PR 4963 1888 11 « . 1 • A'^ '^^ '^ i^ ». © . t^ tJ M « ^ S" °^ ' ' ' " " % <*. ^^ H<;^ 4*. %''-^'^' .# "> v^ .^°.-^a/3iog, 6 IliKTwp Xeyonevog, ry^e ypacpei. 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. i). 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 be- lieved to have been built by Romulus, and both carefully repaired and held in high honor. 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 only one hut of Romulus, that in the Capitol (M. Seneca, Con^7\ i. 6 ; Macro- bius, Sot i. 15 ; Photius, Bi7>/. 186). Ovid, Livy, Petronius, Valerius Max- imus, Lucius Seneca, and St. Jerome mention only one hut of Romulus, without specifying the site (Ovid, Fas//, iii. 1S3 ; Liv. v. 53 ; Petronius, 2 1 8 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 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. " Would," exclaims Cicero, " that we still had the old ballads of which Cato speaks !"* Valerius Maximus gives us exactly similar information, without mentioning his authority, and observes that the an- cient Roman ballads were probably of more benefit to the Fragtn. ; Val. Max. iv. 4 ; L. Seneca, Consolatio ad Helviam ; D. Hieron. Ad Fttulinianum 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 im- ply 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 re- sided, 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 remem- bered ; and probably retained its old name, as Charing Cross and the Haymarket have done. This is probably the explanation of the words " casa Romuli " in Victor's description of the Tenth Region of Rome un- der Valentinian. * Cicero refers twice to this important passage in Cato's Antiquities : " Gravissimus auctor in Originibus dixit Cato, morem apud majores hunc epularum fuisse, ut deinceps, qui accubarent, canerent ad tibiam clarorum virorum laudes atque virtutes. Ex quo perspicuum est, et cantus turn fuisse rescriptos vocum sonis, et carmina" {Tusc. Qrcaest. iv. 2). Again : " Utinam exstarent ilia carmina, quae, multis saeculis ante suam aetatem, in epulis esse cantitata a singulis convivis de clarorum virorum laudibus, in Originibus scriptum reliquit Cato " {Bruius, xix.). INTRODUCTION. 19 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 be- cause, among the Greeks, and indeed in his time among the Romans also, the morals of singing-boys were in no high re- pute. f The testimony of Horace, though given incidentally, con- firms the statements of Cato, Valerius Maximus, and Varro. The poet predicts that, under the peaceful administration of Augustus, the Romans will, over their full goblets, sing to the pipe, after the fashion of their fathers, the deeds of brave captains and the ancient legends touching the origin of the city.t The proposition, then, that Rome had ballad-poetry is not * ** Majores natu in conviviis ad tibias egregia superiorum opera car- mine comprehensa pangebant, quo ad ea imitanda juventutem alacriorem redderent . . . Quas Athenas, quam scholam, quae alienigena studia huic domesticae disciplinae praetulerim ? Inde oriebantur Camilli, Scipiones, Fahricii, Marcelli, Fabii " (Val. Max. ii. i). t " In conviviis pueri modesti ut cantarent carmina antiqua, in quibus laudes erant majorum, et assa voce, et cum tibicine" (Nonius, Assa voce pro sola). X " Nosque et profestis lucibus et sacris Inter jocosi munere 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 " {Cann. iv. 15). 20 MAC A [/LAV'S LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. merely in itself highly probable, but is fully proved by direct evidence of the greatest weight. This proposition being established, it becomes easy to un- derstand why the early history of the city is unlike ahrjost everything else in Latin literature, native where almost every- thing 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 fragments 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 early period Homer and Herodotus furnished some hints to the Latin minstrels;* but it was not till after the war with Pyrrhus that the poetry of Rome be- gan to put off its old Ausonian character. The transforma- tion 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 ascend- ency 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. Naevius 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.f Ennius sang the second Punic war in numbers borrowed from the Iliad. The elder poet, in the epitaph which he wrote for him- * See the Preface to the Lay of the Battle of Regillns. t Cicero speaks highly, in more than one place, of this poem of Naevius; Ennius sneered at it, and stole from it. IN TROD UC TION. 2 1 self, and which is a fine specimen of the early Roman diction and versification, plaintively boasted that the Latin language As to the Saturnian measure, see Hermann's Elementa Dodrinae Me- iricae, iii. 9. • j r The Saturnian line, according to the grammarians, consisted ot two parts The first was a catalectic dimeter iambic ; the second was com- posed of three trochees. But the license 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 Naevio 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 au- thority of Bentley, we may venture to doubt whether the coincidence was not fortuitous. We constantly find the same rude and simple numbers 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 both the poem of the Cid and the poem of the Nibelungs contain many Satur- nian verses ; as, „ " Kstas nuevas a mio Cid eran venidas. "A mi lo dicen; a ti dan las orejadas." " Man mohte michel wunder von Sifride sagen." "Wa ich den Kunic vinde daz sol man mir sagen." Indeed, there cannot be a more perfect Saturnian line than one which is s-ung in every English nursery : "The queen was in her parlor 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 naturalized there that its foreign origin was forgotten. 2 2 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIEA^T ROME. had died with him.* Thus what to Horace appeared to be the first faint dawn of Roman literature appeared to NjEvius to be its hopeless setting. In truth, one literature was set- ting and another dawning^. Bentley says, indeed, that the Saturnian measure was first brought from Greece into Italy by N^evius. But this is merely obiter dictitm, 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 Nsevius 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 uncivilized country, those rugged Saturnian numbers passed away." Would Horace have said this if the Saturnian numbers had been imported from Greece just before the hexameter t 3. Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Festus and of Aurelius Victor, both of whom positively say that the most ancient prophecies attributed to the Fauns were in Saturnian verse. 4. Bentley's assertion is opposed to the testimony of Terentianus Mau- rus, 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 Te- rentianus Maurus clearly imply the contrary ; for how could the Romans have believed, from a very early period, that this measure was the indig- enous 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 Atticae, i. 24. INTRODUCTION. 23 The victory of the foreign taste was decisive ; and, indeed, we can hardly blame the Romans for turning away with con- tempt from the rude lays which had delighted their fathers, and giving their whole admiration to the immortal produc- tions" of Greece. The national romances, neglected by the great and the refined whose education had been finished at Rhodes 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 Saturnian ballads.* It is not improbable that, at the lime when Cicero lamented the irreparable loss of the poems mentioned by Cato, a search among the nooks of the Apennines as active as the search which Sir Walter Scott made among the de- scendants of the moss-troopers of Liddesdale might have brought to light many fine remains of ancient minstrelsy. No stch search was made. The Latin ballads perished for- ever. Yet discerning critics have thought that they could still perceive in the early history of Rome numerous frag- ments of this lost poetry, as the traveller on classic ground sometimes finds, built into the heavy wall of a fort or con- vent, 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 ballads with the histories now extant. From a very early period it was the usage that an oration should be pronounced over the remains * See Servius, in Georg. ii. 385. 24 MA CA [/LAV'S LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. of a noble Roman. The orator, as we learn from Polybius, was expected, on such an occasion, to recapitulate all the services which the ancestors of the deceased had, from the earliest time, rendered to the commonwealth. There can be little doubt that the speaker on whom this duty was im- posed would make use of all the stories suited to his pur- pose 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 pro- nounced over his corpse. The compilers of the early chron- icles would have recourse to these speeches ; and the great historians of a later period would have recourse to the chron- icles. It may be worth while to select a particular story, and to trace its probable progress through these stages. The de- scription 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 Consul, 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 accompanies the adventurers through the streets ; but the voice of lamentation is drowned by the shouts of ad- miring thousands. As the procession passes the Capitol, prayers and vows are poured forth, but in vain. The de- voted band, leaving Janus on the right, marches to its doom, through the Gate of Evil Luck. After achieving high deeds of valor against overwhelming numbers, all perish save one child, the stock from which the great Fabian race was des- tined again to spring, for the safety and glory of the com- monwealth. 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 originally from some lay which had often been sung with great applause at banquets is in the INTRODUCTION. 25 highest degree probable. Nor is it difficult to imagine a mode in which the transmission might have taken place. The celebrated Quintus Fabius Maximus, who died about twenty years before the first Punic war, and more than forty years before Ennius was born, is said to have been interred with extraordinary pomp. In the eulogy pronounced over his body, all the great exploits of his ancestors were doubtless recounted and exaggerated. If there were then extant songs which gave a vivid and touching description of an event, the saddest and the most glorious in the long history of the Fa- bian house, nothing could be more natural than that the pan- egyrist should borrow from such songs their finest touches, in order to adorn his speech. A few generations later the songs would perhaps be forgotten, or remembered only by shepherds and vine-dressers. But the speech would cer- tainly be preserved in the archives of the Fabian nobles. Fabius Pictor would be well acquainted with a document so interesting to his personal feelings, and would insert large extracts from it in his rude chronicle. That chronicle, as we know, was the oldest to which Livy had access. Livy would, at a glance, distinguish the bold strokes of the forgotten poet from the dull and feeble narrative by which they were sur- rounded, would retouch them with a delicate and powerful pencil, and would make them immortal. That this might happen at Rome can scarcely be doubted ; for something very like this has happened in several coun- tries, and, among others, in our own. Perhaps 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 pre- served 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. 26 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. and which, indeed, greatly resemble, in their general charac- ter, some of the legends of early Rome. He cites, as his authority for these two tales, the chronicle of AVilliam of Malmesbury, who lived in the time of King Stephen. The great majority of readers suppose that the device by which Elfleda was substituted for her young mistress, the artifice by which Athelwold obtained the hand of Elfrida, the detec- tion 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 slit- ting of Sir John Coventry's nose. But when we turn to William of Malmesbury, we find that Hume, in his eager- ness 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 war- rant their truth, and that they rest on no better authority than that of ballads.* Such is the way in which these two well-known tales have been handed down. They originally appeared in a poetical form. They found their way from ballads into an old chron- icle. The ballads perished ; the chronicle remained. A great historian, some centuries after the ballads had been alto- gether forgotten, consulted the chronicle. He was struck by the lively coloring of these ancient fictions ; he transferred them to his pages ; and thus we find inserted, as unquestion- able facts, in a narrative which is likely to last as long as the English tongue, the inventions of some minstrel whose works were probably 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, rath- er, highly probable, that the stories of Romulus and Remus, * ** Infamias quas post dicam niagis resperserunt cantilenae." Edgar appears to have been most mercilessly treated in the Anglo-Saxon bal- lads. He was the favorite of the monks ; and the monks and minstrels were at deadly feud. INTRODUCTION. 27 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 dower 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 father-in-law with many signs of love, and set forth on a jour- ney with Dona Elvira and Dona Sol. In a solitary place the bridegrooms seized their brides, stripped them, scourged them, and departed, leaving them for dead. But one of the House of Bivar, suspecting foul play, had followed the trav- ellers in disguise. The ladies were brought back safe to the house of their father. Complaint was made to the king. It was adjudged by the Cortes that the dower given by the Cid should be returned, 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 forever disgraced, while their injured wives were sought in marriage by great princes.* Some Spanish writers have labored to show, by an exam- ination 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 Ma- riana's history is quite clear. He acknowledges his obliga- tions to the ancient chronicles, and had doubtless before * Mariana, lib. x. cap. 4. 28 MA CA [/LAY'S LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. him the Cronica del Famoso Ccwallero Cid Riiy Diez Cam- peador, 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 cen- tury, a poem of which the language and versification had long been obsolete, but which glowed with no common portion of the fire of the I/iad. Yet such was the fact. More than a century and a half after the death of Mariana, this vener- able ballad, of which one imperfect copy on parchment, four hundred years old, had been preserved 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 Roman 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, may be supposed to have known, and who are in no wise above the passions and prejudices of their age and nation. To these imaginary poets must be as- cribed some blunders which are so obvious that it is unneces- sary to point them out. The real blunder would have been to represent these old poets as deeply versed in general his- tory and studious of chronological accuracy. To them must also be attributed the illiberal sneers at the Greeks, the furi- * See the account which Sanchez gives of the Bivar manuscript in the first volume of the Coleccion de Poesias CastelhiJias antet'iores al Sigh 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. INTRODUCTION. 29 ous party-spirit, the contempt for the arts of peace, the love of war for its own sake, the ungenerous exultation over the vanquished, which the reader will sometimes observe. To portray a Roman of the age of Camillus or Curius as supe- rior 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 How- ard, or as treating conquered enemies with the delicacy of the Black Prince, would be to violate all dramatic propriety. The old Romans had some great virtues — fortitude, temper- ance, veracity, spirit to resist oppression, respect for legiti- mate authority, fidelity in the observing of contracts, disin- terestedness, ardent patriotism ; but Christian charity and chivalrous generosity were alike unknown to them. It would have been obviously improper to mimic the man- ner of any particular age or country. Something has been borrowed, however, from our own 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 quota- tions : 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 un- learned on a work of the imagination will always depend much more on the general character and spirit of such a work than on minute details. 30 A/A CA [/LAV'S LAYS OF ANC/ENT ROME. II. CRITICAL COMMENTS ON THE LAYS. [Fj-oifi a /Review by John Stuart MilL*'\ It is with those two great masters of modern ballad-poetry [Scott and Campbell] that Mr. Macaulay's performances are really to be compared, and not with the real ballads or epics of an early age. The Lays, in point of form, are not in the least like the genuine productions of a primitive age or peo- ple, and it is no blame to Mr. Macaulay that they are not. He professes imitation of Homer, but we really see no re- semblance, except in the nature of some of the incidents and the animation and vigor of the narrative ; and the Iliad, after all, is not the original ballad of the Trojan war, but those ballads moulded together and wrought into the forms of a more civilized and cultivated age. It is difficult to conject- ure what the forms of the old Roman ballads may have been, and certain that, whatever they were, they could no more satisfy the aesthetic requirements of modern culture than an ear accustomed to the great organ of Freyburg or Haar- lem could relish Orpheus's hurdy-gurdy ; although the airs which Orpheus played, if they could be recovered, might perhaps be executed with great effect on the more perfect instrument. The forms of Mr. Macaulay's ballad-poetry are essentially modern ; they are those of the romantic and chivalrous, not the classical ages, and even in those they are a reproduction, not of the originals, but of the imitations of Scott. In this we think he has done well, for Scott's style is as near to that of the ancient ballad as we conceive to be at all compatible with real popular effect on the modern mind. The difference between the two may be seen by the most cursory compari- son of any real old ballad, Chevy Chase for instance, with the last canto of MarmioJi or with any of these Lays. Concise- * Westminster Review, Feb. 1843 (vol- xxxix. p. 105 fol.). INTRO D UCTIOAT. 3 1 ncss is the characteristic of the real ballad, diffuseness of the modern adaptation. The old bard did everything by single touches ; Scott and Mr. Macaulay by repetition and accumula- tion of particulars. They produce all effect by what ihey say ; he by what he suggested — by what he stimulated the imagina- tion to paint for itself But then the old ballads were not written for the light reading of tired readers. To do the work in their way, they required to be brooded over, or had at least the aid of time and of impassioned recitation. Stories which are to be told to children in the age of eager- ness and excitability, or sung in banquet halls to assembled warriors, whose daily ideas and feelings supply a flood of comment ready to gush forth on the slightest hint of the poet, cannot fly too swift and straight to the mark. But Mr. Macaulay wrote only to be read, and by readers for whom it was necessary to do all. These poems, therefore, are not the worse for being un- Roman in their form ; and in their substance they are Ro- man to a degree which deserves great admiration. . . . We have not been able to detect, in the four poems, one idea or feeling which was not, or might not have been, Roman ; while the externals of Roman life, and the feelings char- acteristic of Rome and of that particular age, are reproduced with great felicity, and without being made unduly predomi- nant over the universal features of human nature and human life. Independently, therefore, of their value as poems, these compositions are a real service rendered to historical litera- ture ; and the author has made this service greater by his prefaces, which will do more than the work of a hundred dissertations in rendering that true conception of early Ro- man history, the irrefragable establishment of which has made Niebuhr illustrious, familiar to the minds of general readers. This is no trifling matter even in relation to pres- ent interests, for there is no estimating the injury which the 32 A/A CA [/LAY'S LAVS OF ANC/ENT ROME, cause of popular institutions has suffered, and still suffers, from misrepresentation of the early condition of the Roman plebs and its noble struggles against its taskmasters. And the study of the manner in which the heroic legends of early Rome grew up as poetry and gradually became history, has important bearings on the general laws of historical evidence and on the many things which, as philosophy advances, are more and more seen to be therewith connected. \^Froin Professor //ciiry /i/oi ley's /iitroduction to the Lcrys.*] Macaulay was, perhaps, at his best in his four Zays of Anciejit Rome. Whatever else he wrote required some quali- ties of mind other than those which have made all that he wrote popular. The Lays of Ancient Rome called into play just those powers which he had in perfection, and required no more. Powers that will ripen only in a meditative mind must remain unripe in the mind of one whose frank and social nature keeps his tongue continually busy. " If any one has anything to say," said Rogers, at one of his break- fasts, " let him say it now. Macaulay's coming." He had only what were called flashes of silence, and a great part of his thinking must have been what came to him in asso- ciation with the utterance of words. When he was not talking, he was chiefly reading, for he read very much, and his marvellous memory caused what he read to stay by him, good or bad. Most men are able to forget what is not worth keeping in mind, and may thank Heaven that they can. Macaulay, as a young child, went with his mother to pay a call, picked up from the drawing-room table one of Scott's long poems, then just published, read it through while the call lasted, and was able to repeat any quantity of it to his mother after they got home. He enjoyed Scott, and if he had never read Scott's metrical romances the * From the edition of the Lays in "Cassell's National Library" (No. 58), London and New York, 18S7. INTRODUCTION. 33 Style of these Lays would have shown imitation of some other poet. But Macaulay caught the swing of Scott's romance meas- ure, made it a little more rhetorical, without loss — some might say rather with increase— of energy, and brought into play his own power of realizing in his mind all that he told. In its expression of that power lies the great and abiding charm of Macaulay's History. If it be not whole truth it is as much truth as he saw, and he would see nothing that blurred the outlines of the picture formed in his own mind. Some few truths are so simple and single that they can be stated without any guard or reservation ; the historian who thinks much has to convey to his reader many suggestions of doubt or hesitation. Macaulay took only one view, re- jected all that clouded it, accepted all that helped to make it more distinct. He was one of the kindest and truest of men, intensely human ; his one view, whatever it might be, had his own life and feeling in it ; and when set forth in his own clear English, with short sentences that never needed to be lengthened by a qualifying clause— all as fact in broad sunshine about which there did not hang a cloud of doubt — it was, and is, and always will be, delightful reading. It will be thoroughly helpful reading too, for any one who knows the worth of a clear view boldly and honestly expressed, and is able cautiously to use it as aid to the formation of his own opinion. To the untrained reader Macaulay, as historian, is a comfort. That reader, when he inquires, wants always upon every question a plain Yes or No. He dislikes the confusion of doubt. This was disliked also by Macaulay as artist ; and the reader who is only bothered by nice balanc- ings of thought gets from Macaulay always the " plain answer to a plain question," the clear, unhesitating Yes or No which others might consider to be no answer to any question that touches the complexities of human life. But in a ballad there are no complexities. It is a tale to 3 34 MAC A [/LAY'S LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. be chanted to the people, bound only to be bright and live- ly, with ease in its rhythm, action in every line, and through its whole plan a stirring incident shown clearly from one point of view. It is a tale well told, without any pauses for a nice adjustment of opinion, but appealing simply and directly to a feeling common to us all. It is not concerned with the hard facts of history. Its immediate business may sometimes be to contradict them for the comfort of its hearers. Thus, in the first of these Lays^ the old Roman story of three Romans who saved Rome by keeping the bridge over the Tiber against all the force of Porsena, was the ingenious softening of a cruel fact. It turned a day of deep humilia- tion into the bright semblance of a day of glory. For we learn from Tacitus and others that Porsena became abso- lute master of Rome. The Senate of Rome paid homage to him with offering of an ivory throne, a crown, a scep- tre, a triumphal robe ; and he forbade the use of iron by the Romans in forging weapons or armor. The happy time of release from thraldom was long celebrated by a custom of opening auctions with a first bid for " the goods of Por- sena." What did this matter ? The songs of the people were free to suppress a great defeat, and put in its place the myth of a heroic deed ; some small fact usually serv- ing as seed that shall grow and blossom out into a noble tale. A ballad-maker who should stop the course of a pop- ular legend to investigate its origin, and who should be dull enough to include that investigation in his song, would de- serve to be howled to death by the united voices of his countrymen. Upon this ground, then, Macaulay was a master. His incidents are fully realized. He sees what he sings. When Horatius strikes Astur in the face, the sword's course is fol- lowed "through teeth, and skull, and helmet," till its point stands out a hand-breadth beyond. For its recovery — IN TROD UC TION. 3 5 *'On Astiu's throat Horatius Right firmly pressed his heel, And thrice and four times tugged amain, Ere he wrenched out the steel." The simplicity and vigor of images drawn, like Homer's, from Nature is again in the truest and best spirit of the songs that house themselves among the people. . . . In the Lays^ as in the earlier pieces of his ballad-writing, Macaulay liked to paint the stir of battle ; but in Virginia there are passages of another strain, and there is tenderness in the description of the main incident. But for Virginia^ some ungracious reader might say that the Lays, being few, are excellent, but that if they were many they might weary by a too close likeness of each to the rest. As it is, the ungracious reader could make no such suggestion. We all read the book with full and natural enjoyment, and we call it perfect in its kind. [From SledvintCs '* Victorian Poets.'''' *] Lord Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome was a literary sur- prise, but its poetry is the rhythmical outflow of a vigorous and affluent writer, given to splendor of diction and imagery in his flowing prose. He spoke once in verse, and unexpect- edly. His themes were legendary, and suited to the author's heroic cast, nor was Latinism ever more poetical than under his thoroughly sympathetic handling. I am aware that the Lays are criticised as being stilted and false to the antique, but to me they have a charm, and to almost every healthy young mind are an immediate delight. Where in modern ballad-verse will you find more ringing stanzas, or more im- petuous movement and action? Occasionally we have a noble epithet or image. Within his range — little as one who met him might have surmised it~Macaulay was a poet and * Victorian Poets, by Edmund Clarence Stedman (revised ed. Boston, 18S7), p. 250. 36 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. of the kind which Scott would have been first to honor. Horatius and Virginia among the Roman lays, and that reso- nant battle-cry of Ivry^ have become, it would seem, a last- ing portion of English verse. TIVOLI (the ancient TIBUR) MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. VICTORIA (royal COLLECTION AT MUNICH), p!i?|^'l THE KIVER-GOD TIBER. HORATIUS. A LAY MADE ABOUT THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCLX. I. Lars Porsena of Clusium By the Nine Gods he swore That the great house of Tarquin Should suffer wrong no more. By the Nine Gods he swore it, 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 west, and south and north, The messengers ride fast, And tower and town and cottage Have heard the trumpet's blast. 