History of Julius Caesar Vol. 1 of 2. Napoleon III

63

“The grand pontiff exercises the functions of interpreter and diviner, or rather of hierophant. He not only presides at the public sacrifices, but he also inspects those which are made in private, and takes care that the ordinances of religious worship are not transgressed. Lastly, it is he who teaches what each individual ought to do to honour the gods and to appease them.” (Plutarch, Numa, 12.)

64

“Numa divided the year into twelve months, according to the moon’s courses; he added January and February to the year.” (Titus Livius, I. 19. – Plutarch, Numa, 18.)

65

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, II. 73.

66

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, II. 64.

67

Salian is derived from salire (to leap, to dance). (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, II. 70.) – It was their duty, on certain occasions, to execute sacred dances, and to chant hymns in honour of the god of war.

68

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, II. 72. – “The name of feciales is derived from the circumstance that they presided over the public faith between peoples; for it was by their intervention that war when undertaken assumed the character of a just war, and, that once terminated, peace was guaranteed by a treaty. Before war was undertaken, some of the feciales were sent to make whatever demands had to be made.” (Varro, De Lingua Latina, V. § 86.) – “If allies complained that the Romans had done them wrong, and demanded reparation for it, it was the business of the feciales to examine if there were any violation of treaty.” (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, II. 72.) – Those fecial priests had been instituted by Numa, the mildest and most just of kings, to be guardians of peace, and the judges and arbiters of the legitimate motives for undertaking war. (Plutarch, Camillus, 20.)

69

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, IV. 14. – Pliny, Natural History, XXI. 8.

70

Numa raised a temple to Romulus, whom he deified under the name of Quirinus. (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, II. 63)

71

“Temple of Vesta, emblem of chastity; temple to Public Faith; raised by Numa.” (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, II. 65 and 75.)

72

“The god Terminus; the festival in honour of Pales, the goddess of shepherds; Saturn, the god of agriculture; the god of fallow-grounds, pasture,” &c. (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, II. 74.)

73

“After having done these things in peace and war, Servius Tullius erected two temples to Fortune, who appeared to have been favourable to him all his life, one in the oxen-market, the other on the banks of the Tiber, and he gave her the surname of Virilis, which she has preserved to the present day among the Romans.” (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, IV. 27.)

74

“The Temple of Janus had been closed twice since the reign of Numa: the first time by the consul Titus Manlius, at the end of the first Punic war; the second, when the gods granted to our age to see, after the battle of Actium, Cæsar Augustus Imperator give peace to the universe.” (Titus Livius, I. 19.) – And Plutarch says, in his Life of Numa, XX., “Nevertheless, this temple was closed after the victory of Cæsar Augustus over Antony, and it had previously been closed under the consulate of Marcus Atilius and of Titus Manlius, for a short time, it is true; it was almost immediately opened again, for a new war broke out. But, during the reign of Numa, it was not seen open a single day.”

75

We employ intentionally the word republic, because all the ancient authors give this name to the State, under the kings as well as under the emperors. It is only by translating faithfully these denominations that we can form an exact idea of ancient societies.

76

“We acknowledge how many good and useful institutions the Republic owed to each of our kings.” (Cicero, De Republica, II. 21.)

77

“Among the Romans, the children possess nothing of their own during their father’s life. He can dispose not only of all the goods, but even of the lives of his children.” (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, VIII. 79; II. 25.)

78

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, II., 25, 26. – “From the beginning,” says Mommsen, “the Roman family presented, in the moral order which reigned among its members, and their mutual subordination, the conditions of a superior civilisation.” (Roman History, 2nd edit., I., p. 54.)

79

“Morals were so pure that, during two hundred and thirty years, no husband was known to repudiate his wife, nor any woman to separate from her husband.” (Plutarch, Parallel of Theseus and Romulus.)

80

Cicero admires the profound wisdom of the first kings in admitting the conquered enemies to the number of the citizens. “Their example,” he says, “has become an authority, and our ancestors have never ceased granting the rights of citizens to conquered enemies.” (Oration for Balbus, xxxi.)

81

Roman colonies (coloniæ civium cum jure suffragii et honorum). – First period: 1-244 (under the kings).

Cænina (Sabine). Unknown.

Antemnæ (Sabine). Unknown.

Cameria (Sabine). Destroyed in 252. Unknown.

Medullia (Sabine). Sant’-Angelo. – See Gell., Topogr. of Rome, 100.

Crustumeria (Sabine). Unknown.

Fidenæ (Sabine). Ruins near Giubileo and Serpentina. Re-colonised in 326. Destroyed, according to an hypothesis of M. Madvig.

Collatia.

Ostia (the mouth of the Tiber). Ruins between Torre Bovacciano and Ostia.

Latin colonies (coloniæ Latinæ). – First period: 1-244 (under the kings).

We cannot mention with certainty any Latin colony founded at this epoch, from ancient authorities. The colonies of Signia and Circeii were both re-colonized in the following period, and we shall place them there.

82

“Tarquin embellished also the great circus between the Aventine and Palatine hills; he was the first who caused the covered seats to be made round this circus.” (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, III. 68.)

83

Titus Livius, I. 44. – “Immediately the centurions, whose centuries had taken flight, and the antesignani who had lost their standard, were condemned to death: some had their heads cut off; others were beaten to death. As to the rest of the troops, the consul caused them to be decimated; in every ten soldiers, he upon whom the lot fell was conducted to the place of execution, and suffered for the others. It is the usual punishment among the Romans for those who have quitted their ranks or abandoned their standards.” (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, IX. 1.)

84

“Romulus placed upon their hair a crown of laurels.” (Plutarch, Romulus, XX.)

85

“The Senate and the people decreed to King Tarquin the honours of the triumph.” (Combat of the Romans and Etruscans, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, III. 60.) – “An ovation differs from a triumph, first, because he who receives the honours of it enters on foot at the head of the army, and not mounted in a car; secondly, that he has neither the crown of gold, nor the toga embroidered with gold and of different colours, but he carries only a white trabea bordered with purple, the ordinary costume of the generals and consuls. Besides having only a crown of laurel, he does not carry a sceptre. This is what the little triumph has less than the great; in all other respects there is no difference.” (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, V. 47.)

86

Romulus kills Acron, routs the enemies, and returns to offer to Jupiter Feretrius the opima spolia taken from that prince.

“After