BOOK

I.

Greek elements

in Roman tradition.

reason for assigning it to Tarquinius is apparently only an
inference made from the circumstance that the Sibylline
books were preserved in the temple of the Capitoline
Jupiter. Nothing seemed more natural than to suppose
that Tarquin, who built that temple, purchased also the
sacred books of the Sibyl.'

From the Greek tales in the history of the Tarquins it has
been argued that, in the Tarquinian period, a lively inter-
course took place between Greeks and Romans, and that
Rome then received the first impression of Greek civilisa-
tion. We hold that this inference is erroneous, and we
consider the stories upon which it is based as so many
attempts to represent the aboriginal Romans as connected
with Greece, attempts which we have met with in the
legend of Æneas, in the alleged intercourse of Numa and
Pythagoras, in the legend of the temple of Diana on the
Aventine, built, as it is said, after the model of that of
the Ephesian Artemis, and in the alleged descent of the
Tarquins from Demaratus of Corinth. At what time and
in what manner Greece began to exercise her influence
upon Rome, is a question for the solution of which we obtain
no materials from the unauthenticated history of the regal
time. The alphabet, the system of weights and measures
used in Rome, appear to have been introduced from the
Greek cities in Southern Italy, but we have as yet no
evidence to show how and when.

Collections of prophecies similar to the Sibylline books are met with not only among the Greeks, but also among the Italians-Etruscans as well as those of Sabellian race. The Romans had the prophecies of the Marcii ('Carmina Marciana,' Hartung, Religion der Römer, i. 139); prophetic lines (sortes) of the nymph Albunea had come down to Rome from Tibur in a miraculous manner (Marquardt, Röm. Alterth., iv. 299). There existed likewise Etruscan 'libri fatales' (Livy, v. 45. Cicero, De Divin., i. 44, 100), and prophecies of the Etruscan nymph Begoe (quæ artem scripserat fulguritorum apud Tuscos. Lactant, Instit., i. 6, 12). Such books as these were kept in the Capitol, together with the Sibylline books, in the care of the Quindecimviri sacris faciundis. They are all called without distinction 'libri fatales' and 'Sibylline' books, and there seems to have been little difference between them. It is not likely that Italian writings of this kind were introduced in Rome after the Greek Sibylline verses had become fashionable. They must, therefore, have been older, and nobody was more likely to bring Etruscan libri fatales' to Rome than the Etruscan Tarquins.

8

CHAP.

VIII.

If, from what we have said, it must be conceded that the history of the reign of Tarquinius Superbus is unauthentic, it follows that the account of his expulsion is The expullikewise without foundation. It is contrary to all expe- sion of the Tarquins. rience, and to the laws of human nature, that a powerful dynasty should have been expelled without any difficulty, without any internal struggles, simply by a resolution of the people, and that a monarchy which had lasted for centuries should have been changed, as by magic, into a republic in complete working order, with responsible annual magistrates and the laws necessary to secure the permanence of these institutions.

meaning of

We venture to conjecture that the expulsion of the Probable Tarquins from Rome implied not merely a change in the the story. constitution, but that it was connected with a national rising of the Latino-Sabine people against the Etruscans, who for a time had held dominion over Latium. This, it is true, cannot be proved with absolute certainty. The evidence to which we must refer is too vague and untrustworthy; it depends too much upon individual conceptions, and may often be interpreted in various ways. We must, therefore, rest contented if the result of our investigations satisfy the rules of probability, and if we get rid of conceptions which our judgment rejects as untenable and false.

on

The Etruscans or Tuscans, called by the Greeks Tyrrhenians, differed in descent, language, and manners from all the other races of Italy, and from the Greek settlers Italian soil. They had spread themselves at the time of their greatest power over the wide plain of the Po in the north of Italy; in the south they occupied Campania; and in central Italy the land of Etruria, to which they gave its name. In each of these three districts they built towns at a very early period, which were ruled by kings and formed several confederacies. At the time of their immigration they had either expelled or conquered the original inhabitants; and in some districts-for instance, in southern and eastern Etruria-they had amalgamated with them to a

BOOK

I.

Their history and literature.

certain extent. In the settlements north of the Apennines the Etruscans were gradually overpowered by successive invasions of Gauls; in Campania their dominion seems to have been of short duration, and to have been broken towards the end of the regal period by the Greek colonies in union with the advancing Sabellians; but in Etruria proper-between the Arno, the Tiber, the sea, and the Apennines-the Etruscans reached a high degree of national development. Here were situated the maritime cities, which commanded the western sea, called after them the Tyrrhenian, by which they extended their commerce, as well as their piratical excursions, to the furthest shores. In this country, which still bears a name derived from them, they left traces of their national peculiarities, bearing witness to the present day of their ingenuity and their wealth.