40 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME, Shame on the false Etruscan Who lingers in his home, When Porsena of Clusium Is on the march for Rome ! III. The horsemen and the footmen Are pouring in amain From many a stately market-place, 20 From many a fruitful plain; From many a lonely hamlet, Which, hid by beech and pine, Like an eagle's nest, hangs on the crest Of purple Apennine ; IV. From lordly Volaterras, Where scowls the far-famed hold Piled by the hands of giants For godlike kings of old ; From sea-girt Populonia, 30 Whose sentinels descry Sardinia's snowy mountain-tops Fringing the southern sky ; From the proud mart of Pisae, Queen of the western waves, Where ride Massilia's triremes Heavy with fair-haired slaves ; From where sweet Clanis wanders Through corn and vines and flowers ; From where Cortona lifts to heaven 40 Her diadem of towers. HORA TIUS. 41 VI. Tall are the oaks whose acorns Drop in dark Auser's rill ; Fat are the stags that champ the boughs Of the Ciminian hill ; Beyond all streams Clitiimnus Is to the herdsman dear; Best of all pools the fowler loves The great Volsinian mere. 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 ; Unharmed the water-fowl may dip In the Volsinian mere. VTII. The harvests of Arretium This year old men shall reap ; This year 3'oung boys in Umbro 60 Shall plunge the struggling sheep ; And in the vats of Luna This year the must shall foam Round the white feet of laughing girls Whose sires have marched to Rome. IX. There be thirty chosen prophets, The wisest of the land, Who alway by Lars Porsena Both morn and evening stand ; 42 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. Evening and morn the Thirty Have turned the verses o'er, Traced from the right on linen white By mighty seers of yore. And with one voice the Thirty Have their glad answer given : 'Go forth, go forth, Lars Porsena; Go forth, beloved of Heaven ; Go, and return in glory To Clusium's royal dome. And hang round Nurscia's altars So The golden shields of Rome.' XI. And now hath every city Sent up her tale of men ; The foot are fourscore thousand, The horse are thousands ten. Before the gates of Sutrium Is met the great array. A proud man was Lars Porsena Upon the trysting-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 The Tusculan Mamilius, Prince of the Latian name. HORA TIUS. XIII. 43 But by the yellow Tiber Was tumult and affright : From all the spacious champaign 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. XIV. For aged folk on crutches, And women great with child, And mothers sobbing over babes That clung to them and smiled, And sick men borne in litters High on the necks of slaves, And troops of sunburnt husbandmen With reaping-hooks and staves, XV. And droves of mules and asses Laden with skins of wine. 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. Choked every roaring gate. XVI. Now from the rock Tarpeian Could the wan burghers spy The line of blazing villages Red in the midnight sky. 44 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. The Fathers of the City, They sat all night and day, For every hour some horseman came With tidings of dismay. XVII. To eastward and to westward Have spread the Tuscan bands ; Nor house nor fence nor dovecot In Crustumerium stands. Verbenna down to Ostia Hath wasted all the plain ; Astur hath stormed Janiculum, 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, When that ill news was told. Forthwith up rose the Consul, Up rose the Fathers all ; In haste they girded up their gowns. And hied them to the wall. 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, ' The bridge must straight go down ; For, since Janiculum is lost, Nauo:ht else can save the town.' MORA TIUS. XX. 45 Just then a scout came flying, All wild with haste and fear : ' 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 Rise fast along the sky. XXI. And nearer fast, and nearer. Doth the red whirlwind come ; And louder still, and still more loud, From underneath that rolling cloud. 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, Now might ye see the banners Of twelve fair cities shine ; But the banner of proud Clusium Was highest of them all. The terror of the Umbrian, 180 The terror of the Gaul. 46 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. XXIII. And plainly and more plainly Now might the burghers know, By port and vest, by horse and crest, Each warlike Lucumo. There Cilnius of Arretium On his fleet roan was seen ; And Astur of the fourfold shield, Girt with the brand none else may wield, Tolumnius with the belt of gold, 190 And dark Verbenna from the hold By reedy Thrasymene. XXIV, Fast by the royal standard, O'erlooking all the war, Lars Porsena of Clusium Sat in his ivory car. By the right wheel rode Mamilius, Prince of the Latian name ; And by the left false Sextus, 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 But spat towards him and hissed, No child but screamed out curses And shook its little fist. HORA TIUS. 47 XXVI. But the Consul's brow was sad, And the Consul's speech was low, 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. What hope to save the town ?' XXVII. Then out spake brave Horatius, The Captain of the Gate : *To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. 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 Who dandled him to rest, And for the wife who nurses His baby at her breast. And for the holy maidens Who feed the eternal flame, To save them from false Sextus That wrought the deed of shame ? XXIX. * Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, With all the speed ye may ; I, with two more to help me, Will hold the foe in play. 48 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. In yon strait path a thousand May well be stopped by three. Now who will stand on either hand, And keep the bridge with me?' 240 XXX. Then out spake Spurius Lartius ; A Ramnian proud was he : *Lo, I will stand at thy right hand, And keep the bridge with thee.' And out spake strong Herminius ; Of Titian 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 Rom-e's quarrel Spared neither land nor gold. Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, 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 ; Then spoils were fairly sold \ The Romans were like brothers In the brave days of old. HORA TIUS, XXXIII. 49 Now Roman is to Roman 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 ; 27a Wherefore men fight not as they fought In the brave days of old. XXXIV. Now while the Three were tightening Their harness on their backs, The Consul was the foremost man 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. Right glorious to behold. Come flashing back the noonday light, Rank behind rank, like surges bright Of a broad sea of gold. Four hundred trumpets sounded A peal of warlike glee. As that great host, with measured tread, And spears advanced, and ensigns spread, Rolled slowly towards the bridge's head, 290 Where stood the dauntless Three. so MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. XXXVI. The Three stood calm and silent And looked upon the foes, And a great shout of laughter From all the vanguard rose ; 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 ; 3°° XXXVII. Annus from green Tifernum, Lord of the Hill of Vines ; And Seius, whose eight hundred slaves Sicken in Ilva's mines ; And Picus, long to Clusium Vassal in peace and war. Who led to fight his Umbrian powers From that gray crag where, girt with towers, The fortress of Nequinum 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 Darted one fiery thrust. And the proud Umbrian's gilded arms Clashed in the bloody dust. HORA TIUS, XXXIX. Sr Then Ocniis of Falerii Rushed on the Roman Three ; 320 And Lausulus of Urgo, The rover of the sea ; And Aruns of Volsinium, Who slew the great wild boar, The great wild boar that had his den -Amidst the reeds of Cosa's fen, And wasted fields and slaughtered men Along Albinia's shore. XL. Herminius smote down Aruns; Lartius laid Ocnus low; 33° 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 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 clamor From all the vanguard rose. Six spears' length from the entrance Halted that deep array. And for a space no man came forth To win the narrow way. ^2 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. XLII. But hark ! the cry is Astur; And lo ! the ranks divide, And the great Lord of Luna 35o 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. XLIII. 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-wolf's litter 3po 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, He rushed against Lloratius, And smote with all his might. With shield and blade Horatius Right 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. HORA TIUS. 53 XLV. He reeled and on Herminius He leaned one breathing-space, 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. XLVI. And the great Lord of Luna Fell at that deadly stroke, As falls on Mount Alvernus A thunder-smitten oak. Far o'er the crashing forest The giant arms lie spread; And the pale augurs, muttering low, Gaze on the blasted head. XLVII. On Astur's throat Horatius 39° Right 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 ! What noble Lucumo comes next To taste our Roman cheer.?' XLVIII. But at his haughty challenge A sullen murmur ran. Mingled of wrath and shame and dread, 400 Along that glittering van. 54 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. There lacked not men of prowess, Nor men of lordly race ; For all Etruria's noblest Were round the fatal place. XLIX. But all Etruria's noblest Felt their hearts sink to see On the earth the bloody corpses, In the path the dauntless Three; And, from the ghastly entrance 410 Where those bold Romans 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 Lies amidst bones and blood. 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 Dies fitfully away. LI. Yet one man for one moment Strode out before the crowd ; Well known was he to all the Three, And they gave him greeting loud. 430 HORA TIUS. ee * 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, Thrice looked he at the dead ; 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. LIU. But meanwhile axe and lever Have manfully been plied, And now the bridge hangs tottering 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. And on the farther shore Saw brave Horatius stand alone. They would have crossed once more. 56 MACAULAV'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME, LV. But wilh 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 Was splashed the yellow foam. LVI. And, like a horse unbroken When first he feels the rein, The furious river struggled hard, And tossed his tawny mane, 47° 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. LVI I. Alone stood brave Horatius But constant still in mind, Thrice thirty thousand foes before And the broad flood behind. *Do\vn with him !' cried false Sextus, 480 With- a smile on his pale face. ' Now yield thee,' cried Lars Porsena, ' Now yield thee to our grace.' LVIII. Round turned he, as not deigning Those craven ranks to see ; Naught spake he to Lars Porsena, To Sextus naught spake he ; MORA TIUS. 57 But he saw on Palatinus The white porch of his home, And he spake to the noble river 49° That rolls by the towers of Rome : LIX. ' O Tiber ! father Tiber ! To whom the Romans pray, A Roman's life, a Roman's arms. Take thou in charge this day !' 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 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 armor. And spent with changing blows ; And oft they thought him sinking, But still again he rose. 58 MACAU LAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. LXII. Never, I ween, did swimmer, In such an evil case, Struggle through such a raging flood 520 Safe to the landing-place; But his limbs were borne up bravely By the brave heart within, And our good father Tiber Bare bravely up his chin. LXIII. * Curse on him !' quoth fiilse 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.' Lxrv. And now he feels the bottom ; Now on dry earth he stands ; Now 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 River Gate, 54° Borne by the joyous crowd. LXV. They gave him of the corn-land, That was of public right, As much as two strong oxen Could plough fiom morn till night ; HO RATI us. ^ci And they made a molten image And set it up on high, And there it stands unto this day To witness if I lie. LXVI. It stands in the Comilium, sso Plain for all folk to see, Horatius in his harness Halting upon one knee ; And underneath is written, In letters all of gold. 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 home ; And wives still pray to Juno For boys with hearts as bold As his who kept the bridge so well In the brave days of old. 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 ; 6o MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME, LXIX. When the oldest cask is opened, And the largest lamp is lit ; 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, And the lads are shaping bows; 580 LXX. When the goodman mends his armor. And trims his helmet's plume ; When the goodwife's shuttle merrily Goes flashing through the loom ; With weeping and with laughter Still is the story told. How well Horatius kept the bridge In the brave days of old. ROMAN VICTORY. 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 CCCCLL I. Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note ! Ho, lictors, clear the way ! The knights will ride, in all their pride, Along the streets to-day. To-day the doors and windows Are hung with garlands all, From Castor in the Forum To Mars without the wall. 62 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. Each knight is robed in purple, With olive each is crowned ; A gallant war-horse under each Paws haughtily the ground. While flows the Yellow River, While stands the Sacred Hill, The proud ides of Quintilis Shall have such honor still. Gay are the Martian calends, December's nones are gay ; But the proud ides, when the squadron rides, Shall be Rome's whitest day. Unto the Great Twin Brethren We keep this solemn feast. Swift, swift, the Great. Twin Brethren Came spurring from the east. They came o'er wild Parthenius Tossing in waves of pine. O'er Cirrha's dome, o'er Adria's foam. O'er purple Apennine, From where with flutes and dances Their ancient mansion rings 30 In lordly Lacedasmon, The city of two kings, To where, by Lake Regillus, Under the Porcian height, All in the lands of Tusculum, Was fought the glorious fight. III. Now on the place of slaughter Are cots and sheepfolds seen, THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 63 And rows of vines, and fields of wheat, And apple-orchards green ; 40 The swine crush the big acorns That fall from Corne's oaks ; Upon the turf by the Fair Fount The reaper's pottage smokes. The fisher baits his angle, 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 wino^s, To tear the flesh of captains, And peck the eyes of kings ; How thick the dead lay scattered Under the Porcian height ; How through the gates of Tusculum Raved the wild stream of flight ; 60 And how the Lake Regillus Bubbled with crimson foam, What time the Thirty Cities Came forth to war with Rome. IV. But, Roman, when thou standest 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; 64 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 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 figlit, 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. 80 That summer a Virginius Was Consul first in place ; The second was stout Aulus, Of the Posthumian race. The herald of the Latines From Gabii came in state ; The herald of the Latines Passed through Rome's Eastern Gate ; 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 4 To bring the Tarquins home; And if ye still be stubborn To work the Tarquins wrong, The Thirty Cities warn you. Look that your walls be strong.' 100 THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REG ILL US. 65 VII. Then spake the Consul Aulus — He spake a bitter jest — 'Once the jays sent a message Unto the eagle's nest : Now yield thou up thine eyry 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, "o Soon as they saw his beak and claw, Fled screaming far away.' VIII. The herald of the Latines Hath hied him back in state ; The Fathers of the city Are met in high debate. Then spake the elder Consul, An ancient man and wise : * Now hearken, Conscript Fathers, To that which I advise. 120 In seasons of great peril 'T is good that one bear sway ; Then choose we a Dictator, Whom all men shall obey. Camerium knows how deeply 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, 13° And have a Master of the Knights And axes twenty-four.' 66 A/ACAC/LAV'S LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. IX. So Aulus was Dictator, The man of seventy fights ; He made ^butius Elva His Master of the Knights. On the third morn thereafter, At dawning of the day, Did Aulus and y^butius Set forth with their array. mo Sempronius Atratinus Was left in charge at home, With boys and with gray-headed men To keep the walls of Rome. Hard by the Lake Regillus Our camp was pitched at night ; 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. X. Up rose the golden morning Over the Porcian height, The proud ides of Quintilis Marked evermore with white. Not without secret trouble Our bravest saw the foes ; For girt by threescore thousand spears The thirty standards rose. j6o From every warlike city That boasts the Latian name, P'oredoomed to dogs and vultures, That gallant army came : THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE RE GILL US. 67 From Setia's purple vineyards, From Norba's ancient wall, From the white streets of Tusciilum, The proudest town of all ; From where the Witch's Fortress O'erhangs the dark-blue seas ; 170 From the still glassy lake that sleeps Beneath Aricia's trees — Those trees in whose dim shadow The ghastly priest doth reign, The priest who slew the slayer, And shall himself be slain ; From the drear banks of Ufens, Where flights of marsh-fowl play, And buffaloes lie wallowing Through the hot summer's day ; i8o From the gigantic watch-towers, No work of earthly men. Whence Cora's sentinels o'erlook The never-ending fen ; From the Laurentian jungle, The wild hog's reedy home ; From the green steeps whence Anio leaps In floods of snow-white foam. xr. Aricia, Cora, Norba, Velitrae, with the might Of Setia and of Tusculum, Were marshalled on the right. Their leader was Mamilius, Prince of the Latian name : Upon his head a helmet Of red gold shone like flame ; 68 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. High on a gallant charger Of dark-gray hue he rode ; Over his gilded armor A vest of purple flowed, Woven in the land of sunrise By Syria's dark-browed daughters, And by the sails of Carthage brought Far o'er the southern waters. XII. Lavinium and Laurentum Had on the left their post, With all the banners of the marsh, And banners of the coast. Their leader was false Sextus, That wrought the deed of shame ; With restless pace and haggard face To his last field he came. Men said he saw strange visions ^Vhich none beside might see, And that strange sounds were in his ears AVHiich 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 ; 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 Until the east was gray. Then pointed to her bleeding breast, And shrieked, and fled away. THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 69 XIII. But in the centre thickest Were ranged the shields of foes, And from the centre loudest The cry of battle rose. There Tibur marched, and Pedum, Beneath proud Tarquin's rule, And Ferentinum of the rock, And Gabii of the pool. There rode the Volscian succors ; There, in a dark stern ring, The Roman exiles gathered close Around the ancient king. Though white as Mount Soracte When winter nights are long His beard flowed down o'er mail and belt, His heart and hand were strong ; Under his hoary eyebrows Still flashed forth quenchless rage ; And if the lance shook in his gripe, 'T was more with hate than age. Close at his side was Titus On an Apulian steed — Titus, the youngest Tarquin, Too good for such a breed. XIV. Now on each side the leaders Gave signal for the charge ; And on each side the footmen Strode on with lance and targe ; And on each side the horsemen Struck their spurs deep in gore. 70 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 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 at moin, The dust hung overhead ; And louder still and louder Rose 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. XV. False Sextus rode out foremost, His look was high and bold ; His corselet was of bison's hide, Plated with steel and gold. As glares the famished eagle From the Digentian rock On a choice lamb that bounds alone Before Bandusia's flock, 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 That kept the bridge so well, And on his helm the crown he won When proud Fidenae fell. Woe to the maid whose lover Shall cross his path to-day! 290 THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. 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 Of that fell speckled snake. So turned, so fled, false Sextus, And hid him in the rear, Behind the dark Lavinian ranks Bristling with crest and spear. XVI. But far to north yEbutius, The Master of the Knights, Gave Tubero of Norba To feed the Porcian kites. Next under those red horse-hoofs Flaccus of Setia lay ; Better had he been pruning Among his elms that day, Mamilius saw the slaughter. And tossed his golden crest. And towards the Master of the Knights Through the thick battle pressed, ^butius smote Mamilius So fiercely on the shield That the great lord of Tusculum Well-nigh rolled on the field. Mamilius smote ^butius, With a good aim and true, Just where the neck and shoulder join. And pierced him through and through; And brave ^'Ebutius Elva Fell swooning to the ground, 72 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. But a thick wall of bucklers Encompassed him around. His clients from the battle 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, Men say the earliest word he spake Was, ' Friends, how goes the fight?' XVII. But meanwhile in the centre Great deeds of arms were wrought; There Aulas the Dictator And there Valerius 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, 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, 3S0 And hand to hand they fight on foot Around the ancient king. First Titus gave tall Cseso A death-wound in the face — THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. 73 Tall Caeso v/as the bravest man Of the brave Fabian race ; Aulus slew Rex of Gabii, The priest of Juno's shrine ; Valerius smote down Julius, Of Rome's great Julian line — 360 Julius, who left his mansion High on the Velian hill. And through all turns of weal and woe Followed proud Tarquin still. Now right across proud Tarquin 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 ; 37° 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 That loves the people well ! Then shouted loud the Latines, And with one rush they bore The struggling Romans 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 Around Valerius dead; 74 MACAU LAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 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, 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!' apo XIX. Then tenfold round the body The roar of battle rose, Like the roar of a burning forest When a strong north wind blows. Now backward and now forward Rocked 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 stifi" and dying men That writhed and gnawed the ground, And wounded horses kicking And snorting purple foam ; Right well did such a couch befit A Consular of Rome. XX. But north looked the Dictator ; North looked he long and hard, THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 75 And spake to Caius Cossus, The Captain of his Guard : 420 'Caius, of all the Romans, Thou hast the keenest sight ; Say, what through yonder storm of dust Comes from the Latian right?' XXI. Then answered Caius Cossus : ' I see an evil sight; 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-gray charger, I see the purple vest; I see the golden helmet That shines far off like flame ; So ever rides Mamilius, Prince of the Latian name.' XXII. 'Now hearken, Caius 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 Again to that fierce strife ; And Caius Cossus mounted, And rode for death and life. 76 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. Loud clanged beneath his horse-hoofs The hehnets of ihe dead, 450 And many a curdHng 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 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 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, 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, He gave the reins a shake ; Away, away, went Auster, Like an arrow from the bow — THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 77 Black Auster was the fleetest steed From Aufidus to Po. 480 XXVI. Right glad were all the Romans Who, in that hour of dread, Against great odds bare up the war Around Valerius dead, When from the south the cheering Rose with a mighty swell : ' Herminius comes, Herminius, Who kept the bridge so well !' XXVII. Mamilius spied Herminius, And dashed across the way: 49° ' 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, And lay thou on for Rome !' XXVIII. All round them paused the battle, While met in mortal fray The Roman and the Tusculan, The horses black and gray. 5°° Herminius smote Mamilius Through breastplate and through breast, And fast flowed out the purple blood Over the purple vest. Mamilius smote Herminius Through head-piece and through head ; And side by side those chiefs of pride Together fell down dead. y8 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. Down fell they dead together In a great lake of gore ; And still stood all who saw them fall While men mio:ht count a score. XXIX, Fast, fast, with heels wild spurning, The dark-gray charger fled ; He burst through ranks of fighting-men, He sprang o'er heaps of dead. His bridle far outstreaming, His flanks all blood and foam, He sought the southern mountains, 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 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 53° 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 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 THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 79 XXX. But, like a graven image, Black Auster kept his place, And ever wistfully he looked Into his master's face. The raven mane that daily, With pats and fond caresses. The young Herminia washed and combed, And twined in even tresses, And decked with colored ribbons 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, 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 In a wide arch and tall, As spouts a fountain in the court Of some rich Capuan's hall. The knees of all the Latines Were loosened with dismay 570 When dead, on dead Herminius, The bravest Tarquin lay. 8o MA CAUL AY'S LAYS OF ANCLENT ROME. XXXT. And Aulus the Dictator Stroked Auster's raven mane, With heed he looked unto the girths, 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 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 Might one from other know ; White as snow their armor was. Their steeds were white as snow. Never on earthly anvil Did such rare armor 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 Scarce gathered voice to speak : * Say by what name men call you t What city is your home ? And wherefore ride ye in such guise Before the ranks of Rome ?' 600 THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 8 1 XXXIV. *By many names men call us. In many lands we dwell: Well Samothracia knows us, Cyrene knows us well ; Our house in gay Tarentum Is hung each morn with flowers ; High o'er the masts of Syracuse Our marble portal towers ; But by the proud Eurotas Is our dear native home ; 6io 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 Were bold and of good cheer \ And on the thirty armies Came wonder and affright, And Ardea wavered on the left, And Cora on the right. 620 'Rome to the charge!' cried Aulusj ' The foe begins to yield ! Charge for the hearth of Vesta ! Charge for the Golden Shield ! Let no man stop to plunder, But slay, and slay, and slay ; The gods, who live forever. Are on our side to-day.' MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 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, Rushed Auster through the fray. But under those strange horsemen Still thicker lay the slain, And after those strange horses Black Auster toiled in vain. 640 Behind them Rome's long battle Came rolling on the foe, Ensigns dancing wild above, Blades all in line below. So comes the Po in flood-time Upon the Celtic plain ; So comes the squall, blacker than night, Upon the Adrian main. Now, by our sire Quirinus, 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 Spin down the whirling Po. False Sextus to the mountains Turned first his horse's head ; And fast fled Ferentinum, And fast Lanuvium fled. 660 THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. ^^t The horsemen of Nomentum Spurred hard out of the fray ; The footmen of Velitrce Threw shield and spear away. And underfoot was trampled, 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 Tulius of Arpinum, Chief of the Volscian aids, And Metius with the long fair curls, The love of Anxur's maids ; And the white head of Vulso, The great Arician seer ; And Nepos of Lauren turn, 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 Were mingled in a mass; And far away the battle Went roaring through the pass. xxxvii, Sempronius Atratinus Sat in the Eastern Gate, 690 Beside him were three Fathers, Each in his chair of state — 84 MACA [/LAV'S LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME, Fabius, whose nine stout grandsons That day were in the field, And Manlius, eldest of the Twelve Who keep the Golden Shield ; And Sergius, the High Pontiff, For wisdom far renowned — In all Etruria's colleges Was no such pontiff found. 