tops was no woman 205 
 
 But spat towards him and hissed, 
 No child, but screamed out curses, 
 
 And shook its little fist. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 But the Consul's brow was sad, 
 
 And the Consul's speech was low, 210 
 
 And darkly looked he at the wall, 
 
 And darkly at the foe. 
 " Their van will be upon us 
 
 Before the bridge goes down ; 
 And if they once may win the bridge, 215 
 
 What hope to save the town ? " 
 
50 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Then out spake brave Horatius, 
 
 The Captain of the Gate 41 : 
 " To every man upon this earth 
 
 Death eometh soon or late. 220 
 
 And how can man die better 
 
 Than facing fearful odds, 
 For the ashes of his fathers. 
 
 And the temples of his Gods, 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 " And for the tender mother 225 
 
 Who dandled him to rest, 
 And for the wife who nurses 
 
 His baby at her breast, 
 And for the holy maidens e 
 
 Who feed the eternal flame, 230 
 
 To save them from false Sextus 
 
 That wrought the deed of shame ? 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 " Hevr down the bridge, Sir Consul, 
 
 With all the speed ye may ; 
 I, with two more to help me, 235 
 
 Will hold the foe in play. 
 In yon strait path 43 a thousand 
 
 May well be stopped by three. 
 Xow who will stand on either hand, 
 
 And keep the bridge with me ? " 240 
 
 xxx. 
 
 Then out spake Spurius Lartius ; 
 
 A Kamnian 44 proud was he : 
 "Lo, I will stand at thy right hand, 
 
HORATIUS. 51 
 
 And keep the bridge with thee." 
 And out spake strong Herminius ; 245 
 
 Of Titian 45 blood was he : 
 " I will abide on thy left side, 
 
 And keep the bridge with thee." 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 " Horatius," quoth the Consul, 
 
 " As thou sayest, so let it be." 250 
 
 And straight against that great array 
 
 Forth went the dauntless Three. 
 For Romans in Rome's quarrel 
 
 Spared neither land nor gold, 
 Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, 255 
 
 In the brave days of old. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Then none was for a party ; 
 
 Then all were for the state ; 
 Then the great man helped the poor, 
 
 And the poor man loved the great : 260 
 
 Then lands were fairly portioned 4,; ; 
 
 Then spoils were fairly sold : 
 The Romans were like brothers 
 
 In the brave days of old. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Now Roman is to Roman 265 
 
 More hateful than a foe, 
 And the Tribunes beard the high, 
 
 And the Fathers grind the low. 
 As we wax hot in faction, 
 
 In battle we wax cold : 270 
 
 Wherefore men fight not as they fought 
 
 In the brave days of old. 
 
52 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Now while the Three were tightening 
 
 Their harness on their backs, 
 The Consul was the foremost man 275 
 
 To take in hand an axe : 
 And Fathers mixed with Commons 
 
 Seized hatchet, bar, and crow, 
 And smote upon the planks above, 
 
 And loosed the props below. 280 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Meanwhile the Tuscan army, 
 
 Eight glorious to behold, 
 Came flashing back the noonday light, 
 Bank behind rank, like surges bright 
 
 Of a broad sea of gold. 285 
 
 Four hundred trumpets sounded 
 
 A peal of warlike glee, 
 As that great host, with measured tread, 
 And spears advanced, and ensigns spread, 
 Soiled slowly towards the bridge's head, 290 
 
 "Where stood the dauntless Three. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 The Three stood calm and silent, 
 
 And looked upon the foes, 
 And a great shout of laughter 
 
 From all the vanguard rose : 295 
 
 And forth three chiefs came spurring 
 
 Before that deep array ; 
 To earth they sprang, their swords they drew, 
 And lifted high their shields, and flew 
 
 To win the narrow way : 300 
 
HORATIUS. 53 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 Aunus from green Tifernum, 47 
 
 Lord of the Hill of Vines ; 
 And Seius, whose eight hundred slaves 
 
 Sicken in Ilva's 48 mines ; 
 And Picus, long to Clusium 305 
 
 Vassal in peace and war, 
 Who led to fight his Umbrian powers 
 Prom that grey crag where, girt with towers, 
 The fortress of Nequinum 49 lowers 
 
 O'er the pale waves of Nar. 310 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Stout Lartius hurled down Aunus 
 
 Into the stream beneath : 
 Herminius struck at Seius, 
 
 And clove him to the teeth : 
 At Picus brave Horatius 315 
 
 Darted one fiery thrust ; 
 And the proud Umbrian's gilded arms 
 
 Clashed in the bloody dust. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 Then Ocnus of Falerii ^ 
 
 Rushed on the Roman Three ; 320 
 
 And Lausulus of Urgo, 51 
 
 The rover of the sea; 
 And Aruns of Volsinium, 52 
 
 Who slew the great wild boar, 
 The great wild boar that had his den 325 
 
 Amidst the reeds of Cosa's 53 fen, 
 And wasted fields, and slaughtered men. 
 
 Alono- Albinia's 54 shore. 
 
54 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XL. 
 
 Herminius smote down Aruns : 
 
 Lartius laid Ocnus low : 330 
 
 Right to the heart of Lausulus 
 
 Horatius sent a blow. 
 " Lie there," he cried, " fell pirate ! 
 
 No more, aghast and pale, 
 From Ostia's walls the crowd shall mark 335 
 
 The track of thy destroying bark. 
 No more Campania's hinds shall fly 
 To woods and caverns when they spy 
 
 Thy thrice accursed sail." 
 
 XLI. 
 
 But now no sound of laughter 340 
 
 Was heard among the foes. 
 A wild and wrathful clamour 
 
 From all the vanguard rose. 
 Six spears' lengths from the entrance 
 
 Halted that deep array, 345 
 
 But for a space no man came forth 
 
 To win the narrow way. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 But hark ! the cry is Astur : 
 
 And lo ! the ranks divide ; 
 And the great Lord of Luna 350 
 
 Comes with his stately stride. 
 Upon his ample shoulders 
 
 Clangs loud the fourfold shield, 
 And in his hand he shakes the brand 
 
 Which none but he can wield. 355 
 
HORATIUS. 55 
 
 XLTII. 
 
 He smiled on those bold Romans 
 
 A smile serene and high ; 
 He eyed the flinching Tuscans, 
 
 And scorn was in his eye. 
 Quoth he, " The she-wolfs litter 55 360 
 
 Stand savagely at bay : 
 But will ye dare to follow, 
 
 If Astur clears the way ?" 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 Then, whirling up his broadsword 
 
 With both hands to the height, 365 
 
 He rushed against Horatius, 
 
 And smote with all his might. 
 With shield and blade Horatius 
 
 Eight deftly turned the blow. 
 The blow, though turned, came yet too nigh ; 370 
 It missed his helm, but gashed his thigh : 
 The Tuscans raised a joyful cry 
 
 To see the red blood flow. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 He reeled, and on Herminius 
 
 He leaned one breathing-space ; 375 
 
 Then, like a wild cat mad with wounds, 
 
 Sprang right at Astur's face ; 
 Through teeth, and skull, and helmet 
 
 So fierce a thrust he sped, 
 The good sword stood a hand-breadth out 380 
 
 Behind the Tuscan's head. 
 
56 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XLYI. 
 
 And the great Lord of Luna 
 
 Fell at that deadly stroke, 
 As falls on Mount Alvernus 56 
 
 A thunder-smitten oak. 385 
 
 Far o'er the crashing forest 
 
 The giant arms lie spread ; 
 And the pale augurs, muttering low, 
 
 Gaze on the blasted head. 57 
 
 XL VII. 
 
 On Astur's throat Horatius 390 
 
 Eight firmly pressed his heel, 
 And thrice and four times tugged amain, 
 
 Ere he wrenched out the steel. 
 " And see/' he cried, " the welcome, 
 
 Fair guests, that waits you here ! 395 
 
 What noble Lucumo comes next 
 
 To taste our Eoman cheer ? " 
 
 XLVIII. 
 
 But at his haughty challenge 
 
 A sullen murmur ran, 
 Mingled of wrath, and shame, and dread, 400 
 
 Along that glittering van. 
 There lacked not men of prowess, 
 
 Xor men of lordly race ; 
 For all Etruria's noblest 
 
 Were round the fatal place. 405 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 But all Etruria's noblest 
 Felt their hearts sink to see 
 
HOEATIUS. 57 
 
 On the earth the bloody corpses, 
 
 In the path the dauntless Three : 
 And, from the ghastly entrance 410 
 
 Where those bold Eomans stood, 
 All shrank, like boys who unaware, 
 Ranging the woods to start a hare, 
 Come to the mouth of the dark lair 
 Where, growling low, a fierce old bear 415 
 
 Lies amidst bones and blood. 
 
 L. 
 
 Was none who would be foremost 
 
 To lead such dire attack : 
 But those behind cried " Forward ! " 
 
 And those before cried " Back ! " 420 
 
 And backward now and forward 
 
 Wavers the deep array ; 
 And on the tossing sea of steel, 
 
 To and fro the standards reel ; 
 And the victorious trumpet-peal 425 
 
 Dies fitfully away. 
 
 LI. 
 
 Yet one man for one moment 
 
 Stood out before the crowd ; 
 Well known was he to all the Three, 
 
 And they gave him greeting loud, 430 
 
 " Now welcome, welcome, Sextus ! 
 
 Now welcome to thy home ! 
 Why dost thou stay, and turn away ? 
 
 Here lies the road to Rome." 
 
 LII. 
 
 Thrice looked he at the city ; 435 
 
 Thrice looked he at the dead ; 
 
58 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 And thrice came on in fury, 
 
 And thrice turned back in dread : 
 
 And, white with fear and hatred, 
 
 Scowled at the narrow way 440 
 
 Where, wallowing in a pool of blood, 
 The bravest Tuscans lay. 
 
 LIII. 
 
 But meanwhile axe and lever 
 
 Have manfully been plied ; 
 And now the bridge hangs tottering 445 
 
 Above the boiling tide. 
 " Come back, come back, Horatius ! " 
 
 Loud cried the Fathers all. 
 " Back, Lartius ! back, Herminius ! 
 
 Back, ere the ruin fall ! " 450 
 
 LIV. 
 
 Back darted Spurius Lartius ; 
 
 Herminius darted back : 
 And, as they passed, beneath their feet 
 
 They felt the timbers crack. 
 But when they turned their faces, 455 
 
 And on the farther shore 
 Saw brave Horatius stand alone, 
 
 They would have crossed once more. 
 
 LV. 
 
 But with a crash like thunder 
 
 Fell every loosened beam, 460 
 
 And, like a dam, the mighty wreck 
 
 Lay right athwart the stream : 
 And a long shout of triumph 
 
 Rose from the walls of Rome, 
 As to the highest turret-tops 465 
 
 Was splashed the yellow foam. 
 
HORATIUS. 59 
 
 LVI. 
 
 And, like a horse unbroken 
 
 When first he feels the rein. 
 The furious river struggled hard, 
 
 And tossed his tawny mane, 470 
 
 And burst the curb, and bounded, 
 
 Rejoicing to be free, 
 And whirling down, in fierce career, 
 Battlement, and plank, and pier, 
 
 Rushed headlong to the sea. 475 
 
 LVII. 
 
 Alone stood brave Horatius, 
 
 But constant still in mind ; 
 Thrice thirty thousand foes before, 
 
 And the broad flood behind. 
 " Down with him ! " cried false Sextus, 480 
 
 With a smile on his pale face. 
 "Now yield thee/ 3 cried Lars Porsena, 
 
 " Now yield thee to our grace." 
 
 LVIII. 
 
 Round turned he, as not deigning 
 
 Those craven ranks to see ; 485 
 
 Nought spake he to Lars Porsena, 
 
 To Sextus nought spake he; 
 But he saw on Palatini! s ^ 
 
 The white porch of his home ; 
 And he spake to the noble river 490 
 
 That rolls by the towers of Rome. 
 
 LTX. 
 
 " Oh, Tiber ! father Tiber 59 ! 
 To whom the Romans pray. 
 
60 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 A Roman's life, a Roman's arms, 
 
 Take thou in charge this day ! " 495 
 
 So he spake, and speaking sheathed 
 
 The good sword by his side, 
 And with his harness on his back, 
 
 Plunged headlong in the tide. 
 
 LX. 
 
 No sound of joy or sorrow 500 
 
 Was heard from either bank ; 
 But friends and foes in dumb surprise, 
 With parted lips and straining eyes, 
 
 Stood gazing where he sank ; 
 And when above the surges 505 
 
 They saw his crest appear, 
 All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, 
 And even the ranks of Tuscany 
 
 Could scarce forbear to cheer. 
 
 LXI. 
 
 But fiercely ran the current, 510 
 
 Swollen high by months of rain : 
 And fast his blood was flowing ; 
 
 And he was sore in pain, 
 And heavy with his armour, 
 
 And spent with changing blows : 515 
 
 And oft they thought him sinking, 
 
 But still again he rose. 
 
 LXII. 
 
 Never, I ween, did swimmer, 
 
 In such an evil case, 
 Struggle through such a raging flood 520 
 
 Safe .to the landing place : 
 
HORATIUS. 61 
 
 But his limbs were borne up bravely 
 
 By the brave heart within, 
 And our good father Tiber 
 
 Bore bravely up his chin. 525 
 
 LXIII. 
 
 " Curse on him ! " quoth false Sextus ; 
 
 " Will not the villain drown ? 
 But for this stay, ere close of day 
 
 We should have sacked the town ! " 
 " Heaven help him ! " quoth Lars Porsena, 530 
 
 " And bring him safe to shore ; 
 For such a gallant feat of arms 
 
 Was never seen before." 
 
 LXIV. 
 
 And now he feels the bottom ; 
 
 Xow on dry earth he stands ; 535 
 
 Kow round him throng the Fathers 
 
 To press his gory hands ; 
 And now, with shouts and clapping, 
 
 And noise of weeping loud, 
 He enters through the Kiver-Gate, 60 540 
 
 Borne by the joyous crowd. 
 
 LXV. 
 
 They gave him of the corn-land, 61 
 
 That was of public right, 
 As much as two strong oxen 
 
 Could plough from morn till night 62 ; 545 
 
 And they made a molten image, 
 
 And set it up on high, 
 And there it stands unto this day 
 
 To witness if I lie. 
 
62 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 LXVI. 
 
 It stands in the Comitium, 63 550 
 
 Plain for all folk to see ; 
 Horatius in his harness, 
 
 Halting upon one knee : 
 And underneath is written, 
 
 In letters all of gold, 555 
 
 How valiantly he kept the bridge 
 
 In the brave days of old. 
 
 LXVII. 
 
 And still his name sounds stirring 
 
 Unto the men of Rome, 
 As the trumpet-blast that cries to them 560 
 
 To charge the Volscian 64 home ; 
 And wives still pray to Juno m 
 
 For boys with hearts as bold 
 As his who kept the bridge so well 
 
 In the brave days of old. 565 
 
 LXVIII. 
 
 And in the nights of winter, 
 
 When the cold north winds blow, 
 And the long howling of the wolves 
 
 Is heard amidst the snow ; 
 When round the lonely cottage 570 
 
 Roars loud the tempest's din, 
 And the good logs of Algidus ^ 
 
 Roar louder yet within ; 
 
 LXIX. 
 
 When the oldest cask is opened, 
 
 And the largest lamp is lit; 575 
 
HOEATIUS 63 
 
 When the chestnuts glow in the embers, 
 
 And the kid turns on the spit ; 
 When young and old in circle 
 
 Around the firebrands close ; 
 When the girls are weaving baskets, 580 
 
 And the lads are shaping bows ; 
 
 LXX. 
 
 When the goodman mends his armour, 
 
 And trims his helmet's plume ; 
 When the goodwife's shuttle merrily 
 
 Goes flashing through the loom ; 585 
 
 With weeping and with laughter 
 
 Still is the story told, 
 How well Horatius kept the bridge 
 
 In the brave clays of old. 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 
 
 The following poem is supposed to have been produced 
 about ninety years after the lay of Horatius. Some persons 
 mentioned in the lay of Horatius make their appearance 
 again, and some appellations and epithets used in the lay of 
 Horatius have been purposely repeated : for, in an age of 
 ballad poetry, it scarcely ever fails to happen, that certain 
 phrases come to be appropriated to certain men and things, 
 and are regularly applied to those men and things by every 
 minstrel. Thus we find, both in the Homeric poems and in 
 
 Hesiod, JSlt) 'Hpa/cA^et'?;, 7r€pLK\vro<; 'A/xc^iyir^ets, StaKTopos 'Apya- 
 (frovTrjs, €7TTa7rvAos @t/^, 'EAeV^? eveK rjvKO/uiOLO. Thus, too, in 
 our own national songs, Douglas is almost always the 
 doughty Douglas: England is merry England: all the gold 
 is red ; and all the ladies are gay. 
 
 The principal distinction between the lay of Horatius and 
 the lay of the Lake Regillus is that the former is meant to 
 be purely Roman, while the latter, though national in its 
 general spirit, has a slight tincture of Greek learning and 
 of Greek superstition. The story of the Tar quins, as it has 
 come down to us, appears to have been compiled from the 
 works of several popular poets ; and one, at least, of those 
 poets appears to have visited the Greek colonies in Italy, if 
 not Greece itself, and to have had some acquaintance with 
 the works of Homer and Herodotus. Many of the most 
 striking adventures of the house of Tarquin, before Lucretia 
 makes her appearance, have a Greek character. The Tar- 
 quins themselves are represented as Corinthian nobles of 
 
66 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 the great house of the Bacchiadse, driven from their country 
 by the tyranny of that Cypselus, the tale of whose strange 
 escape Herodotus has related with incomparable simplicity 
 and liveliness.* Livy and Dionysius tell us that, when Tar- 
 quin the Proud was asked what was the best mode of gov- 
 erning a conquered city, he replied only by beating down 
 with his staff all the tallest poppies in his garden. t This is 
 exactly what Herodotus, in the passage to which reference 
 has already been made, relates of the counsel given to Peri- 
 ander, the son of Cypselus. The stratagem by which the 
 town of Gabii is brought under the power of the Tarquins 
 is, again, obviously copied from Herodotus. J The embassy 
 of the young Tarquins to the oracle at Delphi is just such a 
 story as would be tolcl by a poet whose head was full of the 
 Greek mythology ; and the ambiguous answer returned by 
 Apollo is in the exact style of the prophecies which, accord- 
 ing to Herodotus, lured Croesus to destruction. Then the 
 character of the narrative changes. Prom the first mention 
 of Lucretia to the retreat of Porsena nothing seems to be 
 borrowed from foreign sources. The villany of Sextus, the 
 suicide of his victim, the revolution, the death of the sons 
 of Brutus, the defence of the bridge, Mucins burning his 
 hand, Cloelia swimming through Tiber, seem to be all strictly 
 Roman. But when we have done with the Tuscan war, and 
 enter upon the war with the Latines, we are again struck by 
 the Greek air of the story. The Battle of the Lake Begillus 
 is in all respects a Homeric battle, except that the comba- 
 tants ride astride on their horses, instead of driving chariots. 
 The mass of fighting men is hardly mentioned. The lead- 
 ers single each other out, and engage hand to hand. The 
 great object of the warriors on both sides is, as in the Iliad, 
 to obtain possession of the spoils and bodies of the slain ; 
 
 * Herodotus, v. 92. Livy, i. 34. Dionysius, iii. 46. 
 f Livy, i. 54. Dionysius, iv. 5Q. 
 I Herodotus, iii. 154. Livy, i. 53. 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLCS. 67 
 
 and several circumstances are related which forcibly remind 
 us of the great slaughter round the corpses of Sarpedon and 
 Patroclus. 
 
 But there is one circumstance which deserves especial 
 notice. Both the war of Troy and the war of Regillus 
 were caused by the licentious passions of young princes, 
 who were therefore peculiarly bound not to be sparing 
 of their own persons in the day of battle. Xow the con- 
 duct of Sextus at Regillus, as described by Livy, so exactly 
 resembles that of Paris, as described at the beginning of 
 the third book of the Iliad, that it is difficult to believe the 
 resemblance accidental. Paris appears before the Trojan 
 ranks, defying the bravest Greek to encounter him : 
 
 Tpcocrh fikv irpofxaxi-^v ' A\e%avdpos deoeidrjs, 
 , . . ' Apyeicov irpoKaKl^ero irdvras apLdTovs, 
 avrifiiov (jLaxe&acrdcu ev alvrj drjLorrJTL. 
 
 Livy introduces Sextus in a similar manner: "Ferocem 
 juvenem Tarquinium, ostentantem se in prima exsulum acie." 
 Menelaus rushes to meet Paris. A Roman noble, eager for 
 vengeance, spurs his horse towards Sextus. Both the guilty 
 princes are instantly terror-stricken : 
 
 Tbu 8 cbs o&i> iv6r)(T€v AXe^avdpos Oeoeidrjs 
 
 kv TrpofxdxoKTL (fmvevra, KaTeTrXrjyr] (pL\ov 9jrop ' 
 
 Sl\(/ 5' erdpcov els eQvos ex^i" 6ro K VP dXeelvcjv. 
 
 " Tarquinius," says Livy, " retro in agmen suorum infenso 
 cessit hosti." If this be a fortuitous coincidence, it is one 
 of the most extraordinary in literature. 
 
 In the following poem, therefore, images and incidents 
 have been borrowed, not merely without scruple, but on 
 principle, from the incomparable battle-pieces of Homer. 
 
