No. 7<77. 
 
 00*1 
 
 ANCIENT 
 
 BY 
 
 LORD MACAULAY. 
 
 
 ' ' 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 EFFINGHAM MAYNABD & Co.. 
 
 SUCCESSORS TO 
 
 CLABK & MAYMARD, Publishers, 
 
 771 BROADWAY AND 67 & 69 NINTH Sr. 
 
 1891. 
 
 L_ 
 
 a 
 
AText-Book on English Literature, 
 
 With copious extracts from the leading authors, English and Ameri- 
 can. With full Instructions as to the Method in which these are 
 to be studied. Adapted for use in Colleges, High Schools, 
 Academies, etc. By BRAINEKD KELLOGG, A.M., Professor of 
 the English Language and Literature in the Brooklyn Collegiate 
 and Polytechnic Institute, Author of a " Text-Book on Rhet- 
 oric/' and one of the Authors of Reed & Kellogg's "Graded 
 Lessons in English," and "Higher Lessons ia English." 
 Handsomely printed. 12mo, 478 pp. 
 
 The Book is divided into the following Periods : 
 
 Period I. Before the Norman Conquest, 670-1066. Period II. 
 Prom the Conquest to Chaucer's death, 1066-1400. Period III. 
 From Chaucer's death to Elizabeth, 1400-1558. Period IV. Eliza- 
 beth's reign, 1558-1603. Period V. From Elizabeth's death to the 
 Restoration, 1603-3 660. Period VI. From the Restoration to Swift's 
 death, 1660-1745. Period VII. -From Swift's death t> the French 
 Revolution, 1745-1789. Period VIIL From the French Revolution, 
 1789, onwards. 
 
 Bach Period is preceded by a Lesson containing a brief resumfi of the 
 great historical events that have had somewhat to do in shaping or in color- 
 ing the li terature of that period. 
 
 The author aims in this book to furnish the pupil that which he cannot 
 help himself to. It groups the authors so that their places in the line and 
 their relations to each other can be seen by the pupil; it throws light upon 
 the authors' times and surrounding's, and notes the great influences at work, 
 helping to make their writings what they are : it points out such of these 
 as should be studied. 
 
 Extracts, as many and as ample as th* limits of a text-book would 
 allow, have been made from the principal writers of each Period. Such are 
 eelected as contain the characteristic traits of their authors, both in 
 thought and expression, and but few of these extracts have ever seen the 
 light in books of selections none of them have been worn threadbare by 
 use, or have lost their freshness by the pupil's f amiliarity with them in the 
 school readers. 
 
 It teaches the pupil how the selections are to be studied, soliciting and 
 exacting his judgment at every step of the way which leads from the 
 author's diction up through his style and thought to the author himself, 
 and in many other ways it places the pupil on the best possible footing with 
 the authors whose acquaintance it is his business, as well as his pleasure, to 
 make. 
 
 Short estimates of the leading authors, made by the best English and 
 American critics, have been inserted, most of them contemporary with us. 
 
 The author has endeavored to make a practical, common-sense text- 
 book: one that would so educate the student that he would know and 
 enjoy good literature. 
 
 " I find the book in its treatment of English literature superior to any other I 
 have examined. Its maiu feature, which should be the leading one of all similar 
 books, is that it is a means to an end, simply a guide-book to the study of Enyheh 
 literature. Too many students in the past have studied, not the literature of the 
 English language, but some author's opinion of that literature. I know from ex- 
 perience that your method of treatment will prove an eminently successful one." 
 James 3. Stodte, Prin, of the West High School, Cleveland, 0. 
 
 - EFFINGHAM MAYNAED & Co., Publishers. ', 
 
A TEXT-BOOK ON RHETORIC; 
 
 SUPPLKMKLN Tl N Q TITS DK V ELOPMETTT OF THE SCIENCE WITH 
 
 EXHAUSTIVE PRACTICE IN COMPOSITION. 
 
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 Academies, and in the Lower Classes of Colleges, 
 
 BT 
 
 BRAINERD KELLOGG, A.M., 
 
 Professor of the English Language and Literature in the BrooJdyn 
 
 CoUegiate and Polytechnic .Institute, and one of the authors of 
 
 Meed & Eettogg's " Graded Lessons in EngUsh" 
 
 and "Higher Lessons in English." 
 
 In preparing this work upon Rhetoric, the author's aim has been to 
 write a practical text-book for High Schools, Academies, and the lower 
 classes of Colleges, based upon the science rather than an exhaustive 
 treatise upon the science itself. 
 
 This work has grown up out of the belief that the rhetoric which 
 th pupil needs is not that which lodges finally in the memory, but that 
 wh;ch has worked its way down into his tongue and fingers, enabling 
 him to speak and write the better for having studied it. The author 
 believes that the aim of the study should be to put the pupil in posses- 
 sion of an art, and that this can be done not by forcing the science into 
 him through eye and ear, but by drawing it out of him, in products, 
 through tongue and pen. Hence all explanations of principles are fol- 
 lowed by eiJiaustive practice in Composition to this everything is made 
 tributary. 
 
 ' KEUOOQG'S RHETORIC Is evidently the 
 fruit of scholarship and large experience. 
 The author has collected his own niate- 
 riale, and dippoeed of them with the skill 
 of a master ; his statements are precise, 
 lucid, and sufficiently copious. Nothing 
 ie sacrificed to show ; the book is intended 
 for use. and the abundance of examples 
 will constitute one of its chief merits in 
 the eye s of the thorough teacher." Prof. 
 A. 8. Cook, John* Hoipkina University, 
 Balttmer*, Md. 
 
 "This Is jnst the work to take the 
 place 9f the much-stilted 'Sentential 
 Analysis * that is being waded through to 
 little purpose by the Grammar and High 
 School pupils of our country. This work 
 not only teaches the discipline of analyz- 
 ing thought, but leads the student to 
 feel that it is his thought that is being 
 dealt with, dissected, and unfolded, to 
 efficient expression." Prof. O. S. Albee, 
 Prest. of State formal School, QtMcoeh, 
 Wie. 
 
 270 pages, 12mo, attractively bound in cloth. 
 
 EFFINGHAM MAYNAED & Co., Publishers. 
 
GIFT OF 
 Felix Fllteel 
 
 
 
ENGLISH CLASSIC SKLILEB^NO. 76-7"'. 
 
 LAYS OF 
 
 HOME, 
 
 HORATIUS. VIRGINIA. 
 
 BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 
 
 LORD MACAULAY. 
 
 Neto HMttoit, tottfj ISvplauatori? Notes, 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 EFFINGHAM MAYNARD & Co., PUBLISHERS, 
 
 771 BROADWAY AND 67 & 69 NINTH STREET. 
 1890. 
 
Mill 
 
 A COMPLETE COURSE IN THE STUDY OF ENGLISH, 
 
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 REED'S INTRODUCTORY LANGUAGE WORK. 
 
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 KELLOGG'S TEXT-BOOK ON RHETORIC. 
 
 KELLOGG'S TEXT-BOOK ON ENGLISH LITERATURE. 
 
 In the preparation of this series the authors have had one object 
 clearly in view to so develop the study of the English language as 
 to present a complete, progressive course, from the Spelling- Book to 
 the study of English Literature. The troublesome contradictions 
 which arise in using books arranged by different authors on these 
 subjects, and which require much time for explanation in the school- 
 room, will be avoided by the use of the above "Complete Course," 
 
 Teachers are earnestly invited to examine these books. 
 
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LIFE OF MACAULAT. 
 
 THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY, the great historian of England, was 
 born at Rothley, near Leicester, in 1800, and was named Thomas Bab- 
 ington after his uncle. Macaulay's grandfather was a Scotch minister, 
 and his father, Zaehary, after having spent some time in Jamiii<-a, 
 returned to England, and joined Wilberforce and Clarkson in their 
 efforts to abolish slavery in the British possessions. Macaulay was 
 educated at Bristol and at Cambridge, where hegained great distinction, 
 and twice won medals for his poems. He was also a member of the 
 Union Debating Society, a famous club where young politicians tried 
 their skill in the discussion of the affairs of State. He took his degree 
 of M.A. in 1835, was called to the bar in 1826, and contributed exten- 
 sively to Knight's Quarterly Magazine, in which his first literary efforts 
 appeared, including among others the ballads of "The Spanish Ar- 
 mada " and " The Battle of Ivry." In 1825 he contributed to the Edin- 
 burgh Review his celebrated article on Milton, and this was succeeded 
 by numerous others on various themes, historical, political, and literary, 
 which were afterward collected and published separately. 
 
 Macaulay was a member of Parliament first for Colne, then for Leeds, 
 
 and took part in the great discussions connected svith the Reform Bill 
 
 of 1832. In return for his services to his party, he was sent to India in 
 
 1834 as a member of the Council, and while there wrote his famous 
 
 essays on Lord Clive and Warren Hastings. In 1839 Macaulay returned 
 
 to England, was elected member for Edinburgh, and, during the eight 
 
 years of his connection with that city, held successively the offices of 
 
 Secretary at War and Paymaster-General of the Forces. In 1842 he gave 
 
 ^ to the world his spirited ' ' Lays of Ancient Rome. ' ' In 1847 he displeased 
 
 1 his Edinburgh supporters, and in a.pet they rejected him ; but in 1852 
 
 V they re-elected him of their own accord, and in this way endeavored to 
 
 ^ atone for the past. He devoted the interval between these two dates to 
 
 " his History of England, the first two volumes of which were published 
 
 in 1848, two others making their appearance in 1855. They form a mag- 
 
 ^ uificent fragment of historical writing, embracing a period of little more 
 
 S than twelve years, from the accession of James II. to the Peace of Rys- 
 
 ^ wick, in 1697. A fifth volume, compiled from the papers which he left 
 
 3 
 
 M30351S 
 
iLLFE OF MACAULAY. 
 
 behind, and bringing the work down to the death of William III., 
 ya^;t>ut)lreh^4 posthumously id -1859. He retired from Parliament iii 
 3S96,;o\*ing.,t6 failing hca&ti', an in the following year he was created 
 a baron in consideration of his great literary merit. In 1859 he died 
 suddenly of disease of the heart, and was buried in Westminster 
 Abbey. 
 
 Lord Macaulay excelled as a poet and essayist, but he is chiefly illus- 
 trious as a historian. In the opening chapter of his History of England 
 the author announces his intention to write a history from the accession 
 of James IL down to a time within the memory of men still living. Its 
 success was very great. History was no longer dry and uninviting, for 
 Macaulay had become a painter as well as a chronicler. The events of 
 the past are depicted in such fresh and striking coloring that they have 
 all the interest of absolute novelty. We have life-like portraits of the 
 great men of the age, landscapes and street scenes, spirit- stirring de- 
 scriptions of insurrections and trials and sieges, and graphic pictures 
 of manners and customs. Macaulay had a very wonderful memory, of 
 which he was proud, and he was able to collect and retain stores of in- 
 formation from all manner of old books, papers, and parchments, and 
 to make use of them in the production of his history. He is not always 
 impartial, but sufficiently so to be considered the best authority on that 
 portion of history with which he deals. 
 
 Macaulay's personal appearance was never better described than in 
 two sentences of Praed's Introduction to Knight's Quarterly Magazine: 
 " There comes up a short manly figure, marvelously upright, wilh a bad 
 neckcloth, and one hand in his waistcoat pocket. Of regular beauty 
 he had little to boast ; but in faces where there is an expression of great 
 power, or great good humor, or both, you do not regret its absence." 
 This picture, in which every touch is correct, tells us all that there is 
 to be told. He had a massive head, and features of a powerful and 
 rugged cast ; but so constantly lighted up by every joyful and ennobling 
 emotion, that it mattered little if, when absolutely quiescent, his face 
 was rather homely than handsome. While conversing at table, no one 
 thought him otherwise than good-looking ; but when he rose he wns 
 seen to be short and stout in figure. He at all times sat and stood 
 straight, full, and square. He dressed badly, but not cheaply. His 
 clothes, though ill put on, were good, and his wardrobe was always 
 enormously over-stocked. Macaulay was bored in the best of society, 
 but took unceasing delight in children. He was the best of play- 
 fellows unrivaled in the invention of games, and never weary of repeat- 
 ing them, 
 
PKEFACE. 
 
 THAT what is called the history of the Kings and early Con- 
 suls of Itoiiu' is to a great extent fabulous, few scholars have, 
 sinee the time of Beaufort, ventured to deny. It is certain that, 
 more than three hundred and sixty years after the date ordinarily 
 assigned for the foundation of the city, the public records were, 
 with scarcely an exception, destroyed by the Gauls. It is cer- 
 tain that the oldest annals of the commonwealth were compiled 
 more than a century and a half after this destruction of the rec- 
 ords. It is certain, therefore, that the great Latin writers of the 
 Augustan age did not possess those materials, without which a 
 trustworthy account of the infancy of the republic could not 
 possibly be framed. Those writers own, indeed, that the chron- 
 icles to which they had access were tilled w T ith battles that were 
 never fought, and Consuls that were never inaugurated ; and we 
 have abundant proof that, in tnese chronicles, events of the 
 greatest importance, such as the issue of the war with Porsena, 
 and the issue of the war with Brennus, were grossly misrepre- 
 sented. Under these circumstances a wise man will look with 
 great suspicion on the legend which has come down to us. He 
 will perhaps be inclined to regard the princes who are said to 
 have founded the civil and religious institutions of Rome, the 
 son of Mars, and the husband of Egeria, as mere mythological 
 personages, of the same class with Perseus and Ixion. As he 
 draws nearer and nearer to the confines of authentic history, he 
 will become less and less hard of belief. He will admit that the 
 most important parts of the narrative have some foundation in 
 truth. But he will distrust almost all the details, not only be- 
 cause they seldom rest on any solid evidence, but also because 
 he will constantly detect in them, even when they are within the 
 limits of physical possibility, that peculiar character more easily 
 understood than defined, which distinguishes the creations of the 
 imagination from the realities of the world in which we live. 
 
 The early history of Rome is indeed far more poetical than 
 
 3 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 anything else in Latin literature. The loves of the Vestal and 
 the God of War, the cradle laid among the reeds of Tiber, the 
 fig-tree, the she-wolf, the shepherd's cabin, the recognition, the 
 fratricide, the rape of the Sabiues, the death of Tarpeia, the fall 
 of Hostus Hostilius, the struggle of Mettus Curtius through the 
 marsh, the women rushing with torn raiment and disheveled 
 hair between their fathers and their husbands, the nightly meet- 
 ings of Numa and the Nymph by the well in the sacred grove, 
 the fight of the three Romans and the three Albans. the purchase 
 of the Sibyline books, the crime of Tullia, the simulated mad- 
 ness of Brutus, the ambiguous reply of the Delphian oracle to 
 the Tarquins, the wrongs of Lucretia, the heroic actions of Ho- 
 ratius Codes, of Scsevola, and of Cloelia, the battle of Regillus 
 won by the aid of Castor and Pollux, the defense of Cremera, 
 the touching story of Coriolanus, the still more touching story of 
 Virginia, the wild legend about the draining of the Alban lake, 
 the combat between Valerius Corvus and the gigantic Gaul, are 
 among the many instances which will at once suggest themselves 
 to every reader. 
 
 In the narrative [of Livy, who was a man of fine imagination, 
 these stories retain much of their genuine character. Nor could 
 even the tasteless Dionysius distort and mutilate them into mere 
 prose. The poetry shines, in spite of him, through the dreary 
 pedantry of his eleven books. It is discernible in the most te- 
 dious and in the most superficial modern works on the early 
 times of Rome. It enlivens the dullness of the Universal His- 
 tory, and gives a charm to the most meager abridgments of 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 Even in the age of Plutarch there were discerning men who 
 rejected the popular account of the foundation of Rome, because 
 that account appeared to them to have the air, not of a history, 
 but of a romance or a drama. Plutarch, who was displeased at 
 their incredulity, had nothing better to say in reply to their ar- 
 guments than that chance sometimes turns poet, and produces 
 trains of events not to be distinguished from the most elaborate 
 plots which are constructed by art. But though the existence of 
 a poetical element in the early history of the Great City was de- 
 tected so many years ago, the first critic who distinctly saw from 
 what source that poetical element had been derived was James 
 Perizonius, one of the most acute and learned antiquaries of the 
 
PREFACE. 5 
 
 seventeenth century. His theory, which, in his own days, at- 
 tracted little or no notice, was revived in the present gnu-ration 
 by Niebuhr, a man who would have heen the first writer of his 
 time, if his talent for communicating truths had borne any pro- 
 portion to his talent for investigating them. That theory has 
 been adopted by several eminent scholars of our own country, 
 particularly by the Bishop of St. David's, by Professor Maiden, 
 and by the lamented Arnold. It appears to be now generally 
 received by men conversant with classical antiquity ; and indeed 
 it rests on such strong proofs, both internal and external, that it 
 will not be easily subverted. A popular exposition of this the- 
 ory, and of the evidence by which it is supported, may not be 
 without interest even for readers who are unacquainted with the 
 ancient languages. 
 
 The Latin literature which has come down to us is of later date 
 than the commencement of the Second Punic War, and consists 
 almost exclusively of works fashioned on Greek models. The 
 Latin meters, heroic, elegiac, lyric, and dramatic, are of Greek 
 origin. The best Latin epic poetry is the feeble echo of the Iliad 
 and Odyssey. The best Latin eclogues are imitations of Theoc- 
 ritus. The plan of the most finished didactic poem in the Latin 
 tongue was taken from Hesiod. The Latin tragedies are bad 
 copies of the masterpieces of Sophocles and Euripides. The 
 Latin comedies are free translations from Demophilus, Menander, 
 and Appollodorus. The Latin philosophy was borrowed, with- 
 out alteration, from the Portico and the Academy ; and the great 
 Latin orators constantly proposed to themselves as patterns the 
 speeches of Demosthenes and Lysias. 
 
