He himself brought no small force,
arrayed in companies of a hundred each. Each of these was led by a man
who carried a bundle of sticks and straw upon a pole. The Latins called
these _manipla_; and from this these companies are even at the present
day called _maniples_ in the Roman army. Now as Remus raised a revolt
within, while Romulus assailed the palace without, the despot was
captured and put to death without having been able to do anything, or
take any measures for his own safety.
The greater part of the above story is told by Fabius Pictor and Diokles
of Peparethos, who seem to have been the first historians of the
foundation of Rome. The story is doubted by many on account of its
theatrical and artificial form, yet we ought not to disbelieve it when
we consider what wondrous works are wrought by chance, and when, too, we
reflect on the Roman Empire, which, had it not had a divine origin,
never could have arrived at its present extent.
IX. After the death of Amulius, and the reorganisation of the kingdom,
the twins, who would not live in Alba as subjects, and did not wish to
reign there during the life of their grandfather, gave up the sovereign
power to him, and, having made a suitable provision for their mother,
determined to dwell by themselves, and to found a city in the parts in
which they themselves had been reared; at least, this is the most
probable of the various reasons which are given.
Pages:
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93