 The popular belief at Borne, from an early period, 
 seems to have been that the event of the great day of 
 Regillus was decided by supernatural agency. Castor and 
 Pollux, it was said, had fought, armed and mounted, at the 
 
68 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 head of the legions of the commonwealth, and had after- 
 wards carried the news of the victory with incredible speed 
 to the city. The well in the Forum at which they had 
 alighted was pointed out. Near the well rose their ancient 
 temple. A great festival was kept to their honour on the 
 Ides of Quintilis, supposed to be the anniversary of the 
 battle ; and on that day sumptuous sacrifices were offered 
 to them at the public charge. One spot on the margin of 
 Lake Regillus was regarded during many ages with super- 
 stitious awe. A mark, resembling in shape a horse's hoof, 
 was discernible in the volcanic rock ; and this mark was 
 believed to have been made by one of the celestial chargers. 
 How the legend originated cannot now be ascertained: 
 but we may easily imagine several ways in which it might 
 have originated ; nor is it at all necessary to suppose, with 
 Julius Frontinus, that two young men were dressed up by 
 the Dictator to personate the sons of Leda. It is prob- 
 able that Livy is correct when he says that the Eoman 
 general, in the hour of peril, vowed a temple to Castor. If 
 so, nothing could be more natural than that the multitude 
 should ascribe the victory to the favour of the Twin Gods. 
 When such was the prevailing sentiment, any man who 
 chose to declare that, in the midst of the confusion and 
 slaughter, he had seen two godlike forms on white horses 
 scattering the Latines, would find ready credence. We 
 know, indeed, that, in modern times, a very similar story 
 actually found credence among a people much more civil- 
 ised than the Romans of the fifth century before Christ. 
 A chaplain of Cortes, writing about thirty years after the 
 conquest of Mexico, in an age of printing presses, libraries, 
 universities, scholars, logicians, jurists, and statesmen, had 
 the face to assert that, in one engagement against the 
 Indians, Saint James had appeared on a grey horse at the 
 head of the Castilian adventurers. Many of those adven- 
 turers were living when this lie was printed. One of them, 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE KEGILLUS. 69 
 
 honest Bernal Diaz, wrote an account of the expedition. 
 He had the evidence of his own senses against the legend ; 
 but he seems to have distrusted even the evidence of his 
 own senses. He says that he was in the battle, and that he 
 saw a grey horse with a man on his back, but that the man 
 was, to his thinking, Francesco de Morla, and not the ever- 
 blessed apostle Saint James. " Nevertheless," Bernal adds, 
 " it may be that the person on the grey horse was the glori- 
 ous apostle Saint James, and that I, sinner that I am, was 
 unworthy to see him." The Romans of the age of Cincin- 
 natus were probably quite as credulous as the Spanish sub- 
 jects of Charles the Fifth. It is therefore conceivable that 
 the appearance of Castor and Pollux may have become an 
 article of faith before the generation which had fought at 
 Regillus had passed away. Nor could anything be more 
 natural than that the poets of the next age should embellish 
 this story, and make the celestial horsemen bear the tidings 
 of victory to Rome. 
 
 Many years after the temple of the Twin Gods had been 
 built in the Forum, an important addition was made to the 
 ceremonial by which the state annually testified its gratitude 
 for their protection. Quintus Fabins and Publius Deems 
 were elected Censors at a momentous crisis. It had become 
 absolutely necessary that the classification of the citizens 
 should be revised. On that classification depended the dis- 
 tribution of political power. Party-spirit ran high; and 
 the republic seemed to be in danger of falling under the 
 dominion either of a narrow oligarchy or of an ignorant 
 and headstrong rabble. Under such circumstances, the 
 most illustrious patrician and the most illustrious ple- 
 beian of the age were intrusted with the office of arbitrat- 
 ing between the angry factions ; and they performed their 
 arduous task to the satisfaction of all honest and reasonable 
 men. 
 
 One of their reforms was a remodelling of the equestrian 
 
70 LAYS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 
 
 order ; and, having effected this reform, they determined to 
 give to their work a sanction derived from religion. In the 
 chivalrous societies of modern times, societies which have 
 much more than may at first sight appear in common with 
 the equestrian order of Rome, it has been usual to invoke 
 the special protection of some Saint, and to observe his day 
 with peculiar solemnity. Thus the Companions of the Garter 
 wear the image of Saint George depending from their col- 
 lars, and meet, on great occasions, in Saint George's Chapel. 
 Thus, when Lewis the Fourteenth instituted a new order of 
 chivalry for the rewarding of military merit, he commended 
 it to the favour of his own glorified ancestor and patron, 
 and decreed that all the members of the fraternity should 
 meet at the royal palace on the feast of Saint Lewis, should 
 attend the king to chapel, should hear mass, and should sub- 
 sequently hold their great annual assembly. There is a con- 
 siderable resemblance between this rule of the order of Saint 
 Lewis and the rule which Fabius and Decius made respect- 
 ing the Roman knights. It was ordained that a grand mus- 
 ter and inspection of the equestrian body should be part of 
 the ceremonial performed, on the anniversary of the battle 
 of Eegillus, in honour of Castor and Pollux, the two eques- 
 trian Gods. All the knights, clad in purple and crowned 
 with olive, were to meet at a temple of Mars in the suburbs. 
 Thence they were to ride in state to the Forum, where the 
 temple of the Twins stood. This pageant was, during sev- 
 eral centuries, considered as one of the most splendid sights 
 of Home. In the time of Dionysius the cavalcade some- 
 times consisted of five thousand horsemen, all persons of 
 fair repute and easy fortune. # 
 
 There can be no doubt that the Censors who instituted 
 
 *See Livy, ix. 46. Val. Max. ii. 2. Aurel. Yict. De Viris Ilhistribus, 
 32. Dionysius, vi. 13. Plin. Hist. Nat. xv. 5. See also the singularly 
 ingenious chapter in Niebuhr's posthumous volume, Die Censur des Q. 
 Fabius und P. Decius. 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 71 
 
 this august ceremony acted in concert with the Pontiffs to 
 whom, by the constitution of Eome, the superintendence of 
 the public worship belonged; and it is probable that those 
 high religious functionaries were, as usual, fortunate enough 
 to find in their books or traditions some warrant for the 
 innovation. 
 
 The following poem is supposed to have been made for 
 this great occasion. Songs, we know, were chanted at the 
 religious festivals of Eome from an early period; indeed 
 from so early a period, that some of the sacred verses were 
 popularly ascribed to Xuma, and were utterly unintelligible 
 in the age of Augustus. In the Second Punic War a great 
 feast was held in honour of Juno, and a song was sung in 
 her praise. This song was extant when Livy wrote ; and, 
 though exceedingly rugged and uncouth, seemed to him 
 not wholly destitute of merit.* A song, as we learn from 
 Horace,! ^vas part of the established ritual at the great 
 Secular Jubilee. It is therefore likely that the Censors 
 and Pontiffs, when they had resolved to add a grand pro- 
 cession of knights to the other solemnities annually per- 
 formed on the Ides of Quintilis, would call in the aid of 
 a poet. Such a poet would naturally take for his subject 
 the battle of Regillus, the appearance of the Twin Gods, 
 and the institution of their festival. He would find abun- 
 dant materials in the ballads of his predecessors ; and he 
 would make free use of the scanty stock of Greek learning 
 which he had himself acquired. He would probably intro- 
 duce some wise and holy Pontiff enjoining the magnificent 
 ceremonial, which, after a long interval, had at length been 
 adopted. If the poem succeeded, many persons would com- 
 mit it to memory. Parts of it would be sung to the pipe 
 at banquets. It would be peculiarly interesting to the great 
 Posthumian House, which numbered among its many images 
 that of the Dictator Aulus. the hero of Regillus. The orator 
 *Livy, xxvii. 37. t Hor, Carmen Seculore. 
 
72 LAYS OF ANCIEXT ROME. 
 
 who, in the following generation, pronounced the funeral 
 panegyric over the remains of Lucius Posthumius Megellus, 
 thrice Consul, would borrow largely from the lay ; and thus 
 some passages, much disfigured, would probably find their 
 way into the chronicles which were afterwards- in the hands 
 of Dionysius and Livy. 
 
 Antiquaries differ widely as to the situation of the field 
 of battle. The opinion of those who suppose that the 
 armies met near Cornuf elle, between Frascati and the Monte 
 Porzio, is at least plausible, and has been followed in the 
 poem. 
 
 As to the details of the battle, it has not been thought 
 desirable to adhere minutely to the accounts which have 
 come down to us. Those accounts, indeed, differ widely 
 from each other, and, in all probability, differ as widely 
 from the ancient poem from which they were originally 
 derived. 
 
 It is unnecessary to point out the obvious imitations of 
 the Iliad, which have been purposely introduced. 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 
 
 A LAY SUNG AT THE FEAST OF CASTOR AND POLLUX, ON THE IDES 
 OF QUINTILIS, IN THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCCLI. 
 
 I. 
 
 Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note ! 
 
 Ho, lictors, 1 clear the way ! 
 The Knights 2 will ride, in all their pride, 
 
 Along the streets to-day. 
 To-day the doors and windows 5 
 
 Are hung with garlands all, 
 From Castor 3 in the Forum, 
 
 To Mars 4 without the wall. 
 Each Knight is robed in purple, 5 
 
 With olive each is crowned ; 10 
 
 A gallant war-horse under each 
 
 Paws haughtily the ground. 
 While flows the Yellow Biver, 6 
 
 While stands the Sacred Hill/ 
 The proud Ides of Quintilis 8 15 
 
 Shall have such honour still. 
 Gay are the Martian Kalends 9 : 
 
 December's Nones 10 are gay : 
 But the proud Ides, when the squadron rides, 
 
 Shall be Eome's whitest day : 20 
 
 11. 
 
 Unto the Great Twin Brethren n 
 We keep this solemn feast. 
 73 
 
74 LAYS OF ANCIENT EOME. 
 
 Swift, swift, the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Came spurring from the east. 
 They came o'er wild Parthenius 12 25 
 
 Tossing in waves of pine, 
 O'er Cirrha's 13 dome, o'er Adria's foam, 
 
 O'er purple Apennine, 
 From where with flutes 14 and dances 
 
 Their ancient mansion rings, 30 
 
 In lordly Lacedaemon, 
 
 The City of two kings, 15 
 To where, by Lake Regillus, 16 
 
 Under the Porcian height, 
 All in the lands of Tusculum, 17 35 
 
 Was fought the glorious fight. 
 
 in. 
 
 Now on the place of slaughter 
 
 Are cots and sheepfolds seen, 
 And rows of vines, and fields of wheat, 
 
 And apple-orchards green ; 40 
 
 The swine crush the big acorns 
 
 That fall from Corne's 18 oaks. 
 Upon the turf by the Pair Fount 
 
 The reaper's pottage smokes. 
 The fisher baits his angle ; 45 
 
 The hunter twangs his bow ; 
 Little they think on those strong limbs 
 
 That moulder deep below. 
 Little they think how sternly 
 
 That day the trumpets pealed ; 50 
 
 How in the slippery swamp of blood 
 
 Warrior and war-horse reeled ; 
 How wolves came with fierce gallop, 
 
 And crows on eager wings, 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE KEGILLUS. fb 
 
 To tear the flesli of captains, 55 
 
 And peck the eyes of kings ; 
 How thick the dead lay scattered 
 
 Under the Porcian height ; 
 How through the gates of Tusculum 
 
 Eaved the wild stream of flight ; 60 
 
 And how the Lake Regillus 
 
 Bubbled with crimson foam, 
 What time the Thirty Cities 19 
 
 Came forth to war with Eome. 
 
 IV. 
 
 But, Roman, when thou standest 65 
 
 Upon that holy ground, 
 Look thou with heed on the dark rock 
 
 That girds the dark lake round, 
 So shalt thou see a hoof -mark 
 
 Stamped deep into the flint : 70 
 
 It was no hoof of mortal steed 
 
 That made so strange a dint: 
 There to the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Vow thou thy vows, and pray 
 That they, in tempest and in fight, 75 
 
 Will keep thy head alway. 
 
 Since last the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Of mortal eyes were seen, 
 Have years gone by an hundred 
 
 And fourscore and thirteen. 20 80 
 
 That summer a Yirginius 
 
 W r as Consul first in place 21 ; 
 The second was stout Aulus, 
 
 Of the Posthumian race. 
 
76 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 The Herald of the Latines 85 
 
 From Gabii 22 came in state : 
 The Herald of the Latines 
 
 Passed through Eome's Eastern Gate 23 : 
 The Herald of the Latines 
 
 Did in our Forum stand ; 90 
 
 And there he did his office, 
 
 A sceptre in his hand. 
 
 VI. 
 
 " Hear, Senators and people 
 
 Of the good town of Rome, 
 The Thirty Cities charge you 95 
 
 To bring the Tarquins 24 home : 
 And if ye still be stubborn, 
 
 To work the Tarquins wrong, 
 The Thirty Cities warn you, 
 
 Look that your w^alls be strong." 100 
 
 VII. 
 
 Then spake the Consul Aulus, 
 
 He spake a bitter jest : 
 "Once the jay sent a message 
 
 Unto the eagle's nest : — 
 Now yield thou up thine eyrie 105 
 
 Unto the carrion-kite, 
 Or come forth valiantly, and face 
 
 The jays in deadly fight. — 
 Forth looked in wrath the eagle ; 
 
 And carrion-kite and jay, 110 
 
 Soon as they saw his beak and claw, 
 
 Fled screaming far away." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The Herald of the Latines 
 Hath hied him back in state ; 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 77 
 
 The Fathers of the City 115 
 
 Are met in high debate. 
 Then spake the elder Consul, 
 
 An ancient man and wise : 
 " Now hearken, Conscript Fathers, 25 
 
 To that which I advise. 120 
 
 In seasons of great peril 
 
 ? Tis good that one bear sway ; 
 Then choose we a Dictator, 26 
 
 Whom all men shall obey. 
 Camerium 27 knows how deeply 125 
 
 The sword of Aulus bites, 
 And all our city calls him 
 
 The man of seventy fights. 
 Then let him be Dictator 
 
 For six months and no more ; 130 
 
 And have a Master of the Knights, 
 
 And axes twenty-four. 28 
 
 IX. 
 
 So Aulus was Dictator, 
 
 The man of seventy fights ; 
 He made iEbutius Elva 135 
 
 His Master of the Knights. 29 
 On the third morn thereafter, 
 
 At dawning of the day, 
 Did Aulus and JEbutius 
 
 Set forth with their array. 140 
 
 Sempronius Atratinus 
 
 Was left in charge at home 
 With boys, and with grey-headed men, 
 
 To keep the walls of Eome. 
 Hard by the Lake Regillus 145 
 
 Our camp was pitched at night : 
 
78 LAYS OF ANCIEKT ROME. 
 
 Eastward a mile the Latines lay. 
 
 Under the Porcian height. 
 Far over hill and valley 
 
 Their mighty host was spread ; 150 
 
 And with their thousand watch-fires 
 
 The midnight sky was red. 
 
 Up rose the golden morning 
 
 Over the Porcian height, 
 The proud Ides of Quintilis 155 
 
 Marked evermore with white. 
 Not without secret trouble 
 
 Our bravest saw the foes ; 
 For, girt by threescore thousand spears, 
 
 The thirty standards rose. 160 
 
 Prom every warlike city 
 
 That boasts the Latian name, 
 Foredoomed to dogs and vultures, 
 
 That gallant army came ; 
 From Setia's 30 purple vineyards, 165 
 
 From Norba's 31 ancient wall, 
 From the white streets of Tusculum, 
 
 The proudest town of all ; 
 From where the Witch's Fortress 32 
 
 Overhangs the dark-blue seas ; 170 
 
 From the still, glassy lake that sleeps 
 
 Beneath Aricia's trees 33 — 
 Those trees in whose dim shadow 
 
 The ghastly priest doth reign, 
 The priest who slew the slayer, 175 
 
 And shall himself be slain ; 
 From the drear banks of Ufens, 34 
 
 Where flights of marsh-fowl play, 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 79 
 
 And buffaloes lie wallowing 
 
 Through the hot summer's day ; 180 
 
 From the gigantic watch-towers, 
 
 No work of earthly men. 
 Whence Cora's 3,5 sentinels o'erlook 
 
 The never-ending fen ; 
 From the Laurentian 36 jungle, 185 
 
 The wild hog's reedy home ; 
 From the green steeps whence Anio m leaps 
 
 In floods of snow-white foam. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Aricia, Cora, Xorba, 
 
 Velitrse, 38 with the might 190 
 
 Of Setia and of Tusculum, 
 
 Were marshalled on the right : 
 The leader was Mamilius, 39 
 
 Prince of the Latian name ; 
 Upon his head a helmet 195 
 
 Of red gold shone like flame : 
 High on a gallant charger 
 
 Of dark-grey hue he rode ; 
 Over his gilded armour 
 
 A vest of purple flowed, 200 
 
 Woven in the land of sunrise 
 
 By Syria's dark-browed daughters, 40 
 And by the sails of Carthage 41 brought 
 
 Far o'er the southern waters. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Lavinium 42 and Laurentum 205 
 
 Had on the left their post, 
 With all the banners of the marsh, 
 
 And banners of the coast. 
 
80 LAYS OF ANCIEKT ROME. 
 
 Their leader was false Sextus, 48 
 
 That wrought the deed of shame : 210 
 
 With restless pace and haggard face 
 
 To his last field he came. 
 ]\Ien said he saw strange visions 
 
 Which none beside might see, 
 And that strange sounds were in his ears 215 
 
 Which none might hear but he. 
 A woman fair and stately, 
 
 But pale as are the dead, 
 Oft through the watches of the night 
 
 Sat spinning by his bed. 220 
 
 And as she plied the distaff, 
 
 In a sweet voice and low, 
 She sang of great old houses, 
 
 And fights fought long ago. 
 So spun she, and so sang she, 225 
 
 Until the east was grey, 
 Then pointed to her bleeding breast, 
 
 And shrieked, and fled away. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 But in the centre thickest 
 
 Were ranged the shields of foes, 230 
 
 And from the centre loudest 
 
 The cry of battle rose. 
 There Tiber ** marched and Pedum 45 
 
 Beneath proud Tarquin's rule, 
 And Ferentinum ^ of the rock, 235 
 
 And Gabii of the pool. 
 There rode the Yolscian succours 47 : 
 
 There, in a dark stern ring, 
 The Eoman exiles gathered close 
 
 Around the ancient king. 48 240 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 81 
 
 Though white as Mount Soracte, 49 
 
 When winter nights are long, 
 His beard flowed down o'er mail and belt, 
 
 His heart and hand were strong: 
 Under his hoary eyebrows 245 
 
 Still flashed forth quenchless rage, 
 And, if the lance shook in his gripe, 
 
 'Twas more with hate than age. 
 Close at his side was Titus 
 
 On an Apulian steed, 50 250 
 
 Titus, the youngest Tarquin, 
 
 Too ffood for such a breed. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Now on each side the leaders 
 
 Gave signal for the charge ; 
 And on each side the footmen 255 
 
 Strode on with lance and targe ; 
 And on each side the horsemen 
 
 Struck their spurs deep in gore ; 
 And front to front the armies 
 
 Met with a mighty roar : 260 
 
 And under that great battle 
 
 The earth with blood was red ; 
 And, like the Pomptine fog 51 at morn, 
 
 The dust hung overhead ; 
 And louder still and louder 265 
 
 Eose from the darkened field 
 The braying of the war-horns, 
 
 The clang of sword and shield, 
 The rush of squadrons sweeping 
 
 Like whirlwinds o'er the plain, 270 
 
 The shouting of the slayers, 
 
 And screeching of the slain. 
 
82 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XV 
 
 False Sextus rode out foremost : 
 
 His look was high and bold ; 
 His corslet was of bison's hide, 275 
 
 Plated with steel and gold. 
 As glares the famished eagle 
 
 From the Digentian rock 52 
 On a choice lamb that bounds alone 
 
 Before Bandusia's flock, 53 280 
 
 Herminius glared on Sextus, 
 
 And came with eagle speed, 
 Herminius on black Auster, 
 
 Brave champion on brave steed ; 
 In his right hand the broadsword 285 
 
 That kept the bridge so well, 
 And on his helm the crown 54 he won 
 
 When proud Fidenae 55 fell. 
 Woe to the maid whose lover 
 
 Shall cross his path to-day ! 290 
 
 False Sextus saw, and trembled, 
 
 And turned, and fled away. 
 As turns, as flies, the woodman 
 
 In the Calabrian brake, 
 When through the reeds gleams the round eye 295 
 
 Of that fell speckled snake 56 ; 
 So turned, so fled, false Sextus, 
 
 And hid him in the rear, 
 Behind the dark Lavinian ranks, 
 
 Bristling Avith crest and spear. 3C0 
 
 XVI. 
 
 But far to north iEbutius, 
 The Master of the Knights, 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 83 
 
 Gave Tubero of Norba 
 
 To feed the Porcian kites. 
 Next under those red horse-hoofs 305 
 
 Flaccus of Setia lay ; 
 Better had he been priming 
 
 Among his elms that day. 
 Mamilius saw the slaughter, 
 
 And tossed his golden crest, 310 
 
 And towards the Master of the Knights 
 
 Through the thick battle pressed. 
 iEbutius smote Mamilius 
 
 So fiercely on the shield 
 That the great lord of Tusculum 315 
 
 Well nigh rolled on the field. 
 Mamilius smote iEbutius, 
 
 With a good aim and true, 
 Just where the neck and shoulder join, 
 
 And pierced him through and through; 320 
 And brave iEbutius Elva 
 
 Fell swooning to the ground : 
 But a thick wall of bucklers 
 
 Encompassed him around. 
 His clients from the battle 325 
 
 Bare him some little space, 
 And filled a helm from the dark lake, 
 
 And bathed his brow and face ; 
 And when at last he opened 
 
 His swimming eyes to light, 330 
 
 Men say, the earliest word he spake 
 
 Was, " Friends, how goes the fight ? n 
 
 XVII. 
 