7°° 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 That might not bear the mail, Matrons with lips that quivered. And maids with faces pale. Since the first gleam of daylight, Sempronius 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, AVhen he was aware of a princely pair Fast pricking towards the town. So like they were, man never Saw twins so like before ; Red with gore their armor 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, And the shield that fell from heaven ! THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. 85 This day, by Lake Regillus, Under the Porcian height, All in the lands of Tusculum Was fought a glorious fight. To-morrow your Dictator Shall bring in triumph home 73« The spoils of thirty cities To deck the shrines of Rome !' XXXIX. Then burst from that great concourse A shout that shook the towers, And some ran north, and some ran south, Crying, 'The day is ours !' 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, 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 ; 86 MA CAUL AY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. And Sergius the High Pontiff Alone found voice to speak : * The gods who live forever 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. Safe comes the ship to haven, Through billows and through gales, If once the Great Twin Brethren Sit shining on the sails. Wherefore they washed their horses In Vesta's holy well, 77° 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 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 Be hung with garlands all. And let the knights be summoned To Mars without the wall ; THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. 87 Thence let them ride in purple With jo3'Ous trumpet-sound, 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 Who fought so well for Rome.' 790 ROMAN SOLDIERS (FROM COLUMN OF TRAJAn). THE FOKUM. VIRGINIA. DAY WHEREON LUCIUS SEXTIUS SEXTINUS LATE- RANUS AND CAIUS LTCINIUS CALVUS STOLO WERE ELECTED TRIBUNES OF THE COMMONS THE FIFTH TIME, IN THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCLXXXH. Ye good men of the Commons, With loving hearts and true, Who stand by the bold tribunes That still have stood by you. VIRGINIA. 8c, Come, make a circle round me, And mark my tale with care — A tale of what Rome once hath borne, Of what Rome yet may bear. This is no Grecian fable, Of fountains running wine, lo Of maids with snaky tresses, Or sailors turned to swine. Here in this very Forum, Under the noonday sun, In 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 bare sway. 20 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 in his pride ; Twelve axes waited on him. Six marching on a side. The townsmen shrank to right and left. And eyed askance with fear 30 His lowering brow, his curling mouth Which alway seemed to sneer. That brow of hate, that mouth of scorn, Marks all the kindred still ; For never was there Claudius yet But wished the Commons ill. Nor lacks he fit attendance; For close behind his heels. V 90 MA CA [/LAV'S LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. With outstretched chin and crouching pace, The client Marcus steals, 4° 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 j so 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. 60 With her small tablets 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 she turned, And as she danced along 70 She warbled gayly to herself Lines of the good old song, VIRGINIA. Qx How for a sport the princes Came spurring from the camp, And found Lucrece 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 ; 80 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 The light of morning broke ; go From all the roofs of the Seven Hills Curled the thin wreaths of smoke : The city gates were opened ; The Forum, all alive With buyers and with sellers, Was humming like a hive; Blithely on brass and timber The craftsman's stroke was ringing, And blithely o'er her panniers The market-girl was singing, 100 And blithely young Virginia Came smiling from her home — Ah! woe for young Virginia, The sweetest maid in Rome! With her small tablets in her hand. And her satchel on her arm, 92 MAC A [/LAV'S LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. Forth she went bounding to the school, Nor dreamed of shame or harm. She crossed the Forum shining With stalls in alleys gay, And just had reached the very spot Whereon I stand this day, When up the varlet Marcus came ; Not such as when erewhile He crouched behind his patron's heels With the true client smile ; He came with lowering forehead, Swollen features, and clenched fist, And strode across Virginia's path, And caught her by the wrist. Hard strove the frighted maiden And screamed with look aghast, And at her scream from right and left The folk came running fast — The money-changer Crispus, With his thin silver hairs ; And Hanno from the stately booth Glittering with Punic wares ; And the strong smith Mursena, Grasping a half forged brand ; And Volero the flesher, His cleaver in his hand. 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 iro. 93 VIRGINIA. 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 house, And stolen away and sold, The year of the sore sickness. Ere she was twelve hours old. 'T was in the sad September, The month of wail and fright ; 150 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 wrons: 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. 160 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. 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, 170 Who clung tight to Murasna's skirt And sobbed and shrieked for aid, Forth through the throng of gazers The young Icilius pressed. 94 MAC A [/LAV'S LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. 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, iSo And beckoned to the people. And in bold voice and clear Poured thick and fast the burning words Which tyrants quake to hear: ' Now, by your children's cradles, Now by your fathers' graves, Be men to-day, Quirites, Or be forever slaves ! For this did Servius give us laws ! For this did Lucrece bleed ? 19° For this was the great vengeance wrought On Tarquin's evil seed ? For this did those false sons make red The axes of their sire ? For this did Scaevola's right hand Hiss in the Tuscan fire? Shall the vile fox-earth awe the race That stormed the lion's den ? Shall we, who could not brook one lord. Crouch to the wicked Ten? 200 O for that ancient spirit Which curbed the Senate's will ! O 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 fury. They tamed the Fabian pride ; VIRGINIA. 95 They drove the fiercest Quinctius An outcast forth from Rome ; 210 They sent the haughtiest Claudius With shivered fasces 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 honors — 't was in vain ; For freedom— 't is no more. 220 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 j Still keep the purple gown, 230 The axes and the curule chair, The car and laurel crown ; 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. Still, like a spreading ulcer Which leech-craft may not cure. Let your foul usance eat away The substance of the poor. 240 Still let your haggard debtors Bear all their fathers bore ; 96 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 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. Heap heavier still the fetters, Bar closer still the grate ; 250 Patient as sheep we yield us up Unto your cruel hate. But, by the shades beneath us, And by the gods above, Add not unto your cruel hate Your yet more cruel love ! Have ye not graceful ladies, Whose spotless lineage springs From consuls and high pontiffs And ancient Alban kings — 260 Ladies who deign not on our paths To set their tender feet. Who from their cars look down with scorn Upon the wondering street, Who in Corinthian mirrors Their own proud smiles behold, And breathe of Capuan odors, And shine with Spanish gold? Then leave the poor plebeian His single tie to life — 270 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 yoke as yours. VIRGINIA, 97 Still let the maiden's beauty swell The father's breast with pride ; Still let the bridegroom's arms infold An unpolluted bride. 286 Spare us the inexpiable wrong, The unutterable shame, 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." * =jt # # # # Straightway Virginius led the maid A little space aside, 290 To where the reeking shambles stood, Piled up with horn and hide, Close to yon low dark archway, Where in a crimson flood Leaps down to the great sewer 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. 300 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 ! O, how I loved my darling ! Though stern I sometimes be, To thee, thou know'st, I was not so. Who could be so to thee ? And how my darling loved me ! How jjlad she was to hear ^10 98 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. My footstep on the threshold When I came back last year ! And how she danced with pleasure To see my civic crown, And took my sword and hung it up, And brought me forth my gown ! Now, all those things are over — Yes, all thy pretty ways. Thy needlework, thy prattle. Thy snatches of old lays ; 320 And none will grieve when I go forth, Or smile when I return. 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, 330 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. 340 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 ; VIRGINIA. 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 ; 350 And now, mine own dear little girl, There is no way but this.' 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 ; 360 And in another moment Brake forth from one and all A cry as if the Volscians 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 ; 370 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, [oo MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. And hid his face some little space With the corner of his gown, 380 Till, with white lips and bloodshot eyes, Virginius tottered nigh, And stood before the judgment-seat, And held the knife on high : ' O dwellers in the nether gloom. Avengers of the slain, By this dear blood I cry to you, Do right between us twain ; And even as Appius Claudius Hath dealt by me and mine, • 39° 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. Strode right across the market-place Unto the Sacred Street. 4°° Then up sprang Appius Claudius : ' Stop him, alive or dead ! Ten thousand pounds of copper 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, 410 Ever the mighty multitude Fell back to right and left. VIRGINIA. loi And he hath passed in safety Unto his woful home, And there ta'en horse to tell the camp What deeds are done in Rome. By this the flood of people Was swollen from every side, And streets and porches round were filled With that o'erflowing tide ; 420 And close around the body Gathered a little train Of tjiem that were the nearest And dearest to the slain. They brought a bier, and hung it With many a cypress crown, And gently they uplifted her, And gently laid her down. The face of Appius Claudius wore The Claudian scowl and sneer, 430 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, 440 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. But when the lictors at that word. Tall yoemcn ail and strong, MA CAUL AY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 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 45° That in the Roman Forum Was never such a din. The wailing, hooting, cursing, The howls of grief and hate, Were heard beyond the Pincian Hill, Beyond the Latin Gate. But close around the body, Where stood the little train Of them that were the nearest And dearest to the slain, 460 No cries were there, but teeth set fast, Low whispers and black frowns. And breaking-up of benches And girding-up of gowns. 'T was well the lictors might not pierce To where the maiden lay. Else surely had they been all twelve Torn limb from limb that day. Right glad they were to struggle back. Blood streaming from their heads, 470 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 ! 480 VIRGINIA. 103 71iou 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 Pebbles and bricks and potsherds All round the curule chair ; And upon Appius Claudius Great fear and trembling came, 490 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 Caius of Corioli, His triumphs and his wrongs. His vengeance and his mercy. Live in our camp-fire songs. 500 Beneath the yoke of Furius 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 color like a maid At sight of sword and shield. The Claudian triumphs all were won Within the city towers \ 510 The Claudian yoke was never pressed On any necks but ours. A Cossus, like a wild-cat, Springs ever at the face ; 104 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 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. 520 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, 530 Four sturdy lictors put their necks Beneath the curule chair ; 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 sw^ord, So furious was the throng That scarce the train with might and main Could bring their lord along. 540 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. VIRGINIA. And the chair tossed as tosses A bark with tattered sail When raves the Adriatic Beneath an eastern gale, When the Calabrian sea-Fiiarks Are lost in clouds of spume, And the great Thunder-cape 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 He swooned with pain and fear. 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 ! God send Rome one such other si^ht. And send me there to see ! ^05 550 560 570 TFMPLE OF VESTA (kROM A COIn). ^ H' THK WOLF OF THE CAPITOL. THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. A LAY SUNG AT THE BANQUET IN THE CAPITOL, ON THE DAY WHEREON MANIUS CURIUS DENTATUS, A SECOND TIME CONSUL, TRIUxMPHED OVER KING PYR- RHUS AND THE TARENTINES, IN THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCCLXXIX. I. Now slain is King Amulius Of the great Sylvian line, Who reigned in Alba Longa On the throne of Aventine. Slain is the Pontiff Gamers, Who spake the words of doom : 'The children to the Tiber, The mother to the tomb/ THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 107 II. In Alba's lake no fisher His net to-day is flinging ; 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 No work is done to-day. III. And every Alban burgher Hath donned his whitest gown ; And every head in Alba Weareth a poplar crown ; 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, 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 ; And to-day the dead are living, The lost are found to-day. V. The troubled river knew them, And smoothed his yellow foam, And gently rocked the cradle That bore the fate of Rome. ro8 MACAL/LAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT 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. 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, Right goodly youths and tall. Marching from Alba Longa To their old grandsire's hall. Along their path fresh garlands Are hung from tree to tree ; Before them stride the pipers. Piping a note of glee. VII. On the right goes Romulus, With arms to the elbows red, Apd in his hands a broadsword, 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 — 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, With wrists and fingers red, THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 109 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 Gamers, Who spake the words of doom : ' The children to the Tiber ; The mother to the tomb.' 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 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 cornfield and by vineyard, . " Unto the old man's hall. XI. In the hall-gate sat Capys, Capys the sightless seer ; From head to foot he trembled As Romulus drew near. no MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. And up stood stiff his thin white hair, And his bhnd eyes flashed fire : ' Hail ! foster-child of the wondrous nurse ! Hail ! son of the wondrous sire ! lo XII. ' But thou — what dost thou here In the old man's peaceful hall ? What doth the eagle in the coop, The bison in the stall ? Our corn fills many a garner ; 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; n For thee no ship brings precious bales Across the Libyan brine ; Thou shalt not drink from amber, Thou shalt not rest on down ; Arabia shall not steep thy locks, Nor Sidon tinge thy gown. XIV. 'Leave gold and myrrh and jewels, Rich table and soft bed, To them who of man's seed are born, Whom woman's milk hath fed. 12 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-wolf's breast. THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. m XV. * From sunrise unto sunset 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 sacred fire, 130 Shall live the spirit of thy nurse. The spirit of thy sire. XVI. ' The ox toils through the furrow, Obedient to the goad ; The patient ass up flinty paths 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. 140 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, Her bloody lair surrounds. She dies in silence, biting hard. Amidst the dying hounds. XVIII. * Pomona loves the orchard, And Liber loves the vine ; 150 And Pales loves the straw-built shed Warm with the breath of kine ; 112 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. And Venus loves the whispers Of plighted youth and maid, In April's ivory moonlight Beneath the chestnut shade. XIX. ' But thy father loves the clashing Of broadsword and of shield ; He loves to drink the steam that reeks From the fresh battle-field ; i6o He smiles a smile more dreadful Than his own dreadful frown, When he sees the thick black cloud of smoke Go up from the conquered town. XX. 'And such as is the War-god, 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 And scrolls of wordy lore. XXI. * Thine, Roman, is the pilum ; Roman, the sword is thine, The even trench, the bristling mound, The legion's ordered line ; 180 THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 113 And thine the wheels of triumph Which with their laurelled train Move slowly up the shouting streets To Jove's eternal fane. XXII. * Beneath thy yoke the Volscian Shall vail his lofty brow; Soft Capua's curled revellers Before thy chairs shall bow; The Lucumoes of Arnus Shall quake thy rods to see ; 190 And the proud Samnite's heart of steel 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 To the raven and the kite. XXIV. * The Greek shall come against thee, The conqueror of the East. Beside him stalks to battle The huge earth-shaking beast — 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, Wedged close with shield and spear, And the ranks of false Tarentum Are glittering in the rear. X 1 4 MA CA ULA Y'S LA YS OF ANCIENT ROME, XXV. 'The ranks of false Tarentum Like hunted sheep shall fly; 210 In vain the bold Epirotes Shall round their standards die; And Apennine's gray vultures Shall have a noble feast On the fat and the eyes Of the huge earth-shaking beast. XXVI. * 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 broadsword That through the thick array Of levelled spears and serried shields Hews deep its gory way ! XXVII. ' Hurrah for the great triumph That stretches many a mile ! Hurrah for the wan captives That pass in endless file ! Ho ! bold Epirotes, whither Hath the Red King ta'en flight ? 230 Ho ! dogs of false Tarentum, Is not the gown washed white ? XXVIII. * Hurrah for the great triumph That stretches many a mile ! Hurrah for the rich dye of Tyre, And the fine web of Nile, THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 115 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-colored tablets bright With loves and wars of old, The stone that breathes and struggles, The brass that seems to speak ! — Such cunning they who dwell on high Have given unto the Greek. XXIX. * Hurrah for Manius Curius, The bravest son of Rome, 250 Thrice in utmost need sent forth. Thrice drawn in triumph home! Weave, weave, for Manius Curius The third embroidered gown ; Make ready the third lofty car, And twine the third green crown ; And yoke the steeds of Rosea With necks like a bended bow; And deck the bull, Mevania's 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, And through the bellowing Forum, And round the Suppliants' Grove, Up to the everlasting gates Of Capitolian Jove. n6 MACAULAY'S LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. XXXI. 'Then where o'er two bright havens The towers of Corinth frown ; Where the gigantic King of Day On his own Rhodes looks down ; Where soft Orontes murmurs Beneath the laurel shades ; Where Nile reflects the endless length Of dark-red colonnades ; Where in the still deep water, Sheltered from waves and blasts, Bristles the dusky forest Of Byrsa's thousand masts; Where fur-clad hunters wander Amidst the Northern ice ; Where through the sand of Morning-land The camel bears the spice; Where Atlas flings his shadow Far o'er the western foam, Shall be great fear on all who hear The mighty name of Rome.' 280 CASTOR AND POLLUX, NOTES, ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES. A. S., Anglo-Saxon. Cf. {confer), compare. Fol., following. Id. {idem), the same. Skeat, W. W. Skeat's Concise Etyjttological Dictionary (Harper's ed., 1882) ; or the larger work (Oxford, 1882). Other abbreviations will be readily nnderstood. The line-numbers in the references to Shakespeare are those of the "Globe" edition, which vary from those of Rolfe's edition only in scenes that are wholly or partly in prose. ^ ^^-^^ WALLS OF ROME, FROM THE INSIDE. NOTES IIORATIUS. The Lays were published in 1842, and were popular from the first. Trevclyan {Life of A/acaiiiay, Harper's ed. vol. ii. p. 1 1 1) says ; " Eighteen thousand of the Lays of Ancient Rome were sold in ten years ; forty thou- sand in twenty years ; and by June, 1875, upward of a hundred thousand copies had passed into the hands of readers. But it is a work of super- fluity to measure by statistics the success of poems every line of which is, and long has been, too hackneyed for quotation." Macaulay's introduction to Horatius is as follows: "There can be little doubt that among those parts of early Roman his- tory 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 be- lieve, heard the tale recited over the remains of some consul or prcetor 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 120 NOTES. him, Horatius defended the bridge alone, and perished in the waters. According to the chronicles which Livy and Dionysius followed, Hora- tius had two companions, swam safe to shore, and was loaded with honors and rewards. " These discrepancies are easily explained. Our own literature, 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 compositions much resembling the two ballads which stand first in the Reliqites of Ancient English Poetry. In both those ballads the Eng- lish, 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 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, ' Old men that knowen the grounde well yenoughe Call it the battell of Otterburn : At Otterburn began this spume Upon a nioniiyn day. Tlier was the dougghte 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: Tiier the Dowglas lost hys lyfe, And tlie 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 trans- mitted to us was preferred by the multitude, the other, which ascribed the whole glory to Horatius alone, may have been the favorite 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 tak- ing 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 allotted could proceed only from a plebeian ; and the allusion to the fraudulent sale of spoils marks the date of the poem, and shows that the poet shared in the general discontent with which the proceedings of Camillus, after the taking of Veii, were regarded. "The penultimate syllable of the name Porsena has been shortened in spite of the authority of Niebuhr, who ])ronounces, without assigning any ground for his opinion, that Martial was guilty of a decided blunder in the line, ' Hanc spectare manum Porsena non potuit.' HO RATI us. 121 Tt is not easy to understand how any modern scholar, whatever his at- tainments may be — and those of Niebiihr 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 be- fore 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 Porsenae 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. "Niebuhr's supposition that each of the three defenders of the bridge was the representative of one of the three patrician tribes is both ingen- ious and probable, and has been adopted in the following poem." I. Lars Porsena. Lars, Lar, or Larth was a title of honor given to near- ly all the Etruscan kings. Another example of it X's, Lar Toltaniiiics, King of Veii, whom Cossus slew in single combat (see on 190 below). It is the same word as the English Lord. Cf. Tennyson, /'r/;/r^jj-, ii. 113: " That lay at wine with Lar and Lucumo." Porsena is also written Porsenna and Porsina. As Macaulay remarks, the form with the short e occurs in Martial (i. 22. 6), Horace {Epodes, 16. 4), and Silius (viii. 391, 480 ; x. 484, 502). Porsemia occurs in Virgil {^neid, viii. 646), etc. The Greek writers always make the penult long. Porsena was king of the Etruscan town of Clusium, where, according to the legend, Tarquinius Superbus applied for help, after seeking it in vain from Veii and Tarquinii, Porsena, as Tacitus tells us {Hist. iii. 72), completely conquered Rome. The tale of his repulse by Horatius and his two companions was an invention of Roman vanity, to conceal the great disaster of their city. This expedition of Porsena was kept in the nn'nds of the Romans of later times by the custom at auctions of offering for sale first " the goods of King Porsena." As Niebuhr thinks, this may have arisen from the circumstance that, when the Romans threw off the Tuscan yoke, they obtained possession of property within the city be- longing to Porsena, which they sold at auction. Clusium became prominent in the time of Porsena from the personal abilities of that monarch, who is represented by Livy simply as ruler of Clusium, and is called King of the Etruscans only by later rhetorical writers. It was an inland city of Etruria, in the valley of the Clanis (cf. 38 below), and was one of the twelve cities of the Etruscan confederation. In the time of Tarquinius Priscus, when she gave Rome a dynasty, Etruria possessed the land of the Volscians and the whole of Campania. This great extent of territory was divided into Etruria proper, Etruria Circum- padana, and Etruria Campaniana. Each of these districts was divided into twelve states, each represented by a city. No list of the twelve cities of Etruria proper has been given by ancient writers. They were 122 NOTES. probably Tarquinii, Veil, Falerii, Caere, Volsinii, Vetulonia, Rasellae, Clu- siuni, Arretium, Cortoiia, Perusia, and Volaterrae. Chiusi, the modern Clusium, shows few traces of her ancient greatness, but is rich in Etrus- can relics. The celebrated tomb of Porsena, a description of which from Varro is given by Pliny, is by some believed to have been discovered near Chiusi, but there is little or no ground for the belief, and the account it- self is probably fabulous. 2. The Nine Gods. Pliny {Nat. Hist. ii. 53) tells us that the Etruscans believed in Nine Great Gods, who alone had the power of hurling thun- derbolts. They were called by the Romans Dei Novensiles or Dei Supe- riores. 6. A trystiug-day. A day of meeting. A tryst is properly a pledge. It is the same word as trust. 14. Etncscafi. The name Etrtiria is almost universally used by clas- sical Latin writers. The term Tuscia, preserved in the modern Tuscany, occurs often in later times, and was the official designation of the prov- ince in the time of the Empire. The people, on the other hand, were at all times called indifferently Etrusci or Tusci, the latter being apparently the more ancient form. The Greeks called them Tyrrheuians, while the native name of the people was Raseiia or Rasenmi. The Etruscans were of a different race from the Romans, and spoke a radically different lan- guage. The origin of the race is very uncertain. Mommsen, in his His- tory of Rome, says : " ' The Etruscans,' Dionysius said long ago, ' are like no other nation in language and manners ;' and we have nothing to add to this statement." 19. Amain. With full power. The prefix, which occurs in such words as abed, afoot, asleep, and the like, is the A. S. on, an, or a, signify- ing /;/ or with. 22. Hamlet. The word is a diminutive from A. S. ham, English home. 24. Like an eagWs 7iest. Cf. Horace, Odes, iii. 4. 14 : " celsae nidum Acherontiae" (of a town nestling on the edge of a hill). The commanding situation of the village is well described by hangs. For a similar expres- sion cf. Virgil, Eclogues, i. 75 : " Non ego vos posthac, viiidi proiectus in aiitro, Dumosa pendere procul de rupe videbo." 