A LECTURE 
 
 GAMMA Hu LIITE^A^Y SOCIETY 
 
 OF YALE COLLEGE, 
 
 Ni-:\v il.vvK.x. CONX., OrroiiKi; .'!. 
 
 IJKRBKRT C. TOLM A 
 
 N E \V II A V ]: IS" : 
 
 D. F. WISER & CO., PRINTERS, 721 CHAFF [", COR. U t
 
 UCSB LIBRARY 
 
 A LECTURE 
 
 UPON THE 
 
 REGAL PERIOD IN ROMAN HISTORY. 
 
 HKFOUK THE 
 
 GAMMA Hu LHJIIEI^AI^Y SOCIETY 
 
 OF YALE COLLEGE, 
 XKW II AVION, CONN., OCTOBER 3, 1885. 
 
 HERBERT 0. TOLMAN, 
 
 CLASS OK '88. 
 
 NEW HAVEN: 
 
 D. F. WISER & CO., PRINTERS, 721 CHAPEL STREET, COR. UNION. 
 
 1885
 
 LECTURE. 
 
 "MORIBUS ANTIQUIS STAT RES RoMANA VIRISQUE." dc. De 
 
 Rep. v. 1. 
 
 With what profound respect, admiration and sadness do we 
 gaze upon the ruins of an ancient city! A respect, which an- 
 tiquity may justly demand from our own age; an admiration, 
 when we consider what a part it once lias held in the world's his- 
 tory, as \ve reflect upon the noble deeds of its heroes and the 
 lives of its statesmen, and when we read the burning and im- 
 passioned words of its orators, as their hearts were filled with 
 desire for their country's advancement ; but a sadness, when 
 we think how its empire once so strong and dominion once 
 so mighty have ceased to be, while- its glory arid fame live 
 only through the pen of the historian, and its former grandeur 
 and magnificence alone remain in sad relics of holy temples 
 and ruins of grand old palaces, once the seat of pride and ar- 
 rogance. With what delight do we dwell upon its history, 
 and turn our minds to the study of its ancient customs and 
 antiquities! What a pleasure is ours, as we stand at this ad- 
 vanced age, to look back and to survey the progress of the 
 world through the centuries which are past! 
 
 An allusion to Babylon, so renowned in sacred literature, as 
 she sat in her might, the head of the great eastern empire , the 
 mention of Tyre, once the rich metropolis of the Phrenicians, 
 the name of Troy, whose tragic end so inspired the song of the 
 Epic poets, as it fell before the invading armies of Hellas, alike 
 awaken feelings which only the story of a nation's growth, a 
 nation's glory and power, and a nation's fall can excite. But 
 with what peculiar interest do we love to consider the history 
 of Koine, witli what delight to reflect upon the former greatness
 
 and majest} r of its dominion, and with what a sense of awe and 
 reverence to gaxe upon its colossal edifices, while we attempt to 
 picture to ourselves its splendor and magnificence during the 
 declining days of the republic ! 
 
 And why should we not be bound to Rome by an almost in- 
 separable tie '( Let us look for a moment over our own country 
 and see for ourselves the great indebtedness which we owe to 
 Roman power, architecture, law and language. Behold our 
 churches and then go back and see their model in tin- P.asilica, 
 the hall of justice. Study the excellence of Roman law and c >m- 
 preheiid how it is the very basis and foundation of our own civil 
 codes. Consider to what an extent the language of Latin in as the 
 dialect of the people, far different from the pure style of the 
 classic writers, has spread over the whole, continent and through 
 the lapse of centuries gradually framed the language of Italy, 
 Spain, France and Portugal, hence giving to their speech the 
 name of Romance languages. Think what a transmitting 
 power it has 'been to erudition, how its literature has been and 
 still is fostered in the schools and universities of the world, 
 and how for ages it has been the language of the'Christian 
 church. Rome then has committed to us a legacy, greater in 
 some respects than the benefits of literature, learning, art and 
 science, which have been the dowry of Greece to the present 
 age, and of far more value to the public good than the adorn- 
 ment of our buildings with Corinthian columns or the study of 
 her statues and grand old paintings. 
 
 How far unlike its rival in the classic world is the city of 
 our consideration ! 
 
 Athens, the pride of the scholar, the immortal city of liter- 
 ary fame, the genius of the ancient world, lives, not in her for- 
 mer power, not in the glory of military achievement, but f oi- 
 lier philosophers, sages, poets and orators, for her refinement 
 and culture, for her ancient customs and religious devotion. 
 But the splendor of Rome is her former dominion, her an- 
 cient empire, her remarkable history and her brilliant career.
 
 What a deep interest does the recital of her advancement in- 
 spire in the mind of its reader, from the very moment he is 
 ushered into her history with her fabled beginning, to when 
 with stronger emotions he reads the thrilling and startling 
 deeds of the emperors ! 
 
