Plutarch's Lives Volume I Part 4

The rape of the Sabines took place upon the eighteenth day of the month s.e.xtilis, which is now called August, on which day the feast of the Consualia is kept.

XVI. The Sabines were a numerous and warlike tribe, dwelling in unwalled villages, as though it was their birthright as a Lacedaemonian colony to be brave and fearless. Yet when they found themselves bound by such hostages to keep the peace, and in fear for their daughters, they sent an emba.s.sy to propose equitable and moderate terms, that Romulus should give back their daughters to them, and disavow the violence which had been used, and that afterwards the two nations should live together in amity and concord. But when Romulus refused to deliver up the maidens, but invited the Sabines to accept his alliance, while the other tribes were hesitating and considering what was to be done, Acron, the king of the Ceninetes, a man of spirit and renown in the wars, who had viewed Romulus first proceeding in founding a city with suspicion, now, after what he had done in carrying off the women, declared that he was becoming dangerous, and would not be endurable unless he were chastised. He at once began the war, and marched with a great force; and Romulus marched to meet him. When they came in sight of each other they each challenged the other to fight, the soldiers on both sides looking on. Romulus made a vow that if he should overcome and kill his enemy he would himself carry his spoils to the temple of Jupiter and offer them to him. He overcame his adversary, and slew him, routed his army and captured his city. He did not harm the inhabitants, except that he ordered them to demolish their houses and follow him to Rome, to become citizens on equal terms with the rest. This is the policy by which Rome grew so great, namely that of absorbing conquered nations into herself on terms of equality.

Romulus, in order to make the fulfilment of his vow as pleasing to Jupiter, and as fine a spectacle for the citizens as he could, cut down a tall oak-tree at his camp, and fas.h.i.+oned it into a trophy,[A] upon which he hung or fastened all the arms of Acron, each in its proper place. Then he girded on his own clothes, placed a crown of laurel upon his long hair, and, placing the trophy upright on his right shoulder, marched along in his armour, singing a paean of victory, with all the army following him. At Rome the citizens received him with admiration and delight; and this procession was the origin of all the subsequent triumphs and the model which they imitated. The trophy itself was called an offering to Jupiter Feretrius; for the Romans call to strike, _ferire_, and Romulus prayed that he might strike down his enemy. The spoils were called _spolia opima_, according to Varro, because _opim_ means excellence. A more plausible interpretation would be from the deed itself, for work is called in Latin _opus_. This dedication of _spolia opima_ is reserved as a privilege for a general who has slain the opposing general with his own hand. It has only been enjoyed by three Roman generals, first by Romulus, who slew Acron, king of the Ceninetes, second by Cornelius Cossus, who slew the Tyrrhenian Tolumnius, and, above all, by Claudius Marcellus, who killed Britomart, the king of the Gauls. Now Cossus and Marcellus drove into the city in chariots and four, carrying the trophies in their own hands; but Dionysius is in error when he says that Romulus used a chariot and four, for the historians tell us that Tarquinius, the son of Demaratus, was the first of the kings who introduced this pomp into his triumphs.

Others say that Poplicola was the first to triumph in a chariot.

However, the statues of Romulus bearing the trophy, which are to be seen in Rome, are all on foot.

[Footnote A: The habit of erecting trophies on a field of battle in token of victory appears to have been originally confined to the Greeks, who usually, as in the text, lopped the branches off a tree, placed it in the ground in some conspicuous place, and hung upon it the s.h.i.+elds and other spoils taken from the enemy. In later times the Romans adopted the habit of commemorating a victory by erecting some building on the field of battle. Under the emperors, victory was commemorated by a triumphal arch at Rome, many of which now exist. The Greek trophies were always formed of perishable materials, and it was contrary to their custom to repair them, that they might not perpetuate national enmities.]

XVII. After the capture of the Ceninete tribe, while the rest of the Sabines were still engaged in preparation for war, the inhabitants of Fidenae and Crustumerium and Antemna attacked the Romans. A battle took place in which they were all alike worsted, after which they permitted Romulus to take their cities, divide their lands, and incorporate them as citizens. Romulus divided all the lands among the citizens, except that which was held by the fathers of any of the maidens who had been carried off, which he allowed them to retain.

