Sources. The most copious author, and, if we except his system of deducing everything connected with Rome from Greece, the most critical of all those who have written on the earlier history of Rome and Italy, is Dionysius Halicarnassensis, in his ArchÆologia: of this work only the first eleven books, reaching down to the year 443, have been preserved; to these, however, must be added the fragments of the nine following books, xii—xx. discovered in 1816, and published by the Abbate Mai of Milan. Next to Dionysius is Livy, who as far as lib. iv, c. 18, is our main authority, till B. C. 292. Of the Lives of Plutarch the following belong to this period, Romulus, Numa, Coriolanus, Poplicola and Camillus; which for the knowledge and criticism they display, are perhaps more important even than Livy and Dionysius, see A. H. L. Heeren, De fontibus et auctoritate vitarum Plutarchi, inserted in Comment Recentiores Soc. Scient. Gott. Comment. I. II. GrÆci, III. IV. Romani; reprinted also as an appendix to the editions of Plutarch by Reiske and Hutten, Gottingen, 1821, ap. Dieterich. The sources of the most ancient Roman history were extremely various in kind. The traditions of the Fathers were preserved in historical ballads; (no mention is ever made of any grand epic poem;) and in this sense there existed a bardic history; by no means, however, wholly poetic, for even the traditions of Numa's Institutes are without the characteristics of poetry. The art of writing was in Italy of earlier origin than the city of Rome; how far, consequently, the public annals, such as the Libri Pontificum, extended back in early time remains undetermined. Several of the memorials are, beyond a doubt, mere family records, whether preserved by vocal tradition or in written documents. To the above must be added monuments, not only buildings and works of arts, but also treaties engraved on tables; of which, nevertheless, too little use seems to have been made. The Romans having learnt the art of writing from the Greeks, their history was as frequently written in Greek as in Latin; and that not only by Greeks, such as, in the first place, Diocles of Peparethus, but likewise by Romans, such as Fabius Pictor, at an early period. From these last sources Dionysius and Livy compiled. The more ancient Roman history given by these authorities rests, therefore, in part, but by no means entirely, on tradition and poetry; still further amplified by the rhetoric style, that of the Greeks more especially. At what epoch the Roman history lays aside the poetic character can hardly be determined with certainty; it may be traced even in some parts of the period extending from the expulsion of the kings to the conquest by the Gauls.—For the purposes of chronology, great importance attaches to the fasti Romani, contained partly in inscriptions, (fasti Capitolini,) partly in manuscripts. They have been collected and restored by Pighius, Noris Sigonius, etc. in GrÆvii, Thes. A. R. vol. xi.; likewise in Almeloveen, Fast. Rom. I. II. Amstel. 1705, etc.

Pighii Annales Romanorum. Antwerp, 1615, fol. 2 vols. An essay towards a chronological arrangement; it reaches down to Vitellius.

The Roman history has been copiously treated of by the moderns in many works besides those on universal ancient history before enumerated, (p. 2.). We shall mention only the more important.

Rollin, Histoire Romaine, Depuis la foundation de Rome jusqu' À la bataille d'Actium. 13 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1823, Édit. revue par Letronne. This history, which extends to B. C. 89, has been continued and terminated by Crevier. Although the critical historian might suggest much that is wanting in this work, it nevertheless contributed to advance the study.

Ed. Ferguson, The History of the Progress and Termination of the Roman Republic. London, 1783, 4to. On the whole, the best work on the history of the Roman republic; it has superceded the earlier work of Goldsmith.

P. Ch. Levesque, Histoire de la RÉpublique Romaine, 3 vols. Paris, 1807. He who would still wish to admire with blind enthusiasm the glory of ancient Rome, had better not read this work.

B. G. Niebuhr, Roman History.

Rather criticism than history; the author seems to be perpetually endeavouring to overthrow all that has hitherto been admitted. The spirit of acuteness is not always that of truth; and men do not so lightly assent to the existence of a constitution which not only is contrary to the broad view of antiquity—inferences drawn from some insulated passages not being sufficient to overturn what is corroborated by all the others—but likewise, according to the author's own avowal, stands opposed to all analogy in history. But truth gains even where criticism is wrong; and the value of some deep researches will not for that reason be overlooked.—Consult on this subject:

† W. Wachsmuth, Researches into the more Ancient History of Rome. Halle, 1819.