 As we are about to consider the history of Rome in its ear- 
 liest period, would it not be well to ask ourselves, before we 
 proceed farther, why that city alone was destined to its high 
 place in the annals of the globe as the head of nations and mis- 
 tress of the world, to explain the cause of its greatness and 
 why success so often followed the Roman eagles? Why did 
 not Xaples, Tarentum or Veii become the center of an em- 
 pire as well as Rome? Is it because the race possessed 
 such remarkable excellence over the neighboring tribes? Is 
 it that the site of the city was far more advantageous for com- 
 mercial interests and the pursuit of agriculture? 
 
 To these questions we shall give a negative answer, while 
 we are obliged to admit that the blood of the Roman has no 
 superiority over that of his neighbor the Etruscan or Samnite. 
 The story which the poets delighted to sing, of how the impe- 
 rial city, guided and destined by fate, sprang from the scanty 
 survivors of the flames of Troy, has long since showed absurd- 
 ity to the most credulous. Again the location of Rome was 
 a special detriment to a nation's growth, in the fact that 
 its harbor was of no great value, its climate unhealthy and its 
 soil not noted for its great fertility. 
 
 Although these may be arguments in favor of our negative 
 answer, yet in some degree does the city owe its power to these 
 seeming hindrances in its progress. That it possessed a sea-port 
 of no excellence prevented the frequent incursions and attacks of 
 pirates which were, so often fatal to cities in their infancy. 
 It can l>e possible again that the unhealthy climate of the re- 
 gion served as a check against foreign invasion. Furthermore, 
 sterility of soil only induces a nation to spread its teritory and 
 seek booty from other tribes. With these two questions in
 
 6 
 
 consideration let us turn our thoughts to another which may 
 justly claim our attention. 
 
 Does Rome owe its might to men of talent or genius? This 
 is needless for us to answer; I only ask that we place the fabu- 
 lous names of Numa Pompilius and Servius Tullins side by side 
 with such personages as Solon, Pericles and Alexander and 
 men of a later day as Charlemagne, Frederick and Bonaparte, 
 and our answer is determined. No, Rome's advancement is 
 due not to its men of genius, of intellect and foresight. The 
 time of its statesmen, the days of Caesar, Cicero and Sulla, mark 
 the decay of the republic. 
 
 At what conclusion then shall we at last arrive, or shall 
 we finally be obliged to say with reverence that it was the 
 will of an ever ruling Providence that Rome should rise and 
 fill the part she held in the world's history, while the reason 
 of her advancement must be forever veiled in mystery? 
 
 If we look again at the geographical situation of Latium. we 
 can consider the nearness of the seven hills an important fac- 
 tor in the city's growth; for, dwelling in such proximity to the 
 settlements established so bordering upon their own, they 
 naturally felt the need of an alliance and mutual protection in 
 time of war. Rome then gradually, after forming this confed- 
 eracy and gaining sway over this immediate vicinity, began to 
 reach out over the whole of Italy and embrace, as associates 
 and allies, the people who did not at first feel the dependence 
 and subjection which was afterward imposed upon them. 
 
 Resting content with this cause alone as the predominant 
 and principal reason to which the city owes its long continued 
 power and prosperity, let us now study its history in this early 
 period, and collect by the few authentic records that are ours 
 some facts in the story of its infancy. 
 
 It is well known what implicit faith ancient writers and his- 
 torians had in the fabulous stories of Rome's early history, 
 with what definite exactness they were wont to relate the facts 
 in the reign of Xmna or Servius, and with what certainty was
 
 it their custom to fix the very date of the foundation of the 
 city on the 21st day of April, 753 B. c. Although they were 
 often startled and perplexed when some miracle of that early age 
 came to their consideration, yet they looked upon it merely as 
 the purpose of giving life and animation to the narrative and 
 making the first pages in the annals of Rome furnish a far 
 greater charm to their reader. In such delusion and childlike 
 simplicity did the early history of the city hold both the an- 
 cient and modern world. It was the pleasure of Milton and 
 Bacon, as well as the delight of Vergil and Cicero, to foster the 
 incredible accounts of Rome's infancy as a sacred legacy, trans- 
 mitted to their own age, in which was recorded with compar- 
 ative exactness the story of a nation's early struggles. 
 
 Although, when the advancement of learning in the 15th 
 century swept over the continent of Europe, scholars began to 
 look with less credence upon these primitive accounts, it 
 was not however until the dawn of our own century, when 
 Niebuhr published his work so full of skepticism in regard to 
 these facts heretofore almost universally believed, which pub- 
 lication was immediately followed by others of eminent literary 
 men of the time, that the strong faith and belief in these old 
 traditions which for so long had enjoyed a place in the annals 
 of history as authentic records, was gradually swept away. 
 
