420 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[Dec. 1. 1855. 



historians tried to conceal the fact of the entire 

 conquest of Home by the Clusian Servius. 



To come now to the second Tarquin. One of 

 the most important results of my system is, that 

 it strikes out from history the whole account of 

 the events which, according to our authorities, 

 preceded his expulsion, as a mere repetition of 

 those which really led to the expulsion of Porsena. 

 The principal diiference between the two narra- 

 tives is, that the scene of tiie events in the first 

 case is Ardea ; and in the latter, Aricia. But 

 this difference is not real, for it can be proved 

 conclusively that Aricia and Ardea are merely 

 different forms of the same word ; and that the 

 towns bearing those names are, in consequence, 

 often confounded with each other. Aricia and 

 Arsia are certainly identical*; and that Arsia and 

 Ardea are so, is seen from the analogy of Clausus 

 and Claudius. Farther, Turnus is in Virgil king 

 of Ardea ; and Turnus Herdonius is in Livy 

 (i. 50.), chief of Aricia. Herdonius comes from 

 Ardonius (Herdonea in Apulia, the scene of one of 

 Hannibal's victories, is sometimes spelt Ardonea), 

 as Herminius from Arminius ; and it is evident 

 that Ardonius and Ardea are cognate. When we 

 remember these things, we can easily suppose that 

 some writers spelt Aricia, the real scene of the 

 defeat of Porsena's son, Ardea ; and that when a 

 duplicate was made and applied to Tarquin, the 

 scene was in that instance given as Ardea, so as to 

 keep some distinction between the two accounts. 

 The difference before referred to in spelling the 

 name of the place where Aruns Porsena was de- 

 feated, perhaps originated the idea of these events 

 being two and distinct. 



I have said that Herminius comes from the 

 German Arminius. This is the general opinion, 

 and I mention it here because it helps to prove 

 the Etruscan origin of the Herminian family. 

 (Niebuhr has shown that the Etruscans were of 

 German descent.) But this view does not need 

 such doubtful support, for it is stated distinctly 

 by Valerius Max. ; Silius mentions an Etrurian 

 named Herminius, and one Herminius has the 

 Etruscan Lars or Larcius as his nomen (Livy, 

 iii. 65.) (see Smith's Diet, of Gr. and Rom. Biog., 

 Sfc). Thus the Herminian family was certainly 

 Etruscan. No one ever doubted that the Larciau 

 family had the same origin. 



It is an important circumstance that a member 

 of each of those families (Spurius Larcius, Titus 



* This is clear, for the battle of Arsia (Livy, ii. 6. 7.) 

 is certainly only a repetition of the battle of Aricia. Aruns 

 Tarquinius is killed in the first, and Aruns Porsena in 

 the second. The Cumaean auxiliaries also, which took 

 part in the battle of Aricia, are sometimes transferred to 

 the battle of Arsia, as by Plutarch. This repetition 

 originated in the confusion which existed as to the name 

 of the last king of Rome. Arsia is only mentioned in 

 connexion with the battle fought there. 



No. 318.] 



Herminius) figured in the defence of the Subli- 

 cian bridge against Porsena: for it shows us 

 that the Roman enemies of Porsena were Etrus- 

 cans like himself. This fact can be explained 

 only in one way, and then all is clear and con- 

 sistent ; namely, by transferring the expedition of 

 Porsena to the time of the Etruscan domination 

 of Rome under Tarquin II., and by supposing his 

 Etruscan opponents to have been men who up- 

 held that dynasty in opposition to the Clusian. 



I will now, in conclusion, answer an objection 

 which may be made to my view, that Porsena was 

 king of Rome. It is well known that in the his- 

 torical period there stood in the capitol seven 

 statues, which were called the statues of the seven 

 kings. This may seem hostile to my idea that the 

 number of the kings of Rome was eight, but I do 

 not think it is so. For is it probable that the 

 Romans would, after they had expelled the tyrant 

 Tarquin from Rome, allow his statue to remain in 

 the capitol? It seems to me most improbable, 

 particularly when I remember that when in the 

 time of the empire a tyrant was slain, one of the 

 first acts which followed was the throwing down 

 all the statues, &c., erected to him in the days of 

 his prosperity. Edward West. 



THE CODEX VATICANUS. 



[The following correspondence is, in many re- 

 spects, so full of literary interest, that we feel 

 assured our readers will be pleased that we 

 have transfei'red it from the columns of The 

 Times to our own pages. — Ed. " N. & Q."] 



" THE CODEX VATICANUS. 



«' To the Editor of the Times. 



" Sir, — Your paper is a medium of communication ujion 

 almost all subjects; will j-ou, therefore, permit me to 

 occupy a little part of it, just to ask a question, and to 

 give a few reasons for doing so? 



" Will the Roman Catholic Church, through its ap- 

 propriate officers, permit the Codex Vaticanus, No. 1209., 

 now at Rome, to be photographed ? 



" I am induced to ask this question for the following 

 reasons : — 



" The Roman Church was the first to print the Greek 

 Testament. At first it was circulated privateh% but was 

 afterwards published. In the meanwhile the edition pre- 

 pared by Erasmus made its appearance. 



" The Codex Vaticanus is, probably, the oldest Greek 

 MS. of the Scriptures extant. The second volume con- 

 tains the whole of the New Testament, with the exception 

 of a few verses ; and many biblical critics attach prime 

 importance to it. 



" The Roman Church has, hy Cardinal CarafFa, already 

 printed and published the Old Testament according to 

 this MS., and has permitted several collations of the New. 



" I do not think exposing the manuscript to the light, 

 however strong it might be, would injure it. Whether it 

 would sustain injury in the process necessary- to bring it 

 under the light, is a point upon which I cannot offer an 

 opinion, but probably some of your readers who have seen 

 this precious document will. 



