Front matter
V
V > s v.
V k * A
Preface
Historical criticism has now for more than half a century been actively at work upon the history of Rome, and the tests which, in accordance with the laws of evidence, it has applied to the traditional narrative, have shown that the greater part of the tales which have passed for more than two thousand years as the history of the Roman kings and of the earlier ages of the republic, contain but a small portion of truth hidden under a huge mass of fiction. The results of scientific investigation have gradually been accepted by all scholars whose judgment is not perverted by an obstinate historical conservatism very much akin to superstition ; and the present volume is an attempt to give these results in a form intelligible to any reader of common capacity, and possessed of so much previous knowledge as can be acquired, or ought to be acquired, at an average school before the age of fifteen or sixteen. All viii Preface.
purely scientific matter has been excluded. The results have been given with only so much of argument and proof as is absolutely necessary to carry conviction. All scientific references and notes have been excluded. Yet no statement has been made which could not be substantiated by reference to the original authors from whom all our information is derived. It is hoped that those readers who are attracted by the subject, and wish to carry their studies further, will be able to use the present volume as a starting point for investigations of their own.
W. IHNE.
Chapter I. The Causes Of The Greatness Of Rome
The greatness of the Roman empire, .
Its influence on modern civilization,
The Roman law,
Political wisdom of the Roman people,
Value of the history of Rome,
The small beginning of Rome,
The advantage of Rome over other Italian cities,
Geographical situation,
Men of genius,
The site of Rome,
Proximity of the seven hills to each other,
Political association,
Secondary causes, .
PAGE
I I 2
3 3 3 4 4 4 5 6 6
Chapter II. Sources Of The History Of Rome
The meaning of history,
Character of early history,
The credulity of the old historians,
Origin of historical criticism,
Niebuhr,
Niebuhr's influence,
Sir G. C. Lewis,
Contents.
Line of demarcation between fable and history,
Tests of historical truth,
Contemporary evidence,
Second-hand evidence,
Tradition, .
The oldest Roman annalists, .
Fabius Pictor,
Cincius Alimentus,
Porcius Cato,
Later annalists,
Historical poems, .
Sources of the annalists,
Scarcity of fiction pure and simple
Existence of a traditional story before Fabius,
Non-existence of a national epos,
Oral tradition, ......
Importance of the knowledge of precedents and customary The senate as conservator of the memory of the past, The sacerdotal corporations, ....
Probability of a pontifical narrative,
Oral tradition alone insufficient to account for the detail the annals, .....
The pontifical or great annals, ....
Age of the pontifical annals, ....
Other public documents, .....
Laws and treaties, .
Laws of the twelve tables, .
Apocryphal laws of the kings,
Legendary relics, ......
Public monuments, .....
Fixity and continuity of the Roman families,
Their aristocratic spirit and pride,
Family portraits, ......
Solemn funerals, .....
Funeral orations, ......
Written laudations, ...
Family chronicles, ......
PAGE 12 12
13 . 14
14 . 15
15 . 15
. 17 18 18 18
. 19 of
Contents.
XI
Tl eir antiquity, ......
And character, ......
General character of the earliest annals, Family traditions confined to the republican period, Different treatment of the regal and the republican period in the annals, ......
Reasons for noticing the legends of the kings,
3° 31
Chapter III. The Legends Of The Seven Kings Of Rome
The legend of Aeneas the Trojan, .
Birth of Romulus and Remus, •>
Dispute between Romulus and Remus
Building of Rome by Romulus,
Death of Remus, .
The asylum of Romulus,
Rape of the Sabines,
Tarpeia,
War of the Romans and Sabines, .
Mettius Curtius,
Union of the Romans and Sabines,
The laws of Romulus, .
Death of Romulus,
The first interregnum,
Numa Pompilius, the second king,
His sacred laws,
His civil laws,
The peace of Numa,
Tullus Hostilius, the third king, .
War with Alba,
The Horatii and Curiatii, .
Crime of Horatius,
Treason of Mettius,
Destruction of Alba, .
Tullus s wickedness and death,
Ancus Marcius, the fourth king,
43 43 44 45 45 46
Xll
Contents.
War with the Latins, ....
Lucumo of Tarquinii, . ...
Lucius Tarquinius, the fifth king, .
Wars with the Latins and Sabines, .
The reforms of Tarquinius,
Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol,
The great sewer, forum, and circus,
Miraculous birth of Servius Tullius, .
