ROMAN EMPIRE THE early history of Rome, like that of all other ancient nations, is involved in mystery -and fable. When the memory of distant events has been pre served only in poetry, it is difficult to separate the true from the fictitious narrative; and this difficulty is nowhere greater than in the early history of Rome. If the poet, however, exaggerates and embellishes, and even invents new circumstances, we must not deny the whole narrative as fictitious, because a part of it has-existed only in the imagination of the narra tor. In such a case the probability of the events is the only test which we can obtain of their truth; and even if the poet has been careful to stamp this cha racter upon his own creations, we cannot err much iu adopting the leading outlines of his story.
When /Eneas was driven from his native land by the sack of Troy, he landed in Italy after a variety of wan derings and misfortunes.* He first disembarked at Cape Minerva, in Japygia, and afterwards sailed to Drepanum, in Sicily, where a Trojan colony had al ready established itself under Elymus, and /Egystus. Either from necessity or choice, or perhaps partly from both, he left behind him at Drepanum several of his followers, and pursuing his course over the Tyrr henian Sea, he landed in Italy near a cape, to which he gave the name of his faithful pilot Palinurus, who terminated his life and his duties at the same inter esting moment. From hence lEneas continued his examination of the Italian coast, till he reached the territory of Latium, situated on the cast side of the Tiber, and now forming a part of the Campagna di Roma. The capital of this territory was called Lauren tium. It was subject to Latinus, who was then en gaged in a war with the Rutuli, and who on that account gave a warmer reception to the helpless stran gers, and speedily secured their friendship by a libe ral alliance. The character of /Eneas and of his fol lowers, seem to have inspired the Latins with the highest confidence. Latinus gave Eneas his daugh ter Lavinia in marriage; and the rest of the Trojans formed matrimonial alliances with Latin families.
These events, however, while they united the houses of Latinus and of .Eneas in the closest bonds of friend
ship, gave rise to a formidable attempt against La tium. Turnus, a relation of the queen, and who had been brought up in the family of Latinus, had con ceived an early attachment to Lavinia. Enraged and mortified that a stranger should possess that being on whom he had placed his happiness, he joined the arms of the Rutuli; and in the first battle which took place both Turnus and Latinus fell.
Having thus come into the peaceful possession of the throne, Eneas united the religion of Troy with that of Latium. He introduced the worship of Vesta, and it was probably from him that the Latins derived their knowledge of Jupiter, and many other of the Trojan deities.
An alliance between the Rutuli and Mezentius, the king of the Tyrrhenians, again forced Eneas into the field. The hostile armies met near Lavinium, and /Encas, being pressed by. superior numbers to the banks of the Numicus, was driven into the river and drowned. Having concealed his body, the Trojans pretended that he had ascended to heaven; and a tem ple was erected to him under the appellation of Jupi ter Indigcs.
The Trojan warrior was succeeded by his son As canius, or Eurylcon, who prudently sought to termi nate the war by an honourable peace. Mezentius, however, having demanded too high a tribute, the La tins resolved to try the contingencies of war. The flower of the Tyrrhenian army lay entrenched at the very gates of Lavinium, and was placed under the command of Lausus, the son of Mezentius. The Tro jans, accustomed to this species of warfare, made a valorous sally against the besiegers, and having forced the entrenchments under Lausus, drove him to the main body, which was posted in the plain. The ter ror which was thus struck into the confederated army, incited the Latins to pursue their advantages, by driv ing the enemy into the fastnesses of the neighbouring mountains. In this pursuit Lausus fell, and Mezen tius, disheartened by the loss of his favourite son, sued for peace, and yielded to the principal condition of the Latins, that the Tiber should henceforth be the boundary between the Latin and the Tyrrhenian ter ritories.