 But meanwhile in the centre 
 
 Great deeds of arms were wrought ; 
 
84 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 There Auhis the Dictator 335 
 
 And there Valerius 57 fought. 
 Aulus with his good- broadsword 
 
 A bloody passage cleared 
 To where, amidst the thickest foes, 
 
 He saw the long white beard. 340 
 
 Flat lighted that good broadsword 
 
 Upon proud Tarquin's head. 
 He dropped the lance : he dropped the reins : 
 
 He fell as fall the dead. 
 Down Aulus springs to slay him, 345 
 
 With eyes like coals of fire ; 
 But faster Titus hath sprung down, 
 
 And hath bestrode his sire. 
 Latian captains, Roman knights, 
 
 Fast down to earth they spring, 350 
 
 And hand to hand they fight on foot 
 
 Around the ancient king. 
 First Titus gave tall Cseso 
 
 A death wound in the face ; 
 Tall Cseso was the bravest man 355 
 
 Of the brave Fabian race : 
 Aulus slew Rex of Gabii, 
 
 The priest of Juno's shrine : 58 
 Valerius smote down Julius, 
 
 Of Rome's great Julian line ; 360 
 
 Julius, who left his mansion 
 
 High on the Velian hill, 59 
 And through all turns of weal and woe 
 
 Followed proud Tarquin still. 
 Now right across proud Tarquin 365 
 
 A corpse was Julius laid ; 
 And Titus groaned with rage and grief, 
 
 And at Valerius made. 
 Valerius struck at Titus, 
 
 And lopped off half his crest ; 370 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 85 
 
 But Titus stabbed Valerius 
 
 A span deep in the breast. 
 Like a mast snapped by the tempest, 
 
 Valerius reeled and fell. 
 Ah ! woe is me for the good house 375 
 
 That loves the people well ! 
 Then shouted loud the Latines ; 
 
 And with one rush they bore 
 The struggling Eomans backward 
 
 Three lances' length and more : 380 
 
 And up they took proud Tarquin, 
 
 And laid him on a shield, 
 And four strong yeomen bare him, 
 
 Still senseless, from the field. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 But fiercer grew the fighting 385 
 
 Around Valerius dead ; 
 For Titus dragged him by the foot, 
 
 And Aulus by the head. 
 " On, Latines, on ! " quoth Titus, 
 
 " See how the rebels fly ! " 390 
 
 " Romans, stand firm ! " quoth Aulus, 
 
 " And win this fight or die ! 
 They must not give Valerius 
 
 To raven and to kite ; 
 For aye Valerius loathed the wrong, 395 
 
 And aye upheld the right : 
 And for your wives and babies 
 
 In the front rank he fell. 
 Now play the men for the good house 
 
 That loves the people well ! " 400 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Then tenfold round the body 
 The roar of battle rose, 
 
86 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Like the roar of a burning forest, 
 
 When a strong north wind blows. 
 Now backward, and now forward, 405 
 
 Eocked furiously the fray, 
 Till none could see Valerius, 
 
 And none wist where he lay. 
 For shivered arms and ensigns 
 
 Were heaped there in a mound, 410 
 
 And corpses stiff, and dying men 
 
 That writhed and gnawed the ground ; 
 And wounded horses kicking, 
 
 And snorting purple foam : 
 Eight well did such a couch befit 415 
 
 A Consular of Eonie. 60 
 
 xx. 
 
 But north looked the Dictator ; 
 
 North looked he long and hard ; 
 And spake to Caius Cossus, 
 
 The Captain of his Guard : 420 
 
 " Caius, of all the Eomans 
 
 Thou hast the keenest sight ; 
 Say, what through yonder storm of dust 
 
 Comes from the Latian right ? " 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Then answered Caius Cossus 425 
 
 " I see an evil sight ; 61 
 The banner of proud Tusculum 
 
 Comes from the Latian right : 
 I see the plumed horsemen ; 
 
 And far before the rest 430 
 
 I see the dark-grey charger, 
 
 I see the purple vest; 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 87 
 
 I see the golden helmet 
 
 That shines far off like flame ; 
 So ever rides Mamilius, 435 
 
 Prince of the Latian name." 
 
 XXII. 
 
 " Now hearken, Cains Cossus : 
 
 Spring on thy horse's back ; 
 Ride as the wolves of Apennine 
 
 Were all upon thy track ; 440 
 
 Haste to our southward battle : 
 
 And never draw thy rein 
 Until thou find Herminius, 
 
 And bid him come amain." 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 So Aulus spake, and turned him 445 
 
 Again to that fierce strife ; 
 And Caius Cossus mounted, 
 
 And rode for death and life. 
 Loud clanged beneath his horse-hoofs 
 
 The helmets of the dead, 450 
 
 And many a curdling pool of blood 
 
 Splashed him from heel to head. 
 So came he far to southward, 
 
 Where fought the Roman host, 
 Against the banners of the marsh 455 
 
 And banners of the coast. 
 Like corn before the sickle 
 
 The stout Lavinians fell, 
 Beneath the edge of the true sword 
 
 That kept the bridge so well. 460 
 
88 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 " Herminius ! Aulus greets thee ; 
 
 He bids thee come with speed, 
 To help our central battle ; 
 
 For sore is there our need. 
 There wars the youngest Tarquin, 465 
 
 And there the Crest of Flame, 
 The Tusculan Mamilius, 
 
 Prince of the Latian name. 
 Valerius hath fallen fighting 
 
 In front of our array : 470 
 
 And Aulus of the seventy fields 
 
 Alone upholds the day." 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Herminius beat his bosom : 
 
 But never a word he spake. 
 He clapped his hand on Auster's mane : 475 
 
 He gave the reins a shake, 
 Away, away went Auster, 
 
 Like an arrow from the bow : 
 Black Auster was the fleetest steed 
 
 From Aufidus 62 to Po. 63 480 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Eight glad were all the Eomans 
 
 Who, in that hour of dread, 
 Against great odds bare up the war 
 
 Around Valerius dead, 
 When from the south the cheering 485 
 
 Bose with a mighty swell ; 
 " Herminius comes, Herminius, 
 
 Who kept the bridge so well ! " 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 89 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Mamilius spied Herminius, 
 
 And dashed across the way. 490 
 
 " Herminius ! I have sought thee 
 
 Through many a bloody day. 
 One of us two, Herminius, 
 
 Shall never more go home. 
 I will lay on for Tusculum, 495 
 
 And lay thou on for Eome ! " 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 All round them paused the battle, 
 
 While met in mortal fray 
 The Roman and the Tusculan, 
 
 The horses black and grey. 500 
 
 Herminius smote Mamilius 
 
 Through breast-plate and through breast ; 
 And fast flowed out the purple blood 
 
 Over the purple vest. 
 Mamilius smote Herminius 505 
 
 Through head-piece and through head; 
 And side by side those chiefs of pride 
 
 Together fell down dead. 
 Down fell they dead together 
 
 In a great lake of gore ; 510 
 
 And still stood all who saw them fall 
 
 While men might count a score. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Fast, fast, with heels wild spurning, 
 
 The dark-grey charger fled : 
 He burst through ranks of fighting men ; 515 
 
 He sprang o'er heaps of dead. 
 
90 LAYS OF ANCIENT EOME. 
 
 His bridle far out-streaming. 
 
 His flanks all blood and foam, 
 He sought the southern mountains, 64 
 
 The mountains of his home. 520 
 
 The pass was steep and rugged, 
 
 The wolves they howled and whined ; 
 But he ran like a whirlwind up the pass, 
 
 And he left the wolves behind. 
 Through many a startled hamlet 525 
 
 Thundered his flying feet ; 
 He rushed through the gate of Tusculum, 
 
 He rushed up the long white street ; 
 He rushed by tower and temple, 
 
 And paused not from his race 530 
 
 Till he stood before his master's door 
 
 In the stately market-place. 
 And straightway round him gathered 
 
 A pale and trembling crowd, 
 And when they knew him, cries of rage 535 
 
 Brake forth, and wailing loud : 
 And women rent their tresses 
 
 For their great prince's fall ; 
 And old men girt on their old swords, 
 
 And went to man the wall. 540 
 
 XXX. 
 
 But, like a graven image, 
 
 Black Auster kept his place, 
 And ever wistfully he looked 
 
 Into his masters face. 
 The raven-mane that daily 545 
 
 With pats and fond caresses, 
 The young Herminia washed and combed 
 
 And twined in even tresses, 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 91 
 
 And decked with coloured ribands 
 
 From her own gay attire, 550 
 
 Hung sadly o'er her father's corpse 
 
 In carnage and in mire. ■ 
 Forth with a shout sprang Titus, 
 
 And seized black Auster's rein. 
 Then Aulus sware a fearful oath, 555 
 
 And ran at him amain. 
 " The furies ^ of thy brother 
 
 With me and mine abide, 
 If one of your accursed house 
 
 Upon black Auster ride ! " 560 
 
 As on an Alpine watch-tower 
 
 From heaven comes down the flame, 
 Full on the neck of Titus 
 
 The blade of Aulus came : 
 And out the red blood spouted, 565 
 
 In a wide arch and tall, 
 As spouts a fountain in the court 
 
 Of some rich Capuan's hall. 66 
 The knees of all the Latines 
 
 Were loosened with dismay 570 
 
 When dead, on dead Herminius, 
 
 The bravest Tarquin lay. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 And Aulus the Dictator 
 
 Stroked Auster's raven mane, 
 With heed he looked unto the girths, 575 
 
 With heed unto the rein. 
 " Now bear me well, black Auster, 
 
 Into yon thick array ; 
 And thou and I will have revenge 
 
 For thy good lord this day." 580 
 
92 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 So spake he; and was buckling 
 
 Tighter black Auster's band, 
 When he was aware of a princely pair 
 
 That rode at his right hand. 
 So like they were, no mortal 585 
 
 Might one from other know : 
 White as snow their armour was : 
 
 Their steeds were white as snow. 
 Never on earthly anvil 
 
 Did such rare armour gleam ; 590 
 
 And never did such gallant steeds 
 
 Drink of an earthly stream. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 And all who saw them trembled, 
 
 And pale grew every cheek ; 
 And Aulus the Dictator 595 
 
 Scarce gathered voice to speak. 
 " Say by what name men call you ? 
 
 What city is your home ? 
 And wherefore ride ye in such guise 
 
 Before the ranks of Rome ? " 600 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 " By many names men call us ; 
 
 In many lands we dwell : 
 Well Samothracia 67 knows us ; 
 
 Cyrene 68 knows us well. 
 Our house in gay Tarentum 69 605 
 
 Is hung each morn with flowers : 
 High o'er the masts of Syracuse 70 
 
 Our marble portal towers ; 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 93 
 
 But by the proud Eurotas 71 
 
 Is our dear native home ; 610 
 
 And for the right we come to fight 
 
 Before the ranks of Rome." 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 So answered those strange horsemen, 
 
 And each couched low his spear ; 
 And forthwith all the ranks of Rome 615 
 
 Were bold, and of good cheer : 
 And on the thirty armies 
 
 Came wonder and affright, 
 And Ardea 72 wavered on the left, 
 
 And Cora on the right. 620 
 
 " Rome to the charge ! " cried Aulus ; 
 
 " The foe begins to yield ! 
 Charge for the hearth of Vesta ! 73 
 
 Charge for the Golden Shield ! 74 
 Let no man stop to plunder, 625 
 
 But slay, and slay, and slay ; 
 The Gods who live for ever 
 
 Are on our side to-day." 
 
 xxxvi. 
 
 Then the fierce trumpet-flourish 
 
 From earth to heaven arose, 630 
 
 The kites know well the long stern swell 
 
 That bids the Romans close. 
 Then the good sword of Aulus 
 
 Was lifted up to slay : 
 Then, like a crag down Apennine, 635 
 
 Rushed Auster through the fray. 
 But under those strange horsemen 
 
 Still thicker lay the slain ; 
 
94 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 And after those strange horses 
 
 Black Auster toiled in vain. 640 
 
 Behind them Eome's long battle 
 
 Came rolling on the foe, 
 Ensigns dancing wild above, 
 
 Blades all in line below. 
 So comes the Po in flood-time 645 
 
 Upon the Celtic plain 7b : 
 So comes the squall, blacker than night, 
 
 Upon the Adrian main. 
 Now, by our Sire Quirinus, 76 
 
 It was a goodly sight 650 
 
 To see the thirty standards 
 
 Swept down the tide of flight. 
 So flies the spray of Adria 
 
 When the black squall doth blow, 
 So corn-sheaves in the flood-time 655 
 
 Spin down the whirling Po. 
 False Sextus to the mountains 
 
 Turned first his horse's head ; 
 And fast fled Ferentinum, 
 
 And fast Lanuvium 77 fled. 660 
 
 The horsemen of Momentum 78 
 
 Spurred hard out of the fray ; 
 The footmen of Velitrse 
 
 Threw shield and spear away. 
 And underfoot was trampled, 665 
 
 Amidst the mud and gore, 
 The banner of proud Tusculum, 
 
 That never stooped before : 
 And down went Flavius Faustus, 
 
 Who led his stately ranks 670 
 
 From where the apple blossoms wave 
 
 On Anio's echoing banks, 
 And Tullus of Arpinum, 79 
 
 Chief of the Volscian aids, 
 
BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 95 
 
 And Metius with the long fair curls, 675 
 
 The love of Amur's m maids, 
 And the white head of Yulso, 
 
 The great Arician seer, 81 
 And Xepos and Laurenturn, 
 
 The hunter of the deer ; 680 
 
 And in the back false Sextus 
 
 Felt the good Roman steel, 
 And wriggling in the dust he died, 
 
 Like a worm beneath the wheel : 
 And fliers and pursuers 685 
 
 Were mingled in a mass ; 
 And far away the battle 
 
 Went roaring through the pass. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 Sempronius Atratinus 
 
 Sate in the Eastern Gate, 690 
 
 Beside him were three Fathers, 
 
 Each in his chair of state ; 
 Fabius, whose nine stout grandsons 
 
 That day were in the field, 
 And Manlius, eldest of the Twelve 695 
 
 Who kept the Golden Shield ; 
 And Sergius, the High Pontiff, 82 
 
 For wisdom far renowned; 
 In all Etruria's colleges ^ 
 
 Was no such Pontiff found. 700 
 
 And all around the portal, 
 
 And high above the wall, 
 Stood a great throng of people, 
 
 But sad and silent all ; 
 Young lads, and stooping elders 705 
 
 That might not bear the mail. 
 
96 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROMS. 
 
 Matrons with lips that quivered, 
 
 And maids with faces pale. 
 Since the first gleam of daylight, 
 
 Senipronius had not ceased 710 
 
 To listen for the rushing 
 
 Of horse-hoofs from the east. 
 The mist of eve was rising, 
 
 The sun was hastening down. 
 When he was aware of a princely pair 715 
 
 Fast pricking towards the town. 
 So like they were, man never 
 
 Saw twins so like before ; 
 Red with gore their armour was, 
 
 Their steeds were red with gore. 720 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 " Hail to the great Asylum ! ^ 
 
 Hail to the hill-tops seven ! & 
 Hail to the fire that burns for aye. 86 
 
 And the shield that fell from heaven ! 
 This day by Lake Regillus, 725 
 
 Under the Porcian height, 
 All in the lands of Tusculum 
 
 Was fought a glorious fight, 
 To-morrow your Dictator 
 
 Shall bring in triumph home 730 
 
 The spoils of thirty cities 
 
 To deck the shrines of Borne ! " 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 Then burst from that great concourse 
 
 A shout that shook the towers, 
 And some ran north, and some ran south, 735 
 
 Crying, " The day is ours ! " 
 
BATTLE OB THE LAKE REGILLl S. 97 
 
 But on rode these strange horsemen. 
 
 With slow and lordly pace ; 
 And none who saw their bearing 
 
 Durst ask their name or race. 740 
 
 On rode they to the Forum, 
 
 While laurel-boughs and flowers, 
 From house-tops and from windows, 
 
 Fell on their crests in showers. 
 When they drew nigh to Vesta.- 7 745 
 
 They vaulted down amain. 
 And washed their horses in the well 
 
 That springs by Vesta's fane. 
 And straight again they mounted, 
 
 And rode to Vesta's door; 750 
 
 Then, like a blast, away they passed, 
 
 And no man saw them more. 
 
 XL. 
 
 And all the people trembled, 
 
 And pale grew every cheek ; 
 And Sergius the High Pontiff 755 
 
 Alone found voice to speak : 
 u The gods who live for ever 
 
 Have fought for Rome to-day ! 
 These be the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 To whom the Dorians pray. 760 
 
 Back comes the Chief in triumph, 
 
 Who, in the hour of fight. 
 Hath seen the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 In harness on his right. 88 
 Safe comes the ship to haven, 89 765 
 
 Through billows and through gales, 
 If once the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Sit shining on the sails. 
 
98 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Wherefore they washed their horses 
 
 In Vesta's holy well, 770 
 
 Wherefore they rode to Vesta's door, 
 
 I know, but may not tell. 
 Here, hard by Vesta's Temple, 
 
 Build we a stately dome 
 Unto the Great Twin Brethren 775 
 
 Who fought so well for Rome. 
 And when the months returning 
 
 Bring back this day of fight, 
 The proud Ides of Quintilis, 
 
 Marked evermore with white, 780 
 
 Unto the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Let all the people throng, 
 With chaplets and with offerings, 
 
 With music and with song ; 
 And let the doors and windows 785 
 
 Be hung with garlands all, 
 And let the Knights be summoned 
 
 To Mars without the wall : 
 Thence let them ride in purple 
 
 With joyous trumpet-sound, 790 
 
 Each mounted on his war-horse, 
 
 And each with olive crowned ; 
 And pass in solemn order 
 
 Before the sacred dome, 
 Where dwell the Great Twin Brethren 795 
 
 Who fought so well for Rome ! " 
 
VIRGINIA. 
 
 A collection" consisting exclusively of war-songs would 
 give an imperfect, or rather an erroneous, notion of the 
 spirit of the old Latin ballads. The Patricians, during 
 more than a century after the expulsion of the Kings, held 
 all the high military commands. A Plebeian, even though, 
 like Lucius Siccius, he were distinguished by his valour and 
 knowledge of war, could serve only in subordinate posts. 
 A minstrel, therefore, who wished to celebrate the early 
 triumphs of his country, could hardly take any but Patri- 
 cians for his heroes. The warriors who are mentioned in 
 the two preceding lays, Horatius, Lartius, Herminius, Aulus 
 Posthumius, iEbutius Elva, Sempronius Atratinus, Valerius 
 Poplicola, were all members of the dominant order; and a 
 poet who was singing their praises, whatever his own politi- 
 cal opinions might be, would naturally abstain from insult- 
 ing the class to which they belonged, and from reflecting 
 on the system which had placed such men at the head of 
 the legions of the Commonwealth. 
 
 But there was a class of compositions in which the great 
 families were by no means so courteously treated. No parts 
 of early Roman history are richer with poetical colouring 
 than those which relate to the long contest between the 
 privileged houses and the commonalty. The population of 
 Rome was, from a very early period, divided into hereditary 
 castes, which, indeed, readily united to repel foreign ene- 
 mies, but which regarded each other, during many years. 
 
 99 
 
 LofC. 
 
100 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 with bitter animosity. Between those castes there was a 
 barrier hardly less strong than that which, at Venice, 
 parted the members of the Great Council from their coun- 
 trymen. In some respects, indeed, the line which separated 
 an Icilius or a Duilius from a Posthumius or a Fabius was 
 even more deeply marked than that which separated the 
 rower of a gondola from a Contarini or a Morosini. At 
 A T enice the distinction was merely civil. At Eome it was 
 both civil and religious. Among the grievances under which 
 the Plebeians suffered, three were felt as peculiarly severe. 
 They were excluded from the highest magistracies, they 
 were excluded from all share in the public lands ; and they 
 were ground down to the dust by partial and barbarous 
 legislation touching pecuniary contracts. The ruling class 
 in Koine was a monied class ; and it made and administered 
 the laws with a view solely to its own interest. Thus the 
 relation between lender and borrower was mixed up with 
 the relation between sovereign and subject. The great men 
 held a large portion of the community in dependence by 
 means of advances at enormous usury. The law of debt, 
 framed by creditors, and for the protection of creditors, 
 was the most horrible that has ever been known among 
 men. The liberty, and even the life, of the insolvent were 
 at the mercy of the Patrician money-lenders. Children 
 often became slaves in consequence of the misfortunes of 
 their parents. The debtor was imprisoned, not in a public 
 gaol under the care of impartial public functionaries, but in 
 a private workhouse belonging to the creditor. Frightful 
 stories were told respecting these dungeons. It was said 
 that torture and brutal violation were common; that tight 
 stocks, heavy chains, scanty measures of food, were used to 
 punish wretches guilty of nothing but poverty; and that 
 brave soldiers, whose breasts were covered with honourable 
 scars, were often marked still more deeply on the back by 
 the scourges of high-born usurers. 
 