 But there was an earlier Latin literature, a literature truly Latin, 
 which has wholly perished, which had, indeed, almost wholly per- 
 ished long before those whom we are in the habit of regarding as 
 the greatest Latin writers were born. That literature abounded 
 with metrical romances, such as are found in every country where 
 there is much curiosity and intelligence, but little reading and 
 writing. All human beings, not utterly savage, long for some 
 information about past times, and are delighted by narratives 
 which present pictures to the eye of the mind. But it is only in 
 very enlightened communities that books are readily accessible. 
 Metrical composition, therefore, which, in a highly civilized na- 
 tion, is a mere luxury, is, in nations imperfectly civilized, almost 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 a necessary of life, and is valued less on account of the pleasure 
 which it gives to the ear than on account of the help which it 
 gives to the memory. A man who can invent or embellish an 
 interesting story, and put it into a form which others may easily 
 retain in their recollection, will always be highy esteemed by a 
 people eager for amusement and information, but destitute of 
 libraries. Such is the origin of ballad-poetry, a species of com- 
 position which scarcely ever fails to spring up and flourish in 
 every society, at a certain point in the progress towards refine- 
 ment. Tacitus informs us that songs were the only memorials 
 of the past which the ancient Germans possessed. We learn 
 from Lucan and from Ammianus Marcellmus that the brave 
 actions of the ancient Gauls were commemorated in the verses of 
 Bards. During many ages, and through many revolutions, min- 
 strelsy retained its influence over both the Teutonic and the Cel- 
 tic races. The vengeance exacted by the spouse of Attila for the 
 murder of Siegfried was celebrated in rhymes, of which Germany 
 is still justly proud. The exploits of Athelstane were commemo- 
 rated by the Anglo-Saxons, and those of Canute by the Danes, in 
 rude poems, of which a few fragments have come down to us. 
 The chants of the Welsh harpers preserved, through ages of dark- 
 ness, a faint and doubtful memory of Arthur. In the Highlands of 
 Scotland may still be gleaned some relics of the old songs about 
 Cuthullin and Fingal. The long struggle of the Servians against 
 the Ottoman power was recorded in lays full of martial spirit. 
 We learn from Herrera that, when a Peruvian Inca died, men 
 of skill were appointed to celebrate him in verses, which all the 
 people learned by heart, and sang in public on daj T s of festival. 
 The feats of Kurroglou, the great freebooter of Turkistan, re- 
 counted in ballads composed by himself, are known in every 
 village of Northern Persia. Captain Beechey heard the Bards 
 of the Sandwich Islands recite the heroic achievements of Tarn- 
 ehameha, the most illustrious of their kings. Mungo Park found 
 in the heart of Africa a class of singing-men, the only annalists 
 of their rude tribes, and heard them tell the story of the victory 
 which Darnel, the negro prince of the Jaloffs, won over Abdul- 
 kader, the Mussulman tyrant of Foota Torra. This species of 
 poetry attained a high degree of excellence among the Castilians, 
 before they began to copy Tuscan patterns. It attained a still 
 higher degree of excellence among the English and the Lowland 
 
PTU. r \ < i . 7 
 
 Scotch, during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. 
 Hut it reached its full perfection in ancient (Jreece ; for there 
 can be no doubt that the great Homeric pnmis are generirally 
 ballads, though widely distinguished from all other ballads, and 
 indeed from almost all other human compositions, by transcend- 
 ent sublimity and beauty. 
 
 As it is agreeable to general experience that, at a certain stage 
 in the progress of society, ballad-poetry should flourish, so it is 
 al<o agreeable to general experience that, at a subsequent stage 
 in the progress of society, ballad-poetry should be undervalued 
 and neglected. Knowledge advances : manners change : great 
 foreign models of composition are studied and imitated. The 
 phraseology of the old minstrels becomes obsolete. Their versi- 
 tication, which, having received its laws only from the ear, 
 abounds in irregularities, seems licentious and uncouth. Their 
 simplicity appears beggarly when compared with the quaint 
 forms and gaudy coloring of such artists as Cowley and Gongora. 
 The ancient lays, unjustly despised by the learned and polite, 
 linger for a time in the memory of the vulgar, and are at length 
 too often irretrievably lost. We cannot wonder that the ballads 
 of Rome should have altogether disappeared, when we remember 
 how very narrowly, in spite of the invention of printing, those of 
 our own country and those of Spain escaped the same fate. 
 There is indeed little doubt that oblivion covers many English 
 songs equal to any that were published by Bishop Percy, and 
 many Spanish songs as good as the best of those which have been 
 so happily translated by Mr. Lockhart. Eighty years ago Eng- 
 land possessed only one tattered copy of Childe Waters and Sir 
 Cauline, and Spain only one tattered copy of the noble poem of 
 the Cid. The snuff of a candle, or a mischievous dog, might in 
 a moment have deprived the world forever of any of those fine 
 compositions. Sir Walter Scott, who united to the fire of a great 
 poet the minute curiosity and patient diligence of a great anti- 
 quary, was but just in time to save the precious relics of the Min- 
 strelsy of the Border. In Germany, the lay of the Nibeluugs 
 had been long utterly forgotten, when, in the eighteenth century, 
 it was, for the first time, printed from a manuscript in the old 
 library of a noble family. In truth, the only people who, through 
 their whole passage from simplicity to the highest civilization, 
 
8 PREFACE. 
 
 never for a moment ceased to love and admire their old ballads, 
 were the Greeks. 
 
 That the early Romans should have had ballad-poetry, and 
 that this poetry should have perished, is therefore not strange. 
 It would, on the contrary, have been strange if these things had 
 not come to pass ; and we should be justified in pronouncing 
 them highly probable, even if we had no direct evidence on the 
 subject. But we have direct evidence of unquestionable author- 
 ity. 
 
 Ennius, who flourished in the time of the Second Punic War, 
 was regarded in the Augustan age us the father of Latin poetry. . 
 He was, in truth, the father of the second school of Latin poetry, 
 the only school of which the works have descended to us. But 
 from Enuius himself we learn that there were poets who stood to 
 him in the same relation in which the author of the romance of 
 Count Alarcos stood to Garcilaso, or the author of the " Lytell 
 Geste of Robyn Hode " to Lord Surrey. Enuius speaks of verses 
 which the Fauns and the Bards were wont to chant in the old 
 time, when none had yet studied the graces of speech, when none 
 had yet climbed the peaks sacred to the Goddesses of Grecian 
 song. " Where," Cicero mournfully asks, " are those old verses 
 now ?" 
 
 Contemporary with Ennius was Quintus Fabius Pictor, the 
 earliest of the Roman annalists. His account of the infancy and 
 youth of Romulus and Remus has been preserved by Dionysius, 
 and contains a very remarkable reference to the ancient Latin 
 poetry. Fabius says that, in his time, his countrymen were still 
 in the habit of singing ballads about the Twins. "Even in the 
 hut of Faustulus," so these old lays appear to have run, " the 
 children of Rhea and Mars were, in port and in spirit, not like 
 unto swineherds or cowherds, but such that men might well 
 guess them to be of the blood of Kings and Gods. 
 
 Cato the Censor, who also lived in the days of the Second Pu- 
 nic War, mentioned this lost literature in his lost work on the an- 
 tiquities 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 Maxiinus gives us exactly similar information, without 
 
PREFACE. 9 
 
 mentioning his authority, and ohscrvcs that the ancient Roman 
 ballads were probably of more benefit to the young than all the 
 lectures of the Athenian sehoois, and that to the inlluenee of the 
 national poetry were to he 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, some- 
 times with and sometimes without instrumental music, ancient 
 ballads in praise of men of former times. These young perform- 
 ers, he observes, were of unblemished character, a circumstance 
 which he probably mentioned because, among the Greeks, and 
 indeed in his time among the Romans also, the morals of sing- 
 ing-boys were in no high repute. 
 
 The testimony of Horace, though given incidentally, confirms 
 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 an- 
 cient legends touching the origin of the city. 
 
 The proposition, then, that Rome had ballad-poetry is not 
 merely in itself highly probable, but is fully proved by direct 
 evidence of the greatest weight. 
 
 This proposition being established, it becomes easy to under- 
 stand why the early history of the city is unlike almost every- 
 thing else in Latin literature, native where almost everything else' 
 is borrowed, imaginative where almost everything else is pro- 
 saic. We can scarcely hesitate to pronounce that the magnificent, 
 pathetic, and truly national legends, which present so striking a 
 contrast to all that surrounds them, are broken and defaced frag- 
 ments of that early poetry which, even in the age of Cato the 
 Censor, had become antiquated, and of which Tully had never 
 heard a line. 
 
 That this poetry should have been suffered to perish will not 
 appear strange when we consider how complete was the triumph 
 of the Greek genius over the public mind of Itoly. 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 began to put off its old 
 Ausonian character. The transformation was soon consummated. 
 
10 PREFACE. 
 
 The conquered, says Horace, led captive the conquerors. It was 
 precisely at the time at which the Roman people rose to unri- 
 valed political ascendency that they stooped to pass under the 
 intellectual yoke. It was precisely at the time at which the scep- 
 ter 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. Nrcvius celebrated the First Punic War in Sa- 
 turnian verse, the old national verse of Italy. Ennius sang the 
 Second Punic War in numbers borrowed from the Iliad. The 
 elder poet, in the epitaph which he wrote for himself, and which 
 is a fine specimen of the early Roman diction and versification, 
 plaintively boasted that the Latin language had died with him. 
 Thus what to Horace appeared to be the first faint dawn of Ro- 
 man literature, appeared to Naevius to be its hopeless setting. 
 In truth, one literature was setting, and another dawning. 
 
 The victory of the foreign taste was decisive : and indeed we 
 can hardly blame the Romans for turning away with contempt 
 from the rude lays which had delighted their fathers, and giving 
 their whole admiration to the immortal productions of Greece. 
 The national romances, neglected by the great and the refined 
 whose education had been finished at Rhodes or Athens, contin- 
 ued, 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 Saturniau ballads. It is not improbable that, at the 
 time when Cicero lamented the irreparable loss of the poems 
 mentioned by Cato, a search among the nooks of the Apennines, 
 as active as the search which Sir Walter Scott made among the 
 descendants of the mosstroopers of Liddesdale, might have 
 brought to light many fine remains of ancient minstrelsy. No 
 such search was made. The Latin ballads perished forever. 
 Yet discerning critics have thought that they could still perceive 
 in the early history of Rome numerous fragments of this lost 
 poetry, as the traveler on classic ground sometimes finds, built 
 into the heavy wall of a fort or convent, a pillar rich with acan- 
 thus-leaves, or a frieze where the Amazons and Bacchanals seem 
 to live. The theaters and temples of the Greek and the Roman 
 were degraded into the quarries of the Turk and the Goth. 
 
PKKFACK. 11 
 
 Even so did the ancient Saiui -nian poetry Dccomc the quarry in 
 which u crowd of orators ami annalists fouiul 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 ex- 
 tant. From a very early period it was the usage that an oration 
 should be pronounced over the remains of a noble Roman. The 
 orator, as we learn from .Poly bins, was expected, on such am oc- 
 casion, to recapitulate all the services which the ancestors of the 
 deceased had, from the earliest time, rendered to the common-' 
 wealth. There can be little doubt that the speaker on whom 
 this duty was imposed would make use of all the stories suited 
 to his purpose which were to be found in the popular lays. 
 There can be as little doubt that the family of an eminent man 
 would preserve a copy of the speech which had been pronounced 
 over his corpse. The compilers of the early chronicles would 
 have recourse to these speeches; and the great historians of a later 
 period would have recourse to the chronicles. 
 
 It may be worth while to select a particular story, and to trace 
 its probable progress through these stages. The description of 
 the migration of the Fabian house to Cremera is one of the finest 
 of the many fine passages which lie thick in the earlier books of 
 Livy. The Consul, clad in his military garb, stands in the vesti- 
 bule of his house, marshaling 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 shout? of admiring thousands. As the procession passes the 
 Capitol, prayers and vows are poured forth, but in vain. The 
 devoted baud, 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 c race was destined again 
 to spring for the safety and glory of the commonwealth. That 
 this fine romance, the details of which are so full of poetical 
 truth, and so utterly destitute of all show 7 of historical truth, came 
 originally from some lay which had often been sung with great 
 
12 PREFACE. 
 
 applause at banquets, is in the 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 Enuius 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 Fabian house, nothing 
 could be more natural than that the panegyrist 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 certainly be preserved in the archives of the Fabian 
 nobles. Fabius Pictor would be well acquainted with a docu- 
 ment 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 pen- 
 cil, and would make them immortal. 
 
 That this might happen at Rome can scarcely be doubted; for 
 something very like this has happened in several countries, and, 
 among others, in our own. Perhaps the theory of Perizonius 
 cannot be better illustrated than by showing that what he sup- 
 poses 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, and which, indeed, 
 greatly resemble, in their general character, some of the legends 
 of early Rome. He cites, as his authority for these two tales, the 
 chronicle of William of Malmesbury, who lived in the time of 
 King Stephen. The great majority of readers suppose that the 
 device by which Elfrida was substituted for her young mistress, 
 
PRKFACE. 13 
 
 the artifice by which Athelwold obtained the hand of Ell'rida, the 
 dcti-ction of thai artifice, tin- hunting party, and the vengeance 
 of the amorous king, are things alum! which there is no more 
 doubt than about the execution of Anne Boleyn, or I he slitting of 
 Sir John Coventry's nose. But when we turn to William of 
 Malmeshmy, we lind that Hume, in his eagerness to relate these 
 pleasant fables, has overlooked one very important circumstance. 
 William does indeed tell both the stories; but he gives us dis- 
 tinct notice that he does not warrant 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 chronicle. The 
 ballads perished; the chronicle remained. A great historian, 
 some centuries after the ballads had been altogether forgotten, 
 consulted the chronicle, lie was struck by the lively coloring of 
 these ancient fictions: he transferred them to his pages; and thus 
 we lind inserted, as unquestionable facts, in a narrative which is 
 likely to last as long as the English tongue, the inventions of 
 some minstrel whose works we're 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 
 rather highly probable, that the stories of Romulus and Remus, 
 and of the lloratii and Curiatii, may have had a similar origin. 
 
 Castiliau 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 Alouso 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 journey 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 travelers in disguise. The ladies were brought back safe to 
 
14 PREFACE. 
 
 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 examination 
 of cases and circumstances, that this story is untrue. Such con- 
 futation was surely not needed ; for the narrative is on the face 
 of it a romance. How it found its way into Mariana's history is 
 quite clear. He acknowledges his obligations to the ancient 
 chronicles ; and had doubtless before him the " Cronica del fa- 
 moso Cavallero Cid Ruy Diez Campeador," which|had been printed 
 as early as the year 1552. He little suspected that all the most 
 striking passages in this chronicle were copied from a poem of 
 the twelfth century, a poem of which the language and versifica- 
 tion had long been obsolete, but which glowed with no common 
 portion of the fire of the Iliad. Yet such was the fact. More 
 than a century and a half after the death of Mariana, this ven- 
 erable 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 circum- 
 stance of the story of the heirs of Carrion was derived by the elo- 
 quent 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 his- 
 tory. 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 per- 
 son, 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 
 nowise above the passions and prejudices of their age and na- 
 tion. To these imaginary poets must be ascribed some blunders 
 which are so obvious that it is unnecessary to point them out. 
 
PREFACE. 15 
 
 The real blunder would have been to represent these old poets as 
 deeply versed in general history, and studious of chronological 
 accuracy- To them inusi also be attributed the illiberal sneers 
 at the Greeks, the furious party -spirit, the contempt for the arts 
 of peace, the love of war for its own sake, the ungenerous exul- 
 tation over the vanquished, which the reader will sometimes ob- 
 serve. To portray a Roman of the age of Camillus or Curius as 
 superior to national antipathies, as mourning over the devastation 
 and slaughter by which empire ami triumphs were to be won, as 
 looking on human suJTering with the sympathy of Howard, 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, temperance, veracity, spirit to re- 
 sist oppression, respect for legitimate authority, fidelity in the 
 observing qf contracts, disinterestedness, ardent patriotism, but 
 Christian charity and chivalrous generosity were alike unknown 
 to them. 
 
 It would have been obviously improper to mimic the manner 
 of any particular age or country. Something has been borrowed, 
 however, from our own old ballads, and more from Sir Walter 
 Scott, the great restorer of our ballad poetry. To the Iliad still 
 greater obligations are due ; and those obligations have been 
 contracted with the less hesitation, because there is reason to be- 
 lieve that some of the old Latin minstrels really had recourse to 
 that inexhaustible store of poetical images. 
 
 It would have been easy to swell this little volume to a very 
 considerable bulk, by appending notes filled with quotations ; 
 but to a learned reader such notes are not necessary ; for an un- 
 learned reader they would have little interest ; and the judg- 
 ment passed both by the learned and the unlearned 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. 
 
 It may be desirable to state that the Preface and the Intro- 
 ductions to the Lays are of the author's own, writing. 
 
HORATIUS. 
 
 THERE can be little doubt that among those parts of early 
 Roman history which had a poetical origin was the legend of 
 Horatius Codes. We have several versions of the story, and 
 these versions differ from each other in points of no small im- 
 portance. Polybius, there is reason to believe, heard the tale 
 recited over the remains of some Consul or Praetor descended 
 from the old Horatian patricians ; for he introduces it as a 
 specimen of the narratives with which the Romans were in the 
 habit of embellishing their funeral oratory. It is remarkable 
 that, according to him, Horatius defended the bridge alone, 10 
 and perished in the waters. According to the chronicles which 
 Livy and Dionysius followed, Horatius had two companions, 
 swam safe to shore, and was loaded with honors and rewards. 
 
 These discrepancies are easily explained. Our own litera- 
 ture, 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 Relics of 
 
 3. Horatius Codes. Literally Horatius the One-eyed. 
 
 5. Polybius. A celebrated Arcadian historian (B.C. 204-122). 
 
 6. Consul or Praetor. The Cousuls, of whoin.there were two at a time, 
 were the highest republican magistrates at Rome. The office was established 
 immediately after the abolition of royalty, 509 .B.C. The Prsetor originally 
 (B.C. 366) was equivalent to a Third Consul. He sometimes commanded the 
 armies: and when the Consuls were absent with the armies, he exercised their 
 powers within the city. 
 
 7. Patricians. The ruling class in Roman society, in contradistinction 
 to the "plebeians,"' or common people. They exercised exclusive political 
 power and enjoyed all the honors. 
 
 12. Livy. A Roman historian (B.C. 59-A.o 17). His literary talents secured 
 the patronage and friendship of the Emperor Augustus. 
 
 Dionysius. A celebrated rhetorician and. historian, who about B.C. 29 
 went from Halicarnassus to Rome where he lived until his death, B.C. 7. 
 
 17 
 
18 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Ancient English Poetry. In both those ballads the English, 
 20 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 spear- 
 man : in the other, the Percy slays the Douglas in single com- 
 bat, 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. 
 30 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 monnyn day. 
 Ther 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: 
 40 Ther the Dowglas lost hys lyfe, 
 
 And the Percy was lede away." 
 
 It is by no means unlikely that there were two old Koman 
 lays about the defense of the bridge ; and that, while the story 
 which Livy has transmitted to us was preferred by the multi- 
 tude, 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 taking of Rome by the Gauls. The author 
 
 5 o seems to have been an honest citizen, proud of the military 
 
 20. Percy. Harry Percy. Surnamed Hotspur on account of his fiery tem- 
 per acquired great fame on account of his exploits in a skirmish with the 
 Scots at Otterbourne (1388). It was on this battle that the ballad of kt Chevy 
 Chase" was based. The Percys aided Henry IV. in his efforts to obtain 
 possession of his kingdom, but afterward, quarreling with him, they joined 
 their forces to those of the Scots under the Earl of Douglas and to the Welsh 
 under Owen Glendower for the purpose of placing Mortimer on the throne. 
 A terrific battle was fought at Shrewsbury (1403), but the rebels|were defeated 
 and Percy slain. 
 
