FROM THE DEATH OF ROMULUS TO THE DEATH OF NUMA POMPILIUS, THE SECOND KING OF ROME.—U.C. 38.
When pious Numa reigned, Bellona's voice
No longer called the Roman youth to arms;
In peaceful arts he bid her sons rejoice,
And tranquil live, secure from war's alarms.—Brooke.
1. Upon the death of Rom'ulus, the city seemed greatly divided in the choice of a successor. The Sab'ines were for having a king chosen from their body; but the Romans could not endure the thoughts of advancing a stranger to the throne. In this perplexity, the senators undertook to supply the place of the king, by taking the government each of them in turn, for five days, and during that time enjoying all the honours and all the privileges of royalty. 2. This new form of government continued for a year; but the plebeians, who saw this method of transferring power was only multiplying their masters, insisted upon altering that mode of government. The senate being thus driven to an election, at length pitched upon Nu'ma Pompil'ius, a Sab'ine, and their choice was received with universal approbation by the people.[1]
3. Nu'ma Pompil'ius, who was now about forty, had long been eminent for his piety, his justice, his moderation, and exemplary life. He was skilled in all the learning and philosophy of the Sab'ines, and lived at home at Cu'res,[2] contented with a private fortune; unambitious of higher honours. It was not, therefore, without reluctance, that he accepted the dignity; which, when he did so, produced such joy, that the people seemed not so much to receive a king as a kingdom.
4. No monarch could be more proper for them than Nu'ma, at a conjuncture when the government was composed of various petty states lately subdued, and but ill united to each other: they wanted a master who could, by his laws and precepts, soften their fierce dispositions; and, by his example, induce them to a love of religion, and every milder virtue. 5. Numa's whole time, therefore, was[Pg. 72] spent in inspiring his subjects with a love of piety, and a veneration for the gods. He built many new temples, instituted sacred offices and feasts; and the sanctity of his life gave strength to his assertion—that he had a particular correspondence with the goddess Ege'ria. By her advice he built the temple of Janus, which was to be shut in time of peace, and open in war. He regulated the appointment of the vestal virgins, and added considerably to the privileges which they had previously enjoyed.
6. For the encouragement of agriculture, he divided those lands, which Romulus had gained in war, among the poorer part of the people; he regulated the calendar, and abolished the distinction between Romans and Sabines, by dividing the people according to their several trades, and compelling them to live together. Thus having arrived at the age of fourscore years, and having reigned forty-three in profound peace, he died, ordering his body, contrary to the custom of the times, to be buried in a stone coffin; and his books of ceremonies, which consisted of twelve in Latin, and as many in Greek, to be buried by his side in another.[3]
Questions for Examination.
1. Upon the death of Romulus, what took place in regard to his successor?
2. How long did this order of things continue?
3. What was the character of Numa Pompilius?
4. Was Numa a monarch suited to this peculiar conjuncture?
5. Relate the acts of Numa?
6. What were the further acts of Numa?
7. What orders did he leave at his death?[Pg. 73]
FOOTNOTES:
Nu'ma Pompil'ius was the fourth son of Pompil'ius Pom'po, an illustrious Sab'ine. He had married Ta'tia, the daughter of Ta'tius, the colleague of Rom'ulus, and on the death of his wife, gave himself up entirely to solitude and study. (Plutarch—Livy.)
More probably at Quirium, the Sabine town which was united with Rome. (See Introduction, Chap. II.)
The age of Nu'ma is scarcely more historical than that of Rom'ulus, but the legends respecting it are fewer and partake less of extravagance. Indeed, he had himself discouraged the songs of the bards, by ordering the highest honours to be paid to Tac'ita, the Came'na or Muse of Silence. His memory was best preserved by the religious ceremonies ascribed to him by universal tradition. The later poets loved to dwell on his peaceful virtues, and on the pure affection that existed between him and the nymph Egeria. They tell us that when the king served up a moderate repast to his guests on earthen-ware, she suddenly changed the dishes into gold, and the plain food into the most sumptuous viands. They also add, that when he died, Egeria melted away in tears for his loss, and was changed into a fountain.
