war. For what worse calamity do we endure from it, than that of seeing you reinstated in this assembly? But forbear to attack good men with forwardness of speech; forbear to foster the vice of an intemperate tongue; forbear to form your opinion of every man by your own conduct; for, by such conduct, you can never acquire a friend, and appear willing to have an enemy2. I shall say nothing more, Conscript Fathers, for I have observed that those who give unveiled narratives of the crimes of others, often incur the disgust of their auditors, even more than those who have committed them. For my own part, it must be my care to say3, not what Sallust may deservedly hear, but what I myself may decently utter. 1 Perpetually remind us of the civil war] Es-civilis belli memoria. cause it was the civil war that restored Sallust to the senate." Cortius. 2 An enemy] Meaning himself, as Cortius thinks. "Be It must be my care to say, &c.] Ratio habenda est-ut ea dicam. These words seem more appropriate to the commencement than the conclusion of a speech. EPITOME OF ROMAN HISTORY. BY LUCIUS ANNEUS FLORUS. THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. THE Roman people, during seven hundred years, from the time of king Romulus to that of Cæsar Augustus, performed such mighty acts both in peace and war, that if any one compares the greatness of their empire with its years, he will think it out of proportion to its age1. So far throughout the world have they extended their arms, that those who read their exploits, learn the fate, not of one people only, but of all mankind. So numerous are the toils and dangers in which they have been exercised, that ability and fortune seem to have concurred in establishing their sway. As it is of the highest importance, therefore, to learn this history as well as others, but as the vastness of the subject is a hindrance to the knowledge of it, and the variety of topics distracts the faculty of attention, I shall follow the example of those who describe the face of the earth, and shall comprise the whole representation of the matter, as it were, in a small tablet, adding something, as I hope, to the admiration with which this eminent people are regarded, by showing their whole grandeur together and at one view. If 1 Out of proportion to its age] Etatem ultra. "He will think that so muca could not have been done in so short a space of time." Freinshemius. 2 Ability] Virtus. In the same sense as in Sallust, Cat., c. 1, and elsewhere. see the Notes. So Florus, at the commencement of c. 3, says of Tullus Hostilius, Cui in honorem virtutis regnum ultro datum. 3 This history] Hoc. I follow Duker's text, in which the passage stands thus: Quare quum præcipuè hoc quoque, sicut cætera, operæ pretium sit cognoscere, tamen quia, &c. But it is probably corrupt. In some copies the words sicut cætera are wanting, and in some the word sigillatim is found after cognoscere. Grævius conjectures that Florus wrote Quare cùm præcipua quæque operæ pretium sit cognoscere sigillatim, tamen quia, &c. • Distracts the faculty of attention] Aciem intentionis abrumpit. "So we Ray abrumpere sermonem." Minellius. Face of the earth] Terrarum situs. Situations of places on the earth. any one, then, contemplates the Roman people as he would contemplate a man, and considers its whole age, how it had its origin, how it grew up, how it arrived at a certain vigour of manhood, and how it has since, as it were, grown old, he will observe four degrees and stages of its existence. Its first period was under its kings, lasting nearly two hundred and fifty years, during which it struggled round its mother against its neighbours; this was its infancy. Its next period extended from the consulship of Brutus and Collatinus to that of Appius Claudius and Quintus Fulvius, a space of two hundred and fifty years, during which it subdued Italy; this was a time of action for men and arms, and we may therefore call it its youth. The next period was one of two hundred years, to the time of Cæsar Augustus, in which it subdued the whole world; this may accordingly be called the manhood, and robust maturity, of the empire. From the reign of Cæsar Augustus to our own age is a period of little less than two hundred years, in which, from the inactivity of the Cæsars, it has grown old and lost its strength, except that it now raises its arms under the emperor Trajan, and, contrary to the expectation of all, the old age of the empire, as if youth were restored to it, renews its vigour. BOOK L CHAP. I. OF ROMULUS, THE FIRST KING OF THE ROMANS. The founder of the city and empire was Romulus, the son of Mars and Rhea Sylvia. The priestess, when pregnant, confessed this fact of herself, nor did report, soon afterwards, testify a doubt of it, as, being thrown, with his brother Remus, into the river by order of Amulius, he could not be destroyed; for not only did the Tiber repress its stream, but a she-wolf, leaving her young, and following the children's