Of the history of the Etruscans we know hardly anything. The Greek and Roman writers give but a scanty and untrustworthy account of them. Like the Egyptians, they are known to us chiefly by the ruins of their buildings and by the numerous sepulchral monuments which are still preserved. Their literature has perished entirely, and even their language, which was spoken down to the time of the civil wars of Marius and Sulla, gradually died away, and was so neglected that we have no key to decipher the inscriptions they have left behind. The Etruscans, therefore, have become in many respects a mysterious people, and will remain so until some fortunate accident, like the discovery of the Rosetta stone, shall come to our help. It follows that we must speak with great reserve of this nation, of their character, their religion, and their civil institutions, and that it is difficult to judge with certainty of the influence which they exercised on Rome.'

The Etruscan influence in Rome was not so great as to modify essentially the original Latin race. But it shows itself in matters which have reference to religion and politics, in such a manner that it can hardly be derived from peaceful intercourse of the two nations. The whole system of auguries, as it was developed in Rome into an elaborate science, half religious and half political, is of Etruscan origin (see O. Müller, Etrusker, iii. 6). The science of

CHAP.

VIII.

Etruscans.

Concerning the origin of the Etruscans, historical science has not yet arrived at a final and satisfactory result, although this question has been most eagerly discussed The origin from the oldest times to the present day. The ancients of the were satisfied that the Etruscans migrated from Asia Minor to Italy, and that they were of kindred blood with the Tyrrhenians spread in all directions over the eastern shores and islands of the Mediterranean. Since Niebuhr wrote, the hypothesis has been very generally accepted that the Etruscans migrated into Italy from the mountainous districts of Rhætia, and that they gradually advanced in the peninsula from north to south. It is impossible to decide which of these two views is correct. Whatever the original country of the Etruscans was, we know them only after they had settled in Italy, and the history of Rome is not concerned with the events which preceded this settlement.

of the

Etruscans

In all probability the Etruscans were first brought into Relations contact with the Latins when, after the conquest of the whole of Etruria as far as the Tiber, they penetrated and Latins. further southward towards Campania.' 'It is most likely that the Etruscans reached Campania by land, that their dominion extended at one time without interruption from the foot of the Alps to Mount Vesuvius, and that consequently the coast districts of Latium were once Etruscan." These southern conquests of the Etruscans, however, were not permanent like those in Etruria proper. They appear not to have been made by a migration of the whole people, or by a settlement in great numbers; but rather seem to

the haruspices, especially the interpretation and expiation of lightning, always remained in the exclusive possession and practice of Etruscans (Müller, Etrusker, iii. 7). It is very significant that the insignia of royalty are admitted by general consent to have been derived from Etruria. The introduction of these insignia is explained only by the supposition that Etruscan kings governed in Rome, just as the French phrases employed to the present day in English parliamentary language and the administration of law are due to the Norman conquest. It is quite immaterial whether this advance was made by land, or, as others (Mommsen, Röm. Gesch., i. 126; Engl. transl. i, 129) will have it, by sea. Schwegler, Röm. Gesch., i. 329.

2

BOOK

I.

Traditions

of Etrus

can con

quest.

have had the character of a military occupation,' effected at a time when the colonisation of Etruria proper had absorbed the principal strength of the Etruscan race.2 Even the southern part of Etruria, between the Ciminian hill and the Tiber, appears to have been subdued considerably later than the northern parts of the country, and to have adopted the Etruscan language and manners but partially and imperfectly.3 Thus it is explained that the Etruscan power in Campania and Latium was overthrown at a comparatively early period, and left few traces behind."

The memory of Etruscan rule over Latium was preserved in the old popular tradition of the Etruscan tyrant, Mezentius, who in the time of Eneas subdued the Latins, imposed a tribute on them, and was at last, after a hard struggle, defeated and expelled from Latium.5 Another mythical character of similar nature was Turnus, evidently a Tyrrhenian by his very name, who, as prince of the Rutuli in Ardea, fought against Æneas. As Etruscan conquerors of Latium, we have already met with Mastarna and the Lucumo Coles Vibenna. In the current narrative the two Tarquins were inserted among the Roman kings, as Etruscan conquerors of Latium; and lastly we shall find that the conquest of Rome by Porsenna is nothing but another version of the same popular tradition which has preserved the memory of Etruscan dominion in Latium.6

As it is represented in the legends of Coles Vibenna, Mastarna, and Porsenna.

Analogous are the conquests of the Longobards in Southern Italy and of the Anglo-Normans in Wales and Ireland.

148.

Mommsen, Röm. Gesch., i. 115, 116, 143; English translation, i. 121, 131,

The first Norman conquerors in Ireland became Hibernis Hiberniores. Dionysius, i. 65. Plutarch, Quæst. Rom., 45. Macrobius, iii. 5, 10. Ovid, Fast., iv. 888, 895,

• Compare also Virgil, Æn. xi. 539 ff.; and Servius, En., xi. 567.