FROM THE DEATH OF NUMA TO THE DEATH OF TULLUS HOSTILIUS THE THIRD KING OF ROME.—U.C. 82.
From either army shall be chose three champions,
To fight the cause alone.—Whitehead.
1. At the death of Nu'ma, the government once more devolved upon the senate, and so continued, till the people elected Tullus Hostil'ius for their king, which choice had also the concurrence of the other part of the constitution. This monarch, the grandson of a noble Roman,[1] who had formerly signalized himself against the Sab'ines, was every way unlike his predecessor, being entirely devoted to war, and more fond of enterprise than even the founder of the empire himself had been; so that he only sought a pretext for leading his forces to the field.
2. The Albans, by committing some depredations on the Roman territory, were the first people that gave him an opportunity of indulging his favourite inclinations. The forces of the two states met about five miles from Rome, prepared to decide the fate of their respective kingdoms; for, in these times, a single battle was generally decisive. The two armies were for some time drawn out in array, awaiting the signal to begin, both chiding the length of that dreadful suspense, when an unexpected proposal from the Alban general put a stop to the onset. 3. Stepping in between both armies, he offered the Romans to decide the dispute by single combat; adding, that the side whose champion was overcome, should submit to the conqueror. A proposal like this, suited the impetuous temper of the Roman king, and was embraced with joy by his subjects, each of whom hoped that he himself should be chosen to fight the cause of his country. 4. There were, at that time, three twin brothers in each army; those of the Romans were called Hora'tii, and those of the Albans Curia'tii; all six remarkable for their courage, strength, and activity, and to these it was resolved to commit the management of the combat.[2] At length the champions met, and each, totally[Pg. 74] regardless of his own safety, only sought the destruction of his opponent. The spectators, in horrid silence, trembled at every blow, and wished to share the danger, till fortune seemed to decide the glory of the field. 5. Victory, that had hitherto been doubtful, appeared to declare against the Romans: they beheld two of their champions lying dead upon the plain, and the three Curia'tii, who were wounded, slowly endeavouring to pursue the survivor, who seemed by flight to beg for mercy. Too soon, however, they perceived that his flight was only pretended, in order to separate his three antagonists, whom he was unable to oppose united; for quickly after, stopping his course, and turning upon the first, who followed closely behind, he laid him dead at his feet: the second brother, who was coming up to assist him that had already fallen, shared the same fate. 6. There now remained but the last Curia'tius to conquer, who, fatigued and disabled by his wounds, slowly advanced to offer an easy victory. He was killed, almost unresisting, while the conqueror, exclaiming, "Two have I already sacrificed to the manes of my brothers, the third I will offer up to my country," despatched him as a victim to the superiority of the Romans, whom now the Alban army consented to obey.[3]
7. But the virtues of that age were not without alloy; that very hand that in the morning was exerted to save his country, was, before night, imbrued in the blood of a sister: for, returning triumphant from the field, it raised his indignation to behold her bathed in tears, and lamenting the loss of her lover, one of the Curia'tii, to whom she had been betrothed. This so provoked him beyond the powers of sufferance, that in a rage he slew her: but the action displeased the senate, and drew after it the condemnation of the magistrate. He was, however, pardoned, by making his appeal to the people, but obliged to pass under the yoke; an ignominious punishment, usually inflicted on prisoners of war.[4]
8. Tullus having greatly increased the power and wealth of Rome by repeated victories, now thought proper to demand satisfaction of the Sab'ines for the insults which had been formerly offered to some Roman citizens at the temple[Pg. 75] of the goddess Fero'nia, which was common to both nations A war ensued, which lasted some years, and ended in the total overthrow of the Sab'ines.