26. VolaterrcB. The Etruscan Velathri, one of the most ancient and powerful cities of Etruria, five miles north of the Cecina river and fif- teen from the sea. It had an extremely commanding situation 1700 feet above the sea, on the summit of a hill bounded on all sides by precipices. It was the last stronghold of the Marian party in Italy, and yielded only after a two years' siege conducted by Sulla in person. The modern town ( Volterra) retains large portions of the ancient walls, 40 feet high and 13 feet thick, and one of the gateways {Porta deW Arco), 20 feet high. 27. Hold. Stronghold, fortress; as in Shakespeare, 2 Hen. IV. ind. 35 : " this worm-eaten hold of ragged stone " (the castle of the Earl of Nor- thumberland), etc. Cf. keep as applied to the central tower of a castle. 30. Populonia. The principal maritime city of Etruria, originally called Pupluna. Strabo says it was the only one of the ancient Etruscan cities HORATIUS. 123 ANCIENT GATEWAY, VOLATERR^. which was situated on the sea-coast. It became prosperous from its con nection w.th the neighboring island of Ilva (see on 303 below) te i?on expoitecU In 205 B.C., when Scipio was fitting out his fleet to ^o to Afnca Populon.a undertook to supply him with iron. Serv^us" (on ^nezd, X 172) states that the town was founded by Corsicans and tha It was of later date than the Etruscan league. Like many of the Ets can ct^es, ,t was bmlt upon a lofty hill, ^t the highest poin of the hi stood a lonely watch-tower, from which Strabo says'that both Co s ca ad Saidm.a were visible. The latter part of the statement, though re peaTed y many writers, is erroneous, for even if the distance Avere not too 're.t the nearer mountains of Elba would shut out those of Said nia from the cTi-t; own' lTwa?o/'' ""^^r"^^ 1^' ^^--""^ -^^^^'^ '-^^ a sn'er co" age n n ,w • • , ^ P^^" '^'' Character ; the reverse was generally ain not .;......, or indented, like most of the ancient Greek coins wh e ^ th. L':"'' •"'"' ^ ^rP"'^ ^^'^^'- P«P"J«"ia sustained a siege by Su a at the same time as Volaterrae, and never recovered from the blow which whiciru^fh 'f" ^'^V'"''''^ ^Ses a feudal castle was erected on d. site nhich, with a few adjacent houses, still bears the name of Populonia and IS a conspicuous object from a distance ^puiunia, ana Qi^Iamfft': ^nT'^T"}!'"''-'' ^^ '''''1''' ' ^'"^"^ ^^^^ Latin mercalns ^L Hamlet, 1. i. 74: "And foreign mart for implements of war." 124 NOTES. Piso". An important city of Etruiia on the northern bank of the Ar- nus, a few miles from its mouth. Very little is known of its early history. The identity of its name with that of the city in Elis naturally led to the supposition that one was derived from the other (Virgil, ^neid, x. 179), but Cato considered it of genuine Etruscan origin. In Pliny's time it had become a thriving town, and during the Middle Ages it was one of the most flourishing conuiiercial cities in Italy. It was on the site of the modern Pisa, though great natural changes have taken place in the lo- cality. 36. Mdssilia. The modern Marseilles. It was founded by the Pho- caeans (from the Ionian town of Phocaea in Asia). It was a rich and prosperous city, with an extensive commerce. Like all the Greeks, the Massilians had slaves, readily obtained from \.\\g fair-haifed Gauls, who sold their own children for this purpose. Cf. Capys, 195. Triremes. Ships with three banks of oars, as the name implies. Up to the time of the first Punic war these were the largest vessels in the Roman navy, but later qiiadrireines, qitinqiieremes^ etc., were built. 38. Chillis. A river in the territory of Clusium, flowing into the Tiber. It drains a remarkable valley, thirty miles long, and so level that the waters from the surrounding hills would flow almost indifferently in either direction. We learn from Tacitus that as early as A.D. 15 a project was formed of turning aside the waters of the Clanis into the Arnus. The valley of the Chiana*, as it is now called, has become marshy and ma- larious from frequent inundations, and its waters are carried off by artifi- cial channels into the Lake of Chiusi or into the Arno. 40. Cortoua. A very ancient city of Etruria, between Arretium and Clusium, on a lofty hill about nine miles from Lake Trasimenus. It was one of the most powerful cities of the Confederation. We hear very little about it in later times, for its almost impregnable situation rendered it free from attack. The modern city of Cortona is the see of a bishop, and has a population of about 5000. Its walls are for the most part based on the ancient walls, and it is rich in Etruscan remains. 43. Atiser. A river of Etruria, rising on the borders of Liguria, and flowing into the Arnus. The modern river, the Serchio (supposed to be a corruption oi Aiiseradns^,?io\^'& into the Tyrrhenian Sea seven miles north of the mouth of the Arno. The whole space between the two riv- ers in the lower part of their course is so flat and low that their waters still communicate during great floods. Rill is cognate with the Latin riina (see Virgil, Aineid, i. 123 : "rimis- que fatiscunt "), and strictly means a shallow trench or channel. 44. Chavip. To eat noisily; cognate with chnv^jaw, and the Greek ■yajxcpai (jaws). 45. T/ie Ciminian hill. Mt. Ciminus {Monte Cimind), the culminating point of a range of volcanic heights, extending from near the Tiber in a southwesterly direction towards the sea. It is a conspicuous object from Rome, aad separates the Campagna from the plains of Central Etruria. * In the Italian the lost Latin / is replaced by i; as in Chiusi iClusium\ Firenze {Florentia), pioinbo {plmnbum), etc- HO RATI us. 125 It was covered in ancient times (as part of it still is) with a dense forest, called Silva Cimiiiia, which was regarded by the early Romans with no less awe than the Hercynian Forest was in later times. It abounded in game. 46. Clituvums. A small river in Umbria, celebrated for the clearness of its waters, and for the beauty of the cattle which pastured on its banks. These cattle, of a pure white color (cf. 55 below) and large size, were set apart as victims to be slaughtered at triumphs or other special ceremo- nies (see on Capys, 259 below). Their color was thought to be due to their drinking and bathing in the extremely pure waters of the Clitumnus ; but, though the same tradition is preserved to-day, the cattle are no longer remarkable for their whiteness. Pliny describes the source of the river in such a way as to show that it was considered a sight worth visiting. Caligula undertook a journey for that express purpose, and Honorius turned aside from his progress along the Flaminian Way for the same object. Cf. Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 67 : " But thou, Clitumnus, in thy sweetest wave Of the most Hving crystal that was e'er The haunt of river nymph, to gaze and lave Her limbs where nothing hid them, thou dost rear Thy grassy banks whereon the milk-white steer Grazes ; the purest god of gentle waters, And most serene of aspect and most clear ! Surely that stream was unprofaned by slaughters — A mirror and a bath for Beauty's youngest daughters !" 49. Volsmian mere. A lake of southern Etruria nearly as large as Lake Trasimenus. It took its name from the town of Volsinii, on its northeastern shore. It is sometimes called the Tarquinian Lake, be- cause its western shore adjoined the territory of Tarquinii. The word mere (Latin mare) is cognate with mortal, and strictly means a dead or desert waste of water. 58. Arretinm. One of the most ancient and powerful cities of Etruria, situated in the upper valley of the Arnus, about four miles south of the river. It was undoubtedly one of the twelve cities of the League, and also one of the five which aided the Latins against Tarquinius Priscus. After the Romans had conquered Italy, it became an important military post, commanding as it did the western entrance into Etruria and the valley of the Tiber from Cisalpine Gaul. Maecenas, the friend and coun- sellor of Augustus, is said to have been a native of Arretium, and, while there is no proof that he himself was born there, the family of the Cilnii, to which he belonged, was at an eariy period the most powerful and con- spicuous of the nubility of that city. See Horace, Odes, iii. 29. i : "Tyr- rhena regum progenies;" Satires, i..6. I (where there is an allusion to the supposed Lydian origin of the Etruscans) : "Non quia, Maecenas, Lydorum quicquid Etrusccs Incolunt fines, nemo generosior est te." In more recent times the city (the modern Arezzo) was noted as the birthplace of Petrarch. Many of the most interesting specimens of Etrus- can art have been discovered here, including much pottery, of a peculiar 126 NOTES. style of bright red ware with ornaments in reh'ef, wholly different from the painted vases so common in southern Etruria. Roman inscriptions on the articles confirm the statement of Pliny, who speaks of Arretium as still celebrated in his time for its pottery ; which was, however, re- garded with contempt by the wealthy Romans, and used only for humble purposes. 59. Old men. Too old for military service, as ih^ young boys were too young. In Rome every citizen more than seventeen and less than forty- six years old was obliged to serve in the army when required. 60. Uvibro. A river of Etruria, next in size to the Arnus, flowing into the sea about sixteen miles north of the promontory o{ Mons Argcntarius. The name is supposed to be connected with the Umbrians, who held that part of Italy before its conquest by the Etruscans ; and Pliny tells us that the coast district as far south as Telamon was called "Tractus Um- briae." 62. Luna. A city of Etruria on the left bank of the Macra near its mouth, and hence on the very borders of Liguria. Indeed, it had fallen into the hands of the Ligurians before that people came in contact with the Romans, There is no ground for considering it a city of the League. Euna was noted for its wine, which was considered the best in Etruria ; for its cheeses, some of which weighed a thousand pounds ; and for its marble (similar to that of the modern Carrara, only a few miles from the ruins of Luna), which was equal to the best Parian. The buildings of Luna and even its walls are said to have been built of this stone, whence Rutilius calls them "candentia moenia." The city fell to decay under the Roman emperors, and was finally destroyed by the Arabs in 1016. 63. Must. New wine, or innstuvi ; whence vioist, vnisty, and mustard (this last because it was mixed with must or vinegar). 68. Alway. Originally two words, all and zvay {— all the way, proba- bly at first in reference to space traversed, but at a very early period transferred to time) ; afterwards confused with the genitive always, which has superseded it in prose, alway being now archaic and poetic. Cf. Afatt. xxviii, 20, etc. 71. Verses. Predictions, prophecies. Compare the use (mostly poeti- cal) oi carmina ; as in Aiueid, vi. 74, etc. 72. Traced from the right. The Etruscans retained down to the latest period the mode of writing from right to left. Lucretius says (vi. 381) : " Tyrrhena retro volventem carmina frustra." 73. Yore. Originally the genitive plural of the A. S. word iox year^ so that the sense was of years, that is, in years past. 80. Nnrscia, or Nortia, was the Etruscan goddess of fortune, appar- ently identical with Fo7'tuna of Antium and Praeneste. She was wor- shipped at Volsinii, where a nail was driven every year into the wall of her temple for the purpose of marking the number of years. 81. The golden shields of Rome. The twelve sacred shields {ancilia) preserved in the temple of Mars Gradivus on the Palatine Hill. Accord- ing to one legend, a shield was found in the palace of Nunia which was supposed to have fallen from heaven, as it could not be learned that any human hand had brought it there. The haruspices declared that the HORA TIUS. 127 JS^Sa ANCILIA CARKIKD BY SALII. Roman state would endure so long as this shield was kept in Rome. To secure its preserva- tion, Numa had eleven other shields made exactly like it ; and twelve priests, known as the Salii, were appointed to take care of the twelve shields. At the yearly feast of the god, on the calends of March, the Salii car- ried the aticilia about the city, at the same time singing sacred songs and performing a kind of dance, in which they kept time by striking the shields with rods. The cut shows one of these rods, and also the Salii on their march. The material of the shields is not mentioned by ancient writers, but, according to the later grammari- ans, it was bronze, not gold. 83. Tale. A number, reckoning ; like tally from tell (=count). 86. Sutriiitn. A small town in the southern part of Etruria, about thirty-two miles from Rome. It never became a place of any impor- tance, but its position on the Cassian Way preserved it from falling into decay, like so many of the Etruscan cities, under the Roman Empire. The modern town, Sittri, has only 2000 inhabitants, but retains the epis- copal see which it held throughout the Middle Ages. It contains a re- markable amphitheatre, excavated in the tufa rock. 95. Muster. A fair show, an assembly (from Latin vionstrd). 96. Tnsciihut Mamilius. The Alamilia gens was one of the most dis- tinguished families of Tusculum, and indeed in the whole of Latium. They traced their origin to the mythical Mamilia, daughter of I'elegonus, the son of Odysseus and Circe. Their coins bear on one side a head of Mercury, and on the other Odysseus in his travelling dress with his dog. Mamilius was the foremost man of the Eatin race in the time of Tarquin- ius Superbus, who secured his alliance by giving him his daughter in marriage. Tjtscjiliim was a strong city of Latium fifteen miles from Rome. It was said to have been founded by Telegonus. After the final defeat of Tar- quin at Lake Regillus, Tusculum remained for a long time a faithful ally of Rome. In the great Latin war it opposed Rome, but after the defeat of the Latins the Tusculans were treated with great indulgence. In later times Tusculum was one of the favorite resorts of the wealthy Romans. Here Lucullus, Cato, Cicero, and others had villas, and Cicero composed many of his philosophical works. The ancient city remained entire until nearly the end of the twelfth century, and its ruins are still to be seen near the modern Frascati. 98. 77ie velhnv Tiber. Flax'iis (yellow) is a constant epithet applied to the Tiber by Roman poets. Cf 466 and 470 below, and Horace, Odes, i. 2. 13 : 128 NOTES. " Vidimus flavum Tiberim retortis Litore Etrusco violenter undis Ire deiectum monumenta regis Templaque Vestae," etc. ICO. Champaign. Open country, plains. See Shakespeare, Lear, i. I. 57 : " With shadowy forests and with champaigns rich'd ;" also Tzvelfth Night, ii. 5. 174 : " Daylight and champaign discovers not more." In Liicrece (1247) the word is used as an adjective : "A goodly cham- paign plain." 106. Folk. Properly a collective noun (zzia crowd of people), though it has come to be used in the plural. It is allied X.o flock. no. Litters {lectica:) for sick persons and invalids seem to have been in use at Rome (as in Greece) from the earliest times. They were cov- ered, and enclosed with curtains or with sides in which there were win- dows. In later times they were used by people in health, especially in travelling. They 'vere carried by means of poles attached but not fixed to the litter. The poles rested on the shoulders of the bearers, and not on thongs passed around their necks, as some modern writers have thought. In the time of the Empire their use in the city became general. They were carried by tall, hand- some slaves in gorgeous liveries. 115. Skins of wine. When wine was transported from one place to another, it was put into bags of goat-skin, well pitched over, so as to make the seams perfectly tight. When the quantity was large, a number of hides were sewed to- gether, and the leather tun thus made was carried in a cart. 117. Kine. The old plural of cow. It is really a double plural (like brethren), the A. S. ctl having the plural cy, whence the Middle English ky, which was pluralized by adding en (as in oxen), forming ky-eti, or ki7ie. 122. The rock Tarpeian. A steep rock on the Saturnian Hill (at a very early period called the Capitoline), from which traitors were hurled. Tarpeia, according to the legend, was a Roman maiden, who treacher- ously opened the citadel to the Sabines, She stipulated that her reward should be " what they wore on their left arms," meaning their golden bracelets, but they cast upon her their shields, which they bore on their left arms, and crushed her. Cf. Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 112 : SILENUS ASTRIDE UPON A WINE-SKIN. IIORATIUS. 129 '* Where is the rock of Triumph, the high place VVliere Rome embraced her heroes? where the steep Tarpeian — fittest goal of Treason's race, The promontory whence the Traitor's Leap Cured all ambition?" In the present passage the rock Tarpeian is probably used for the hill in general. The precise location of the part from which traitors were thrown is now matter of dispute, but the weight of authority seems to be in favor of the south side, or the Monte Caprino, as it is called. -^:^'.. THE TARPEIAN ROCI-T. 123. Watt. The original sense of the word seems to have been tired out, from which the transition is easy to pale from fatigue. Biu'ghers. Citizens. The word is cognate with l>urf^ess, which in Mommsen's History of Rome (English translation) is the designation of the Roman citizens. It is derived from boron,i:;h-\-er. 126. The Fathers of the City. The Pat res Conscrifti, or senators. See on Lake Re^illus, 119 below. 133. Crtistitmerium. An ancient city of Latium, on the borders of the Sabine territory, between Fidenae and Eretum. It was reckoned by Plu- tarch as a Sabine city, but Virgil {^neici, vii. 631) mentions it among the five great cities which were the first to take up arms against ^neas, all which he undoubtedly regarded as Latin towns. The country about Crustumerium was noted for its fertility. It produced great quantities of corn, and Virgil {Georgics, ii. 88) says that pears were produced there in great abundance which were red only on one side, a peculiarity which they still retain. I30 NOTES. 134. Verbenna. This name is one ofMacaulay's own invention ; it is not mentioned by any Roman writer. Ostia. The seaport of Rome, at the mouth of the Tiber, sixteen miles from the city. All ancient writers agree that it was founded by Ancus Martins, who at the same time established salt-works there, which for a long time supplied Rome and the neighboring country. Ostia was always a colony of Rome and never became independent. Although it must have grown in importance with the increasing power of Rome, no historical mention is made of the town until the second Punic War, when it was a naval and commercial port of the highest importance. From its close connection with Rome it enjoyed special privileges, and Ostia and Antium alone were granted exemption from levies for military service in 207 B.C. It suffered during the wars of Marius and Sulla, and was taken and sacked by the former in 87 B.C. In 67 B.C. a fleet which had l)een assembled there to suppress the pirates was attacked by the pirates them- selves and destroyed (Cicero, Pro Lef^. Manil. 12. 33). The modern village of Ostia is an insignificant place, the ch'mate of which in summer is extremely unhealthy. It has scarcely a hundred in- habitants, most of whom are employed in the salt-works. The site of the ancient town is now three miles from the mouth of the river. In the time of Strabo the port had been seriously injured by alluvial deposits, and among the projects of Julius Csesar was one for its improvement. Claudius carried out the plan by constructing an entirely new harbor two miles to the north ; but this being also filled up, Trajan in A.D. 103 began a new one at the modern Porto, v»'hich was choked in its turn. The cas- tle, which is now the most conspicuous object at Ostia, was built in the early part of the i6th century, 136. Astiir. Another name of Macaulay's invention. There is a Latin word astiir meaning a hawk. yanictihttn. A hil! across the Tiber opposite the Campus Martius, HO RATI us. j^l wliere the river bends farthest to the west. In the time of Tarquin it did not form part of the city, but it had been fortified by Ancus Martius as an outpost and connected with the city by the Pons Sublicius. It is said to have l)een called Jaiiiadiim from Janus, a deified king of Latium, who had a citadel there. 138. 1 7vis. Not a verb and pronoun, although often so considered, and apparently so regarded by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. It is an adverb meaning certainly, and was at first written ywis. Cf. the German gewiss. The Senate. The Latin word seuatus means a collection of old men. See Cicero, De Senedute, vi. 19 : "Quae [consilium, ratio, sententia] nisi essent in senibus, non summum consilium nostri maiores appellassent senatum ;" and compare the Greek (Lacedaemonian) y^povma. The Ro- man senate at this time consisted of 300 members, 100 from each of the three tribes, and this remained the regular number for many centuries. The senators held their office for life, unless expelled by the censors for unbecoming conduct. They were chosen, at first by the consul but after- wards by the censors, from those who had held high offices in the state. After the time of Sulla, every man who had held the quasstorship, or any higher office, nn'ght sit in the senate, so that the number sometimes reached five or six hundred. The original purpose of the senate was to give advice to the kings, and its decrees were at all times called consnlta, that is, matters which seemed advisable. At an early period, however, the senate, though it did not have authority to pass laws and was itself subject to the laws, became the ruling power in the state, and by its considta controlled the whole Roman world. The senate met regularly three times a month, and could be specially summoned by the consul, or (in later times) by a tribune of the people, and the magistrate who summoned it presided at its meetings. In the later days of the Republic, the members of the senate formed an order (see on Lake Regdlus, 3 below), called the ordo senatorius, an he- reditary nobility. The members of the order wore a tunic with a broad purple stripe and a shoe of a peculiar pattern ; they also sat in the or- chestra at the theatres and amphitheatres. 142. T/ie Constd. After the expulsion of the kings, the chief magistracy of the state was represented by two officers, elected annually, called at first /;-^/^rj-, or leaders, but very soon afterwards consuls, a word of uncer- tain origin, but probably derived from ^^;/+the root ol salio {clexsid, praesul), meaning perhaps those who go together. In the early days of the Republic the power of the consuls was nearly equal to that of the kings who had preceded them, but with the establishment of the proctor- ship, censorship, etc., their power was diminished. Until 366 B.C. the consulship was open only to patricians, but it finally became a principle of the Roman constitution that both consuls should not be patricians. The consuls presided in the senate, and in the comitia of the centuries, and were preceded by twelve lictors (see on Lake RegUliis, 2 below), en- joying these honors for a month at a time in turn. In time of war they commanded the army, and a consul might be given dictatorial power by the senate (see on Lake Regillus, 123). After the Roman rule had ex'- 13: NOTES. ROMAN CONSUl tended beyond the boundaries of Italy, the consuls governed a province 2i^ proconsuls at the close of their term of ofifice. 144. They girded up their goiuns. The cumbrous form of the toga, which was always worn in the senate, made it necessary to gird it up whenever active work was to be done. Ci.V\xg\\, yEiieid, i. 210: "Illi se praedae accingunt ;" and Id. ii. 235 : " Accingunt omnes operi." 147. The Kiver-Gate. The Porta Flumetitaiia must have been in the short piece of wall between the Capitoline Hill and the Tiber. Its situa- tion near the river may be inferred from its name, from the fact that Livy mentions it in connection with inundations, and from a passage in Varro {R. A\ iii. 2). 150. Roundly. Plainly, " without circumlocution " (as the dictionaries define it, though at first it seems very like a bull). Cf. Shakespeare, As You Like It, V. 3. II : " Shall we clap into 't roundly, without hawking or spitting or saying we are hoarse?" So the adjective round— h\\\w\.^ un- ceremonious ; as in Twelfth Nighty ii. 3. 102 : " 1 must be round with you," etc. no RATI us. I-- 15 r. The briJi^e. The Pons Sublicins, the oldest and most frequently mentioned of the Roman bridges, was a wooden bridge said to have been built by Ancus Martins. It connected the Janiculum with the city, but its exact site is a vexed question. It was of great religious importance, and was under the special protection of one of \.\\^ pontifices. Even after a new bridge of stone was built beside it for purposes of traffic, the wooden bridge was kept in repair as a venerable and sacred relic, and as indis- pensable in certain religious ceremonies (see on Lake Regilliis, 697 below). It is known to have been in existence in the time of Co'nstantine. Pliny {Nat. Hist, xxxvi. 23) tells us that, on account of the difficulty and delay in breaking it down on this occasion, it was reconstructed without nails, in such a manner that each beam could be removed and replaced at pleasure. 156. Sir Consul. When the poem was first published certain critics made fun of this, and suggested " O Consul" in place of it; but the ex- pression is in keeping with the old ballad style which Macaulay imitates, and it is mere pedantry to object to it. Shakespeare has ^/V repeatedly in the Roman plays ; as in Jiditis Casar, iv. 3. 246, 250, Coriolanns, i. 5, 15, iv. 5. 142. Cf. Acts, vii. 26. xiv. 15, xvi. 30, etc. Sir is of Latin ori- gin (from senior, through the French). 160-173. ^"^i •'■"^^ (fie swarthy storm of diist, etc. For a prose de- scription of a similar scene, vivid from its very simplicity, cf. Xenophon, Anabasis, i. 8. 8. ^ 177. Twelve fair cities. The twelve cities of the Etruscan Confedera- tion. See on i above. 180. The Unibrian. Umbria is the northeastern division of Italy prop- er, east of Etruria. The Etruscans engaged in many wars with the Um- brians and with their neighbors the Gauls. The former at one time pos- sessed a great part of Etruria, from which they were driven at a very early period after a long struggle, with the loss of three hundred towns. The Umbrians are regarded by all writers of antiquity as the most an- cient people of Italy. 184. By port and vest. By bearing and dress. Port is from the Latin portare, vest from vestis. For a similar use of the latter word see Fuller, Worthies: " He much affected to appear in foreign vests," etc. Crest. The plume or tuft on the top of the helmet, by which the wearer was most readily distinguished in a throng of warriors. Cf. Tennyson, Oriana : " She watched my crest among them all," etc. ^ 185. Lncumo. Literally, one possessed or inspired; a title given to Etruscan priests and princes, like the Roman patricius. It was mistaken by the Romans for a proper name. The title was given to the son of Demaratus, King of Corinth, afterwards Tarquinius Priscus. See on i above. 186. Cilnins. The Cilnii were a powerful Etruscan family, who seem to have been unusually firm supporters of the Roman interests. They were iuctnnones in their city, Arretium. The name has been rendered famous by C. Cilnius Maecenas, the intimate friend of Augustus. See on 58 above. 188. Fourfold shield. Made of four thicknesses of hide. Such shields ^34 NOTES. were made of wood or wicker, which was covered with ox-hides of sev- eral folds, and finally bound around the edge with metal. See Homer, Iliad, xii. 294 fol. : avTiKa 6' uanida /.lev irpoaff eaxiTo ■navroa eifft]v, KaX'rjv xaAKeirii' 6^>;\aToi/, i]v apu x<'^'^ci'f riKacrev, turoatitv 6t /Soteia? pd^e Oanetctv Xpvaeif]^ pdfiSoKTi diriveKtcriv irepi kvkKov. The arms of the Etruscans closely resembled those of the Greeks. 189. Brand. A sword, from its brightness. The succession of mean- ings is (i) a burning ; (2) a firebrand ; (3) a sword-blade. 190. Tolumnius. Probably king of Veii. In 438 B.C. a king of Veii of the same name was slain in single combat by Cornelius Cossus, who, following the example of Romulus, consecrated the spoils to Jupiter Fere- trius ; the second case in which the spolia opima were won. 192. T/irasymene. The most approved spellings in the Latin are Tiasiimeniis and Trasymenns. There is no authority for the Th. It is the largest lake in Etruria, situated in the eastern part between Cortona and Perusia (Perugia), from the latter of which it is now sometimes called Lago di Perugia. It is about thirty miles in circumference, but of LAKE THRASVMENK. small depth, nowhere exceeding thirty feet, and its banks are low, flat, and covered with reeds. It is famous for the crushing defeat of the Roman consul C. Flamininus by Hannibal (217 B.C.) in " the defiles fatal to Ro- man rashness." Livy relates a story that the fury of the combatants was such that they were unconscious of an earthquake shock which occurred during the battle. See Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 73 : HO RATI us. 135 "And such the shock of battle on this day And such the frenzy, whose convulsion blinds To all save carnage, that, beneath the fray, An earthquake rolled unheedingly away." 193. Fast h- Fixed, or made fast, by ; like ^(7r(/{^rm) l>y and close by. Cf. IViiiter's Tale, iv. 4. 