VIRGINIA. 101 
 
 The Plebeians were, however, not wholly without con- 
 stitutional rights. From an early period they had been 
 admitted to some share of political power. They were 
 enrolled each in his century, and were allowed a share, 
 considerable though not proportioned to their numerical 
 strength, in the disposal of those high dignities from which 
 they were themselves excluded. Thus their position bore 
 some resemblance to that of the Irish Catholics during the 
 interval between the year 1792 and the year 1829. The 
 Plebeians had also the privilege of annually appointing 
 officers, named Tribunes, who had no active share in the 
 government of the Commonwealth, but who, by degrees, 
 acquired a power formidable even to the ablest and most 
 resolute Consuls and Dictators. The person of the Tribune 
 was inviolable; and though he could directly effect little, 
 he could obstruct everything. 
 
 During more than a century after the institution of the 
 Tribuneship, the Commons struggled manfully for the re- 
 moval of the grievances under which they laboured ; and, 
 in spite of many checks and reverses, succeeded in wringing 
 concession after concession from the stubborn aristocracy. 
 At length, in the year of the city 378, both parties mustered 
 their whole strength for their last and most desperate con- 
 flict. The popular and active Tribune. Cams Licinius, pro- 
 posed the three memorable laws 1 which are called by his 
 name, and which were intended to redress the three great 
 evils of which the Plebeians complained. He was sup- 
 ported, with eminent ability and firmness, by his colleague, 
 Lucius Sextius. The struggle appears to have been the 
 fiercest that ever in any community terminated without an 
 appeal to arms. If such a contest had raged in any Greek 
 city, the streets would have run with blood. But, even in 
 the paroxysms of faction, the Roman retained his gravity, 
 his respect for law, and his tenderness for the lives of his 
 fellow-citizens. Year after year Licinius and Sextius were 
 
102 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 re-elected Tribunes. Year after year, if the narrative which 
 has come down to us is to be trusted, they continued to 
 exert, to the full extent, their power of stopping the whole 
 machine of government. No curule magistrates could be 
 chosen ; no military muster could be held. We know too 
 little of the state of Borne in those days to be able to con- 
 jecture how, during that long anarchy, the peace was kept, 
 and ordinary justice administered between man and man. 
 The animosity of both parties rose to the greatest height. 
 The excitement, we may well suppose, would have been 
 peculiarly intense at the annual election of Tribunes. On 
 such occasions there can be little doubt that the great 
 families did all that could be done, by threats and caresses, 
 to break the union of the Plebeians. That union, however, 
 proved indissoluble. At length the good cause triumphed. 
 The Licinian laws were carried. Lucius Sextius was the 
 first Plebeian Consul, Caius Licinius the third. 
 
 The results of this great change were singularly happy 
 and glorious. Two centuries of prosperity, harmony, and 
 victory followed the reconciliation of the orders. Men who 
 remembered Eome engaged in waging petty wars almost 
 within sight of the Capitol lived to see her the mistress of 
 Italy. While the disabilities of the Plebeians continued, 
 she was scarcely able to maintain her ground against the 
 Volscians and Hernicans. When those disabilities were 
 removed, she rapidly became more than a match for Car- 
 thage and Macedon. 
 
 During the great Licinian contest the Plebeian poets 
 were, doubtless, not silent. Even in modern times songs 
 have been by no means without influence on public affairs; 
 and we may therefore infer that, in a society where print- 
 ing was unknown, and where books were rare, a pathetic 
 or humorous party-ballad must have produced effects such 
 as we can but faintly conceive. It is certain that satirical 
 poems were common at Rome from a very early period. 
 
VIRGINIA. 103 
 
 The rustics, who lived at a distance from the seat of govern- 
 ment, and took little part in the strife of factions, gave 
 vent to their petty local animosities in coarse Fescennine 
 verse. 2 The lampoons of the city were doubtless of a higher 
 order ; and -their sting was early felt by the nobility. For 
 in the Twelve Tables, long before the time of the Licinian 
 laws, a severe punishment was denounced against the 
 citizen who should compose or recite verses reflecting on 
 another.* Satire is, indeed, the only sort of composition 
 in which the Latin poets, whose works have come down to 
 us, were not mere imitators of foreign models; and it is 
 therefore the only sort of composition in which they have 
 never been rivalled. It was not, like their tragedy, their 
 comedy, their epic and lyric poetry, a hothouse plant which, 
 in return for assiduous and skilful culture, gave only 
 scanty and sickly fruits. It was hardy and full of sap; 
 and in all the various juices which it yielded might be 
 distinguished the flavour of the Ausonian soil. " Satire," 
 says Quinctilian, with just pride, "is all our own." Satire 
 sprang, in truth, naturally from the constitution of the 
 Roman government and from the spirit of the Roman peo- 
 ple; and, though at length subjected to metrical rules 
 derived from Greece, retained to the last an essentially 
 Roman character. Lucilius was the earliest satirist whose 
 works were held in esteem under the Caesars. But many 
 years before Lucilius was born, Naevius had been flung into 
 a dungeon, and guarded there with circumstances of un- 
 usual rigour, on account of the bitter lines in which he had 
 attacked the great Caecilian family. t The genius and spirit 
 of the Roman satirists survived the liberty of their country, 
 
 * Cicero justly infers from this law that there had been early Latin 
 poets whose works had been lost before his time. " Quamquam id quidem 
 etiam xii tabulae declarant, condi jam turn solitum esse carmen, quod ne 
 liceret fieri ad alterius injuriam lege sanxerunt." — Tusc. iv. 2. 
 
 t Plautus, Miles Glonosus. Aulus Gellius, iii. 3. 
 
104 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 and were not extinguished by the cruel despotism of the 
 Julian and Flavian Emperors. The great poet who told 
 the story of Domitian's turbot 3 was the legitimate successor 
 of those forgotten minstrels whose songs animated the fac- 
 tions of the infant Eepublic. 
 
 These minstrels, as Niebuhr has remarked, appear to 
 have generally taken the popular side. We can hardly be 
 mistaken in supposing that, at the great crisis of the civil 
 conflict, they employed themselves in versif} T ing all the 
 most powerful and virulent speeches of the Tribunes, and 
 in heaping abuse on the leaders of the aristocracy. Every 
 personal defect, every domestic scandal, every tradition 
 dishonourable to a noble house, would be sought out, 
 brought into notice, and exaggerated. The illustrious head 
 of the aristocratical party, Marcus Furius Camillus, might 
 perhaps be, in some measure, protected by his venerable 
 age and by the memory of his great services to the State. 
 But Appius Claudius Crassus enjoyed no such immunity. 
 He was descended from a long line of ancestors distin- 
 guished by their haughty demeanour, and by the inflexi- 
 bility with which they had withstood all the demands of 
 the Plebeian order. While the political conduct and the 
 deportment of the Claudian nobles drew upon them the 
 fiercest public hatred, they were accused of wanting, if any 
 credit is due to the early history of Rome, a class of quali- 
 ties which, in the military commonwealth, is sufficient to 
 cover a multitude of offences. The chiefs of the family 
 appear to have been eloquent, versed in civil business, and 
 learned after the fashion of their age ; but in war they were 
 not distinguished by skill or valour. Some of them, as if 
 conscious where their weakness lay, had, when filling the 
 highest magistracies, taken internal administration as their 
 department of public business, and left the military com- 
 mand to their colleagues. * One of them had been intrusted 
 
 * In the years of the city 260, .°,04, and 330. 
 
VIRGINIA. 105 
 
 with an army, and had failed ignominiously.* None of 
 them had been honoured with a triumph. Xone of them 
 had achieved any martial exploit, such as those by which 
 Lucius Quinctius Cineinnatus, Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, 
 Aulus Cornelius Cossus, and, above all, the great Camillus, 
 had extorted the reluctant esteem of the multitude. Dur- 
 ing the Licinian conflict, Appius Claudius Crassus signalised 
 himself by the ability and severity with which he harangued 
 against the two great agitators. He would naturally, there- 
 fore, be the favourite mark of the Plebeian satirists ; nor 
 would they have been at a loss to find a point on which he 
 was open to attack. 
 
 His grandfather, called, like himself, Appius Claudius, 
 had left a name as much detested as that of Sextus Tar- 
 quinius. This elder Appius had been Consul more than 
 seventy years before the introduction of the Licinian laws. 
 By availing himself of a singular crisis in public feeling, 
 he had obtained the consent of the Commons to the aboli- 
 tion of the Tribuneship, and had been the chief of that 
 Council of Ten to which the whole direction of the State 
 had been committed. In a few months his administration 
 had become universally odious. It had been swept away 
 by an irresistible outbreak of popular fury ; and its memory 
 was still held in abhorrence by the whole city. The imme- 
 diate cause of the downfall of this execrable government 
 was said to have been an attempt made by Appius Claudius 
 upon the chastity of a beautiful young girl of humble birth. 
 The story ran that the Decemvir, unable to succeed by 
 bribes and solicitations, resorted to an outrageous act of 
 tyranny. A vile dependent of the Claudian house laid 
 claim to the damsel as his slave. The cause was brought 
 before the tribunal of Appius. The wicked magistrate, in 
 defiance of the clearest proofs, gave judgment for the claim- 
 ant. But the girl's father, a brave soldier, saved her from 
 * In the year of the city 282. 
 
106 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 servitude and dishonour by stabbing her to the heart in the 
 sight of the whole Forurn. That blow was the signal for a 
 general explosion. Camp and city rose at once ; the Ten 
 were pulled down ; the Tribuneship was re-established ; and 
 Appius escaped the hands of the executioner only by a vol- 
 untary death. 
 
 It can hardly be doubted that a story so admirably 
 adapted to the purposes both of the poet and of the dema- 
 gogue would be eagerly seized upon by minstrels burning 
 with hatred against the Patrician order, against the Clau- 
 dian house, and especially against the grandson and name- 
 sake of the infamous Decemvir. 
 
 In order that the reader may judge fairly of these frag- 
 ments of the lay of Virginia, he must imagine himself a 
 Plebeian who has just voted for the re-election of Sextius and 
 Licinius. All the power of the Patricians has been exerted 
 to throw out the two great champions of the Commons. 
 Every Posthumius, iEmilius, and Cornelius has used his in- 
 fluence to the utmost. Debtors have been let out of the 
 workhouses on condition of voting against the men of the 
 people : clients have been posted to hiss and interrupt the 
 favourite candidates : Appius Claudius Crassus has spoken 
 with more than his usual eloquence and asperity : all has 
 been in vain ; Licinius and Sextius have a fifth time carried 
 all the tribes : work is suspended : the booths are closed : 
 the Plebeians bear on their shoulders the two champions 
 of liberty through the Forum. Just at this moment it is 
 announced that a popular poet, a zealous adherent of the 
 Tribunes, has made a new song which will cut the Claudian 
 nobles to the heart. The crowd gathers round him, and 
 calls on him to recite it. He takes his stand on the spot 
 where, according to tradition, Virginia, more than seventy 
 years ago, was seized by the pandar of Appius, and he 
 begins his story. 
 
VIKGINIA 
 
 FRAGMENTS OF A LAY SUNG IN THE FORUM ON THE DAY WHEREON 
 LUCIUS SEXTIUS LATERANUS AND CAIUS LICINIUS CALVUS STOLO 
 WERE ELECTED TRIBUNES OF THE COMMONS THE FIFTH TIME, IN 
 THE TEAR OF THE CITY CCCLXXXII. 
 
 Ye good men of the Commons, with loving hearts and true, 
 Who stand by the bold Tribunes 4 that still have stood by 
 
 you, 
 
 Come, make a circle round me, and mark my tale with care, 
 A tale of what Eome once hath borne, of what Home yet 
 
 may bear. 
 This is no Grecian fable, of fountains running wine, 5 5 
 
 Of maids with snaky tresses, 6 or sailors turned to swine. 7 
 Here, in this very Forum, under theaioonday sun, 
 In the sight of all the people, the bloody deed was done. 
 Old men still creep among us who saw that fearful day, 
 Just seventy years and seven ago, when the wicked Ten 8 
 
 bare sway. 10 
 
 Of all the wicked Ten still the names are held accursed, 
 And of all the wicked Ten Appius Claudius was the worst. 
 He stalked along the Forum like King Tarquin 9 in his pride : 
 Twelve axes 10 waited on him, six marching on a side ; 
 The townsmen shrank to right and left, and eyed askance 
 with fear 15 
 
 His lowering brow, his curling mouth, which always seemed 
 to sneer : 
 
 107 
 
108 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 That brow of hate, that mouth of scorn, marks all the kin- 
 dred still ; 
 
 For never was there Claudius yet but wished the Commons 
 ill: 
 
 Nor lacks he fit attendance ; for close behind his heels, 
 
 With outstretched chin and crouching pace, the client n Mar- 
 cus steals, 20 
 
 His loins girt up to run with speed, be the errand what it 
 may, 
 
 And the smile flickering on his cheek, for aught his lord may 
 say. 
 
 Such varlets pimp and jest for hire among the lying Greeks, 
 
 Such varlets still are paid to hoot when brave Licinius 
 speaks. 
 
 Where'er ye shed the honey, the buzzing flies will crowd; 25 
 
 Where'er ye fling the carrion, the raven's croak is loud ; 
 
 Where'er down Tiber garbage floats, the greedy pike ye 
 see; 
 
 And wheresoe'er such lord is found, such client still will be. 
 
 Just then, as through one cloudless chink in a black, 
 
 stormy sky, 
 Shines out the dewy morning-star, a fair young girl came 
 
 by. 30 
 
 With her small tablets 12 in her hand, and her satchel on her 
 
 arm, 
 Home she went bounding from the school, nor dreamed of 
 
 shame or harm ; 
 And past those dreaded axes she innocently ran, 
 With bright, frank brow that had not learned to blush at 
 
 gaze of man ; 
 And up the Sacred Street 1S she turned, and, as she danced 
 
 along, 35 
 
 She warbled gaily to herself lines of the good old song, 
 How for a sport the princes came spurring from the camp, 
 
VIRGINIA. 109 
 
 And found Lucrece, 14 combing the fleece, under the midnight 
 
 lamp. 
 The maiden sang as sings the lark, when up he darts his 
 
 flight, 
 From his nest in the green April corn, to meet the morning 
 
 light ; 40 
 
 And Appius heard her sweet young voice, and saw her sweet 
 
 young face, 
 And loved her with the accursed love of his accursed race, 
 And all along the Forum, and up the Sacred Street, 
 His vulture eye pursued the trip of those small glancing feet. 
 
 Over the Alban mountains 15 the light of morning broke : 45 
 From all the roofs of the Seven Hills 16 curled the thin 
 
 wreaths of smoke : 
 The city gates were opened ; the Forum all alive 17 
 With buyers and with sellers was humming like a hive : 
 Blithely on brass and timber the craftsman's stroke was 
 
 ringing, 49 
 
 And blithely o'er her panniers the market-girl was singing, 
 And blithely young Virginia came smiling from her home : 
 Ah ! woe for young Virginia, the sweetest maid in Borne ! 
 With her small tablets in her hand, and her satchel on her 
 
 arm, 
 Forth she went bounding to the school, nor dreamed of shame 
 
 or harm. 
 She crossed the Forum shining with stalls in alleys gay, 55 
 And just had reached the very spot whereon I stand this 
 
 day, 
 When up the varlet Marcus came ; not such as when ere- 
 
 while 
 He crouched behind his patron's heels with the true client 
 
 smile : 
 He came with lowering forehead, swollen features, and 
 
 clenched fist, 
 
110 LAYS OF AXCIENT HOME. 
 
 And strode across Virginia's path, and caught her by the 
 
 "wrist. CO 
 
 Hard strove the frighted maiden, and screamed with look 
 
 aghast ; 
 And at her scream from right and left the folk came run- 
 ning fast ; 
 The money-changer Crispus, with his thin silver hairs, 
 And Hanno from the stately booth glittering with Punic lb 
 
 wares, 
 And the strong smith Muraena, grasping a half-forged brand, 
 And Yolero the flesher, his cleaver in his hand, 06 
 
 All came in wrath and wonder ; for all knew that fair child ; 
 And, as she passed them twice a day, all kissed their hands 
 
 and smiled ; 
 And the strong smith Muraena gave Marcus such a blow, 
 The caitiff reeled three paces back, and let the maiden go. 70 
 Yet glared he fiercely round him, and growled in harsh, fell 
 
 tone, 
 " She's mine, and I will have her : I seek but for mine own : 
 She is my slave, born in my honse, and stolen away and 
 
 sold, 
 The year of the sore sickness, 19 ere she was twelve hours 
 
 old. 
 'Twas in the sad September, the month of wail and fright, 75 
 Two augurs were borne forth that morn ; the Consul died 
 
 ere night. 
 I wait on Appius Claudius, I waited on his sire: 
 Let him who works the client wrong beware the patron's 
 
 ire ! " 
 
 So spake the varlet Marcus ; and dread and silence came 
 
 On all the people at the sound of the great Claudian name. 
 
 For then there was no Tribune to speak the word of might, 
 
 Which makes the rich man tremble, and guards the poor 
 
 man's right. 82 
 
VIRGINIA. 111 
 
 There was no brave Licinius, no honest Sextius then ; 
 But all the city, in great fear, obeyed the wicked Ten. 
 Yet ere the varlet Marcus again might seize the maid, 85 
 Who clung tight to Muraena's skirt, and sobbed, and shrieked 
 
 for aid. 
 Forth through the throng of gazers the young Icilius pressed, 
 And stamped his foot, and rent his gown, and smote upon 
 
 his breast. 
 And sprang upon that column, by many a minstrel sung, 
 Whereon three mouldering helmets, three rusting swords. 
 
 are hung. 20 90 
 
 And beckoned to the people, and in bold voice and clear 
 Poured thick and fast the burning words which tyrants 
 
 quake to hear. 
 
 "Xow. by your children's cradles, now by your fathers' 
 
 graves. 
 Be men to-day, Quirites, 21 or be for ever slaves ! 
 For this did Servius 22 give us laws ? For this did Lucrece 
 
 bleed ? 95 
 
 For this was the great vengeance wrought on Tarquiirs evil 
 
 seed ? a 
 For this did those false sons make red the axes of their 
 
 sire ? - 4 
 For this did Scaevola's right hand hiss in the Tuscan fire ? i5 
 Shall the vile fox-earth awe the race that stormed the lion's 
 
 den ? 
 Shall we, who could not brook one lord, 33 crouch to the wicked 
 
 Ten ? 100 
 
 Oh for that ancient spirit which curbed the Senate's will! 
 Oh for the tents which in old time whitened the Sacred 
 
 Hill : * 
 
 In those brave days our fathers stood firmly side by side ; 
 They faced the Marcian 28 fury; they tamed the Fabian" 
 pride : 
 
112 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 They drove the fiercest Quinctius 30 an outcast forth from 
 
 Rome ; 105 
 
 They sent the haughtiest Claudius 31 with shivered fasces 32 
 
 home. 
 But what their care bequeathed us our madness flung away : 
 All the ripe fruit of threescore years was blighted in a day. 
 Exult, ye proud Patricians ! The hard-fought fight is o'er. 
 We strove for honours — 'twas in vain: for freedom — 'tis 
 
 no more. no 
 
 No crier to the polling summons the eager throng ; 
 No Tribune breathes the word of might that guards the weak 
 
 from wrong. 
 Our very hearts, that were so high, sink down beneath your 
 
 will. 
 Riches, and lands, and power, and state — ye have them : — 
 
 keep them still. 
 Still keep the holy fillets ; still keep the purple gown, 115 
 The axes, and the curule chair, the car, and laurel crown 33 : 
 Still press us for your cohorts, and, when the fight is done, 
 Still fill your garners from the soil which our good swords 
 
 have won. 34 
 Still, like a spreading ulcer, which leech-craft may not cure, 
 Let your foul usance eat away the substance of the poor. 120 
 Still let your haggard debtors bear all their fathers bore ; 
 Still let your dens of torment be noisome as of yore ; 
 No fire when Tiber freezes ; no air in dog-star heat ; 
 And store of rods for free-born backs, and holes for free-born 
 
 feet. 
 Heaj3 heavier still the fetters ; bar closer still the grate ; 125 
 Patient as sheep we yield us up unto your cruel hate. 
 But, by the Shades 35 beneath us, and by the Gods above, 
 Add not unto your cruel hate your yet more cruel love ! 3a 
 Have ye not graceful ladies, whose spotless lineage springs 
 From Consuls, and High Pontiffs. 37 and ancient Alban 38 
 
 kings ? 130 
 
VIRGINIA. 113 
 
 Ladies, who deign not on our paths to set their tender feet, 
 "Who from their cars look down with scorn upon the wonder- 
 ing street, 
 "Who in Corinthian mirrors their own proud smiles behold. 
 And breathe of Capuan 39 odours, and shine with Spanish 
 
 gold ? 4U 
 Then leave the poor Plebeian his single tie to life — 135 
 
 The sweet, sweet love of daughter, of sister, and of wife, 
 The gentle speech, the balm for all that his vexed soul 
 
 endures, 
 The kiss, in which he half forgets even such a } r oke as yours. 
 Still let the maiden's beauty swell the father's breast with 
 
 pride ; 
 Still let the bridegroom's arms infold an unpolluted bride. 
 Spare us the inexpiable wrong, the unutterable shame, m 
 That turns the coward's heart to steel, the sluggard's blood 
 
 to flame, 
 Lest, when our latest hope is fled, ye taste of our despair, 
 And learn by proof, in some wild hour, how much the 
 wretched dare." 
 