Hostil'ius died after a reign of thirty-two years; some say by lightning; others, with more probability, by treason.
Questions for Examination.
1. On whom devolved the government on the death of Numa, and what is the character of his successor?
2. What opportunity first offered of indulging the new king's inclinations?
3. What proposal was offered, and accepted for deciding the dispute?
4-6. Relate the circumstances which attended the combat, and the result of it.
7. What act followed the victory?
8. What conquest was next achieved?
FOOTNOTES:
It seems to have been part of the compact between the Romans and Sabines, that a king of each people should reign alternately.
The Hora'tii and Curia'tii were, according to Diony'sius of Halicarnas'sus, the sons of two sisters, daughters of Sequin'ius, an illustrious citizen of Alba. One married to Curia'tius, a citizen of Alba, and the other to Hora'tius, a Roman: so that the champions were near relatives.
This obedience of the Albans was of short duration; they soon rebelled and were defeated by Tullus, who razed the city of Alba to the ground, and transplanted the inhabitants to Rome, where he conferred on them the privileges of citizens.
Livy, lib. i. cap. 26. Dion. Hal. l. 3.
FROM THE DEATH OF TULLUS HOSTILIUS TO THE DEATH OF ANCUS MARTIUS THE FOURTH KING OF ROME.—U.C. 115.
Where what remains
Of Alba, still her ancient rights retains,
Still worships Vesta, though an humbler way,
Nor lets the hallow'd Trojan fire decay.—Juvenal.
1. After an interregnum, as in the former case, Ancus Mar'tius, the grandson of Numa, was elected king by the people, and their choice was afterwards confirmed by the senate. As this monarch was a lineal descendant from[Pg. 76] Numa, so he seemed to make him the great object of his imitation. He instituted the sacred ceremonies, which were to precede a declaration of war;[1] but he took every occasion to advise his subjects to return to the arts of agriculture, and to lay aside the less useful stratagems of war.
2. These institutions and precepts were considered by the neighbouring powers rather as marks of cowardice than of wisdom. The Latins therefore began to make incursions upon his territories, but their success was equal to their justice. An'cus conquered the Latins, destroyed their cities, removed their inhabitants to Rome, and increased his dominions by the addition of part of theirs. He quelled also an insurrection of the Ve'ii, the Fiden'ates, and the Vol'sci; and over the Sab'ines he obtained a second triumph.
3. But his victories over the enemy were by no means comparable to his works at home, in raising temples, fortifying the city, making a prison for malefactors, and building a sea-port at the mouth of the Ti'ber, called Os'tia, by which he secured to his subjects the trade of that river, and that of the salt-pits adjacent. Thus having enriched his subjects, and beautified the city, he died, after a reign of twenty-four years.
Questions for Examination.
1. Who was elected by the people after the interregnum, and what measures did he pursue?
2. In what light did his enemies consider his institutions? With what success did they oppose him?
3. What were the other acts of Ancus? How many years did he reign?
FOOTNOTES:
First an ambassador was sent to demand satisfaction for the alleged injury; if this were not granted within thirty-three days, heralds were appointed to proclaim the war in the name of the gods and people of Rome. At the conclusion of their speech, they threw their javelins into the enemy's confines, and departed.[Pg. 77]
FROM THE DEATH OF ANCUS MARTIUS, TO THE DEATH OF TARQUINIUS PRISCUS THE FIFTH KING OF ROME.—U.C. 130.
The first of Tarquin's hapless race was he,
Who odium tried to cast on augury;
But Nævius Accius, with an augur's skill.
Preserved its fame, and raised it higher still.—Robertson.
1. Lu'cius TARQUIN'IUS PRIS'CUS was appointed guardian to the sons of the late king, and took the surname of Tarquin'ius from the city of Tarquin'ia, whence he last came. His father was a merchant of Corinth,[1] who had acquired considerable wealth by trade, and had settled in Italy, upon account of some troubles at home. His son, who inherited his fortune, married a woman of family in the city of Tarquin'ia.