IIORATIUS. 19 
 
 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 sy liable of the name Porsena has been short- 
 ened in spiteof the authority of Niebuhr, who pronounces, with- 60 
 out assigning any ground for his opinion, that Martial was 
 guilty of a decided blunder in the line, 
 
 " Hanc spectare manum Porsena non potuit." 
 
 It is not easy to understand how any modern scholar, what- 
 ever his attainments may be, and those of Niebuhr. were 
 undoubtedly immense, can venture to pronounce that Martial 
 did not know the quantity of a word which he must have ut- 
 tered and heard uttered a hundred times before he left school. 
 Niebuhr seems also to have forgotten that Martial has fellow- 
 culprits to keep him in countenance. Horace has committed ^ 
 the same decided blunder ; for he gives us, as a pure iambic 
 line, 
 
 " Minacis aut Etrusca Porsenae manus." 
 
 Silius Italicus has repeatedly offended in the same way, as 
 when he says, 
 
 " Cernitureffugiensardentem 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 ingenious and probable, and has been adopted in 
 the following poem. 
 
 55. Plebeian. See note 7. 
 
 61. Martial. A poet; born in Spain A.D. 43, came to Rome about A.D 66. 
 74 Silius Italicus (A.D. 25-100). A Roman poet., and Consul in 68, the 
 year in which Nero perished. 
 
Horatius. 
 
 A LAY MADE ABOUT THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCLX. 
 
 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. 
 Shame on the false Etruscan 
 
 Who lingers in his home, 
 When Porsena of Clusium 
 
 Is on the march for Rome. 
 
 84. Liars Porsena of Clusium. Lars was an Etruscan title, an- 
 swering to our lord or chief. It is scarcely necessary to warn the reader 
 that the likeness of sound with the English lord is wholly accidental. 
 
 85. By the Nine Gods lie swore. These gods were called by the 
 Romans the Dii Novensiles, and were supposed by them to be the nine great 
 Etruscan gods, who had the privilege of hurling thunderbolts. As it lias 
 not been found possible to make a list of so many as nine thundering deities, 
 we may conclude that the Romans were led astray by the resemhlance of 
 sound with their numeral novem, nine, the \vord denoting simply the 
 " heavenly lighteners." Taylor. Etruscan Researches 
 
 86. The Great House of Tarquin. Tarquin Priscus (the Elder) and 
 Tarquin Superbus (the Proud), respectively the fifth and seventh Kings of 
 Rome. 
 
 89. And named a trysting day. Trysting day, a day of meeting 
 according to previous agreement, or trust. 
 
 99. When Porsena of Clusium. The Etruscans wrote the name 
 Porsenna; but the Latin poets sometimes abbreviated the second syllable. 
 
 20 
 
HORATIU8. 21 
 
 III. 
 
 The horsemen and the footmen 
 
 Are pouring in amain 
 From many a stately market-place ; 
 
 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 Apcnnine ; 
 
 IV. 
 
 From lordly Volaterns, 
 
 Where scowls the far-famed hold IK> 
 
 Piled by the hands of giants 
 
 For godlike kings of old ; 
 From seagirt Populouia, 
 
 Whose sentinels descry 
 Sardinia's snowy mountain-tops 
 
 Fringing the southern sky; 
 
 v. 
 From the proud mart of Piste, 
 
 Queen of the western waves, 
 Where ride Massilia's triremes 
 
 Heavy with fair-haired slaves ; J2 o 
 
 From where sweet Clanis wanders 
 
 108. A pen nine. The mountain range running north and south through 
 Italy. 
 
 109. Volaterrae. One of the twelve cities of the Etruscan Confederation, 
 and one of the five cities that, acting independently of the rest of Etruria, 
 aided the Latins against Tarquinius Priscus It was built on a lofty hill 
 eighteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, and so strongly fortified 
 that not until after a siege of two years was it captured by Sulla in his war 
 with Mar i us. 
 
 110. Where scowls the far-famed hold. The situation of the 
 Etruscan towns is one of the most striking characteristics of Tuscan scenery. 
 Many of them occupy surf aces of tableland surrounded by a series of gulliea 
 not visible from a distance. The traveler may be thus a whole day reach- 
 ing a place which in Die morning may have seemed to him but a little way 
 off. Dennis. Cities ami Cemeteries of Etruria. 
 
 113. Populoiiia. The principal sea-port of Etrnria. 
 117. Piste. An ancient and important town of Etruria. 
 
 119. MasMilia. Now Marseilles. 
 
 120. Heavy with fair-haired slaves. Massilia, the modern Mar- 
 seilles, was a Greek colony from Phocaea (Phokaia) in Asia Minor Among 
 the articles of merchandise conveyed by their ships to Italian shores would 
 be slaves obtained from the interior of Gaul. 
 
LAYS OP ANCIENT EOME. 
 
 Through corn and vines and flowers ; 
 From where Cortona lifts to heaven 
 Her diadem of towers. 
 
 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 Clitumnus 
 
 Is to the herdsman dear ; 
 Best of all pools the fowler loves 
 
 The great Volsinian mere. 
 
 VII. 
 
 But now no stroke of woodman 
 
 Is heard by Auser's rill ; 
 No hunter tracks the stag's green path 
 
 Up the Cimiuian hill ; 
 Unwatched along Clitumnus 
 
 Grazes the milk-white steer ; 
 Unharmed the water fowl may dip 
 
 In the Volsinian mere. . 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The harvests of Arretium, 
 
 This year, old men shall reap, 
 This year, young boys in Umbro 
 
 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. 
 
 123. Cortona. One of the twelve cities of Etruria. Founded by the Um- 
 brians, it was captured by the Pelasgians, and afterwards fell into the hands 
 of the Etruscans. The remains of the Pelasgic walls are some of the most 
 remarkable in all Italy. A fragment still remaining shows it to have been 
 made of blocks of enormous size. 
 
 132. The great Volsinian mere. Mere, literally, that which is 
 dead ; hence a sheet of stagnant water, as on swampy and fen lands. 
 
 141. Arretium. Noted for its wine and corn. 
 
 145. Vats of Luna. Luna was celebrated for its wines. 
 
 146. Must. Unfermented grape juice. 
 
 147. Round the white feet, etc. An allusion to the method of tread- 
 ing the grapes. 
 
HORATIUS. 
 
 There be thirty chosen prophets, 
 
 The wisest of the land, 150 
 
 Who alway by Lars Porscna 
 
 Both morii and evening stand: 
 Evening and morn the Thirty 
 
 Have turned the verses o'er, 
 Traced from the right on linen white 
 
 By mighty seers of yore. 
 
 x. 
 
 And with one voice the Thirty 
 
 Have their glad answer given : 
 "Go forth, go forth, Lars Porsena; 
 
 Go forth, beloved of Heaven ; l6o 
 
 Go, and return in glory 
 
 To Clusium's royal dome ; 
 And hang round Nurscia's altars 
 
 The golden shields of Rome." 
 
 XI. 
 
 And now hath every city f 
 
 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. I7 o 
 
 A proud man was Lars Porsena 
 
 Upon the try sting day. 
 
 149. There be thirty chosen prophets. The Etruscan religion 
 was a system of " Shamanism ;" in other words, it sought to ascertain the 
 will of the gods by the interpretation of outward signs, which might be 
 furnished by the flight of birds, the direction of lightning, the entrails of 
 victims, or in other ways. This system the Romans adopted from the 
 Etruscans. Their seers were, therefore, strictly not prophets, but sorcerers. 
 Taylor. Etruscan Researches. 
 
 loo. Traced from the ri^ht on linen white. The Etruscan writ- 
 ing was from right to left. Writings on linen were called by the Komans 
 libn linlei. 
 
 16'2. Royal Dome. The royal residence of Porsena was at Clusium. 
 
 Ittf. Hang round Nurscia's altars. Reference to the custom of de- 
 positing the arms of the vanquished in the temple. 
 
 166. Tale. Literally count ; quota. 
 
 172. Trysting dayi Appointed day. 
 
#4 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 xn. 
 
 For all the Etruscan armies 
 
 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, 
 180 Prince of the Latin name. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 But by the yellow Tiber 
 
 Was tumult and affright : 
 From all the spacious champaign 
 
 To Rome men took their night. 
 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 folks on crutches, 
 
 190 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 sun-burned 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, 
 200 And endless herds of kine, 
 
 And endless trains of wagons 
 
 179. M ainilius. It was to Octavius Mamilius that Tarquin betrothed his 
 daughter. 
 
 183. From all the spacious champaign. Champaign, plain, open 
 country, as the Campagna of Rome; from the same root with the Latin 
 camptts, a plain. 
 
HORATIU8. 26 
 
 That creaked beneath the weight 
 Of corn-sticks anil of household goods, 
 Choked every roaring gate. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Now, from the rock Tarpeian, 
 
 Could tin- wan burghers spy 
 The line of bla/ing villages 
 
 Red in the midnight sky. 
 The Fathers of the City, 
 
 They sat all night and day, 
 For every hour sonic horseman came 
 
 With tidings of dismay. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 To eastward and to westward 
 
 Have spread the Tuscan bands. 
 Nor house, nor fence, nor dovecote 
 
 In Crusluuieriuin 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. 
 
 20o. Rock Ta-peiaii. So called from Tarpeia, the daughter of the gov- 
 ernor of the Roman citadel on the Saturuian. afterwards Capitoline, Hill. 
 Tempted by the gold on the Sabine bracelets and collars, she opened the gate 
 of the fortress to T. Tatius and the Supines. As they entered, they threw 
 their shields upon her and crushed her to death. 
 
 ^'09. Th Fathers of the City. This name here denotes the Roman 
 Senate, which, according to the tradition, consisted, in the time of the kings, 
 of 300 members. 
 
 217. Verbemia down to Ostia Ostia, the port at the mouth of the 
 Tiber. 
 
 219. Astur hath stormed Jaiiiciiliiin. The Janiculan hill lies on 
 the right bank of the Tiber, precisely opposite to the Palatine hill on the left 
 bank. 
 
 2-J1. I wis, in all the Senate. T wis, adv. 'certainly.' From the 
 same root we have the old English ivitaii iu Witenagemot, " the assembly of 
 the wise." 
 
26 LAYS OF ANCIENT HOME. 
 
 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 
 o 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, 
 
 Nought else can save the town." 
 
 xx. 
 
 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 
 
 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, 
 In broken gleams of dark-blue light, 
 
 225. Forthwith up rose the Consul After the expulsion of the 
 kings, the Roman patricians intrusted their political powers to two 
 magistrates, chosen annually from the ruling class, and called Consuls or 
 Colleagues. 
 
HORATIUS. 27 
 
 The long array of hrlniris bright, 
 The long array of spears. 
 
 .\ \ 1 1 . 
 
 And plainly and more plainly, 
 
 Above that glimmering line, 
 Now might ye see the banners 
 
 Of twelve fair cities shine ; , Y _ 
 
 But the banner of proud Clusium 
 
 Was highest of them all, 
 The terror of the Umbrian, 
 
 The terror of the Gaul. 
 
 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 And plainly and more plainly 
 
 Now inightthe burghers know, 
 By port and vest, by horse and crest, 
 
 Each warlike Lucuino. 
 There Ciluius of Arretium 
 
 On his fleet roan was seen ; 
 And Astur of the four-fold shield, 
 Girt with the brand none else may wield, 
 Tolumuius witli the belt of gold, 
 Aiid dark Verbenua from the hold 
 
 By reedy Thrasymene. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Fast by the royal standard, 
 
 O'erlookiug all the war, 
 Lars Porsena of Clusium 
 
 Sat in his ivory car. 
 By the right wheel rode Mamilius, 
 
 Prince of the Latian name ; 
 
 268. Each warlike Lucumo. By this name the Latin writers 
 designated the Etruscan chiefs. Each of the twelve cities forming the 
 Etruscan confederacy had its own Lucumo. 
 
 275. By reedy Thrasymene. The shores of this lake witnessed the 
 destruction of the Roman legions under Flaminius by the Carthaginians 
 under Hannibal, iu the second Punic war. /> ) ^ 
 
28 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 And by the left false Sextus, 
 That wrought the deed of shame. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 V" 
 
 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, 
 
 282. False Sextus. See note xn, Battle of Lake Regillus. 
 
 283. That wrought the deed of shame. The tale of his wicked- 
 ness, which caused, it is said, the death of Lucretia and the downfall of the 
 kingly power in Borne, is referred to in the Lay on " The Battle of the Lake 
 Regillus." 
 
lloRATIUS. 29 
 
 And for the wife who nurses 
 
 His baby ;it her brea-l. 
 And for the holy maid. 
 
 Who feed the eternal Hume, 
 To save them from false Scxtus 
 
 That wrought the deed of shame 't 
 
 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. &o 
 
 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?" 
 
 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 : 330 
 
 "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." 
 And straight against that great array 
 
 Forth went the dauntless Three. 
 For Romans in Rome's quarrel 
 
 Spared neither land nor gold, 
 
 313. And for the holy maidens. The Vestal Virgins, who were 
 bound to a life of celibacy during the term of their service as guardians of 
 the sacred fire of Vesta on the common hearth of the city, The breach of 
 their vow was punishable by death. 
 
 326 A Ramnian proud was he. The patricians, or ruling order 
 in Rome, were divided, it is said, into three tribes, the Ramnes, Tities, and, 
 Luceres: but of the origin of these names little is known, 
 
30 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, 
 340 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 : 
 Then lands were fairly portioned ; 
 
 Then spoils were fairly sold : 
 The Romans were like brothers 
 
 In the brave days of old. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Now Roman is to Roman 
 350 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 : 
 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 
 36o To take in hand an ax : 
 
 And Fathers mixed with Commons 
 Seized hatchet, bar, and crow, 
 
 351. And the Tribunes beard the high. The tribunes were offi- 
 cers representing the tribes of the Plebs or Commons, and existed probably 
 from the first formation of that body. After the revolt of the Plebs, which 
 followed soon after the expulsion of the kings, these magistrates were 
 recognized by the Patricians, were declared inviolable in their persons, and 
 were invested with the absolute power of vetoing any measure of which 
 they disapproved. 
 
 361. And Fathers mixed with Commons. The Roman govern- 
 ment was at first wholly in the hands of the Patricians or Patres (fathers), 
 a word which denoted originally nothing but despotic power. Under these 
 the Commons, called Plebs, gradually secured to themselves, first personal 
 freedom, ftiuj | course of tjme, after hard struggles, a share of political 
 power. 
 
BORATTU& 
 
 Aii'l -mole upon Hie plank^ above, 
 Anil loosed tin- pinp.s In-low. 
 
 \\xv. 
 
 Meanwhile the Tuscan army, 
 
 Right glorious t< behold. 
 Came Hashing hack the noonday light, 
 Rank lu-liinil rank, like surges l.righl 
 
 Of a broad sea of gold. 
 Four hundred trumpets soundi d 170 
 
 A peal of warlike glee, 
 As that great liost, with measured tread, 
 And -spears advanced, and ensigns spieai! 
 Rolled slowly towards the hridi^e's head, 
 
 Whore stood the dauntless Three. 
 
 \\xvi. 
 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 38o 
 
 lie fore that deep array ; 
 
 To earth they sprang, their swords they drew, 
 And lifted high their shields, and flew 
 
 To win the narrow way ; 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 Auuus 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, 3QO 
 
 364. And loosed the props below. The bridge by which Janiculus 
 was connected with Rome was built of wood supported by props (sublicce), 
 and hf nee called Puns Sublicius. 
 
 i ferntim. A town near the head of the Tiber. 
 
 388. Sicken in Ilva's mines. Ilva is the modern Elba, the island in 
 which Napoleon Bonaparte held his little court before the Hundred Days. 
 It was well known for its iron mines. 
 
32 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Who led to fight his Umbriau powers 
 From that gray crag where, girt with towers, 
 The fortress of Nequinum lowers 
 O'er the pale waves of Kar. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Stout Lartius hurled down Aunus 
 
 Into the stream beneath : 
 Hermiuius 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. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 Then Ocnus of Falerii 
 
 Rushed on the Roman Three ; 
 And Lausulus of Urgo, 
 
 The rover of the sea ; 
 And Aruns of Volsiuium, 
 
 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 : 
 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 
 
 384. Pale waves of Nar. The Nar was noted for its sulphurous waters 
 and white color. 
 
 406. The rover of the sea The Etruscans, like the Phenicians, 
 united the practices 9f piracy arid ' 
 commerce, 
 
 B practices of piracy aud kidnapping with those of legitimate 
 j, aud were dreaded generally along all the Mediterranean shores. 
 
i io i: ATI us. ; 
 
 Tin- track if thy dot roving hark. 420 
 
 .No more Campania'fl liimls sliall lly 
 To woods and caverns when Ilicy spy 
 Thy thrice accursed sail." 
 
 XLI. 
 
 But now no sound of laughter 
 
 Was heard among tin- foes. 
 A wild and wrathful clamor 
 
 From all the vanguard rose. 
 Six spears' lengths from the entrance 
 
 Halted that deep array, 
 And for a space no man came forth 430 
 
 To win the narrow way. 
 
 XLII. 
 But hark ! the cry is Astur : 
 
 And lo ! the ranks divide ; 
 And the great Lord of Luna 
 
 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 Roman's 44^ 
 
 A smile serene and high ; 
 He eyed the flinching Tuscans, 
 
 And scorn was in his eye. 
 Quoth he, " The she-wolf's litter 
 
 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, 
 
 444. Quoth he, "The she-wolPs litter." The she-wolf, in the 
 Roman tale, suckled Romulus and Remus, the twin children of Rhea Ilia, 
 or Silvia. 
 
34 LAYS OF ANCIENT HOME. 
 
 450 He rushed against Hbratius, 
 
 And smote with all his might. 
 
 With shield and blade Horatius 
 Right deftly turned the blow. 
 
 The blow, though turned, came yet too nigh ; 
 
 It missed his helm, but gashed his thigh : 
 
 The Tuscans raised a joyful cry 
 To see the red blood flow. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 He reeled, and on Herminius 
 
 He leaned one breathing-spade ; 
 4 6o 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 
 
 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. 
 47 o 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 
 
 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 ! 
 4 8 What noble Lucumo comes next 
 
 To taste our Roman cheer?" 
 
1IURATIUS. '!" 
 
 MA'III. 
 
 But at his haughty challenge 
 
 A sullen murmur ran, 
 Mingled of wrath, and shame, and dread, 
 
 Along that glittering van. 
 There lacked not men of prowess, 
 
 Nor men of lordly race ; 
 For all Elruria'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 
 
 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. 
 
 500 
 
 Was none who would be foremost 
 
 To lead such dire attack : 
 But those behind cried " Forward ! " 
 
 And those before cried " Back !" 
 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 
 
 Stood out before the crowd ; 
 Well known was he to all the Three, 
 
 And they gave him greeting loud, 
 
36 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 "Now welcome, welcome, Sextus! 
 
