ROME (MODERN) ROMAN LANGUAGE. 



13 



nry institutions in the city. The principal college 

 of the university,' erected by the popes Innocent 

 IV. (1245), Boniface VIII. (1303), and Clement 

 VI. (1311),iscalledcfe#a Sapienza, from its motto, 

 Initiiim sapentiee timor Domini. It is a splendid 

 building, in which there are eight professors in 

 theology, six in law, eight in medicine, five in 

 philosophy, one in the fine arts, and four in the 

 Hebrew, Greek, Syriac and Arabic languages. Of 

 the other colleges, in which instruction is given in 

 the sciences and in languages, the Collegium de 

 propoganda Fide is particularly remarkable for its 

 rich library aud its printing-office, which is worthy 

 of being visited, and which contains works in 

 thirty ancient and modern languages; besides 

 these are the Collegium Clementinum, the Colle- 

 gium Romanum, the Collegium Nazarenum, institu- 

 tions for instruction in the Oriental languages, the 

 Hungarian and the German college, &c. Among the 

 academies and learned societies in Rome, the most 

 important are the academies of Roman history, of 

 geography, of ecclesiastical history, of Roman anti- 

 quities, of the Arcadians, &c. The two principal 

 theatres are those of Albert! and Argentina, in which 

 operas and ballets are exhibited; the theatres della 

 Valle and di Capranica are of the second rank, in 

 which comic operas, comedies, and sometimes trage- 

 dies, are performed. La Paze and La Palla Corda are 

 of the lowest rank, in which the opera buffa and 

 farces are acted for the amusement of the populace. 

 But they are opened only for a short time during 

 the year. The festivals in Rome most worthy of 

 notice are the grand procession on Corpus Christi 

 day, and the ceremonies of Passion week in the 

 Sistine chapel, where is performed the immortal 

 Miserere of Leo Allegri ; the illumination of the 

 cross on St Peter's, the illumination of the Pauline 

 chapel, &c. ; besides these, there are the illumina- 

 tion of the immense dome of St Peter's, upon 

 the day of that saint, the great fire-works, or the 

 Girandola of 4500 rockets, which are discharged 

 from the castle of St Angelo, upon the anniversary 

 of the pope's coronation, and which produce an in- 

 describable effect, on account of the vicinity of the 

 river, in whose waters the lights are reflected. 

 (For the Carnival, see the article.) The climate 

 of Rome from July to October is unhealthy, and 

 the foreigner is then exposed to dangerous fevers. 

 This aria cattiva renders whole quarters of the city 

 uninhabitable during these months. It appears to 

 extend gradually, and to be about to take full pos- 

 session of the eternal city. (See Campagna di 

 Roma, Malaria, and Pontine Marshes.} The south 

 wind, known by the name of sirocco, affects the 

 elasticity of the muscles without being dangerous. 

 Consumption has in Rome a malignant character, 

 communicating itself to the healthy by means of 

 articles of clothing and furniture, and spreading 

 among occupants of the same house with the dis- 

 eased person, even without such adventitious aid. 

 It is even communicated by books. The water is 

 dfferent in different parts of the city. The foun- 

 tain of Trevi furnishes the most wholesome water; 

 that from the thermee of Dioclesian and the fountain 

 Gianicola is unwholesome, and banished from all 

 tables. In Rome, the hours are counted up to 

 twenty-four, as is the case in many of the other 

 Italian cities. The most frequented promenade is 

 the Corso. From twenty-two to twenty-four 

 o'clock (five to seven), it is filled with pedestrians 

 and equipages. In 1824, Rome contained 136,300 

 inhabitants; 35,900 houses; 346 churches, eighty- 



one of them parish churches ; thirty monasteries, 

 and upwards of 120 palaces. In 1830, the popula- 

 tion was 144,542, among which were thirty-five 

 bishops and archbishops, 1490 priests, 1983 monks, 

 2390 nuns, and 10,000 Jews residing on the left 

 bank of the Tiber, in a quarter called Ghetto. 

 The view of the majestic ruins; the solemn 

 grandeur of the churches and palaces; the recol- 

 lections of the past ; the religious customs ; the 

 magic and almost melancholy tranquillity in the 

 splendid villas; the enjoyment of the endless 

 treasures of art, all this raises the mind to a 

 high state of excitement. See Fea's Descrizione; 

 the splendid Vedute di Roma, by Piranesi (2 

 vols., folio, 138 plates); Description of Rome, "by 

 Platner, Bunsen, and Gerhard, with a Sketch of 

 the History of the old, and of the Restoration of 

 the new City, by Niebuhr, with plans and views, 

 in two volumes (in German); Rome in the 19th 

 Century. For other works on the subject, see 

 the article Italy, Travels in. 



ROMAN JEK.A, and CALENDAR. See Calendar, 

 and Epoch. 



ROMAN LANGUAGE. The old Latin and the 

 Roman languages are different. From the first 

 traces of which are yet to be found in the 

 laws of the twelve tables, and which became 

 obsolete so early that, in the time of Cicero, the 

 hymns of the salii (priests of Mars) were unin- 

 telligible the Roman language was formed, pos- 

 terior to the adoption of the laws of the twelve 

 tables, not without being influenced by the Greek. 

 It was divided into the sexmo urbanus, rusticus, 

 and perigrinus. The first of these dialects was 

 spoken in Rome itself, the second in the country, 

 and the third generally in the provinces. If we 

 possessed the Origines of the elder Cato, we 

 should be able to decide with certainty who were 

 the earliest inhabitants of Italy, and what was the 

 origin of the native Latin language. We are 

 able only to discover from the scattered and dis- 

 connected accounts of the ancients, that the 

 (Enotrii (who were probably of Arcadian, or, 

 rather of Pelasgian origin), the Ausonii (among 

 these are included the Osci and Volsci), the 

 Sabelli or Sabines, the Tyrhenii (Etrurians and 

 Tuscans, from whom originated the augury and 

 the priesthood of the Romans), and, lastly, the 

 Umbri, are to be considered as the principal abori- 

 gines of Italy, to whom the old Latins, or the 

 aborigines, as they were called, joined themselves. 

 With these the Trojans under ./Eneas were incor- 

 porated; but the number of these was too small 

 to have any decisive influence upon the Latin lan- 

 guage, although these foreigners at length obtained 

 dominion over the whole country. The Greek 

 colonies are more important in this view, viz. the 

 Achaians, Locrians, and Dorians, who inhabited 

 Middle and Lower Italy, and extended their cus- 

 toms, and even the common use of their language, 

 beyond their own settlements in this country. The 

 Latin must, therefore, necessarily have been much 

 influenced by the language of these colonies. Be- 

 sides the old Italian language, we read of the 

 Etrurian, the Oscian, and the Volscian, which, 

 perhaps, were only different dialects. The Oscian 

 maintained itself still later among the Atellani. 

 After the conquest of the south of Italy and Sicily, 

 of Macedonia and Achaia, the Greek language must 

 have been better known to the Romans; and thus 

 the influence of the Greek language upon the for- 

 mation of the Roman came to be of more impor- 