 . 41 
 
 Straightway Virginius led the maid a little space aside. 145 
 To where the reeking shambles stood, piled up with horn 
 
 and hide, 
 Close to yon low dark archwa}^, where, in a crimson flood, 
 Leaps down to the great sewer 42 the gurgling stream of blood. 
 Hard by, a flesher on a block had laid his whittle down ; 
 Virginius caught the whittle up, and hid it in his gown. 150 
 And then his eyes grew very dim, and his throat began to 
 
 swell, 
 And in a hoarse, changed voice he spake, " Farewell, sweet 
 
 child ! Farewell ! 
 Oh ! how I loved my darling ! Though stern I sometimes 
 
 be, 
 
114 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 To thee, thou know'st I was not so. Who could be so to 
 
 thee ? 154 
 
 And how my darling loved me ! How glad she was to hear 
 My footstep on the threshold when I came back last year ! 
 And how she danced with pleasure to see my civic crown, 43 
 And took my sword and hung it up, and brought me forth 
 
 my gown ! 
 iSow, all those things are over — yes, all thy pretty ways, 
 Thy needlework, thy prattle, thy snatches of old lays ; 160 
 And none will grieve when I go forth, or smile when I re- 
 turn, 
 Or watch beside the old man's bed, or weep upon his urn. 
 The house that was the happiest within the Roman walls, 
 The house that envied not the wealth of Capua's marble 
 
 halls, 
 Now, for the brightness of thy smile, must have eternal 
 
 gloom, 165 
 
 And for the music of thy voice, the silence of the tomb. 
 The time is come. See how he points his eager hand this 
 
 way ! 
 See how his eyes gloat on thy grief, like a kite's upon the 
 
 prey ! 
 With all his wit, he little deems, that, spurned, betrayed, 
 
 bereft, 
 Thy father hath in his despair one fearful refuge left. 170 
 He little deems that in this hand I clutch what still can 
 
 save 
 Thy gentle youth from taunts and blows, the portion of the 
 
 slave ; 
 Yea, and from nameless evil, that passeth taunt and blow — 
 Foul outrage which thou knowest not, which thou shalt never 
 
 know. 
 Then clasp me round the neck once more, and give me one 
 
 more kiss ; 175 
 
 And now, mine own dear little girl, there is no way but this." 
 
VIRGINIA. 115 
 
 With that he lifted high the steel, and smote her in the side, 
 And in her blood she sank to earth, and with one sob she 
 died. 
 
 Then, for a little moment, all people held their breath ; 
 And through the crowded Forum was stillness as of death ; 
 And in another moment brake forth from one and all 181 
 A cry as if the Yolscians 44 were coming o'er the wall. 
 Some with averted faces, shrieking, fled home amain ; 
 Some ran to call a leech ; and some ran to lift the slain : 
 Some felt her lips and little wrist, if life might there be 
 
 found ; . 185 
 
 And some tore up their garments fast, and strove to stanch 
 
 the wound. 
 In vain they ran, and felt, and stanched ; for never truer blow 
 That good right arm had dealt in fight against a Volscian foe. 
 
 When Appius Claudius saw that deed, he shuddered and 
 
 sank down, 
 And hid his face some little space with the corner of his 
 
 gown, 190 
 
 Till, with white lips and bloodshot eyes, Virginius tottered 
 
 nigh, 
 And stood before the judgment-seat, and held the knife on 
 
 high. 
 " Oh ! dwellers in the nether gloom, avengers of the slain, 45 
 By this clear blood I cry to you, do right between us twain ; 
 And even as Appius Claudius hath dealt by me and mine, 195 
 Deal you by Appius Claudius and all the Claudian line ! " 
 So spake the slayer of his child, and turned, and went his 
 
 way ; 
 But first he cast one haggard glance to where the body lay, 
 And writhed, and groaned a fearful groan, and then, with 
 
 steadfast feet, 199 
 
 Strode right across the market-place unto the Sacred Street. 
 
116 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Then up sprang Appius Claudius : " Stop him ; alive or 
 
 dead! 
 Ten thousand pounds of copper 46 to the man who brings his 
 
 head." 
 He looked upon his clients; but none would work his will. 
 He looked upon his lictors ; but they trembled, and stood still. 
 And, as Virginius through the press his way in silence 
 
 cleft, 205 
 
 Ever the mighty multitude fell back to right and left. 
 And he hath passed in safety unto his woeful home, 
 And there ta'en horse to tell the camp what deeds are done 
 
 in Borne. 
 
 By this the flood of people was swollen from every side, 
 And streets and porches round were filled with that overflow- 
 ing tide ; 210 
 And close around the body gathered a little train 
 Of them that were the nearest and dearest to the slain. 
 They brought a bier, and hung it with many a cypress 47 
 
 crown, 
 And gently they uplifted her, and gently laid her down. 
 The face of Appius Claudius wore the Claudian scowl and 
 
 sneer, 215 
 
 And in the Claudian note he cried, " What doth this rabble 
 
 here ? 
 Have they no crafts to mind at home, that hitherward they 
 
 stray ? 
 Ho! lictors, clear the market-place, and fetch the corpse 
 
 away ! " 
 The voice of grief and fury till then had not been loud ; 
 But a deep sullen murmur wandered among the crowd, 220 
 Like the moaning noise that goes before the whirlwind on 
 
 the deep, 
 Or the growl of a fierce watch-dog but half -aroused from 
 
 sleep. 
 
VIRGINIA. 117 
 
 But when the lictors at that word, tall yeomen all and 
 
 strong, 
 Each with his axe and sheaf of twigs, went down into the 
 
 throng, 
 Those old men say, who saw that day of sorrow and of 
 
 sin, - 225 
 
 That in the Roman Forum was never such a din. 
 The wailing, hooting, cursing, the howls of grief and hate, 
 Were heard beyond the Pineian Hill, 48 beyond the Latin 
 
 Gate. 49 
 But close around the body, where stood the little train 
 Of them that were the nearest and dearest to the slain, 230 
 Xo cries were there, but teeth set fast, low whispers and 
 
 black frowns, 
 And breaking up of benches, and girding up of gowns. 
 'Twas well the lictors might not pierce to where the maiden 
 
 lay, 
 Else surely had they been all twelve torn limb from limb 
 
 that day. 
 Eight glad they were to struggle back, blood streaming from 
 
 their heads, 2:35 
 
 With axes all in splinters, and raiment all in shreds. 
 Then Appius Claudius gnawed his lip, and the blood left his 
 
 cheek ; 
 And thrice he beckoned with his hand, and thrice he strove 
 
 to speak ; 
 And thrice the tossing Forum set up a frightful yell ; 
 " See, see, thou dog ! what thou hast done ; and hide thy 
 
 shame in hell ! 240 
 
 Thou that wouldst make our maidens slaves must first make 
 
 slaves of men. 
 Tribunes ! Hurrah for Tribunes ! Down with the wicked 
 
 Ten ! " 
 And straightway, thick as hailstones, came whizzing through 
 
 the air 
 
118 LAYS OF ANCIENT KOME. 
 
 Pebbles, and bricks, and potsherds, all round the curule 
 
 chair : 244 
 
 And upon Appius Claudius great fear and trembling came ; 
 For never was a Claudius yet brave against aught but 
 
 shame. 
 Though the great houses love us not, we own, to do them 
 
 right, 
 That the great houses, all save one, have borne them well in 
 
 fight. 
 Still Cams of Corioli, 50 his triumphs and his wrongs, 
 His vengeance and his mercy, live in our camp-fire songs. 250 
 Beneath the yoke of Furius 51 oft have Gaul and Tuscan 
 
 bowed ; 
 And Rome may bear the pride of him of whom herself is 
 
 proud. 
 But evermore a Claudius shrinks from a stricken field, 
 And changes colour like a maid at sight of sword and 
 
 shield. 
 The Claudian triumphs all were Avon within the city 
 
 towers ; 255 
 
 The Claudian yoke was never pressed on any neck but ours. 
 A Cossus, like a wild cat, springs ever at the face ; 
 A Fabius rushes like a boar against the shouting chase ; 
 But the vile Claudian litter, raging with currish spite, 
 Still yelps and snaps at those who run, still runs from those 
 
 who smite. 260 
 
 So now 'twas seen of Appius. When stones began to fly, 
 He shook, and crouched, and wrung his hands, and smote 
 
 upon his thigh. 
 " Kind clients, honest lictors, stand by me in this fray ! 
 Must I be torn in pieces ? Home, home, the nearest way ! " 
 While yet he spake, and looked around with a bewildered 
 
 stare, 265 
 
 Four sturdy lictors put their necks beneath the curule 
 
 chair ; 
 
VIRGINIA. 119 
 
 And fourscore clients on the left, and fourscore on the 
 
 right, 
 Arrayed themselves with swords and staves, and loins girt 
 
 up for fight. 
 But, though without or staff or sword, so furious was the 
 
 throng, 
 That scarce the train with might and main could bring their 
 
 lord along. 270 
 
 Twelve times the crowd made at him ; five times they seized 
 
 his gown ; 
 Small chance was his to rise again, if once they got him 
 
 down : 
 And sharper came the pelting; and evermore the yell — 
 " Tribunes ! we will have Tribunes ! " — rose with a louder 
 
 swell : 
 And the chair tossed as tosses a bark with tattered sail 275 
 When raves the Adriatic beneath an eastern gale, 
 When the Calabrian sea-marks 52 are lost in clouds of spume, 
 And the great Thunder-Cape 53 has donned his veil of inky 
 
 gloom. 
 One stone hit Appius in the mouth, and one beneath the 
 
 ear ; 
 And ere he reached Mount Palatine, 54 he swooned with pain 
 
 and fear. 280 
 
 His cursed head, that he was wont to hold so high with 
 
 pride, 
 Now, like a drunken man's, hung down, and swayed from 
 
 side to side ; 
 And when his stout retainers had brought him to his door, 
 His face and neck were all one cake of filth and clotted-gore. 
 As Appius Claudius was that day, so may his grandson 
 
 be ! 285 
 
 God send Eome one such other sight, and send me there to 
 
 see! 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 
 
 It can hardly be necessary to remind any reader that, 
 according to the popular tradition, Eomnlus, after he had 
 slain his grand-uncle Amulius, and restored his grandfather 
 Numitor, determined to quit Alba, the hereditary domain of 
 the Sylvian princes, and to found a new city. The Gods, it 
 was added, vouchsafed the clearest signs of the favour with 
 which they regarded the enterprise, and of the high desti- 
 nies reserved for the young colony. 
 
 This event was likely to be a favourite theme of the old 
 Latin minstrels. They would naturally attribute the proj- 
 ect of Eomulus to some divine intimation of the power and 
 prosperity which it was decreed that his city should attain. 
 They would probably introduce seers foretelling the victories 
 of unborn Consuls and Dictators, and the last great victory 
 would generally occupy the most conspicuous place in the 
 prediction. There is nothing strange in the supposition that 
 the poet who was employed to celebrate the first great tri- 
 umph of the Romans over the Greeks might throw his song 
 of exultation into this form. 
 
 The occasion was one likely to excite the strongest feel- 
 ings of national pride, A great outrage had been followed 
 by a great retribution. Seven years before this time, Lucius 
 Posthumius Megellus, who sprang from one of the noblest 
 houses of Borne, and had been thrice Consul, was sent am- 
 bassador to Tarentum, with charge to demand reparation 
 for grievous injuries. The Tarentines gave him audience 
 in their theatre, where he addressed them in such Greek as 
 
 121 
 
122 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 he could command, which, we may well believe, was not 
 exactly such as Cineas would have spoken. An exquisite 
 sense of the ridiculous belonged to the Greek character: 
 and closely connected with this faculty was a strong pro- 
 pensity to flippancy and impertinence. When Posthumius 
 placed an accent wrong, his hearers burst into a laugh. 
 When he remonstrated, they hooted him, and called him 
 barbarian ; and at length hissed him off the stage as if he 
 had been a bad actor. As the grave Eoman retired, a buf- 
 foon who, from his constant drunkenness, was nicknamed 
 the Pint-pot, came up with gestures of the grossest inde- 
 cency, and bespattered the senatorial gown with filth. Pos- 
 thumius turned round to the multitude, and held up the 
 gown, as if appealing to the universal law of nations. The 
 sight only increased the insolence of the Tarentines. They 
 clapped their hands, and set up a shout of laughter which 
 shook the theatre. " Men of Tarentum," said Posthumius, 
 " it will take not a little blood to wash this gown. ?; * 
 
 Eome, in consequence of this insult, declared war against 
 the Tarentines. The Tarentines sought for allies beyond 
 the Ionian Sea. Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, came to their 
 help with a large army ; and for the first time, the two 
 great nations of antiquity were fairly matched against each 
 other. 
 
 The fame of Greece in arms, as well as in arts, was then 
 at the height. Half a century earlier, the career of Alex- 
 ander had excited the admiration and terror of all nations 
 from the Ganges to the Pillars of Hercules. Koyal houses, 
 founded by Macedonian captains, still reigned at Antioch and 
 Alexandria. That barbarian warriors, led by barbarian chiefs, 
 should win a pitched battle against Greek valour guided 
 by Greek science, seemed as incredible as it would now seem 
 that the Burmese or the Siamese should, in the open plain, 
 put to flight an equal number of the best English troops. 
 
 * Dion. Hal. De Legationibus. 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 123 
 
 The Tarentines were convinced that their countrymen were 
 irresistible in war; and this conviction had emboldened 
 them to treat with the grossest indignity one whom they 
 regarded as the representative of an inferior race. Of the 
 Greek generals then living, Pyrrhus was indisputably the 
 first. Among the troops who were trained in the Greek 
 discipline, his Epirotes ranked high. His expedition to 
 Italy was a turning-point in the history of the world. He 
 found there a people who, far inferior to the Athenians and 
 Corinthians in the fine arts, in the speculative sciences, and 
 in all the refinements of life, were the best soldiers on the 
 face of the earth. Their arms, their gradations of rank, 
 their order of battle, their method of intrenchment, were 
 all of Latin origin, and had all been gradually brought near 
 to perfection, not by the study of foreign models, but by 
 the genius and experience of many generations of great 
 native commanders. The first words which broke from the 
 king, when his practised eye had surveyed the Roman en- 
 campment, were full of meaning: — "These barbarians," 
 he said, " have nothing barbarous in their military arrange- 
 ments." He was at first victorious ; for his own talents 
 were superior to those of the captains who were opposed to 
 him ; and the Eomans were not prepared for the onset of 
 the elephants of the East, which were then for the first time 
 seen in Italy — moving mountains, with long snakes for 
 hands. # But the victories of the Epirotes were fiercely dis- 
 puted, dearly purchased, and altogether unprofitable. At 
 length, Manius Curius Dentatus, who had in his first Con- 
 sulship won two triumphs, was again placed at the head 
 of the Roman Commonwealth, and sent to encounter the 
 invaders. A great battle was fought near Beneventum. 
 Pyrrhus was completely defeated. He repassed the sea; 
 and the world learned, with amazement, that a people had 
 
 * Anguimamis is the old Latin epithet for an elephant. Lucretius, ii. 
 538, v. 1302. 
 
124 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 been discovered, who, in fair fighting, were superior to the 
 best troops that had been drilled on the system of Parmenio 
 and Antigonus. 
 
 The conquerors had a good right to exult in their success ; 
 for their glory was all their own. They had not learned 
 from their enemy how to conquer him. It was with their 
 own national arms, and in their own national battle-array, 
 that they had overcome weapons and tactics long believed 
 to be invincible. The pilum and the broadsword had 
 vanquished the Macedonian spear. The legion had broken 
 the Macedonian phalanx. Even the elephants, when the 
 surprise produced by their first appearance was over, could 
 cause no disorder in the steady yet flexible battalions of 
 Kome. 
 
 It is said by Plorus, and may easily be believed, that the 
 triumph far surpassed in magnificence any that Rome had 
 previously seen. The only spoils which Papirius Cursor 
 and Fabius Maximus could exhibit were flocks and herds, 
 waggons of rude structure, and heaps of spears and helmets. 
 But now, for the first time, the riches of Asia and the arts 
 of Greece adorned a Eoman pageant. Plate, fine stuffs, 
 costly furniture, rare animals, exquisite paintings and 
 sculptures, formed part of the procession. At the banquet 
 would be assembled a crowd of warriors and statesmen, 
 among whom Manius Curius Dentatus would take the high- 
 est room. Caius Fabricius Luscinus, then, after two Con- 
 sulships and two triumphs, Censor of the Commonwealth, 
 would doubtless occupy a place of honour at the board. In 
 situations less conspicuous probably lay some of those who 
 were, a few years later, the terror of Carthage ; Caius 
 Duilius, the founder of the maritime greatness of his coun- 
 try ; Marcus Atilius Regulus, who owed to defeat a renown 
 far higher than that which he had derived from his vic- 
 tories ; and Caius Lutatius Catulus, who, while suffering 
 from a grievous wound, fought the great battle of the 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 125 
 
 JEgates, and brought the First Punic War to a triumphant 
 close. It is impossible to recount the names of these emi- 
 nent citizens, without reflecting that they were all, without 
 exception, Plebeians, and would, but for the ever-memorable 
 struggle maintained by Caius Licinius and Lucius Sextius, 
 have been doomed to hide in obscurity, or to waste in civil 
 broils the capacity and energy which prevailed against 
 Pyrrhus and Hamilcar. 
 
 On such a day we may suppose that the patriotic enthu- 
 siasm of a Latin poet would vent itself in reiterated shouts 
 of Io triumphe, such as were uttered by Horace on a far less 
 exciting occasion, and in boasts resembling those which 
 Virgil put into the mouth of Anchises. The superiority of 
 some foreign nations, and especially of the Greeks, in the 
 lazy arts of peace, would be admitted w T ith disdainful can- 
 dour ; but pre-eminence in all the qualities which fit a people 
 to subdue and govern mankind w r ould be claimed for the 
 Eomans. 
 
 The following lay belongs to the latest age of Latin 
 ballad-poetry. Naevius and Livius Andronicus were prob- 
 ably among the children whose mothers held them up to 
 see the chariot of Curius go by. The minstrel who sang 
 on that day might possibly have lived to read the first 
 hexameters of Ennius, and to see the first comedies of Plau- 
 tus. His poem, as might be expected, shows a much wider 
 acquaintance with the geography, manners, and produc- 
 tions of remote nations, than would have been found in 
 compositions of the age of Camillus. But he troubles him- 
 self little about dates, and having heard travellers talk 
 with admiration of the Colossus of Rhodes, and of the 
 structures and gardens with which the Macedonian kings 
 of Syria had embellished their residence on the banks of 
 the Orontes, he has never thought of inquiring whether 
 these things existed in the age of Romulus. 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 
 
 A LAY SUNG AT THE BANQUET IN THE CAPITOL, ON THE DAT WHEREON 
 MANIUS CURIUS DENTATUS, A SECOND TIME CONSUL, TRIUMPHED 
 OVER KING PYRRHUS AND THE TARENTINES, IN THE YEAR OF THE 
 CITY CCCCLXXIX. 
 
 Now slain is King Amulius, 1 
 
 Of the great Sylvian line, 
 Who reigned in Alba Longa, 2 
 
 On the throne of Aventine. 3 
 Slain is the Pontiff Camers, 4 5 
 
 Who spake the words of doom : 
 " The children to the Tiber ; 
 
 The mother to the tomb." 
 
 IT. 
 
 In Alba's lake no fisher 
 
 His net to-day is flinging : 10 
 
 On the dark rind of Alba's oaks 
 
 To-day no axe is ringing : 
 The yoke hangs o'er the manger : 
 
 The scythe lies in the hay : 
 Through all the Alban villages 15 
 
 No work is done to-day. 
 
 in. 
 
 And every Alban burgher 
 
 Hath donned his whitest gown 
 126 
 
THE PKOPHECY OF CAPYS. 127 
 
 And every head in Alba 
 
 AYearetli a poplar crown 5 ; 20 
 
 And every Alban door-post 
 
 With boughs and flowers is gay : 
 For to-day the dead are living ; 
 
 The lost are found to-day. 
 
 IV. 
 
 They were doomed by a bloody king : 25 
 
 They were doomed by a lying priest : 
 They were cast on the raging flood : 
 
 They were tracked by the raging beast : 
 Raging beast and raging flood 
 
 Alike have spared the prey ; 30 
 
 And to-day the dead are living : 
 
 The lost are found to-day. 
 
 v. 
 
 The troubled river knew them, 
 
 And smoothed his }^ellow foam, 6 
 And gently rocked the cradle 35 
 
 That bore the fate of Rome. 
 The ravening she- wolf knew them, 
 
 And licked them o'er and o'er, 
 And gave them of her own fierce milk, 
 
 Rich with raw flesh and gore. 40 
 
 Twenty winters, twenty springs, 
 
 Since then have rolled away ; 
 And to-day the dead are living: 
 
 The lost are found to-day. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Blithe it was to see the twins, 45 
 
 Right goodly youths and tall, 
 
128 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Marching from Alba Longa 
 
 To their old grandsire's hall. 
 Along their path fresh garlands 
 
 Are hung from tree to tree : 50 
 
 Before them stride the pipers, 
 
 Piping a note of glee. 
 
 VII. 
 