2. His birth, profession, and country, being contemptible to the nobles of the place, he, by his wife's persuasion, came to settle at Rome, where merit also gave a title to distinction. On his way thither, say the historians, as he approached the city gate, an eagle, stooping from above, took off his hat, and flying round his chariot for some time, with much noise, put it on again. This his wife Tan'aquil, who it seems was skilled in augury, interpreted as a presage that he should one day wear the crown. Perhaps it was this which first fired his ambition to pursue it.
3. Ancus being dead, and the kingdom, as usual, devolving upon the senate, Tarquin used all his power and arts to set aside the children of the late king, and to get himself elected in their stead. For this purpose, upon the day appointed for election, he contrived to have them sent out of the city; and in a set speech, in which he urged his friendship for the people, the fortune he had spent among them, and his knowledge of their government, he offered himself for their king. As there was nothing in this harangue that could be contested, it had the desired effect, and the people, with one consent, elected him as their sovereign.
4. A kingdom thus obtained by intrigue, was, notwithstanding, governed with equity. In the beginning of his reign, in order to recompense his friends, he added a hundred members more to the senate, which made them, in all, three hundred.[Pg. 78]
5. But his peaceful endeavours were soon interrupted by the inroads of his restless neighbours, particularly the Latins, over whom he triumphed, and whom he forced to beg for peace. He then turned his arms against the Sabines, who had risen once more, and had passed the river Ti'ber; but attacking them with vigour, Tarquin routed their army; so that many who escaped the sword, were drowned in attempting to cross over, while their bodies and armour, floating down to Rome, brought news of the victory, even before the messengers could arrive that were sent with the tidings. These conquests were followed by several advantages over the Latins, from whom he took many towns, though without gaining any decisive victory.
6. Tarquin, having thus forced his enemies into submission, was resolved not to let his subjects grow corrupt through indolence. He therefore undertook and perfected several public works for the convenience and embellishment of the city.[2]
7. In his time it was, that the augurs came into a great increase of reputation. He found it his interest to promote the superstition of the people; for this was, in fact, but to increase their obedience. Tan'aquil, his wife, was a great pretender to this art; but Ac'cius Næ'vius was the most celebrated adept of the kind ever known in Rome. 8. Upon a certain occasion, Tarquin, being resolved to try the augur's skill, asked him, whether what he was then pondering in his mind could be effected? Næ'vius, having consulted his auguries, boldly affirmed that it might: "Why, then," cries the king, with an insulting smile, "I had thoughts of cutting this whetstone with a razor." "Cut boldly," replied the augur; and the king cut it through accordingly. Thenceforward nothing was undertaken in Rome without consulting the augurs, and obtaining their advice and approbation.
9. Tarquin was not content with a kingdom, without having also the ensigns of royalty. In imitation of the Lyd'ian kings, he assumed a crown of gold, an ivory throne, a sceptre with an eagle on the top, and robes of purple. It was, perhaps, the splendour of these royalties that first raised the envy of the late king's sons, who had[Pg. 79] now, for above thirty-seven years, quietly submitted to his government. His design also of adopting Ser'vius Tul'lius, his son-in-law, for his successor, might have contributed to inflame their resentment. 10. Whatever was the cause of their tardy vengeance, they resolved to destroy him; and, at last, found means to effect their purpose, by hiring two ruffians, who, demanding to speak with the king, pretending that they came for justice, struck him dead in his palace with the blow of an axe. The lictors, however, who waited upon the person of the king, seized the murderers as they were attempting to escape, and put them to death: but the sons of Ancus, who were the instigators, found safety in flight.
11. Thus fell Lu'cius Tarquin'ius, surnamed Pris'cus, to distinguish him from one of his successors of the same name. He was eighty years of age, and had reigned thirty-eight years.[3]
Questions for Examination.