 Now welcome to thy borne ! 
 Why dost thou stay, and turn away? 
 
 Here lies the road to Rome." 
 
 LII. 
 
 Thrice looked he at the city ; 
 520 Thricelookcd 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 
 Where, wallowing in a pool of blood, 
 The bravest Tuscans lay. 
 
 LJII. 
 
 But meanwhile ax and lever 
 Have manfully been plied ; 
 And now the bridge hangs tottering 
 530 Above the boiling tide. 
 
 " Come back, come back, Horatius ! " 
 
 Loud cried the Fathers all. 
 " Back, Lartius ! back, Hermiuius I 
 
 Back, ere the ruin fall ! " 
 f* 
 
 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, 
 540 And on the farther shore 
 
 Saw brave Horatius stand alone, 
 
 They wouTd have crossed once more. 
 
 LV. 
 But with a crash like thunder 
 
 Fell every loosened beam, 
 And, like a darn, the mighty wreck 
 
HORATIUS. 37 
 
 Lay right athwart the stream. 
 And a long shout of triumph 
 
 Rose from the walls of Home, 
 As to Ihc highest. turn-Mops 
 
 Was splashed the yellow foam. 55 o 
 
 LVI. 
 
 And, like a horse unbroken 
 
 When first he feels the rein, 
 The furious river struggled hard, 
 
 And tossed his tawny mane. 
 And burst the curb, and bounded, 
 
 Rejoieing to be free, 
 And whirling down, in fierce career, 
 Battlement, and plank, and pier, 
 
 Rushed headlong to the sea. 
 
 LVII. 
 
 Alone stood brave Horatius, 5 6o 
 
 But constant still in mind ; 
 Thrice thirty thousand foes before, 
 
 And the broad flood behind. 
 "Down with him ! " cried false Sexlns, 
 
 With a smile on his pale face. 
 "Now yield thee," cried Lars Porsei.a. 
 
 "Now yield thee to our grace." 
 
 LVIII. 
 Round turned he, as not deigning 
 
 Those craven ranks to see ; 
 Nought spake he to Lars Porsena, SJO 
 
 To Sextus nought spake he ; 
 But he saw on Palatinus 
 
 The white porch of his home ; 
 And he spake to the noble river 
 
 That rolls by the towers of Homo. 
 
 LIX. 
 
 "O Tiber! father Tiber ! 
 To whom the Romans pray, 
 
38 LAYS OF ANCIENT HOME. 
 
 A Roman's life, a Roman's arms, 
 Take thou in charge this day ! " 
 580 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 
 
 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 
 5 9 o 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, 
 
 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 willi changing blows : 
 And oft they thought him sinking, 
 
 But still again he rose. 
 
 LXII. 
 
 Never, I ween, did swimmer, 
 
 In such an evil case, 
 Struggle through such a raging flood 
 
 Safe to the landing-place : 
 But his limbs were borne up bravely 
 
 By the brave heart within, 
 And our good father Tiber 
 
 Bore bravely up his chin. 
 
 599. And spent with changing blows. Worn out with fighting or 
 exchanging blows. 
 
39 
 
 IAIII. 
 
 " Curse on him ! " quoth false Srxtus ; 610 
 
 " Will not the villain drown ? 
 I Jut for this stay, ere close of day 
 
 We should have sacked the town ! ' 
 ' I leaven help him ! " quoth Lars Porscna, 
 
 " And bring him safe to shore ; 
 For such a gallant feat of arms 
 
 Was never seen before." 
 
 I, XIV. 
 
 And now he feels the bottom ; 
 
 Now on dry earth he stands ; 
 Now round him throng the Fathers 620 
 
 To press his gory hands ; 
 And now, with shouts and clapping, 
 
 And noise of weeping loud, 
 He enters through the River-Gate, 
 
 Borne by the joyous crowd. 
 
 They gave him of the corn-land. 
 
 That was of public right, 
 As much as two strong oxen 
 
 Could plow from morn till night ; 
 And they made a molten image, 630 
 
 And set it up on high, 
 And there it stands unto this day 
 
 To witness if I lie. 
 
 LXVT. 
 
 It stands in the Comitium, 
 
 Plain for all folk to see ; 
 Horatius in his harness, 
 
 Halting upon one knee : 
 And underneath is written, 
 
 In letters all of gold, 
 
 634. It stands In the Comitiuin. The place of meeting for the 
 thirty Curiae, which made up the whole body of Roman patricians. It was 
 included in the Forum. 
 
40 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 6 4Q 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 
 
 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. 
 
 6so 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 
 
 Roars loud the tempest's din, 
 Aud the good logs of Algidus 
 
 Roar louder yet, within ; 
 
 LXIX. 
 
 When the oldest cask is opened, 
 
 And the largest lamp is lit; 
 66o 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 ; 
 
 LXX. 
 
 When the goodrnan mends his armor, 
 And trims his helmet's plume ; 
 
 656. And the good logs of Algidus. A forest-clad hill lying to the 
 north of the Alban lake, about twelve miles south-east of Rome. 
 
IHHIATIUS. 41 
 
 When the goodwife's shuttle merrily 
 
 Goes flashing through the loom ; 
 With weeping and with laughter 670 
 
 Still is the story told, 
 How well Horatius kept the bridge 
 
 In the brave days of old. 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 
 
 THE following poem is supposed to have been produced 
 about ninety years after the lay of Horatius. Some persons 
 mentioned in the lay of Horatius make their appearance again, 
 and some appellations and epithets used in the lay of Horatius 
 have been purposely repeated: for, in an age of ballad poetry, 
 it scarcely ever fails to happen, that certain phrases come to 
 be appropriated to certain men and things, and are regularly 
 applied to those men and things by every minstrel. 
 The principal distinction between the lay of Horatius and 
 
 10 the lay of the Lake Regillus is that the former is meant to be 
 purely Roman, while the latter, though national in its general 
 spirit, has a slight tincture of Greek learning and of Greek super- 
 stition. The story of the Tarquins, as it has come down to us, 
 appears to have been compiled from the works of several 
 popular poets; and one, at least, of those poets appears to have 
 visited the Greek colonies in Italy, if not Greece itself, and to 
 have had some acquaintance with the works of Homer and 
 Herodotus. Many of the most striking adventures of the 
 house of Tarquin, before Lucretia makes her appearance, have 
 
 20 a Greek character. The Tarquins themselves are represented 
 as Corinthian nobles of the great house of the Bacchiada?, 
 driven from their country by the tyranny of that Cypselus, the 
 tale of whose strange escape Herodotus has related with incom- 
 parable simplicity and liveliness. Livy and Dionysius tell us 
 that, when Tarquin the Proud was asked what was the best 
 mode of governing a conque*red city, he replied only by beating 
 down with his staff all the tallest poppies in his garden. This 
 is exactly what Herodotus, in the passage to which reference 
 has already been made, relates of the counsel given to Perian- 
 
 43 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLU8. 43 
 
 der, the son of Cypselus. The >! ratagemby which the town of 3 o 
 (jabii is brought under I he power of the Tar<|iiins is, again, 
 obviously copied from Herodotus. The embassy of the young 
 Tanjuins to llio oracle at I >clphi is just such a .xlory as would 
 be told by u poet \vliose liead was full of the (Jreek myl hology 
 and the ambiguous aDSWer returned by Apollo is in the exact 
 style of the prophecies which, according to Herodotus, lured 
 Croesus to destruction. Then the character of the narrative 
 changes. From the first mention of Lueretia to the red-eat of 
 Porsena nothing seems to be borrowed from foreign source- 
 The villainy of Sextus, the, suicide of his victim, the revolution. .,,. 
 the dentil of the sons of Brutus, the defense of the bridge, 
 Mucius burning his hand, (Mo-lia swimming through Tiber, 
 seem to be all strictly Roman. But when we have done with 
 the Tuscan war, and enter upon the war with the Latines, we 
 an- again struck by the Greek air of the story. The Battle of the 
 Lake Kegillus is in all respects a Homeric battle, except that 
 the combatants ride astride on their horses, instead of driving 
 chariots. The mass of fighting men is hardly mentioned. The 
 leaders single each other out, and engage hand to hand. The 
 great object of the warriors on both sides is, as in the Iliad, to 5 o 
 obtain possession of the spoils and bodies of the slain; and 
 several circumstances are related which forcibly remind us of 
 the great slaughter round the corpses of Sarpedon and Patro- 
 clus. 
 
 But there is one circumstance which deserves especial notice. 
 Both the war of Troy and the war of Regillus were caused by 
 the licentious passions of young princes, w r ho were therefore 
 peculiarly bound not to be sparing of their own persons in the 
 day of battle. Now the conduct of Sextus at Kegillus, as de- 
 scribed by Livy, so exactly resembles that of Paris, as described 60 
 at the beginning of the third book of the Iliad, that it is diffi- 
 cult to believe the resemblance accidental. Paris appears 
 before the Trojan ranks, defying the bravest Greek to en- 
 counter him. Livy introduces Sextus in a similar manner. 
 Menelaus rushes to meet Paris. A Roman noble, eager for 
 vengeance, spurs his horse towards Sextus. Both the guilty 
 princes are instantly terror-stricken; 
 
44 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 If this be a fortuitous coincidence, it is one of the most ex- 
 traordinary in literature. 
 
 7 o In the following poem, therefore, images and incidents have 
 been borrowed, not merely without scruple, but on principle, 
 from the incomparable battle-pieces of Homer. 
 
 The popular belief at Rome, from an early period, seems to 
 have been that the event of the great day of Regillus was 
 decided by supernatural agency. Castor and Pollux, it was 
 said, had fought, armed and mounted, at the head of the legions 
 of the common wealth^ and had afterwards carried the news of 
 the victory with incredible speed to the city. The well in the 
 Forum at which they had alighted was pointed out. Near the 
 
 80 well rose their ancient temple. A great festival was kept to 
 their honor on the Ides of Quintilis, supposed to be the anni- 
 versary of the battle; and on that day sumptuous sacrifices 
 were offered to them at the public charge. One spot on the 
 margin of Lake Regillus was regarded during many ages" with 
 superstitious awe. A mark, resembling in shape a horse's hoof, 
 was discernible in the volcanic rock; and this mark was be- 
 lieved 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 
 
 9 o originated; nor is it at all necessary to suppose, with Julius 
 Frontinus, that two young men were dressed up by the Dic- 
 tator to personate the sons of Leda. It is probable 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 slaughter, he had seen two godlike forms 
 on white horses scattering the Latines, would find ready cred- 
 100 ence. 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 con- 
 quest of Mexico, in an age of printing-presses, libraries, uni- 
 versities, scholars, logicians, jurists, and statesmen, had the 
 
T1IK BATTLE OF THE LAKE KKCILLUS. 45 
 
 face to a>sert that, in one engagement against the Indians, 
 
 Saint -lames had appeared on ;i gray Imrsr at the head of I lie 
 Cast ilian advent mvrs. Many of those advent urers were living 
 when this lir was printed. One ol them, honest Bernal Diaz, 
 wroir an account of the expedition. He had the evidence <f n 
 his own .senses against the legend; lnt lie seems to have dis- 
 trusted even the evidence of his own senses. He says thai he 
 was in the battle, and that he saw a gray horse with a man on 
 his back, but that the man was, to his thinking, Francesco de 
 Morla. and not the ever-blessed apostle Saint James. " Never- 
 theless." Hernal adds, u it may be that the person on the gray 
 horse was the glorious 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 Span- 
 ish subjects of Charles the Fifth. It is therefore conceivable 120 
 that the appearance of Castor and Pollux may have become an 
 article of faith before the generation which had fought at 
 Regillus had passed away. Nor could anything be more 
 natural than that the poets of the next age should embellish 
 this story, and make the celestial horsemen bear the tidings of 
 victory to Rome. 
 
 Many years after the temple of the Twin Gods had been 
 built in the Forum, an important addition was made to the 
 ceremonial by which the state annually testified its gratitude 
 for their protection. Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius were 130 
 elected Censors at a momentous crisis. It had become abso- 
 lutely 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 nar- 
 row oligarchy or of an ignorant and headstrong rabble. 
 Under such circumstances, the most illustrious patrician and 
 the most illustrious plebeian of the age were intrusted with 
 the office of arbitrating between the angry factions; and they 
 performed their arduous task to the satisfaction of all honest i 40 
 and reasonable men. 
 
 One of their reforms was a remodeling of the equestrian 
 order ; and, having effected this reform, they determined to, 
 
46 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 give to their work a sanction derived from religion. In the 
 chivalrous societies of modern times, societies which have 
 much more than may at first sight appear in common with 
 the equestrian order of Rome, it has been usual to invoke the 
 special protection of some saint, and to observe his day with 
 peculiar solemnity. Thus the Companions of the Garter wear 
 
 150 the image of Saint George depending from their collars, and 
 meet, on great occasions, in Saint George's Chapel. Thus, 
 when Lewis the Fourteenth instituted a new order of chivalry 
 for the rewarding of military merit, he commended it to the 
 favor of his own glorified ancestor and patron, and decreed 
 that all the members of the fraternity should meet at the royal 
 
 f palace on the feast of Saint Lewis, 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 Lewis and the rule 
 
 160 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 anniversary of the battle of Regillus, 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 caval- 
 
 170 cade sometimes consisted of five thousand horsemen, all per- 
 sons 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 innovation. 
 
 The following poem is supposed to have been made for this 
 great occasion. Songs, we know, were chanted at the religious 
 
 180 festivals of Rome from an early period; indeed from so early 
 aperiod ; that some of the sacred verses were popularly ascribed 
 
llli: ISVTTLK OF TI1K I.AKK KKCII.LUS. 47 
 
 to Numa, and were utterly unintelligible in the age of Augus- 
 tus, hi the Second IMmic War ;i 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 welearn 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 solemnities annually per- ,,.. 
 formed on the Ides of Quint ills, would call in the aid of a poet. 
 Such a poet would naturally take for his subject the battle of 
 Ilrgillus, the appearance of the Twin Gods, and the institution 
 of their festival. He would find abundant materials in the 
 ballads of his predecessors; and he would make free use of the 
 scanty stock of (Jrcek learning which he had himself acquired. 
 He would probably introduce some wise and holy Pontiff en- 
 joining the magnificent ceremonial, which, after a long inter- 
 val, had at length been adopted. If the poem succeeded, 
 many persons would commit it to memory. Parts of it would 200 
 be sung to the pipe at banquets. It would be peculiarly inter- 
 est ing to the great Posthumian House, which numbered among 
 its many images that of the Dictator Aul us, the hero of Regillus. 
 The orator who, in the following generation, pronounced the 
 funeral pancgyic over the remains of Lucius Posthumius 
 Me^ellus, thrice Consul, would borrow largely trom the lay; 
 and thus some passages, much disiigured, 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 iield of 210 
 battle. The opinion of those who suppose that the armies met 
 near Cornufelle, between Frascati and the Monte Porzio, is at 
 least plausible, and has been followed in the poem. 
 
 As to the details of the battle, it has not been thought desir- 
 able 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/ 220 
 
The Battle of the Lake Regillus. 
 
 A LAY SUNG AT THE FEAST OF CASTOR, AND POLLUX, ON THE 
 IDES OF OJJINTILIS, IN THE YEAll OF THE CITY CCCCLI. 
 
 I. 
 
 Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note ! 
 
 Ho, lictors, clear tbe 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. 
 Each Knight is robed in purple, 
 230 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 Kalends : 
 
 2.'2. Ho, lictors, clear the way ! The lictors were attendants of 
 the patrician magistrates, armed with rods and axes. 
 
 247. From Castor in the Foruin Castor and Mars are here used 
 to denote the temples built in honor of these deities, just as we speak of 
 St. Peter's at Rome. 
 
 233. While flows the Yellow River. The Tiber, from its yellow 
 sands; hence called also the golden. 
 
 234. While stands the Sacred Hill. The Sacred Hill was an 
 eminence beyond the river Anio. It was associated chiefly with the seces- 
 sion of the Pl'ebs. See note to " Horatius," line 3. 
 
 235. The proud Ides of Quintilis. The fifteenth day of July, which 
 by the Romans, whose year began with March, was styled Quiutilis, or the 
 fifth month. The Ides divided each month into two equal or nearly equal 
 
 237 Gay are the Martian Kalends. The first day of each month 
 was known as the Kalends. On the first of March the sacred fire was 
 solemnly rekindled on the hearth of the Temple of Vesta. 
 
TIIK BATTLE <>K TIM! I.AKI! K K 1 1 l.U'S. 49 
 
 December's Nones are gay : 
 But .the proud Ides, when the squadron rides, 
 Shall be Koine's whitest day. 
 
 II. 
 
 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 I'arthenius 
 
 Tossing in waves of pine, 
 O'er Cirrha's dome, o'er Adria's foam, 
 
 O'er purple A pen nine, 
 From where with ilutes and dunces 
 
 Their ancient mansion rings, 
 In lordly Lacedamipn, 
 
 The City of two kings, 
 To where, by Lake Kegillus, 
 
 Under the Porciaii height. 
 All in the lands of Tusculum, 
 
 Was fought the glorious fight. 
 
 in. 
 
 Now on the place of slaughter 
 Are cots and sheepfolds seen, 
 
 238. December's Nones are gay. The fifth day of December. The 
 nones fell on the fifth or the seventh of each month, and were so called, 
 possibly, as denoting a period of nine days before the Ides. 
 
 240. Shall be Koine's whitest day. Days of good omen were marked 
 with chalk; those of ill omen with charcoal. 
 
 241. Unto the Great Twin Brethren. These are the twin deities, 
 Castor and Pollux. Of the many stories told of their origin, the most 
 familiar is that which speaks of them as the brothers of Helen, and as 
 sprung with her from a single egg. The name of the former was associated 
 with skill in the management of horses, that of the latter with boxing 
 They are sometimes represented as coming to life alternately, according to 
 the relation of day and night. 
 
 245 They came o'er wild Parthenius. These lines describe the 
 course of the mysterious riders from their Eastern birthplace. The 
 Parthenian range is the eastern barrier of the Arkadian or central highlands 
 of the Peloponnese. 
 
 251. In lordly Ijacedaemon. The city of the Lacedaemonians was 
 more commonly called Sparta. It consisted of four hamlets on the banks 
 of the Eurotas. which drained the valley of Taygetos. 
 
 252. The City of two kings. Nominally at the head of the Spartan 
 state, were the two kings who belonged respectively to the houses of 
 Eurysthenes and Prokles, the twin sons of Aristodemos, a descendant of 
 the great hero Herakles. 
 