The remainder of the Sabines, angry at these successes, chose Tatius as their general and marched against Rome. The city was hard to attack, as the Capitol stood as an advanced fort to defend it. Here was placed a garrison, and Tarpeius was its commander, not the maiden Tarpeia, as some write, who make out Romulus a fool; but it was this Tarpeia, the daughter of the captain of the garrison, who betrayed the capital to the Sabines, for the sake of the golden bracelets which she saw them wearing. She asked as the price of her treachery that they should give her what they wore on their left arms. After making an agreement with Tatius, she opened a gate at night and let in the Sabines. Now it appears that Antigonus was not singular when he said that he loved men when they were betraying, but hated them after they had betrayed; as also Caesar said, in the case of Rhymitalkes the Thracian, that he loved the treachery but hated the traitor; but this seems a common reflection about bad men by those who have need of them, just as we need the poison of certain venomous beasts; for they appreciate their value while they are making use of them, and loathe their wickedness when they have done with them. And that was how Tarpeia was treated by Tatius. He ordered the Sabines to remember their agreement, and not to grudge her what was on their left arms. He himself first of all took off his gold armlet, and with it flung his great oblong s.h.i.+eld. As all the rest did the like, she perished, being pelted with the gold bracelets and crushed by the number and weight of the s.h.i.+elds. Tarpeius also was convicted of treachery by Romulus, according to Juba's version of the history of Sulpicius Galba. The other legends about Tarpeia are improbable; amongst them that which is told by Antigonus, that she was the daughter of Tatius the Sabine leader, abducted by Romulus, and treated by her father as is related above. Simylus the poet talks utter nonsense when he says that it was not the Sabines but the Gauls to whom Tarpeia betrayed the Capitol, because she was in love with their king. His verses run as follows:

"And near Tarpeia, by the Capitol That dwelt, betrayer of the walls of Rome.

She loved the chieftain of the Gauls too well, To guard from treachery her father's home."

And a little afterwards he speaks of her death.

"Her did the Boians and the Celtic tribes Bury, but not beside the stream of Po; From off their warlike arms their s.h.i.+elds they flung, And what the damsel longed for laid her low."

XVIII. However, as Tarpeia was buried there, the hill was called the Tarpeian hill until King Tarquinius, when he dedicated the place to Jupiter, removed her remains and abolished the name of Tarpeia. But even to this day they call the rock in the Capitol the Tarpeian Rock, down which malefactors used to be flung. When the Sabines held the citadel, Romulus in fury challenged them to come down and fight. Tatius accepted his challenge with confidence, as he saw that if overpowered his men would have a strong place of refuge to retreat to. All the intermediate s.p.a.ce, in which they were about to engage, was surrounded by hills, and so seemed to make a desperate battle necessary, as there were but narrow outlets for flight or pursuit. It chanced, also, that the river had been in flood a few days before, and had left a deep muddy pool of water upon the level ground where the Forum now stands; so that men's footing was not certain, but difficult and treacherous. Here a piece of good fortune befell the Sabines as they heedlessly pressed forward. Curtius, one of their chiefs, a man with a reputation for das.h.i.+ng courage, rode on horseback far before the rest. His horse plunged into this mora.s.s, and he, after trying to extricate him, at last finding it impossible, left him there and saved himself. This place, in memory of him, is still called the Gulf of Curtius. Warned of their danger, the Sabines fought a stout and indecisive battle, in which many fell, amongst them Hostilius.

He is said to have been the husband of Hersilia and the grandfather of Hostilius, who became king after the reign of Numa. Many combats took place in that narrow s.p.a.ce, as we may suppose; and especial mention is made of one, which proved the last, in which Romulus was struck on the head by a stone and like to fall, and unable to fight longer. The Romans now gave way to the Sabines, and fled to the Palatine hill, abandoning the level ground. Romulus, now recovered from the blow, endeavoured to stay the fugitives, and with loud shouts called upon them to stand firm and fight. But as the stream of fugitives poured on, and no one had the courage to face round, he lifted his hands to heaven and prayed to Jupiter to stay the army and not to allow the tottering state of Rome to fall, but to help it. After his prayer many were held back from flight by reverence for the king, and the fugitives suddenly resumed their confidence. They made their first stand where now is the temple of Jupiter Stator, which one may translate "He who makes to stand firm;"

and then forming their ranks once more they drove back the Sabines as far as what is now called the Palace, and the Temple of Vesta.