512 : "A vessel rides fast by," etc. 196. His ivory car. The ancients used ivory on a more extensive scale than is known in modern times. The statue of the Olympian Zeus by Phidias was made of it or covered with it. The Romans, who obtained large quantities from Africa, also used it in works of art and ornainent of considerable size. . . 199. False Sextus. Sextus Tarquinius, the second son of Tarqumms Superbus. 200. The deed of shame. The rape of Lucrece, the immediate cause of the expulsion of Tarquin. See Shakespeare, Lucrece, and Ovid, Fasti, book ii. , „ The first reading of this line was " That brought Lucrece to shame. Macaulay altered u here and elsewhere at the suggestion of his friend, Mr. Thomas Flower Ellis. See Trevelyan's Life (Harper's ed. vol. 11. p. 108). . . ^ ., , , . 217. Horatiits. The Horatian gens was a patrician family belonging to the tribe of Luceres. The burghers or patricians consisted originally of three distinct tribes: the Rajunes, a Latin colony on the Palatine hill, said to have been founded by Romulus ; the Tities, or Sabine settlers on the Quirinal and Viminal hills, under King Tatius ; and the Luceres, mostly Etruscans, who had settled on the Caelian. As mentioned in the introduction, the three defenders of the bridge were representatives of these three tribes. Horatius bore the surname Codes, or " the one- eyed." „ , ^ 218. The Captain of the Gate. Apparently not a permanent office, biat an appointment for this special occasion. Livy (ii. 10) says : " qui posi- tus forte in statione pontis," etc. ^ , 229. The holy maidens. The virgin priestesses of Vesta, six in num- ber, two from each of the original three tribes. It was their chief duty to watch by turns, night and day, the " eternal flame " on the altar of Vesta, the extinction of which was considered to portend the destruction of the state. They were held in high honor and were granted certain immunities and privileges. . , „ . 237. Strait. Narrow (Latin strictus); misprinted "straight ni some editions. . , 241. Spuriics Lartins. The Lartia f^ens was a patrician family ot l^trus- can origin. The name is probably derived from Lar. The family disap- pears early from history, the only other famous member being T. Lartius, the first dictator, in 501 B.C. See on Lake Regillus, 123 below. 242. A Ramnian. See on 217 above. . , 245. Herminius. The Herminia gens was a very ancient patrician family at Rome, which also vanishes early from history. The syllable Her is common in Sabellian names, but one of the family bore the prae- nomen Lar, Larius, or Larcius, which is undoubtedly of Etruscan origin, 136 NOTES. and the Roman antiquaries regarded the family as Etruscan. It is re- markable that Herminius and Lartius are coupled in their first consul- ship, at the bridge, and in the battle of Lake Regillus. 246. A Titian. See on 217 above. 261. Then lands were fairly portioned. A standing grievance of the plebeians was that the ager pnblicus (see on 542 below), or land which was the property of the state, acquired by conquest, was occupied almost en- tirely by the patricians, until the passing of the Licinian laws. 262. Thejt spoils were fairly sold. As stated in the introduction, this line places the date of the composition of this poem after the capture of Veii in 396 B.C. An immense amount of booty was taken at Veii, which was distributed among the citizens. In 391 B.C. Camillus, who had com- manded the Romans at Veii, was accused by L. Appuleius, tribune of the people, of having made an unfair division of the spoils and of having ap- propriated the great bronze gates of Veii. Seeing that he would certainly be condemned, he went into exile, whence he was recalled the next year and made dictator against the Gauls. 267. The Tribunes. The tribunes of the people {Iribnni plebis) were first appointed in 494 B.C. after the first Secession to the Sacred Mount. At first there were two tribunes ; afterwards the number was increased to five, and finally to ten. They were originally appointed to afford protec- tion to the common people against any abuse on the part of the patrician magistrates ; and that they might be able to afford such protection, their persons were declared sacred and inviolable. They gradually acquired the right of vetoing any act which a magistrate might undertake during his term of office, and that, too, without giving any reason. Moreover, they might seize and imprison a senator or consul, or even hurl him from the Tarpeian rock (see on 122 above). They convoked the assembly of the tribes {comitia tributa), and usually presided over it. They finally became the most powerful magistrates in the state, and in the latter days of the republic were veritable tyrants. But in spite of the many abuses of power by individual tribunes, the best historians and statesmen agree that the greatness of Rome and its long duration were largely attributa- ble to the institution of this office. 274. Harness. An old use of the word (which is cognate with iro7t) in the sense of armor for the body. See Shakespeare, T. and C. v. 3. 31 : "Doff thy harness." 277. Commons. The plebeians or common people of Rome. The time when they began to form part of the Roman population is uncertain, but their number was greatly increased by the transfer to Rome of the popu- lation of Alba Longa, after that city was destroyed by Tullus Hostilius. At first the plebeians were grievously oppressed by the patricians ; they were denied all political rights, could not intermarry with the patricians, and were subject to severe and unjust laws concerning debt. For about two centuries the internal history of Rome is a record of the struggle be- tween the two orders. Finally, after several secessions to the Sacred Mount (see on Lahe RegillnSy 14 below) the Hortensian law in 286 B.C. gave the plebeians equal rights with the patricians. 278. Croiv. A bar with a strong beak like a crow's, a crow-bar. HORA TIUS. 137 PLEBEIANS. 290. Rolled. The verb (which somebody has criticised) is suggested by the sea above. 301. AiiJins. This name does not occur anywhere in Roman h'terature. T'ifertmm. There were two towns in Umbria by this name. The most important, and the one probably referred to here, was Tifemum Tiberi- «//;//, situated on the Tiber near the Tuscan frontier. The Tuscan villa of the younger Pliny was situated near Tifernum, whose citizens chose him at a very early age to be their patron ; in return for which honor he built a temple there. 303. Seitis. There were several Romans of this name. Of one Gellius relates (iii, 9) that he had the finest horse of his age, which was fated to bring destruction to whosoever possessed it. Seius was put to death by M. Antonius, afterwards triumvir, during the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. The horse then passed into the hands of Dolabella, and afterwards into those of Crassus, both of whom died a violent death. I lence the proverb concerning an unlucky man : " Hie homo habet equuni Seianum." 138 NOTES. 304. Ilva. An island (now Elba) in the Tyrrhenian sea, situated ofif the coast of Etruria opposite Populonia (see on 30 above). It is about eighteen miles in length and twelve in breadth. It is still celebrated, as it was in ancient times, for its iron mines, the ore from which was very abundant and easily extracted. 305. Picus. The first king of Italy is said to have had this name. 309. Neqiiintim. The name applied before the Roman conquest to Narnia^ one of the most important cities of Etruria, situated on the Nar, eight miles above its junction with the Tiber. It was on the Via Fla- minia, fifty-six miles from Rome. Narnia was occupied by the generals of Vitellus in his civil war with Vespasian, and was an important fort- ress in the Gothic wars of Belisarius and Narses. The position of the town on a lofty hill, precipitous on several sides, and half surrounded by the Nar, is alluded to by many Latin writers ; and the bridge by which the Flaminian Way was carried across the Nar and a neighboring ravine at this point has been much admired in ancient and in modern times. 310. A^ar. A river of central Italy, one of the principal tributaries of the Tiber, rising on the boundaries of Umbria and Picenum. It is re- markable for its white and sulphurous waters, which several ancient writers allude to. See Virgil, ^neid^ vii. 517: "Audiit amnis Sulfurea Nar albus aqua." 314. Clove. The form cleft is now more common for the past tense than clove. Shakespeare uses the former twice, the latter only once. He also has the participle cleft oftener than cloven., the latter being always joined to a noun ; as in Tempest., i. 2. 277: "A cloven pine," etc. 319. Ocnns. The reputed founder of Mantua bore this name. Ealerii. A powerful city in the southern part of Etruria, a few miles north of Mt. Soracte. It was probably one of the twelve cities of the Etruscan League. It supported Veii in many of its wars with Rome ; and it is in connection with Falerii that the well-known story is told of the treacherous schoolmaster and the generous conduct of the Roman general. 321. Lausiilus. There was a Lansus who was the son of Numitor, and another who was the son of Mezentius, slain by i^ineas. Urgo. A small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, also called Gorgon (in modern times, Gorgona). It was between Etruria and Corsica, about twenty miles from the mainland. It is only eight miles in circumference, but elevated and rocky, so that it is conspicuous from a distance. 323. Arnns. An Etruscan designation of the younger son (in pure Etruscan, Arvth), while the elder was called Lar. Volsinin?n (more properly Volsinii) was a city of Etruria on a steep height above the Volsinian lake (see on 49 above), and belonged to the Confederation. It was destroyed by the Romans, who compelled the inhabitants to migrate to the plain. This Roman Volsinii (the modern Bolsena) was the birthplace of Sejanus, the minister and favorite of Tibe- rius. 324. Who slew the great wild boar. Pliny (ii. 54) says that during the no RATI us. 13 c) reign of Porsena the country about Volsinii was ravaged by a monster called Volta, and that lightnuig was drawn down from heaven by Porsena to destroy it. 326. Cosa. A seaport of Etruria, on the remarkable promontory of Mons Argentarius {Monte A7-gentaro), whence Tacitus speaks of it as *' Cosa, a promontory of Etruria." The remains of Cosa (about four miles from the modern Orbetello) are of much interest, and present an excellent specimen of ancient fortifications. The walls, nearly a mile in circuit, with their towers, are admirably preserved. 328. Alhitiia. A river of Etruria, the modern Alhegna, flowing into the sea near Mons Argentarius. It is the same as the Alminia or Al- mina. 337. Campania. A province of Central Italy, bounded on the north by Latium, on the east by the mountains of Samnium, on the south by Lucania, and on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was noted for its fertility, the beauty of its sea-coast, and its soft and genial climate. Its shores also abounded in hot-springs, especially at Puteoli (the modern Fozzuoli), Baiae, and Neapolis {Naples), and were much frequented by the Romans. Nijtds. Peasants, so called as belonging to the household or hive (a related word). The d is no part of the original word, and the form hine occurs in Chaucer. 350. Luna. See on 62 above. 360. The she-ivolfs litter. Alluding to the familiar legend that Rom- ulus and Remus, after being exposed for death by Amulius, were suckled by a she-wolf. Cf. Tennyson, Princess^ vii. 113 : " By axe and eagle sat, With all their foreheads drawn in Roman scowls, And half the wolf's milk curdled in their veins, The fierce triumvirs." Also Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 88 (referring to the bronze "Wolf of the Capitol ") : " And thou, the thunder-stricken * nurse of Rome, She-wolf! whose brazen-imaged dugs impart The milk of conquest yet within the dome Where, as a monument of antique art, Thou standest," etc The first reading of lines 360, 361 (see Trevelyan's Life, vol. ii. p. 108) was : "By heaven," he said, "yon rebels Stand manfully at bay." Mr. Ellis criticised "rebels," and Macaulay agreed with him that the word was "objectionable." See on 200 above. 369. Deftly. Neatly, dexterously. Cf. Macbeth, iv. I. 68: "Thyself and office deftly show." * This statue (see cut on p. 106 nhove) is believed by some antiquarians to be the one referred to by Cicero (Or.tt. in Catit/>iam, iii 8) as having been struck by lighunng. 140 NOTES. 379. Sped. Sent, drove. On the passage, see p. 34 above. 384. Mount Alverntis. The modern Aivenaa, or La Vernia, the height between the sources of the Tiber and the Arno, referred to by Dante, Faradiso, xi. 106 : " Nel crudo sasso intra Tevere ed Arno." On its south- west slope, 3900 feet above the sea, is the famous monastery founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1218. 388. Augurs. Strictly diviners by birds (from avis and a Sanscrit root gir), but in course of time the word was used in a more extended sense. At Rome the augurs were a college of priests, who made known the future by observing the lightning, the flight of birds, the feeding of the sacred ftjvvls, certain appearances of quadrupeds, and any unusual occurrences. All important acts were preceded by consultation of the augurs. See Virgil, ^;/,;'/';f_ ev 7Tf>o/x(ix'>iO'c (putvtvra, K(iTe7rX»/7t| (j>i\ov i]rop' a\l/ d' tTcipiav eiy eOvot ex'<^eTO K>ip' u\eeivo)v. ' Tarquinius,' says Livy, 'retro in agmen suorum infenso cessit host!.' 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 incom- parable battle-pieces of Homer. "The popular belief at Rome, from an early period, seems to have * M. de Pouilly attempted, a hundred and twentj' years ago, to prove that the story of Mucius was of Greek origin ; but he was signally confuted by the Abb^ Sallier. See the Meinoires de V Acadeinie des Inscriptions, vi. 27, 66. THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 145 been that the event of the great day of Regillus was decided by super- natural agency. Castor and Pollux, it was said, had fought, armed and mounted, at the head of the legions of the Commonwealth, and had after- wards carried the news of the victory with incredible speed to the city. 'I'he 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 honor on the ides of Quintilis, supposed to be the anniversary of the bat- tle ; 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 superstitious 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 ])robable that Livy is correct when he says that the Roman 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 favor of the Twin Gods. When such was the prevailing sentiment, any man who chose to declare that, in the midst of the confusion and slaugh- ter, 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 civilized 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 gray horse at the head of the Castilian adventurers. Many of those adventurers were living when this lie was printed. One of them, 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 gray horse with a man on his back, but the man was, to his thinking, Francisco de Morla, and not the ever-blessed apostle Saint James. 'Nevertheless,' Bernal adds, 'it may be that the person on the gray 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 Cincinnatus were probably quite as credulous as the Spanish subjects 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 horse- men 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 the'r protection. Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius were elected censors at a momentous crisis. It had 146 NOTES. become absolutely necessary that the classification of the citizens should be revised. On that classification depended the distribution 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 igno- rant and headstrong rabble. Under such circumstances, the most illus- trious patrician and the most illustrious plebeian of the age were intrusted Avith the office of arbitrating between the angry factions ; and they per- formed their arduous task to the satisfaction of all honest and reasonable men. •' One of their reforms was a remodelling of the equestrian order ; and, having effected this reform, they determined to give to their work a sanc- tion derived from religion. In the chivalrous societies of modern times — societies which have much more than may at first sight appear in com- mon 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 collars, and meet, on great occasions, in Saint George's Chapel. Thus, when Louis the Fourteenth instituted a new order of chivalry for the rewarding of military merit, he commended it to the favor 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 Louis, should attend the king to chapel, should hear mass, and should subsequently hold their great annual assembly. There is a considerable resemblance between this rule of the Order of Saint Louis and the rule which Fabius and Decius made respecting the Roman knights. It was ordained that a grand muster and inspection of the equestrian body should be part of the ceremonial performed, on the an- niversary of the battle of Regilius, in honor of Castor and Pollux, the two equestrian 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 several centuries, considered as one of the most splendid sights of Rome. 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 this august ceremony acted in concert with the pontiffs, to whom, by the constitution of Rome, 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 inno- vation. "The following poem is supposed to have been made for this great occasion. Songs, we know, were chanted at the religious festivals of Rome from an early period, indeed from so early a period that some of the sacred verses were popularly ascribed to Numa, and were utterly un- * See Livy, ix. 46 ; Val. Max. ii. 2 ; Aurel. Vict- De Viris Ilhistrihus, 32 ; Dionysius, vi. 13; Pliii. Hist. Nat. xv. 5. See also the singularly ingenious chapter in Niebuhr's posthumous volume, Die Censur des Q. Fabius unci P. Decius. THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE KEGILLUS. 147 intelligible in the age of Augustus. In the Second Punic war, a great feast was held in honor 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,! was 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 procession of knights to the other solemni- ties annually performed 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 abundant materials in the ballads of his prede- cessors ; and he would make free use of the scanty stock of Greek learn- ing which he had himself acquired. He would probably introduce 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 commit it to memory. Parts of it would be sung to the pipe at banquets. It would be peculiarly interesting to the great Posthu- mian House, which numbered among its many images that of the Dic- tator Aulus, the hero of Regillus. The orator who, in the following generation, pronounced the funeral panegyric over the remains of Lucius Posthumius Magellus, 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 Cornufelle, be- tween 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." 2. LJcfors. Public officers who attended the chief Roman magistrates, as a sign of official dignity. They bore a bundle of rods C2\\td fasces, from which an axe ])r()jected. Their duty was to walk before the magistrates in line, to call out to the people to make way, and to serve as a body- guard. They also executed judicial sentences'. In the earliest times the kings had twelve lictors. After the expulsion of the kings, each consul had twelve, but it was soon decreed that they should be preceded for a month by twelve in turn. By a law of Valerius Publicola (see on 376 below) the axes were removed when the consuls were in the city. The prxtors were preceded by six lictors. Hence Cicero, when speaking of the capture of two praetors by the pirates, says {De Lege Manilia, 12.32) : * Livy, xxvii. 97. t Horace Carmen Sceculare. 148 NOTES. " Cum duodecim secures in praedonum potestatem pervenerint." 3. The kiiii^hts luill ride in all their pride, etc. The knights {eqnites) were originally the cavalry of the state, who received a horse and a sum of money for its annual support. To serve eqtio fjiblico one must have a f(jrtune ot not less than 400,000 asses, and the horses were usually assigned to young men of senatorial families. There were but six centuries of equites np to the time of Servius Tullius, who added twelve more ; and these eighteen eques- trian centuries afterwards remained a distinct class. They ceased to serve in the field at an early period, their jilace being taken by foreign cavalry, Gauls, Numidians, etc. At the time of the siege of Veii (403 B.C.) a second class of equites arose, who, although having a proper- lictors. ty of 400,000 asses, had to furnish their own horses. They were mostly wealthy young men of non-senatorial families, and were not included in the eighteen equestrian centuries. From this last class oi tC[\.\\iQ.s {equites privato eqiio) grew up in later times the Equestrian Order, a moneyed aristocracy occupying a position in the state between the nobility (see on Homtius, 138 above) and the common people. The members of the equestrian order wore a narrow purple stripe on the tunic and a gold ring (which was originally the badge of the equites equo publico), and the first fourteen rows of seats in the theatre be- hind the orchestra were given to them. P^very year on the ides of Quintilis (July) the Equituin Transx>ectio took place, the solemn procession to the institution of which Macanlay refers on p. 146 above. On this occasion the equites were not only crowned with olive, but they also wore their insignia of rank and deeds. According to- Dionysius this procession was instituted after the battle of Lake Regillus. 7. Castor i)i the Eoruni. The temple of Castor. Cf. Horace, Satires, '• 9- 35 • " Ventum erat ad Vestae," that is to the temple (or, as some au- thorities say, to the Attium) of Vesta ; and see 745 below. This temple was one of the earliest buildings erected in the forum. It was dedicated in 484 B.C. to commemorate the event which is the subject of this poem. It served for assemblies of the senate and for judicial business. Its im- portance is spoken of by Cicero, /// Verrein, i. 4Q. Although dedicated to the Twin Gods, it was commonly called only yEdes Castor/s ; on which account Bibulus, the colleague of Caesar in his a^dileship, compared him- self with Pollux, who, though he shared the temple in common with his brother, was never once named. The temple was rebuilt by Quintus Me- THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE L^EGLLLUS. y^() tell us, 119 H.c, and again by Tiberius, who dedicated it in his own name and that of his brother Drusus. Caligula broke through the rear wall and connected the temple with his palace on the Palatine; and he is said to have sometimes exhibited himself tor adoration between the statues of the twin deities. Three elegant Corinthian columns remain to mark the site of this temple. The \\ox(\/orutn signifies an open place, and seems to be connected with the adverb y^;nz.r. The Forum Rovinnnm, the principal and at first the only forum at Rome, was situated between the Palatine and Cajjitoline hills. It was used originally as a place for the administration of justice, for holding the assemblies of the people, and for transacting other kinds of public business. In its widest sense it included the coviitium (see on Horaliiis, 550 above). It was surrounded by temples and public build- ings, whose porticoes were favorite lounging-places (see on Fi>^/;^/r/, 419 below). 8, Mars without the ivall. The temple of Mars, just outside the Porta Capena. Cf. Ovid, E'asti, vi. 191 : " Lux eadem Marti festa est ; quam prospicit extra Appositum Tectae Porta Capena viae." No trace now remains of the edifice, nor of the temples of Hercules, of Honor, and of Virtue, which were near it. The route of the military pro- cession on the anniversary of the Battle of Lake Regillus was as here de- scribed by Macaulay. Cf. 788 below. 13. The Yello'iV River. See on Horatiiis, 98 above. 14. The Sacred Hill. The Sacred Mount, just outside the city, to which the plebeians made several secessions during their struggles with the pa- tricians. The first secession, in 494 B.C., resulted in the creation of the office of tribune. 15. The ides of Quintilis. The fifteenth day of July. The ides were the fifteenth of March, May, July, and October^ and the thirteenth of the other months. July and August were originally called Quintilis and Sex- tilis, the fifth and sixth months (counting from March), but afterwards received their present names in honor of Julius and Augustus Caesar. 17. The ALartia?i calends. On the calends, or first, of March was cel- ebrated the Matrotialia, or the feast of married persons in honor of Juno Lucina (see on Horatiiis, 562 above). See Horace, Odes, iii. 8. i: " Martiis caelebs quid agam Kalendis, Quid velint flores et acerra thuris Plena, niiraris. positusque carbo in Caespite vivo, Docte sermones utriusque linguae ?"' Juvenal (ix. 53) calls it "femineas Kalendas." It seems to have been in- stituted in memory of the peace between the Romans and the Sabines, which was brought about by the Sabine women. Presents were given by husbands to their wives, and female slaves were feasted by their mis- tresses ; hence it is called by Martial the Saturnalia of women. The great feast of Mars (see on Horalms, 8i above) occurred on the same day. I50 NOTES. i8. Decemher''s nones. The nones were the seventh of March, May, July, and October, and the fifth of the other months. The word is de- rived from nonus (ninth), because, by the peculiar Roman method of inclusive reckoning, the nones were the ninth day before the ides. The reference is to the Faunalia, or festival in honor of Faunas. See Hor- ace, Odes, iii. 1 8. lo. 20. Rome's whitest day. That is, its most propitious day. Cf. 156 and 780 below, where there is an allusion to the Roman custom of marking luckv days with a white stone, as unlucky ones were marked with black. Cf Tibullus, iii. 630: "O me felicem, O nox mihi candidal" Horace, Sittires, ii. 3. 246 : " Sanin creta an carbone notandi ?" Id. Odes, i. 12.27 : " simul alba nautis Stella refulsit ;" Persius, Satires, i. 1 10 : " Sed current albusque dies horaeque serenae," etc. 25. Parthenius. A mountain, about 4000 feet high, on the frontiers of Arcadia and Argolis, across which there was an imjiortant pass leading from Argos to Tegea. The mountain was sacred to Pan. The pass still bears the name of PartJicni, but the mountain is called Roino. 27. Cirrha. A very ancient town of Phocis, near Delphi, devoted to Apollo. Near the city lay a fertile plain. After the Sacred War, 595 L.C., waged against the Cirrhaeans by the Amphictyons, Cirrha was de- stroyed, the plain was dedicated to the god, and a curse was imprecated on any one who should till or dwell upon it. In the time of Philip I. of Macedon, the Amphissians dared to cultivate the sacred plain and to re- build the city. This led to the Second Sacred War, 338 B.C. Cirrha was near the Homeric Crissa, with which it has been sometimes confounded, as by Pausanias (x. 37. 5). It is Crissa which was situated on a height, a spur of Mount Parnassus. Cirrha grew up afterwards at the base of the hill. Our author seems to look on the two towns as one and the same. Adria. Poetical name for the Adriatic. Cf 653 below ; and see on Virginia, 55 1. The Latin name was Adria, or more properly Hadria. Cf Byron, Don Jnan : " The song and oar of Adria's gondolier." 28. Apennine. The singular is according to the I>atin usage. The Ro- mans called the chain Alons Apennimis. Cf. Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 73 : " Once more upon the woody Apennine, The infant Alps."' 31. LacedcEinon. Or Sparta, the famous capital of Laconia, on the Eu- rotas. The Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) were the sons of Leda and Tyn- dareus, king of Lacedaemon, and brothers of Helen and Clytemnestra. 32. The city of txvo kings. Yxom the earliest times the Lacedaemo- nians were governed by two kings. This custom is said to have arisen from the fact that Aristodemus, one of the Heraclidae, who, according to the myth, overran the Peloponnesus, had twin sons. 33. Lake Reglilus. A small lake in Latium, at the foot of the Tus- culan hills. See Macaulay's introduction to the poem above. On the whole, the lake (now dried up) is more likely to have been in the broad plain to the north of the " Porcian height," between the ancient Gabii and the modern town of Colonna. THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 151 34. The Porcian height. M. Porcius Cato, among other distinguished Romans, had a villa northeast of Tusculum, on a hill which seems thence to have got the name oi Mons Porcius (now Monte Porzio). 35. l^isiiiliim. See on Horatiits, 96 above. 37-40. A''o7u Oft the place of slaug-hter, etc. "With this description o:' the present peaceful aspect of a battle-field, cf. Byron, Childe Harold^ iv. 65 : " Far other scene is Trasimene now; Her lake a sheet of silver, and her plain Rent by no ravage save the gentle plow; Her aged trees rise thick as once the slain Lay where their roots are." 42. Coyne's oaks. Pliny {Nat. Hist. xvi. 92) describes a hill called Corne in this part of Italy, whereon there was a grove of beeches, one of which, remarkable for its size, was so much admired by Passienus, the orator and consul, that he used to embrace it, sleep under it, and pour wine upon it. Near this grove was a holm-oak {ilex) so large that, as Pliny says, it was a forest of itself [silvamqiie sola facit). 