 On the right goes Romulus, 
 
 With arms to the elbows red, 
 And in his hand a broadsword, 55 
 
 And on the blade a head — 
 A head in an iron helmet, 
 
 With horse-hair hanging down, 
 A shaggy head, a swarthy head, 
 
 Fixed in a ghastly frown — 60 
 
 The head of King Amulius 
 
 Of the great Sylvian line, 
 Who reigned in Alba Longa, 
 
 On the throne of Aventine. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 On the left side goes Remus, 65 
 
 With wrists and fingers red, 
 And in his hand a boar-spear, 
 
 And on the point a head — 
 A wrinkled head and aged, 
 
 With silver beard and hair, 70 
 
 And holy fillets round it, 
 
 Such as the pontiffs wear — 
 The head of ancient Camers, 
 
 Who spake the words of doom : 
 " The children to the Tiber ; 75 
 
 The mother to the toinb." 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 129 
 
 IX. 
 
 Two and two behind the twins 
 
 Their trusty comrades go, 
 Four and forty valiant men, 
 
 With club, and axe, and bow. 80 
 
 On each side every hamlet 
 
 Pours forth its joyous crowd, 
 Shouting lads and baying dogs 
 
 And children laughing loud, 
 And old men weeping fondly 85 
 
 As Rhea's boys go by, 
 And maids who shriek to see the heads, 
 
 Yet, shrieking, press more nigh. 
 
 So they marched along the lake ; 
 
 They marched by fold and stall, 90 
 
 By corn-field and by vineyard, 
 
 Unto the old man's hall. 
 
 XT. 
 
 In the hall-gate sate Capys, 
 
 Capys, the sightless seer ; 
 From head to foot he trembled 95 
 
 As Romulus drew near. 
 And up stood stiff his thin white hair, 
 
 And his blind eyes flashed fire : 
 " Hail ! foster child of the wonderous nurse ! 
 
 Hail ! son of the wonderous sire ! 100 
 
 XII. 
 
 " But thou — what dost thou here 
 In the old man's peaceful hall ? 
 
130 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 What doth the eagle in the coop, 
 
 The bison in the stall ? 
 Our corn fills many a garner ; 105 
 
 Our vines clasp many a tree ; 
 Our flocks are white on many a hill 
 
 But these are not for thee. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 " For thee no treasure ripens 
 
 In the Tartessian mine 7 : 110 
 
 For thee no ship brings precious bales 
 
 Across the Libyan brine 8 : 
 Thou shalt not drink from amber ; 
 
 Thou shalt not rest on down 9 ; 
 Arabia 10 shall not steep thy locks, 115 
 
 Nor Sidon tinge thy gown. 11 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Leave gold and myrrh and jewels, 
 
 Eich table and soft bed, 
 To them who of man's seed are born, 
 
 Whom woman's milk have fed. 120 
 
 Thou wast not made for lucre, 
 
 For pleasure, nor for rest ; 
 Thou, that art sprung from the War-god's loins, 
 
 And hast tugged at the she-wolfs breast. 
 
 xv. 
 
 " From sunrise unto sunset 125 
 
 All earth shall hear thy fame : 
 A glorious city thou shalt build, 
 
 And name it by thy name : 
 And there, unquenched through ages, 
 
 Like Vesta's 12 sacred fire, 130 
 
 Shall live the spirit of thy nurse, 
 
 The spirit of thy sire. 
 
THE PBOPHECY OF CAPYS. 181 
 
 XVI. 
 
 " The ox toils through the furrow, 
 
 Obedient to the goad ; 
 The patient ass, up flinty paths, 135 
 
 Plods with his weary load : 
 With whine and bound the spaniel 
 
 His master's whistle hears ; 
 And the sheep yields her patiently 
 
 To the loud clashing shears. uo 
 
 XVII. 
 
 " But thy nurse will hear no master ; 
 
 Thy nurse will bear no load ; 
 And woe to them that shear her, 
 
 And woe to them that goad ! 
 When all the pack, loud baying, 145 
 
 Her bloody lair surrounds, 
 She dies in silence, biting hard, 
 
 Amidst the dying hounds. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 " Pomona 13 loves the orchard ; 
 
 And Liber u loves the vine ; 150 
 
 And Pales 15 loves the straw-built shed 
 
 Warm with the breath of kine ; 
 And Venus 16 loves the whispers 
 
 Of plighted youth and maid, 
 In April's ivory moonlight 155 
 
 Beneath the chestnut shade. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 " But thy father loves the clashing 
 Of broadsword and of shield : 
 
132 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 He loves to drink the steam that reeks 
 
 From the fresh battle-field ; 160 
 
 He smiles a smile more dreadful 
 Than his own dreadful frown, 
 
 When he sees the thick black cloud of smok3 
 Go up from the conquered town. 
 
 xx. 
 
 " And such as is the War-god, 165 
 
 The author of thy line, 
 And such as she who suckled thee, 
 
 Even such be thou and thine. 
 Leave to the soft Campanian 
 
 His baths and his perfumes ; 170 
 
 Leave to the sordid race of Tyre 
 
 Their dyeing-vats and looms : 
 Leave to the sons of Carthage 
 
 The rudder and the oar : 
 Leave to the Greek his marble Nymphs 175 
 
 And scrolls of wordy lore. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 " Thine, Roman, is the pilum 17 : 
 
 Roman, the sword is thine, 
 The even trench, the bristling mound, 18 
 
 The legion's ordered line 19 ; 180 
 
 And thine the wheels of triumph, 20 
 
 Which with their laurelled train 
 Move slowly up the shouting streets 
 
 To Jove's eternal fane. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 " Beneath thy yoke the Volscian 185 
 
 Shall vail his lofty brow ; 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 133 
 
 Soft Capua's curled revellers 21 
 
 Before thy chairs shall bow : 
 The Lucumoes of Arnus 22 
 
 Shall quake thy rods to see ; 190 
 
 And the proud Samnite's heart of steel 23 
 
 Shall yield to only thee. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 "The Gaul shall come against thee 
 
 From the land of snow and night : 
 Thou shalt give his fair-haired armies 195 
 
 To the raven and the kite. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 u . The Greek shall come against thee, 
 
 The conqueror of the East. 
 Beside him stalks to battle 
 
 The huge earth-shaking beast/ 4 200 
 
 The beast on whom the castle 
 
 With all its guards doth stand, 
 The beast who hath between his eyes 
 
 The serpent for a hand. 
 First march the bold Epirotes, 205 
 
 Wedged close with shield and spear K 
 And the ranks of false Tarentum 
 
 Are glittering in the rear. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 " The ranks of false Tarentum 
 
 Like hunted sheep shall fly : 210 
 
 In vain the bold Epirotes 
 
 Shall round their standards die 
 And Apennines grey vultures 
 
 Shall have a noble feast 
 On the fat and the eyes 215 
 
 Of the huge earth-shaking beast. 
 
134 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXYI. 
 
 " Hurrah ! for the good weapons 
 
 That keep the War-god's land. 
 Hurrah ! for Rome's stout pilum 
 
 In a stout Roman hand. 220 
 
 Hurrah ! for Rome's short broads word, 26 
 
 That through the thick array 
 Of levelled spears and serried shields 
 
 Hews deep its gory way. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 " Hurrah ! for the great triumph 225 
 
 That stretches many a mile. 
 Hurrah ! for the wan captives 
 
 That pass in endless file. 
 Ho ! bold Epirotes, whither 
 
 Hath the Reel King 27 ta'en flight ? 230 
 
 Ho ! dogs of false Tarentum, 
 
 Is not the gown washed white 28 ? 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 " Hurrah ! for the great triumph 
 
 That stretches many a mile. 
 Hurrah ! for the rich dye of Tyre, 235 
 
 And the fine web of Nile, 
 The helmets gay with plumage 
 
 Torn from the pheasant's wings, 
 The belts set thick with starry gems 
 
 That shone on Indian kings, 240 
 
 The urns of massy silver, 
 
 The goblets rough with gold, 
 The many-coloured tablets bright 
 
 With loves and wars of old, 
 
THE PROPHECY OP CAPYS. 135 
 
 The stone that breathes and struggles, 245 
 
 The brass that seems to speak ; — 
 Such cunning they who dwell on high 
 
 Have given unto the Greek. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 " Hurrah ! for Manius Curius, 29 
 
 The bravest son of Eome, 250 
 
 Thrice in utmost need sent forth, 
 
 Thrice drawn in triumph home. 
 Weave, weave, for Manius Curius 
 
 The third embroidered gown w : 
 Make ready the third lofty car, 31 255 
 
 And twine the third green crown 32 ; 
 And yoke the steeds of Bosea 33 
 
 With necks like a bended bow, 
 And deck the bull, Mevania's ?A bull, 
 
 The bull as white as snow. 260 
 
 XXX. 
 
 " Blest and thrice blest the Roman 
 
 Who sees Rome's brightest day, 
 Who sees that long victorious pomp 
 
 Wind down the Sacred Way, 35 
 And through the bellowing Forum, 265 
 
 And round the Suppliant's Grove, 36 
 Up to the everlasting gates 
 
 Of Capitolian Jove. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 " Then where, o'er two bright havens, 
 
 The towers of Corinth frown 37 ; 270 
 
 Where the gigantic King of Day ^ 
 On his own Rhodes looks down ; 
 
136 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Where soft Orontes murmurs 
 
 Beneath the laurel shades 39 ; 
 Where Nile reflects the endless length 275 
 
 Of dark-red colonnades 40 ; 
 Where in the still deep water, 
 
 Sheltered from waves and blasts, 
 Bristles the dusky forest 
 
 Of Byrsa's 41 thousand masts ; 280 
 
 Where fur-clad hunters wander 
 
 Amidst the northern ice ; 
 Where through the sand of morning-land 
 
 The camel bears the spice 42 ; 
 Where Atlas 43 flings his shadow 285 
 
 Ear o'er the western foam, 
 Shall be great fear on all who hear 
 
 The mighty name of Koine." 
 
NOTES. 
 
 HORATIUS. 
 
 1. " The year of the city ccclx " = 393 b.c. 
 
 2. "Lars Porsena." "Lar" is the Latin word (derived from the 
 Etruscan), indicating one of a class of minor divinities who were either 
 family gods of the hearth or public patrons of roads, streets, and even 
 cities. They were not of divine origin, but the deified souls of men, 
 and, in the case of family lares, of deceased ancestors. It was more or 
 less customary throughout the ancient world to assume or endeavor to 
 anticipate a coming apotheosis in the case of rulers, and this was done 
 sometimes indirectly by attributing the divine quality by means of a 
 title or name, sometimes in terms by the direct flattery of courtiers 
 and subjects. So w T e find several of the Roman emperors legally 
 deified and worshipped during their lives, and doubtless the Etruscan 
 " Lars " was used in this sense, as the name or title of king or priest, 
 offices apt to be held by the same person in the early Italian commu- 
 nities. "Lars Porsena" maybe thus freely rendered. '-The Divine 
 Porsena." 
 
 3. " Clusiuni" occupied the site of the modern Chiusi. 
 
 4. '-The Nine Gods." The Dei novensiles of Etruscan theology 
 were those who had the power to launch lightning and thunderbolts. 
 They were Jupiter (Tinia), Juno (Cupra or Uni), Minerva (Menrfa), 
 Vejovis (an evil Jupiter), Summanus (god of night), Vulcanus 
 (Sethlan or Velch), Saturnus, Mars (Maris), and a ninth wmo has not 
 been satisfactorily identified, but was probably Neptunus (Xethuns), 
 Janus, or Hercules (Ercle or Hercle). 
 
 5. "The great house of Tarquin." The legendary history of the 
 house of Tarquin is told by Livy, Book T, Chaps. 35-60. Being them- 
 selves of Etruscan descent, they naturally appealed to the Etruscans 
 for aid. 
 
 6. " Volaterrse," now Volterra. Much of the ancient wall is still 
 standing, and shows a height of forty feet, a thickness of thirteen feet, 
 and a circumference of four and a half miles. The strength of the 
 
 137 
 
138 NOTES. 
 
 town may be inferred from the fact that it withstood for two years a 
 siege by Sulla's troops. It was quite customary to attribute such 
 works to a superhuman agency. 
 
 7. " Seagirt Populonia." The site of Populonia, not far from the 
 modern Piombino, is now occupied by a poor village. 
 
 8. "Pisee," now Pisa. 
 
 9. " Massilia's triremes." Massilia, now Marseilles, was a flour- 
 ishing Greek colony founded about 600 b.c. It was very prominent 
 commercially and strong enough to contend with Carthage in naval 
 warfare. Gallic slaves may be readily assumed to have been one of 
 its leading exports. The trireme, or galley with three banks of oars, 
 was the " ship-of-the-line " of the period. 
 
 10. "Sweet Clanis." The Clanis is now the Chiana, which joins 
 the Paglia at Orvieto and flows thence into the Tiber. 
 
 11. "Cortona" still stands upon its hill (2170 feet), looking down 
 upon the valley of the Chiana. 
 
 12. " Auser's rill." The Auser (or Ausar) rose in the Apennines 
 on the border of Liguria and flowed into the Arnus at Pisse. It is 
 identified with the modern Serchio, though the latter empties into the 
 Mediterranean Sea some distance north of the Arno. A new channel 
 is supposed to have formed. 
 
 13. " The Ciminian hill." Mount Cimeno, near Viterbo, was once 
 considered the great natural bulwark of central Etruria. 
 
 14. " Clitumnus." The Clitumnus, now the Clitumno, rises near 
 the little village of Le Vene between Trevi and Spoleto. A sacred 
 river, the white cattle bred upon its banks were especially esteemed 
 for sacrificial purposes. Even now the people of the neighborhood 
 imagine that its water has the magic attribute of turning cattle white. 
 For a charming description see Pliny's letter to Pomanus, VIII, 8. 
 
 15. "The Volsinian mere," now the famous Lago di Bolsena. 
 
 16. " Arretium," now Arezzo. 
 
 17. "Umbro." The Uinbro, now the Ombrone, flows from near 
 Siena southwesterly into the sea. 
 
 18. "Luna." The ruins of Luna lie on the coast not far from 
 Spezzia, and a few miles east of Pta. Bianca. 
 
 19. "Traced from the right on linen white." Contrary to the 
 Roman system the Etruscan wrote from right to left — a strong indi- 
 cation of their Oriental origin. Their sacred books were numerous 
 and are referred to by different writers of antiquity as Libri Etrusci 
 — Chartce Etruscce — Scripta Etrusca — Tusci libelli — Etniscce clisci- 
 plinoe libri — Libri fatal es, rituales, haruspicini, fulgurates ettonitru- 
 
NOTES. 139 
 
 ales — Libri Tagetici — Sacra Tagetica — Sacra Acherortiica — and 
 
 Libri Acherontici. They are supposed to have been written by or taken 
 down from the lips of Tages, a being possessed of the face of a child 
 but the wisdom of a sage, who was ploughed up in a field near Tar- 
 quinii. Cicero on Divinations, II, 23. See also for books of divination, 
 Cicero on Divinations, 1, 12, 33, 43, and 44 ; II, 54. Linen was written 
 upon in early times, but probably only in case of sacred writings or 
 state records. See Livy IV, 7. 
 
 20. ' ' Nurscia's altars." This name is not familiar, though no doubt 
 Macaulay had authority for the spelling. The allusion is probably to 
 Nortia, the Etruscan goddess of fortune, at whose temple at Volsinii 
 a nail was driven to record the passage of each year. 
 
 21. " The golden shields of Home." The Ancilia were the twelve 
 bronze (or golden?) shields that hung in the temple of Mars Gradivus 
 on the Palatine Hill. One was supposed to have fallen from heaven, 
 and the soothsayers had declared that so long as it remained in Rome 
 the state would endure. JSunia Pompilius, the then reigning king, 
 thereupon had eleven others made exactly like it to lessen the chance 
 of its being stolen, and constituted a college of twelve priests, the salii, 
 whose duty it was to guard it. See Ovid's '-Fasti,'' III, 377. 
 
 22. "Sutrium." The modern Sutri. 
 
 23. "The Tusculan Mamilius." Octavius Mamilius was son-in-law 
 of King Tarquin, who had endeavored during his reign to attach to his 
 interests many of the chief men of the Latins. Tusculum, now only 
 a few ruins, stood near the modern Frascati, and was one of the most 
 important of the Latin cities. It was fabled to have been founded by 
 Telegonus, son of Ulysses and Circe, and was the birthplace of the 
 elder Cato and the favorite residence of Cicero (note his "Tusculan 
 Disputations "). 
 
 24. "The yellow Tiber." The color of the Tiber is due to the 
 swiftness of the current that sweeps down and holds in suspension 
 many particles of earth and clay. 
 
 25. "The spacious champaign. 1 ' The Roman Campagna may be 
 said to be the plain bounded on the north by the Ciminian forest, 
 on the south by the Alban Hills, on the east by the Sabine Apennines, 
 and on the west by the sea, 
 
 26. "Skins of wine." The early method of keeping and carrying 
 the cheaper grades of wine was in sacks or bottles made of the skins 
 of animals, and the poorer wines of Spain and Greece are still kept in 
 " skins." 
 
 27. "The rock Tarpeian." The Tarpeian Rock, from which con- 
 
140 KOTES. 
 
 demned traitors were thrown in early days, was presumably the high- 
 est point of the Capitoline Hill. The formation has changed very 
 much and, though the spot is still pointed out, its alleged location is 
 not considered beyond suspicion. 
 
 28. 4i The Fathers of the City." The Fathers were the three hun- 
 dred senators, heads of the three hundred families of the three tribes, 
 those of the last admitted tribe, the Luceres, being known as the 
 patres minorum gentium. After the institution of the republic, 
 vacancies which had occurred in the senate, either by the killing of 
 obnoxious senators by Tarquin, or by the departure of those who 
 accompanied him into exile, were filled by certain chosen plebeians of 
 equestrian rank, who, because they were enrolled with the others, were 
 known as conscripti. Hence the senate was called Patres et conscripti, 
 shortened into Patres conscripti, " Conscript fathers." 
 
 29. " Crustumerium," a colony from Alba, is supposed to have 
 been situated in the mountains near the sources of the Allia (now the 
 Aia or Fosso clella Bettina). It was captured by Romulus and again 
 by Tarquinius Priscus. 
 
 30. "Ostia," founded by Ancus Marcius at the mouth of the 
 Tiber, was the ancient seaport of Rome. It is now about two and a 
 half miles from the coast, in consequence of the vast quantity of sand, 
 earth, etc., carried down and deposited by the river. 
 
 31. " Janiculum," now known as the Monte Gianicolo, was the 
 heights on the western bank of the Tiber, first fortified and connected 
 with the city by Ancus Marcius. A white banner floated from its top, 
 and was lowered only when an enemy came in sight, to warn the 
 burghers of the threatened attack. 
 
 32. " The Consul." Two consuls (first called praetors), elected each 
 year, administered the Roman government, being vested with all the 
 civil and military prerogatives of the kings, except that of high-priest of 
 the state. They presided alternately for a month at a time. 
 
 33. "The River-Gate." It is probable that there were originally 
 two gates where the walls approached the river bank : the Carmen- 
 talis in the north wall, and the Flumentana in the south, although this 
 is contrary to the conclusions of most antiquarians, who place the 
 Porta Flumentana on the north near the Porta Carmentalis, thus 
 locating two gates (not to mention the special Porta Triumphalis for 
 the use of a triumphing imperator) in the short stretch of wall between 
 the river and the Capitoline Hill. In the south wall they locate the 
 Porta Trigemina, from which the wall ran unbroken a distance of over 
 half a mile around the Aventine Hill to the Porta Naevia. Macaulay 
 
NOTES. 141 
 
 undoubtedly places the Flumentana in the south wall (see note 60), 
 and. while there seems to be no definite authority for it. we may 
 imagine his reasoning. But one gate was needed on each side. We 
 know the Carmentalis was in the north wall, and doubtless that gate 
 in the south which was nearest the Tiber would be known as the 
 Porta Flumentana or u River-Gate." Later, when the Carmentalis 
 became a gate of evil omen, owing to the Fabii marching through it on 
 their fatal expedition to Cremera (see Macaulay's Preface), it doubtless 
 became necessary to build a third gate even in so short a stretch of 
 wall. People would not use the Carmentalis, and the Triumphalis 
 could be opened only for a specific purpose. Therefore a new " River- 
 Grate" was built close to the Tiber. Meanwhile it is probable that 
 the old " River-Gate " was an insufficient outlet for its district, and was 
 enlarged into a three-arched gate, thence called the Trigemina ; and so 
 the name " River-Gate" might very naturally have shifted from the 
 southern to the northern portal. An examination of a diagram of the 
 Servian wall at these points will show the force of this explanation, 
 and every reference which has led the classical authorities to the con- 
 clusion that the Porta Flumentana was in the wall between the Capitol 
 and the river is met equally well by the suggested shifting of the 
 name. 
 
 3-4. "The bridge." This was the Sublician Bridge, which then 
 formed the sole connection between the un walled river front of the 
 city and the interior of the lines of wall which joined it to the fortified 
 citadel on Janiculum. It has been located a little below the sole re- 
 maining pier of the Pons JEmilius, where some apparent remains of an 
 ancient wooden bridge have been discovered. 
 
 35. "Twelve fair cities." Twelve cities or cantons composed the 
 Etruscan confederation. The number, however, was probably not abso- 
 lutely fixed, and there were undoubtedly changes in the membership. 
 At the date of the narrative they were probably Clusium. Volaterrae, 
 Cortona, Arretium, Perusia (now Perugia), Tetulonia, Volsinii, Tar- 
 quinii (near the modern Corneto), Caere (now Cervetri and from 
 which the word " ceremony " is said to have been derived), Yeii (near 
 the modern village of Isola Farnese), Yolci, and Falerii. 
 