XIX. While they were preparing to fight as though the battle was only now just begun, they were restrained by a strange spectacle, beyond the power of words to express. The daughters of the Sabines who had been carried off were seen rus.h.i.+ng from all quarters, with loud shrieks and wailings, through the ranks and among the dead bodies, as though possessed by some G.o.d. Some of them carried infant children in their arms, and others wore their hair loose and dishevelled. All of them kept addressing the Romans and the Sabines alternately by the most endearing names. The hearts of both armies were melted, and they fell back so as to leave a s.p.a.ce for the women between them. A murmur of sorrow ran through all the ranks, and a strong feeling of pity was excited by the sight of the women, and by their words, which began with arguments and upbraidings, but ended in entreaties and tears. "What wrong have we done to you," said they, "that we should have suffered and should even now suffer such cruel treatment at your hands? We were violently and wrongfully torn away from our friends, and after we had been carried off we were neglected by our brothers, fathers, and relatives for so long a time, that now, bound by the closest of ties to our enemies, we tremble for our ravishers and wrongers when they fight, and weep when they fall.

Ye would not come and tear us from our ravishers while we were yet maidens, but now ye would separate wives from their husbands, and mothers from their children, a worse piece of service to us than your former neglect. Even if it was not about us that you began to fight, you ought to cease now that you have become fathers-in-law, and grandfathers, and relatives one of another. But if the war is about us, then carry us off with your sons-in-law and our children, and give us our fathers and relatives, but do not take our husbands and children from us. We beseech you not to allow us to be carried off captive a second time." Hersilia spoke at length in this fas.h.i.+on, and as the other women added their entreaties to hers, a truce was agreed upon, and the chiefs met in conference. Hereupon the women made their husbands and children known to their fathers and brothers, fetched food and drink for such as needed it, and took the wounded into their own houses to be attended to there. Thus they let their friends see that they were mistresses of their own houses, and that their husbands attended to their wishes and treated them with every respect.

In the conference it was accordingly determined that such women as chose to do so should continue to live with their husbands, free, as we have already related, from all work and duties except that of spinning wool (_talasia_); that the Romans and the Sabines should dwell together in the city, and that the city should be called Rome, after Romulus, but the Romans be called Quirites after the native city of Tatius; and that they should both reign and command the army together. The place where this compact was made is even to this day called the Comitium, for the Romans call meeting _coire_.

XX. Now that the city was doubled in numbers, a hundred more senators were elected from among the Sabines, and the legions were composed of six thousand infantry and six hundred cavalry. They also established three tribes, of which they named one Rhamnenses, from Romulus, another t.i.tienses from Tatius, and the third Lucerenses, after the name of a grove to which many had fled for refuge, requiring asylum, and had been admitted as citizens. They call a grove _lucus_. The very name of _tribe_ and tribune show that there were three tribes. Each tribe was divided into ten _centuries_, which some say were named after the women who were carried off; but this seems to be untrue, as many of them are named after places. However, many privileges were conferred upon the women, amongst which were that men should make way for them when they walked out, to say nothing disgraceful in their presence, or appear naked before them, on pain of being tried before the criminal court; and also that their children should wear the _bulla_, which is so called from its shape, which is like a bubble, and was worn round the neck, and also the broad purple border of their robe (_praetexta_).

The kings did not conduct their deliberations together, but each first took counsel with his own hundred senators, and then they all met together. Tatius dwelt where now is the temple of Juno Moneta, and Romulus by the steps of the Fair Sh.o.r.e, as it is called, which are at the descent from the Palatine hill into the great Circus. Here they say the sacred cornel-tree grew, the legend being that Romulus, to try his strength, threw a spear, with cornel-wood shaft, from Mount Aventine, and when the spear-head sunk into the ground, though many tried, no one was able to pull it out. The soil, which was fertile, suited the wood, and it budded, and became the stem of a good-sized cornel-tree. After the death of Romulus this was preserved and reverenced as one of the holiest objects in the city. A wall was built round it, and whenever any one thought that it looked inclined to droop and wither he at once raised a shout to tell the bystanders, and they, just as if they were a.s.sisting to put out a fire, called for water, and came from all quarters carrying pots of water to the place. It is said that when Gaius Caesar repaired the steps, and the workmen were digging near it, they unintentionally damaged the roots, and the tree died.