 To Is iebuhr then do we owe the privilege, which is ours, of 
 looking upon this early period, not with a view to the study 
 of its story as a matter of historical importance, but to consider 
 the absurdity of its accounts and to ask why such fables orig- 
 inated. The first one of these considerations, namely the ab- 
 surdity of its details, we will discuss as follows : 
 
 Roman history can be well divided into three distinct stages. 
 The first period can be marked as extending from the founda- 
 tion of the city in 753 B. c. up to 390 B. c., at which time 
 monuments commemorating important national events, were 
 destroyed. Furthermore, important laws engraved on. brazen 
 tablets with the exception of the twelve tables, and
 
 annals kept by the Pontiff show no certainty of extending back 
 beyond this date. Therefore it is left for us to conjecture 
 that tliis first stage of Roman history is one entirely based on 
 tradition, and in this light we will consider it. 
 
 The second epoch in history of the city is embraced by the 
 vears .')'.( i and ^*t> n. r. from which latter date the third period, 
 which is tlie era of contemporaneous history, begins. To this 
 last stage we can give the name of authentic history, while the 
 period before can be relied upon only in leading tacts, as im- 
 portant events of their warfare and struggles and the glory of 
 their personal exploits were transmitted from fathers to sons. 
 and therefore subject to national and personal pride. When 
 we go back beyond this point into the first period which claim- 
 ed our attention, even tradition itself has been clouded during 
 the lapse of centuries and the early history of the nation inter- 
 mingled and confused with that of other countries. 
 
 Shall we ask ourselves the question, did kingship ever exist 
 at Rome? Various things served to corroborate this fact; the 
 existence of some important offices as the iuterrex, the king 
 and queen of sacrifices, the law against any person aspiring to 
 sovereignty, and various objects in the vicinity of Rome as the 
 Ruminal fig tree and hut of Romulus. These facts are the onlv 
 arguments outside of vague tradition which go to establish the 
 theory that sovereign power at one time existed in the ancient 
 city. What folly and delusion therefore to write out a lengthv 
 history of the regal power in Rome, to tell of its invasions and 
 foreign wars, and to try to determine the very day of its 
 founding. 
 
 Many facts of historical importance may perhaps be found 
 in the poetic stories of early Rome, yet to show the absurditv 
 with greater force, let us imagine the history of its beginning 
 as related by Livy genuine and true. 
 
 The reign of Xuma. you remember, was one of perpetual 
 peace. .Could the Romans and their neighbors live on such 
 amicable terms when the preceding reMgn of Romulus and the
 
 9 
 
 advent of Servius were periods of uninterrupted warfare? Is 
 not that as difficult to credit as the fictitious founding of the 
 city or the ascent of Romulus into heaven? Again, the season 
 of kingly power occupied 240 years, leaving to each king then 
 the average age of 34 years. Does this seem really comprehen- 
 sible when we consider that only three of the seven escaped 
 deatli by violence? Is it consistent to narrate how Tarquin, at 
 the age of eighty, left children young and tender, while accord- 
 ing to another account they were married with those of Servius 
 his successor, since in the former case the second Tarquin had 
 reached the age of fifty years and in the latter seventy, when 
 he is represented as dragging the aged king from the senate- 
 house with all the vigour and passion of youth? These legends 
 sound well as they are sung and recited by the poets, but they 
 cannot escape the keen and searching investigation of the his- 
 torian. 
 
 Many other such absurdities can be clearly shown and 
 brought to lightjshonld we dwell longer on this subject; 
 but let us now turn our thoughts to the consideration of the 
 second question, from what cause did fabulous history origi- 
 nate. Is it strange that from the point where authentic records 
 stop and where history is merged into tradition, Roman as well 
 as Greek should frame and invent stories to explain the cause 
 of certain existing customs and remarkable facts? Is it a 
 greater marvel that the cunning and fertile mind of the Athe- 
 nian, as it busied itself fashioning a mythology from the won- 
 ders of nature as it spread out before him, should in a like de- 
 gree employ this same ingenious power in explaining the rea- 
 son of great events in his own national history? Although the 
 mind of the Roman was far too incompreheusive and his im- 
 aination far too slow for the invention of fabulous stories at 
 
 r"> 
 
 that early age, yet by foreign help and national simplicity 
 Rome's regal history has been moulded into its present shape. 
 