 30. " Each warlike Lucumo." " Lucumo " was a title of nobility, 
 or authority, sacerdotal as well as civil. It is said to be derived from 
 the Etruscan lauchme, meaning " inspired." 
 
 37. " Cilnius of Arretium." Several of the names of Macaulay's 
 Etruscan heroes are based merely on the fact that they are Etruscan 
 in their derivation. That of Cilnius, however, was evidently suggested 
 
142 NOTES. 
 
 by the gens name of Caius Cilnius Maecenas, the friend of Augustus 
 and patron of literature, who was a native of Arretium. 
 
 38. " The four-fold shield." Compare " Iliad," XVIII, 540-542. 
 
 39. " The hold by reedy Thrasymene." Probably Cortona, which 
 lies about seven miles from the Lacus Trasimenus, now Lago Trasimeno. 
 
 40. "False Sextus." The story of Sextus Tarquinius and his deed 
 and its consequences is told by Livy, I, 57 et seq. 
 
 41. u The Captain of the Gate." See note 33. 
 
 42. " The holy maidens." The vestal virgins who guarded the fire 
 that burned forever upon the hearth of Vesta were originally de- 
 rived from Alba and adopted into the Roman hierarchy by Numa. A 
 full account of their organization, duties, privileges, etc., will be found 
 in any dictionary of antiquities. 
 
 43. " In yon strait path." The passage between the two walls that 
 connected Janiculum with the bridge. 
 
 44. "A Eamnian proud." The Eamnians (Hamnenses), so named 
 from Romulus, were the original burghers or nobles of Rome, and their 
 descendants. 
 
 45. "Of Titian blood." The Titians (Titie?ises) , so called from 
 Titus Tatius the Sabine leader, were the descendants of the second 
 century of nobles chosen from the Sabines so as to give each people 
 an equal voice in the united government. 
 
 46. ' ' Then lands were fairly portioned. " Alluding to that most fruit- 
 ful source of quarrels between the patricians and plebeians over the use 
 or division of the public or conquered land. All through the early life 
 of the Roman commonwealth the proposal of an agrarian law was 
 the signal for the gravest civil commotions. 
 
 47. " Green Tifernum." Tifernum occupied the site of the modern 
 Citta di Castello. It was an Umbrian rather than Etruscan town. 
 
 48. " Ilva's mines." Ilva was the ancient name of Elba. It was 
 celebrated for its iron mines. 
 
 49. Nequinum, now Narni ; and the ancient Xar is known as the 
 Nera. The Umbrians, thought by some to have been the original in- 
 habitants of Italy, seem to have had no central government like the 
 Latins and Etruscans, and in several wars we find Umbrian cities 
 lighting on each side. 
 
 50. " Ocnus of Ealerii. " Falerii stood near the modern town of 
 Civita Castellana. 
 
 51. "Lausulus of Urgo." Urgo or Urgos has been identified with 
 the little island of Gorgona not far from Leghorn. 
 
 52. ' ' Aruns of Volsinium . ' * Volsinium (or Volsinii) is now Orvieto. 
 
NOTES. 143 
 
 53. " Cosa's fen." The ruins of Cosa, now known as Ansedonia, 
 are on the seacoast near Orbetello. 
 
 54. " Albinia's shore. 1 ' The Albinia is now known as the Albegna. 
 It flows southwesterly into the Mediterranean, just above the marshes 
 of Orbetello. 
 
 55. " The she-wolf's litter." In allusion to the nurturing of Romu- 
 lus and Remus. The Romans were often called " the wolves of Italy." 
 
 56. " Mount Al vermis." The reference is doubtless to Mount Alver- 
 nia, upon which stands a modern village of the same name, about two 
 miles north of Chiusi. 
 
 57. "And the pale augurs, muttering low, gaze on the blasted head." 
 As to occurrences which were considered subjects for augury, read 
 Livy, XXI. 62 ; XXII, 1 ; XXIII, 31, and XXIV, 10 and 44. 
 
 58. "Palatums." The Rome of Romulus occupied only the Pala- 
 tine Hill. Later, after the walls of Senilis had included the seven 
 hills, the Palatine remained the especial residence quarter of the great 
 patrician families. 
 
 59. "Oh, Tiber ! father Tiber !" In the classical world, each river 
 had its presiding deity of the same name, whose worship was especially 
 cultivated by dwellers upon its banks. Compare " Iliad," XXI, 242 et 
 seq. 
 
 60. "The River-Gate." As the swift current, running southward. 
 carried Horatius outside the un walled stretch by the bridge, the River- 
 Gate through which Macaulay makes him enter the city must have 
 been on the site of the Porta Trigemina, See note 33. 
 
 61. " The corn-land, that was of public right." The ager publicus 
 of Rome was land derived from the conquest of other cities and 
 states. Owned by the state, it was either divided among colonists, 
 rented out to Roman citizens on shares, or used for common pasturage. 
 
 62. " As much as two strong oxen could plough from morn till 
 night." The Roman unit of land measure was the jugerum (about 
 two-thirds of an acre), derived from the word jugum, a yoke, and sup- 
 posed to represent the ploughing of a yoke of oxen in one day. 
 
 63. " In the Comitium." The Comitium was a square space adjoin- 
 ing the Forum on the north, and probably elevated above it by a few 
 steps. Here were held the comitia, or assemblies of the Roman peo- 
 ple. It may be said to have been the patrician end of the Forum. 
 
 64. " To charge the Yolscian home." The Volscians were a peo- 
 ple of southern Latium with whom the Romans were more or less con- 
 tinuously at war for two hundred years from the reign of Tarquinius 
 Superbus. 
 
144 NOTES. 
 
 65. " Wives still pray to Juno." Juno Lucina was especially in- 
 voked by women looking forward to maternity. 
 
 66. " The good logs of Algidus." Algidus, now Monte Algido, is 
 the highest summit of the Alban Mountains. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 
 
 1. "Ho, lictors, clear the way!" The lictors were the special 
 attendants of the consuls and dictators, and bore the emblems of su- 
 preme civil authority, the axes bound in bundles of elm rods (secures 
 et fasces), to symbolize the power over life and death. The usual 
 form of Roman execution was scourging and beheading. 
 
 2. " The Knights will ride." For information as to the equestrian 
 order, see the Introduction to this poem. Also, consult any dictionary 
 of classical antiquities. 
 
 3. " Castor in the Eorum." Three columns still mark the site of 
 the temple of Castor and Pollux in the Eorum. They stand at the 
 foot of the Palatine Hill, near the ruins of the temple of Yesta. 
 
 4. "Mars without the wall." The temple of Mars stood upon a 
 small elevation beside the Appian Way, about half a mile beyond 
 the Porta Capena. 
 
 5. "Each Knight is robed in purple." The knights, during the 
 ceremony of the Equitum transvectio wore the trabea, a white gown 
 with horizontal purple stripes. It was one of the original badges of 
 the kingly dignity. 
 
 6. " The Yellow River." See " Horatius," note 24. 
 
 7. "The Sacred Hill." The allusion here is doubtless to the 
 Capitoline Hill, whereon stood the Capitolium dedicated to Jupiter, 
 Juno, and Minerva, rather than to the Mons Sacer mentioned in 
 1 ' Virginia. ' ' 
 
 8. "The proud Ides of Quintilis." The Ides of Quintilis was 
 July 15. 
 
 9. "Gay are the Martian Kalends." On the Martian Kalends, 
 March 1, was celebrated the festival of the Matronalia, mainly to com- 
 memorate the ending of the war between the Romans and Sabines 
 through the intercession of the women. It was the custom for 
 husbands to give presents to their wives on this day. 
 
 10. " December's Nones are gay. " December's Nones, December 5, 
 was the festival of the Eaunalia in honor of the god Faunus. 
 
 11. " The Great Twin Brethren." Castor and Pollux are generally 
 alluded to in mythology as the sons of Leda, wife of Tyndareus king 
 
NOTES. 145 
 
 of Sparta, and of Zeus disguised as a swan. More strictly speaking, the 
 accepted myth is that, of four children born at a birth, Castor and 
 Clytemnestra were the offspring of Tyndareus, and Pollux and Helen 
 of Zeus. Of the so-called twins, then, Pollux alone was immortal, but 
 such was his fraternal affection that, at his request, Zeus granted him, 
 upon his brother's death, that they should possess a joint immortality 
 on every other day. 
 
 12. "They came o'er wild Parthenius. Mount Parthenius rises on 
 the boundary between Argolis and Arcadia, where it approaches the 
 Laconian frontier. 
 
 13. --O'er Cirrha's dome." Cirrha in Phocis was the port of 
 Delphi. Its site is now occupied by the miserable village of Magoula. 
 
 14. "From where with flutes and dances." The flute w T as the 
 national musical instrument of the Spartans, and their armies marched 
 to its strains. 
 
 15. "The City of two kings." Lacedsemon, or Sparta, was unique 
 among Greek communities for its double kingship. The nearest ap- 
 proach is found in the two consuls at Rome. 
 
 16. " To where, by Lake Regillus." See Introduction to this poem. 
 
 17. " In the lands of Tusculum." See " Horatius," note 23. 
 
 18. " Corne's oaks." Pliny speaks of a grove dedicated to Diana at 
 a place called Corne, " a suburban eminence of the Tusculan region." 
 This is the modern Cornufelle, close by the crater which once contained 
 the Lake Regillus. See Gell's " Topography of Rome and its Vicinity." 
 
 19. "The Thirty Cities" of the Latin confederacy were, according 
 to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Ardea, Aricia, BovillaB, Bubentum, 
 Corniculum, Carventum, Cerceii, Corioli, Corbio, Cora. Fortinii (?), 
 Gabii, Laurentum, Lavinium, Labicum, Lanuvium, Nomentum, Norba, 
 Prseneste, Pedum, Querquetulum, Satricum. Scaptia. Setia, Tellense, 
 Tibur, Tusculum, Toleria, Tricrinum(?), and Velitrae. 
 
 20. " Since last the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Of mortal eyes were seen, 
 Have years gone by an hundred 
 And fourscore and thirteen." 
 
 The date of the battle is supposed to have been 405 b.c. 
 
 21. "Consul first in place." See "Horatius," note 32. There is 
 some doubt as to whether the consul major was the older or the 
 one first elected or the one presiding that month. 
 
 22. "Gabii." A few ruins on the banks of the now drained Lago 
 Castiglione near the Via Prsenestina, and about nine miles from the 
 Porta Maggiore, mark the site of Gabii. 
 
146 NOTES. 
 
 23. " Rome's Eastern Gate." Probably the Porta Esquilina, which 
 stood near the present site of the arch of Gallienus. 
 
 24. ' ' To bring the Tarquins home. " For the story of the Tarquins, 
 see Livy, I, 35-60. 
 
 25. "Conscript Fathers." See " Horatius," note 28. 
 
 26. "Then choose we a Dictator." For full details of the choice 
 and office of dictator consult dictionary of classical antiquities. 
 
 27. "Camerium." Supposed to have occupied the site of the 
 modern Palombara. It was taken and destroyed by the consul 
 Yerginius (502 b.c.) for espousing the cause of the Tarquins. 
 Dionysius, V, 21, 40, 49. 
 
 28. "Axes twenty-four." The consuls being attended by twelve 
 lictors each, the dictator, who took over the authority of both, was 
 attended by the full twenty-four bearing the axes and rods. 
 
 29. " He made JEbutius Elva 
 
 His Master of the Knights." 
 
 The dictator usually nominated his magister eqirftam, or lieutenant, 
 though a name was sometimes suggested to him in the decree of his 
 own appointment. 
 
 30. " Setia's purple vineyards." Setia is now Sezze. Originally it 
 was a town of the Volscians. It became a Roman colony after 382 b.c. 
 Its wine was the imperial vintage most prized by Augustus and later 
 emperors. 
 
 31. " Xorba's ancient wall." The ruins of Norba are not far from 
 Ninfa on the road from Rome to Terracina. 
 
 32. " From where the Witch's Fortress 
 
 O'erhangs the dark-blue seas." 
 
 The allusion is to Cercii, of which only a few ruins remain. The 
 promontory on which they stand, now known as Promontorio Circeo 
 or Monte Cicello, was supposed to have been the site of the palace of 
 the enchantress Circe, visited by Ulysses in the " Odyssey." 
 
 33. " From the still, glassy lake that sleeps 
 
 Beneath Aricia's trees." 
 
 The modern village of Ariccia stands where the citadel of Aricia 
 once stood. The ancient city lay a little to the southward. It was 
 famous for its temple of Diana Aricina, situated in a grove on the border 
 of Lake Nemorensis (now Nemi). Her priesthood could be attained 
 only by a runaway slave who had been able to challenge the former 
 incumbent by breaking a branch from a certain tree in the grove, and 
 
KOTES. 147 
 
 to kill him in single combat. He then held the office (of Bex Xemo- 
 rensis) until challenged and killed in like manner. 
 
 34. "The drear banks of Ufens." The Ufens, now the Uffente, is 
 a small stream which loses itself in the Pontine marshes between Sezze 
 and Fiperno. 
 
 35. "Cora," now Cori, was fabled to have been founded by the 
 Trojan Dardanus. 
 
 36. " The Laurentian jungle." The few ruins of Laurentum lie in 
 the marshes near Torre di Pater no. 
 
 37. "The green steeps whence Anio leaps." The Anio, now the 
 Teverone, rises in the Sabine Apennines and flows westerly into the 
 Tiber a little above Rome. 
 
 38. "Velitne," now Velletri. 
 
 30. " Mamilius, Prince of the Latin name." For Mamilius, see 
 
 " Horatius," note 23. 
 
 40. "A vest of purple flowed, 
 
 Woven in the land of sunrise 
 
 By Syria's dark -browed daughters." 
 
 An allusion to the famous purple dye of the Tyrian weavers. 
 
 41. "And by the sails of Carthage brought/' Carthage divided 
 with Massilia (Marseilles) the commerce of the western Mediter- 
 ranean ; but she gained steadily upon her rival. Hence where the 
 author of "Horatius," who is supposed to have lived ninety years 
 earlier, speaks of " Massilia's triremes," the present author uses " the 
 sails of Carthage " as an equivalent expression. 
 
 42. "Lavinium." About four miles southeast of the ruins of 
 Laurentum (see above) lie those of Lavinium, named from Lavinia, 
 the fabled daughter of King Latinus, and the wife of iEneas. That the 
 cities of the marsh and coast have not lived again under Italianized 
 names, as have many of their sisters of further inland, is due to the 
 malaria that has devastated the region for so many centuries. The 
 conditions are known to have been very different in early times, when 
 the country was well wooded and drained. 
 
 43. " False Sextus." See " Horatius," note 40. 
 
 44. " Tiber," now Tivoli. 
 
 45. "Pedum." The site of Pedum is probably that now occupied 
 by the village of Gallicano. 
 
 46. "Ferentinum of the rock." Ferentinum was an Etruscan city. 
 Its ruins lie a little north of Viterbo. 
 
 47. "There rode the Volscian succours." Contrary to ancient ens- 
 
148 NOTES. 
 
 torn, the Latins have here marshalled their foreign allies in the centre 
 instead of on the wings of their array. See also " Horatius," note 64. 
 
 48. "The ancient king." King Tarqnin. 
 
 49. " White as Mount Soracte." Mount Soracte rises southeast of 
 Civita Castellana on the west bank of the Tiber. Horace speaks of it 
 (" Carin.," I, 9) as white with snow. 
 
 50. " On an Apulian steed." The best horses in ancient Italy came 
 from the southern part of the peninsula, where the Greeks had doubt- 
 less introduced Asiatic strains. The Campanians took especial pride 
 in their cavalry. 
 
 51. "Like the Pomptine fog at morn." The Pomptine marshes 
 extend along the coast south of Rome from Cisterna to Terracina. 
 
 52. "Prom the Digentian rock." The allusion is probably to the 
 precipitous rock upon which the village of Rocca Giovine is perched. 
 The stream at its base, now called the Licenza, was the ancient 
 Digentia, spoken of by Horace. ("Epist.," I, 18, 104.) 
 
 53. "Bandusia's flock." See Horace, "Carm," III, 13. 
 
 54. " The crown he won, 
 
 When proud PidenaB fell." 
 
 The corona rnuralis (mural crown), made with gold and decorated 
 with turrets, was given by the general to the first man who scaled the 
 walls of a besieged city. 
 
 55. "Pidense." This city, whose scanty ruins are found on the 
 south bank of the Tiber, about five miles from the Porta Salaria, was 
 originally the outpost Etruscan city, and the ally of Yeii in her wars 
 with Rome. 
 
 56. "That fell speckled snake." The common European viper. 
 Its venom is said to be more dangerous the more southern the latitude. 
 
 57. " There Valerius fought." Publius Valerius, who on the banish- 
 ment of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus succeeded him as colleague of 
 Brutus in the consulship. (Livy, II, 2.) 
 
 58. "RexofGabii, 
 
 The priest of Juno's shrine." 
 
 Most interesting among the ruins of Gabii are those of the celebrated 
 temple of Juno Gabina. 
 
 59. "The Velian hill." The Velia, numbered in the original 
 Septimontium (see note 85), was a northeast spur of the Palatine 
 Hill. 
 
 60. "A Consular of Rome." One who had been consul. See 
 note 57. 
 
NOTES. 149 
 
 61. "I see an evil sight." After the manner of Homeric battles, 
 the fall of iEbutius had evidently resulted in the defeat of the Roman 
 left wing. 
 
 62. " From Aufidus. " The Aufidus (now the Of ante) , the principal 
 river of Apulia, flows from the Apennines into the Adriatic Sea. 
 
 63. "ToPo." The Padua (now the Po) rises in the Cottian Alps. 
 and flows easterly across Italy into the Adriatic Sea. 
 
 64. '• The southern mountains." The Alban Hills. 
 
 65. " The furies of thy brother." The Furies were the deities who 
 haunted and punished those who had committed crimes which human 
 justice had failed to avenge adequately. Such was the rape of Lucretia 
 by Sextus Tarquinius. 
 
 66. " In some rich Capuan's hall. " Capua, now Sta Maria cli Capua 
 Yetere, was the second city of Italy, and was noted for its wealth and 
 the effeminacy of its citizens. 
 
 67. k; Well Samothracia knows us." In allusion to the legend that 
 when the Argo was buffeted by storms in the northern JEgean, Orpheus 
 prayed to the Samothracian gods, whereupon stars appeared upon the 
 heads of Castor and Pollux, who were also members of the expedition, 
 and the storm ceased. The island is now called Samothraki. 
 
 68. " Cyrene knows us well." Cyrene was a Spartan colony on 
 the north coast of Tripoli. Extensive ruins show its ancient impor- 
 tance. Castor and Pollux were honored there with a great festival. 
 
 69. "Gay Tarentum." Tarentum, now Taranto, was settled by 
 Spartans about 707 b.c, and became one of the most powerful cities 
 of Magna Graecia. 
 
 70. '-The masts of Syracuse." Syracuse, perhaps the most famous 
 of Greek colonial cities of the west, was settled by Dorians from Corinth. 
 
 71. '• The proud Eurotas." The Eurotas (now the Vasili Potamo) 
 rises in Arcadia and flows southward through Laconia, past Sparta, 
 emptying into the Laconian Gulf. 
 
 72. " Ardea." The site of Ardea is now marked by rather exten- 
 sive ruins and a poor village that occupies the site of the citadel. 
 
 73. " The hearth of Vesta." The remains of the circular temple 
 of Vesta are still visible in the Forum, near that of Castor and Pollux. 
 See also " Horatius," note 42. 
 
 74. - ; The Golden Shield." See " Horatius," note 21. 
 
 75. t; The Celtic plain." The plains of Lombardy, the valley of the 
 Po. were inhabited by tribes of Celtic Gauls. 
 
 76. k - Our Sire Quirinus." Quirinus, an ancient Roman (or Latin) 
 war deity, was supposed to be the apotheosized Romulus. 
 
150 NOTES. 
 
 77. "Lanuvium." The site of Lanuvium is now occupied by the 
 small town of Civita Lavinia. 
 
 78. " Nomentum " lay near the modern village of Mentana. 
 
 79. u Arpinum" is now Arpino. It was the birthplace of Marius 
 and of Marcus Tullius Cicero. As the greatest of the Tullian gens 
 was born there, Macaulay calls its chief Tullus. 
 
 80. ' ' Anxur." A town of the V olscians. Later it was called Tarra- 
 cina, now Terracina. 
 
 81. " The great Arician seer." The Bex Nemorensis. See note 33. 
 
 82. " The High Pontiff." The Pontifex Maximus, head of the col- 
 lege of pontiffs, was the highest religious dignitary in ancient Rome. 
 The details of his selection, duties, dignities, etc., will be found in 
 any dictionary of antiquities. The title was probably derived from 
 pons (a bridge) and facere used in the sense of the Greek pefriv (to 
 perform a sacrifice), because the pontiffs presided over certain annual 
 sacrifices that were offered on the Sublician Bridge. It is also main- 
 tained that facere should be construed " to make " (or build), and that 
 the title means a bridge builder, because the first bridge over the Tiber 
 was built by or under the auspices of the pontiffs. The name is espe- 
 cially interesting as having been preserved as one of the titles of the 
 popes of Rome. 
 
 83. " In all Etruria's colleges." The Latin collegium was not used 
 as now to designate an advanced educational institution, but meant 
 simply a corporation of several collegce (colleagues) banded together 
 for any religious or civil purpose. As Rome's hierarchy and ritual 
 were drawn largely from Etruscan sources, it was natural to praise the 
 head of the college of pontiffs by comparing him favorably with those 
 of Etruria. 
 