50 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 v 
 And rows of \iues, and fields of wheat, 
 
 And apple-orchards green ; 
 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 molder deep below. 
 Little they think how sternly 
 o That day the trumpets pealed ; 
 
 How in the slippery swamp of blood 
 
 Warrior and war-horse reeled ; 
 How wolves came with fierce gallop, 
 
 And crows on eager wings, 
 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 
 3 Raved the wild stream of flight ; 
 
 And how the Lake J&egijlus 
 
 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 : 
 It was no hoof of mortal steed 
 
 That made so strange a dint : 
 
 281. And how the Lake Re^illus. Of this lake, which is said to 
 have been in the neighborhood of Tusculum. not a trace is now to be found. 
 
 283. What time the Thirty Cities. The Thirty Cities of the Latin 
 Confederacy are supposed to have taken up the cause of the expelled 
 Tarquins. 
 
TIIK HATTLK OK TIIK I.AKK. K KGILLU8. 51 
 
 There to the Great Twin Hrethren 
 
 Vow thou thy vows, ami pray 
 That they, in tempest, and in li-rhl, 
 
 Will keep thy head alwuy. 
 
 v. 
 Since last the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Of mortal eyes were seen, 
 Have years gone by an hundred 
 
 Ami fourscore and thirteen. 
 That summer a Virginius 
 
 Was Consul first in place ; 
 The second was stout Aulus, 
 
 Of the Posthumian race. 
 The Herald of the Lalines 
 
 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 ; 3 10 
 
 And there he did his office, 
 
 A scepter in his hand. 
 
 vr. 
 
 " Hear, Senators and people 
 
 Of the good town of Home, 
 The Thirty Cities charge you 
 
 To bring the Tarquins home : 
 And if ye still be stubborn, 
 
 To work the Tarqnius wrong, 
 The Thirty Cities warn you, 
 
 Look that your walls be strong." 320 
 
 302 Was Consul first in place. See note to " Horatius." line 5. 
 
 305. The Herald of the Latines The Romans themselves belonged 
 
 to the Latin race; hut the destruction of Alba Longa. the religions center 
 of the Latin league, marks the severance between them and their kins- 
 folk, whose supremacy was by that event destroyed for ever. 
 
 316 To bring the Tarquins home. According to the story followed 
 by Livy. the family of the Tarouins, which supplied two kings to Rome. 
 was Greek. 
 
52 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 VII. 
 Then spake the Consul Aulus, 
 
 He spake a bitter jest : 
 " Once the jay sent a message 
 
 Unto the eagle's nest : 
 Now yield thou up thine eyrie 
 
 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, 
 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. 
 
 In seasons of great peril 
 
 'Tis 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, 
 
 339. " Now hearken, Conscript Fathers." That all the members 
 of the dominant class at Rome were called Patres or Patricians has been 
 already mentioned (note to il Horatius," page 30, line 361). Those of the 
 Patres who were chosen into the Senate, and had their names enrolled in 
 the lists of members, were called Patres Conscripti. Ihne, Early Rome. 
 
 343. Then choose we a Dictator. According to the belief of Livy, 
 the Dictator was an extraordinary magistrate, first appointed after the ex- 
 pulsion of the kings. Named by one of the Consuls, he was invested with 
 supreme military power, which he was bound to lay down at the end of six 
 months at latest. 
 
THE BATTLE OP THE LAKE RECII.l.rs. 53 
 
 And have a Master of tho Knights, 
 And axes twenty-four. " 
 
 PC, 
 
 So Aulus was Dictator, 
 
 The man of seventy fights ; 
 He made ^Ebutius Elva 
 
 His Master of the Knights. 
 On the third morn thereafter, 
 
 At dawning of the day. 
 Did Aulus and ./Ebutius 
 
 Set forth with their array. 
 Sempronius Atratiuus 
 
 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 Porciau height. 
 Far over hill and valley 
 
 Their mighty host w r as spread ; 
 And with their thousand watch-tires 
 
 The midnight sky was red. 
 
 x. 
 
 Up rose the golden morning 
 
 Over the Porciau 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. 3 8o 
 
 From every warlike city 
 
 That boasts of the Latian name, 
 
 352. And axes twenty-four Each of the two Consuls was attended 
 by twelve lictors, of whom each bore an axe (securis), bound up in a bundle 
 of rods (fasces). 
 
54 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Foredoomed to dogs and vultures, 
 
 That gallant army came ; 
 From Setia's purple vineyards, 
 
 From Norba's ancient wall, 
 From the white streets of Tuscu.urn, 
 
 The proudest town of all ; 
 From where the Witch's Fortress 
 3QO O'erhangs the dark blue seas ; 
 
 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 lies wallowing 
 400 Through the hot summer's day ; 
 
 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. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Aricia, Cora, Norba, 
 
 Velitrae, with the might 
 Of Setia and of Tusculum, 
 
 Were marshaled on the right : 
 The leader was Mamilius, 
 
 389. From where the Witch's Fortress. Circeii, the supposed home 
 of Circe, the daughter of the Sun, whose magic potions could convert men 
 into swine. 
 
 396. And shall himself he slain. According to the story told by 
 Pausanias, Hippolytus, the son of Theseus, on being raised from the dead 
 by .Esculapius, crossed the sea and came to Aricia, where he dedicated a 
 temple to Diana. The priest of this temple was to be a runaway slave who 
 had conquered his opponent in single combat. Thus a slave who challenged 
 the existing priest and slew him would himself at once become the priest, 
 aud remain so till he should himself be worsted by another. 
 
TIIK BATTLE OF TIIK I.AKK IJ KGILLUS. 55 
 
 Prince of the Ljitiun name ; 
 Upon his head a helmet 
 
 Of red gold shone like flume ; 
 High on :i gallant charger 
 
 Of d; irk -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 Laurcutum 
 
 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 si range visions 
 
 Which none beside might see, 
 And that strange sounds were in his ears 
 
 Which none might hear but he. 
 A woman fair and stately, 
 
 But pale as are the dead ; 
 Oft through the watches of the night 
 
 Sat spinning by his bed. 
 And as she plied the distaff, 
 
 In a sweet voice and low, 
 She sang of great old houses, 
 
 422. By Syria's dark-browed daughters. The weavers and purple- 
 dyers of Tyre and the other Pheniciun cities were famed throughout the 
 ancient world. 
 
 423. And by the sails of Carthage brought. Carthage, the greatest 
 of the Phenician colonies on the northern coast of Africa, was destined 
 to contest the empire of the world with Home, and, in spite of the heroism 
 of Hannibal, the first general of any land or age, to fail in the task. 
 
 429. Their leader was falsi^ Sextus. The reference here is to the 
 deed of wickedness perpetrated by Sextns Tarquinius against Lucretia, wife 
 of his kinsman, Tarquinius Collatinus. Lucretia slew herself in the presence 
 of her family; and the crime became, according to the legend, the immediate 
 cauf^ of the downfall of the Roman monarchy. 
 
56 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 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. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 But in the center thickest 
 
 450 Were ranged the shields of foes, 
 
 And from the center loudest 
 
 The cry of battle rose. 
 There Tiber marched and Pedum 
 
 Beneath proud Tarquin's rule, 
 And Ferentiuum of the rock, 
 
 And Gabii of the pool. 
 There rode the Yolscian succors ; 
 
 There, in a dark, stern ring, 
 The lioman exiles gathered close 
 4 6o Around the ancient king. 
 
 Though white as Mount Sorace< 
 
 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, 
 
 'Twas more with hate than age. 
 Close at his side was Titus 
 47 o On an Apulian steed, 
 
 Titus, the yoitngest Tarquin, 
 
 Too good for such a breed. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Now on each side the leaders 
 Give 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 ; 
 
 And front to front the armies 
 
THE BATTLE OP THE LAKE EEGILLUS. 57 
 
 Met with a mighty roar : 480 
 
 And under that givat buttle 
 
 The earth with blood was red ; 
 And, like the Pomptine fog at mom, 
 
 The dust hung overhead ; 
 And louder still and louder 
 
 Rose from the darkened field 
 The braying of the >var-horns, 
 
 The clang of sword and shield, 
 The rush of squadrons sweeping 
 
 Like whirlwinds o'er the plain, 49 
 
 The shouting of the slayers, 
 
 And screeching of the slain. 
 
 xv. 
 False Sextus rode out foremost ; 
 
 1 1 is 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, 500 
 
 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 FideiuE fell. 
 Woe to the maid whose lover 
 
 Shall cross his path to-day ! 510 
 
 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 
 
 423. And, like the Pomptine fog at morn. The Pomptine marshes 
 extended over the lowlands of Latium, lying between Antium and Terracina. 
 
58 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Of that fell speckled ^snake ; 
 So turned, so fled, false Sextus, 
 
 And hid him in the rear, 
 Behind the dark Lavinian ranks, 
 520 Bristling with crest and spear. 
 
 xvr. 
 But far to north ./Ebutius, 
 
 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, 
 530 And tossed his golden crest, 
 
 And towards the Master of the Knights 
 
 Through the thick battle pressed. 
 ^Ebutius smote Mamilius 
 
 So fiercely on the shield 
 That the great lord of Tusculum 
 
 Well nigh rolled on the field. 
 Mamilius smote ^Ebutius, 
 
 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 : 
 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, 
 
 550 
 
 522. The Master of the Knights. See note to page 52, ver. viii. 
 line 343. 
 
THE BATTLE OF T1IK I.AKi: |>|-:;i 1.1.1 ^. ,V.) 
 
 Men say, the earliest word lie spake 
 Was, "Friends, how goes tin- light?" 
 
 XVH. 
 But meanwhile in the center 
 
 Great deeds of arms were wrought ; 
 There Aulus the Dictator 
 
 And there Valerius fought. 
 Aulus with his good broadsword 
 
 A bloody passage cleared 
 To where, amidst the thickest foes, 
 
 lie -a\v the long white beard. y6o 
 
 Flat lighted that good broadsword 
 
 Upon proud Tarquin's head. 
 He dropped the lance : he dropped the reins : 
 
 He fel 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, 5?0 
 
 And hand to hand they fight on foot 
 
 Around the ancient king. 
 First Titus gave tall Caeso 
 
 A death wound in the face ; 
 Tall Ctcso was the bravest man 
 
 Of the brave Fabian race : 
 Aulus slew Hex of Gabii, 
 
 The priest of Juno's shrine: 
 Valerius smote down Julius, 
 
 Of Home's great Julian line ; 
 Julius, who left his mansion 
 
 High on the Velian hill, 
 And through all turns of weal and woe 
 
 562. Upon proud Tarquin's head. See note to page 20, line 86. 
 
 580 Of Koine's great Julian line. The Julian house professed to 
 draw it*-; name from Julus or lulus, son of Ascaniiis. and grandson of ."Kneas 
 the Trojan, who was himself a son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite, 
 called by the Latins Venus. 
 
 B82. liiKli 011 the Velian hill. The Velian hill was one of seven which 
 belonged to a Home said to be older than that of Romulus, 
 
60 LAYS OP ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Followed proud Tarquiu 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, 
 
 590 And lopped off half his crest ; 
 
 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 
 600 Three lances' length and more : 
 
 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 ; 
 For Titus dragged him by the foot, 
 
 And Aulus by the head. 
 "On, Latines, on ! " quoth Titus, 
 6lo " See how the rebels fly ! " 
 
 " Romans, stand firm ! " quoth Aulus, 
 
 "And win this fight or die 1 
 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 ! " 
 
 6ao 
 
THE BATTLE OF 'I I IK I.AKK KKCILLUS. 61 
 
 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, 
 
 Hocked furiously the fray, 
 Till none could see Valerius, 
 
 And none wist wliere he lay. 
 For shivered arms und ensigns 
 
 Were heaped there in a mound, 630 
 
 And corpses stiff, 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 ; 
 And spake to Caius Cossus, 
 
 The Captain of his Guard : 640 
 
 " Caius, of all the Romans 
 
 Thou hast the keenest sight ; 
 Say, what through yonder storm of dust 
 
 Comes from the Latiau right?" 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Then answered Caius Cossus 
 
 "I see an evil sight ; 
 The banner of proud Tusculum 
 
 Comes from the Laliau right ; 
 I see the plumed horsemen ; 
 
 And far before the rest 6 SQ 
 
 I see the dark-gray charger, 
 
 C28. And none wist where he lay. Wist, the preterite tense of the 
 old English verb wit, ' to know.' 
 
 636. A Consular of Rome. Roman citizens who had filled the office 
 of Consuls formed the class of Consulars. 
 
62 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 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." 
 
 xxn. V 
 
 "Now hearken, Caius Cossus: 
 Spring on thy horse's back ; 
 
 Ride as the wolves of Apennine 
 660 Were all upon thy track ; 
 
 Haste to our southward battle : 
 And never draw thy rein 
 
 Until thou find Henninius, 
 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. 
 Loud clanged beneath his horse-hoofs 
 6?a The helmets of the dead, 
 
 And many a curdling pool of blood 
 
 Splashed him from heel to head. 
 So came he far to southward, 
 
 Where fought the Roman host, 
 Against the banners of the marsh 
 
 And banners of the coast. 
 Like corn before the sickle 
 
 The stout Laviniaus fell, 
 Beneath the edge of the true sword 
 6go That kept the bridge so well. 
 
 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, 
 
TIIK KAIIIi: OF TIIK l.AKI. I; I .< . I I.LUtt. <>3 
 
 Ami there the ( 'rest uf Flame., 
 The Tn.seiilan Mamilius, 
 
 1'rince of the Lalian name 
 Valerius hath fallen fighting 
 
 In front of our array : 690 
 
 And Aulus of the seventy fields 
 
 Alone upholds the day." 
 
 xxv. 
 llrrininius beat his bosom : 
 
 Hut never a word he spake, 
 lie elapped his hand on Auster's inane 
 
 He gave the reins a shake, 
 Away, away went Austcr, 
 
 Like an arrow from the bow 
 Black Austcr was the Jlcetest steed 
 
 From Aufidus to Po. 7 <x> 
 
 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 ; 
 4 ' Henninius comes, Hermiuius, 
 
 Who kept the bridge so well ! " 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Mamilius spied Henninius, 
 
 And dashed across the way. 
 " Hermiuius ! I have sought thee 
 
 Through many a bloody day. 
 One of us two, Hermiuius, 
 
 Shall never more go home. 
 I will lay on for Tusculum, 
 
 And lay thou on for Rome ! " 
 
 686. And there the Crest of Flame. The gleaming crest of the Latin 
 chief. 
 
 TOO. From Autidus to Po. These two rivers inclose between them 
 the whole of Italy, from the center of the vast plain of Lombard y to the 
 scantier space of open land round Cannae, where the genius of Hannibal all 
 but achieved the destruction of the Roman power. 
 
64 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 All round them paused the battle, 
 
 While met in mortal fray 
 The Roman and the Tusculau, 
 720 The horses black and gray. 
 
 Her min ius smote Mamilius 
 
 Through breast-plate 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. 
 Down fell they dead together 
 730 In a great lake of gore ; 
 
 And still stood all who saw them fall 
 
 While men might 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 out- streaming, 
 
 His flanks all blood and foam, 
 He sought the southern mountains, 
 74 o The mountains of his home. 
 
 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 Tusculuin, 
 
 He rushed up the long white street ; 
 He rushed by tower and temple, 
 750 And paused not from his race 
 
 Till he stood before his master's door' 
 
 In the stately market-place. 
 And straightway round him gathered 
 
THE BATTLE OF TI1K I-AKK IlKtilLLUS. 05 
 
 A pale and trembling crowd. 
 And when they knew him, cries of rage 
 
 Brake forth, and wailing loud : 
 And women relit their tresses 
 
 For their great prince's full ; 
 And old men girt on their old swords, 
 
 And went to man the wall. i 
 
 XXX. 
 
 But, like a graven image. 
 
 Black Auster kept his place, 
 And ever wistfully he looked 
 
 Into his muster's face. 
 The raven-mane that daily, 
 
 With pats and fond caresses. 
 The young Hermiiiia washed and combed 
 
 And twined in even tresses, 
 And decked with colored ribands 
 
 From her own gay attire, 77 
 
 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 aiiiaiu. 
 "The furies of thy brother 
 
 With me and mine abide, 
 If one of your accursed house 
 
 Upon black Auster ride ! " 7 8o 
 
 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 
 
 777. "The furies of thy brother." The Furies were goddesses who 
 exacted vengeance for the shedding of blood. 
 
G6 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 79 Were loosened with dismay 
 
 When dead, on dead Herminius, 
 The bravest Tarquin lay. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 And Aulus the Dictator 
 Stroked Auster's raven mane, 
 
 With heed he looked unto the girths, 
 With heed unto the rein. 
 
 " Now bear me well, black Auster, 
 Into yon thick array ; 
 
 And thou and I will have revenge 
 800 For thy good lord this day." 
 
 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 
 810 Did such rare armor gleam ; 
 
 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 ? 
 What city is your home ? 
 
 And wherefore ride ye in such guise 
 820 Before the ranks of Rome ? " 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 " By many names men call us ; 
 In many lands we dwell : 
 
 804. That rode at his right hand. See note to line 241. 
 
Tin: BATTLE OF T1IK I.AKK REGILLU8. 67 
 
 Well Samothracia knows us ; 
 
 Gyrene knows us well. 
 Our house in gay Tamil um 
 
 Is hung each morn with flowers : 
 High oYr the masts of Syracuse 
 
 Our marble portal towers ; 
 But by the proud Eurotas 
 
 Is our dear native home ; 830 
 
 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 Ro'me 
 
 Were bold, and of good cheer : 
 And ou the thirty armies 
 
 Came wonder and affright, 
 And Ardea wavered on the left, 
 
 And Cora on the right. 840 
 
 "Rome to the charge ! " cried Aulus ; 
 
 " 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 for ever 
 
 Are on our side to-day." 
 
 823. Well Samothracia knows us Samothracia, one of the four 
 northernmost islands of the Egean Sea 
 
 8-,'4. Cyreiie knows us well. Cyrene was the most splendid of the many 
 Greek col 'nies on the northern coast of Africa. 
 
 825. Our house in gay Tarentum. Tarentum. in its Greek form, 
 Taras, was one of the wealthiest cities belonging to that wonderful cluster 
 of Greek colonies which won for the southern portion of the Italian peninsula 
 the name of Great Greece. 
 
 827. High o'er the masts of Syracuse. The great Dorian city of 
 Sicily on the eastern coast of the island. 
 
 829. But hy the proud Eurotas. See note to line 251. 
 
 843. Charge for the hearth of Vesta '.See note to " Horatius," line 313. 
 
 844. Charge for the Golden Shield ! The golden shield of Mars, 
 which fell from heaven in the days of Numa Pompilius, the second of the 
 legendary Roman kings. 
 
68 LAYS OP ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 < XXXVI. 
 
 Then the fierce trumpet-flourish 
 From earth to heaven arose. 
 
 050 
 
 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 
 860 Black Auster toiled in vain. 
 
