The Story of Rome from the Earliest Times to the End of the Republic

Arthur Gilman

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• Publié par: sufan
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 18
• Langue: English

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Rome From the Earliest Times to the End of the
Republic by Arthur Gilman
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Title: The Story of Rome From the Earliest Timesto the End of the Republic
Author: Arthur Gilman
Release Date: September, 2004 [EBook #6427]
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Edition: 10
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG
EBOOK, THE STORY OF ROME FROM THE
EARLIEST TIMES TO THE END OF THE
REPUBLIC ***
Anne Soulard, Charles Franks and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.
THE STORY OF ROME FROM THE
EARLIEST TIMES TO THE END OF THE
REPUBLIC
BY ARTHUR GILMAN, M.A.PREFACE.
It is proposed to rehearse the lustrous story of
Rome, from its beginning in the mists of myth and
fable down to the mischievous times when the
republic came to its end, just before the brilliant
period of the empire opened.
As one surveys this marvellous vista from the
vantage-ground of the present, attention is fixed
first upon a long succession of well- authenticated
facts which are shaded off in the dim distance, and
finally lost in the obscurity of unlettered antiquity.
The flesh and blood heroes of the more modern
times regularly and slowly pass from view, and in
their places the unsubstantial worthies of dreamy
tradition start up. The transition is so gradual,
however, that it is at times impossible to draw the
line between history and legend. Fortunately for the
purposes of this volume it is not always necessary
to make the effort. The early traditions of the
Eternal City have so long been recounted as truth
that the world is slow to give up even the least jot
or tittle of them, and when they are disproved as
fact, they must be told over and over again as
story.
Roman history involves a narrative of social and
political struggles, the importance of which is as
wide as modern civilization, and they must not be
passed over without some attention, though in thepresent volume they cannot be treated with the
thoroughness they deserve. The story has the
advantage of being to a great extent a narrative of
the exploits of heroes, and the attention can be
held almost the whole time to the deeds of
particular actors who successively occupy the
focus or play the principal parts on the stage. In
this way the element of personal interest, which so
greatly adds to the charm of a story, may be
infused into the narrative.
It is hoped to enter to some degree into the real life
of the Roman people, to catch the true spirit of
their actions, and to indicate the current of the
national life, while avoiding the presentation of
particular episodes or periods with undue
prominence. It is intended to set down the facts in
their proper relation to each other as well as to the
facts of general history, without attempting an
incursion into the domain of philosophy.
A.G.
CAMBRIDGE, September, 1885.CONTENTS
I.
ONCE UPON A TIME
The old king at Troy—Paris, the wayward youth—
Helen carried off—The war of ten years—Æneas,
son of Anchises, goes to Italy—His death— Fact
and fiction in early stories—How Milton wrote about
early England—How Æneas was connected with
England—Virgil writes about Æneas—How Livy
wrote about Æneas—Was Æneas a son of Venus?
—Italy, as Æneas would have seen it—Greeks in
Italy—How Evander came from Arcadia—How
Æneas died—Thirty cities rise—Twins and a she-
wolf— Trojan names in Italy—How the Romans
named their children and themselves.
II.
HOW THE SHEPHERDS BEGAN THE CITY
Augury resorted to—Romulus and Remus on two
hills—Vultures determine a question—Pales, god of
the shepherds—Beginning the city—Celer killed—
An asylum—Bachelors want wives—A game of
wife-snatching— Sabines wish their daughtersback—Tarpeia on the hill—A duel between two hills
—Two men named Curtius—Women interfere for
peace—Where did Romulus go?—Society divided
by Romulus—Numa Pompilius chosen king— Laws
of religion given the people—Guilds established—
The year divided into months—Tullus Hostilius king
—Six brothers fight—Horatia killed —Ancus
Martius king—The wooden bridge.
III.
HOW CORINTH GAVE ROME A NEW DYNASTY
Magna Græcia—Cypselus, the democratic
politician—Demaratus goes to Tarquinii—Etruscan
relics—Lucomo's cap lifted—Lucomo changes his
name—A Greek king of Rome—A circus and other
great public works—A light around a boy's head—
Servius Tullius king—How the kingdom passed
from the Etruscan dynasty.
IV.
THE RISE OF THE COMMONS
A king of the plebeians—A league with Latin cities
—A census taken— The Seven Hills—Classes
formed among the people—Assemblies of the
people—How ace means one—Heads of the
people—Armor of the different classes—A
Lustration or Suovetaurilia—What is a lustrum?—Servius divides certain lands—A wicked husband
and a naughty wife— King Servius killed—
Sprinkled with a father's blood.
V.
HOW A PROUD KING FELL
A tyrant king—The mysterious Sibyl of Cumæ
comes to sell books—The head found on the
Capitoline—A serpent frightens a king—A serious
inquiry sent to Delphi—A hollow stick filled with gold
helps a young man—A good wife spinning—A
terrible oath—The Tarquins banished—A republic
takes the place of the kingdom—The first of the
long line of consuls—The good Valerius—The god
Silvanus cries out to some effect— Lars Porsena
of Clusium and what he tried to do—Horatius the
brave— Rome loses land—A dictator appointed—
Castor and Pollux help the army at Lake Regillus—
Caius Marcius wins a crown—Appius Claudius
comes to town.
VI.
THE ROMAN RUNNYMEDE
The character of the Romans—Traits of the kings
—Insignificance of Latin territory—Occupations—
Art backward—A narrow religion—Who were the
populus Romanus?—Patricians oppress the people—Wrongs of Roman money-lending—How a
debtor flaunted his rags to good purpose— Appius
Claudius defied—A secession to the Anio—
Apologue of the body and its members—Laws of
Valerius re-affirmed—Tribunes of the people
appointed—Peace by the treaty of the Sacred
Mount.
VII.
HOW THE HEROES FOUGHT FOR A HUNDRED
YEARS
Coriolanus fights bravely—He enrages the
plebeians—Women melt the strong man's heart—
Plebeians gain ground—Agrarian laws begin to be
made—Cassius, who makes the first, undermined
—The family of the Fabii support the commons—A
black day on the Cremara—Cincinnatus called
from his plow—The Æquians subjugated—What a
conquest meant in those days—The Aventine Hill
given to the commons—The ten men make ten
laws and afterwards twelve—The ten men become
arrogant—How Virginia was killed—Appius
Claudius cursed—The second secession of the
plebeians— The third secession—The commons
make gains—Censors chosen—The wonderful
siege of Veii—How a tunnel brings victory—
Camillus the second founder of Rome—How the
territory was increased, but ill omens threaten.
VIII.