cries, offered her teats to the infants, and acted towards them the part of a mother. Being found, in these circumstances, under a tree, the king's shepherd carried them into a cottage, and brought them up. The metropolis of Latium, at that time, was Alba, built by Lulus; for he had disdained Lavinium, the city of his father Eneas. Amulius, the fourteenth descendant from them1, was now reigning there, having dethroned his brother Numitor, of whose daughter Romulus was the son. Romulus, in the first ardour of youth, drove Amulius from the citadel, and restored his grandfather. Being fond, however, of the river, and of the mountains where he had been brought up, he thought of founding among them the walls of a new city. But as he and his brother were twins, it was resolved to consult the gods which of the two should commence the work, and enjoy the sovereignty. Romulus, accordingly, took his station on Mount Aventine, and Remus on Mount Palatine. Romulus first saw six vultures; Remus was behind him in time, but saw twelve. Being thus superior in point of augury, Romulus proceeded to build the city, with full expectation that it would prove a warlike one, for so the birds, accustomed to blood and prey, seemed to promise. For the defence of the new city a rampart appeared sufficient. While Remus was deriding its diminutiveness, and showing his contempt for it by leaping over it, he was, whether by his brother's order is uncertain, put to death. He was certainly the first victim, and consecrated the fortifi cation of the new city with his blood. But Romulus had formed the idea of a city, rather than a real city; for inhabitants were wanting. In the neighbourhood there was a grove, which he made a place of refuge2; and immediately an extraordinary number of men, some Latin and Tuscan shepherds, others from beyond the seas, Phrygians who had come into the country under Æneas, and Arcadians under Evander, took up their residence in it. Thus of various elements, as it were, he formed one body, and was himself the founder of the Roman people. But a people consisting only of men could last but one age; wives were therefore sought from the neighbouring nations, and, as they were not obtained, were seized by force. For a pretence being made of celebrating some equestrian games, the young women who came to see them, became a prey; and this immediately gave rise to wars. The Vejentes were routed and put to flight. The city of the Caninenses was taken and demolished; and Romulus also, with his own hands, 1 Ch. I. From them] Ab his. That is, from Æneas and Ïulus. It should properly be ab hoc, from Æneas only. 2 A place of refuge] Asylum. D offered the spolia opima, taken from their king, to Jupiter Feretrius. To the Sabines, the gates, of Rome were given up by a young woman, though not treacherously1; she had asked, as a reward, what they wore on their left arms, but whether she meant their shields or their bracelets, is doubtful. They, to keep their word, and be revenged on her, buried her under their bucklers. The enemy having thus gained admission within the walls, there ensued, in the very forum, so desperate an engagement, that Romulus intreated Jupiter to stop the shameful flight of his men; and hence a temple was afterwards erected, and Jupiter surnamed Stator. At last the women who had been carried off, rushed, with their hair dishevelled, between the contending parties, and separated them. Thus peace was made, and a league established, with Tatius2; and a wonderful event followed, namely, that the enemy, leaving their habitations, removed into the new city, and shared their hereditary property with their sons-in-law, as a portion for their daughters. any The strength of the city being soon increased, this most wise monarch made the following arrangement in the state; that the young men, divided into tribes, should be ready, with horses and arms, for sudden demands of war; and that the administration of affairs should be in the hands of the older men, who, from their authority, were called Fathers, and from their age, the Senate3. When he had thus regulated matters, and was holding an assembly of the people at the lake of Caprea, near the city, he was suddenly snatched out of their sight. Some think that he was cut to pieces by the senate, on account of his excessive severity; but a tempest which then arose, and an eclipse of the sun, were apparent proofs of his deification. This opinion Julius Proculus soon after confirmed, asserting that he had seen Romulus in a more majestic shape than he had had when alive; that he also commanded them to acknow. ledge him as a deity, as it pleased the gods that he should be called Quirinus in heaven; and that thus Rome should have. the sovereignty of the world. Not treacherously] Nec dolo. Florus means that she intended no treachery to her countrymen, but wished to rob or disarm the enemy by depriving them of their bracelets or shields. Tatius] King of the Sabines. Comp. c. 15. |