C. F. Th. Lachmann, Commentatio de fontibus T. Livii in prima Historiarum Decade. GottingÆ, 1821. A prize essay.

For the works upon the Roman constitution see below, at the end of this and at the beginning of the third period.

Abundance of most important writings upon Roman antiquities will be found in the great collections:

GrÆvii Thesaurus Antiquitatum Romanarum. Lugd. Batav. 1694, sq. 12 vols. fol. and likewise in

Salengre, Thesaurus Antiquitatum Romanarum. Venet. 1732, 3 vols. fol.

Many excellent papers, particularly in

MÉmoires de l'AcadÉmie des Inscriptions.

With the exception of Nardini, Roma Vetus, inserted in GrÆvii Thes. A. R. t. iv. the best work on the topography of ancient Rome is

Venuti, Descrizione Topografica delle AntichitÀ di Roma. P. I. II. Roma, 1763; and especially the new edition of that work by Visconti, 1803. There is also:

† S. H. L. Adler, Description of the city of Rome. Altona, 1781, 4to.

The best representation of the monuments of ancient Rome will be found in

Piranesi, AntichitÀ di Roma, 3 vols. fol.

The primitive history of Rome is as difficult to reduce to pure historic truth as that of Athens, or any other city of antiquity; this proceeds from its being principally founded on traditions, handled by poets and rhetoricians, and likewise differing from one another; as may be seen in Plutarch's Romulus. As the knowledge of those traditions, such as they are found in Dionysius and Livy, attaches to so many other subjects, it would be improper to pass them over in silence; and that they contained truths as well as poetic fictions is proved most evidently by the political institutions of which they narrate the origin, and which certainly reached back to those times. To attempt to draw a line of demarcation between mythical and historic times would be to mistake the real nature of mythology.

L. de Beaufort, Sur l'incertitude des cinq premiers siÈcles de l'histoire Romaine, nouv. Éd. À la Haye, 1750, 2 vols. 8vo. Every thing that can be said against the credibility of the primitive Roman history has been developed by Beaufort with abundant, and often with laboured, acuteness.

Line of kings. Romulus, 754—717. First establishment of the colony; augmentation in the number of the citizens, produced by the establishment of an asylum, and an union with part of the Sabines. Numa Pompilius, d. 679. By representing this prince as the founder of the religion of the Roman state, that religion received the high sanction of antiquity. Tullus Hostilius, d. 640. The conquest and destruction of Alba lays the foundation of Roman supremacy in Latium. Ancus Martius, d. 618. He extends the territory of Rome to the sea; the foundation of the port of Ostia proves that Rome already applied to navigation, the object of which was perhaps as yet rather piracy than trade. Tarquinius Priscus, d. 578. A Grecian by descent. Under his conduct Rome was already able to enter the field against the confederate Etrusci. Servius Tullius, d. 534. The most remarkable in the line of Roman kings. He placed Rome at the head of the confederacy of the Latins, which he confirmed by communia sacra. On his new division of the people according to property were raised the highly important institutions of the census and comitia centuriata. The necessity of this measure is demonstrative of the great and increasing prosperity of the Roman citizens; there can be no doubt, however, that by its adoption the frame of the republic was already completed. Tarquinius Superbus, (the tyrant,)—509. This individual, having taken forcible possession of the throne as nephew to Priscus, endeavoured to confirm his power by a close connection with the Latins and Volsci; by this, as well as by his tyranny, he offended both the patrician and plebeian parties. His deposition, and the consequent reformation of the government, were however, properly speaking, brought about by the ambition of the patricians.

Algarotti, Saggio sopra la durata de' regni de' rÈ di Roma. (Op. t. iii.) Chronological doubts. Can the raising of difficulties deserve the name of criticism?

First commercial treaty with Carthage, 508, in which Rome appears certainly as a free state, but not yet as sovereign of all Latium; the most important monument of the authenticity of the earlier Roman history.