1. Who was Lucius Tarquinius Priscus?
2. What occasioned his removal to Rome, and what circumstances attended it?
3. Was this presage fulfilled, and by what means?
4. In what manner did he govern?
5. Was Tarquin a warlike prince?
6. How did he improve his victories?
7. By what act did he insure the obedience of his subjects?
8. What contributed to increase the reputation of the augurs?
9. What part of his conduct is supposed, to have raised the envy of the late king's sons?
10. What was the consequence of this envy and resentment?
11. What was his age, and how long did he reign?[Pg. 80]
FOOTNOTES:
Corinth (now Corito) was a celebrated city of ancient Greece, situated on the isthmus of that name, about sixty stadia or furlongs from the sea. Its original name was Ephy're.
Preparations for building the Capitol were made in this reign. The city was likewise fortified with stone walls, and the cloacæ, or common sewers, constructed by the munificence of this prince. (See Introd.)
The history of the elder Tarquin presents insuperable difficulties. We are told that his original name was Lu'cumo; but that, as has been mentioned in the Introduction, was the Etrurian designation of a chief magistrate. One circumstance, however, is unquestionable, that with him began the greatness and the splendour of the Roman city. He commenced those vaulted sewers which still attract the admiration of posterity; he erected the first circus for the exhibition of public spectacles; he planned the Capitol, and commenced, if he did not complete, the first city wall. The tradition that he was a Tuscan prince, appears to be well founded; but the Corinthian origin of his family is very improbable.
FROM THE DEATH OF TARQUINIUS PRISCUS TO THE DEATH OF SERVIUS TULLIUS THE SIXTH KING OF ROME.—U.C. 176.
Servius, the king, who laid the solid base
On which o'er earth the vast republic spread.—Thomson.
1. The report of the murder of Tarquin filled all his subjects with complaint and indignation; while the citizens ran from every quarter to the palace, to learn the truth of the account, or to take vengeance on the assassins. 2. In this tumult, Tan'aquil, widow of the late king, considering the danger she must incur, in case the conspirators should succeed to the crown, and desirous of seeing her son-in-law his successor, with great art dissembled her sorrow, as well as the king's death. She assured the people, from one of the windows of the palace, that he was not killed, but only stunned by the blow; that he would shortly recover; and that in the meantime he had deputed his power to Ser'vius Tul'lius, his son-in-law. Ser'vius, accordingly, as it had been agreed upon between them, issued from the palace, adorned with the ensigns of royalty, and, preceded by his lictors, went to despatch some affairs that related to the public safety, still pretending that he took all his instructions from the king. This scene of dissimulation continued for some days, till he had made his party good among the nobles; when, the death of Tarquin being publicly ascertained, Ser'vius came to the crown, solely at the senate's appointment, and without attempting to gain the suffrages of the people.
3. Ser'vius was the son of a bondwoman, who had been taken at the sacking of a town belonging to the Latins, and was born whilst his mother was a slave. While yet an infant in his cradle, a lambent flame[1] is said to have played round his head, which Tan'aquil converted into an omen of future greatness.
4. Upon being acknowledged king, he determined to make a great change in the Roman constitution by admitting the plebeians to a participation in the civil government. The senate was too weak to resist the change when it was proposed, but it submitted with great reluctance. 5. Ser'vius divided all the Romans into classes and centuries[Pg. 81] according to their wealth and the amount of taxes paid to the state. The number of centuries in the first class nearly equalled that of all the others; a great advantage to the plebeians; for the lower classes being chiefly clients of the patricians, were always inclined to vote according to the prejudices or interests of their patrons.
6. The classification by centuries was also used for military purposes; the heavy armed infantry being selected from the richer classes; the light troops, whose arms and armour could be obtained at less expense, were levied among the lower centuries.
7. In order to ascertain the increase or decay of his subjects, and their fortunes, he instituted another regulation, which he called a lustrum. By this, all the citizens were to assemble in the Cam'pus Mar'tius,[2] in complete armour, and in their respective classes, once in five years, and there to give an exact account of their families and fortune.