 84. " The great Asylum. " Temples, altars, sacred groves, etc. , were 
 held throughout the classical world to be asylums or places of refuge 
 for slaves, debtors, and criminals who fled to them. The allusion here 
 is to the story told by Livy (I, 8), that Romulus, in order to increase 
 the population of his city, established such a sanctuary on the slope of 
 the Capitoline Hill. It was enclosed and known later as the "Two 
 Groves." 
 
 85. " The hill-tops seven." The original seven hills (Septimontiinn) 
 were, according to Festus, the Palatium, Yelia, Cselius, Cermalus (on 
 the northwest side of the Palatine), Fagutal (between the Arch of 
 Gallienus and the Sette Sale), Oppius, and Cispius (both also parts of 
 the Esquiline). 
 
 86. " The fire that burns for aye." See " Horatius," note 42. 
 
NOTES. 151 
 
 87. "Vesta." See note 73. 
 
 88. " In harness on his right.' 1 It looks as if Macaulay had tripped 
 here ; for while the Greeks looked for signs of good augury on the 
 right, the Romans looked for them on the left. Both agreed in con- 
 sidering the east lucky, but the Greek augur faced north, and the 
 Roman, south. The criticism is perhaps trivial, since the appearance 
 of supporting gods upon either hand of a general in battle would 
 doubtless be considered favorable ; but it is a compliment to Macau- 
 lay's care in such matters, that one wonders he did not place the good 
 omen on the left. The same comment may be made upon the allusion 
 in stanza XXXII. 
 
 89. '• Safe comes the ship to haven.*' See Horace, " Carin." I, 3. 
 
 VIRGINIA. 
 
 1. "The three memorable laws": First, that one consul should 
 always be a plebeian. Second, that no one should possess more than 
 500 jugera of the public land nor keep upon it more than 100 head of 
 large or 500 of small cattle. Third, that certain interests paid on 
 borrowed money should be deducted from the debt, and that the bal- 
 ance should be paid in three yearly instalments. 
 
 2. " Fescennine verse. " Originally extemporaneous verses recited 
 in dialogues by country people, principally at harvest and wedding 
 festivities. They are said to have originated at the Etruscan town of 
 Fescenium. Others say that the name is derived from fascium 
 (enchantment), which the verses were supposed to ward off. At first 
 they were confined to mutual satire and repartee, but with the 
 deterioration of morals they became grossly obscene. 
 
 3. " The story of Domitian's turbot." See Juvenal, " Sat." IV. 
 
 4. "The bold Tribunes.'' See Introduction to this poem. 
 
 5. "Fountains running wine." In the Golden Age of Greek 
 mythology life was pictured as ideal. Truth and right were universal, 
 war was unknown, the earth brought forth its increase without labor 
 of ploughing and sowing ; perpetual spring reigned, with its wealth of 
 flowers, and the rivers ran with milk and wine. 
 
 6. " Maids with snaky tresses." A reference to the Gorgons of 
 Greek mythology, the most famous of whom was Medusa, whose head 
 turned those who saw it into stone. The story is prettily told in 
 Bulfinch's "Age of Fable." 
 
 7. •• Sailors turned to swine." Alluding to the tale of the com- 
 panions of Ulysses changed into swine by Circe. (See " Battle of 
 
152 NOTES. 
 
 Lake Regillus," note 32.) Circe was supposed to symbolize sensual 
 indulgence, the pursuit of which was aptly fabled to change men into 
 the lowest of the beasts. 
 
 8. " The wicked Ten. " See Introduction to this poem, and, for 
 the full story of the Decemvirate and its fall, Livy, III. 
 
 9. . " King Tarquin." See Livy, I, 47-60. 
 
 10. " Twelve axes." The consular insignia were the axes (secures) 
 bound up in bundles of elm staves (fasces) . In some cases only the 
 fasces were carried by the lictors. See "Battle of Lake Regillus," 
 notes 1 and 28. 
 
 11. " The client Marcus." The clients of the great houses were a 
 distinct class in Rome. Though they seem to have had votes in the 
 comitia centuriata for the election of magistrates, passage of laws, etc. , 
 still they were not plebeians or Roman citizens in the full sense of the 
 terms. The best parallel is found in the position of the feudal retainers 
 of mediaeval Europe as opposed to that of the free commons of the 
 towns. Each noble patron prided himself on the number of his clients ; 
 the relation was hereditary, and, in later times, even cities and states 
 took some noble family as their patron, usually that of the general who 
 had subjugated them. 
 
 12. "With her small tablets in her hand." Tabula? ceratce, upon 
 which the ancients wrote with the sharp stylus of steel or ivory, were 
 small, oblong pieces of wood, covered with wax, and hinged so as to 
 fold together. 
 
 13. " The Sacred Street." The Via Sacra probably ran from about 
 where the Coliseum now stands, through the forum, which, together 
 with the comitium, was practically embraced by its two branches, and 
 to where the Clivus Capitolinus began its winding ascent of the 
 Capitolium. 
 
 14. " Lucrece." Eor the story of Lucretia, see Livy, I, 57 et seq. 
 
 15. " The Alban Mountains" lie about twelve miles to the south- 
 east of Rome. 
 
 16. " The Seven Hills." See "Battle of Lake Regillus," note 85. 
 
 17. " The Forum all alive." The forum in early times had on two 
 sides porticoes of peperino columns between which were the stalls of 
 schoolmasters and the shops of tradesmen, principally butchers. At a 
 later period money-changers and bankers occupied most of the cells. 
 
 18. "Punic." Carthaginian. 
 
 19. "The year of the sore sickness." The pestilence of 463 b.c. 
 afflicted Rome fourteen years before the episode of Virginia is sup- 
 posed to have occurred. See Livy, III, 6. 
 
XOTES. 153 
 
 20. ••Whereon three mouldering helmets, three rusting swords, are 
 hung." The spoils of the Curatii slain by the Horatii in the war 
 
 between Rome and Alba in the reign of Tullus Hostilius. See Livy, 
 I, 24-2(3. 
 
 21. "Be men to-day, Quirites." Quirites (from Quirium. the 
 original Sabine city on the Quirinal and Capitolium, or from 
 Quirinus. See "Battle of Lake Regillus," note 76) was the term 
 applied to the citizens or people of Rome in their civil capacity. 
 For the army to be so addressed implied deep disgrace and carried 
 with it the inference that the soldiers were such no longer, and were 
 worthy to be considered only as the rabble of the forum. The 
 distinction was much more clearly defined in later times when 
 the legionaries became more and more a professional class, and 
 when the populace had degenerated. * Caesar and other generals 
 brought mutinous troops to terms, on several occasions, by merely 
 addressing them as Quirites. 
 
 22. " For this did Servius give us laws." Servius Tullius, the 
 sixth of the kings, was the defender of the commons against the 
 patricians. His story is told in Livy, I. 
 
 23. " Tarquin's evil seed. 1 ' See Livy, I, 57 et seq. 
 
 24. " The axes of their sire." An allusion to the story of Brutus, 
 the first Roman consul, who ordered his sons to execution for con- 
 spiring for the return of the Tarquins. See Livy, II, 5. 
 
 25. " Scawola's right hand." For the story of Mucius Scaevola, see 
 Livy, II, 12. 
 
 26. "One lord." A king. 
 
 27. "The Sacred Hill." The sacred mount has been identified with 
 the hill about three miles from Rome, just beyond where the Ponte 
 Xomentano bridges the Anio (or Teverone). For the secession of 
 the plebeians, and the first election of tribunes consequent thereon, 
 see Livy, II, 32-33. Thereafter the ground was left open, occupied 
 only by an altar to Jupiter, to whom the hill was consecrated. 
 
 28. " They faced the Marcian fury." For the story of Caius (or 
 Gnaeus) Marcins Coriolanus. see Livy, II, 33 et s c q. 
 
 29. " They tamed the Fabian pride." The Fabian gens was often 
 at deadly feud with the commons. Macaulay probably refers here to 
 when, in 482 B.C., the soldiers refused to fight the Yeientes under 
 the consul Quintus Fabius, who was obliged to return home unsuc- 
 cessful and disgraced. 
 
 30. "The fiercest Quinctius." Caeso Quinctius, son of Lucius 
 Quinctius Cincinnatus, was exiled 461 b.c 
 
154 NOTES. 
 
 31. "The haughtiest Claudius." Appius Claudius, the founder of 
 the house. 
 
 32. "Fasces." See note 10. 
 
 33. " Still keep the holy fillets ; still keep the purple gown, 
 
 The axes, and the curule chair, the car, and laurel crown." 
 
 At this time all offices, religious, civil, and military, were in the 
 hands of the patricians. Icilius uses the official insignia for the offices 
 themselves : the holy fillets for the priesthoods, the curule chair for 
 high magistracies, the trabea with its purple stripes, and the axes, for 
 consulships and dictatorships, and the ivory chair car and laurel 
 crown for the triumphing general. 
 
 34. " Still fill your garners from the soil which our good swords 
 have won." For this and other patrician privileges and abuses, see 
 Introduction to this poem. 
 
 35. "The Shades beneath us." The spirits of the dead in the 
 realms of Pluto. 
 
 36. "Your yet more cruel love." By ancient Roman law there 
 could be no full and legal marriage between patricians and plebeians, 
 but, four years after the episode of Virginia, the Lex Canuleia did 
 away with this restriction. 
 
 37. " High Pontiffs." See " Battle of Lake Regillus," note 82. 
 
 38. " Ancient Alban kings." Alba Longa, not far from the modern 
 Albano, the most ancient town in Latium, was said to have been built 
 by Ascanius, the son of iEneas. It was called "Longa," because it 
 stretched in a long line down the Alban mount. On its destruction 
 by Tullus Hostilius its inhabitants were removed to Pome. 
 
 39. " Capuan odors." A street in Capua (the Seplasia) was occu- 
 pied entirely by the sellers of perfumes. See also "Battle of Lake 
 Regillus," note 66. 
 
 40. "Spanish gold." Spain was a leading source of the ancient 
 gold supply. See "Prophecy of Capys," note 7. 
 
 41. " Straightway Virginius led the maid." For the full story of 
 Virginia, see Livy, III, 44 et seq. 
 
 42. "The great sewer." The Cloaca Maxima, the building of 
 which is assigned to Tarquinius Priscus and which is still intact and 
 in use. 
 
 43. " My civic crown." The civic crown, made of oak leaves, was 
 given to a soldier who saved the life of a Roman citizen in battle. 
 
 44. "The Volscian." See " Horatius," note 64. 
 
 45. "Dwellers in the nether gloom, avengers of the slain." The 
 
NOTES. 155 
 
 deities of the under-world, over whom Pluto and Proserpina presided : 
 iEacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthus, the judges, but more especially 
 the Furies, Alecto, Tisiphone, and Meg^era, whose duty it was to 
 punish the crimes of those too strong for human justice. 
 
 46. "Ten thousand pounds of copper." The earliest Roman coin, 
 the ces or as, was made of copper or bronze and weighed a pound. 
 Before that time (the reign of Servius Tullius ?) lumps or ingots of 
 the metal were weighed out as a circulating medium. 
 
 47. ,; A cypress crown." The cypress has been emblematic of 
 mourning from the earliest classical times. 
 
 48. " The Pincian Hill." This hill was not included in the original 
 city, but lay north of the walls of Servius. The walls of Aurelian 
 enclosed the greater part of it. 
 
 49. " The Latin Gate." The Porta Capena, the most important of 
 the southern gates in the Servian wall, is doubtless meant. The Via 
 Appia and the Via Latina started from it in one road, separating half- 
 way to the Aurelian Wall, through which they issued by two gates. — 
 the Appian and the Latin. It is quite possible that in early times the 
 Porta Capena was called also Latina. 
 
 50. "Caius of Corioli." See note 28. 
 
 51. " The yoke of Furius." Marcus Furius Camillus. 
 
 52. " The Calabrian sea-marks." High points along the Calabrian 
 coast (the southeastern part of Italy), by which the ancient mariners, 
 being without compass, steered their course. 
 
 53. "The grea,t Thunder-Cape." Acroceraunium. on the coast of 
 Epirus (Dion Cassius, XLI, 44), now Cape Linguetta. 
 
 54. " Mount Palatine." See " Horatius," note 58. 
 
 THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 
 
 1. " Now slain is King Amulius. " The story of the birth of Romulus 
 and Remus, the burying alive of their mother, the vestal, Rea Silvia, 
 and the exposure, rescue, and return of the twins, is told by Livy. I, 
 3 et seq. 
 
 2. " Alba Longa." See " Virginia," note 38. 
 
 3. '-The throne of Aventine." Among several suggested deriva- 
 tions of the word " Aventine " is that it is named from Aventinus. an 
 early Alban king who was buried there (Livy, I, 3). Aventinus was 
 thus a predecessor of Amulius on the throne of Alba Longa. 
 
 4. " The Pontiff Camers." The religious hierarch would naturally 
 be the one to pronounce sentence upon a vestal who had broken her 
 vow of chastity. See also " Battle of Lake Regillus," note 82. 
 
156 NOTES. 
 
 5. "A poplar crown." The poplar was sacred to Hercules, and 
 the poplar crown was emblematic of courage and adventure. Horace, 
 " Carm.," I, 7. Hercules was especially reverenced by Romulus. See 
 Livy, I, 7. 
 
 6. " His yellow foam." See " Horatius," note 24. 
 
 7. "In the Tartessian mine." The district of Tartessus, noted 
 for its mines, lay on the coast of Spain, about the mouth of the Bsetis 
 (now Guadalquivir). It is said to have been the Tarshish of Scrip- 
 ture narrative. See also "Virginia," note 40. 
 
 8. "The Libyan brine." The eastern Mediterranean, a scornful 
 allusion to the mercantile preeminence of Carthage. 
 
 9. " Thou shalt not drink from amber ; 
 
 Thou shalt not rest on down. 
 
 Amber, down, etc., signify the luxuries of effeminate states, but 
 which are not for Rome. 
 
 10. " Arabia shall not steep thy locks." Alluding to the perfumes 
 that were imported largely from Arabia. 
 
 11.* "Nor Sidon tinge thy gown." A reference to the purple dye 
 made in the cities of the Tyrian coast. 
 
 12. "Vesta's sacred fire." See "Horatius," note 42. 
 
 13. " Pomona loves the orchard." Pomona was a Roman goddess 
 who presided over fruit trees. 
 
 14. " And Liber loves the vine." Liber was the Roman Bacchus. 
 
 15. " And Pales loves the straw-built shed. " Pales was the Roman 
 goddess of cattle and pasture land. 
 
 16. " And Venus loves the whispers 
 
 Of plighted youth and maid." 
 
 Venus was the Roman goddess of love, afterwards identified with 
 the Greek Aphrodite, from whom, however, her original conception 
 differed quite considerably, and for the better. It would seem as if 
 the love-goddess idea becomes more licentious as it is traced east. 
 In modern times the name of Venus is used almost universally for 
 Aphrodite. 
 
 17. "Thine, Roman, is the pilum." The pilum, the characteristic 
 weapon of the Roman legionary, was a heavy javelin with a staff four 
 and a half feet long, and a barbed iron head of the same length, but 
 which was fitted halfway down the staff, making a total length of about 
 six and three-fourths feet. Its advantage lay in that it could be used 
 at a greater distance than the longest spear, while its weight gave it a. 
 
NOTES. 157 
 
 destructive force far beyond that of missiles from the bow or sling. 
 One can imagine the effect upon a Greek phalanx of showers of such 
 weapons fully capable of piercing the strongest defensive armor. 
 
 18. "The even trench, the bristling mound." Few matters of 
 antiquity are more interesting than the Roman camp with its mathe- 
 matical proportions and division of space, its ditch and rampart set 
 with stakes, and so elaborate in its unvaried details, that a walled city 
 might almost be said to spring into being at each night's halt. Many 
 cities, in fact, owe their origin to Roman camps, as is evidenced through- 
 out England by the frequent terminations "Chester "and "cester" 
 (from the Latin castra). 
 
 19. "The legion's ordered line." The legion's strong yet flexible 
 order of battle is also most interesting, and the whole subject of 
 Roman military affairs and discipline may be found treated in 
 " Anthon" or any leading work on Roman antiquities. 
 
 20. "The wheels of triumph." The wheels of the ivory car which 
 bore the triumphing general along the Sacred Way, up the Clivus 
 Capitolinus, and to the steps leading to the Capitol. For full 
 descriptions of a triumph see "Anthon" and other works on Roman 
 antiquities. 
 
 21. " Soft Capua's curled revellers." See "Battle of Lake Regillus," 
 note 66. 
 
 22. "The Lucumoes of Arnus." The Etruscan nobles who held 
 sway over the valley of the Arnus, or Arno. See " Horatius," note 36. 
 
 23. " The proud Samnite's heart of steel." The Samnite wars were 
 the bitterest of the inter-Italian struggles that led up to the supremacy 
 of Rome. The first was from 343 to 341 b.c, the second from 326 to 
 304, and the third from 299 to 290. 
 
 24. "The huge earth-shaking beast." The Greeks, from the time 
 of Alexander, used elephants in war. These animals carried little 
 turrets containing archers and slingers. Frequently they were pro- 
 vided with some defensive armor, and scythelike blades were attached 
 to their tusks. Trained and well driven, they proved formidable adver- 
 saries against the dense array of the phalanx. The Romans met them 
 for the first time in the war against Pyrrhus ; but, once accustomed to 
 their appearance and attack, the comparatively open legionary line of 
 battle was readily adapted to receive and defeat it. 
 
 25. "The bold Epirotes, wedged close with shield and spear." 
 The Epirotes, like all Greeks from the time of the Macedonian suprem- 
 acy, depended mainly upon their phalanx. This, in the days of Philip 
 and Alexander, consisted of 6000 heavy-armed infantry with spears 
 
158 NOTES. 
 
 18 to 20 feet long, and drawn up 16 deep in a solid mass. The num- 
 ber varied considerably at different times, and we read in " JElian" 
 of a phalanx of 16,000 men divided into four divisions. The shock of 
 such a body, if unbroken, must have been terrific. When once broken, 
 however, it was helpless, and the pilum was the weapon best adapted 
 to tear fatal rents in it. 
 
 26. f* Rome's short broadsword." The Roman sword, though 
 longer than the Greek, had still a short blade. It was heavy and two- 
 edged, adapted for both cutting and thrusting. 
 
 27. "The Red King." The name Pyrrhus signifies, in Greek, 
 u red-haired." 
 
 28. " Is not the gown washed white ? " See the Introduction to this 
 poem. 
 
 29. " Manius Curius." See Introduction to this poem. 
 
 30. ' ' The third embroidered gown." The toga picta, white embroid- 
 ered with gold, was worn over the tunica palmata, or flowered tunic, 
 by the triumping general. 
 
 31. " The third lofty car." See note 20. 
 
 32. "The third green crown." A crown of laurel was worn by the 
 triumphing general. 
 
 33. "The steeds of Rosea." Rosea was the name given to the 
 fertile plain extending along the valley of the Yelinus (Velino) near 
 Reate (Rieti). It was famous for its breeds of asses, mules, and 
 horses. See Virg. "i£n.," VII, 712; Varro, " De Re Rustica," I, 
 7, § 10, II, 1, § 16; III, 2, § 10, and Cicero, "Ad Atticus," IV, 15. 
 
 34. " Mevania's bull." Mevania was an ancient name of the Cli- 
 tumnus. See "Horatius," note 14. 
 
 35. "The Sacred Way." See "Virginia," note 13. 
 
 36. "The suppliant's Grove." See "Battle of Lake Regillus," 
 note 84. 
 
 37 # " Then where, o'er two bright havens, 
 
 The towers of Corinth frown." 
 Situated upon an isthmus, Corinth had two harbors, one on the 
 Saronic Gulf and one on the Gulf of Corinth. 
 
 38. " The gigantic King of Day. " The wonderful statue of Phoebus, 
 the Sun-god, the national deity of the Rhodians. It was known as the 
 Colossus of Rhodes and was reckoned among the " Seven Wonders of 
 the World." See Introduction to this poem. 
 
 39. " Where soft Orontes murmurs." The Orontes, now the Nahr 
 El-Ahsy, rises in southern Syria and flows northward, until, circling 
 Antioch, it empties southwesterly into the Mediterranean. Antioch, 
 
NOTES. 159 
 
 built by Seleucus Xicator, was a city of wonderful magnificence. See 
 also Introduction to this poem. 
 
 •40. u Dark-red colonnades." The red granite of Syene, and much 
 of the sandstone used in the building of the great Egyptian temples 
 and palaces, gave them a rich reddish tone, while the ruins at Luxor, 
 Karnac, and at other points along the Nile tell us of colonnades that 
 must indeed have seemed endless. 
 
 41. "Byrsa's thousand masts." Byrsa was the citadel of Carthage. 
 See also " Battle of Lake Regillus," note 41. 
 
 42. u Where through the sand of morning-land 
 
 The camel bears the spice." 
 
 Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Media, across whose deserts the Indian 
 caravans brought the spices of the far East. 
 
 43. "Where Atlas flings his shadow." The great Atlas range or 
 ranges extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern border of 
 Mauritania, or across the modern Morocco into Algiers. The fable 
 was, that Atlas, whose bulk surpassed that of all men. was king of the 
 farthest west, and that when he offered violence instead of hospitality 
 to Perseus, the hero held toward him the head of the Gorgon, Medusa, 
 whereupon he became stone — a mountain upon whose top the gods 
 set heaven with all the stars, that they might be supported in place. 
 
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