Heyne, Foedera Carthaginiensium cum Romanis super navigatione et mercatura facta: contained in his Opusc. t. iii. Cf. † A. H. L. Heeren, Ideas, etc. Appendix to the second vol.

Main facts of the contest: 1. In the trial of Coriolanus the tribunes usurp the right of summoning some patricians before the tribunal of the people.—Hence arise the comitia tributa; that is to say, either mere assemblies of the commons, or assemblies so organized that the commons had the preponderance. This institution gave the tribunes a share in the legislation, subsequently of such high importance, those officers being allowed to lay proposals before the commons. 2. More equitable distribution among the poorer classes of the lands conquered from the neighbouring nations, (the most ancient leges agrariÆ,) suggested by the ambitious attempts of Cassius, 486. 3. Extension of the prerogatives of the comitia tributa, more especially in the election of the tribunes, brought about by Volero, 472. 4. Attempts at a legal limitation of the consular power by Terentillus, (lex Terentilla,) 460, which, after a long struggle, at last leads to the idea of one common written code, 452, which is likewise realized in spite of the opposition at first made by the patricians.

† Chr. F. Schulze, Struggle between the Democracy and Aristocracy of Rome, or History of the Romans from the Expulsion of Tarquin to the Election of the first Plebeian Consul. Altenburgh, 1802, 8vo. A most satisfactory development of this portion of Roman history.

Duration of the power of the Decemviri, 451—447. The doubts raised as to the deputation sent to Athens are not sufficient to invalidate the authenticity of an event so circumstantially detailed. Athens, under Pericles, was then at the head of Greece; and, admitting the proposed design of consulting the Greek laws, it was impossible that Athens should have been passed over. And indeed, why should it be supposed, that a state which fifty years before had signed a commercial treaty with Carthage, and could not be unacquainted with the Grecian colonies in Lower Italy, might not have sent an embassy into Greece?

The yet remaining fragments of the code of the twelve tables are collected and illustrated in Bachii Hist. JurisprudentiÆ RomanÆ; and in several other works.

Besides the other laws made in favour of the people at the renewal of the tribunicia potestas, 446, that which imported ut quod tributim plebes jussisset, populum teneret, frequently renewed in subsequent times, and meaning, in modern language, that the citizens constituted themselves, must, it would appear, have thrown the supreme power into the hands of the people; did not the Roman history, like that of other free states, afford examples enough of the little authority there is to infer from the enactment of a law that it will be practically enforced.

Among these wars attention must be directed to the last, that against Veii, the richest city in Etruria; the siege of that place, which lasted very nearly ten years, 404—395, gave rise to the introduction among the Roman military of winter campaigning, and of pay; thus, on the one hand, the prosecution of wars more distant and protracted became possible, while on the other the consequences must have been the levy of higher taxes, (tributa).

A second commercial treaty entered into with Carthage, 345, demonstrates that even at this time the navy of the Romans was anything but contemptible; although its principal object as yet was mere piracy. Roman squadrons of war however appear more than once within the next forty years.

Commencement of the wars against the Samnites, the Campanians having called the Romans to their assistance against that nation, 343. These wars, carried on with vigorous exertion and various success, lasted, with but short intermissions, till 290. This is the true heroic age of Rome, ennobled by the patriotic valour of Decius Mus, (father and son, both voluntary victims,) Papirius Cursor, Q. Fabius Maximus, etc. The consequences of this struggle were: a. The Romans learnt the art of mountain warfare, and thereby for the first time acquired a peculiar system of military tactics; not, however, till they had been, 321, obliged to pass under the furcas Caudinas. b. Their relations were more firmly established with their neighbours the Latins and Etrurians, by the complete conquest of the former, 340, and by repeated victories over the latter, more especially in 308. c. Great national federations having arisen in Italy, particularly during the last period of the Samnite wars, the Romans entered into connection with the more distant nations of the country; with the Lucanians and Apulians, by the first league, 323, with the Umbri, from the year 308; and although the nature of this connection frequently varied, the different nations were perpetually struggling for independence, and were consequently at enmity with Rome. In this period, moreover, commenced the practical illustration of the leading ideas of Rome upon the political relations in which she placed the conquered with regard to herself.