43. The Fair Fount. Evidently a fountain in the same vicinity, but we have not met with any reference to it in the authorities. 45. Angle. A fishing-hook (A. S. angel). Cf. the Latin imcus, and the Greek oyKO(^^ ayKwv. 63. What time. At the time when ; used only in poetry. Cf. Milton, Lycidas, 28: " What time the gray-fly winds her sultry horn," etc. The Thirty Cities. Pliny tells us that there were thirty towns or com- munities which were accustomed to share in sacrifices on the Alban Mount ; and this number seems to have been a recognized and established one, for the Latin League which entered into an alliance with Rome in 493 B.C. also consisted of thirty cities, of which a list is given by Diony- sius. 69. A hoof-mark. See Macaulay's introduction, p. 145 above. 81. Virginins. The first of the Virginia gens to be consul was T. Vir- ginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus, in 496 B.C. 82. Was Consul first in place. The two consuls had equal rights in all respects. Virginius was merely the first to obtain a majorky in the comitia. Cf. Cicero, Pro Lege Manilia, 1.2: "Cum propter dilationem comitiorum ter praetor primus centurii-s cunctis renuntiatus sum." 84. Posthiimian race. The proper spelling is Postiimian. The first of the gens to be consul was P. Postumius Tubertus in 503 B.C. Aldus was the name of the principal family of the gens. A. Postumius Albus Regil- lensis was consul 496 B.C. and dictator in 498 B.C. when the battle of Lake Regillus is said to have been fought. His surname was probably not derived from the battle, as Livy (xxx. 45) expressly states that Scipio Africanus was the first Roman who obtained a surname from his con- quests. 86. Gabii. An ancient city of Latium situated about twelve miles from Rome on the road to Praeneste. It was one of the largest and most popu- lous of the cities of the Latin league. It was captured when Tarquin the Proud was king of Rome by a stratagem of his son Sextus. Afterwards, 1^2 NOTES. however, it combined with the other cities of Latium in his behalf against Rome. Gabii had fallen into decline in Cicero's time, but revived during the Empire. It lay close to a small volcanic lake, now drained, which, strangely enough, is not mentioned by any writer before the 5th century. 92. A sceptre. This word originally meant a staff to lean upon, not a symbol of station or authority. Sceptres were carried by kings, princes, and leaders ; also by judges, heralds (as here), priests, and seers. 105. Eyry. The more proper spelling of this word is aeiy, which occurs in Shakespeare, K. John, v. 2, 149, and Hamlet, \\. 2, 354. It is cognate with the Greek tlprtt,- and bpvvvai and the Latin oriri. " When fairly im- ]5orted into English, the word was ingeniously connected with ey, an ^^g, as if the word meant an eggery ; hence it began to be spelled eyrie or eyry, and to be misinterpreted accordingly" (Skeat). 1 19. Conscript Eathers. Patres Conscripti (see on IPoratius, 126 above) ; originally Patres et Cojiscripti, the latter being certain noble plebeians of equestrian rank added to the senate when its numbers had fallen off, in the early days of the Republic. Some authorities, however, make Patres Conscripti-- enrolled fathers. 123. Choose 7ve a Dictator. Let us choose (ist person imperative) a dictator. The dictator was an extraordinary magistrate appointed in time of peril. As indicated below, he held his office for six months only, was preceded by twenty-four lictors (see on 2 above) with \\\e fasces and axes, and had associated with him a lieutenant, called the master of horse {magister eqnitii?n),\x%wA\\y appointed by himself, but sometimes by the senate. The dictator was appointed by a decree of the senate on the nomination of the consul. He had greater jjower than the consul in that he had no colleague, was more independent of tlie senate, had greater freedom of punishment without appeal, and was irresponsible. The first dictator was appointed in 501 B.C., and the office disai)peared in 202 B.C.; for the dictatorships of Sulla and Caesar were of a different character. After that date, however, the consuls were given dictatorial power by the senate in times of danger, by the common formula, "Consul videat ne quid res publica detriment! capiat." Cf Cicero, /// Catiiinavi, i. 2. 4 : " Decrevit quondam senatus ut L. Opimius Consul videret ne quid res publica detrimenti caperet." 125. Canierium. An ancient city of Latium. It was taken by Tarquin during his reign, but after his expulsion from Rome it was among the first to embrace his cause, and was destroyed by Virginius, 502 B.C. 135. ALbutiiis Elva. Consul 497 B.C. He had charge of the city when the battle of Lake Regillus was fought. 143. With boys, etc. Cf. I/ora/ius, 58 fol. 148. The Porcian height. See on 34 above. 156. Marked evermo7-e with inhite. See on 20 above, and cf 780 below. 165. Setia. An ancient city of Latium, on the southern slope of the Volscian mountains, looking over the Pomptine Marshes (see on 263 below). It was one of the thirty cities of the Latin League. It was a strong fortress during the wars of Marius and Sulla, It was noted for its wine, which in the days of Martial and Juvenal seems to have been considered one of the choicest kinds. According to Pliny (xiv. 6-8), Au- THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE KEGILLUS. 153 gustus first brought it into vogue. There can be no doubt that the mod- ern town of Sezza occupies the site of ancient Setia, as remnants of its walls, built of large polygonal blocks of limestone, like those of Norba, are still visible. 166. Norba. On the border of the Volscian mountains near Setia, and one of the thirty cities of the Latin League. It was the last fortress of Italy that held out against Sulla. His general, Lepidus, utterly destroyed it, and it was never rebuilt. The existing ruins of Norba are among 'the most perfect specimens remaining in Italy of the style of construction known as Cyclopean. 167. Ti/scii/tim. See on Horatiiis, 96 above. 169. The Witch's Fortress. The Circasan promontorv {AJoiite Circello), on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which was suppo'sed to have been the abode of the enchantress Circe. It is a bold and abrupt mountain, rising precipitously from the sea to the height of 1800 feet, and insulated on the land side by a strip of the Pomptine Marshes. 172. Aricia. An ancient and famous city of Latium, on the Appian Way, sixteen miles from Rome. It took a prominent part in this Latin war. The modern town {Ariccia) occupies the site of the ancient citadel, on a steep hill rising above a basin-shaped valley, evidently at one time filled by a lake. Aricia was celebrated throughout Italy for its temple of Diana, situ- ated about three miles from the town on the edge of a small lake. It vyas remarkable for the barbarous custom, retained even in the days of Strabo and Pausanias, of having as high priest a fugitive slave, who had obtained the otifice by killing his predecessor, for which reason the priests always went armed. The lake (the modern L.igo di Nemi) was often called Speculum Diatice, and is still noted for its beauty. Cf. Byron. Childe Harold, \v.\']2: ^ ^ ' " Lo ! Nemi, navelled in the woody hills So far that the uprooting wind which tears The oak from its foundation, and which spills The ocean o"er its boundary and bears Its foam against the skies, reluctant spares The oval mirror of thy glassy lake ; And, calm as cherished hate, its surface wears A deep, cold, settled aspect nought can shake, All coiled into itself and round, as sleeps the snake." 177. Ufens. A river of Latium, rising at the foot of the Volscian mountauis and flowing through the Pontine Marshes, whence it is de- scribed by Virgil (yEueid, vii. 801) as a sluggish, muddy stream. 183. Cora. A city of Latium (now Cori), on the left of the Appian Way about thirty-seven miles from Rome. It stands on a bold hill on the out- skirts of the Volscian mountains, and overlooks the Pontine Marshes, the "never-ending fen." Its fortifications, apparently built at diiTerent periods, formed three successive tiers, the uppermost of which enclosed the highest summit of the hill and was the 'citadel of the ancient town. Considerable portions of these walls, with other ruins of much interest, arc still to be seen. 154 NOTES. LAKE OF NEMI, LOOKING OVER THE CAMPAGNA. 185. The Latij-entian jungle. Laurentum, on the sea-coast between Ostia and Lavinium, was the ancient capital of Latium and the abode of King Latiniis when ^Eneas landed. In its immediate neighborhood were considerable marshes, while a little farther inland stood the exten- sive Laurentian Forest. Under the Roman Empire this forest abounded in wild boars, which were of large size, but reckoned of inferior flavor on account of the marshy ground on which they fed. The orator Horten- sius had a villa and a park stocked with game near Laurentum, and many villas lined the coast. 187. Anio. A celebrated river of Latium, in ancient times called the Allien, one of the largest tributaries of the Tiber. It is now called the Teverone. Near Tibur it forms a celebrated cascade, falling at once through a height of more than eighty feet. The present cascade is arti- ficial, the waters of the river having been carried through a tunnel con- structed for the purpose in 1834, but the Anio always formed a striking fall at this point. See Horace, Odes, i. 7. 13 : " Et praeceps Anio." The waters of the upper Anio were very clear, for which reason they were carried by aqueducts to Rome. 190. Vclitrcc. A city (now Velletri) on the southern slope of the Alban Hills, on the Via Appia, looking over the Pontine Marshes. Both Livy and Dionysius represent it as a Volscian city when it first came into col- lision with Rome, but Dionysius includes it among the thirty cities of THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 155 Latium. After the Latin war in 338 B.C., the walls of Velitrae were destroyed, and the town became an ordinary municipality. It was the native place of the Octavian family, from which Augustus was descended. Piiny mentions it as producing a wine inferior only to the Falernian. 193. Mainiliiis. See on I/oraiius, 96 above. 202. By Syrians dark-browed daughters. The finest purple robes came from Tyre in Phoenicia, on the coast of Syria. 203. Carlhage. Situated on the northern coast of Africa near the mod- ern Tunis. It was a Phoenician colony, founded, according to the pop- ular chronology, 814 B.C., and destroyed after three wars with Rome in 146 B.C. It was rebuilt by Augustus and became one of the most flourishing cities of the ancient world. In the fifth century it was taken by the Vandals under Genseric, and became the capital of their kingdom in Africa. It was retaken by Belisarius, but was captured and destroyed by the Arabs in 647. At the period of the poem Carthage was already a flourishing and wealthy commercial city, and the depot of supplies for the western Medi- terranean of the products of the East. See on The Prophecy of Capys^ 280 below. 205. Lavinintn. A city about three miles from the sea-coast, between Laurentum and Ardea, and seventeen miles from Rome. It was founded, according to the legend, by ^Eneas, shortly after his landing in Italy, and named by him after his wife Lavinia, daughter of King Latinns. When Ascanius removed the seat of the government to Alba, the attempt to remove the Penates was unsuccessful ; hence Lavinium was always re- garded as a sacred metropolis. Macrobius tells us that in his time it was customary for the consuls and praetors, at the beginning of their term of office, to offer sacrifice there to Vesta and the Penates. While the legend of /Eneas has no historical basis, it seems certain for many reasons, among them the name, that Lavinium was originally the capital of Latium. The insignificant village o{ Fractiai now occupies the site. 209. False Sextiis, etc. See on Herat ins, 199 above. 233. Tibur. The modern Tivoli, a town twenty miles northeast of Rome on the Anio. It was celebrated for its orchards and for its grapes and figs. Its air was healthy and bracing, and this, together with its beautiful sce- nery, made it a favorite resort of the wealthy Romans. It was much older than Rome, and probably of Greek origin. Here Syphax, king of Nu- niidia, died 201 B.C., and here Zenobia lived as a captive. Tibur was famed for its worship of Hercules, whose temple was the most remarkable in the neighborhood of Rome, except that of Fortune at Praeneste. Both Horace and Sallust had residences at Tibur. Pedum. A city of the Latin League, at one time of considerable im- portance. It disappears from history after the close of the Latin W^ar in 338 B.C. 235. Ferentinnm. A city of Etruria about five miles from the Tiber on the north of the Ciminian range. 236. Gabi/. See on 86 above. 237. Volstian succors. The Volscians (see on LLoratius, 561 above) were usually opposed to the Latins, and in alliance with the /Equians. 156 NOTES. Tarquinius Siiperbus is said to have built the Capitol at Rome from spoils taken from the Volscians, a tradition which proves the belief in tiieir great wealth and power at this early period. 241. Moitut Soracte. A mountain of Etruria (now called Monte di San Oiesfe), situated between Falerii and the Tiber, about twenty-six miles north of Rome. Although only 2260 feet in height, it rises in an alMui:)t mass above the plain, and is a conspicuous object in all views of the Cam- pagna. See Horace, Odes, i. 9. i : " Vides ut alta stet nive candidum So- racte ;" and Virgil, ALneid, xi. 785 : " Summe deum, sancti custos Sorac- tis Apollo." 250. Apulian. Apulia was a district in the southeastern part of Italy, between the Apennines and the sea. A great part of northern Apulia consisted of a fertile plain, especially adapted to the rearing of horses and cattle. 251. Titus, the youngest Tarqjtin. Titus was the eldest son of Tarquin. The youngest son was Aruns. See on Horatius, 323 above. 256. Targe. A poetical word for a small round shield. Taiget is a diminutive of it. 263. Pomptine fog. The Pomptine (Pontine) Marshes {Poniptinae Pa- ludcs) were an extensive tract of marshy ground in the south of Latium at the foot of the Volscian mountains. They occupy a space of thirty miles in length by seven or eight in breadth, and are separated from the sea on the west by a broad tract of sandy plain covered with forest, which is perfectly level and intermixed with marshy spots and pools of stagnant THE PONTINE MARSHES. THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGLLLUS. 157 water, so that it is almost as unhealthy as the Marshes proper, and is often included under the same name. The entire tract is of very recent origin as compared with the rest of the mainland. The Romans believed that the whole of this accumulation had taken place within the historical period, and that Mons Circeius (see on 169 above) was in the Homeric times the Island of Circe in the midst of the open sea. The Pomptine Marshes are formed principally by the stagnation of the waters of two streams, the Amasenus and the Ufens (see on 177 above), and appear to have derived their name from the city of Siiessa Pomeiiit, the capital of the Volscians, situated on their border. Various attempts were made to drain these marshes, and a project of this kind was among the great public works planned by Julius Caesar. The Ap- pian Way was carried through them as early as 312 B.C. 267-272. The braying of the %var- horns, etc. Note the alliteration and onomatopoeia in these lines. 275. Corselet. A piece of body armor. The word (also spelled corslef) is derived from the old French cors, a body, ■\-el-\-et^ diminutive termi- nations. 278. Digentian rock. The Digentia (now the Licenza) was a small river in the country of the Sabines, flowing into the Anio nine miles above Tibur. Cf. Horace, Epistles, i. 18. 104: "gelidus Digentia rivus." Just above its junction with the Anio stands a rocky, projecting hill, which is probably the rock here referred to. 280. BanJnsia''s flock. As indicated here, the Fount of Bandusia, cele- brated by Horace in a beautiful ode (iii. 13), has been supposed to Ije situated near his Sabine villa, and to be the fount alluded to in Epistles, I. 16. 12 fol. ; but it seems to have been conclusively proved that the Xf3\ fotis BiDidnsiae was in Apulia, a few miles from Venusia, the birth- place of Horace. 281. Hennitiins. See on LLoratins, 245 above. 283. Auster (the South Wind, or the hot, burning wind, as the deriva- tion implies) is an appropriate name for a swift and fiery steed. 288. Fidence. A city on the left bank of the Tiber, on the Via Salaria, five miles from Rome. It was originally and properly a Latin city, although Livy alludes to it as Etruscan, and even says that its inhab- itants learned Latin only from their intercourse with the Roman colo- nists. It early engaged in wars with Rome, and was captured by Tar- quinius Priscus. It was finally subdued by the Romans, and vanishes from history as an independent city in 426 B.C. 294. Calabriati brake. Calabria was the name given by the Romans to the peninsula forming the heel of Italy, which was called by the Greeks Messapia and lapygia. During the time of the Byzantine emperors, the name of Calabria was transferred to the Bruttian peninsula (of which it is to-day the designation), probably because the term at first denoted all the Byzantine possessions in southern Italy, which gradually con- tracted to the Bruttian peninsula and a very small tract in the lapygian promontory. Brake — bush, thicket. " The idea is of rough broken ground with the growth which springs from it." 158 NOTES. 295. When throttgh the i-eeds, etc. Cf. Virgil, AL7teid, ii. 379 fol. (imi- tated from Homer, Iliad, iii. 33) : " Improvisum aspris veluti qui sentibus anguem Pressit hum! nitens, trepidusque repente refugit Attollentem iras et caerula coUa tumentem ; Haud secus Androgeos visu tremefactus abibat." 303. Tiibero. A common Latin name. 308. Amons^ his elms. On which trees the grape-vine was trained. See Virgil, Eel. ii. 70 : " Semiputata tibi frondosa vitis in ulmo est ;" Catullus, 62. 54: " (Vitis) coniuncta ulmo marito ;" and Juvenal, 6. 150: " ulmi Falernae " (Falernian elms for Falernian wine). 325. Clients. Supposed to be from the same root as cluere, to hear or obey. Any foreigner or Roman citizen who wanted a protector might attach himself to a patronns and so become a cliens. The patron guarded the client's interest, both public and private ; the client assisted his patron with money and with military service. The connection was hereditary, and the client bore his patron's gentile (family) name. 326. Bare. An old form oi bot-e. 327. Helm. Poetical for helmet. Cf. Scott, Marmion, vi. 30 : "When with the baron's casque the maid To the nigh streamlet ran : She filled the helm, and back she hied," etc. 348. And hath bestrode his sire. That is, stood over him to defend him. Cf. Coriolcijuis, ii. 2. 96 : " He bestrid An o'er-press"d Roman, and i' the consul's view Slew three opposers." 353. CcEso. Or K(eso, a prasnomen of the Fabia gens, 356. The brave Fabian race. The Fabian race was one of the most ancient patrician families at Rome, tracing its origin to Hercules and Evander. There were many distinguished members of this family ; whence Anchises in his enumeration of the heroes of Rome (Virgil, ALiieid, vi. 845) says: "Quo fessum rapitis, Fabii ?" — "alluding to the numbers and exploits of the Fabii, which tire the narrator who tries to count them" (Conington, ad loc.). The family was celebrated in early Roman history. Being looked on with disfavor by their own order, they offered to carry on the war against Veii at their own cost and alone. When the offer was joyfully accepted, 306 Fabii marched forth under the lead of Kaeso Fabius to the banks of the Cremera, where they erected a fortress. After carrying on the war successfully for a time, they were enticed into an ambuscade, and the whole race perished except one boy, who had been left at Rome on account of his youth. The story is full of improbabilities and doubtless mythical. Another distinguished member of the family was Quintus Fabius Max- imus Cunctator, the opponent of Hannibal, of whom Ennius wrote: " Unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem," a line which Virgil gives almost verbally in ALiieid, vi. 846. THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE KEGILLUS. 159 357. Rex. The name ot several distinguished Romans, the earliest of whom was tribune 196 K.C. 358. The priest of Juno's shrine. Juno was the tutelary divinity of Gabii. See Virgil, /Eneid, vii. 682 : " quique arva Gabinae lunonis . . . colunt." 360. Rome's great yulian line. The yuliaii gens was one of the most ancient patrician families at Rome, some of its members having attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the republic. It was doubtless of Alban origin, and is mentioned as one of the Alban fami- lies transferred to Rome by Tullus Hostilius and enrolled among the patres. Virgil {ALneid, i. 267) asserts that lulus, the mythical ancestor of the race, was the same as Ascanius, and Caesar claimed the same origin for his family by giving " Venus genetrix" as the word to his soldiers at Pharsalia and Munda. 362. The Velian hill. One of the seven hills of Rome, between the Palatine, the Esquiline, and the eastern side of the Forum. 375, 376. The good house That loves the people ivell. The surname of Valerius was Puhlicola, or the people's friend, from the following cir- cumstance : Becoming sole consul by the death of his colleague Brutus, he began to build a house on the Velian hill on the site of the palace of Tarquinius Superbus. Being accused of aiming at regal power, he tore the house down. The Valerian gens enjoyed extraordinary honors and privileges at Rome. Their house on the Velia was the only one in Rome of which the doors were allowed to open outward into the street. In the circus a conspicuous place was set apart for them, where a small throne was erected, an unexampled honor. They were also allowed to bury their dead within the city walls. 383. Yeomen. Here apparently = common soldiers (as in Shakespeare, Rich. HI. V. 3. 338 : " Fight, gentlemen of England ! Fight good yeo- men ") ; or perhaps men of his body-guard, like the "yeomen of the guard" in the service of the English sovereign. 399. Play the men. Show yourselves men. Cf. Shakespeare, Tem- pest, i. I. 1 1 : " Play the men." 403. Like the roar oj a burning forest, etc. Cf. Virgil, j^Eneid, ii. 304 fol.: " In segetem veluti cum flamma furetitibus austris Incidit, aut rapidus montano flumine torrens Sternit agros, stemit sata laeta boumque labores, Praecipitisque trahit silvas, stiipet inscius alti Accipiens sonitum saxi de vertice pastor." 408. Wist. Knew ; past tense of the old verb, wit (A. S. witan). Cf. Exod. ii. 4 and Mark ix. 6. 416. A Consular of Rome. That is, a vir consularis, one who has been consul, a man of consular rank. 419. Cossus. The name of a patrician family of the Cornelian race, which produced many illustrious men in the fifth century B.C., but after- waids sank into oblivion. 439. Ride as the wolves, etc. As if the wolves, etc. This use of as is common in Elizabethan English. Cf. Macbeth, i. 4. ii : l6o NOTES. " To throw away the dearest thing he owed, As 'twere a careless trifle," etc. 441. Our soutJnmrd battle. That is, the portion of our army in that direction. Cf. Macbeth, v. 6. 4 : " You, worthy uncle, Shall, with my cousin, your right-noble son, Lead our first battle ;" that is, the van of our forces. Cf. 463 and 641 below. 480. Aufidiis. The principal river of Apuh'a, and one of the largest in Italy, flowing into the Achiatic. Horace, whose birthplace, Venusia, was only ten miles from the Aufidus — whence he calls himself "longe sonanlem natus ad Aufidum" {Odes, iv. 9. 2) — alludes repeatedly to the violent and impetuous character of the river, when swollen by winter floods or by heavy rains. In the summer, however, it is an insignificant stream. Po. The principal river of northern Italy, and by far the largest in the peninsula. Hence from Aufidus to Po -- from one end of Italy to the other. The Padus, or Po, was identified by the Greeks with the mythical Eridanus, and it was commonly called by that name both by them and by the Roman poets. 495. Lay on. Deal blows, strike. Cf. Macbeth, v. 8. 33 : " Lay on, Macduff;" and Heiiry V. v. 2. 147 : "I could lay on like a butcher," etc. 547. Henninia. While the Roman man usually had three names, the prcBHomen, the nomen proper or nonien geiitilicium, and a cognomen, the Roman women were designated only by the feminine form of the nojuen geiitilichim, having x\o prccnotnen other than Piima, Secunda, Tertia, etc. 549. Ribbons. The spelling ribands or ribbands (in the English eds.) arose from a fancied connection with band; but the d is "excrescent," as in hind (see on Horatins, 337 above), and is not always found in Mid- dle English. The word is of Celtic origin, from ribe,z. flake, hair. The an is the common Celtic diminutive termination. 557. The furies of thy brother. The Eunienides or Erinnves, who, as the Greeks believed, pursued and tormented criminals, especially murderers. Cf. Virgil, ALiieid, iii. 331: " scelerum Furiis agitatus ;" referring to Orestes, who had slain his mother Clytemnestra. 568. Capnan's halt. Capua was the capital of Campania (see on Ilora- t'"^^ 337 above) and one of the most celebrated and important cities of Italy. The name, like Catnpania, is probably derived from cavipus, from its situation in a fertile plain. Capua was proverbial for luxury and mag- nificence ; the effect on Hannibal's troops of their winter there is much dwelt on by Roman writers. Cf. Virginia, 267, 328. 569, 570. The knees of all the Latines Were loosened with dismay. An Homeric expression. See Iliad, v. 176: tTcd ttoXXojv re Kai taOXwv yov- var 't\v' C^'^M Occupations, business. Originally o'^// meant skill, abil- ity ; It is from the A. S. craeft, power. Cf leech-craft, 238 above. 437. 438. The voice 0/ grief and fury, etc. The reading of the early eds. was: ^ "Till then the voice of pity And fury was not loud." 447. Sheaf of tzuigs. That is, the fasces. 455. The Pincian Hill. Originally called Collis Hortorum, on account of the gardens which covered it. Here was the famous villa of LucuHus. The hill got its name of Pincian at a late period of the Empire, when the Pincian family built a magnificent palace upon it. This palace was the residence of Belisarius during his defence of Rome. 456. The Latin Gate. This gate originally stood over the Latin road {Via Latina), which led to Tusculum {Frascati). It is was walled up in 1808. 463. And breaking-up of benches. When Tiberius Gracchus was slain by the "mob of gentlemen," his assailants armed themselves in this way. The benches in the present case stood around the tribunal of the decemvir. 487. Potsherds. Bits of pottery. A sherd is a shred, or fragment. It is also spelled shard. It means literally " a broken thing," from the A. S. adj. sceard, broken. For the uncompounded word, see Hamlet, v. i. 254 : " Shards, flints, and pebbles should be thrown on her." 497. Caius of Corioli. See on 207 above. 501. Furius. M. Furius Camillus, who was said to have forced the Gauls to leave Rome, after their capture of the city in 390 B.C. ; and also to have taken Veii from the Etruscans. 513. ^ Cossus. See on Lake Regillus, 419 above. 515, A Fahius. See on 208 above. 551. When raves the Adriatic. The navigation of the Adriatic was i8o NOTES. much dreaded, on account of the frequent and sudden storms to which it was subject. Its bad character in this respect is often alluded to by Horace. Cf. Odes, iii. 3. 5 : " Dux inquieti turbidus Hadriae." See also Lake Regillns, 27 and 647 fol. above. 553. The Calabrian sea-marks. For Calabria, see on Lake Regillus, 294 above. "Wxq sea-marks zxo. light-houses or beacons. Pliny mentions the light-houses at Ostia and Ravenna, and says there were similar towers at many other places. The name pharos was given to them all from the celebrated light-house at the entrance of the port of Alexandria, which was the model for their construction. The pharos at Brundisium was like that at Alexandria, an island with a light-house upon it. 555. The great Thnnder-cape. Acroceraunia, a very rocky promontory in Epirus, extending into the Ionian sea, nearly opposite Brundisium, which rendered navigation very dangerous. Cf. Horace, Odes, i. 3. 