8. Having enjoyed a long reign, spent in settling the domestic policy of the state, and also not inattentive to foreign concerns, he conceived reasonable hopes of concluding it with tranquillity and ease. He even had thoughts of laying down his power; and, having formed the kingdom into a republic, to retire into obscurity; but so generous a design was frustrated ere it could be put into execution.
9. In the beginning of his reign, to secure the throne by every precaution, he had married his two daughters to the two grandsons of Tarquin; and as he knew that the women, as well as their intended husbands, were of opposite dispositions, he resolved to cross their tempers, by giving each to him of a contrary turn of mind; her that was meek and gentle to him that was bold and furious; her that was ungovernable and proud, to him that was remarkable for a contrary character; by this he supposed that each would correct the failings of the other, and that the mixture would be productive of concord. 10. The event, however, proved otherwise. Lu'cius, the haughty son-in-law, soon grew displeased with the meekness of his consort, and placed his whole affections upon his brother's wife, Tul'lia, who answered his passion with sympathetic ardour. As their wishes were ungovernable, they soon resolved to break[Pg. 82] through every restraint that prevented their union; they both undertook to murder their respective consorts; they succeeded, and were soon after married together. 11. A first crime ever produces a second; from the destruction of their consorts, they proceeded to conspiring that of the king. They began by raising factions against him, alleging his illegal title to the crown, and Lu'cius claiming it as his own, as heir to Tarquin. At length, when he found the senate ripe for seconding his views, he entered the senate-house, adorned with all the ensigns of royalty, and, placing himself upon the throne, began to harangue them on the obscurity of the king's birth, and the injustice of his title. 12. While he was yet speaking, Ser'vius entered, attended by a few followers, and seeing his throne thus rudely invaded, offered to push the usurper from his seat; but Tarquin, being in the vigour of youth, threw the old king down the steps which led to the throne; some of his adherents, who were instructed for that purpose, followed him, as he was feebly attempting to get to the palace, dispatched him by the way, and threw his body, all mangled and bleeding, as a public spectacle, into the street. 13. In the mean time, Tul'lia, burning with impatience for the event, was informed of what her husband had done, and, resolving to be among the first who should salute him as monarch, ordered her chariot to the senate-house. But as her charioteer approached the place where the body of the old king, her father, lay exposed and bloody; the man, amazed at the inhuman spectacle, and not willing to trample upon it with his horses, offered to turn another way; this serving only to increase the fierceness of her anger, she threw the foot-stool at his head, and ordered him to drive over the body without hesitation.[3]
14. This was the end of Ser'vius Tul'lius, a prince of eminent justice and moderation, after an useful and prosperous reign of forty-four years.
Questions for Examination.
1. What effect had the murder of Tarquin on his subjects?
2. By what means was the succession assured to Servius Tullius?[Pg. 83]
3. Who was Servius?
4. What was the chief object of his reign?
5. What was the nature of the change made by Servius in the Roman constitution?
6. Was the classification by centuries used for civil purposes only?
7. What other important measure did he adopt?
8. What hopes did he entertain in his old age?
9. By what means did he hope to secure tranquil possession of the throne?
10. How was it that the event failed to answer his expectations?
11. To what farther crimes did the commencement lead?
12. What followed?
13. What was the conduct of his daughter on this melancholy occasion?
14. What was the character of Servius, and how long did he reign?
FOOTNOTES:
A flame of fire gliding about without doing any harm.
A large plain at Rome, without the walls of the city, where the Roman youth performed their exercises. Cam'pus is the Latin word for field; and this field or plain was called Mar'tius, because it was dedicated to Mars, the god of war.
The blood of the good old king is said to have dyed the chariot wheels, and even the clothes of the inhuman daughter; from that time the street where it happened was called vicus sceleratus, the wicked or accursed street.
