CHAPTER VII. THE STORY OF THE BANISHING OF KING TARQUINIUS "Vis et Tarquinios reges, animamque superbam VIRGIL, Æn. vi. VII. How king a Tarquinius, the affrighted by a prodigy in con- sent two of had Lucius Bru his palace, his sons with WHILE king Tarquinius was at the height of his CHAP. greatness, it chanced upon a time, that from the altar in the court of his palace there crawled out snake, which devoured the offerings laid on altar. So the king thought it not enough to sult the soothsayers of the Etruscans whom he with him, but he sent two of his own sons to phi, to ask counsel of the oracle of the Greeks; the oracle of Delphi was famous in all lands. his sons Titus and Aruns went to Delphi, and they 2 1 Ovid, Fasti, II. 711. Ecce, nefas visu, mediis altaribus anguis Exit, et extinctis ignibus exta rapit. 2 Livy, I. 56, maxime inclitum in terris oraculum. The story of the last of the Roman kings sending to consult the oracle at Delphi, is in itself nothing im tus to con Del- sult the oracle of for Delphi. So probable. We read of the Agyl- VII. CHAP. took with them their cousin Lucius Junius, whom men called Brutus, that is, the Dullard; for he seemed to be wholly without wit, and he would eat wild figs with honey. This Lucius was not really dull, but very subtle; and it was for fear of his uncle's cruelty, that he made himself as one without sense; for he was very rich, and he feared lest king Tarquinius should kill him for the sake of his inheritance. So when he went to Delphi he carried with him a staff of horn, and the staff was hollow, and it was filled within with gold, and he gave the staff to the oracle as a likeness of himself; for though he seemed dull, and of no account to look upon, yet he had a golden wit within. When the three young men had performed the king's bidding, they asked the oracle for themselves, and they said, "O Lord Apollo, tell us, which of us shall be king in Rome?" Then there came a voice from the sanctuary and said, "Whichever of you shall first kiss his mother." So the sons of Tarquinius agreed to draw lots between themselves, which of them should first kiss their mother, when they should have returned to Rome; and they said they would keep the oracle secret from their brother Sextus, lest he should be 3 A. Postumius Albinus, cotemporary with Cato the censor, quoted by Macrobius, Saturnalia, II. 16. Grossulos ex melle edebat. "Ex melle," dipping them into the honey, and eating them when just taken out of it, i. e. with the honey clinging all about them. Compare Plautus, Merc. I. 2. 28. "Resinam ex melle devorato," where the sense of the preposition can hardly be distinguished from that of "cum." Grossi and grossuli are imperfect and unripe figs; either those of the wild fig which never come to perfection, or the young fruit of the cultivated fig, gathered before its time. 4 Per ambages effigiem ingenii sui. Livy, I. 56. VII. king rather than they. But Lucius understood the CHAP. mind of the oracle better; so as they all went down from the temple, he stumbled as if by chance, and fell with his face to the earth, and kissed the earth; for he said, "The earth is the true mother of us all." 6 the siege of Roman puted about their wives, feasting and how Lucretia was worthiest. Now when they came back to Rome, king Tar- How at quinius was at war with the people of Ardea: and Ardea the as the city was strong, his army lay a long while princes disbefore it, till it should be forced to yield through the worth of famine. So the Romans had leisure for and for diverting themselves: and once Titus and judged the Aruns were supping with their brother Sextus, and their cousin Tarquinius of Collatia was supping with them. And they disputed about their wives, whose wife of them all was the worthiest lady. Then said Tarquinius of Collatia, "Let us go, and see with our own eyes what our wives are doing, so shall we know which is the worthiest." Upon this they all mounted their horses, and rode first to Rome; and there they found the wives of Titus, and of Aruns, and of Sextus, feasting and making merry. They then rode on to Collatia, and it was late in the night, but they found Lucretia, the wife of Tarquinius of Collatia, neither feasting, nor yet sleeping, but she was sitting with all her handmaids around her, and all were working at the loom. when they saw this, they all said, "Lucretia is the 5 Livy, I. 57. This is one of the incongruities of the story. Ardea, in the first year of the Commonwealth, is mentioned as one of the So dependent allies of Rome. See the VII. CHAP. worthiest lady." And she entertained her husband and his kinsmen, and after that they rode back to the camp before Ardea. Of the wicked deed of Sextus Tarquinius against Lucretia. How Lucretia, having told the wickedness to her husband and her father, slew nerself. How her father and But a spirit of wicked passion' seized upon Sextus, and a few days afterwards he went alone to Collatia, and Lucretia received him hospitably, for he was her husband's kinsman. At midnight he arose and went to her chamber, and he said that if she yielded not to him, he would slay her and one of her slaves with her, and would say to her husband that he had slain her in her adultery. So when Sextus had accomplished his wicked purpose, he went back again to the camp. Then Lucretias sent in haste to Rome, to pray that her father Spurius Lucretius would come to her: and she sent to Ardea to summon her husband. Her father brought along with him Publius Valerius, and her husband brought with him Lucius Junius, whom men call Brutus. When they arrived, they asked earnestly, "Is all well?" Then she told them of the wicked deed of Sextus, and she said, "If ye be men, avenge it." And they all swore to her, that they would avenge it. Then she said again, "I am not guilty; yet must I too share in the punishment of this deed, lest any should think that they may be false to their husbands and live." And she drew a knife from her bosom, and stabbed herself to the heart. At that sight her husband and her father cried 7 Livy, I. 58. 8 Livy, I. 58. 9 Livy, I. 59. VII. her husband Brutus ex man cited the people to like drive out king Tar hus- quinius and his house. aloud; but Lucius drew the knife from the wound, CHAP. and held it up, and said, "By this blood I swear, that I will visit this deed upon king Tarquinius, and Lucius and all his accursed race; neither shall any hereafter be king in Rome, lest he do the wickedness." And he gave the knife to her band, and to her father, and to Publius Valerius. They marvelled to hear such words from him whom men called dull; but they swore also, and they took up the body of Lucretia, and carried it down into the forum; and they said, "Behold the deeds of the wicked family of Tarquinius." All the people of Collatia were moved, and the men took up arms, and they set a guard at the gates, that none might go out to carry the tidings to Tarquinius, and they followed Lucius to Rome. There, too, all the people came together, and the crier summoned them to assemble before the tribune of the Celeres, for Lucius held that office 10. And Lucius spoke to them of all the tyranny of Tarquinius and his sons, and of the wicked deed of Sextus. And the people in their curia took back from Tarquinius the sovereign power, which they had given him, and they banished 10 The tribune of the Celeres was to the king, what the master of the horse was afterwards to the dictator. It is hardly necessary to point out the extravagance of the story, in representing Brutus, though a reputed idiot, yet invested with such an important office. Festus says that Brutus, in old Latin, was synonymous with Gravis; this would show a connexion between the word and |