neum, Pompe'ii, Surren'tum, Salernum, &c. The original inhabitants of Campania were the Auso'nes and Op'ici or Osci, the most ancient of the native Italian tribes. The Tyrrhenian Pelas'gi made several settlements on the coast, and are supposed to have founded Cap'ua. The Etruscans were afterwards masters of the country, but their dominion was of brief duration, and left no trace behind. Campa'nia was subdued by the Romans after the Volscian war. 23. The soil of Campa'nia is the most fruitful, perhaps, in the world, but it is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Mount Vesu'vius in the early ages of Italy was not a volcano; its first eruption took place A.D. 79. 24. UMBRIA extended along the middle and east of Italy, from the river Rubicon in the north, to the Æ'sis, Gesano, dividing it from Pice'num, and the Nar, Nera, separating it from Sam'nium in the south. The Umbrians were esteemed one of the most ancient races in Italy, and were said to have possessed the greater part of the northern and central provinces. They were divided into several tribes, which seem to have been semi-barbarous, and they were subject to the Gauls before they were conquered by the Romans. Their chief towns were Armi'nium, Rimini; Spole'tium, Spoleto; Nar'nia, Narni; and Ocriculum, Otriculi. 25. PICE NUM was the name given to the fertile plain that skirts the Adriatic, between the Æ'sis, Gesano, and the Atar'nus, Pescara. The chief cities were Anco'na and Asc'ulum Pice'num, Ascoli. The Picentines were descended from the Sabines, and observed the strict and severe discipline of that warlike race, but they were destitute of courage or vigour. 1 26. SAM'NIUM included the mountainous tract which stretches from the Atar'nus in the north, to the Fren'to in the south. It was inhabited by several tribes descended from the Sabines and Mar'si, of which the Samnites were the most distinguished; the other most remarkable sects were the Marruci'ni and Pelig'ni in the north, the Frenta'ni in the east, and the Hirpi'ni in the south. 27. The 1 These colonies, sent out by the Sabines, are said to have originated from the observance of the Ver sacrum (sacred Spring). During certain years, every thing was vowed to the gods that was born between the calends (first day) of March and May, whether men or animals. At first they were sacrificed, but in later ages this cruel custom was laid aside, and they were sent out as colonists. Samnites were distinguished by their love of war and their unconquerable attachment to liberty: their sway at one time extended over Campania, and the greater part of central Italy; and the Romans found them the fiercest and most dangerous of their early enemies. The chief towns in the Samnite territory were All'ifæ, Beneven'tum, and Cau'dium. 28. Lower Italy was also called Magna Græ'cia, from the number of Greek' colonies that settled on the coast; it comprised four countries, Luca'nia and Brut'tium on the west, and Apulia and Cala'bria on the east. 29. LUCA'NIA was a mountainous country between the Sil'arus, Selo, on the north, and the Läus, Lavo, on the south. The Lucanians were of Sabine origin, and conquered the Enotrians, who first possessed the country; they also subdued several Greek cities on the coast. The chief cities were Posidonia or Pæstum, Helia or Ve'lia, Sib'aris and Thu'rium. 30. BRUT TIUM is the modern Cala'bria, and received that name when the ancient province was wrested from the empire. It included the tongue of land from the river Läus to the southern extremity of Italy at Rhe'gium. The mountains of the interior were inhabited by the Bruta'tes or Brut'tii, a semi-barbarous tribe, at first subject to the Sybarites, and afterwards to the Lucanians. In a late age they asserted their independence, and maintained a vigorous resistance to the Romans. As the Brut'tii used the Oscan language, they must have been of the Ausonian race. The chief towns were the Greek settlements on the coast, Consen'tia, Cosenza; Pando'sia, Cirenza; Crotona, Mame'rtum, Petilia, and Rhe'gium, Reggio. 31. APU'LIA extended along the eastern coast from the river Fren'to, to the eastern tongue of land which forms the foot of the boot to which Italy has been compared. It was a very fruitful plain, without fortresses or harbours, and was particularly adapted to grazing cattle. It was divided by the river Au'fidus, Ofanto, into Apulia Dau'nia, and Apulia Peuce'tia, or pine-bearing Apu'lia. The chief towns were, in Dau'nia, Sipon'tum and Luce'ria: in Peuce'tia, Ba'rium Can'næ, and Venu'sia. 32. CALABRIA, or Messa pia, is the eastern tongue of and which terminates at Cape Iapy'gium, Santa Maria; it 1 The history of these colonies is contained in the Historical Miscellany, Part II. Chap. II. The was almost wholly occupied by Grecian colonies. chief towns were Brundu'sium, Brindisi; Callipolis, Gallipoli; and Taren'tum. 33. The islands of Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia, which are now reckoned as appertaining to Italy, were by the Romans considered separate provinces. Questions for Examination. 1. How is Italy situated? 2. By what names was the country known to the ancients? 3. How was Italy bounded on the north? 4. What districts were in northern Italy? 5. What was the extent of Liguria, and the character of its inhabit ants? 6. How was Cisalpine Gaul divided? 