VII. Romans and account of CHAP. together and made Octavius Mamilius their general, and declared war against the Romans. Now Publius Latins on Valerius was dead, and the Romans so loved and Tarquinius. honoured him that they buried him within the city 36, near the hill Velia, and all the matrons of Rome had mourned for him for a whole year: also because the Romans 37 had the Sabines for their enemies as well as the Latins, they had made one man to be their ruler for a time instead of two; and he was called the Master of the people, or the commander, and he had all the power which the kings of Rome had in times past. So Aulus Postumius was appointed Master of the people at this time, and Titus Æbutius was the chief or Master of the horsemen; and they led out the whole force of the Romans, and met the Latins by the lake Regillus, in the country of Tusculum and Tarquinius himself was with the army of the Latins, and his son and all the houses of the Tarquinii; for this was their last hope, and fate was now to determine whether the Romans should be ruled over by king Tarquinius, or whether they should be free for ever. How the men who were mar There were many Romans who had married Latin wives 38, and many Latins who had married wives ried to Latin from among the Romans. So before the war began, came home it was resolved that the women on both sides might husbands to Rome. leave their husbands if they chose, and take their virgin daughters with them, and return to their own country. And all the Latin women, except two, 36 Plutarch in Publicola, 23. Livy, II. 16. 37 Livy, II. 18. 38 Dionysius, VI. 1. VII. remained in Rome with their husbands: but the Ro- CHAP. man women loved Rome more than their husbands, and took their young daughters with them, and came home to the houses of their fathers. great battle by the lake Regillus. Then the Romans and the Latins joined battle by of the the lake Regillus 39. There might you see king Tarquinius, though far advanced in years, yet mounted on his horse and bearing his lance in his hand, as bravely as though he were still young. There was his son Tarquinius, leading on to battle all the band of the house of the Tarquinii, whom the Romans had banished for their name's sake, and who thought it a proud thing to win back their country by their swords, and to become again the royal house, to give a king to the Romans. There was Octavius Mamilius, of Tusculum, the leader of all the Latins, who said, that he would make Tarquinius his father king once more in Rome, and the Romans should help the Latins in all their wars, and Tusculum should be the greatest of all the cities whose people went up together to sacrifice to Jupiter of the Latins, at his temple on the high top of the mountain of Alba. And on the side of the Romans might be seen Aulus Postumius, the Master of the people, and Titus Æbutius, the Master of the horsemen. There also was Titus Herminius, who had fought on the bridge by the side of Horatius Cocles, on the day when they saved Rome from king Porsenna. There was Marcus Valerius, the brother of Publius, who said he would 39 Livy, II. 19. VII. CHAP. finish by the lake Regillus 10 the glorious work which Publius had begun in Rome; for Publius had driven out Tarquinius and his house, and had made them live as banished men, and now they should lose their lives as they had lost their country. So at the first onset king Tarquinius levelled his lance, and rode against Aulus; and on the left of the battle, Titus Æbutius spurred his horse against Octavius Mamilius. But king Tarquinius, before he reached Aulus, received a wound into his side, and his followers gathered around him, and bore him out of the battle. And Titus and Octavius met lance to lance, and Titus struck Octavius on the breast, and Octavius ran his lance through the arm of Titus. So Titus withdrew from the battle, for his arm could no longer wield its weapon; but Octavius heeded not his hurt, but when he saw his Latins giving ground, he called to the banished Romans of the house of the Tarquinii, and sent them into the thick of the fight. On they rushed so fiercely that neither man nor horse could stand before them; for they thought how they had been driven from their country, and spoiled of their goods, and they said that they would win back both that day through the blood of their enemies. How two horsemen, on white Then Marcus Valerius, the brother of Publius, levelled his lance and rode fiercely against Titus Tarpeared in the quinius, who was the leader of the band of the Tarbattle, and fought for quinii. quinii. But Titus drew back, and sheltered himself horses, ap the Romans. 40 Domesticâ etiam gloriâ ac- ejecti reges erant, ejusdem intercensus, ut cujus familiæ decus fecti forent. Livy, II. 20. VII. amidst his band; and Marcus rode after him in CHAP. his fury, and plunged into the midst of the enemy, and a Latin ran his lance into his side as he was rushing on; but his horse stayed not in his career, till Marcus dropped from him dead upon the ground. Then the Romans feared yet more, and the Tarquinii charged yet more vehemently, till Aulus, the leader of the Romans, rode up with his own chosen band; and he bade them level their lances, and slay all whose faces were towards them, whether they were friends or foes. So the Romans turned from their flight, and Aulus and his chosen band fell upon the Tarquinii; and Aulus prayed, and vowed that he would raise a temple to Castor and to Pollux ", the twin heroes, if they would aid him to win the battle; and he promised to his soldiers that the two who should be the first to break into the camp of the enemy should receive a rich reward. When behold there rode two horsemen at the head of his chosen band 2, and they were taller and fairer than after the stature and beauty of men, and they were in the first bloom of youth, and their horses were white as snow. Then there was a fierce battle, when Octavius, the leader of the Latins, came up with aid to rescue the Tarquinii; for Titus Herminius rode against him, and ran his spear through his body, and slew him at one blow; but as he was spoiling him of his arms, he himself was struck by a javelin, and he was borne out of the fight and died. And the two horsemen 41 Livy, II. 20. 42 Dionysius, VI. 13. 42 CHAP. VII. How the two horsemen ap evening, and told that on white horses rode before the Romans; and the enemy fled before them, and the Tarquinii were beaten down and slain, and Titus Tarquinius was slain among them; and the Latins fled, and the Romans followed them to their camp, and the two horsemen on white horses were the first who broke into the camp. But when the camp was taken, and the battle was fully won, Aulus sought for the two horsemen to give them the rewards which he had promised; and they were not found either amongst the living or amongst the dead, only there was seen imprinted on the hard black rock ", the mark of a horse's hoof, which no earthly horse had ever made; and the mark was there to be seen in afterages. And the battle was ended, and the sun went down. 43 44 Now they knew at Rome 15 that the armies had joined battle, and as the day wore away all men peared at Rome in the longed for tidings. And the sun went down, and suddenly there were seen in the forum two horsemen, taller and fairer than the tallest and fairest of men, and they rode on white horses, and they were as men just come from the battle, and their horses were all bathed in foam. They alighted by the temple of the battle was won. 43 Cicero, de Naturâ Deorum, III. 5. 44 The lake of Regillus is now a small and weedy pool surrounded by crater-like banks, and with much lava or basalt about it, situated at some height above the plain, on the right hand of the road as you descend from the high ground under La Colonna, |