FROM THE DEATH OF SERVIUS TULLIUS TO THE BANISHMENT OF TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS THE SEVENTH AND LAST KING OF ROME U.C. 220.
A nobler spirit warm'd
Her sons; and roused by tyrants, nobler still
It burn'd in Brutus.—Thomson.
1. LU'CIUS TARQUIN'IUS, afterwards called Super'bus, or the Proud, having placed himself upon the throne, in consequence of this horrid deed, was resolved to support his dignity with the same violence with which it was acquired. Regardless of the senate or the people's approbation, he seemed to claim the crown by an hereditary right, and refused burial to the late king's' body, under pretence of his being an usurper. 2. All the good part of mankind, however, looked upon his accession with detestation and horror: and this act of inefficient cruelty only served to confirm their hatred. 3. Conscious of this, he ordered all such as he suspected to have been attached to Ser'vius, to be put to death; and fearing the natural consequences of his tyranny, he increased the guard round his person.
4. His chief policy seems to have been to keep the people always employed either in wars or public works, by which means he diverted their attention from his unlawful method of coming to the crown. He first marched against the Sab'ines, who refused to pay him obedience; and he soon reduced them to submission. 5. In the meantime, many of the discontented patricians, abandoning their native country, took refuge in Ga'bii, a city of Latium, about[Pg. 84] twelve miles from Rome, waiting an opportunity to take up arms, and drive Tarquin from his throne. To escape this danger. Tarquin had recourse to the following stratagem. 6. He caused his son Sextus to counterfeit desertion, upon pretence of barbarous usage, and to seek refuge among the inhabitants of the place. There, by artful complaints and studied lamentations, Sextus so prevailed upon the pity of the people, as to be chosen their governor, and, soon after, general of their army. 7. At first, in every engagement, he appeared successful; till, at length, finding himself entirely possessed of the confidence of the state, he sent a trusty messenger to his father for instructions. Tarquin made no answer; but taking the messenger to the garden, he cut down before him the tallest poppies. Sextus readily understood the meaning of this reply, and found means to destroy or remove, one by one, the principal men of the city; taking care to confiscate their effects among the people. 8. The charms of this dividend kept the giddy populace blind to their approaching ruin, till they found themselves at last without counsellors or head; and, in the end, fell under the power of Tarquin, without even striking a blow.[1]
9. But, while he was engaged in wars abroad, he took care not to suffer the people to continue in idleness at home. He undertook to build the Capitol, the foundation of which had been laid in a former reign; and an extraordinary event contributed to hasten the execution of his design. A woman, in strange attire, made her appearance at Rome, and came to the king, offering to sell nine books, which, she said, were of her own composing. 10. Not knowing the abilities of the seller, or that she was, in fact, one of the celebrated Sybils, whose prophecies were never found to fail, Tarquin refused to buy them. Upon this she departed, and burning three of her books, returned again, demanding the same price for the six remaining. 11. Being once more despised as an impostor, she again departed, and burning three more, she returned with the remaining three, still asking the same price as at first. Tarquin, surprised at the[Pg. 85] inconsistency of her behaviour, consulted the augurs, to be advised what to do. These much blamed him for not buying the nine, and commanded him to take the three remaining, at whatsoever price they were to be had. 12. The woman, says the historian, after thus selling and delivering the three prophetic volumes, and advising him to have a special attention to what they contained, vanished from before him, and was never seen after. A trick this, invented probably by Tarquin himself, to impose upon the people; and to find in the Sybil's leaves whatever the government might require. However this was, he chose proper persons to keep them, who, though but two at first, were afterwards increased to fifteen, under the name of Quindecemviri. The important volumes were put into a stone chest, and a vault in the newly designed building was thought the properest place to secure them.[2]
13. The people, having been now for four years together employed in building the Capitol, began, at last, to wish for something new to engage them; Tarquin, therefore, to satisfy their wishes, proclaimed war against the Ru'tuli, upon a frivolous pretence of their having entertained some malefactors, whom he had banished; and invested their chief city, Ar'dea, which lay about sixteen miles from Rome. 14. While the army was encamped before this place, the king's son Sextus Tarquinius, Collati'nus a noble Roman, and some others, sitting in a tent drinking together, the discourse turned upon wives, each man preferring the beauty and virtue of his own. Collati'nus offered to decide the dispute by putting it to an immediate trial, whose wife should be found possessed of the greatest beauty, and most sedulously employed at that very hour: being heated with wine, the proposal was relished by the whole company; and, taking horse without delay, they posted to Rome, though the night was already pretty far advanced.