XXI. The Sabines adopted the Roman system of months, and all that is remarkable about them will be found in the 'Life of Numa.' But Romulus adopted the large oblong Sabine s.h.i.+eld, and gave up the round Argolic s.h.i.+elds which he and the Romans had formerly carried. The two nations shared each other's festivals, not abolis.h.i.+ng any which either had been wont to celebrate, but introducing several new ones, among which are the Matronalia, inst.i.tuted in honour of the women at the end of the war, and that of the Carmentalia. It is thought by some that Carmenta is the ruling destiny which presides over a man's birth, wherefore she is wors.h.i.+pped by mothers. Others say that she was the wife of Evander the Arcadian, a prophetess who used to chant oracles in verse, and hence surnamed Carmenta (for the Romans call verses _carmina_); whereas it is generally admitted that her right name was Nicostrate. Some explain the name of Carmenta more plausibly as meaning that during her prophetic frenzy she was bereft of intellect; for the Romans call to lack, _carcre_; and mind, _mentem_.

We have spoken before of the feast of the Palilia. That of the Lupercalia would seem, from the time of its celebration, to be a ceremony of purification; for it is held during the ominous days of February, a month whose name one might translate by Purification; and that particular day was originally called Febrate. The name of this feast in Greek signifies that of wolves, and it is thought, on this account, to be very ancient, and derived from the Arcadians who came to Italy with Evander. Still this is an open question, for the name may have arisen from the she-wolf, as we see that the Luperci start to run their course from the place where Romulus is said to have been exposed.

The circ.u.mstances of the ritual are such as to make it hard to conjecture their meaning. They slaughter goats, and then two youths of good family are brought to them. Then some with a b.l.o.o.d.y knife mark the foreheads of the youths, and others at once wipe the blood away with wool dipped in milk. The youths are expected to laugh when it is wiped away. After this they cut the skins of the goats into strips and run about naked, except a girdle round the middle, striking with the thongs all whom they meet. Women in the prime of life do not avoid being struck, as they believe that it a.s.sists them in childbirth and promotes fertility. It is also a peculiarity of this festival that the Luperci sacrifice a dog. One Bontes, who wrote an elegiac poem on the origin of the Roman myths, says that when Romulus and his party had killed Amulius, they ran back in their joy to the place where the she-wolf suckled them when little, and that the feast is typical of this, and that the young n.o.bles run,

"As, smiting all they met, that day From Alba Romulus and Remus ran."

The b.l.o.o.d.y sword is placed upon their foreheads in token of the danger and slaughter of that day, and the wiping with the milk is in remembrance of their nurse. Caius Acilius tells us that, before the foundation of Rome, the cattle of Romulus and Remus were missing, and they, after invoking Faunus, ran out to search for them, naked, that they might not be inconvenienced by sweat; and that this is the reason that the Luperci ran about naked. As for the dog, one would say that if the sacrifice is purificatory, it is sacrificed on behalf of those who use it. The Greeks, in their purificatory rites, sacrifice dogs, and often make use of what is called Periskylakismos. But if this feast be in honour of the she-wolf, in grat.i.tude for her suckling and preserving of Romulus, then it is very natural to sacrifice a dog, for it is an enemy of wolves; unless, indeed, the beast is put to death to punish it for hindering the Luperci when they ran their course.

XXII. It is said also that Romulus inst.i.tuted the service of the sacred fire of Vestae, and the holy virgins who keep it up, called Vestals.

Others attribute this to Numa, though they say that Romulus was a very religious prince, and learned in divination, for which purpose he used to carry the crooked staff called _lituus_, with which to divide the heavens into s.p.a.ces for the observation of the flight of birds. This, which is preserved in the Palatium, was lost when the city was taken by the Gauls; but afterwards, when the barbarians had been repulsed, it was found unharmed in a deep bed of ashes, where everything else had been burned or spoiled. He also enacted some laws, the most arbitrary of which is that a wife cannot obtain a divorce from her husband, but that a husband may put away his wife for poisoning her children, counterfeiting keys, or adultery. If any one put away his wife on other grounds than these, he enacted that half his property should go to his wife, and half to the temple of Ceres. A man who divorced his wife was to make an offering to the Chthonian G.o.ds.[A] A peculiarity of his legislation is that, while he laid down no course of procedure in case of parricide, he speaks of all murder by the name of parricide, as though the one were an abominable, but the other an impossible crime.

And for many years it appeared that he had rightly judged, for no one attempted anything of the kind at Rome for nearly six hundred years; but it is said that the first parricide was that of Lucius Hostilius, which he committed after the war with Hannibal. Enough has now been said upon these subjects.