 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, 
 8 7 o It was a goodly sight 
 
 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 ; 
 880 And fast fled Ferentinum, 
 
 And fast Lanuvium fled. 
 The horsemen of Nomentum 
 
 Spurred hard out of the fray ; 
 The footmen of Velitrae 
 
 Threw shield and spear away. 
 
 869. Now, by our Sire Quirinus. According to Livy, Quirinus was 
 the name under which divine honors were paid to Romulus after his as- 
 sumption into heaven. The notion cannot be traced much farther back than 
 the time of the historian himself. 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 69 
 
 And underfoot was trampled, 
 
 Amidst the mud and gore, 
 The banner of proud Tusculum, 
 
 That never stooped before : 
 And down went Flavins Fanstus, 
 
 Who led his stately ranks 8( ) 
 
 From where the apple blossoms wave 
 
 On Anio's echoing banks, 
 And Tul lus of Arpinnm, 
 
 Chief of the Volsciau aids, 
 And Metins with the long fair curls, 
 
 The love of Anxur'^ maids, 
 And the white head of Vulso, 
 
 The great Ariciau seer, 
 And Nepos of Laurentum, 
 
 The hunter of the deer ; 900 
 
 And in the black 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 
 
 Sate in the Eastern Gate, 9IO 
 
 Beside him were three Fathers, 
 
 Each in his chair of state ; 
 Fabius, whose nine stout grandsons 
 
 That day were in the field, 
 And Manlius, eldest of the Twelve 
 
 Who kept the Golden Shield ; 
 And Sergius, the High Pontiff, 
 
 915 And >Iaiilius, eldest of the Twelve. Twelve Patricians, who 
 formed an ecclesiastical corporation under the name of Salii, were 
 chosen as guardians of the twelve Ancilia or sacred shields of Mars. Only 
 one of these was genuine, and this one fell from heaven in the days of the 
 peaceful and righteous king Numa; the other eleven were made precisely 
 like it. to prevent the risk of its being lost by theft. 
 
 917. And SiM-gius, the High Pontiff. The Romans connected the 
 name of Pontifex, or Pontiff, with the making of bridges (Pontes); but 
 Pontiflces are found in many places where there were no bridges to be built. 
 
70 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 For wisdom far renowned ; 
 In all Etruria's colleges 
 
 920 Was no such Pontiff found. 
 
 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, 
 930 Sempronius had not ceased 
 
 To listen for the rushing 
 
 Of horse-hoofs from the east. 
 The mist of eve was rising, 
 
 The sun was hastening down, 
 When he was aware of a princely pair 
 
 Fast pricking towards the town. 
 So like they were, man never 
 
 Saw twins so like before ; 
 Red with gore their armor was, 
 940 Their steeds were red with gore. 
 
 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 I 
 This day, by Lake Regillus, 
 
 Under the Porcian height, 
 All in the lands of Tusculum 
 
 919. In all Etruria's colleges. The communities of Etruscan seers 
 or sorcerers. See note to " Horatius," page 23, line 149 
 
 941. Hail to the great Asylum ! The Asylum, according to Livy, 
 was a place where Romulus, in order to get inhabitants for his new city, 
 promised a sure refuge to vagabonds and knaves. The word is Greek, not 
 Latin, and means an inviolable sanctuary. The notion which transferred 
 the sacredness of the shrine to men who were forbidden to enter it was 
 probably of late growth. 
 
 942. Hail to the hill-tops seven ! The seven hills of Rome, commonly 
 reckoned as the Quirinal. Viminal, Esquiline, Coelian, Aventine, Palatine, 
 and Capitoline hills. But the earlier Rome stood on another set of seven 
 hills, known by the names Palatium, Velia, Cermalus, Ccelius, Fagutal, 
 
 .Oppius, and Cispius. 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE LAKE REGiLLUS. 71 
 
 Was fought a glorious fight, 
 To-morrow your Dictator 
 
 Shall bring in triumph home 950 
 
 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. 9 6o 
 
 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 ; 970 
 
 Then, like a blast, away they passed, 
 
 And no man saw them more. 
 
 XL 
 And all the people trembled, 
 
 And pale grew every check ; 
 And Sergius the High Pontiff 
 
 Alone found voice to speak.: 
 " The gods who live for ever 
 
 Have fought for Rome to-day ! 
 These be the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 965. When they drew nigh to Vesta See note to page 29, line 313. 
 The Latin Vesta is the same word as the Greek Hestia, and denoted the 
 sacred hearth with its heaven-sent fire. Each city, each tribe, each clan, 
 each house, had its own inviolable hearth, and the flame which burned upon 
 it was the symbol and pledge of kindliness and good faith, of law and order, 
 of wealth and fair dealing. The goddess can scarcely be separated in 
 thought from the fire and the hearth which were consecrated to her. It may 
 safely be said that of no other deity was the worship so nearly an unmixed 
 blessing 
 
72 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 980 To whom the Dorians pray. 
 
 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 
 99 o In Vesta's holy well, 
 
 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, 
 1000 Marked evermore with white, 
 
 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 : 
 Thence let them ride in purple 
 i ioo With joyous 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 ! " 
 
 980. To whom the Dorians pray. The Dorians and lonians were the 
 two foremost branches of the Hellenic or Greek race. At the head of the 
 former were the Spartans, at the head of the latter the Athenians. 
 
 1008. To Mars without the wall. See note to line 2i!7. 
 
VIRGINIA. 
 
 A COLLECTION consisting^ exclusively of war-songs would 
 give an imperfect, or rather an erroneous, notion of the spirit 
 of the old Latin ballads. The Patricians, during more than a 
 century after the expulsion of the Kings, held all the high 
 military commands. A Plebeian, even though, like Lucius 
 Siccius, he were distinguished by his valor and knowledge of 
 war, could serve only in subordinate posts. A minstrel, there- 
 fore, who wished to celebrate the early triumphs of his country, 
 could hardly take any but Patricians for his heroes. The 
 warriors who are mentioned in the two preceding lays, Hora- 10 
 tins, Lartius, Herminius, Aulus Posthumius, ^Ebutius Elva, 
 Sempronius Atratinus, Valerius Poplicola, were all members 
 of the dominant order; and a poet who was singing their 
 praises, whatever his own political opinions might be, would 
 naturally abstain from insulting the class to which they be- 
 longed, and from reflecting on the system which had placed 
 such men at the head of the legions of the Commonwealth. 
 
 But there was a class of compositions in which the great 
 families were by no means so courteously treated. No parts 
 of early Koman history are richer with poetical coloring than 20 
 those which relate to the long contest between the privileged 
 houses and the commonalty. The population of Kome was, 
 from a very early period, divided into hereditary castes, which, 
 indeed, readily united to repel foreign enemies, but which 
 regarded each other, during many years, with bitter animosity. 
 Between those castes there was a barrier hardly less strong 
 than that which, at Venice, parted the members of the Great 
 Council from their countrymen. In some respects, indeed, 
 the line which separated an Icilius or a Duilius from a Pos- 
 thumius or a Fabius was even more deeply marked than that 30 
 
 73 
 
74 LAYS OF ANCIENT BOMB. 
 
 which separated the rower of a gondola from a Contarini or a 
 Morosini. At Venice the distinction was merely civil. At 
 Home it was both civil and religious. Among the grievances 
 under which the Plebeians suffered, three were felt as peculiar- 
 ly severe : they were excluded from the highest magistracies ; 
 they were excluded from all share in the public lands; and 
 they were ground down to the dust by partial and barbarous 
 legislation touching pecuniary contracts. The ruling class in 
 Rome was a moneyed class; and it made and administered the 
 
 4 o laws with a view solely to its own interest. Thus the relation 
 between lender and borrower was mixed up with the relation 
 between sovereign and subject. The great men held a large 
 portion of the community in dependence by means of advances 
 at enormous usury. The law of debt, framed by creditors, and 
 for the protection of creditors, was the most horrible that has 
 ever been known among men. The liberty, and even the life, 
 of the insolvent were at the mercy of the Patrician money- 
 leaders. Children often became slaves in consequence of the 
 misfortunes of their parents. The debtor was imprisoned, not 
 
 5 o in a public jail under the care of impartial public functionaries, 
 but in a private workhouse belonging to the creditor. Fright- 
 ful stories were told respecting these dungeons. It was said 
 that torture and brutal violation were common ; that tight 
 stocks, heavy chains, scanty measures of food, were used to 
 punish wretches guilty of nothing but poverty ; and that 
 brave soldiers, whose breasts were covered with honorable 
 scars, were often marked still more deeply on the back by the 
 scourges of high-born usurers. 
 The Plebeians were, however, not wholly without constitu- 
 
 60 tional rights. From an early period they had been admitted 
 to some share of political power. They were enrolled each in 
 his century, and were allowed a share, considerable, though 
 not proportioned to their numerical strength, in the disposal 
 of those high dignities from which they were themselves ex- 
 cluded. Thus their position bore some resemblance to that of 
 the Irish Catholics during the interval between the year 1792 
 and the year 1829. The Plebeians had also the privilege of 
 annually appointing officers, named Tribunes, who had no 
 
VIRGINIA. 75 
 
 active share in tin- government of the Commonwealth, but who, 
 by delves, acquired a power formidable even to the ables! and 70 
 
 most resolute Consuls and Dictators. Tin- person of (he Tribune 
 was inviolable; and though lie could directly effect little, he 
 could obstruct everything. 
 
 During more than a century after the institution of the 
 Tribuneship, the Commons struggled manfully for the removal 
 of the grievances under which they labored; and, in spite of 
 many checks and reverses, succeeded in wringing COUCCSMOU 
 after concession from the stubborn aristocracy. At length in 
 the year of the city 378, both parties mustered their whole 
 strength for their last and most desperate conflict. Thepopu- 80 
 lar and active Tribune, Cains Licinins, proposed the three 
 memoraf)le laws which are called by his name, and which 
 were intended to redress the three great evils of which the 
 Plebeians complained. He was supported, with eminent ability 
 and firmness, by his colleague, Lucius Sextius. The struggle 
 appears to have been the fiercest that ever in any community 
 terminated without an appeal to arms. If such a contest had 
 raged in any Greek city, the streets would have run with blood, 
 But, even in the paroxysms of faction, the Roman retained 
 his gravity, his respect for law, and his tenderness for the lives 90 
 of his fellow-citizens. Year after year Licinius and Sextius 
 were re-elected Tribunes. Year after year, if the narrative 
 which has come down to us is to be trusted, they continued to 
 exert, to the full extent, their power of stopping the whole 
 machine of government. No curule magistrates could be 
 chosen; no military muster could be held. We know too little 
 of the state of Rome in those days to be able to conjecture 
 how, during that long anarchy, the peace was kept, and ordin- 
 ary justice administered between man and man. The animos- 
 ity of both parties rose to the greatest height. The excite- 
 ment, we may well suppose, would have been peculiarly in- 
 tense at the annual election of Tribunes. On such occasions 
 there can be little doubt that the great families did all that 
 could be done, by threats and caresses, to break the union of 
 the Plebeians. That union, however, proved indissoluble. At 
 length the good cause triumphed. The Licinian laws were 
 
70 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 carried. Lucius Sextius was the first Plebeian Consul, Cams 
 Licinius the third. 
 The results of this great change were singularly happy and 
 
 , IO glorious. Two centuries of prosperity, harmony, and victory 
 followed the reconciliation of the orders. Men who remembered 
 Rome engaged in waging petty wars almost within sight of the 
 Capitol lived to see her the mistress of Italy. While the dis- 
 abilities of the Plebeians continued, she was scarcely able to 
 maintain her ground against the Volscians and Hernicans. 
 When those disabilities were removed, she rapidly became 
 more than a match for Carthage and Macedon. 
 
 During the great Licinian contest the Plebeian poets were, 
 doubtless, not silent. Even in modern times songs have been 
 
 120 by no means without influence on public affairs; and 'we may 
 therefore infer that, in a society where printing was unknown, 
 and where books were rare, a pathetic or humorous party - 
 ballad must have produced effects such as we can but faintly 
 conceive. It is certain that satirical poems were common at 
 Rome from a very early period. The rustics, who lived at a 
 distance from the seat of government, and took little part in 
 the strife of factions, gave vent to their petty local animosities 
 in coarse Fescennine verse. The lampoons of the city were 
 doubtless of a Jiigher order; and their sting was early felt by 
 
 13 the nobility. For in the Twelve Tables, long before the time 
 of the Licinian laws, a severe punishment was denounced 
 against the citizen who should compose or recite verses reflect- 
 ing on another. * Satire is, indeed, the only sort of composi- 
 tion in which the Latin poets, whose works have come down 
 to us, were not mere imitators of foreign models; and it is 
 therefore the only sort of composition in which they have 
 never been rivaled. It was not, like their tragedy, their 
 comedy, their epic and lyric poetry, a hot-house plant which, in 
 return for assiduous and skillful culture, gave only scanty and 
 
 140 sickly fruits. It was hardy and full of sap; and in all the vari- 
 ous juices which it yielded might be distinguished the flavor 
 
 * Cicero justly infers from this law that there had been early Latin poets 
 whose works had been lost before his time. 
 
VIRGINIA. 77 
 
 of the Ausonian soil. " Sat in-," says Quinctilian, with just 
 pride, "is all our own." Satire sprang, in truth, naturally 
 from tlic constitution of tin- Ionian government and from the 
 spirit of the Roman people; and, though at length subjected 
 to metrical rules derived from (ireece, retained to the last 
 an essentially Roman character. Lucilius was the earliest 
 satirist whose works were held in esteem under the Caesars. 
 But many years before Lucilius was born, Naevius had been 
 tlun^ into a dungeon, and guarded there with circumstances 150 
 of unusual rigor, on account of the bitter lines in which he had 
 attacked the i^reat Caecilian family. The genius and spirit of 
 the Uoman satirist survived the liberty of their country, and 
 were not extinguished by the cruel despotism of the Julian and 
 Flavian Emperors. The great poet who told the story of Do- 
 mitian's turbot was the legitimate successor of those forgotten 
 minstrels whose songs animated the factions of the infant Re- 
 public. 
 
 These minstrels, as Niebuhr has remarked, appear to have 
 generally taken the popular side. We can hardly be mistaken 160 
 in supposing that, at the great crisis of the civil conflict, they 
 employed themselves in versifying all the most powerful 
 and virulent speeches of the Tribunes, and in heaping abuse 
 on the leaders of the aristocracy. Every personal defect, 
 every domestic scandal, every tradition dishonorable to a noble 
 house, would be sought out, brought into notice, and exag- 
 gerated. The illustrious head of the aristocratical party, Mar- 
 cus Furius Camillus, might perhaps be, in some measure, pro- 
 tected by his venerable age and by the memory of his great 
 services to the State. But Appius Claudius Crassus enjoyed 
 no such immunity. He was descended from a long line of 
 ancestors distinguished by their haughty demeanor, and by the 
 inflexibility with which they had withstood all the demands of '?<> 
 the Plebeian order. While the political conduct and the 
 deportment of the Claudian nobles drew upon them the fiercest 
 public hatred, they were accused of wanting, if any credit is 
 due to the early history of Rome, a class of qualities which, in 
 the military commonwealth, is sufficient to cover a multitude 
 of offenses. The chiefs of the family appear to have been 
 
78 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 180 eloquent, versed in civil business, and learned after the fashion 
 of their age; but in war they were not distinguished by skill or 
 valor. Some of them, as if conscious where their weakness 
 lay, had, when filling the highest magistracies, taken internal 
 administration as their department of public business, and left 
 the military command to their colleagues.* One of them had 
 been intrusted with an army, and had failed ignominiously.t 
 None of them had been honored with a triumph. None of 
 them had achieved any martial exploit, such as those by which 
 Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, 
 
 X9 o Aulus Cornelius Cossus, and, above all, the great Camillus, 
 had extorted the reluctant esteem of the multitude. During 
 the Licinian conflict, Appius Claudius Crassus signalized him- 
 self by the ability and severity with which he harangued 
 against the two great agitators. He would naturally, there- 
 fore, be the favorite mark of the Plebeian satirists; nor would 
 they have been at a loss to find a point on which he was open 
 to attack. 
 
 His grandfather, called, like himself, Appius Claudius, had 
 left a name as much detested as that of Sextus Tarquinius. 
 
 200 This elder Appius had been Consul more than seventy years 
 before the introduction of the Licinian laws. By availing 
 himself of a singular crisis in public feeling, he had obtained 
 the consent of the Commons to the abolition of the Tribune- 
 ship, and had been the chief of that Council of Ten to which 
 the whole direction of the State had been committed. In a 
 few months his administration had become universally odious. 
 It had been swept away by an irresistible outbreak of popular 
 fury; and its memory was still held in abhorrence by the whole 
 city. The immediate cause of the downfall of this execrable 
 
 210 government was said to have been an attempt made by Appius 
 Claudius upon the chastity of a beautiful young girl of humble 
 birth. The story ran that the Decemvir, unable to succeed by 
 bribes and solicitations, resorted to an outrageous act of 
 tyranny. A vile dependent of the Claudian house laid claim 
 to the damsel as his slave. The cause was brought before the 
 
 * In the years of the city 260, 304, and 330. 
 fin the year of the city 283. 
 
V I Ki ; I M A . 79 
 
 tribunal of Appius. Tho wicked magistrate, in defiance of the 
 clearest proofs, gave judgment for i ho Claimant. But the girl's 
 father, a brave soldier, saved her from servitude and dis- 
 honor by stabbing her to the heart in the sight of the whole 
 Forum. That blow was the signal for a general explosion. aao 
 Camp and city rose at once; the Ten were pulled down; the 
 Tribuneship was re-established; and Appius escaped the hands 
 of the executioner only by a voluntary death. 
 
 It can hardly be doubted that a story so admirably adapted 
 to the purposes both of the poet and of the demagogue would 
 be eagerly seized upon by minstrels burning with hatred 
 against the Patrician order, against the Claudian house, and 
 especially against the grandson and namesake of the infamous 
 Decemvir. 
 
 In order that the reader may judge fairly of these fragements 230 
 of the lay of Virginia, he must imagine himself a Plebeian who 
 has just voted for the re-election of Sextius and Licinius. All 
 the power of the Patricians has been exerted to throw out the 
 two great champions of the Commons. Every Posthumius, 
 ^Emilius, and Cornelius has used his influence to the utmost. 
 Debtors have been let out of the workhouses on condition of 
 voting against the men of the people; clients have been posted 
 to hiss and interrupt the favorite candidates. Appius Claudius 
 Crassus has spoken with more than his usual eloquence and 
 asperity: all has been in vain; Licinius and Sextius have a fifth 240 
 time carried all the tribes; work is suspended; the booths are 
 closed; the Plebeians bear on their shoulders the two cham- 
 pions of liberty through the Forum. Just at this moment it 
 is announced that a popular poet, a zealous adherent of the 
 Tribunes, has made a new song which will cut the Claudian 
 nobles to the heart. The crowd gathers round him, and calls 
 on him to recite it. He takes his stand on the spot where, 
 according to tradition, Virginia, more than seventy years ago, 
 was seized by the pandar of Appius, and he begins his story. 
 
