BOOK III. V. 54-56 



separates the territorv' of Veii from that of Crustum- 

 ium, and afterwards that of Fidenae and Latium 

 from Vaticanum. But below the confluence of the 

 Chiana from Arezzo it is augmented by forty-two 

 tributaries, the chief being the Nera and the Severone 

 (which latter is itself navigable, and encloses Latium 

 in the rear), while it is equally increased by the 

 aqucducts and the numerous springs carried thi-ough 

 to the citv ; and consequently it is navigable for 

 vessels of whatever size from the Mediterranean, 

 and is a most tranquil trafficker in the produce of all 

 the earth, with perhaps more villas on its banks 

 and overlooking it than all the other rivers in the 

 whole world. And no river is more circumscribed 

 and shut in on either side ; yet of itself it offers no 

 resistance, though it is subject to frequent sudden 

 floods, the inundations being nowhere greater than 

 in the city itself. But in truth it is looked upon 

 rather as a prophet of warning, its rise being always 

 construed rather as a call to religion than as a threat 

 of disaster. 



01(1 Latium has preserved the original limits, ununi. 

 extending from the Tiber to Cerceii, a distance of 

 50 miles ; so exiguous at the beginning were the 

 roots of the Empire. Its inhabitants have often 

 changed: at various times it has been occupied by 

 various peoples — the Aborigines, the Pelasgi, the 

 Arcades, the Sicuh, the Aurunci, the IlutuH, and 

 beyond Circello the \'o!sci, Osci and Ausones, owing 

 to which the name of Latium came to be extended as 

 far as the river Garigliano. To begin with there is 

 Ostia, a colony founded by a Iloman king, the town 

 of Laurentum, the grove of Jupiter Indiges, the river 

 Nimiicius, arid Ardea, founded by Danae the mother 



43 