15. There they found Lucre'tia, the wife of Collati'nus, not like the other women of her age, spending the time in ease and luxury, but spinning in the midst of her maids, and cheerfully portioning out their tasks. Her modest beauty, and the easy reception she gave her husband and his friends, so charmed them all, that they unanimously gave her the preference, but kindled, in the breast of Sextus Tarquin'ius, a detestable passion, which occasioned the[Pg. 86] grossest insult and injury to Lucre'tia, who, detesting the light, and resolving to destroy herself for the crime of another, demanded her husband Collati'nus, and Spu'rius, her father, to come to her; an indelible disgrace having befallen the family. 16. They instantly obeyed the summons, bringing with them Valerius, a kinsman of her father, and Junius Bru'tus, a reputed idiot, whose father Tarquin had murdered, and who had accidentally met the messenger by the way. 17. Their arrival only served to increase Lucre'tia's poignant anguish; they found her in a state of the deepest desperation, and vainly attempted to give her relief. After passionately charging Sextus Tarquin'ius with the basest perfidy towards her husband and injury to herself, she drew a poinard from beneath her robe, and instantly plunging it into her bosom, expired without a groan. 18. Struck with sorrow, pity, and indignation, Spu'rius and Collati'nus gave vent to their grief; but Bru'tus, drawing the poinard, reeking, from Lucre'tia's wound, and lifting it up towards heaven, "Be witness, ye gods," he cried, "that, from this moment, I proclaim myself the avenger of the chaste Lucretia's cause; from this moment I profess myself the enemy of Tarquin and his wicked house; from henceforth this life, while life continues, shall be employed in opposition to tyranny, and for the happiness and freedom of my much-loved country." 19. A new amazement seized the hearers: he, whom they had hitherto considered as an idiot, now appearing, in his real character, the friend of justice, and of Rome. He told them, that tears and lamentations were unmanly, when vengeance called so loudly; and, delivering the poinard to the rest, imposed the same oath upon them which he himself had just taken.
20. Ju'nius Brutus was the son of Marcus Ju'nius, who was put to death by Tarquin the Proud, and the grandson of Tarquin the elder. He had received an excellent education from his father, and had, from nature, strong sense and an inflexible attachment to virtue; but knowing that Tarquin had murdered his father and his eldest brother, he counterfeited a fool, in order to escape the same danger, and thence obtained the surname of Bru'tus. Tarquin, thinking his folly real, despised the man; and having possessed himself of his estate, kept him as an idiot in his house, merely with a view of making sport for his children.
21. Brutus, however, only waited this opportunity to avenge the cause of his family. He ordered Lucre'tia's[Pg. 87] dead body to be brought out to view, and exposing it in the public forum, inflamed the ardour of the citizens by a display of the horrid transaction. He obtained a decree of the senate, that Tarquin and his family should be for ever banished from Rome, and that it should be capital for any to plead for, or to attempt his future return. 22. Thus this monarch, who had now reigned twenty-five years, being expelled his kingdom, went to take refuge with his family at Ci'ra, a little city of Etru'ria. In the mean time the Roman army made a truce with the enemy, and Bru'tus was proclaimed deliverer of the people.
Thus ended with Tarquin, after a continuance of two hundred and forty-five years, the regal state of Rome.