Virginia. 
 
 FRAGMENTS OF A LAY SUNG IN THE FORUM ON THE DAY WHEREON 
 LUCIUS SEXTJUS SEXTINUS LATERANUS AND CAIU8 LICINIUS 
 CALVUS STOLO WERE ELECTED TRIBUNES OF THE COMMONS THE 
 FIFTH TIME, IN THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCLXXXII. 
 
 250 YE good men of the Commons, with loving hearts and true, 
 Who stand by the bold Tribunes that still have stood by you, 
 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, 
 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. 
 
 260 Of all the wicked Ten'still the names are held accursed ; 
 And of all the wicked Ten, Appius Claudius was the worst. 
 
 251. Who stand by the bold Tribunes. See note to "Horatius," 
 line 351. 
 
 254. Of fountains running wine. The Homeric hymn to Dionysos 
 (Bacchus) tells how the purple stream of wine ran along the decks of the 
 ship on board of which the god was imprisoned. 
 
 255. Of maids with snaky tresses These are the Furies and the 
 Gorgons, of whom two were immortal; the third. Medusa, was mortal, and 
 was slain by Perseus, who brought her head, with its snake-locks, to Athene. 
 The goddess placed it on her aegis. 
 
 255. Or sailors turned to swine. By the magic potions of Kirk 
 (Circe). See note to " Battle of the Lake Regillus, 1 " line 389. 
 
 259. When the wicked Ten bare sway. The Decemvirs, who are said 
 to have been appointed about the middle of the fifth century B.C., to carry 
 out the legal reforms rendered necessary by the concessions made by the 
 Patricians to the Plebs. 
 
 261. Appius Claudius was the worst. The Claudian gens or clan, 
 one of the most illustrious in Rome, traced its origin to the mythical Sabine, 
 Attus Clausus, the friend of ^Eneas. They had now, according to the story, 
 been in Rome for about half a century. 
 
 80 
 
VIRr.INIA. 81 
 
 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 
 His lowering brow, his curling inouth, which always 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, 
 With outstretched chin and crouching pace, the client Marcus 
 
 steals, 
 
 His loins girt up to run with speed, be the errand what, it may, 270 
 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 ; 
 Where'er ye fling the carrion, the raven's croak is loud ; 
 Where'er down Tiber garbage floats, the greedy pike ye see ; 
 And whereso'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. 
 With her small tablets in her hand, and her satchel on her arm, 280 
 Home she went bounding from ihe 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 ; 
 
 263. Twelve axes waited 011 him. Each of the Decemvirs was at- 
 tended by the same number of lictoi-s to which each Consul was entitled. 
 See note to " Battle of the Lake Regillus," line 352. 
 
 273. When brave Liciiiius speaks. Livy mentions a Licinius as one 
 of the first Tribunes of the people. Another, Spurius Licinius, is by other 
 historians called Icilius. Later on in the history than the time to which the 
 Decemvirs belonged, some of the Liciuii became prominent through their 
 laws for dealing with the subject of debt. 
 
 277. Such clients still will be. -With reference to the Patrician or 
 dominant class in the state, all members of the Plebs were clients bound to 
 perform special services, in return for which they received protection from 
 their masters or patrons, especially in the event of legal prosecutions. There 
 was thus no distinct class of Plebeians who were not clients; butevil-rninded 
 Patricians would probably find no difficulty in gathering round themselves 
 bodies of Plebeian retainers ready to do their will against their fellow- 
 Plebeians. 
 
82 LAYS OF ANCIENT HOME. 
 
 And up the Sacred Street she turned, and, as she danced along, 
 She warbled gayly to herself lines of the good old song, 
 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 ; 
 290 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 Albau mountains the light of morning broke ; 
 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, 
 
 300 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, 
 Forth she went bounding to the school, nor dreamed of shame of 
 
 harm. 
 
 She crossed the Forum shining with stalls in alleys gay, 
 And just had reached the 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. 
 
 3 io Hard strove the frighted maiden, and screamed with look aghast ; 
 
 284. And up tlie Sacred Street. The Via Sacra, leading into the 
 Forum. 
 
 287. And found Lucrece. See note to " Battle of the Lake Regillus," 
 line 429. 
 
 292. And all along the Forum. The Roman Forum was built on some 
 marshy or swampy ground between the Palatine and Capitoline hills. Tradi- 
 tion assigned its erection to Romulus and the Sabine Titus Tatius. 
 
 295. From all the roofs of the Seven Hills. See note to " Battle of 
 the Lake Regillus," line 942. 
 
 307. He crouched behind his patron's heels. See note 277. 
 
VIRGINIA.. 83 
 
 And at her scream from right and left the folk came running fast ; 
 
 Tin 1 money-changer Crispus, with his thin silver hail's, 
 
 And Ilunno from the stately booth glittering with Punic wares, 
 
 And the strong smith Mur.-cna, grasping a half-forged brand, 
 
 And Volero the llesher. 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 Murrenagave Marcus such a blow, 
 The caitiff reeled three paces back, and let the maiden go. 
 Yet glared he fiercely round him, and growled in harsh, fell 320 
 
 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. 
 'Twas in the sad September, the month of wail and fright. 
 Two augurs were borne forth that morn ; the Consul died ere 
 
 night. 
 
 I wait on Appius Claudius, I waited on his sire : 
 Let him who works the client wrong beware the patron's ire !" 
 
 So spake the varlet Marcus ; and dread and silence came 
 On all the people at the sound of the great Claudian name. 
 For then there was no Tribune to speak the word of might, 330 
 
 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, 
 Who clung tight to Munena's skirt, and sobbed, and shrieked for 
 
 aid, 
 
 313. And I l;iiino from the stately booth. Hanno, it is scarcely 
 necessary to say, would not be a Roman citizen, but a Carthaginian or 
 T.vrian alien resident in Rome. His name appears again in that of Hannibal, 
 which is a compound of Hanno with Baal, Bel, a lord. 
 
 325. Two augurs were borne forth that morn. A name given to 
 seers who drew omens from the flight of birds or from examining their 
 intestines after sacrifice. 
 
 330. For then there was no Tribune. The reference is to the alleged 
 suspension of the constitution and all its ordinary offices while the Decemvirs 
 were engaged in the \vork of legal reformation. 
 
 :;:}'. No honest Sextius then. Among the Tribunes of the people Li vy 
 mentions one Sextius, who proposed the sending of a colony to Bola. 
 
84 LAYS OP ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Forth through the throng of gazers the young Icilius pressed, 
 And stamped his foot, and rent his gown, and smote upon his 
 
 breast, 
 
 And sprang upon that column, by many a minstrel sung, 
 Whereon three molderiug helmets, three rusting swords, are 
 
 hung. 
 340 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 father's graves, 
 Be men to-day, Quirites, or be forever slaves ! 
 For this did Servius give us laws? For this did Lucrece bleed? 
 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? 
 
 350 Oh for that ancient spirit which curbed the Senate's will ! 
 Oh for the tents which in old time whitened the Sacred Hill ! 
 In those brave days our fathers stood firmly side by side ; 
 
 J536. The young Icilius pressed. According to the story, Virginia was 
 betrothed to Icilius, who had filled the office of Plebeian Tribune. 
 
 343. Be men to-day, Quirites. The word Quirites may have some con- 
 nection with the Patrician Curise; that it is closely connected with the name 
 Quirinus is obvious. 
 
 344. For this did Servius give us laws. Servius Tullius, the constitu- 
 tional king, whose legislation associated all Roman citizens in their military 
 capacity, came between Tarquinius Priscusand his son Tarquinius Superbus, 
 to whom he owed his death. 
 
 346. For this did those false sons. The two sons of Brutus, the citizen 
 who was elected Consul with Tarquinius Collatinus immediately after the 
 expulsion of Tarquin the Proud, were beheaded by their father's order for 
 conspiring to restore the tyrant to his power. 
 
 347. For this did Scaevola's right hand. Q. Mucius Scaevola having 
 determined to murder Porsenna (see ' Horatius," line 99), made his way into 
 his camp, and there murdered his secretary by mistake. Learning his 
 error, he thrust his hand into a brazier, to show how little he cared for tor- 
 ture, and then told the king that he had no less than 300 fellow-conspirators. 
 Alarmed at the risks which he was running, the Etruscan chief proposed, it 
 is said, to make peace with the Romans. 
 
 351. Whitened the Sacred Hill. The scene of the secession of the 
 Plebs, three miles from Rome. This secession preceded the recognition of 
 the Tribunes as officers of the Roman state. 
 
VIRGINIA. 85 
 
 They faced the Marcian fury ; they tamed the Fabian pride ; 
 They drove the fiercest Quinctius an outcast forth from Rome ; 
 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 'twas in vain : for freedom 'tis no more. 
 No crier to the polling summons the eager throng ; 
 No Tribune breathes the word of might that guards the weak 
 
 from wrong. 
 Our very hearts, that were so high, sink down beneath your 
 
 will. 
 Riches, and lands, and power, and state ye have them: keep 
 
 them still. 
 
 Still keep the holy fillets ; still keep the purple gown, 
 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, 
 
 353. They faced the Marcian fury. The story related by Livy tells us 
 that Cains Mareius, a young Patrician, called Coriolauus from having con- 
 quered the town of Corioli, was banished for contempt of the magistrates, 
 and taking service with the Volscians, reduced the Romans to extremities, 
 from which they were delivered only by the intercession of his mother and 
 the Roman matrons. His exclamation on yielding to their prayer was, it is 
 said, " Mother, thou hast saved Rome, but ruined thy son!" 
 
 &53. They tamed the Fabian pride. A reference to the troops of Caeso 
 Fnhius, who refused to storm the camp of the enemy, and so, by leaving the 
 victory incomplete, deprived the general of his triumph. 
 
 354. They drove the fiercest Qiiiiietius. L. Quinctius Cincinnatus, 
 according to the story of Livy, was a violent opponent of the Plebeians, and 
 was li implied in consequence. 
 
 355. They sent the haughtiest Claudius with shivered fasces 
 home. The reference is to a riot in which, about a hundred years before 
 tin- time at which this lay is supposed to have been recited, the head of the 
 Appian geiis or clan had been roughly treated by the mob. 
 
 3G4. Still keep the holy fillets The fillet was worn by priests and 
 priestesses ; and priesthood was confined strictly to the Patrician class. 
 
 364. Still keep the purple gown. The trabea, a toga of purple and 
 white, was worn by the Consuls and knights in public solemnities. 
 
 365. The axes See note to " Battle of the Lake Regillus," line 352. 
 
 365. The curule chair, the car, and laurel crown. The Sella Curulis, 
 or chair of state, had been strictly an emblem of royalty. After the expul- 
 sion of the kings, the right of using it was conferred on the chief Patrician 
 magistrates. The car was used by the Consuls when triumphing as Roman 
 generals over their enemies. At the same time they wore a wreath or gar- 
 hind of laurel. 
 
 366. Still press us for your cohorts. Every Roman legion was made 
 up of ten cohorts; but as the number of men in a legion varied from time to 
 time, that of the cohorts was also uncertain. 
 
86 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Let your foul usance eat away the substance of the poor. 
 370 Still let your haggard debtors bear all their fathers bore ; 
 Still let your dens of torment be noisome as of yore ; 
 No fire when Tiber freezes ; no air in dog-star heat ; 
 And store of rods for free-born backs, and holes for free-born 
 
 feet. 
 
 Heap heavier Still the fetters ; bar closer still the grate ; 
 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? 
 3 8o 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 
 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. 
 Still let the maiden's beauty swell the father's breast with pride ; 
 Still let the bridegroom's arms infold an unpolluted bride. 
 390 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, 
 
 369. Let your foul usance. One of the chief grievances against which 
 the Plebeians struggled in their contests with the ruling class was the severity 
 of the law of debt, which not only made repayment of loans difficult or im- 
 practicable, but left the person of the debtor at the mercy of the creditor, 
 who might shut him up fettered in a private prison or dungeon, and even 
 sell him into slavery. See note to page HI, line 217. 
 
 379. From Consuls. See note to " Horatius," line 225. 
 
 379. And High Pontiffs See note to " Battle of the Lake Regillus," 
 line 917. 
 
 379. And ancient Alban kings. The Latin kings of Alba Longa, whose 
 rule came to an end, according to the story, with the destruction of the city 
 by the orders of the third Roman king, Tullus Hostilius. See note to "Battle 
 of the Lake Regillus," line 305. 
 
 382. Who in Corinthian mirrors. The luxury of Corinth passed into 
 proverbs, which spoke of it as beyond the reach of any except a favored few. 
 
 383. And breathe of Capuan odors. Capua was the great city of the 
 rich Campanian plain, the pleasures of which are supposed to have been 
 fatal to the efficiency of the army of Hannibal. 
 
VIRGINIA. 87 
 
 And learn by proof, iu some wild hour, how much the wretched 
 
 dare." 
 
 Straightway Virginias led the maid a lit lie spare aside, 
 To where ihe 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 : 
 Virginias caught the whittle up, and hid it in his gown. 
 And then his eyes grew very dim, and his throat began to swell, 400 
 And in a hoarse, changed voice he spake, " Farewell, sweet child ! 
 
 Farewell ! 
 
 Oh ! how I loved my darling ! Though stern I sometimes l>e, 
 To thee, thou kuowst I was not so. Who could be so to thee? 
 And how my darling loved me ! How glad she was to hear 
 My footstep on the threshold when I came back last year ! 
 And how she danced with pleasure to see my civic crown, 
 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 ; 
 And none will grieve when 1 go forth, or smile when I return, 4 i 
 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 ; 
 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. 
 
 406. To see my civic crown. The civic crown, composed of the leaves 
 of three different sorts of oak, was bestowed upon a Roman soldier who had 
 saved the life of another citizen in battle by slaying his opponent. It was 
 originally conferred by the hands of the rescued man. 
 
 407. And brought m> forth my grown. The toga was the distinctive 
 dress of the Roman citizen, and thus the Romans were known as the gens 
 toqata or gown-wearing people. On reaching manhood, youths, who had 
 thus far worn the toga prcetexta or purple-hemmed gown, p:t on the toga 
 ivrilis, which was simply white. 
 
88 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 420 He little deems that in this hand I clutch what still can save 
 Thy gentle youth from taunts and blows, the portion of the slave ; 
 Yea, and from nameless evil, that passeth taunt and blow 
 Foul outrage which thou knowest not, which thou shalt never 
 
 know. 
 Then clasp me round the neck once more, and give me one more 
 
 kiss; 
 
 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 ; 
 430 And in another moment brake forth from one and all 
 A cry as if the Yolscians 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 ; 
 And some tore up their garments fast, and strove to stanch the 
 
 wound. 
 
 In vain they ran, and felt, and stanched ; for never truer blow 
 That good right arm had dealt in fight against a Volscian foe. 
 
 When Appius Claudius saw that deed, he shuddered and sank 
 
 down, 
 
 And hid his face some little space with the corner of his gown, 
 440 Till, with white lips and bloodshot eyes, Virgiuius tottered nigh, 
 And stood before the judgment-seat, and held the knife on high. 
 " Oh ! 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, 
 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 stead- 
 fast feet, 
 Strode right across the market-place unto the Sacred Street. 
 
 45 o 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. 
 
VIRGINIA. 89 
 
 He looked upon his lictors ; but they trembled, and stood still. 
 And, ;is Virgin ius through the press his way in silence clcl'l, 
 Ever the mighty multitude fell back to right and left. 
 And he hath passed in safety unto his woful home, 
 And there ta'eii 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'erflowiug 
 
 tide ; 
 
 And close around the body gathered a little train 460 
 
 Of them 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. 
 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, 
 Like the moaning noise that goes before the whirlwind on the 470 
 
 deep, 
 
 Or the growl of a fierce watch-dog but half -aroused from sleep. 
 But when the lictors at that word, tall yeomen all and strong, 
 Each with his ax and sheaf of twigs, went down into the throng, 
 Those old men say, who saw that day of sorrow and of sin, 
 That in the Roman Forum was never such a din. 
 The wailing, hooting, cursing, the howls of grief and hate, 
 Were heard beyond the Pinciau 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, 
 No cries were there, but teeth set fast, low whispers and black 480 
 
 frowns, 
 
 And breaking up of benches, and girding up of gowns. 
 'Twas well the lictors might not pierce to where the maiden lay, 
 Else surely had they been, all twelve torn limb from limb that 
 
 day. 
 
 477. Beyond the Pincian Hill. This hill lies to the north of the MODS 
 Quirinalis, and therefore was beyond the wall which bore the name of Ser- 
 vius Tullius. 
 
90 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Right glad they were to struggle back, blood streaming from 
 
 their heads, 
 
 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 I 
 490 Thou that wouldst make our maidens slaves must first make slaves 
 
 of men. 
 
 Tribunes ! Hurrah for Tribunes ! Down with the wicked Ten !" 
 And straightway, thick as hailstones, came whizzing through the 
 
 air 
 
 Pebbles, and bricks, and potsherds, all round the curule chair : 
 And upon Appius Claudius great fear and trembling came ; 
 For never was a Claudius yet brave against aught but shame. 
 Though the great houses love us not, we own, to do them right. 
 That the great houses, all save one, have borne them well in tight. 
 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 ; 
 The Claudian yoke was never pressed on any necks but ours. 
 A Cossus, like a wild cat, springs ever at the face ; 
 A Fabius rushes like a boar against the shouting chase ; 
 
 498. Still Caius of Corioli. See note to line 353. The first syllable in 
 Corioli must be pronounced long. 
 
 500. Beneath the yoke of Furius. The Furian gens or clan is supposed 
 to have belonged originally to Tusculum. The most distinguished member 
 of this gens was M. Furius Camillas, the deliverer of Rome from the Gauls. 
 
 506. A Cossus, like a wild cat. Cossus was the cognomen or surname 
 of a house belonging to the gens Cornelia. Somewhat later than the time 
 of the Decemvirs, Servius Cornelius Cossus killed in battle Lars Tolumuius, 
 the king of Veii, and won the spolia opima, which, it is said, were obtained 
 by only two other Romans during the whole course of Roman history. 
 
 507. A Fabius rushes like a boar. The Fabian gens had always been 
 noted for their bravery and public spirit. The almost total destruction of 
 the clan at the Cremera by the Veientines was the most celebrated incident 
 in the traditions of the family. 
 
vim; IMA. 91 
 
 lint the vile Claudian litter, raging with currish spile, 
 
 Still yelps ami snaps at those who run, still runs from those who 
 
 smite. 
 
 So now 'twas seen of Appius. When stones began to fly, 5' 
 
 lie 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 I" 
 While yet he spake, and looked around with a bewildered stare. 
 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 
 
 tight. 
 
