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under Sylvius. Of his dynasty, thirteen kings are said to have 
reigned, occupying altogether a period of 400 years. 
Nothing scarcely is known of these, but their names (if we 
except the anecdote that the drowning of one Tiberinus in 
the Tiber gave a name to that river), until we come to Amu- 
lius. This prince had usurped the throne from his brother 
Numitor, whose son he killed, and whose daughter, Rhea, 
he consecrated to perpetual virginity, as a vestal. By these 
means, he hoped to secure to himself the quiet and perma¬ 
nent possession of the throne. 
, Rhea, however, contrived to bring forth two sons, and, to 
save her fame, reported that she had been ravished by Mars. 
She was, condemned to death, and her children also. But 
her sentence was commuted to perpetual banishment, and 
the twins were exposed in an open trough on the Tiber. 
Twenty years afterwards, two men from the country, as¬ 
serted that they were the sons of Rhea ; stirred up the peo¬ 
ple to arms, defeated Amulius, and placed Numitor on the 
throne. The following amusing account of them was pre¬ 
served amongst the Roman traditions. “ The wind and 
stream to which the royal brothers'were exposed, proved both 
so favourable, that at the fall of the water they were left safe 
on the strand, and were there happily found by Faustulus, the 
chief of the king’s shepherds, and suckled by his wife 
Acca Laurentia, who for her disorderly life was called Lupa; 
and this probably gave rise to the fabulous miracle of their 
being nursed by a wolf.” 
“ As Faustulus was well acquainted with the birth of the 
twins, he took more than ordinary care of their education, 
and sent them to Gabii to be instructed there in Greek litera¬ 
ture. As they grew up, they appeared to have something 
great in their mien and air, which commanded respect ; 
and the ascendant which they assumed over the other shep¬ 
herds made them dreaded in the forests, where they exercised 
a sort of empire. A quarrel happening between the herds¬ 
men of Amulius, and those of Numitor, the two brothers 
took the part of the former against the latter; and some 
blood being shed in the fray, the adverse party, to be re¬ 
venged on Romulus and Remus (for so the twins were called), 
on the festival of Lupercalia, surprised Remus, and carried 
him before Numitor, to be punished according to his deserts. 
But Numitor feeling himself touched in the prisoner’s favour, 
asked him where he was born, and who were his parents. 
His answer immediately struck Numitor with a lively re¬ 
membrance of his two grandsons; their age, which was 
about 18 years, agreed with the time when the two infants 
were exposed upon the Tiber; and there needed no more to 
change his anger into tenderness.” 
“ In the mean time Romulus, eager to rescue his brother, 
and pursue those who had carried him off, was preparing to 
be revenged on them; but Faustulus dissuaded him from it; 
and on that occasion, disclosing to him his birth, awakened 
in his breast sentiments worthy of his extraction. He re¬ 
solved, at all adventures, to attempt the delivering of his 
mother and grandfather from oppression. With this view 
he assembled the country people, over whom he had as¬ 
sumed a kind of sovereignty, and engaged them to come 
to the city on an appointed day, and enter it by different 
gates, provided with arms, which they were to conceal. 
While Romulus was thus disposing every thing for the 
execution of his design, Numitor made the same discovery 
to Remus concerning his parents, and the oppressions they 
groaned under; which so fired him, that he was ready 
' to embark in any. enterprise. But Numitor took care 
to moderate the transports of his grandson, and only 
desired him to acquaint his brother with what he had 
heard from him, and to send him to his house. Romu¬ 
lus soon came,' and was followed by Faustulus, who 
took with him the trough or skiff in which the twins had 
been exposed, to show it to Numitor: but, as the shep¬ 
herd betrayed an air of concern and earnestness in his 
looks, he was stopped at the gate of the city, led before 
Amulius, and examined concerning his burden. It 
was easily known by its make and inscription, which 
was Still legible; and therefore Faustulus owned what it 
M E. 215 
was, and confessed that the twins were living; but, in- 
order to gain time, pretended that they were feeding 
flocks in a remote desert. In the mean time, the usurper’s 
death being ■ resolved on, Remus undertook to raise the 
city, and Romulus to invest the king’s palace. The 
country people came at the time appointed, and formed 
themselves into companies each consisting of 100 men. - 
They had no other ensigns but bundles of hay hanging 
upon long poles, which the Latins at that time called 
manipuli; and hence came the name of manipulares, 
originally given to troops raised in the country. With 
this tumultuous army Romulus beset the avenues of the 
palace, forced the guard, and having killed the tyrant, 
after he had reigned 42 years, restored his grandfather 
Numitor to the throne.” 
Affairs being thus settled at Alba, the two brothers, 
by the advice of Numitor, undertook the founding of a 
new colony. The king bestowed on them those lands 
near the Tiber where they had been brought up, supplied 
them with instruments for breaking up the ground, with 
slaves, and beasts of burden, and granted full liberty- to 
his subjects to join them. Hereupon most of the Trojans, 
of whom there still remained 50 families in Augustus’s 
time, followed Romulus and Remus, as did also the in-, 
habitants of Pallantium and Saturnia, two small towns. 
For the more speedy carrying on of the work, it was 
thought proper to divide those who were to be employed 
in the building of the city into two companies, one under 
the command of Romulus, the other of Remus; this divi¬ 
sion gave birth to two factions, and produced a jealousy 
between the two brothers, which broke out when they 
came to choose a place for the building of their new city; 
for Remus was for the Aventine, and Romulus for the 
Palatine mount. Upon which, the matter being referred 
to their grandfather, he advised the contending parties to 
have recourse to the gods, and to put au end to the dispute 
by augury. The day appointed for the ceremony being 
come, the brothers posted themselves each upon his hill; 
and it was agreed, that whoever should see the first flight, 
or the greatest number of vultures, should gain his cause. 
After the two rivals had waited some time for the appearance 
of a favourable omen, Romulus, before any had appeared, 
sent to acquaint his brother that he had seen some vultures; 
but Remus, having actually seen six, while his brother’s 
messengers were yet on their way, hastened, on their arrival, 
to Mount Palatine, to examine the truth of what they had 
told him. He had no sooner got thither, than, by an unex¬ 
pected good fortune, twelve vultures appeared to Romulus. 
These he immediately showed to his brother; and, trans¬ 
ported with joy, desired him to judge himself of the truth 
of what his messengers had told him. However, Remus 
discovered the deceit; and, being told that Romulus had 
not seen the twelve vultures till after he had seen six, he 
insisted on the time of his seeing them, and the other on the 
number of birds he had seen : the dispute grew so warm, 
that, from words they came at length to blows. The shep¬ 
herd Faustulus, who was equally dear to both the brothers, 
endeavouring to part the combatants, was, by an unknown 
hand, laid dead on the spot. Some writers tell us that 
Remus likewise lost his life in the fray 5 but the greater 
number place his death later, and say that he was killed by 
one Fabius, for having, in derision, leaped over the wall of 
the new city: Livy, however, says the more common 
report was, that Remus fell by the hand of his brother. 
Romulus, being now head of the colony, applied lus 
thoughts wholly to the building of the city. The importance 
attached to this institution may be gathered from the various 
ceremonies observed. Romulus first offered sacrifices to the 
S ods, and ordered all the people to do the same • and 
ecreed that eagles should be the auspices of his new colony. 
After this, great fires were kindled before their tents, and all 
the people leaped through the flames to purify themselves. 
When this ceremony was over, they dug a trench round the 
• spot where the assemblies of the people were afterwards held, 
and threw into it the first-fruits of whatever they were allowed 
to 