The idea of calling upon Pyrrhus for assistance was the more natural, as the predecessor of that prince, Alexander I. (see above p. 275.) had endeavoured, but without success, to effect conquests in Lower Italy. In the first war with Pyrrhus, 280—278, two battles were fought, the first at Pandosia, 280, the other at Asculum, 279; in both of which Rome was unsuccessful. But Pyrrhus, after crossing over into Sicily, 278, (see above, p. 173, 174.) once more returned into Italy, 275, when he was defeated by the Romans at Beneventum, and compelled to evacuate Italy, leaving a garrison at Tarentum. That city, however, soon afterwards, 272, fell into the hands of the Romans, whose dominion was consequently extended to the extremity of Lower Italy.

Even at the time of Hannibal's invasion, the number of Roman colonies amounted to 53: but several which had been settled returned to the mother city.

Heyne, De Romanorum prudentia in coloniis regendis: inserted in Opusc. vol. iii. Cf. Prolusiones de veterum coloniarum jure ejusque causis, in his Opusc. vol. i.

C. Sigonius, De antiquo jure civium Romanorum; and his treatise De antiquo jure ItaliÆ, inserted both in his Opera and in GrÆvii Thes. Ant. Rom. t. ii. contain the most learned researches on the details of these relations.

The rights of the people consisted in the legislative power, so far as fundamental national principles were concerned, and in the election of the magistrates. The distinction between the comitia tributa (as independent of the senate) and the comitia centuriata (as dependent on the senate) still existed as to form, but had lost all its importance, the difference between patricians and plebeians being now merely nominal, and the establishment of the tribus urbanÆ, 303, excluding the too great influence of the people (forensis factio) upon the comitia tributa. The rights of the senate consisted in administering and debating all transitory national affairs, whether foreign relations, (war and peace only excepted, in which the consent of the people was requisite,) financial concerns, or matters regarding domestic peace and security. But the manner in which the senate was supplied must have made it the first political body at that time in the world. The rights and rank of magistrates were founded on their greater or lesser auspicia, no public affair being entered upon except auspicato. Consequently he only who was in possession of the former could hold the highest civic and military power; (imperium civile et militare; suis auspiciis rem gerere;) as dictator, consul, prÆtor; such was not the case with those who had only the lesser auspicia. The union of civil and military power in the person of the same individual was not without its inconveniences, but military despotism was in some measure guarded against by the prohibition of any magistrate possessing military command within Rome itself. We must not dismiss this subject without observing, that as the Roman constitution arose merely out of practice, there never having been any completely written charter, we cannot expect that all the details should be clearly ascertained; to attempt, therefore, in default of such authority, to describe all the minutiÆ would be the surest way to fall into error.

Of the numerous works on the Roman constitution and on Roman antiquities, we shall mention:

De Beaufort, La RÉpublique Romaine, ou plan gÉnÉral de l'ancien gouvernement de Rome. La Haye, 1766, 2 vols. 4to. A most copious work, and one of the most solid in regard to the matters discussed; although it does not embrace the whole of the subject.

Histoire critique du gouvernement Romain; Paris, 1765. Containing some acute observations.

Du Gouvernement de la republique Romaine, par A. Ad. de Texier, 3 vols. 8vo. Hamburg, 1796. This contains many enquiries peculiar to the writer.

Some learned researches respecting the principal points of the Roman constitution, as Sigonius and Gruchius de comitiis Romanorum, Zamocius de Senatu Romano, etc. will be found collected in the first two vols, of GrÆvius, Antiq. Roman.

For the popular assemblies of the Romans, an antiquarian essay by Chr. Ferd. Schulze, Gotha, 1815, chiefly according to Niebuhr, may be consulted.

Among the numerous manuals of Roman antiquities, Nieuport, explicatio rituum Romanorum, ed. Gesner. Berol. 1743, promises at least as much as it performs. Of those which profess to treat of Roman antiquities in general, none have yet risen above mediocrity. Jurisprudence, however, has been much more successfully handled. We cite the two following excellent compendiums:

Bachii, Historia JurisprudentiÆ RomanÆ. Lips. 1754. 1796.

† C. Hugo, Elements of the Roman Law; 7th edit. Berlin, 1820.