 For what would be more natural than, when Rome kept ac- 
 quiring territory after territory and success so often followed
 
 the Roman legions, and since the glory of the nation was her 
 mightiness in war, that the poets and relaters of legends should 
 attrihute to tin- founder of their city the descent from tin- war 
 god Mars? This story bears too much the vivid coloring of 
 the Greek imagination to escape our observation, and similar 
 allusions to exposed children occur in the history of the East, 
 as the myth concerning Cyrus exemplifies. Again, if we con- 
 sider the name of Servius, we shall see how the story of his 
 miraculous birth from a virgin slave found credence. As the 
 Roman nomen marks the person's gens or house, 'this fable was 
 doubtless invented to explain the simple existence of this epi- 
 thet as derived from the Latin word for slave. So the popular 
 name of Scaevola, meaning literally left handed, was compel- 
 led to coin another story, of how the old hero Mucius in the 
 war with Porsenna held his right hand over the tire until it 
 was reduced to ashes, thus by his fortitude showing the bra verv 
 of the Roman spirit and transmitting this name to poster! tv. 
 
 These then are a few of the aetiological myths invented to 
 explain the cause of some existing circumstances. 
 
 We can not regard the history of the regal period complete 
 even with the meagre explanation which we have now enjoyed, 
 unless we direct our thoughts to an inquiry in regard to the 
 genesis of Roman religion. As we discuss this in a brief wav, 
 it will be for our advantage to turn our attention to a like devel- 
 opment in our own savage tribes. In connection with this refer- 
 ence let me relate an incident of every day occurence in the 
 hut of the Indian. 
 
 The great warrior after a day of conflict and toil enters his 
 wigwam, throws himself before his warm fire, and in a lew 
 moments is dreaming of the chase or hunt. As he awakes 
 from his sleep, he finds himself still in the same position, 
 though he feels confident that he has been pursuing the boar 
 and roaming the fields with his savage companions. To his 
 clouded and bewildered mind what explanation could be more 
 >ari>factory than that two distinct selves, as it were, composed
 
 11 
 
 his being ( While one self was reclining before the fire, the 
 other self had been engaged in its daily pursuits. In what 
 other view, with this in consideration, could he look upon death 
 than the departure of this same mysterious self from its joint 
 companion? Since after sleep these two elements of his per- 
 s on, as he supposed, were once more united, is it strange there- 
 fore that he should look upon his dead companion without feel- 
 ing impressed with the certainty that this other self which 
 had gone to the happy hunting ground should return to his 
 body as it did so often in sleep? This was the vague and 
 indistinct conception which forced itself upon his untrained 
 intellect. 
 
 Can we not be allowed to suppose that the same idea was 
 planted in the mind of the Italian ? Is it not our right to con- 
 clude that the deep veneration in which they held the shades 
 of their ancestors was the same motive that actuated the savage 
 to look with such respect upon the dead warrior? In the 
 houses and dwellings of the city altars were erected to the 
 memory of deceased friends : and what could be more appropri- 
 ate or significant than that the family hearth should symbolize 
 a shrine and pledge of family devotion to the dead and an as- 
 surance of his care and protection ? So the city in its growth 
 was only a large family with the king at its head, and with 
 mutual homage did they adore the temple of Vesta, the hearth 
 of the city, and the sacred fire guarded by the Vestal virgins. 
 This then let us consider as the very germ and beginning of 
 the Roman religion, which afterward with a few fables of their 
 own invention was so blended and intermingled with Greek 
 mythology that to separate the two is impossible. 
 
 This exceedingly limited discussion upon the regal period in 
 the history of the city in which we have engaged, is lacking 
 the deep interest and intense pleasure with which we would 
 consider the nation's further prosperity and success. Yes, it 
 would be our delight to reflect upon the lives of its orators 
 and statesmen, to admire the glorious achievements of its gener-
 
 UCSB LIBRARY 
 
 12 
 
 ;il>, to dwell upon the philosophy of that religion which \\as 
 the guide of tlio aged Cato, and to discuss the gods of the 
 Pantheon whose praise is the song of the Kpie poet. 
 
 Perhaps it may \K' curiosity alone which makes the dark 
 ages that history fails to record seem so attractive to their stu- 
 dent, the same fascination perchance which induces us to gaxe 
 with wonder and delight upon the hieroglyphics of Egypt and 
 seek with eager minds the story that they tell. 
 
 But a far higher motive than one of careless curiosity or of 
 even mere intellectual culture, however noble may he its aim, 
 will I, in closing, place before you for your reflection. It is that 
 in comparing the present and the past we shall appreciate with 
 a greater sense of gratitude the inestimable blessings of our 
 own age. Think how no tradition with a feeble and pal- 
 sied hand shall picture to coming generations their nation's 
 history, but with glowing and impassioned souls they will read 
 in implicit faith the story of Concord and Bunker Hill, and 
 with deepening interest view their country's progress and ad- 
 vancement. 
 
 Let us then be filled witli praise and gratefulness to Divine 
 Providence that it is ours to reap the high attainments of learn- 
 ing and science, to appreciate the benefits of an advanced age. 
 to profit by the privileges of a free constitution, and to enjoy 
 the ineffable blessings of Christian religion. Finally then let us 
 with hearts filled with patriotic devotion commend our own 
 land, our common country, to the fostering care of a Divine 
 Benignity.