20 : " Infames scopulos Acroceraunia." It is said to have received its name on account of the many thunder-storms which visited it. See Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 73 : "And in Chimari heard the thunder hills of fear, Th' Acroceraunian mountains of old name." 564. And swayed from side to side. Cf. Virgil, yEneid, v. 469: "lac- tantemque utroque caput." THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. Macaulay's introduction to the poem is as follows: " It can hardly be necessary to remind any reader that, according to the popular tradition, Romulus, after he had slain his grand-uncle Amu- lius, 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 favor with which they regarded the enterprise, and of the high destinies reserved for the young colony. " This event was likely to be a favorite theme of the old Latin minstrels. They would naturally attribute the project of Romulus to some divine in- timation of the power and prosperity which it was decreed that his city should attain. They would probably introduce seers foretelling the vic- tories 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 triumph of the Romans over the Greeks might throw his song of exultation into this form. " The occasion was one likely to excite the strongest feelings 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 Rome, and had been thrice consul, was sent am- bassador to Tarentum, with charge to demand reparation for grievous in- juries. The Tarentines gave him audience in their theatre, where he ad- THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. I8l dressed them in such Greek as 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 con- nected with this faculty was a strong propensity to flippancy and imperti- nence. When Posthumius placed an accent wrong, his hearers burst into a laugh. When he remonstrated, they hooted him, and called him bar- barian, and at length hissed him off the stage as if he had been a bad actor. As the grave Roman retired, a buffoon who, from his constant drunkenness, was nicknamed the Pint-pot, came up with gestures of the grossest indecency, and bespattered the senatorial gown with filth. Post- humius turned round to the multitude, and held up the gown, as if ap- pealing to the universal law of nations. I'he 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.'* " Rome, in consequence of this insult, declared war against the Taren- tines. The Tarentines sought for allies beyond the Ionian Sea. Pyrrhus, Kingof 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 Alexander had excited the admira- tion and terror of all nations from the Ganges to the Pillars of Hercules. Royal 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 valor, 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 Eng- glish troops. 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 repre- sentative 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 sol- diers 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 encampment, were full of meaning : 'These barbarians.' he said, 'have nothing barbarous in their military arrangements.' He was at first victorious ; for his own talents were superior to those of the captains who were opposed to him ; and the Romans were not prepared for the onset of the elephants of the JLast, which were then for the first time seen in Italy — moving moun- * Dion. Hal., De Legal ionibus^ i82 NOTES. tains, with long snakes for hands.* But the victories of the Epirotes were fiercely disputed, dearly purchased, and altogether unprofitable. At length, Manius Curius Dentatus, who had in his first consulship won two triumphs, was again placed at the head of the Roman com- monwealth, and sent to encounter the invaders. A great battle was fought near Beneventum, Pyrrhus was completely defeated. He re- passed the sea ; and the world learned with amazement that a people had 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 na- tional battle-array, that they had overcome weapons and tactics long be- lieved 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 Rome. " It is said by Florus, 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, wagons 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 Roman pageant. Plate, fine stuffs, costly furniture, rare animals, exquisite paintings and sculptures, formed part of the pro- cession. At the banquet would be assembled a crowd of warriors and statesmen, among whom Manius Curius Dentatus would take the highest room. Caius Fabricius Luscinus, then, after two consulships and two triumphs. Censor of the Commonwealth, would doubtless occupy a place of honor at the board. In situations less conspicuous probably lay some of those who were, a few years later, the terror of Carthage — Caius Du- ilius, the founder of the maritime greatness of his country ; Marcus Atilius Regulus, who owed to defeat a renown far higher than that which he had derived from his victories ; and Caius Lutatius Catulus, who, while suf- fering from a grievous wound, fought the great battle of the ^^igates, and brought the first Punic war to a triumphant close. It is impossible to re- count the names of these eminent citizens without reflecting that they were all, without exception, plebeians, and would, but for the ever-mem- orable 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 enthusiasm of a Latin poet would vent itself in reiterated shouts of lo triiimphe^ such as were uttered by Horace on a far less exciting occasion, and in boasts resem- bling those which Virgil put into the mouth of Anchises. The superior- ity of some foreign nations, and especially of the Greeks, in the lazy arts of peace, would be admitted with disdainful candor; but pre-eminence in * Angtdmanus is the old Latin epithet for an elephant (Lucretius, ii. 538, v. 1302). THE rROPHECY OF CAPYS. «83 all the qualities which fit a people to subdue and govern mankind would be claimed for the Romans. "The following lay belongs to the latest age of Latin ballad-poetry. Naevius and Livius Andronicus were probably 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 hexame- ters of Ennius, and to see the first comedies of Plautus. His poem, as might be expected, shows a much wider acquaintance with the geography, manners, and productions of remote nations than would have been found in compositions of the age of Camillus. But he troubles himself little about dates, and, having heard travellers talk with admiration of the Co- lossus of Rhodes, and of the structures and gardens with which the Mace- donian 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." Professor Wilson, in Biackwood {seQ on Horatiiis, /i^^2 above), remarks : *' Perhaps the Prophecy of Capys is the loftiest lay of the four. The child of Mars, and foster-son of the she-wolf, is wonderfully well exhibited throughout in his hereditary qualities ; and grandly in the Triumph, where the exultation breaks through that all this gold and silver is sub- servient to the Roman steel — all the skill and craft of refinement and ingenuity must obey the voice of Roman valor. There are many such things scattered up and down Horace's Odes ; but we can scarcely re- member any that are more spirited, more racy, or more characteristic than these Lays ; and perhaps the nobility of the early Roman character is as fondly admired and as fitly appreciated by an English freeman as by a courtier of the reign of Augustus." 1. King AmuUiis. According to the legend, he was the younger son of Procas, King of Alba Longa, and deposed his brother Numitor. He allowed Numitor to live in retirement, but killed his only son and made his daughter Rhea Silvia a vestal virgin. By Mars she became the mother of twins, Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the mother and her babes to be drowned. Silvia became a goddess, and Romulus and Remus, who had been set adrift in a cradle, floated into the Tiber. A she-wolf took the children to her den and suckled them until they were discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd, who took the boys home, and gave them to his wife, Acca Laurentia, to bring up. When they grew up they restored Numitor to the throne and killed Amulius. 2. Of the great Sylvian line. The line of kings descended from Asca- nius. Silvius, the son of Ascanius, is said to have been so called because he was born in the woods. All the succeeding kings of Alba bore the cognomen oi Silvius. According to Virgil, Silvius was the son of iEneas. See ALneid, vi. 763 : " Silvius, Albanum nomen, tua postuma proles, Queni tibi longaevo serum Lavinia coniunx Educet silvis regein regumque parentem, Unde genus Longa nostrum dominabitur Alba." 3. Alba Longa. A city of Latium, on the eastern side of Lake Alba- i84 NOTES. mis and the northern slope of the Alban Mount. It was destroyed at a very early period, and most of its history is fabulous or poetical. Ac- cording to the legends, Alba was founded by Ascanius, the son of yEneas, thirty years after the founding of Lavinium. The names of a series of mythical kings are given, and it may possibly be admitted that a Silvian family was the reigning house at Alba. The city is said to have been de- stroyed by Tullus llostilius as a punishment for the treachery of its gen- eral, Metius Fufetius. 4. On (he throne of Aventine, Aventinus was one of the mythical kings of Alba, and grandfather of Amulius. He is said to have reigned thirty- seven years. 5. Gamers. Two mythical personages in the ^neid bear this name. 9. Alto's lake. Now called Lago di Albano ; a remarkable lake at the foot of the Alban Mount, twenty miles from Rome. It is of oval form, LAKE OF ALEA. about six miles in circumference, and has no natural outlet, being sur- rounded on all sides by steep precipitous banks of volcanic tufa, some of which rise to a height of two or three hundred feet above the level of the lake. It is undoubtedly the crater of an extinct volcano. It is 918 feet above the sea-level, and its waters are of great depth. In 379 B.C., according to Livy and Dionysius, the Romans built a tunnel to carry off THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 185 the superfluous waters of the lake at the time of a great flood. The legend connects the tunnel with the siege of Veii. This remarkable work still continues to serve the purpose for which it was constructed. It is 4| feet wide and 65 feet high at its entrance. Its height, however, dimin- ishes rapidly to not over two feet, and it is impossible to penetrate more than 130 feet from the entrance. The entrance from the lake is through a flat archway, constructed of large blocks of peperino, with a kind of court or triangular space enclosed by massive masonry, and with a second archway over the actual opening of the tunnel. The opposite end of the tunnel is at a place called le Mole near Castel Savelli, about a mile from Albano, where the waters that issue from it form a considerable stream, now known as the Rivo Albano, which after fifteen miles joins the Tiber. The whole work is cut with the chisel, and is computed to have required a period of not less than ten years for its completion. II. Allhi's oaks. The oaks on the Alban Mount, an isolated group of hills, now called Monti Albajii, nearly forty miles in circumference. The Mons Albamis of the ancients (now Monte Cavo) is the highest peak, ris- ing about 3100 feet above the sea-level. On the top of this mountain stood the temple of Jupiter Latiaris (cf. Lucan, Pharsalia, i. 19S : " Et residens celsa Latiaris luppiter Alba"), the religious centre and place of worship of Latium before the Roman domination. Here too triumphs were celebrated by Roman generals who had failed to secure from the senate the honors of a regular triumph at Rome. Five instances of this kind of triumph are recorded, of which the most illustrious was that of Marcellus, after his capture of Syracuse in 212 B.C. The remains of the temple on the summit were destroyed in 1788, when the present convent was built ; but the great lava blocks of the Via Trinniphalis leading up to it, with the marks of chariot-wheels on them, remain entire in some places. Virgil {Aineid, xii. 134 fol!) represents Juno as standing on this height to survey the country, just as tourists do nowadays. 20. A poplar crowji. The poplar was sacred to Hercules. Cf. ALneid, V. 134 : " Cetera populea velatur fronde juventus.'' 71. Holy fillets. The fillet {vittd) was made of red and white wool, which was slightly twisted, drawn into the form of a wreath, and used by the Romans for ornament on solemn and sacred occasions. It was tied to the heads of priests by a white ribbon. 93. Capys. One of the kings of Alba bore this name. 94. 77ie sightless seer. Another instance of a blind prophet is Teiresias, who plays so prominent a part in the mythical history of Greece, particu- larly in the story of Qidipus. 95. He trembled, etc. The effect of divine inspiration. Cf. Virgil, ^neid, vi. 46 : " Cui talia fanti Ante fores subito non voltus, non color umis, Non comptae mansere comae; sed pectus anhelum, Et rabie fera corda tument : maiorqiie videri Nee mortale sonans, adflata est numine quando lam propiore dei." See also Shakespeare, Tempest, ii. 2. 72: "Thou dost me yet but little hurt ; thou wilt anon, I know it by thy trembling : now Prosper works l86 NOTES. upon thee ;" where Caliban mistakes the boozy shakiness of the sailor for the magic influence of Prospero working on him. 105. Garner. A granary, of which word it is a doublet. Both are derived from the Latin granariiim. See Shakespeare, Coriola?ius, i. i. 244 : " Take these rats thither To gnaw their garners." 106. Oitr vines clasp many a tree. See on Lake Regilhis, 308 above, no. The I'artessian niitie. Tartessus was a district in the south of Spain, to the west of the Pillars of Hercules. It is identified with the Tarshish of Scripture, where it is represented as a celebrated emporium, rich in iron, tin, lead, silver, and other commodities. It was destroyed at an early date, probably by Hamilcar, the Carthaginian general. See on Virginia, 268 above. III. For thee no ship, etc. This apparently refers to the importation of rich fabrics as luxuries (as the context implies), not to commerce in general. The Romans made a commercial treaty with Carthage in the first year of the Republic. 115. Arabia shall not steep thy locks. Arabia, as the name itself im- plies, was rich in aromatic plants. Frankincense and other perfumes were imported thence. The ancients used many fragrant and costly oils for perfuming the hair and skin, though these luxuries did not become common at Rome until towards the end of the republic. Their use was common with Eastern nations. See Virgil, Aineid, iv. 215 : " Et nunc ille Paris cum semiviro comitatu, Maeonia nientum niitra crinemque madentem Subnixus, lapio potitur." 116. Nor Sidon tinge thy gown. A reference to the celebrated Tyrian purple. Tyre and Sidon were often confounded, as in the ALneid, where Dido is called Sidonian, but is said to have come from Tyre. 117. Myrrh. A bitter, aromatic gum. The Latin word myrrha and the Greek [li'ppa, from which we derive the English myrrh, come from the Arabian nntrr, bitter. 121. Lucre. Gain, profit (Latin htcrum). 149. Potnofia. The Roman divinity of the fruit of trees, hence called Pomoriun Patrona. Her name is evidently connected with pomimi. Her worship must originally have been of considerable importance, as a spe- cial \)x\&'s>\., flamen Po7nonalis, was appointed to attend to her service. 150. LJber. A name frequently applied by the Roman poets to the Greek Bacchtts or Dionys2is, who was accordingly regarded as identical with the Roman Liber. Cicero, however, correctly distinguishes between Dionysus and Liber, who was worshipped by the early Italians in con- junction with Ceres and Libera. Liber and Libera were ancient Italian divinities, presiding over the cultivation of the vine and the fertility of the fields. The festival of the Liberalia was celebrated annually by the Ro- mans on the 17th of March. 151. Pales. A Roman divinity of flocks and shepherds, described by some as a male, by others as a female deity. In spite of some indications to the contrary. Pales was probably masculine. The name seems to be con- nected with Palatinns, the centre of all the earliest legends of Rome, and Pales himself was with the Romans the embodiment of the same ideas as THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 187 Pan among the Greeks, The Palilia were celebrated on the anniversary of the foundation of the city, April 21. 153. I'enns. The goddess of love among the Romans. Previous to her identification with the Greek Aphrodite, she was one of the least im- portant divinities in the religion of the Romans, and it is observed by the Romans themselves that heV name was not mentioned in any of the docu- ments relating to the kingly period of Roman history. 155. Ivory. Less trite than silvery as an epithet, and expressive, though some have found fault with it. 169. The soft Campaniau. The Campanians were notorious for their luxurious habits. See on Lake Kegil/iis, 568 above. 173. Leave to the sons of CartJia<^e, etc. Here the reference must be to navigation for merely conmiercial purposes. See on 1 1 1 above. 176. And scrolls of wo?'dy lore. The books of the ancients were com- monly written on leaves of papyrus, which were joined together so as to form one sheet. When the work was finished, it was rolled on a staff, whence it was called vohnnen (our vohime), from volvo, to roll. Lore = learning; and from the same root as that word. On this whole passage, cf. ^neid^ vi. 847 ; " Exciident alii spirantia mollius aera, Credo equidem, vivos ducent de marmore voltus, Orabuiit caussas melius, caelique meatus Describent radio et surgentia sidera dicent : Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento; Hae tibi erunt artes, pacisque imponere morem, Parcere subiectis et debellare superbos." 177. The pilnm. A thick strong javelin carried by the Roman legion- ary soldiers. Its shaft, often of cornel wood, was four and a half feet long, and the barbed iron head, which was fastened to it with great care, was of the same length, but extended half-way down the shaft, so that the whole length of the weapon was about six feet nine inches. Each soldier carried two //7a. 178. The sword. The Roman sword was short and heavy. It had a blade about two feet long and several inches wide. It was pointed and two- edged, and was thus adapted either for cutting or thrusting. Cf. 221 below. 179. The viound. The mound, or aggei; was used in attacking fortified places. It consisted of earth and turf supported by a wooden framework. It was begun at a distance and built with an easy slope to the height of the wall. After it had been pushed as near the wall as practicable, the intervening space was hastily filled, and the besiegers rushed over it into the town. 180. The legion's ordered line. The legion was the unit of the Roman army. It contained infantry, cavalry, and, where military engines were extensively used, artillery also. Originally, as formed by Romulus, the legion contained 3000 infantry (looo from each of the three tribes) and 300 cavalry. The number of foot-soldiers was gradually increased to about 6000. The legion was divided into ten cohorts, and each cohort into three mnyiiples. The officers were six military tribunes and two cetttu- rions to each maniple. It consisted at first only of Roman citizens. Marius NOTES. was the first to admit all classes of citi- zens. The number of the cavalry re- mained unchanged. At first it consisted oi eqidtes eqiw publico (see on Lake Re- gilliis, 3 above), but in Caesar's time it was composed entirely of auxiliaries. It was divided into ten deciiriae, each com- manded by a deciirion. The entire force was commanded by 2ipraefectiis eqiiiluin. l8l. And thine the wheels of triumph. The triumph was a solemn procession in which a victorious general entered the city in a chariot drawn by four horses. He was preceded by the cap- tives and spoils taken in war, and was followed by his troops. After passing in state along the Via Sacra (see on Virginia, 69 above) he ascended to the Capitol to offer sacrifice in the temple of Jupiter. When a decisive battle had been won or a province subdued,theimperator for- warded to the senate a laurel- wreathed dispatch. If the news was satisfactory, the senate decreed a public thanksgiv- ing. After the war was over, the gen- eral returned to Rome, but did not en- ter the city. A meeting of the senate was held outside the walls, usually in the temple of Bellona, that he might urge his claim in person. Only a dictator, consul, or praetor could tri- umph ; at least 5000 of the enemy must have been slain in battle ; the advantage must have been a positive one, and the loss of the Romans small compared with that of the enemy. Moreover it must have been a legitimate contest against public foes, and not a civil war. There were also other minor conditions which were carefully insisted on. As the procession ascended the Capitoline hill, some of the hostile chiefs were led aside into the adjoining prison and put to death. The victorious general wore a purple toga richly embroidered {toga picta) and a tunic adorned with figures worked in gold {tunica pnlmata), carried in his hand an ivory sceptre with an eagle, the sacred bird of Jupiter, at the top, and wore a chaplet of bay leaves. 186. F<7/7. Lower, abase ; contracted from the obsolete a^'ail or avale, the French avaler (from Latin ad vallem). Cf. Hamlet, i. 2. 70 : " Do not forever with thy vailed lids Seek for thy noble father in the dust ;" Measure for Measure, v. i. 20 : "Justice, O royal duke] Vail your regard Upon a wronged, I would fain have said, a maid!" KOMAN SOLDIER WITH FILUM. THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 189 Manniou, iii. 234 : " And proudest princes vail their eyes Before iheir meanest slave," etc. Editors and printers often confound this obsolete vail with veil, especially when it is used with reference to the eyes. 187. Cami's curled revellers. See on La/^e Re^s[dliis, 568 above. 189. IVie Luaimoes of Aruus. That is, the Etruscan nobles, bee on Horatius, 185 above. , , , , 191. The proud Samnites. The Samnites were a hardy and brave race of mountaineers, dwelling in central Italy. They came mto conflict with the Romans in 343 B.C. and waged three wars with them (343r34i. V-^~ -.04, 298-290), which ended in their complete defeat, although m the sec- ond or great Samnite war they inflicted on the Romans the memorable defeat and humiliation of the Caudine Forks in 321. '1 he struggle of Rome with the Samnites as a nation ended with the thud Samnite war, but the Samnites fought with Pyrrhus and the Tarentmes agamst Rome, and with their allies were reduced to complete submission in 272 B.C. During the Second Punic War most of the Samnites declared m favor ot Hannibal, and in the Social War (90 B.C.) they took a prominent part. Thev espoused the cause of the Marian party against Sulla, and the bat- tle at the Colline Gate (82 B.C.), in which they were defeated by Sulla after a desperate struggle, was long remembered as one of the greatest dangers to which Rome had ever been exposed. Sulla put to death booo prisoners taken in this battle, and carried fire and sword through Sam- nium, with the express purpose of extirpating the whole race. \\ e learn from Strabo that more than a century later the province was in a state of the utmost desolation. rr., u r • xc^^. His fan-haired armies. See on /^c;;--?/'///^, 36 above. The fair- haired Gatiis" were persistent and dangerous enemies of Rome. Alter their capture of the city in 390 B.C., the tide slowly turned in favor of the Romans. In 296 B.C. the Gauls, Etruscans, Umbnans, and Samnites were defeated by the Romans at Sentinum : and three years before the invasion of Pyrrhus the Etruscans and the Boii were defeated vvith terri- ble slaughter at Lake Vadimon in Etruria, and again the year after l^or fortv-five years after these battles the Romans were unmolested by the Gatils, and were enabled to give their undivided attention to their strug- ele with Pvrrhus and to the first war with Carthage. 107. The Greek shall come against thee, etc. Pyrrhus, King of Epirus. For the causes of the war with Pyrrhus and its result see the Introduc- tion. In The conqueror of the East, the reference is to the conquests of Alexander the Great, to whose family Pyrrhus was related. 200. The hucre earth-shaking beast. The reference is of course to the elephant (see p. 182 above), which the Romans first encountered in their stnVg-le with Pyrrhus. The early victories of Pyrrhus (at Heraclea and Ascufum) were largely due to the terror which they inspired in the Ro- "^^20'5 The Epirotes. The followers of Pyrrhus from Epirus, the region west of Thcssalv in Northern Greece. Pyrrhus brought over a well-dis- ciplined force of nearly 30,000 Epirotes. The brunt of the battles of 190 NOTES. COIN OF PyKRHUS WITH HEAD OF UODONEAN ZEUS. Heraclea and Asculum, where Pyrrhus lost many men, fell upon them, and their numbers were still further reduced by his expedition to Sicily. Hardly a third of the original force fought in the final battle of Bene- ventum. 207. Tarentinn, See on Lake Regilliis, 605 above. 222. The thick array, etc. The reference is to the Macedonian pha- lanx, invented by Philip, father of Alexander the Great, to which the Roman legion showed itself decidedly superior at Cynoscephalae (197 B.C.), on account of its greater activity. 230. The Red King. The Greek word "Kvppoc, from which the name Pyrrhus is derived, means red, or flame-colored. 232. Is not the gozvn ivashed white? The reference is to the insult of- fered to the Roman envoy by a drunken Tarentine, for an account of which see p. 181 above. 242. And goblets rough with gold. Cf. Virgil, yEneid, v. 267 : " Cymbia- que argento perfecta atque aspera signis." 245. The stone that breathes and struggles, etc. See quotation from yEneid in note on 176 above. 247. Cunning. In the old sense of art or skill. Cf. Psalms, cxxxvii. 5. 249. Maniiis Curius. M. Curius Dentatus is said to have derived his surname from the circumstance that he was born with teeth. He was a plebeian of Sabine origin, and first distinguished himself when tribune by opposing Appius Claudius Caecus, who, while presiding at the consu- lar elections, refused to accept any votes for a plebeian candidate. Cu- rius compelled the senate to pass a decree by which any legal election was sanctioned beforehand. In 290 B.C. he and his fellow-consul P. Cor- nelius Rufinus brought the Samnite war to a close and celebrated a tri- umph. His second triumph was over the Sabines, who had revolted from Rome. In 275 B.C., when consul for the second time, he defeated Pyrrhus at Beneventum in Samnium, and celebrated his third triumph, the most magnificent that Rome had yet witnessed. It was adorned by four elephants, the first that had been seen at Rome. The next year he was again appointed consul, and defeated the Lucanians, Samnites, and Bruttians. He then retired to private life, and lived with great simplicity on his Sabine farm. In 272 B.C. he was made censor, when he built an THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 191 BENEVENTUM IN SAMNIUM. aqueduct which brought water into the city from the river Anio. He was celebrated down to the latest times as one of the noblest specimens of an- cient Roman simplicity and frugality, as well as for the useful works he constructed. At the town of Reate, in the country of the Sabines, he cut a canal from Lake Velinus through the rocks, and thus carried its waters to a place where they fall from a height of 140 feet into the Nar {Nera). This fall is still celebrated as that of Terni, or the Cascade delle Marmore. See Byron, Childe Hai'oUi, iv. 69 : " The roar of waters ! — from the headlong height Velino cleaves the wave-worn precipice ; The fall of waters ! rapid as the light The flashing mass foams shaking the abyss," etc. By this work the inhabitants of Reate obtained a considerable tract of arable land called Rosea (cf. 257 below). 254. The third embroidered gown. The toga picta (see on 181 above) worn in triumphs by the general. 259. AIeva?iia, A considerable city of Umbria, on the Flaminian Way. It was situated on the river Tinia in a broad and fertile valley eight or ten miles in width, watered by the Clitumnus and Tinia. It was cele- brated for a breed of white oxen, the only ones thought worthy to be sacrificed at triumphs (see on Horaiitis, 46 above). Pliny mentions Me- vania as one of the few cities in Italy that had walls of brick. The mod- ern city, Bevagita, is a very poor and decayed place with little more than 2000 inhabitants, though retaining its episcopal see and the title of a city. It contains some remains of an amphitheatre and mosaic pavements be- longing to the ancient baths. 266. The Su/^pliatits' Grove. The Asylum of Romulus. See on Lake Regillus, 721 above. The exact position of the Asylum is disputed, but 192 NOTES. from Livy's words, " Locum, qui nunc septus desccndcntibus inter duos lucos est, asylum aperuit," it would seem to have been situated under the northeast summit of the Capitoline hill, between the career and the temple of Concord and behind the arch of Severus. It was near the Asy- lum that the fire broke out which destroyed the Capitol. See Virgil, yEneid, viii. 342 : " Hinc lucum ingentem, quern Romulus acer Asylum Rettulit." 268. Capitolian Jove. The temple of Jupiter, Mars, and Minerva on the Capitoline hill. It was planned by the elder Tarquin, and finished by Tarquinius Superbus. It was 200 feet broad and but fifteen feet longer. Its front had three rows of columns, with two rows on the sides ; theback apparently had a plain wall. The interior contained three cells (ciilae) parallel to one another and with common walls, the one in the cen- tre being Jupiter's. Its name Capitolhitn^ according to a well-known legend, was due to the finding of a human head when digging the foun- dations. The image of the god was originally of clay. The face was painted vermilion, and the statue was probably clad in the toga picta and the tunica palmata (see on 181 above). On the acroterhtm, or apex, of the pediment stood a quadriga of earthenware, whose portentous swelling in the furnace was regarded as an omen of Rome's future greatness. After the Capitol was burned in 83 B.C. its restoration was undertaken by Sulla and afterwards confided to Q. Lutatius Catulus. In 69 B.C. it was destroyed by the Vitellians and restored by Vespasian on the original plan, except for a slight increase in height. It was again destroyed, soon after Vespasian's death, in a great fire, and was rebuilt by Domitian with a splendor before unequalled. This building lasted until a late period of the Empire, although nothing further is accurately known of its history. 