Servius Tullius, the sixth king,
The centuriate assembly of the people,
Murder of King Servius, ....
Lucius Tarquinius, the seventh king, .
Conquest of Gabii, ....
Establishment of Roman power over Latium,
Purchase of the Sibylline books, .
Message to Delphi, .....
Outrage of Sextus on Lucretia,
Expulsion of the king and establishment of the republic
Conspiracy for the restoration of the king,
The patriotism of Brutus, ....
Banishment of the house of the Tarquinii,
War with Tarquinii and Veii, .'
War with Porsenna of Clusium, .
Horatius Codes, .....
Mucius Scaevola, .....
Cloelia, ......
The Etruscans defeated at Aricia,
Latin war. ......
Battle of Lake Regillus, ....
PAGE 46 46
Chapter IV
EXAMINATION OF THE LEGENDS OF THE KINGS. Absence of contemporary records,
Rationalist explanation of fables, .... Moral impossibilities, .....
Chronological impossibilities, ....
Other objections, . . .
66 66 67
68 70
Contents.
PAGE
Omnipotent lawgivers, ..... 70
Laws and religion as primeval as language, . . .70
Aetiological myths, ...... 71
The rape of the Sabines, . . . . .72
The Lacus Curtius, .... 73
Greek stories, ....... 74
The legend of Romulus not of Roman origin, . . 75
Meagreness of Roman imagination, . . . .76
Repetitions, ...... 76
Identity of Romulus and Tullus, . . , -77
Of Numa and Ancus, .... 77
Of the two Tarquins, Romulus and Tullus, . . -78
Servius Tullius, ...... 78
The latter part of the history of the kings as fabulous as the
The miraculous origin of the Servian constitution, . . 79
Expulsion of Tarquinius equally miraculous, . . 80
Incredibility of the foreign history, . . . .81
The war of Porsenna resulted in the subjugation of Rome, 81 The Latin war full of fictions, ....
Chapter V. The Five Phases Of The History Of Rome In The Regal Period
Most ancient state of Latium,
A confederacy under Alba as head, .
Rome a Latin settlement. ....
Invasion of Latium by Sabines^
Alliance of Romans and Sabines, .
Alliance developed into a federal state,
The sacerdotal king superseded by a military king
The Etruscans, .....
Etruscan dominion in Latium,
Reforms of Tarquin and Servius,
Effect of the military monarchy, .... 90
The revolution, . . . . . .90
The republic, ...... 90
85 85 86
87 87
XIV
Contents.
Chapter VI. Religious Institutions In The Time Of The Kings
PAGE
Materials for a sketch, .
The epic poetry of Greece,
Conservative spirit of the Romans,
Great antiquity of religious institutions, .
Supremacy of religion in the East,
Every religion purely national,
Hierarchical character of civil communities
Political institutions originally religious, .
The religion of the Romans, .
Adoption of the Greek mythology,
Minute religious observances, .
Meaning of the word " religion," . \ Religion as a legal system, \ Pontiffs and other priests, v \i Various forms of divination,
The auspices, ....
Abuse of the auspices, . . .
Genuine faith of the old time,
©2 9 2
94 94 94 95 95 96
97 98
99 99 100 101 102 103 104
Chapter VII. Character Of The Monarchy
The king was high priest,
Inauguration of the king, ....
Mode of election, ....
Criminal judges appointed by the king, Military commanders, ....
Sacerdotal kings superseded by military chiefs,
104 105 105 105 105 106
Pontiffs appointed after the abolition of the sacerdotal royalty 107
Chapter VIII. The Senate Of The Regal Period
The fathers de facto representatives of the great houses, . 109
The authority of the fathers, .... no
The interregnum, . . . . . .110
Conflict between the senate and the later kings, . . ill xv
Chapter IX. The People In The Regal Period
The people. Patricians and plebeians,
Patrician assembly of curiae, . . .
The three different popular assemblies,
Rights of the plebeians,
Origin of the plebs,
The clients, ......
The military kings the patrons of the plebs, .
Chapter X. The Magistrates Of The Republic
Change in the executive,
The consular office,
Limited in time,
Its partition among two colleagues,
Right of intercession, .
The dictatorship,
Origin of the dictatorship,
Valerius Poplicola,
The Valerian laws,
Duties of the consular office
Administration of justice,
Private jurisdiction,
The priests public servants,
The pontiffs the interpreters of divine and human law
And the guardians of science and learning
The augurs, ....