[Footnote A: Chthonian G.o.ds are the G.o.ds of the world below.]

XXIII. In the fifth year of the reign of Tatius, some of his relatives fell in with amba.s.sadors from Laurentum, on their way to Rome, and endeavoured to rob them. As the amba.s.sadors would not submit to this, but defended themselves, they slew them. Romulus at once gave it as his opinion that the authors of this great and audacious crime ought to be punished, but Tatius hushed the matter up, and enabled them to escape.

This is said to have been the only occasion upon which they were openly at variance, for in all other matters they acted with the greatest possible unanimity. The relatives, however, of the murdered men, as they were hindered by Tatius from receiving any satisfaction, fell upon him when he and Romulus were offering sacrifice at Lavinium, and slew him, but respected Romulus, and praised him as a just man. He brought home the body of Tatius, and buried it honourably. It lies near what is called the _Armil.u.s.trium_, on Mount Aventine.

But Romulus neglected altogether to exact any satisfaction for the murder. Some writers say that the city of Lavinium, in its terror, delivered up the murderers of Tatius, but that Romulus allowed them to depart, saying that blood had been atoned for by blood. This speech of his gave rise to some suspicion that he was not displeased at being rid of his colleague. However, it caused no disturbance in the state, and did not move the Sabines to revolt, but partly out of regard for Romulus, and fear of his power, and belief in his divine mission, they continued to live under his rule with cheerfulness and respect. Many foreign tribes also respected Romulus, and the more ancient Latin races sent him amba.s.sadors, and made treaties of friends.h.i.+p and alliance.

He took Fidenae, a city close to Rome, according to some authorities, by sending his cavalry thither on a sudden, and ordering them to cut the pivots of the city gates, and then unexpectedly appearing in person.

Others say that the people of Fidenae first invaded the Roman territory, drove off plunder from it, and insulted the neighbourhood of the city itself, and that Romulus laid an ambush for them, slew many, and took their city. He did not destroy it, but made it a Roman colony, and sent two thousand five hundred Romans thither as colonists on the Ides of April.

XXIV. After this a pestilence fell upon Rome, which slew men suddenly without previous sickness, and afflicted the crops and cattle with barrenness. A shower of blood also fell in the city, so that religious terror was added to the people's sufferings. As a similar visitation befell the citizens of Laurentum, it became evident that the wrath of the G.o.ds was visiting these cities because of the unavenged murders of Tatius and of the amba.s.sadors. The guilty parties were delivered up on both sides, and duly punished, after which the plague was sensibly mitigated. Romulus also purified the city with l.u.s.trations, which, they say, are even now practised at the Ferentine gate. But before the plague ceased, the people of Camerium attacked the Romans, supposing that they would be unable to defend themselves on account of their misfortune, and overran their country. Nevertheless, Romulus instantly marched against them, slew six hundred of them in battle, and took their city. Half the survivors he transplanted to Rome, and settled twice as many Romans as the remainder at Camerium, on the Kalends of s.e.xtilis. So many citizens had he to spare after he had only inhabited Rome for about sixteen years. Among the other spoils, he carried off a brazen four-horse chariot from Camerium; this he dedicated in the temple of Vulcan, having placed in it a figure of himself being crowned by Victory.

XXV. As the city was now so flouris.h.i.+ng, the weaker of the neighbouring states made submission, and were glad to receive a.s.surance that they would be unharmed; but the more powerful, fearing and envying Romulus, considered that they ought not to remain quiet, but ought to check the growth of Rome. First the Etruscans of Veii, a people possessed of wide lands and a large city, began the war by demanding the surrender to them of Fidenae, which they claimed as belonging to them. This demand was not only unjust, but absurd, seeing that they had not a.s.sisted the people of Fidenae when they were fighting and in danger, but permitted them to be destroyed, and then demanded their houses and lands, when they were in the possession of others. Receiving a haughty answer from Romulus, they divided themselves into two bodies, with one of which they attacked Fidenae, and with the other went to meet Romulus. At Fidenae they conquered the Romans, and slew two thousand; but they were defeated by Romulus, with a loss of eight thousand men. A second battle now took place at Fidenae, in which all agree that Romulus took the most important part, showing the greatest skill and courage, and a strength and swiftness more than mortal. But some accounts are altogether fabulous, such as that fourteen hundred were slain, more than half of whom Romulus slew with his own hand. The Messenians appear to use equally inflated language about Aristomenes, when they tell us that he thrice offered sacrifice for having slain a hundred Lacedaemonians.