269. Where over two bright havens, etc. Corinth was situated on the isthmus connecting Central Greece with the Peloponnesus. Its citadel was a lofty rock called the Acrocorinthus. Standing on a narrow isthmus between two important seas at a time when all navigation was performed by coasting vessels, Corinth naturally became a great maritime power and a rich and prosperous city. Horace [Odes, i. 7. 2) speaks of "bimaris Corinthi moenia." Cicero {de Lege Manil. 5. 1 1) calls it " totius Graeciae lumen." When the Achaean League entered into war with Rome, Corinth was its capital, and it was here that the Roman envoys were insulted. The city was taken by L. Mummius in 146 B.C. and was completely destroyed. All the male inhabitants were slain, and the women and children sold into slavery. The most valuable works of art were carried to Rome. Mum- mius had so little appreciation of their worth as to stipulate with those who transported them that if any were lost they should be replaced by others equally good. Corinth was rebuilt by a colony sent by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., and again became a flourishing city. 271. Where the ojganlic King of Day, etc. /Rhodes was one of the chief islands of the ^^gaean, situated in the Carpathian Sea about ten miles from the coast of Caria. Pliny says that it is 125 Roman miles in cir- THE PROPHECY OF CAP VS. 193 cumference. All its towns were on the coast. Its name is supposed to be derived from pSSov, a rose ; and the rose appears as a symbol on the coins of the island. Its situation favored extensive commerce, and dur- ing the best period of their history the Rhodians enjoyed great prosperity- According to Strabo, Rhodes surpassed all other cities in the beauty and convenience of its ports, streets, walls, and public edifices, all of which were adorned with many works of art. The bronze statue of Helios here referred to, the famous Co/ossus of Rhodes, was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. It was the work of Chares of Lindos, who spent twelve years in its execution. It cost 300 talents, and was 70 cubits in height ; few men were able to compass one of its thumbs with their arms. It was erected at the entrance of one of the ports, but the statement that it stood astride over the entrance, and that the largest ships could sail between its legs, is probably a fable. It was overthrown by an earthquake in 224 B.C., fifty-six years after its erection. The present town of Rhodes contains very few remains of the Greek city. 273. Orontes. The most renowned river of Syria. The name is used by Juvenal (iii. 62) for the whole country : '• in Tiberim defluxit Orontes." A modern traveller says : " The river is called by the people El-'Asi, the rebel, from its refusal to water the fields without the compulsion of water- wheels, according to Abulfeda ; but more probably from its occasional violence and wanderings during its course of about 200 miles." 276. Dark-red colonnades. Built of the red Egyptian granite. 280. Byrsa. An ancient name for Carthage. According to the story, Dido, the mythical founder of Carthage, purchased from the natives, for an annual tribute, as much land as could be covered with a bull's hide, 13 194 NOTES. but cunningly cut the hide into very thin strips and so enclosed a space of 22 sta- dia. On this she built her city, which af- terwards, as the place grew, iDecame the citadel and retained in its name Byrsa (l3vp(Ta, a bull's hide) the memory of the bargain. The legend seems to have been suggested by the name Byrsa, which was really a corruption of Bosra, the Phoe- nician name for the citadel of the city. See also on La^e Regillns, 203 above. Cf. ALneid, i. 367. 283. Morning -land. The Orient^ or East. 285. Atlas. The giant who bore the heavens on his shoulders. According to Homer, he knew the depths of all the sea and bore the long columns that kept asunder heaven and earth. The idea of his being a divine being with a personal existence is blended with the idea of a mountain in the Homeric conception. Later myths represent him as a man changed into a mountain. He stood in northwestern Africa near the Pillars of Hercules, where the Atlas mountains aie situated. Cf. Virgil, ^neid, iv. 246 : ATLAS (FARNESE COLLECTION). " lamqiie volans apicem et latera ardua cernit Atlantis duri, caelum qui vertice fulcit, Atlantis, cinctum adsidue cui nubibus atris Piniferum caput et vento pulsatur et imbri ; Nix umeros mtusa tegit ; turn flumina mento Praecipitant senis, et glacie riget horrida barba." Professor Wilson (see on Horatiits, 482 above), in closing his review of the Lays, rernarks : " It is a great merit of these poems that they are free from ambition or exaggeration. Nothing seems overdone — no taw- dry piece of finery disfigures the simplicity of the plan that has been chosen. They seem to have been framed with great artistic skill — with much self-denial and abstinence from anything incongruous — and with a very successful imitation of the effects intended to be represented. Yet every here and there images of beauty and expressions of feeling are thrown out, that are wholly independent of Rome or the Romans, and that appeal to the widest sensibilities of the human heart. In point of homeliness of thought and language, there is often a boldness which none but a man conscious of great powers of writing would have ven- tured to show." ADDENDA. 195 ADDENDA. The Text of the Lays. — Macaulay appears to have made very few changes in the text after the Lays were published. The only one we feel sure of, besides that noted on Virginia, iifyi, 438, is in Lake Regillus, 396, where the early eds. have "painted snake." 'i'here are several little vari- ations in the successive eds. which are probably due to the printer. In // i73- Aunus, 137. Auser, 124. Auster, 157. Aventinus, 184. axes (=lictors), 172. Bandusia's flock, 157. bare(=bore), 158. bare bravely up his chvn, 141 battle (=army), 160, 163. bestrode his sire, 158. brake, 157. brand (=:swordl, \ZU ^Ti- burghers, 129. Byrsa, 193- Cajso, 158. caitiff, 173. Caius of Corioli, 179. Calabria, 157, 180. calends, 149. Camerium, 152. Gamers, 184. Campania, i39) ^^o, 187. Capitolian Jove, 192. captain of the gate, 135- Capua (luxury of), 160, 177 Capys, 185. car (=q7{adriga), 170- Carthage, 155, 187, 193- case, evil, 141- Castor in the Forum, 148- Celtic plain, 163. champ, 124. champaign, 128. Cilnius, 133. Ciminian hill, 124. Circaean promontory, 153. Cirrha, 150. city of two kings, 150. civic crown, 178. Clanis, 124. Claudius, haughtiest, 175- clients, 158, 172- Clitumnus, 125. Cloaca Maxima, 177. clove ( = cleft), 138. Clusium, 121. cohorts, 176. Colossus of Rhodes, 193. column by minstrel sung, 173 comitium, 141, i49- Commons, 136. Conscript Fathers, 152. constant (=firm), i40' consul, 131, i5t- consular of Rome, 159. Cora, 153, 163- Corinth, 192. Corinthian mirrors, 177. Corne's oaks, 151. corn-land (public), 141- corselet, 157. Cortona, 124. Cosa, 139. Cossus, 159, 179. couched (a spear), 162. canning (=skill), 190. curule chair, 176. crafts, 179. crest, 133. crow (= crow-bar), 136. Crustumerium, 129. cypress crown, 179. Cyrene, 161. dark-red colonnades, 193- December's nones, 150. Decemvirs, 171- deed of shame, the, 135. deftly, 139- Dei Novensiles, 122. Dictator, 152. Digentian rock, 157. Dioscuri, the, 150- dog-star heat, 177. Dorians, 166. earth-shaking beast, 189. elms (for training vines), 158. Epirotes, iSg. equites, 148- Etruria, 122. Etruria's colleges, 165. Etruscan, 122. Eurotas, the, 162. eyry, 152. Fabian pride, 175. Fabian race, 158, 179. Fair Fount, the, 151. fair-haired (Gauls), 124, 1S9. Falerii, 138. false Sextus, 135, 155- false sons (of Brutus), 174- fast by, IBS- Father Tiber, 140. Fathers of the city, 129. Ferentinum, 155. Fidense, 157- fillets. 175, 1S5. flesher, 173- INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES. folk, 128. forum, 149. fountains running wine, 171. fourfold shield, 133. fox-earth, 175. Furies, 160. Furius, 179. Gabii, 151, 155, 159. garner, 186. girded up their gowns. 132. goblets rough with gold, 190. golden shields, 126, 163. goodman, 142. gown washed white, 181, 190. grace (=mercy), 140. Great Twin Brethren, 166. Greeks, lying, 172. Hadria, 130. hamlet, 122- harness ( = armor), 136. hearth of Vesta, 163. helm (=helniet), 158. Herminia, 160. Herminius. 135, 157. high pontiff, 164. hinds (^peasants), 139. hold (=fortress), 122. holes for free-born feet, 177. holy maidens, 135. Horatius, 135. house (^temple), 161. house that loves the people, 159. ides, 149. Ilva, 138. lulus, 159 ivory car, 135. ivory moonlight, 187. I wis, 131. Janiculum, 130. judgment-seat, 179. Julian line, 159. Juno, 142. 159, 163. Juturna, lake of, 166. Kaeso, 158, kine, 128. knees loosened by fear, 160. knights {=^egt(ites), 148. Lacedaemon, 150. Lanuvium, 163. Lars, 121. Lartia gens, 135. Latin Gate, 179 Laurentian jungle, 154. Laurentum, 154. Lausulus, 138. Lavinium, 155. lay on, 160. leech, 178. leech-craft, 176. legion, 187. Liber, 186. lictors, 147. litters, 128. Luceres, 135. lucre, 186. Lucumo, 133, 189. Luna, 126, 139. magister equitum, 1 52- maids with snaky tresses, 171. Mamilius, 127, 155. Marcian fury, 175. mart, 123. Mars without the wall, 149, 166. Martian calends, 149. Massilia, 124. mere (=lake), 125. Metius, 164. molten image (of Horatius), 141. month of wail, 173. Morning-land, 194. mound {—agger), 187. must (=new wine), 126. muster, 127. myrrh, 186. Nar, 138. Nemi, Lake of. 153. Nequinum, 138. nether, 179, Nine Gods, the, 122. noisome, 176. Nomentum, 163. nones, 150. Norba, 153. Nurscia, 126. Ocnus, 138. Orontes, 193. Ostia, 130. Palatinus, 140. Pales, 186. panniers, 173. Parthenius, 150. Patres Conscripti, 129, 152. Pedum, 155. Picus, 138. pila Horaiia, 174. pilum, 187. Pincian Hill, 179. Piss, 124. play the men, 159. plebeians, 136. Po, the, 160, 163. polling, summons to, 175. Pomona, 186. Pomptine Marshes, 156. Pons sublicius, 133, 164. ponti/ex tnaxhmis, 164. Populonia, 122. porches, 179. Porcian height, 151, 152. Porsena, 12/. port ( = bearing), 133. Posthumian race, 151. potsherds, 179. press (=crowd), 179. pricking (=spurring), 166. Punic, 173. purple gown, 176. Pyrrhus, 189. Quinctius, fiercest, 175. Quintilis, 149. Quirinus, 163. Quirites, 174. quoth, 141. Ramnes, 135. Ramnian, 135. Red King, the, 190. Regillus, Lake, 15a Rex, 159. Rhodes, 192. ribands, 160. rill, 124. River-Gate, the, 132. Rome's whitest day, 150, 152, 166. roundly, 132. Sacred Hill, the, 149, 175. Sacred Street, the, 172. sailors turned to swine, 171. Saint Elmo's fire, i66. Salii, 127, 164. Samnites, 189. Samothracia, 160. Scasvola, 175. sceptre. 152. school (in forum), 172. scrolls (=bookt,J, 187. sea-marks, 180. Seius, 137. Senate, 131. sewer, the great, 177. Sextus Tarquinius, 135, 155. shambles, 177. sheaf of twigs, 179- sherd, 179. she-wolf's litter, 139. Sidon, 186. sightless seer, 185. Sir Consul, 133. INDEX OF WORDS AND PHRASES. 199 skins of wine, 128. Soracte, 156. Spanish gold, 177. sped, 140. spoils fairly sold, 136. Spurius Lartius, 135. stone that breathes, 190. strait, 135. Sublician Bridge, 133, 164. Suppliants' Grove, 191. Sutrium, 127. sword (Roman), 187. Sylvian line, 183. Syracuse, 161. Syria's daughters, 155. tablets, 172. tale (=:number), 127. Tarentum, 161, igo. targe, 156. Tarpeian rock, 128. Tartessian mine, 186. Terracina, 164. Thirty Cities, the, 151. Thrasymene, 134. Thunder-cape, the, 180. Tiber, Father, 140. Tiber, the yellow, 127, 149. Tibur, 155. Tifernum, 137. Titian, 136. Titles, 135. Titus, the youngest Tar- quin, 156. toga picta, 191. Tolumnius, 134. traced from the right, 126. trembled (from inspiration), 185. tribunes, 136, 168, 171. triremes, 124. triumph, 188. trysting-day, 122. Tubero, 158. Tusculum, 127, 151, 153. Ufens, 153. Umbro, 126. Umbria, 133. Urgo, 138. usance, 176. vail (=lower), 188. Valerian gens, 159. varlet, 172. Venus, 187. Velian hill, 159. Velitra;, 154. Verbenna, 130. verses (:=predictions), 126. vest (:=:dress), 133. Vesta, 163, 166. Vestal Virgins, 135. vines (on trees), 158, 186. Virginius, 151. Volscians, 142, 155. Volsinian mere, 125. Volsinium, 138. Vulso, 164. wan, 129. ween, 141. what time, 151. whitest day, 150, 152, 166. whittle (=knife), 178. wist, 159. Witch's Fortress, the, 153. Wolf of the Capitol, 139. year of sore sickness, 173. yellow Tiber, the, 127, 149. yeomen, 159. yore, 126. ywis, 131. JUPITER. [From The Popular ^c/wca^or, June, 1887.] SCHOOL COURSES IN SHAKESPEARE. By W. J. ROLFE, A.M., Litt.D. What plays of Shakespeare are to be recommended for school use, and in what order should they be taken up ? These are ques- tions often addressed to me by teachers, and I will attempt to answer them briefly here. Of the thirty-seven (or thirty-eight, if we include the Two Nohk Kinsmen) plays in the standard editions of Shakespeare, twenty at least are suitable for use in " mixed " schools. Among the " come- dies " are The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer-Night'' s Dream, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Tlie Tempest, The Winter's Tale, and The Taming of the Shrew; among the "tragc dies," Macbeth, Hamlet, Lear, and Romeo and Juliet; and among th^ historical plays, Jidius Coesar, Coriolanus, King John, Richard IT., Henry IV., Part 1, Henry V., Richard III, Henry VIIL Certain plays, like Cymbeline, Othello, and Antony and Cleopatra, are not, in my opinion, to be commended for "mixed" schools of classes, but may be used in others at the discretion of the teacher. If but one play is read, my own choice would be Merchant of Venice; except for classical schools, where Juliics desar is to be preferred. Most of the leading colleges now require one or more plays of Shakespeare as part of the preparation in English, and Julius Ccesar is almost invariably included for every year. Harvard, for instance, requires Julius Ccesar and Twelfth Night for 1888, and Julius Ccesar and As You Like It for 1889 ; and the requirements for these years are the same at Amherst, Dartmouth, Trinity, Tufts, Brown, and Wesleyan University. Probably Williams and the Bos- 1 ton University (whose last catalogues I have not seen) also follow Harvard in this respect, as they have done in former years. If two plays can be read, the Merchant and Julius Ccesar may he commended ; or either of these with As You Like It, or with Macbeth, if a tragedy is desired. Macbeth is the shortest of the great trage- dies (only a trifle more than half the length of Hamlet, for instance), and seems to me unquestionably the best for an ordinary school course. For a selection of three plays, we may take the Merchant (or Julius Ccesar), As You Like It (or Twelfth Night, or Much Ado, — the other two of the trio of " Sunny or Sweet-Time Comedies," as Furnivall calls them), and Macbeth. An English historical play {King John, Richard II., Henry IV., Part 1, or Henry V.) may be substituted for the comedy, if preferred; and Hamlet for Macbeth, if time permits and the teacher chooses. As I have said, Hamlet is about twice as long as Macbeth, and should have at least treble the time devoted to it. For myself, I have rarely ventured to read Hamlet with a class of average quality. If a fourth play is wanted, add IVie Tempest to the list. Macbeth and The Tempest together (4061 lines, as given in the "Globe" edi- tion) are but little longer than Hamlet (3929 lines), and can be read in less time than the latter. For Q, fifth play Hamlet, Lear, or Coinolanus may be taken ; or, if a shorter and lighter play is preferred, the Midsummer-Night's Dream. In a course of five plays, I should myself put this first, as a specimen of the dramatist's early work. For a course of five plays arranged with special reference to the illustration of Shakespeare's career as a writer, the following may be commended : A Midsummer-Nighfs Dream (early comedy); Richard II, Henry IV., Part 1, or Henry V. (English historical period) ; As You Like It, Twelfth Night, or Much Ado (later comedy) ; Macbeth, Hamlet, or Lear (period of the great tragedies) ; and The Tempest or The Winter''s Tale (the latest plays, or " romances," as Dowden aptly terms them). For a series of six plays, following this chronological order, instead of one English historical play take two: Richard III, Richard II., or King John (earlier history, 1593-1595), and Henry IV., Part 1, or Henry V. (later history, or "history and comedy united," 1697- ] 599). 2 I may remark here incidentally that Richard III. is a favorite with many teachers in a course of three or four plays ; but, for myself, I should never take it up unless in a course of six or more, and only as an example of Shakespeare's earliest work — not later than 1593. . . . As Oeehelhauser puts it, ^'■Richard III. is the significant bound- ary-stone which separates the works of Shakespeare's youth from the immortal works of the period of his fuller splendor." As such, it has a certain historical interest to the student of his literary career ; but this seems to me its only claim to attention. I am not disposed, however, to quarrel with those who think otherwise. To return to our courses of reading. For a series of seven plays, I would insert in the above chronological list either Romeo and Jidiet (early tragedy) before " early history," or the Merchant (middle come- dy) after " early history ;" and for a series of ei(fht plays I would in- clude both these. Henry VIII. can be added to any of the longer series as a very late play, of which Shakespeare wrote only a part, and which was com- pleted by Fletcher. The Taming of the Shrew may be mentioned incidentally as an earlier play that is interesting as being Shake- speare's only in part. In closing, let me commend the Sonnets as well adapted to give variety to any extended course in Shakespeare. They are not known to teachers, or to cultivated people generally, as they should be. In my own experience as a teacher I have found that young people always get interested in these poems, if their attention is once called to them. This past year I gave one of my classes an informal talk on the Sonnets, merely to fill an hour for which there was no regular work, owing to an unexpected delay in getting copies of the play we were about to begin. Some months afterwards, when I asked the class what play they would select for our next reading if the choice were left to them, several of the girls asked if we could not take up the So7inets^ and the request was endorsed by a large majority. We gave about the same time to them as to a play, and I have never had a more enjoyable or, so far as I could judge, a more profitable series of lessons with a class. ENGLISH CLASSICS. Edited by WM. J. ROLFE, A.M. Illustrated. i6mo, Cloth, 56 cents per vol. ; Paper, 40 cents per vol. Shakespeare's Works: The Merchant of Venice.— The Tempest.— King Henry the Eighth. — Julius Caesar.— King Richard the Second. —Othello. — Macbeth.— Romeo and Juliet. — A Midsum- mer-Night's Dream.— King Richard the Third.— King Henry the Fifth.— Hamlet.— As You Like It.— Much Ado About Nothing.— Twelfth Night.— The Winter's Tale.— King John. — King Henry the Fourth. Part I. — King Henry the Fourth. Part H. — King Lear.— The Taming of the Shrew.— All 's Well that Ends Well.— Coriolanus. — The Comedy of Errors.— Cymbeline. — An- tony and Cleopatra. — Measure for Measure. — Merry Wives of Windsor.— Love's Labour 's Lost. — Two Gen- tlemen of Verona. — Timon of Athens. — Troilus and Cressida.— King Henry the Sixth. Part L— King Henry the Sixth. Part II.— King Henry the Sixth. Part III. —Pericles, Prince of Tyre.— The Two Noble Kinsmen. — Poems. — Sonnets.— Titus Andronicus. Goldsmith's Select Poems. Gray's Select Poems. Robert Browning's A Blot in the 'Scutch- eon, AND Other Dramas. Robert Browning's Select Poems. Milton's Minor Poems. Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. iW A fiy of ike above works will be sent by tnail, fiosinge prepaid, to any part ef the United States or Ca?iada, on receipt of the price. THOMAS GRAY. SELECT POEMS OF THOMAS GRAY. Edited, with Notes, by William J. Rolfe, A.M., formerly Head Master of the High School, Cambridge, Mass. Illus- trated. Square i6mo. Paper, 40 cents ; Cloth, 56 cents. (^Uniform with Rolfe' s Shakespeare?) Mr. Rolfe has done his work in a manner that comes as near to per- fection as man can approach. He knows his subject so well that he is competent to instruct all in it ; and readers will find an immense amount of knowledge in his elegant volume, all set forth in the most admirable order, and breathing the most liberal and enlightened spirit, he being a warm appreciator of the divinity of genius.— ^t?^^^?// Traveller. The great merit of these books lies in their carefully edited text, and in the fulness of their explanatory notes. Mr. Rolfe is not satisfied with simply expounding, but he explores the entire field of English literature, and therefrom gathers a multitude of illustrations that are interesting in themselves and valuable as a commentary on the text. He not only in- structs, but stimulates his readers to fresh exertion ; and it is this stimu- lation that makes his labor so productive in the ^Q\\Qo\-xoom,— Saturday Evening Gazelle, Boston. Mr. William J. Rolfe, to whom English literature is largely indebted for annotated and richly illustrated editions of several of Shakespeare's Plays, has treated the " Select Poems of Thomas Gray" in the same way —just as he had previously dealt with the best of Goldsmith's poems.— Philadelphia Press. Mr. Rolfe's edition of Thomas Gray's select poems is marked by the same discriminating taste as his other oX^i^^io.?,.— Springfield Republican. Mr. Rolfe's rare abilities as a teacher and his fine scholarly tastes ena- ble him to prepare a classic like this in the best manner for school use. There could be no better exercise for the advanced classes in our schools than the critical study of our best authors, and the volumes that Mr. Rolfe has prepared will hasten the time when the study of mere form will give place to the study of the spirit of our literature. — Louisville Courier- yournal. An elegant and scholarly little \o\\xmQ.— Christian Intelligencer, N. Y. Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. Sent by matt, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States or Canada, on receipt of tfie price. ROBERT BROWNING. SELECT POEMS OF ROBERT BROWNING. Edited, with Notes, by William J. Rolfe, A.M., formerly Head Master of the High School, Cambridge, Mass., and Hel- oiSE E. Hersey. Illustrated. i6mo, Paper, 40 cents ; Cloth, 56 cents. {^Uniform with Rolfe s Shakespeare^ Probably no critic yet has gone to the heart of Browning's true signifi- cance as does Miss Hersey. There is something in the fineness of her insight and her subtle, spiritual sympathy that truly interprets him, while others write in a more or less scholarly manner about him. Miss Ker- sey's work indicates the blending of two exceptional qualities — the po- etic sympathy and the critical judgments. She feels intuitively all the poet's subtle meanings ; she is responsible to them by virtue of temper- ament ; yet added to this is the critical faculty, keen, logical, and con- structive. — Boston Traveller. To say that the selections have been made by Mr. Rolfe is to say that they have not only been made by a careful and accurate scholar, but by a man of pure and beautiful taste. . . . The Notes, which fill some thirty pages, are admirable in their scope and brevity. — N. Y. Mail aiul Express. We can conscientiously say that both the arrangement of the selec- tions and the fulness, as well as the illuminating character, of the anno- tations are all that the most exacting taste could require ; and the whole work is well fitted to charm the poet's established admirers, and to awaken in others who have not been among these a new sense of Browning's strength and beauty as a writer. — Hartford Times. The " Select Poems of Robert Browning " is a marvel of industrious editing, wise, choice, and excellent judgment in comment. . . . An intro- duction, a brief account of Browning's life and works, a chronological table of his works, and a series of extracted critical comments on the poet, precede the series of selections. Besides these there are at the end of the book very extensive, valuable, and minutely illustrative notes, to- gether with addenda supplied by Browning himself on points which the editors were unable fully to clear up. — N. Y. Star. Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. I^" Harper & Brothers ivill send the above work by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States or Canada, on receipt of the price. ROBERT BROWNING. A BLOT IN THE 'SCUTCHEON AND OTHER DRA- MiVS. By Robert Browning. Edited, with notes, by William J. Rolfe, A.M., and Heloise E. Hersey. With Portrait. i6mo, Paper, 40 cents ; Cloth, 56 cents. ( Uniform with Rolfe 's Shakespeare.) Prepared in the same thorough manner as the previous volume upon the Select Poems of the same author and the numerous manuals of Mr. Rolfe. No poet needs, for the average reader, such an 'mterpretation as is here given more than Brow^ning. Read carefully, with reference to the notes of the editors, the richness of the great poet's thoughts and fancies will be the better apprehended. — Ziofi's Herald, Boston. Out of the eight dramas which the poet wrote between 1837 and 1845 the three most characteristic ones have been selected, and a full idea of his dramatic power may be gained from them. A synopsis of critical opinions of Mr. Browning's works is included in the volume. The same careful scholarship that marked Professor Rolfe's editions of Shakespeare is shown in this edition of Browning. The lovers of the poet will be pleased to have old favorites in this attractive form, while many new readers will be attracted to the author by it. Robert Browning will fill a larger space m the world's eye in the future than he has done already. — Brooklyn Union. The introduction and notes are all that could be desired, — N. V. Sun, The book itself is not only a compact compilation of the three plays, but it is valuable for the commentatory notes. The editing work has been done in an able manner by Professor Rolfe and Miss Hersey, who has gained a high place among the modern Browning students. — Phila- delphia B2dleti7t. This dainty volume, with flexible covers and red edges, contains not merely Browning's dramas, with the author's latest emendations and cor- rections, but notes and estimates, critical and explanatory, in such vol ume, and from sources so exalted, that we have not the temerity to add one jot or tittle to the aggregate. — N'. Y. Commercial Advertiser. Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. Harper & Brothers will send the abozie work by mail, postage prepaid, to an) i>art of the United States or Canada, on receipt of the price. OLIVER GOLDSMITH. SELECT POEMS OF OLIVER GOLDSMITH. Edited, with Notes, by William J. Rolfe, A.M., formerly Head Master of the High School, Cambridge, Mass. Illus- trated. i6mo. Paper, 40 cents ; Cloth, 56 cents. (^Uni- form with Rolfe' s Shakespeare?) The carefully arranged editions of " The Merchant of Venice " and other of Shakespeare's plays prepared by Mr. William J. Rolfe for the use of students will be remembered with pleasure by many readers, and they will welcome another volume of a similar character from the same source, in the form of the " Select Poems of Oliver Goldsmith," edited with notes fuller than those of any other known edition, many of them original with the editor. — Boston Transcript. Mr. Rolfe is doing very useful work in the preparation of compact hand-books for study in E'nglish literature. His own personal culture and his long experience as a teacher give him good knowledge of what is wanted in this way. — The Congregationalist, Boston. Mr. Rolfe has prefixed to the Poems selections illustrative of Gold- smith's character as a man, and grade as a poet, from sketches by Ma- caulay, Thackeray, George Colman, Thomas Campbell, John Forster, and Washington Irving. He has also appended at the end of the volume a body of scholarly notes explaining and illustrating the poems, and dealing with the times in which they were written, as well as the incidents and circumstances attending their composition. — Christian Intelligencer, N. Y. The notes are just and discrimiwating in tone, and supply all that is necessary either for understanding the thought of the several poems, or for a critical study of the language. The use of such books in the school- room cannot but contribute largely towards putting the study of English literature upon a sound basis ; and many an adult reader would find in the present volume an excellent opportunity for becoming critically ac- quainted with one of the greatest of last century's poets. — Afpleton's Journal, N, Y. PublishIt) b? HA&^ & BROTHERS, New York. ^~ Sent by mail, postage frepaid^ to any part of the United States or Canada, on receipt of the price. •^<^. ® * ® ^ "^di^ ..^ «*■ .A ^ ^ * » * <» A*^ * ;»•«» #^« '*^ 4* 4^ %^ • ^* « * « ,