Romulus

Оглавление

Abbott Jacob. Romulus

Chapter I. CADMUS. B.C. 1500

Chapter II. Cadmus's Letters. B.C. 1500

Chapter III. The Story of Æneas. B.C. 1200

Chapter IV. The Destruction of Troy. B.C. 1200

Chapter V. The Flight of Æneas. B.C. 1200

Chapter VI. The Landing in Latium. B.C. 1197-1190

Chapter VII. Rhea Silvia. B.C. 800

Chapter VIII. The Twins. B.C. 774-755

Chapter IX. The Founding of Rome. B.C. 754

Chapter X. Organization. B.C. 754

Chapter XI. Wives. B.C. 751

Chapter XII. The Sabine War. B.C. 750-746

Chapter XIII. The Conclusion. B.C. 764-717

Отрывок из книги

Some men are renowned in history on account of the extraordinary powers and capacities which they exhibited in the course of their career, or the intrinsic greatness of the deeds which they performed. Others, without having really achieved any thing in itself very great or wonderful, have become widely known to mankind by reason of the vast consequences which, in the subsequent course of events, resulted from their doings. Men of this latter class are conspicuous rather than great. From among thousands of other men equally exalted in character with themselves, they are brought out prominently to the notice of mankind only in consequence of the strong light reflected, by great events subsequently occurring, back upon the position where they happened to stand.

The celebrity of Romulus seems to be of this latter kind. He founded a city. A thousand other men have founded cities; and in doing their work have evinced perhaps as much courage, sagacity, and mental power as Romulus displayed. The city of Romulus, however, became in the end the queen and mistress of the world. It rose to so exalted a position of influence and power, and retained its ascendency so long, that now for twenty centuries every civilized nation in the western world have felt a strong interest in every thing pertaining to its history, and have been accustomed to look back with special curiosity to the circumstances of its origin. In consequence of this it has happened that though Romulus, in his actual day, performed no very great exploits, and enjoyed no pre-eminence above the thousand other half-savage chieftains of his class, whose names have been long forgotten, and very probably while he lived never dreamed of any extended fame, yet so brilliant is the illumination which the subsequent events of history have shed upon his position and his doings, that his name and the incidents of his life have been brought out very conspicuously to view, and attract very strongly the attention of mankind.

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It is not supposed that the idea of representing the elements of vocal sounds by characters originated with Cadmus, or that he invented the characters himself. He brought them with him undoubtedly, but whether from Egypt or Phenicia, can not now be known.

Such are the facts of the case, as now generally understood and believed. Let us now compare this simple narration with the romantic tale which the early story-tellers made from it. The legend, as they relate it, is as follows.

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