After the victory, Romulus did not pursue the beaten army, but marched straight to the city of Veii. The citizens, after so great a disaster, made no resistance, but at their own request were granted a treaty and alliance for a hundred years, giving up a large portion of their territory, called the Septem Pagi, or seven districts, and their saltworks by the river, and handing over fifty of their leading men as hostages.

For his success at Veii, Romulus enjoyed another triumph, on the Ides of October, when he led in his train many captives, amongst whom was the Veientine general, an old man, who was thought to have mismanaged matters foolishly and like a boy. On this account to this day, when a sacrifice is made for victory, they lead an old man through the Forum and up to the Capitol, dressed in a boy's robe with wide purple border, and with a child's _bulla_ hung round his neck; and the herald calls out "Sardinians for sale." For the Tyrrhenians or Tuscans are said to be of Sardinian origin, and Veii is a Tyrrhenian city.

XXVI. This was Romulus's last war. After it, he, like nearly all those who have risen to power and fame by a great and unexpected series of successes, became filled with self-confidence and arrogance, and, in place of his former popular manners, a.s.sumed the offensive style of a despot. He wore a purple tunic, and a toga with a purple border, and did business reclining instead of sitting on a throne; and was always attended by the band of youths called Celeres, from their quickness in service. Others walked before him with staves to keep off the crowd, and were girt with thongs, with which to bind any one whom he might order into custody. The Latins used formerly to call to bind _ligare_, and now call it _alligare_; wherefore the staff-bearers are called _lictors_, and their staves are called _bacula_,[A] from the rods which they then carried. It is probable that these officers now called _lictors_ by the insertion of the _c_, were originally called _litors_, that is, in Greek, _leitourgoi_ (public officials). For to this day the Greeks call a town-hall _leitus_, and the people _laos_.

[Footnote A: The Romans termed these bundles of rods _fasces_. The derivation of _lictor_ from the Greek shows the utter ignorance of etymology prevailing among the ancients.]

XXVII. When Romulus' grandfather Numitor died in Alba, although he was evidently his heir, yet through a desire for popularity he left his claim unsettled, and contented himself with appointing a chief magistrate for the people of Alba every year; thus teaching the Roman n.o.bles to desire a freer const.i.tution, which should not be so much encroached upon by the king. For at Rome now even the so-called Fathers took no part in public affairs, but had merely their name and dignity, and were called into the Senate House more for form's sake than to express their opinions. When there, they listened in silence to Romulus's orders, and the only advantage which they possessed over the commons was that they knew the king's mind sooner than they. Worst of all was, that he of his own authority divided the land which was obtained in war amongst the soldiers, and restored the hostages to the Veientines, against the will of the Senate and without consulting it, by which he seemed purposely to insult it. On this account the Senate was suspected, when shortly after this he miraculously disappeared. His disappearance took place on the Nones of the month now called July, but then Quintilis, leaving nothing certain or agreed on about his end except the date. Even now things happen in the same fas.h.i.+on as then; and we need not wonder at the uncertainty about the death of Romulus, when that of Scipio Africa.n.u.s, in his own house after supper, proved so inexplicable, some saying that it arose from an evil habit of body, some that he had poisoned himself, some that his enemies had suffocated him during the night. And yet the corpse of Scipio lay openly exposed for all to see, and gave all who saw it some ground for their conjectures; whereas Romulus suddenly disappeared, and no morsel of his body or shred of his garments were ever seen again. Some supposed that the Senators fell upon him in the Temple of Vulcan, and, after killing him cut his body in pieces and each of them carried off one in the folds of his robe. Others think that his disappearance took place neither in the Temple of Vulcan, nor yet in the presence of the Senators alone, but say that Romulus was holding an a.s.sembly without the city, near a place called the Goat's Marsh, when suddenly strange and wonderful things took place in the heavens, and marvellous changes; for the sun's light was extinguished, and night fell, not calm and quiet, but with terrible thunderings, gusts of wind, and driving spray from all quarters.