Chapter XI. The Senate Of The Republic
The senate a consultative body, .
Number of senators, .....
New senators added after the expulsion of Tarquin were not plebeians, .......
ii5
"5
127 127
XVI
Contents.
Nor were the hew members plebeians raised to the rank of
patricians, ...... 128
The senate purely patrician and champion of patrician interests, ....... 129
The title patres conscriptl, ..... 129
Difference of the senate from modern parliaments, . . 130
The senate not a representative assembly, . . 130
Mode of electing senators, ..... 131
Character and stability of the senate, . . . 131
Chapter XII. The Popular Assemblies Of The Republic
The proper functions of the popular assemblies, The comitia curiata superseded, .... The comitia centuriata, ....
Military character of the comitia centuriata, Functions of the comitia, ....
Alleged origin of the comitia curiata, Forms observed at the meetings of the comitia centuriata, Prevalence of patrician power in the state, Probable origin of the comitia centuriata, The assembly of centuries ceases to be military and becomes purely political, .....
Chapter XIII. The Tribunes Of The People
Secession of the plebs,
The causes of the secession,
Original power of the tribune,
Plebeian aediles,
The sacred law, ....
Antiquity of the tribuneship, .
Control of the conscription by the tribunes,
Number of tribunes,
Original mode of election,
-..
.
. 141
.
. 142
.
. 143
.
. 144
Contents. xvii
PAGE
The comitia curiata, ...,,. 145
Division of the land into local tribes, . . . 146
Plebeian character of the comitia tributa, . . . 146
The comitia tributa recognized as a sovereign assembly, . 147
Number of local tribes, ..... 148
Chapter XIV. The Agrarian Law Of Spurius Cassius
Wealth and poverty, ...... 148
Disposal of conquered land, .... 149
Rise of discontent among the plebeians, . . . 149
The agrarian laws, ...... 150
The proposals of Spurius Cassius, .... 150
Chapter XV. The League With The Latins And Hernicans
Prevalence of confederations, ..... 151
Rome the head of a pre-historic league, . . . 152
New league between Rome and Latium, . . . 152
Motives for concluding the league, . . . 152
Object and effect of the league, .... 153
Chapter XVI. The Wars With The Volscians And Aequians
The story of Coriolanus, ..... 155
Criticism of the story of Coriolanus, . . . 158
Effect of the Volscian wars, ..... 159
The story of Cincinnatus, ..... 159
Exaggerations of the story, ..... 161
Character of the Aequian wars, . . . . 162
B
Contents.
Chapter XVII. War With The Etruscans
The Etruscan town of Fidenae, Roman fort on the Cremera, Story of the Fabii, Historical foundation of the story,
PAGE
. 162 163
. 163 164
Chapter XVIII. The Decemvirs And The Laws Of The Twelve Tables. 451-442 B.c
The Publilian law, . , . . . .165
Advancing claims of the plebeians, . . . 166
The Terentilian rogations, . , , . . 167
The Claudian family, . . . . . 168
Concessions to the plebs, ..... 168
Election of decemvirs, , 169
The laws of the Twelve Tables, . . . .169
Perplexities of the annalistic accounts, . . . 169
Embassy to Athens, ...... 170
Reasons for rejecting the story, .... 170
The traditional story of the decemvirs, . . .171
Criticism of the story, ..... 174
The laws of the last two tables, .... 174
Probable causes of the overthrow of the decemvirs, . 175
Chapter XIX. Extension Of Plebeian Rights From 449 To 390 B.c
Bearing of the decemviral legislation on public and private laws 176
Quaestors elected by the people, .... 176
Right of appeal confirmed and extended, . . . 176
Restoration of the tribuneship and aedileship, . . 177
Sovereignty of the assembly of tribes acknowledged, . 177
Extension of the legislative and elective functions of the
assembly of tribes, ..... 178
Contents. xix
PAGE
Gradual abolition of patrician privileges, . . 178
Canuleian law on the intermarriage of patricians and plebeians, 178 Agitation for a share in the executive, . . . 179
The office of military tribunes with consular power, . 179
Policy of the patricians to make the laws nugatory, . 180
Explanation of this result, .... 181
Spurius Maelius, ...... 182
The censorship, ...... 183
Duration of the office of censors, .... 184
Extent of the power of the censors in drawing up the list of citizens, ....
Nomination of senators,
Revision of the centuries of knights,
The censorship of morals,
Financial duties of the censors, .