7. By whom was Cisalpine Gaul inhabited? 8. Why was it called Togata? 9. What are the principal rivers in northern Italy ? 10. What are the chief cities in Cisalpine Gaul? 11. When did the Romans subdue this district? 12. Did the Venetians resist the Roman power? 13. What are the chief divisions of central Italy? 14. How is Etruria situated? 15. By what people was Etruria colonized? 16. What were the Tuscan cities? 17. How were the cities ruled? 18. What was the general form of Tuscan government? 19. For what were the Tuscans remarkable? 20. What was the geographical situation of Latium? 21. What were the chief towns in Latium? 22. What towns and people were in Campania? CHAPTER II.. THE LATIN LANGUAGE AND PEOPLE.- CREDIBILITY OF THE EARLY HISTORY. Succeeding times did equal folly call, Believing nothing, or believing all. DRYDEN. [As this chapter is principally designed for advanced students, it has not been thought necessary to add a vocabulary or questions for examination.] THE Latin language contains two primary elements, the first intimately connected with the Grecian, and the second with the Oscan tongue: to the former, for the most part, belong all words expressing the arts and relations of civilized life; to the latter, such terms as express the wants of men before society has been organized. We are therefore warranted in conjecturing that the Latin people was a mixed race, that one of its component parts came from some Grecian stock, and introduced the first elements of civilization, and that the other was indigenous, and borrowed refinement from the strangers. The traditions recorded by the historians sufficiently confirm this opinion; they unanimously assert that certain bodies of Pelasgi came into the country before the historic age, and coalesced with the ancient inhabitants. The traditions respecting these immigrations are so varied, that it is impossible to discover any of the circumstances; but there is one so connected with the early history of Rome, that it cannot be passed over without notice. All the Roman historians declare that after the destruction of Troy, Eneas with a body of the fugitives arrived in Latium, and having married the daughter of king Lati'nus, sucIceeded him on the throne. It would be easy to show that this narrative is so very improbable, as to be wholly unworthy of credit; but how are we to account for the universal credence which it received? To decide this question, we must discuss the credibility of the early Roman history, a subject which has of late years attracted more than ordinary attention. The first Roman historian of any authority was Fabius Pic'tor, who flourished at the close of the second Punic war; that is, about five centuries and a half after the foundation of the city, and nearly a thousand years after the destruction of Troy. The materials from which his narrative was compiled, were the legendary ballads, (which are in every country the first records of warlike exploits,) the calendars and annals kept by the priests, and the documents kept by noble families to establish their genealogy. Imperfect as these materials must necessarily have been under any circumstances, we must remember that the city of Rome was twice captured, once by Porsenna, and a second timeby the Gauls about a century and a half before Fabius was born. On the latter occasion the city was burned to the ground, and the capitol saved only by the payment of an immense ransom. By such a calamity it is manifest that the most valuable documents must have been dispersed or destroyed, and the part that escaped thrown into great disorder. The heroic songs might indeed have been preserved in the memory of the public reciters; but there is little necessity for proving, that poetic historians would naturally mingle so much fiction with truth, that few of their assertions could be deemed authentic. The history of the four first centuries of the Roman state is accordingly full of the greatest inconsistencies and improbabilities, so much so, that many respectable writers have rejected the whole as unworthy of credit; but this is as great an excess in scepticism, as the reception of the whole would be of credulity. But if the founders of the city, the date of its erection, and the circumstances under which its citizens were assembled, be altogether doubtful, as will subsequently be shown, assuredly, the history of events that occurred four centuries previous must be involved in still greater obscurity. The legend of Æneas, when he first appears noticed as a progenitor of the Romans, differs materially from that which afterwards prevailed. Romulus, in the earlier version of the story, is invariably described as the son or grandson of Æneas. He is the grandson in the poems of Nævius and Ennius, who were both nearly contemporary with Fabius Pictor. This gave rise to an insuperable chronological difficulty, for Troy was stroyed B.C. 1184, and Rome was not founded, according to the ordinary accounts, until B.C. 753. To remedy this incongruity, a list of Latin kings intervening between Ene'as and Rom'ulus, was invented; but the forgery was so clumsily executed, that its falsehood is apparent on the slightest inspection. It may also be remarked, that the de |