Hereupon the people took to flight in confusion, but the n.o.bles collected together by themselves. When the storm was over, and the light returned, the people returned to the place again, and searched in vain for Romulus, but were told by the n.o.bles not to trouble themselves to look for him, but to pray to Romulus and reverence him, for he had been caught up into heaven, and now would be a propitious G.o.d for them instead of a good king.

The people believed this story, and went their way rejoicing, and praying to him with good hope; but there were some who discussed the whole question in a harsh and unfriendly spirit, and blamed the n.o.bles for encouraging the people to such acts of folly when they themselves were the murderers of the king.

XXVIII. Now Julius Proculus, one of the n.o.blest patricians, and of good reputation, being one of the original colonists from Alba, and a friend and companion of Romulus, came into the Forum, and there upon his oath, and touching the most sacred things, stated before all men that as he was walking along the road Romulus appeared, meeting him, more beautiful and taller than he had ever appeared before, with bright and glittering arms. Astonished at the vision he had spoken thus: "O king, for what reason or with what object have you left us exposed to an unjust and hateful suspicion, and left the whole city desolate and plunged in the deepest grief?" He answered, "It pleased the G.o.ds, Proculus, that I should spend thus much time among mankind, and after founding a city of the greatest power and glory should return to heaven whence I came. Fare thee well; and tell the Romans that by courage and self-control they will attain to the highest pitch of human power. I will ever be for you the kindly deity Quirinus."

This tale was believed by the Romans from the manner of Proculus in relating it and from his oath: indeed a religious feeling almost amounting to ecstasy seems to have taken hold of all present; for no one contradicted him, but all dismissed their suspicions entirely from their minds and prayed to Quirinus, wors.h.i.+pping him as a G.o.d.

This account resembles the Greek legends of Aristeas of Proconnesus, and that of Kleomedes of Astypalaea. The story goes that Aristeas died in a fuller's shop, and that when his friends came to fetch his body it had disappeared; then some persons who had just returned from travel said that they had met Aristeas walking along the road to Kroton. Kleomedes, we are told, was a man of unusual size and strength, but stupid and half-crazy, who did many deeds of violence, and at last in a boy's school struck and broke in two the column that supported the roof, and brought it down. As the boys were killed, Kleomedes, pursued by the people, got into a wooden chest, and shut down the lid, holding in inside so that many men together were not able to force it open. They broke open the chest, and found no man in it, dead or alive. Astonished at this, they sent an emba.s.sy to the oracle at Delphi, to whom the Pythia answered,

"Last of the heroes is Kleomedes of Astypalaea."

And it also related that the corpse of Alkmena when it was being carried out for burial, disappeared, and a stone was found lying on the bier in its place. And many such stories are told, in which, contrary to reason, the earthly parts of our bodies are described as being deified together with the spiritual parts. It is wicked and base to deny that virtue is a spiritual quality, but again it is foolish to mix earthly with heavenly things.

We must admit, speaking with due caution, that, as Pindar has it, the bodies of all men follow overpowering Death, but there remains a living spirit, the image of eternity, for it alone comes from heaven. Thence it comes, and thither it returns again, not accompanied by the body, but only when it is most thoroughly separated and cleansed from it, and become pure and incorporeal. This is the pure spirit which Herakleitus calls the best, which darts through the body like lightning through a cloud, whereas that which is clogged by the body is like a dull, cloudy exhalation, hard to loose and free from the bonds of the body. There is no reason, therefore, for supposing that the bodies of good men rise up into heaven, which is contrary to nature; but we must believe that men's virtues and their spirits most certainly, naturally and rightly proceed from mankind to the heroes, and from them to the genii, and from thence, if they be raised above and purified from all mortal and earthly taint, even as is done in the holy mysteries, then, not by any empty vote of the senate, but in very truth and likelihood they are received among the G.o.ds, and meet with the most blessed and glorious end.

XXIX. Some say that the name Quirinus, which Romulus received, means Mars; others that it was because his people were called Quirites.

Others, again, say that the spear-head or spear was called by the ancients _Quiris_, and that the statue of Juno leaning on a spear is called Juno Quirites, and that the dart which is placed in the Regia is addressed as Mars, and that it is customary to present with a spear those who have distinguished themselves in war, and therefore that it was as a warrior, or G.o.d of war, that Romulus was called Quirinus. A temple dedicated to him is built on the Quirinal Hill which bears his name, and the day of his translation is called the People's Flight, and the Nonae Caprotinae, because they go out of the city to the Goat's Marsh on that day to sacrifice, for in Latin a goat is called _Capra_.