Limitation of the censorship to eighteen months
Doubling of the number of quaestors,
. 186 187
. 188 188
. 188 1S9 Plebeians elected to the office of military tribunes, . . 189
Chapter XX. The Foreign Relations Of Rome Down To The Conquest Of Veil
The position of Rome in Latium, .... igo
Condition of Latium, ..... 190
Decay of the Volscians and Aequians, . . . 191
Increased preponderance of Rome, . . . 191
Acquisition of the territory of Corioli, . . . 192
Conquest of Labici, Bolae, and other towns in Latium, 192
Conquest of Fidenae, ..... 193
The spolia opima of Cornelius Cossus, . . . 193
The city of Veii, ...... 194
Hostilities between Veii and Rome, . . . 194
New military organization of Camillus, . . . 195
The Roman armies, ..... 196
Introduction of military pay, ..... ioj
XX
Contents.
Siege of Veii,
Miraculous capture of Veii,
Criticism of the story,
Chapter XXI. The Invasion Of The Gauls
Decline of Etruscan power, ..... 202
Migration of the Gauls, ..... 202
Their invasion of Etruria, ..... 203
Cause of war with Rome, ..... 203
Battle of the Allia, ...... 204
Rome abandoned, ..... 205
Defence of the Capitol, ..... 206
Camillus appointed dictator, . . . . 207
The Capitol saved by M. Manlius, .... 207
Ransom paid to the Gauls, .... 207
Expulsion of the Gauls, ..... 208
Criticism of the story, ..... 208
The destruction of Rome less complete than reported, . 209
Long duration of the blockade improbable, . . 210
The story of Camillus, ..... 210
Contradicted by Polybius, . . . . 211
The story of the geese an aetiological legend, . .211
Index,
MAP.
Ancient Latium and adjoining districts,
Frontispiece
EARLY ROME.
Chapter I. The Causes Of The Greatness Of Rome
The Roman Empire in the early ages of our era embraced all the countries round the Mediterranean Sea, together with vast tracts north of the Alps, stretching in one direction as far as the Danube, and even beyond that river in its lower course, and in another as far as the Atlantic Ocean, St. George's Channel, the Solway Frith, and the North Sea. In this great „
The greatness
empire was gathered up the sum total that of the Roman remained of the religions, laws, customs, Ian- m P ire - guages, letters, arts, and sciences of all the nations of antiquity which had successively held sway or predominance. It was the appointed task of the Romans to collect the product of all this mass of varied national labour as a common treasure of mankind, and to deliver it over to the ages which were to follow.
When after the lapse of centuries Europe gradually emerged from the flood of barbarism which had overwhelmed it, and new nations were formed out of the wreck of the Roman Empire, it was the trea- _ . _
1 Its influence
sure of ancient learning saved by Rome on modem
which guided the first steps of these nations
towards new forms of civilized life. The language and
2 Early Rome. ch. i.
literature of Rome had never been altogether lost and forgotten. By slow degrees the tongue of Latium was moulded into the dialects of Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France. The Christian Church pertinaciously clung to the old language which was that of her ritual and of the Latin Fathers. The city of Rome had become the seat of the successors of St. Peter, and her language penetrated wherever Roman Catholic missionaries preached the Gospel of Christ. It became the vehicle of all the learning of the time, the language of diplomacy, of law and government ; finally, of education ; and in the schools and universities of modern Europe the whole world of Latin literature was fostered into a second life, and acquired an influence on the public mind of which every living man still in some way or other feels the effects. But the Latin literature, though great and admirable in many respects, is not the grandest product of the Roman mind. It was not original nor spontaneous, and consequently not truly national. In poetry, philosophy, and history the Romans were the disciples and imitators of the Greeks. They added little of their own. Their strength and originality lay in another direction. They proved themselves masters in the art
of civil law and government. The Roman lTw 6 Roman law possesses an intrinsic excellence which
has made it the foundation of all legal study in Europe, and the model of almost all codes of civil law now in force. Every one of us is benefited directly or indirectly by this legacy of the Roman people, a legacy as valuable as the literary and artistic models which we owe to the great writers and sculptors of Greece.