 But, though without or staff or sword, so furious was the throng 
 That scarce the train with might and main could bring their lord 
 
 along. 
 Twelve times the crowd made at him ; five times they seized his 520 
 
 gown ; 
 
 Small chance was his to rise again, if once they got him down : 
 And sharper came the pelting ; and evermore the yell 
 " Tribunes ! we will have Tribunes !" rose with a louder swell : 
 And the chair tossed as tosses a bark with tattered sail 
 When raves the Adriatic beneath an eastern gale, 
 When the Calabrian sea-marks 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, 530 
 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 sight, and send me there to see ! 
 
 527. And the great Thunder-Cape. The Acroceraunian promontory 
 on the eastern or Greek coast of the Adriatic, facing Brentesion (now 
 Brindisi), a region of thunder-fire, like the Phlegrsean Plains at the base of 
 Vesuvius. 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 
 
 IT can hardly be necessary to remind any reader that ac- 
 cording to the popular tradition, Romulus, after he had slain 
 his grand-uncle Amulius, and restored his grandfather Nu- 
 mitor, 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, arid of the high destinies re- 
 served for the young colony. 
 This event was likely to be a favorite theme of the old Latin 
 
 10 minstrels. They would naturally attribute the project of Rom- 
 ulus to some divine intimation of the power and prosperity 
 which it was decreed that his city should attain. They would 
 probably introduce seers foretelling the victories of unborn 
 Consuls and Dictators, and the last great victory would gen- 
 erally 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 Ro- 
 mans over the Greeks might throw his song of exultation into 
 this form. 
 
 20 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 Pos- 
 thumius Megellus, who sprang from one of the noblest houses 
 of Rome, and had been thrice Consul, was sent ambassador to 
 Tarentum, with charge to demand reparation for grievous in- 
 juries. The Tarentines gave him audience in their theater, 
 where he addressed 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 be- 
 
 3 o longed to the Greek character ; and closely connected with 
 this faculty was a strong propensity to flippancy and imperti- 
 
 92 
 
TIM: I'KniMiKrY OF CAPYS. 93 
 
 nence. When Posthumius placed an accent wrong, his hear- 
 ers burst into a laugh. When he remonstrated, they hooted 
 him, and called him barbarian ; and at length hissed him off 
 the stage as if he had been a bad actor. As the grave Roman 
 retired, a buffoon who, from his constant drunkenness, was 
 nick-named the Pint-pot, came up, with gestures of the gross- 
 est indecency, and bespattered the senatorial gown with filth. 
 Posthumius turned round to the multitude, and held up the 
 gown, as if appealing to the universal law of nations. The i<> 
 sight only increased the insolence of the Taivnlinrs. They 
 clapped their hands, and set up a shout of Liughler v.hich 
 shook the theater. "Men of Tarentum," said Posthiimius, 
 u it will take not a little blood to wash this gown." 
 
 Rome, in consequence of this insult, declared war against 
 the Tarentines. The Tarentines sought for allies beyond the 
 Ionian Sea. Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, came to their help with 
 a large army ; and, for the first time, the two great nations 
 of antiquity were fairly matched against each other. 
 
 The fame of Greece in arms, as well as in arts, was then at 5 
 the height. Half a century earlier, the career of Alexander 
 had excited the admiration 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 English troops. The Tarentines were con- 
 vinced that their countrymen were irresistible in war ; and 60 
 this conviction had emboldened them to treat with the gross- 
 est indignity one whom they regarded as the representative of 
 an inferior race. Of the Greek generals then living, Pyrrhus 
 was indisputably the first. Among the troops who were 
 trained in the Greek discipline, his Epirotes ranked high. 
 His expedition to Italy was a turning-point in the history of 
 the world. He found there a people who, far inferior to the 
 Atheniens and Corinthians in the fine arts, in the speculative 
 sciences, and in all the refinements of life, were the best sol- 
 
94 LAYS OF ANCIENT HOME. 
 
 7 o diers on the face of the earth. Their arms, their gradations 
 of rank, their order of battle, their method of intrench in ent, 
 were all of Latian 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 practiced eye had surveyed theJJoman encampment, 
 w T ere full of meaning : " These barbarians/' he said " have no- 
 thing barbarous in their military arrangements." He was at 
 first victorious ; for his own talents were superior to those of 
 
 80 the captains who were opposed to him ; and the Romans were 
 not prepared for the onset of the elephants of the East, which 
 were then for the first time seen in Italy moving mountains, 
 with long snakes for hands. But the victories of the Epirotes 
 were fiercely disputed, dearly purchased, and altogether un- 
 profitable. At length, Manius Curius Dentatus, who had in 
 his first Consulship won two triumphs, was again placed at 
 the head of the Roman Commonwealth, and sent to encounter 
 the invaders. A great battle was fought near Beneventum. 
 Pyrrhus was completely defeated. He repassed the sea ; and 
 
 90 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 na- 
 tional arms, and in their own national battle-array, that they 
 had overcome weapons and tactics long believed to be invinci- 
 ble. The pilum and the broadsword had vanquished the Mace- 
 
 100 donian spear. The legion had broken the Macedonian pha- 
 lanx. 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 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 95 
 
 of rude structure, and hi'aps of spears and helmets. But 
 now, for the first time, the riches of Asia and the arts of 
 (invrr adorned a Unman pagrant. Plate, fine stuff's, costly no 
 furniture, rare animals, exquisite paintings and sculptures, 
 formed part of the procession. At the banquet would be as- 
 sembled 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 tri- 
 umphs, 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 ter- 
 ror of Carthage ; Caius Duilius, the founder of the maritime 
 greatness of his country ; Marcus Atilius Regulus, who owed i 20 
 to defeat a renown far higher than that which he had derived 
 from his victories ; and Caius Lutatius Catulus, who, while 
 suffering from a grievous wound, fought the great battle of 
 the Agates, and brought the first Punic war to a trium- 
 phant close. It is impossible to recount the names of these 
 eminent citizens, without reflecting that they were all, with- 
 out exception, Plebeians, and would, but for the ever-memor- 
 able struggle maintained by Caius Licinius and Lucius Sex- 
 tius, have been doomed to hide in obscurity, or to waste in 
 civil broils, the capacity and energy which prevailed against 130 
 Pyrrhus and Hamilcar. 
 
 On such a day we may suppose that the patriotic enthusi- 
 asm of a Latin poet would vent itself in reiterated shouts of lo 
 triumphe, such as were uttered by Horace 'on a far less excit- 
 ing occasion, and in boasts resembling those which Virgil put 
 into the mouth of Anchises. The superiority of some foreign 
 nations, and especially of the Greeks, in the lazy arts of 
 peace, would be admitted with disdainful candor ; but pre- 
 eminence in all the qualities which fit a people to subdue and 
 govern mankind would be claimed for the Romans. 140 
 
 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 pos- 
 sibly have lived to read the first hexameters of Ennius, and to 
 
96 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 see the first comedies of Plautus. His poem, as might be ex- 
 pected, 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 
 150 troubles himself little about dates, and having heard travelers 
 talk with admiration of the Colossus of Rhodes, and of the 
 structures and gardens with which the Macedonian kings of 
 Syria had embellished their residence on the banks of the 
 Orontes, he has never thought of inquiring whether these 
 things existed in the age of Komulus. 
 
The Prophecy of Capys. 
 
 A LAY SUNG AT THE BANQUET IN THE CAPITOL, ON THE DAY 
 \\IIKREON MANIUS CURIUS DENTATUS, A SECbND TIME CONSUL, 
 TRIUMPHED OVER KING PYRRHU8 AND THE TARENTINES, IN 
 THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCCLXX1X. 
 
 I. 
 
 Now slain is King Amulius, 
 
 Of the great Sylviaii line, 
 Who reigned in Alba Louga, 
 
 On the throne of Aventiue. 
 Slain is the Pontiff Gamers, 
 
 Who spake the words of doom : 
 " The children to the Tiber ; 
 
 The mother to the tomb." 
 
 n. 
 
 In Alba's lake no fisher 
 
 His net to-day is flinging : 
 On the dark rind of Alba's oaks 
 
 To-day no ax 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. 
 
 in. 
 And every Alban burgher 
 
 Hath donned his whitest gown ; 
 And every head in Alba 
 
 161. Who spake the words of doom. Doom to Rhea Ilia or Sylvia, the 
 daughter of Numitor, who had been cruelly treated by his brother Amulius, 
 and to her twiu children, the daughters of the war-god Mars. 
 
 97 
 
98 LAYS OP ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Wearetlf 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. 
 
 180 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, 
 J 9 And gently rocked the cradle 
 
 That bore the fate of Rome. 
 The ravening she-wolf knew them, 
 
 And licked them o'er and o'er, 
 And gave them of her own fierce milk, 
 
 Rich with raw flesh and gore. 
 Twenty winters, twenty springs, 
 
 Since then have rolled away ; 
 And to-day the dead are living : 
 
 The lost are found to-day. 
 
 VT. 
 
 200 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 
 
 193. The ravening she-wolf knew them. See note to " Horatius," 
 line 444 
 
 200. Blithe it was to see the twins. Romulus and Remus. The two 
 names are only varied forms of the same word. 
 
THK PKolMIKCY OP CAPYS. 99 
 
 Before them stride the pipers, 
 Piping a note of glee. 
 
 VII. 
 
 On the right goes Romulus, 
 
 With arms to the elbows red, 
 And in his hand a broadsword, 
 
 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, 
 And in his hand a boar-spear, 
 
 And on the point a head 
 A wrinkled head and aged, 
 
 With silver beard and hair, 
 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 ax, and bow. 
 On each side every hamlet 
 
 Pours forth its joyous crowd, 
 Shouting lads and baying dogs 
 
 And children laughing loud, 
 And old men weeping foadly 
 
100 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 As Rhea's boys go by, 
 And maids who shriek to see the heads, 
 Yet, shrieking, press more nigh. 
 
 x. 
 
 So they marched along the lake ; 
 They marched by fold and stall, 
 By corn-field and by vineyard. 
 Unto the old man's hall. 
 
 XI. 
 
 1 In the hall -gate sate Capys, 
 Capys, the sightless seer ; 
 250 From head to foot he trembled 
 
 As Romulus drew near. 
 And up stood still his thin white hair, 
 
 And his blind eyes flashed fire : 
 "Hail ! foster child of the wondrous nurse ! 
 Hail ! son of the wondrous sire 1" 
 
 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 ? 
 260 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 : 
 For thee no ship brings precious bales 
 
 Across the Libyan brine : 
 
 241. As Rhea's boys go by. See note to " Horatius," line 444. 
 
 254. Hail ! foster child of the wonderous nurse ! The she- wolf. 
 
 255. Hail ! son of the wonderous sire ! The war-god Mars. 
 
 265. In the Tartessian mine. The reference is to mines in the region 
 of Southern Spain, called by the Phenicians Tarshish, in the Greek from 
 Tartessos. 
 
 267. Across the labyaii brine. The sea separating Libya, or North- 
 Western Africa, from Europe. 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAlY6. 101 
 
 Thou shall not drink from umber : * 
 
 '1'hou sh;ill not, -i'st </!.' (U>\\ i. ; 
 Arubia sluilt not sice'), Ihy l.t.-Us. 270 
 
 Nor Sidon liniiv Ihy 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 have fed. 
 Thou wast not made for lucre, 
 
 For pleasure, nor for rest ; 
 Thou, that are sprung from the War-god's loins, 
 
 And hast tugged at the she-wolf's breast. 
 
 xv. 
 " From sunrise unto sunset 280 
 
 All earth shall hear thy fame ; 
 A glorious city thou shalt build, 
 
 And name it by thy name : 
 And there, uuquenched through ages, 
 
 Like Vesta's sacred fire, 
 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, 290 
 
 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. 
 
 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, 300 
 
 s5. Like Vesta's sacred fire. See note to " Horatius," line 313, and to 
 line 965 " Battle of the Lake Regillus." 
 
102 LAYS OF ANCIENT KQME. 
 
 Her. Woody lair surrounds, 
 
 ti^he 1 dies .in sileace, b?.ting Lard, 
 
 Amidst ilie dying -hounds. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 " Pomona loves the orchard ; 
 
 And Liber loves the vine ; 
 And Pales loves the straw-built shed 
 
 Warm with the breath of kiue ; 
 And Venus loves the whispers 
 
 Of plighted youth and maid, 
 310 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 : 
 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. 
 
 32 o " 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 ; t 
 
 Leave to the sordid race of Tyre 
 
 304. Pomona loves the orchard. The Latin goddess of fruits. 
 
 305. And Liber loves the vine. Liber, /ree, an epithet of the wine-god 
 Bacchus, as freeing men from their cares. 
 
 306. And Pales loves the straw-built shed. Pales, a rustic god, or 
 goddess, whose name, like that of the Sicilian Palici, is akin probably to 
 Pallas. 
 
 308. And Venus loves the whispers. Venus, the Latin goddess of 
 beauty and love, answers to the Greek Aphrodite. According to the Roman 
 tradition, she was the mother of .iEneas, the progenitor of the Roman race. 
 
 326. Leave to the sordid race of Tyre. Sordid, as busying themselves 
 only with trade and commerce. See note to ' Battle of the Lake Regillus," 
 line 422. 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPY8. 103 
 
 Their dyeing- vats and looms : 
 Leave to the sous of Carthage 
 
 The rudder and the oar : 
 Leave to the Greek his marble Nymphs 330 
 
 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 : 
 And thine the wheels of triumph, 
 
 Which with their laureled train 
 Move slowly up the shouting streets 
 
 To Jove's eternal fane. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 " Beneath thy yoke the Volscian 340 
 
 Shall veil his lofty brow : 
 Soft Capua's curled revelers 
 
 Before thy chairs shall bow : 
 The Lucumoes of Arnus 
 
 Shall quake thy rods to see ; 
 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 350 
 
 To the raven and the kite. 
 
 328. Leave to the sons of Carthage. See note to " Battle of the Lake 
 Regillus," line 423. 
 
 330. Leave to the Greek his marble nymphs. Statues of nymphs, 
 the maidens with whom the imagination f the Greeks peopled the woods 
 and waters, mountains and caves 
 
 332 Thine, Roman, is the pilum. The Pilum was the long: spear car- 
 ried by the heavy-armed soldiers of the Roman legion, who were therefore 
 called Pilani, those who stood before them being known as Antepilani. 
 
 344. The L-ucumoes of Arnus. See note to " Horatius," line 268. 
 
 348, The Gaul shall come against thee. The reference is to the inva- 
 sion of the Gauls under Brenrius, and to their discomfiture by the Dictator, 
 M. Furius Camillas. 
 
104 LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXTV. 
 
 " The Greek shall come against thee, 
 
 The conqueror of the East, 
 Beside him stalks to battle 
 
 The huge earth-shaking beast, 
 The beast on whom the castle 
 
 With all its guards doth stand, 
 The beast who hath between his eyes 
 
 The serpent for a hand. 
 3 6o First march the bold Epirotes. 
 
 Wedged close with shield and spear ; 
 And the ranks of false Tarentum 
 
 Are glittering in the rear. 
 
 xxv. 
 
 The ranks of False Tarentum 
 Like hunted sheep shall fly : 
 In vain the bold Epirotes 
 
 Shall round their standards die : 
 And Apennine's gray vultures 
 
 Shall have a noble feast 
 37 o 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. 
 Hurrah ! for Rome's short broadsword, 
 
 That through the thick array 
 Of leveled spears and serried shields 
 
 Hews deep its gory way. 
 
 352. The Greek shall come against the e. The Greek invader is Pyr- 
 rhus, king of Epeirus. See the Preface. 
 
 355. The huge earth-shaking beast. The elephant, with which the 
 Romans now first became acquainted. 
 
 362. And the ranks of false Tarentum. Tarentum was one of the 
 chief cities of Great Greece, Magna Graecia. See note to "Battle of the Lake 
 Regillus," line 825. 
 
 372. Hurrah ! for the good weapons. The seer is here drawing a con- 
 trast between the weapons used by the Roman legionaries and those of the 
 Greek Phalanx. 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPYS. 105 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 " Hurrah ! for the great triumph 380 
 
 That stretches many a mile. 
 Hurrah ! for the wan captives 
 
 That pass iu endless tile. 
 Ho 1 bold Epirotes, whither 
 Hath the Red King ta'en flight ? 
 
 Ho 1 dogs of False Tarentum, 
 
 Is not the gown washed white ? 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 " Hurrah 1 for the great triumph 
 
 That stretches many a mile. 
 Hurrah ! for the rich dye of Tyre, 390 
 
 And the fine web of Nile, 
 The helmets gay with plumage 
 
 Torn from the pheasant's wings, 
 The belts set thick with starry gems 
 
 That shone on Indian kings, 
 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 
 Thrice in utmost need sent forth, 
 
 Thrice drawn in triumph home. 
 
 385. Hath the Red King ta'en flight? The word Pyrrhus means red, 
 like the Latin Kufus. 
 
 390. Hurrah! for the rich dye of Tyre. See note to "Battle of the 
 Lake Regillus," line 422. 
 
 407. Thrice drawn in triumph home The Dictator Manius Curius 
 Dentatus defeated Pyrrhus in the battle of Beueventum, B.C. 274. See note 
 to line 362. 
 
106 LAYS OP ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Weave, weave, for Manius Curius 
 
 The third embroidered gown : 
 4o 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. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 "Blest and thrice blest the Roman 
 
 Who sees Rome's brightest day, 
 Who sees that long victorious pomp 
 
 Wind down the Sacred Way, 
 420 And through the bellowing Forum, 
 
 And round the Suppliant's Grove, 
 Up to the everlasting gates 
 
 O* Capitolian Jove. 
 
 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 ; 
 43 o 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 
 
 419. Wind down the Sacred Way. See note to " Virginia," line 284. 
 ' 420. And through the bellowing Forum. See note to "Virginia," 
 line 292. 
 
 424. Then where, o'er two bright havens. Situated on an isthmus of 
 three miles in width, Corinth had a port on the Saronic as well as on the 
 Corinthian or Crissaean Gulf. 
 
 426. Where the gigantic King of Day. The colossal statute of the 
 sun, which was reckoned among the seven wonders of the world. 
 
 428. Where soft Orontes murmurs. The Syrian river on which was 
 built the city of Antioch. i 
 
THE PROPHECY OF CAPY8. 107 
 
 Of Brysa's thousand masts ; 
 Where fur-clad hunters wander 
 
 Amidst the northern ice : 
 Where through the sand of morning-laud 
 
 The camel bears the spice ; 
 Where Atlas flings his shadow 440 
 
 Far o'er the western foam, 
 Shall be great fear on all who hear 
 
 The mighty name of Rome." 
 
 435. Of llyrsa's thousand masts. Byrsa, in Hebrew or Phenician 
 Bozra, the citadel of Carthage. 
 
 440. Where Atlas flings his shadow. The great mountain range of 
 North- Western Africa, which was supposed to bear up the heavens, in the 
 myth of Atlas. 
 

 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
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