And as they go to the sacrifice they call out many of the names of the country, as Marcus, Lucius, Caius, with loud shouts, in imitation of their panic on that occasion, and their calling to each other in fear and confusion. But some say that this is not an imitation of terror, but of eagerness, and that this is the reason of it: after the Gauls had captured Rome and been driven out by Camillus, and the city through weakness did not easily recover itself, an army of Latins, under one Livius Postumius, marched upon it. He halted his army not far from Rome, and sent a herald to say that the Latins were willing to renew their old domestic ties, which had fallen into disuse, and to unite the races by new intermarriage. If, therefore, the Romans would send out to them all their maidens and unmarried women, they would live with them on terms of peace and friends.h.i.+p, as the Romans had long before done with the Sabines. The Romans, when they heard this, were afraid of going to war, yet thought that the surrender of their women was no better than captivity. While they were in perplexity, a female slave named Philotis, or according to some Tutola, advised them to do neither, but by a stratagem to avoid both war and surrender of the women. This stratagem was that they should dress Philotis and the best looking of the other female slaves like free women, and send them to the enemy; then at night Philotis said she would raise a torch, and the Romans should come under arms and fall upon the sleeping enemy. This was done, and terms were made with the Latins. Philotis raised the torch upon a certain fig-tree with leaves which spread all round and behind, in such a manner that the light could not be seen by the enemy, but was clearly seen by the Romans. When they saw it, they immediately rushed out, calling frequently for each other at the various gates in their eagerness. As they fell unexpectedly upon the enemy, they routed them, and keep the day as a feast. Therefore the Nones are called Caprotinae because of the fig-tree, which the Romans call _caprificus_, and the women are feasted out of doors, under the shade of fig-tree boughs. And the female slaves a.s.semble and play, and afterwards beat and throw stones at each other, as they did then, when they helped the Romans to fight. These accounts are admitted by but few historians, and indeed the calling out one another's names in the daytime, and walking down to the Goats' Marsh seems more applicable to the former story, unless, indeed, both of these events happened on the same day.

Romulus is said to have been fifty-four years old, and to be in the thirty-eighth year of his reign when he disappeared from the world.

COMPARISON OF THESEUS AND ROMULUS.

I. The above are all the noteworthy particulars which we have been able to collect about Theseus and Romulus. It seems, in the first place, that Theseus of his own free will, and without any compulsion, when he might have reigned peacefully in Troezen, where he was heir to the kingdom, no mean one, longed to accomplish heroic deeds: whereas Romulus was an exile, and in the position of a slave; the fear of death was hanging over him if unsuccessful, and so, as Plato says, he was made brave by sheer terror, and through fear of suffering death and torture was forced into doing great exploits. Moreover, Romulus's greatest achievement was the slaying of one man, the despot of Alba, whereas Skeiron, Sinis, Prokrustes, and Korynetes were merely the accompaniments and prelude to the greater actions of Theseus, and by slaying them he freed Greece from terrible scourges, before those whom he saved even knew who he was. He also might have sailed peacefully over the sea to Athens, and had no trouble with those brigands, whereas Romulus could not be free from trouble while Amulius lived. And it is a great argument in favour of Theseus that he attacked those wicked men for the sake of others, having himself suffered no wrong at their hands; whereas the twins were unconcerned at Amulius's tyranny so long as it did not affect themselves. And although it may have been a great exploit to receive a wound in fighting the Sabines, and to slay Acron, and to kill many enemies in battle, yet we may compare with these, on Theseus's behalf, his battle with the Centaurs and his campaign against the Amazons. As for the courage which Theseus showed in the matter of the Cretan tribute, when he voluntarily sailed to Crete with the youths and maidens, whether the penalty was to be given to the Minotaur to eat, or be sacrificed at the tomb of Androgeus, or even to be cast into dishonoured slavery under an insolent enemy, which is the least miserable fate mentioned by any writer, what a strength of mind, what public spirit and love of fame it shows! In this instance it seems to me that philosophers have truly defined love as a "service designed by the G.o.ds for the care and preservation of the young." For the love of Ariadne seems to have been specially intended by Heaven to save Theseus; nor need we blame her for her pa.s.sion, but rather wonder that all men and women did not share it. If she alone felt it, then I say she deserved the love of a G.o.d, because of her zeal for all that is best and n.o.blest.