The stupendous growth of the Roman Empire, and the solidity of its structure, which enabled it to last so
CH. I. The Causes of the Greatness of Rome. 3
long, are due not so much to the courage and endurance of the Roman soldiers, or domoftfi? 5 " to the genius of the Roman generals, as to Roman peoother causes, and chiefly to the combination of a desire for improvement with respect for established rights : in short, to political wisdom, which prefers reform to revolution, which is not dazzled by speculation on impossible perfection, and which never sacrifices what is good in order to attain what may appear to be best. The development of the Roman constitution differs in this respect from the usual course of Greek policy, and reminds us of the spirit in which the English constitution was built up, in which whatever is new is an outgrowth and development of something old, and in which mere speculation and theoretic enthusiasm have never been able to sever the link which connects the present with the past.
The history of the Roman people, then, has surely many claims on our attention. It is to a certain extent the history of every modern history°of nation in its earlier stages, and it contains Romelessons of policy, which even after so many centuries are instructive and may prove applicable in the political conflicts of the present day.
No great state known to history can be traced to such a small beginning as Rome. When the _,
. The small
kings of Persia and of Macedon built up beginning of their respective monarchies, they worked with the national power which they found ready for them, waiting only to be organized and directed. The Carthaginians started on their career of enterprise and conquest with the experience, the skill, and the wealth of their Phoenician mother country. The Romans, on the other hand, when they emerged to power in Latium and
4 Early Rome. ch. i.
Etruria, could boast neither of a numerous nor a civilized ancestry ; they had found no accumulation of wealth ready for their use, no political experience which they might have applied. They had everything to make from the beginning ; they had to form a nation and a national character, to create national wealth, to acquire political experience. They succeeded in all this, and so vigorous was the spirit which animated the citizens of that single city, that it infused itself into the population of all Italy, and to a certain extent of the ancient world, and thus the language, customs, thought, and religion of numerous nations were Romanized, and exhibit traces of their origin even at the present day. What was the cause, we may well ask, that gave such a superiority to Rome over other cities of SS of Rome ^aly? Why did not Veii, or Naples, or over other Syracuse become the nucleus of a great
Italian cities. J °
empire ? Had Rome an advantage over them with regard to soil, climate, or geographical situation ? This question must be answered in £u°S hical tne negative. The soil in the neighbourhood of Rome was comparatively sterile, the climate unhealthy, the situation unfavourable for commerce. The city had no good port, nor was there a large fertile country behind it which might have supplied materials for export and markets for foreign goods.
If Rome had no such advantages, was it to any advantages of race and descent that she owed her eminence ? Again we must answer in the negative. The people of Rome were of the same race as their neighbours. They could boast of no superiority on the score of descent. For a long time indeed the fable of the descent from Aeneas and his Trojan followers had currency. This fable is now exploded,
CH. i. The Causes of the Greatness of Rome. 5
and if it were not, we should hardly infer that for their political and military greatness the Romans were indebted to Oriental ancestors. More recently an admixture of Etruscans has been inferred from indications more or less significant. But this admixture has not as yet been proved by any satisfactory evidence, and moreover the political and religious systems, as well as the language of the Etruscans, were entirely different from those of the Latin or other neighbouring tribes. The Sabines and Latins, who combined to form the fundamental element of the Roman people, were offshoots of the Sabellian stock to which all the native or aboriginal population of Italy belong, from the Apennines south of the Po to the extreme end of the peninsula.
It was therefore not superiority of race which gave the Romans predominance in Italy. We must look for another cause. Perhaps we may be led to
, . r „ Men of genius.
surmise that it was a fortunate succession of great men which raised the Romans above the other Italian communities. We know that the Persian, the Macedonian, the Arab empires owed their rapid rise to the genius of individuals. In modern Europe the aggrandizement of Prussia is due in some considerable degree to the eminent political and military qualities of the Hohenzollern dynasty. But Rome was singularly sterile in great men. She was made powerful and predominant by the almost unheeded labour of a vastnumber of citizens of average ability, not by men whose names have the ring of Solon, Pericles, Epaminondas, or Alexander ; or, if we compare modern times, of Charlemagne, Peter the Great, Frederic, or Washington. The kings and statesmen to whom the establishment of the State and the laws is ascribed, such as Romulus, Numa, Servius, and Brutus, belong not to authentic history, but to pre-
6 Early Rome. ch. i.
historic fable ; and when politicians arose who exerted an influence beyond that of private citizens in the service of the State, men who, like Sulla and Caesar, wielded in their hands the power of the whole community, the greatness of republican Rome had passed away.
If then the first cause of Roman greatness, the first impulse given to national development, is to be found neither in the advantages of soil and situation, nor in the superiority of race, nor in the genius of great men, shall we be driven to say that it was mere chance, or, in more reverent language, Divine providence which selected Rome as the seat of empire over Italy and the world ? Such a conclusion would not be a solution of the problem, but an evasion of the difficulty and a confession of weakness unworthy of the spirit of historical enquiry. Providence does not act contrary but according to fixed laws, and it is for us to investigate these laws, not to ignore them. Nor is it utterly impossible to discover the cause to which Rome owed in her infancy such an accession of strength as secured to her the superiority over her neighbours, and thus laid the foundation of her future greatness.
If we compare the site of Rome with the sites of the numerous cities which simultaneously with the earliest settlements on the seven hills covered the Rome te ° f plain of Latium and the adjoining hills, we find that each of the other towns was built on some steep or easily defended hill. Some of these hill-towns, such as Praeneste, were actually stronger than either the Roman Capitol or the Palatine hill. But nowhere do we find, as on the Tiber, a group of hills „ . . c possessing- each the advantage of defensi-
Proximity of r _ _ *=> ° ,
the seven hills bility, and vet lying so close to one another that the political isolation of each was 1mch. i. The Causes of the Greatness of Rome. 7
possible and that some kind of combination or federation for the maintenance of internal peace became absolutely necessary. People who live at a distance from each other may indulge in occasional strife ; but if by proximity of habitation they are compelled to have daily intercourse with one another, they are obliged to agree upon some terms of amicable life, if they do not prefer the miseries which internecine war must entail on all. This was the condition of the various settlements on the seven hills, which lay so near together that nature itself seemed to have destined them to form a combined city. There are dim, half fabulous traditions which speak of wars waged between the people of the Ouirinal hill and that of the Palatine. But the same traditions also report an amicable settlement of the combats, an agreement to live in peace, a combined government of the respective chiefs ; in fact, they describe a confederation of the two peoples, and their combination into one political community. Nor are these facts traceable only in the traditions of the Roman people; they are equally so in their institutions. The association of the Roman gentes (houses) to form curice (wards), and of these to form the three tribes of Ramnes, Tities, and Luceres, together with other indications of a gradual union of independent bodies to form the Roman people, show clearly enough that the principle of association lay at the root of the early vigour of Rome, and gave to the combined people of the Romans and the Sabines {populus Romanics Quiritium) such a preponderance over each isolated Latin city, that Rome alone became fit to be the head of Latium. Thus then arose a spirit of political association based upon calculations of interest but sanctioned by the sense of right; nor when it had accomplished Political assorts first task, the security of the seven hills, ciation -
8 Early Rome. ch. I.
did it die away, but continued to work on a larger scale when Rome had become great City after city and tribe after tribe were invited or compelled to join the leading power as allies {socii) until the whole of Italy, though in fact subject to Rome, appeared to be only one vast confederacy.
We have seen that the geographical position of Rome, and the peculiarity of race, cannot be deemed to have been the first causes of Roman greatness. Now, however, after we have discovered the first cause, we may and must admit that both these circumstances power- Secondary fully contributed as secondary causes to accauses. celerate and consolidate the growth of Rome,
when it had taken root owing to the peculiar formation of the ground. The comparative sterility of the territory encouraged the warlike spirit of the early Romans, whose frequent wars seem to have been undertaken oftener for the sake of booty than in just self-defence. It is possible too, that the unhealthiness of the surrounding district at certain seasons of the year may have served as a barrier to ward off attacks, when other resources failed. The remoteness of the sea and the want of a good port was a protection from the numerous pirates who infested the Tyrrhenian waters. But it was especially the situation of Rome in the middle of the peninsula, cutting off the northern from the southern half, which enabled her to divide her enemies and to subdue them separately. Lastly, the similarity of race, which bound the Romans by the ties of blood and common customs to the Latins and the Samnites, the Campanians, Lucanians, and in fact to all the indigenous races of Italy, enabled them to repel the invasions of their non- Italian enemies, the Gauls and the Carthaginians, and to appear in the light of champions and protectors of
Italy. When in the time of the first historical inroad of the Gauls the onset of these barbarians had been broken by the brave defenders of the Capitol, Rome rose from her ashes as by a second birth with the title to pre-eminence among all the peoples of Italy ; and when the proud and able Hannibal was foiled before the same walls, Rome in a still more signal and decisive manner fought at the head of the Italians against the common foe.
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